Worship is a Family Affair

Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame? (Jeremiah 7:17-19).

Jeremiah was God’s prophet in Israel at a time when there was a deep culture of rebellion in the nation. When you read the book of Jeremiah, you discover that, in addition to giving the prophet messages for the nation, God discusses with him His grievances. He shows Jeremiah exactly what offends Him in the nation of Israel. In this portion, He talks about their worship of idols. What is noteworthy for us as parents, is that He does not overlook the involvement of the children. When it comes to worship, children are not passive, they will participate in their parents’ actions.

When I was reading this scripture recently, the first image that came to my mind was my 2-year-old son, sitting on the kitchen floor, helping me roll out the dough to make chapatis. It is amazing the way he takes charge, reminding me, “Mommy you forgot the salt!” His little mind takes pride and ownership of the special project in ways that surprise me every single time. You see, it does not matter what a mother is doing, our little ones always want to come along and participate. This has challenged me to be mindful of my activities. As we make our personal choices every day, we are also making choices for them. It is up to us to decide if our children come along to worship the living God or to worship all our other idols.  

It is not difficult to know what your children are learning to worship. Which of your activities is your child well acquainted with? For some of us, it's mostly the junk activities and guilty pleasures; activities that require little effort from us but also do little to build us. For some of us, sadly, it is destructive habits,  things we really should have no business doing. 

The heart of a Christian mother should be set on leading her children to worship the Living God. As you teach them what to love and what to spend their time on, you also teach them what to worship.

Question for meditation: How can you alter your activities to make sure your child is a participant in worshipping God?

Let the little children come to me

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them (Mark 10:13).

I am attached to my child. Over the last eight and a half months, I have not been away from him for more than three hours and whenever possible I enjoy having him within sight or earshot. I know that in this economy, that is a blessing as a mother and one of the bright sides of having a child in Graduate school.

I love taking my boy to church, but the concept of Children's Church for his age still distresses me, so I go with him to the main sanctuary. From the moment I walk in, I can see a few wary looks on people’s faces as this woman sits next to them with a baby. The easiest way to become a persona non-grata in a church service is for your child to cry. If you are like me, you have come to recognize that look that says, “Get that noisemaker out of here,” and you have also come to master the apologetic smile as you plead with God in your heart to make the baby behave today. But should you feel guilty for bringing your baby with you to church?

The bible has some definitive things to say about orderly worship but not once does it mention children being a disruption. Could it be that there were no children in the worship services? Or were all the children in the early church perfect little angels? We all know that is not true. It is more likely that just like Jesus, they welcomed little children.

Jesus was perfectly comfortable with ministering in an environment where children were present and unimpeded. Instead of keeping them at bay and out of sight, he called them in, with arms open wide,  and blessed them. Every time you are tempted to feel hesitant or guilty, remember that this is the same Christ that welcomes your little child. To worship in the presence of Christ means to worship in an environment with occasional giggles, cries, and toddler footsteps. Our children do not demean Christ’s presence, in fact, this is where they become more and more like him. So, every Sunday, remember this wonderful invitation, let it fill you with joy and encouragement as you bring your children along with you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for welcoming my child into your presence.  May I always remember that your presence is home for my entire family, Amen.

More of Jesus, Less of Santa

You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance.  And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this observance?’ You shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses’ (Exodus 12: 24-27).

Throughout the scriptures, God puts an emphasis on remembrance. He established numerous festivals and special observances where the children of Israel, for all generations, would remember the great things He did for them. The Passover specifically is the commemoration of God sparing the Israelites and rescuing them from oppression in Egypt. The core purpose of these festivals was so that the nation of Israel would never forget the powerful hand of God.

 Remembrance is important for us as well today. In the Christian faith, the most notable celebrations we have are Christmas and Easter. These celebrations are great opportunities for us to share the gospel with our children. However, we live in a time when most of these celebrations have been highly commercialized and filled up with a lot of irrelevant noise.  It takes intentional effort to make sure our children understand their true meaning.  If we keep the celebrations centred on the message, they can be great tools to answer important questions about the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of our faith. Less of Santa, and more of Jesus.  For example,  instead of focusing all our time on the Christmas tree, focus on the nativity itself so that children may have an opportunity to ask relevant questions. Be intentional about creating learning opportunities about God’s love in sending His son Jesus Christ. 

Maybe as a parent, you are not quite sure how you can teach your kids about these celebrations, take the time to understand them yourself.  In 1 Peter 3:15, God instructs us to, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  I am always amazed by how many questions my child can ask in one day. When it came to the faith of the Israelites, God anticipated inquisitive children, because He created them to be inquisitive and He assigned parents the role of answering their questions. Be encouraged that we are not alone in this task. God has already provided the answers through his word. We grow alongside our children in our understanding of God as we invite Him to teach and expound Himself to us.  So take advantage of these wonderful seasons to learn for yourself and then pass these lessons along as you celebrate the seasons in your own creative ways.

Question:  Do your children know why you celebrate Christmas, Easter and any other special” days?  What can you do to make your children grow deeper in the understanding of God during those days or seasons?

Are they too young to worship?

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

When our children are born, all the experts encourage us to put them into one routine or another to set them up for life. Before our children can understand, we entrench them into these routines that we believe are necessary for them to function. We encourage them to say “please,” “thank you” and “sorry,” even when they have no real understanding of what they are saying when they are still merely imitating a parent’s syllables like, “peese” “kakyu” and “sowie” as my son used to say. We take them through these motions because we would like these things to become an instinctual part of their nature for their own good and society’s good.

Do we put in the same effort for their spiritual growth? Christian parents have a dual responsibility. We are our children’s biological parents as well as their spiritual ones. It is our responsibility to introduce them to our God. One of the ways we can do this is by incorporating it early on in our daily rhythms so that it becomes entrenched, just like we do for etiquette or personal hygiene.

Many parents wait until their children can understand or are able to follow some conversations. But there is a lot more that we can do to introduce them into the culture of people that worship God. When my son first watched a worship song on Youtube, he saw people in the video with their hands raised and so he stood up and raised his hands and swung from side to side. It was cute but I'm ashamed to admit that in my grown-up mind, I thought it was meaningless. I was so wrong! Toddlers learn more when their bodies are engaged, which is wonderful because our faith is embodied. When we bow our heads, fold our hands, kneel, raise our hands, clap our hands, and dance before the Lord, we are involving our bodies in worshipping our Father in heaven. Let us encourage our little children to join in these actions and participate in them as well.

 Let us capture their bodies while we wait for their minds to catch on. From a tender age, we can get their bodies acquainted with what they were created to do and have fun doing it as a bonus. Look out for the different bodily acts that grab their attention and harness them to teach the gospel and do it with a life-long perspective in mind. Proverbs 22: 26 says teach a child the way he should go and he shall remember it all his life. Toddlers and young children are primed for learning to express themselves with their bodies let us not miss the opportunity to harness this for the Lord.

Question: Are there things your children do at home or in church that seem meaningless to you? How can you harness them to teach them about worship?

They are always learning.

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it (Proverbs 22:6).

My mother has always been an early bird. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of her singing around the house as she did her chores. Very early on, she instilled in us the value of rising early. She always said the early morning hours were the perfect time to set the house in order and prepare for the rest of the day. Of course, as adolescents, it drove my siblings and me up the wall when we heard her calling us with specific instructions on chores to do early in the morning. So, it is not surprising that I am an early riser. I find I get a lot done in the very early hours of the day than in any other block of time.  I particularly appreciate my mother’s training in this season of my life as a stay home mother and wife with a young child. As an adult, I have not departed from the way my mother instructed me as a child. 

I love how the Benson Commentary explains the process of training. It says that training involves initiative, instructions, or direction for the child to follow. The objective is to direct them in a course/manner of life as a parent or guardian would want them to choose and follow as they lead their lives as adults. In the tenderness of childhood, at the beginning of their life,  they are more eager to receive and follow instructions. Usually, the impressions made on children remain with them unless something extraordinary happens that erases those impressions.

            Another important part of directing a child involves modelling the behaviour that you want to put across. Many of the things we catch on to or learn about are things we have watched others do. This is the case, especially for young children.  They are amazing at observing and learning what they see those around them do. I remember a time I was in a supermarket and my toddler saw another toddler eating her yoghurt using her finger. She picked up this messy behaviour from that small interaction even from a distance and it took a really long time to get her to use a spoon. Modelling the behaviour we want them to adapt is one of the most effective ways we can direct them. When our kids hear us using certain words, they pick them up, when they see us as parents doing certain things they will copy them. 

As parents, we can take intentional steps to model a life of prayer and worship for our children by involving them. When our children see us consistently praying, reading the bible, they observe and learn.

Think of your own unique expressions of worship that allow you to connect with God, and invite your children into that space. I love to journal and my toddler daughter has found me writing and she asks, “Mummy, what are you doing?” I always respond that I am writing a letter to God. So now each time she finds me writing she comments, “Mummy is writing to God.” She then proceeds to get her own paper and pen to write to Jesus. My hope and prayer is that these simple moments are paving the way for her to discover her own unique worship of God.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, as I imitate you and learn from you, may my little ones, imitate and learn a Godly example too. Amen.

Leaving a legacy of faith for generations

We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders. For He issued His laws to Jacob He gave His instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born--and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying his commands. ( Psalms 78:4-7).

I love great stories. (I wonder who does not). With each passing birthday, I particularly love hearing stories that reveal insights about my heritage, my grandparents, and their lives. One of my favourite stories as recounted by my mother many years ago is about our paternal grandfather whom she speaks so fondly about. He is the one who named my siblings and me. He gave me my maiden name, Muhimbise, which in our mother tongue, Rukiga,  means Praise the Lord.  What a fitting name because I love to praise God in song and dance. In this simple act of naming, my grandfather was telling me and the generations after me about praising God.

My grandfather loved Jesus. Every interaction I vividly remember of him is linked to his involvement with the local church in his home in Bwambara, Rukungiri  Kigezi, south-western Uganda.  Long after he went to be with his Lord, my siblings and I embraced his faith in God for ourselves as young adults. My grandfather prayed over us as young children. God continues to answer His prayers even when he is long gone. He passed on the baton of faith to us, and we shall pass it on to the next generation by speaking and living out the gospel to them in a simple but profound way. The greatest legacy any parent can give to their children is the opportunity to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord. The heart of Godly parenting is to lead our children to embrace their heavenly Father; the God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac. These are three generations each with amazing stories of God’s wonders and glory. God is and has always been interested in generations. Each of these patriarchs of our faith demonstrates to us the generational impact of one man’s faith in God.  God spoke to Abraham saying, “All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3). Your family and my family share in this blessing through faith in Jesus Christ and we have the incredible honour of passing it on to the next generation.

Our interactions with our children are always ripe with opportunities to share many stories with them. I love children's bible storybooks and I enjoy reading them to my toddler.  In these stories, she is exposed to the glorious deeds and wonders of the Lord. We can share the testimonies of God’s glorious deeds and wonders in our own lives with our children. Their witness of God’s tangible goodness in the family has a deep impact on their faith. Sometimes we hold back thinking our children are too young to get it, saying let us wait till they are older. stories can be as dramatic and imaginative as we want them to be. We can remove all the technicalities and just get our children to fall in love with who we love.

I have several journals in which I  document my journey of faith, prayer requests and answered prayers, testimonies, and simple letters I write to God.  I intend to pass them on to my children and grandchildren. It is so easy to forget the many things God does in our lives. Writing them preserves them.  One day, even when I am long gone from the earth, my prayer is that they will speak to whoever reads their contents pointing them to the hope and faith in God.

 Question: What are your favourite stories of faith? Does your child know these stories?

The Peace of God (Part 1)

All your children shall be taught by the Lord… (Isaiah 54:13).

The prophet Isaiah gives us insight into the future glory of Jerusalem upon its restoration to God’s favour. In Christ, we who accept Him are in the same way reconciled with God in the new covenant of blessing. We have the assurance of his presence that results in wholeness, blessing, peace and so much more. I do not take it for granted that in this prophetic word, God speaks about the children of His people. He says they shall be taught by the Lord Himself.  The bible tells us that the precious Holy Spirit is a teacher, guide, counsellor, and advocate. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26).

My father once told me there isn’t a Holy Spirit for babies and another for adults. It cracked me up seriously and yet it stayed with me. The Holy Spirit is as available for young children as He is for us, the adults. He is available to teach them, guide them, and counsel them. There are situations, questions, and issues they will encounter in this life that I as their mother, am not able to answer or give them all they need. But, the precious Holy Spirit is more than able, He is God. God Himself teaches them about the life He has carved out for them, with a much deeper understanding and knowledge of them than I have. If this does not lift the weight of worry and fear we usually have for our children, then I don't know what else can. Surrendering them to His tutelage is the best thing we can do for them.

The Holy Spirit is available to us as parents and guardians of the children entrusted to us. He is also available to them. We can ask Him to teach our children all things. He will teach them as He teaches us to be all we need to be for them. Sometimes, we shy away from talking to our children about the Godhead, rationalizing that they are too young to get it, but this is only a myth. Our children are ready to learn whatever we will interest them in learning. Have the conversations about the Godhead, about the roles of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Listening intently to their questions. I guess some of us don't have the confidence to delve deep into such discussions because we think we don't get it ourselves. I think this is an opportunity to search, grow and learn about the God of the bible remembering that even as we talk with them God himself will be teaching them in ways that we could never imagine.

The Peace of God (Part 1)

All your children shall be taught by the Lord… (Isaiah 54:13).

The prophet Isaiah gives us insight into the future glory of Jerusalem upon its restoration to God’s favour. In Christ, we who accept Him are in the same way reconciled with God in the new covenant of blessing. We have the assurance of his presence that results in wholeness, blessing, peace and so much more. I do not take it for granted that in this prophetic word, God speaks about the children of His people. He says they shall be taught by the Lord Himself.  The bible tells us that the precious Holy Spirit is a teacher, guide, counsellor, and advocate. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26).

My father once told me there isn’t one Holy Spirit for babies and another for adults. It cracked me up seriously and yet it stayed with me. The Holy Spirit is as available for young children as He is for us, the adults. He is available to teach them, guide them, and counsel them. There are situations, questions, and issues they will encounter in this life that I as their mother, am not able to answer or give them all they need. But, the precious Holy Spirit is more than able, He is God. God Himself teaches them about the life He has carved out for them, with a much deeper understanding and knowledge of them than I have. If this does not lift the weight of worry and fear we usually have for our children, then I don't know what else can. Surrendering them to His tutelage is the best thing we can do for them.

The Holy Spirit is available to us as parents and guardians of the children entrusted to us. He is also available to them. We can ask Him to teach our children all things. He will teach them as He teaches us to be all we need to be for them. Sometimes, we shy away from talking to our children about the Godhead, rationalizing that they are too young to get it, but this is only a myth. Our children are ready to learn whatever we will interest them in learning. Have the conversations about the Godhead, about the roles of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Listening intently to their questions. I guess some of us don't have the confidence to delve deep into such discussions because we think we don't get it ourselves. I think this is an opportunity to search, grow and learn about the God of the bible remembering that even as we talk with them God himself will be teaching them in ways that we could never imagine.

The Peace of God (Part 2)

...and great shall be their peace (Isaiah 54:13).

What a promise!  Peace found only in Jesus Christ the Prince of peace. In John 16:33, Jesus says to his disciples “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  Our children will need God's peace to navigate life here on this earth. No amount of shielding from evil will excuse them from experiencing the trials and sorrows of this world. Ensuring our children know and engage personally with the Holy Spirit will be a powerful way for them to experience this great promise of God's peace. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

One of the things that keep me up at night as a parent is when I think of the hardships of life; those I have experienced and those I have witnessed and how my child will one day face challenges of his own. After graduate school in America, my husband and I struggled with how we were going to relocate our children back to Uganda and how they were going to adapt to this new world. Would they be stressed, disoriented, traumatised? How much time and money could we afford to spend to make sure their transition was as smooth as possible? While we were worrying ourselves into a frenzy, God stepped in and reminded us of his peace. These were His children and He would give them the peace of mind to make the adjustment. In that miraculous moment when we finally let go of the paralysis of fear, we were filled with hope. 

God understands that at the heart of every parent's concerns is not the question “What will become of me?” but rather, “what will become of my children?” Before God makes the promise to children in Isaiah 54:13, He makes another incredible promise in verse 10. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.  The whole of creation may fail around us but His covenant of peace will not. He has promised great peace for them. So next time you find yourself anxious or worried about how your children will navigate the storms of this life, remember this immovable covenant made by God; Great shall be their peace.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your promise of peace. Teach me to hold on to your promises and may these promises come true for my children as well, Amen.

Discipling our Children

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20)

The call for every Christian is to go and make disciples.  To put this simply to teach people the way of Christ and guide them as they become more and more Christlike. Sometimes, in going about the everyday life of parenting, the whole essence of discipleship is lost

It may not be at the forefront of what we do daily in attending to our children and families but this discipleship is a vital part of our role. In Christianity, a disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. I think it makes all the difference when we come to the realization that our homes and families are the greatest discipleship grounds. Our homes are safe spaces where we can really influence our children to choose and walk in the way of Christ. We know our children intimately and with God's help, we are able to guide them towards seeking Him and as God’s promise was true to Israel it will be true for our children. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13), ”

Keeping the perspective that we are raising disciples of Jesus is a game-changer. It drives us beyond merely raising human beings or citizens or professionals. It encourages us to place our children into the context of the kingdom of God because the one who called us has called them too.  our prayer is that we make sure that these little disciples are fruitful and have an impact right from their childhood, through their youth and eventually as adults. Do consider some of these practical activities in this process of discipleship as you get started. We encourage you to grow the list as much as you can.

Teach Short and meaningful prayers

1. The Lord's prayer
2. The Grace
3. Short Psalms: 23, 121, 127
4. Write your own family prayers
5. Short hymns can be sung as prayers: for example,  Jesus loves me this I know.

 Fun activities at home:

1. Acting out Bible stories.
2. Writing out their own prayers.
3. Composing their own Psalms.
4. Keeping gratitude journals.
5. Saving up to give to the work of the Lord.

Thought: What can I do in my home to facilitate the discipleship of my children in the ways of Christ?