Raising Godly Children

A UNITED FAMILY

We started this year on the journey of taking territories, and we have been equipping our families with the requirements for taking territories as God instructed the Israelites in Joshua chapter 1.

We have discussed strength, courage, and obedience. We are taking further steps to consider another important requirement- UNITY.

We have established that territories are not just given, they are taken forcefully, and when an army goes to war, one important requirement for victory is unity: everyone working together and playing their part to achieve a common goal. Can two walk together except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

Where there is no unity, soldiers break ranks and make formation and tactics ineffective, giving the enemy a weak point to invade. A house that is divided against itself shall not stand Matt 12:25

Our common enemy, the devil, understands the importance of unity, that is why one of his strategy is to sow discord or disunity amongst brethren. John 10:10a

Activity 1: Discuss the importance of unity and the devil’s attempt to cause disunity using examples from Jesus’ disciples Luke 9:46, Luke 22:24 and the early church Acts 6:1-2.

The devil knows that a united family under God can achieve anything they set their heart to achieve. Tower of Babel Gen 11:5-6, Nehemiah and the building Neh 4:6, the early church Acts 5:12-14. Our Master Jesus confirmed this:

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matt 18:19-20

So as a family, for us to take territories, we need to add unity to our strength, courage and obedience, and according to scripture we should be united spirit, soul and body.

UNITY OF THE SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY

Unity of spirit Eph 3:3-6: This means unity in our belief in God through Jesus Christ as well as doctrines, teachings, devotions to God and hope of eternity. The devil most times attacks this and makes the church/ family disagree in this aspect, and if he succeed in doing this, he limits what we can achieve. Remember John 10:10.

Unity of soul Acts 4:32-33, Acts 5:12-14: This reflects what we think and how we interact with the rest of our family members, what our core values are, and to what extent we are willing to go to ensure that this is in line with Christlike virtues.

Unity of body 1Cor12:12,26: Although this scripture is an analogy about the body of Christ, the use of the human body parts being different but member of one body, with each part working for the benefit of the whole body and looking out for the interest of the other parts explains the unity of the body. Each member of the family using their own talents, giftings, knowledge for the benefit of the whole family and avoiding anything that will put the family at a disadvantage.

Activity 2: Each member of the family to take turns and discuss their talents and gifts and how they can use it to foster unity in the family 1Cor12:15-26.

For instance, if one child can play the keyboard and another can play the drums, they can play both instruments together during family worship to make it more awesome.

If one child knows how to do paper craft and the other knows how to draw and make designs, they can work together sometimes to produce more beautiful crafts instead of saying ‘don’t touch my thing.’

Share in the comment section other ways of fostering unity in the family.

*If there is no unity in the army, they cannot win a battle, if there is no unity in the family, we cannot take territories.

# To strength, courage and obedience; add unity.

Obedience PART 2

In this post we will go a step further to discuss how to live in obedience to God’s word always. Remember from our last family bible time that apart from strength and courage, obedience is also an important requirement in taking territories according to Josh 1:6-7.

Talking about obedience, Paul said that the things he wanted to do, he struggles to actually do. Rom7:19

This implies that knowing the right thing to do is a step towards obedience, but having the will to do the right thing is another essential step. Sometimes we know what to do but we are not doing it because the will of God has not taken over our will. James1:22

For God’s will to take over our will, His word (which is His will) must not just be in our mouth and brains, but must settle in our heart, only then can it affect us outwardly.Prov4:20-23, Psalm119:11. Let’s call this “spiritual food digestion”.

So, lets look at the process of spiritual food digestion and compare with physical food digestion..

When we read the word of God it gives us knowledge. It tells us what to do. This is like placing food in our mouth. When we read the word over and over again and memorize it, meditate (think) on it; this process gets the word into our heart. It is only when the word gets into our heart that it can transform us and influence our will.

As physical food is to the body, so is the word of God to our Spirit. Our physical body will benefit from the food we eat when digestion has taken place and our digestive system has absorbed the nutrients in our food.

Similarly, the spiritual food (word of God) will only transform our heart when we have digested it and ensure that the word of God is written on our heart.

Activity 1: Get a picture of the digestive system showing the processes involved in the digestion and absorption of food. Explain to your child how we can digest and absorb spiritual nutrients from God’s word.

Digestion process	Physical food	Spiritual food
Starting point	Place the food in the mouth	Read the bible
	Chew the food	Read a selected verse over and over again. Memorize it.
	Swallow the food–> stomach–> intestines	Think on the verse with the help of the Holy Spirit. Absorb the word into your heart.
	Nutrients are absorbed and circulated to the system in the body in a form that is useful	The word of God in your heart is expressed in your emotion, how you feel and behave. It comes up in your thought and it influences your will.
End point	The body is nourished	The spirit is nourished. The heart is transformed ready to do God’s will

For example, Phi 4:4 says Rejoice in the Lord always;again, I say rejoice.

Step 1: Read it repeatedly and memorize it.

Step 2: Think on the key words-‘rejoice’, ‘the Lord’, ‘again.’ By the help of the Holy Spirit and discussing the verse together as a family, you understand what the word says more and more. Your joy is in the Lord, not in happenings around you, and you have joy always.

This word will come up in your thought during the day/night, it will remind you to be joyful always as your joy is in the Lord and the Lord doesn’t disappear, He’s forever alive and present with us, so our joy and rejoicing is continual.

This word will therefore be expressed in your emotion-you will feel joyful always, sadness cannot persist, you will express a joyful mood towards people around you always. Even when you feel offended or unhappy, this verse in your heart will bring you back to a state of rejoicing.

The word will influence your will. You will choose to rejoice always.

Activity 2: Now it is your turn to pick a verse and try out the steps highlighted above.

*Heart check: If the verse is in your heart, it will come up in your thought, your feelings and your choices will be guided by that verse.

Activity 3: Be intentional about engraving the scriptures on your heart and that of your child. Ps 119:24, Deut6:6-9

⁶These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷Impress 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. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Your child may find it interesting to create their own scripture boards. Print or write scriptures on A4 paper and design it as you like. Then agree on where you would place them in your home-rooms, hallway, landing area etc.

You can place the paper on canvas to make it more beautiful and stick it on your wall with command strips to avoid damaging the walls or you can buy ready made scripture boards.

Family circle: Pray that the Lord will help every member of your family to hide God’s word in their hearts in Jesus name. Amen.

An obedient family

An obedient family Joshua 1:6-7

We have discussed two important keys to possessing territories: “Be strong”, ”Be courageous”. This Family Bible Time Post will focus on another essential key: “Obedience”.

In our anchor passage Joshua 1:7, the Lord instructed Joshua to be strong, courageous and obey. If we want to take territories like Joshua, we ought to be obedient too.

I want to highlight the importance of ongoing obedience, as this was something the Israelites failed to uphold. They did not convey the commandments of the Lord or the wondrous acts of God to succeeding generations.

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Judg 2:10.

What is truly astonishing is how quickly the Israelites forgot God’s acts and His commandments. Whenever a judge who knew, obeyed, and served God arose, the Israelites would win battles and find peace. However, upon the death of the judge, they would revert to their sinful ways.

This post is a call to ensure that you obey God as an individual and also instruct your children to obey God and pass it on. This is a major key to ensure that your generation is established in the land that the Lord gives you for an inheritance (An inheritance or territory may be a physical space or a domain of influence- refer to previous post, “Be strong and Courageous”).

Activity 1: Take some minutes to think about any act of disobedience as a person or as a family and repent before God truly.

Do not pretend to be completely obedient, allow the Holy Spirit to search your hearts. Ps 139:23-24. This is an opportunity for cleansing, renewal of heart and restoration.

What should we obey:

-Commandments in the bible: 2^nd Tim 3:16-17

-Specific instructions to each family member or to your family generally. Ps32:8

Remember, the disobedience of one person can lead to punishment for the whole family. For instance, Achan took for himself some of the spoil of war and brought destruction upon the entire congregation Josh 7:1; the Israelites continued to marry from foreigners and these women turned their hearts to idols 1Kg 11:2. They also desired to have a physical image to represent God like other pagan worshippers did for their gods despite God’s commandment against graven images. Judges 17

How does this apply to us today?

-If we fail to obey the instructions attached to the covenant of wealth such as tithing, then we will not receive the blessings God promised. Mal 3:10, Deu 8:18.

-If your child chooses an unbeliever friend, they will learn bad habits, desire ungodly things; and eventually bring corruption into the home 1cor 15:33.

-God commands us to fellowship with Him personally and as a family (Josh 24:15, Jer 29:13) If we fail to serve God wholeheartedly, we will miss direction and guidance. The entire family will suffer for it.

-When disobedience and disrespect thrives in a family, it causes disunity. A home that is not united can not possess territories. Mark 3:25

Refer to previous post on gates and walls.

Activity 2: Discuss examples of people in the bible who obeyed God partially or totally and see what reward they received e.g

Moses Num 20:12

Samson Judges 16:17

Saul 1^st Sam 15:15

The three wise men Matt 2:12

Naaman 2^nd King 5:10

Key messages:

Obedience must be prompt, complete and willing.
It is not enough for parents to be doing what is right, you must ensure your children are instructed to do what is right too.

Prayer:

Father, we ask that you break the yoke of disobedience and rebellion in our lives. Help us to obey all your commandments willingly in Jesus name.

A COURAGEOUS FAMILY

In our last Family Bible Time, we continued our territory conquering adventure, exploring the keys to building a strong and united family. We shall be talking about ‘a courageous family’ within the next two weeks.

In the blog post ‘Be strong and courageous’, we differentiated between being strong and being courageous, these two words are important as God emphasized them thrice while commissioning Joshua. Josh1:6,7&9.

Activity 1: Differentiate between strength and courage with biblical examples

Courage is what you use when you seem to be facing a bigger opposition , when it look like the odds are not in your favour, when it looks like the territory is impossible to possess.

God instructed/commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous to take the land promised (Vs6), obey His commands (Vs7) and to confront any opposition (Vs9)

Refer to the previous post ‘be strong and courageous’ to see biblical examples of demonstration of strength and courage.

Activity 2: Every member of the family is to recount an instance where they demonstrated courage, or an area of their life where they think they need to display courage.

Courage is the decision to proceed despite discouragement or fear. It is usually not based on our ability or strength, it is reliant on a greater force, power or help. Courage kicks in when strength seems insufficient. Below are examples of what we can rely on as the basis of our courage.

Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8, John14:16 (Amp)
God’s promises Josh1:9, Matt28:20
Past victories Josh1:5, 1Sam17:36-37
Strong fellowship (with God and godly family) Matt19:26, John15:7, Josh1:16-18

Activity 3: Discuss how each of these can be deployed to build courage.

Family circle:

Pray for each family member to gain courage, specifically in the areas identified during the discussion of Activity 2.

Pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to gain courage as a family to take territories this year.

A STRONG FAMILY

Last family bible time, we talked about being strong and courageous as a requirement for taking territories as God will have us do this year. Hope you had a productive discussion. This week, we will take a deeper dive focusing on ‘strength’.

God told Joshua to be strong and courageous as he embarks on taking territories Josh1:6-7,9, it is therefore important for us to consider what it means to be strong and how to build a strong family so we can take territories as a family. Joshua had this in mind when he said “as for me and my household…” Josh24:15b

Our text compares two men who built their house but in different ways, and they experienced different outcomes when faced with similar things Luke6:47-49

Activity 1: Discuss using the parable and the meaning, what differentiates the two men.

How strong a structure is depends mostly on what it is standing on, and the true test of strength is opposition and challenges Prov 24:10. Territories are taken, not given, and it requires strength to do so. The Israelites had to fight wars to take many lands, so it is with spiritual and physical territories Eph6:10-12

A strong family according to our text is the one that is built on God’s word and principles, it is strength from God’s principles that helps to stand strong in the face of storms. Storms will come, even Jesus experienced it; Paul also, but the solid foundation in God made them stand. MK 4:35-41, Acts 27:23-25.

How is a strong family built? Some pillars are listed below. You can add more pillars in the comment section below.

-The word of God; (reading, studying, meditating and taking action) Luke6:47-48, Dan11:32b, Josh 1:8

-Unity Ecc4:12 (how do you ensure unity as a family?)

-Love (see family bible time titled ‘Love in the family’) 1Cor16:13-14

-Waiting on God Isa 40:31 (how do you wait on God as a family? For example, scheduled fasting, family retreat)

Activity 2: Discuss each of these foundation pillars of a strong family and how your family can adopt or improve on them

Remember strength is not built by accident, it is intentional, and a family is as strong as the weakest member. Make up your mind to intentionally build strength as a family in 2025 so you can continue to take territories for God this year.

Activity 3: Each member of the Family should stand and face the rest of the family and say “I will do my part to contribute to making our family strong, I will not be a weak link”

Next Family bible time, we shall be talking about “A Courageous Family”

God bless you.

Be strong and courageous Josh 1:9

This year, the Lord is calling us to take more territories as families. There are various domains that need to be re-possessed for God. For example: education, family, government, lands and natural resources.

This post will focus on one of the essential requirements for overcoming and possessing territories-strength and courage- and serves as a guide to steer conversation on the topic.

In your family bible time, please explain the following to your children:

What does it mean to be strong and courageous?
Biblical examples of strong and courageous people and what territories they dominated
What is the importance of courage in gaining territories?

Strong means being able to withstand force, pressure or wear. Strength can be physical, spiritual, mental or financial. Strength says I have power to do it, I will go ahead.

Courage is synonymous to bravery. Courage says I will proceed in the midst of fear, doubt or opposition, by the help of God.

Activity 1: Discuss amongst yourself how strength can be developed e.g Spiritual-consistent prayer and bible study (Jos 1:8); Physical-regular exercise, balanced diet (1Tim 4:8); Mental- identity discovery in God (Jer 1:5); Financial-savings (Pr 6:6).

Discuss among yourself what it takes to be courageous. For instance, access to God’s voice (Josh 1:9), faith in God (Dan 3:16-18).

Some biblical examples:

Joshua and Caleb demonstrated courage when they gave a good report about Canaan despite seeing the giants. They were not afraid like the other spies and later on Joshua was assigned to lead the Israelites to possess Cannan. At age 80, Caleb said , give me this mountain…(Josh 14:12). Joshua and Caleb possessed many lands with the children of Israel.

Daniel was strong because of his faith in God. Dan 11:32b. He had no fear Dan 6:10. As a result, he continued to prosper in the governing council in Babylon for many generations. Daniel dominated in government in a strange country.

Activity 2: Discuss other examples-how they demonstrated strength and or courage; and what territories did they conquer?

(some answers: Samson; Gideon’s army, David and his men, three Hebrew boys, Jesus going to the cross)

Please share any other answers with other families by leaving a comment at the end of this page.

Activity 3: As you discuss the biblical examples, point out the importance of courage.

For example, Moses was not killed because his mother (Jochebed) was courageous (Ex 2:3)

Reflection:

It is time to apply what you have been discussing to your family context.

Are you slacking in taking actions to dominate your sphere of influence because of fear? For example, you know that God wants to use you to amend certain policies in your workplace, be courageous and take responsibility. When next an opportunity comes to be part of a committee, go for it.

If your child is showing interest in leadership, encourage them to apply for a position on the school council when next there’s an opportunity to do so.

Conclusion: Think about the biblical examples and be determined to take giant steps this year. Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid!

Family circle: Identify areas you have been discouraged in the past or projects you have abandoned because of fear or opposition and mention them in prayers.

Father, we believe in the word and your almightiness. We step out this year with faith and courage to take more territories for you in Jesus name.

Family memorials

Celebrating the help of God

As we approach the end of the year 2024, it is time to count our blessings and celebrate the faithfulness of God this year and indeed our whole life time.

This post is about showing our children how to acknowledge the help of God and build memorials around it individually or collectively as a family.

Every passing moment, the Israelites enjoyed God’s goodness-breath of life, daily meals, shelter etc. God specifically instructed them to build memorials around certain events as a way of passing on to the next generation the acts and almightiness of God.

Similarly, it is important that apart from giving thanks to God all the time, we should consciously build family memorials that will be passed from generation to generation to remind our descendants of God’s doings. In the face of technological advancements and consistent quest of man for self-dependence, it is important that we intentionally communicate to our children and even other people around us what God has done.

Here are a few scriptural examples:

The Israelites crossed Jordan river on dry ground and erected memorial stones.

That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” Josh 4:6-7

2. The remembrance of the Passover: this was commanded to commemorate the exit of the Israelites from Egypt.

And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘ This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt. It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord ’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. Ex 13:8-9

3. Ebenezer-The stone of help to commemorate the victory of Israelites over the philistines.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”1Sam 7:12

4. David’s kills Goliath: David remembered the memorial he had established in his heart after killing the bear and the Lion and used it to build faith to defeat Goliath.

Moreover David said, “The Lord , who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” I Samuel 17:37

5. Communion: Jesus instituted the communion and commands that we do it in His remembrance.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19

Activity 1:

As a family, try to make a list of moments or situations where you experienced the help of God.

How to build memorials:

-Be intentional: Take notes, keep records, and set time to intentionally re-visit those memorials, choose not to forget little wins, big wins, little helps, big helps, unexpected positive turns. Psalm 103 is a good stating point, use each of those benefits to form your own memorials.

Bless the Lord , O my soul, And forget not all His benefits Psalms 103:2

-Be Creative: God instructed the use of physical things like stones or feasts/ actions,/fastings/sacrifices to build memorials, People like David built his in his heart.

You can choose special meals for some specific events in your life while remembering the acts of God behind those events. You could pick souvenirs from your next holiday, thanking God for something specific about the holiday, or write special notes to your loved ones, appreciating God for something specific in their life, create a photo album either soft or hard copy, sing songs and record yourself, recreate short bible stories and act it within the family.

You could have a family relocation thanksgiving day (some families never return to their home country). A day like this will remind the coming generation that the relocation was instructed by God for a divine purpose.

-Re-visit the memorials: This reminds you of how powerful God is, and reassures us that He is still able to do much more. Jacob came back to Bethel, Paul re-visited the churches, David re-visited his encounters with the bear and Lion.

Watch your wedding videos again, or your children’s naming ceremony, watch it together with them, tell them stories, take them to some places that means much to you, tell them the stories behind it. My family eats roasted plantain and groundnut as evening snack most Sundays and we hold important conversations; I am sure they will tell their children about the meal and the life lessons.

Activity 2: This is where you all need to put on your creativity hats. You can leave a comment to share your memorials and their significance with other families.

Use the rest of the year to intentionally build new memorials, recollect old ones and re-visit them.

Family circle: Give thanks to God generously for all His goodness. Pray for the grace not to forget His benefits and to consciously pass the stories on from generation to generation.

The love of the father

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jn 3:16

This post is to remind us about the love of the father and how we should respond to it.

How does God show us His love?

Sacrifice-God gave His only begotten son to die for our sins and reconcile mankind to God. What a great sacrifice of love! Jn 3:16

Intercession- God the son didn’t leave us as orphans. He sent us the Holy Spirit to be with us forever as a Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby Jn 14:26-27

Abiding presence- God promises us His abiding presence “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:20b

Activity one: list other ways by which God demonstrates His love to us

How should we respond to the love of God?

1)Receive it with thanks: We did nothing to merit His love and sacrifice of His dear son. Just simply receive God’s love thankfully.

2a)Keep his commandments- “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” Jn 14:15 2b)love in action and in truth 1Jn 3:18

Obeying God’s commandment demonstrates our love for God. Let your obedience be from your heart. Explain this to your children with examples-It is possible for a child to run an errand grudgingly. Indeed the action has been performed but it wasn’t done happily. Similarly, our obedience to God must be accompanied by willingness and rooted in love for God.

3) Love others as God loved us: Just as we didn’t do anything to qualify for the love of the father, we should not demand that people do something to merit our love for them. Simply love others with the Godly love you received freely.

Activity two:

Ask each child to write I Cor 13 substituting the word ‘love’ with his or her name e.g Esther is kind; Philip does not envy …. Etc

They can paste it somewhere as a reminder.

Reflection:

Pause to think about this-God loves me even when I don’t deserve it; I will do the same to myself and other people.

Family circle: Father, as we behold your word daily, we pray that we shall be changed to conform to your divine nature-love divine in Jesus name.

Family dedicated to God through worship

Family dedicated to God through worship Rev 4:11

Worship means to honour something above everything else.

(Explain further to the children that anyone or anything can become an object of worship, taking the place of God, if we think of it as being the most important thing at any given time)

Activity 1: Ask each family member to make a list of important people/important things in your life. Then draw a circle around the most important people/person or things.

Discussion 1: Have a discussion about whether it is possible to think of God as most important every moment since we have to go to school or work and focus on other activities.

At this point, explain to the children that firstly, worship is not just a physical exercise, our heavenly father wants us to worship in Spirit and in truth Jn 4:24.

Secondly, even our day to day activities can bring honour to God if we do excellently and our work is praised by others. For example, if you do well in a subject or sports and you get a prize, the people around you think they are praising you, but as a worshipper who knows that God must be honoured above everything else always, you should return the praise to God in your Spirit. This can be done on the spot as we can talk to God everywhere.

In addition, even when we do not get a sticker reward or prize, as long as we do our daily activities (school/work, play, eating, caring for others etc) as unto the Lord, we are bringing honour to our God Col 3:23. This is an act of worship to Him Rev 4:11

How should we worship? Jn 4:24

Activity 2: Ask your children to mention ways of worshipping (take note of whether they mention what you just discussed)

Their list is likely to include: singing, playing instruments, dancing.

Emphasize what you just learnt that worship is not limited to the list above. It includes any act that brings glory to God.

Activity 3: Make a plan of how to teach your children to sing, dance, encourage them to play instruments especially if you have noticed they are gifted in this area.

Suggestions:

Karaoke

Create a play list for family dance

Plan to learn some choruses, hymns and psalms together as a family

Plan a summer worship concert. You can invite friends, if possible.

Benefits of worship

We are created to worship God rather than worship God because we want to get Him to meet our needs. However, worship is immensely beneficial to us.

Worship attracts God’s divine presence and if we worship permanently, then we become carriers of God’s presence all the time.
In God’s presence we find rest, joy and pleasures Ps 16:11

*We need to intentionally teach this generation to reference God in worship; to worship in Spirit and in truth, not just by lip movement or listening to a song absent mindedly.

Reflection:

Why do I have to worship God always?

How does God want us to worship him?

How many songs or hymns can I sing in a row?

Family circle: Pray that God will baptize you afresh with the Spirit of worship.

ARROWS AND ARCHERS (Part 2)

You are welcome to another family bible time. This is a continuation of the last topic arrows and archers. The aim of this post is to examine challenges against arrows and how to overcome them using bible characters.

It is important that the first part of this study be done before this. Click here

Activity 1– do a quick recap of part 1 of this series, ask the children what is required of them as arrows.

Many stories from the bible reflects how the devil uses all sort of means to oppose and corrupt whatever God intends John 10:10-11. He started with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1-7), continued all through old testament into the New testament tempting our Master Jesus Christ in order to derail him Matt 4:1-11.

The devil has not stopped, he continues to throw challenges to attack God’s intentions, and this includes the purposeful arrows that God has given us Ps 34:19. The bible advised that we should not be ignorant of the vices of the devil, so we will look at some stories in the bible. We will identify the challenges thrown at some arrows fashioned by God and learn to avoid falling prey 2^nd Cor 2:11.

Joseph the 11^thson of Jacob was indeed an arrow, purposed by God for greater things, but the devil did not spare him Gen 49:22-23. His challenges include:

Household challenges: Joseph was obviously his father’s favourite and this was not hidden, this became a tool in devil’s hand, and it created strife among his brethren- favoritism and sibling rivalry. Gen 37:3

Activity 2: if you have more than a child, find out if any of them feel that they are not the favourite, explore reasons why and attempt to set things straight. Also ask the children if they have favourite amongst the parents—attempt to make them understand that any act of love is coming from both parents and one should not be favoured above the other. Make necessary amendments.

Isolation: Joseph was sold into a strange land Gen 37:28. One of the devil’s tool is to isolate and tempt (similar with Jesus, David, Eve)
Temptation: Temptation comes in various forms, and what is a temptation to one child might not be a problem to another. In Joseph’s case, he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife to engage in immorality Gen 39: 7-10. Arrange one to one time with each of your children and identify their struggles/weakness and offer support. It may be a habit or a behavior.
Unjust treatment: Joseph went to prison for wrong accusation, this was an attempt by the devil to discourage him Gen 39:20. The bible records the possibility of this happening and how believers should respond James 1:2-4.

Activity 3: Discuss similar real life situations when you experienced challenges and how God helped you. Explore similar situations in the lives of the children, if applicable.

For instance, children can feel isolated when all their class mates are having a discussion about something ungodly and they choose not to join others. Parents should praise and encourage them to keep doing what is right.

Further reading: Read through the life of David from when he was first mentioned in the bible till when he was anointed king (or any other bible character) and identify similar challenges under the headings mentioned above.

How to live in continuous victory over battles against arrows:

Maintain your role as partners with God. You are a partner, not the owner. Always ask God for further instructions to guide the arrows in your care, keep them sharp and focused. Refer to previous post for scriptural examples.
Support your child to establish a growing relationship with God through worship, bible study and effective communication with God (prayer). Refer to helpful resources from previous posts.

Reflection:

Do you know your role as an arrow?

Do you understand that there is a battle against all arrows?

Do you know what steps to take to win the battle against arrows and remain a conqueror?

Family circle: Take turns to pray for each arrow asking God to help them overcome any challenges that have been identified.