Deuteronomy 6 is one of the Mount Everest passages in the Bible, especially for the family.  Each of us should review it often and continually aspire to live its principles.  One of the “mountain peak” truths found here is that we are to fervently teach our children the Bible.

“These words which I command thee shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children” is how Moses states it in verses 6-7.

Verse 6 reminds us that the Bible has to be real in our lives before it can be real in our children’s lives.  We have to “hide” God’s word in our own hearts before we can every plant God’s Word in our children’s hearts.  We should daily be in the Bible.  You don’t have to be legalistic about it. You don’t have to set a hard goal and read for an hour each day or read 10 chapters each day or even read the Bible through in a year.  There is certainly nothing wrong with any of these, but they aren’t necessarily needed for you to learn the Bible and live it in your own life.  Spend some time daily in the Bible. If one verse captures your heart take that verse with you and meditate on it throughout your day.  Memorize it.  Remember that Joshua, when faced with the task of replacing Moses and leading an entire nation into the promised land, was simply told to “meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein” (Joshua 1:8).

See, any of us can follow this pattern.  Learning the truths of God’s Word, thinking on the truths of God’s word, and living the truths of God’s word will change your life.  

Verse 6 further reminds us that the Word of God is to be in our “hearts.”  That is an old but familiar word and carries the idea that the Word of God is to govern our mind, our emotions, and our decisions.  We are to think the Word of God.  We are to allow the Word of God to control all our emotions (anger, depression, insecurities, discouragements, worry, and so forth). We are to make all of our decisions based on the truth of God’s Word.  That is a great way to live and always brings God’s blessings in a life!

Verse 7 then teaches us how we are to take God’s Word and plant it into our children’s lives. We are to do it diligently. It will take daily and weekly and monthly and yearly effort.  It never stops.  We have to look for opportunities.  We have to plan opportunities. We have to be faithful in planting His word into their hearts so they too can have God’s blessings in their lives.  I love how Moses told us to do it!  He gave four suggestions:

He said that all we have to do is talk about God’s Word when our children are going to bed.  You can do that.  My kids go to be every night (I assume yours do too) so I can read a passage to them or memorize a verse with them or talk about something I learned in my own devotions that day.  

He said that all we have to do is talk about God’s Word when they get out of bed.  You can do that too.  Text a verse to your children.  Play a Bible reading app on your phone (there are some great apps that do that beautifully). Choose a verse each week to say each morning when your kids awaken! 

Moses also said to talk about the Bible when you are sitting in your house. Do you watch TV? Then talk about the Bible.  What do you do when beer commercials are aired? Just gently remind them of the Bible.  “Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”  What do you do when the immodest cheerleaders are shown during a football game? You simply talk about the Bible. We use Job 31:1 and call it “dialing 3-1-1!” “I have made a covenant with my eyes,” Job says, “so why then should I think improperly?”  TV and movies provide endless opportunities to teach while you are sitting in your house.  

Moses also said to talk about the Bible when you are walking through life.  Ever go to the mall? You will see people dressed inappropriately and you will see inappropriate advertisements and you will have a great opportunity just to talk about the Bible.  Ever see billboards?  You can do a lot of teaching there too.  Every hear someone cuss?  We can do some more teaching.  Ever witness someone being rude? Or being a brat? Or losing their temper?  If you will teach God’s word in each situation, your kids will grow to follow Bible truth all the days of their life.

 You know what the result will be? God will bless you and your children and your grandchildren.  God will bestow His favor on you and your family.  God’s Word provides us with everything we need to face the issues of life and to handle them with grace and wisdom.  And when we do, we not only enjoy his favor and blessing, we find that life is worth living!

And that is what I want for me and my family.

Thanks for reading.

Your sincere friend,

Dave Young