Religion in
the Home
Sensing the
Gaze of God
How well acquainted
is God with each individual’s
life?
“You know when I
sit and when I rise; you perceive my
thoughts from afar. You discern my
going out and my lying down; you are
familiar with all my ways. Before a
word is on my tongue you know it
completely, O Lord.” Psalm
139:2-4.
What is the
beginning of wisdom?
“The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom; all who follow his precepts
have good understanding. To him
belongs eternal praise.” Psalm
111:10.
Instructing
Children
How are parents
instructed to bring up their
children?
“Fathers do not
exasperate your children; instead, bring
them up in the training and
instruction of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:4.
How
faithfully should parents teach their
children the Word of God?
“These
commandments that I give you today
are to be upon your hearts. Impress
them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when
you walk along the road, when you lie
down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:6,7.
What
is the value of proper early
instruction?
“Train a child in
the way he should go, and when he
is old he will not turn from
it.”
Proverbs 22:6.
Note – No man
said that he began the service of God
too young. No parent ever regarded
bringing up his children to love,
fear, honor, and obey God.
How
early were the Scriptures taught to
Timothy?
“And from
infancy you have known the Holy
Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus.” 2
Timothy 3:15.
Note –
Timothy’s father was a Greek,
and his mother a Jewess. From a child
he had been taught the Scriptures.
The faith of his mother and
grandmother in the Word of God had
early been implanted in him through
their faithful instruction. (2
Timothy 1:5.) The piety that he saw
in his home life had a molding
influence upon his own life. This,
with his knowledge of the Scriptures,
qualified him to bear the
responsibilities and to render
faithful service later in the cause
of Christ. His home instructors had
co-operated with God in preparing him
for a life of usefulness. Thus it
should be in every home.
Why
did God confide in Abraham and commit
sacred trusts to him?
“For I have
chosen him, so that he will direct
his children and his household after
him to keep the way of the Lord by
doing what is right and just, so
that the Lord will bring about for
Abraham what he has promised
him.” Genesis 18:19.
The
Altar of Prayer
Wherever Abraham
went, what was his practice?
“From there he
went on toward the hills east of
Bethel and pitched his tent, with
Bethel on the west and Ai on the
east. There he built an alter to the
Lord and called upon the name of the
Lord.” Genesis 12:8. (See also
Genesis 13:4; 21:33.)
What
instruction suggests the giving of
thanks for daily food?
“Give thanks
in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ
Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Note – As a rule,
children will reflect the life and
principles manifested in their
parents. The reason so many children
are irreverent, irreligious, and
disobedient today is that their
parents are so. Like parent like
child. If parents would see a
different state of things, they must
themselves reform. They must bring
God into their homes, and make His
Word their counselor and guide. They
must teach their children the fear of
God, and that His Word is the voice
of God addressed to them, and that it
is to be implicitly obeyed. “In
too may homes prayer is neglected. If
there ever was a time when every
household should be a house of
prayer, it is now. Fathers and
mothers should often lift up their
hearts to God in humble supplication
for themselves and their children.
Let the father, as priest of the
household, lay upon the alter of God
the morning and evening sacrifice,
while the wife and the children unite
in prayer and praise. In such a
household Jesus will love to
tarry.”
E.G. White, Patriarchs
and Prophets, p. 144.
