How to be Happy in Your Home (4) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Author: Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: How to be Happy in Your Home (4)

Dear Reader,

You are welcome to another exciting moment in God’s presence! I shared with you last week on Spices for a Happy Home. In that teaching, I showed you some examples of spices like Joy, Excitement, Praise and Appreciation. This week, I want to share with you the Main Reason You Must Train Your Children.

For you to enjoy a happy home, you must train your children according to God’s guidelines. The following are the reasons you must train them in the way of the Lord.

God commanded it

Child-training is not a piece of advice, a suggestion or a thing you do at your convenience. It is a commandment from God and His commandments are neither grievous nor burdensome (1John 5:3). My husband says, “God‘s commandments are not to grieve you, but to groom you.”  Bring your children up in the way of the Lord because if you refuse to do so, you are disobeying God’s commandment. As far as God is concerned, disobedience is as terrible as witchcraft. 1 Samuel 15:23a says: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Disobedience is like drinking the blood of another human being as witches do. May God not catch you as a witch! His Word also says: Do not suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18). In other words, if you are not bringing up your children in the way they should go, you are cutting short the number of your days. Receive grace from God now, to be obedient to this commandment on child-training in Jesus’ name.

It is the responsibilities of both parents

Take a look at Proverbs 22:6 again. God did not mention here who, particularly, should do the training, but definitely it is the parents. I mean both parents because neither the father nor the mother alone can give birth to a child. It is a combination of forces; therefore, the training must be done by both parents. Child-training is not the responsibility of the mother alone; it is that of both the father and the mother. For example, in Nigerian culture, every good and well behaved child belongs to the father, but the one that is bad and corrupt is for the mother.

Remember it is a combination of forces that brought the child to be. So, it must be a combination of forces that will fulfill that commandment. Both parents must create time for their children, so that the children will not become thorns in their flesh tomorrow. Training your children in the fear of the Lord is your primary responsibility. Don’t be slack about it! Both parents ought to fulfill their parts and make it a joint effort. The Bible says in Ecclesiastics 4:9 that: Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

As parents, pay close attention to your children and create time to listen to them. Also, fellowship with them and give them opportunities to ask questions that are bothering them. Learn to create time for fun and excitement and all tension will be defused. Do not allow your children to become victims of neglect by being too busy to attend to them. I pray for a release of grace upon you now for the fulfillment of your role as parents in Jesus’ mighty name.

It is a seed

Whatever you do in life is a seed and you will eventually reap the fruit. Likewise, child-training is a seed. You will reap the harvest of whatever training you give to your children tomorrow. The Word of God says: While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

When you sow the seed of good Christian upbringing into the lives of your children, they will give you joy, happiness and fulfillment tomorrow. For your children not to give you heartache tomorrow, you must to sow seeds of proper upbringing into their lives.

Certain things were sown as seeds into my life as a little girl and for that, I will never forget my parents. I advise you to do the same for your children. In Jeremiah Chapter 35, Jonadab sowed the seed of good child-training. Even after he departed, generations after him still continued to follow his footsteps. No wonder in verses 18 & 19, God had to make a promise. The seed that Jonadab sowed into his children began to bring forth fruits which eventually brought them to the throne. Even our Lord Jesus Christ came from his lineage. What a harvest of fruits!

You need grace to be able to train your children. This can only be received when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. Are you set to receive Him into your life today? Say this prayer of faith with me: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are born again and you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name!  Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building a Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).