Daily Devotional
Teach Your Children to Repent

“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”

Mark 10:13-16


Ponder This

When a child disobeys his parents, do you know what that child has done? He’s sinned against God. It’s not primarily you he’s sinned against; he’s sinned against God. We are making a mistake if our primary goal in disciplining our children is to make them sorry for what they’ve done to us. We are missing an opportunity for discipleship. We should say, “Listen, Daddy’s (or Momma’s) heart is broken because God doesn’t want us to behave that way.” Now, be careful. You cannot be the Holy Spirit. You can pray for repentance in that child’s heart, you can try to lead that child to repentance, but remember the Holy Spirit must do that. But you should continually pray for and guide that child to repentance.

  • What is the danger of only drawing your children’s attention to human hurt but never to the hurt they cause God?
  • What are some ways you might make the connection to repentance for your children?

Practice This

Spend some time writing out ideas for how you might effectively communicate the idea of repentance to your children (or children close to you) in ways they might understand. Help them receive correction according to God’s grace.

FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY

Moments of Truth Devotional

Learn to walk with Jesus moment by moment each day.

The 365 daily readings in this devotional were developed directly from the sound biblical teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. His way of simply stating the truth of Jesus Christ is unparalleled. Page after page you’ll get something new to think about and to talk to God about in your moments with Him.