Clothing Our Children Poll #1 ?

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

This is a companion poll for the thread "Clothing Our Children" in this area of the board. Please give your vote for the poll here, but explain your reasoning for the answer in the "Clothing Our Children" thread.

The question, "When should we tell our children about JESUS"?, is a very important first step for Christian parents to decide. The same answer might apply to many other things like, "When do we start reading Bible Stories to our children?"

[Faithin1]

I personally feel as a Christian it is my responsibility to give my child a good foundation on which to build his life.  That is only possible through Jesus Christ.    I dedicated my son to the Lord while he was still in my womb, and I know it has made a difference.  I was raised a Christian from birth, and although I have made my share of mistakes and have sinned, I never forgot the teachings of the Bible.  Consequently, as a child, I did not allow peer pressure to dictate my behavior.  I can vividly recall instances during my childhood where the Holy Spirit convicted me and prevented me from following the crowd.  I really don't believe I would have had those experiences had my mother not given me a foundation in the Lord.  The Bible tells us that if we train our children in the way of the Lord, when they are grown, they will not depart from it.   I can personally attest to that.

[airIam2worship]

We as parents are instructed in the Bible to teach our children in Deut. 6:7
It tells us to teach our children when we sit, when we walk by the way, when we lie down. It tells us to teach it diligently to our children.

[Faithin1]

Amen!  If we don't teach them, the devil will.

[nChrist]

Amen Sisters,

I was completely spoiled by the riches of Christ for my entire life, and I give thanks every day for Godly parents who spent their entire lives teaching me about the things of the LORD. My dear and sweet Mother is still with me, and she is still teaching me. Nothing in this life is as important as sharing the riches of CHRIST with our children.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 139:13-14 NASB  For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

[Soldier4Christ]

And the devil is having a hey day of it in our public schools in doing just that. With the legislation being passed by our government, our court systems ruling against Christians and parents in general and the promotion of garbage by supposed role models in hollywood it is getting to be a tougher job to raise our children in a Godly manner. We as Christians must take this fight in hand and do all we can in a Christ-like manner against these evils.

Amen Sisters,

I was completely spoiled by the riches of Christ for my entire life, and I give thanks every day for Godly parents who spent their entire lives teaching me about the things of the LORD. My dear and sweet Mother is still with me, and she is still teaching me. Nothing in this life is as important as sharing the riches of CHRIST with our children.

Another really big AMEN!

[Allinall]

Personally, I said long before they're able to talk.  Why?  Because our lives should be speaking volumes long before our words ever do.  And our words should only bolster what our lives have already shown to be true.  Just a thought.   

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen!

[nChrist]

Amen Brothers and Sisters!

I'm convinced that our children learn many things and pick up many things long before they are able to talk. I also know that they feel and sense many things when they are tiny, LOVE being one of the major things that they sense. I wouldn't know how to put an age on LOVE, but I honestly believe that they know and feel many things when they are tiny babies. It should be obvious to most parents that hugging them, singing to them, talking gently to them, and showing them other signs of LOVE are never wasted. I think that we might all be surprised to find out how much they really feel and understand when they are tiny. They really are like little sponges, soaking up much of what is going on around them. I think that they learn at an incredible rate, so nothing that we do in kindness and LOVE is ever wasted, regardless of how tiny they are. So, why not start singing "JESUS Loves Me" and other little songs to them when they are tiny? When do we start giving them milk and feeding them?

Love In Christ,
Tom

Matthew 6:19-21 NASB  "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[Faithin1]

It reminds me of an old experiment conducted on a group of baby monkeys.  They placed a baby bottle containing milk in the hands of a "wire surrogate mother" monkey, and nothing in the hands of a soft "terrycloth surrogate mother" monkey.  The baby monkeys would go to the wire monkey for milk, then immediately go to the terrycloth monkey and cuddle with it until they were again hungry.

[nChrist]

Hello Faithin1,

This is really an excellent example. I would only note that our children are smarter and learn faster. I think that we would all be shocked and amazed to find out what they really feel and understand when they are tiny. They also feel and understand rough treatment and yelling much more than we will probably ever know or understand. They are simply tiny human beings who are desperate for LOVE and kind treatment. Thankfully, most of our children have loving parents and get what they really need.

Sadly, as a career police officer, I saw many children who didn't get love and kind treatment. I saw many horrible things that I'll never be able to forget, including many children who were tortured or killed. I was also a volunteer for a local children's shelter for many years, and I saw things done to children that were almost impossible to believe. As Christians, the first thing that we must understand is children are GOD'S GIFT to us, and they are entrusted to our care. The children belong to GOD - NOT US. If we don't love them or want them, we should give them to someone who will gladly provide what GOD wants done. There are hosts of people who can't have children for one reason or another. Many of them pray and spend large amounts of money for the opportunity to adopt a child. SO, GOD giving us a child is a matter of rejoicing and THANKS.

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB  Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?