The Shepherd Press Blog

With all Your Heart

Hear, O  Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD  your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. — Deuteronomy 6:4-6

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? — Deuteronomy 10:12-13

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  — Matthew 22:36-40

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men….” — Colossians 3:23

I ended the last post this way:

However, inconsistency is the handmaiden of behavior-focused parenting. This is why you must always look beyond the behavior of the moment. If the focus is simply on changing behavior then your parenting will be uneven. Children will not be taught to carry over concepts learned in discipline to anything other than the exact same behavior situation. Consider the following scenario:

Jeremy, you have 5 minutes to play with the toy truck and then Sean may have his turn. You must be fair and make sure you both have equal time with the truck. This way you can both be happy.

This direction misses the heart entirely. It actually paves the way for the sort of thinking that says premarital sex is okay, but adultery is wrong. Give some thought to this example.

 

Guide to Family Worship

Psalm 78 verse 4 says:

We will not hide them from their children;
       we will tell the next generation
       the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
       his power, and the wonders he has done.

An important component of shepherding your family is to have regular family worship.

We are making available for you a free, downloadable guide to help you have a regular program of family worship.

There is no better gift to give your children than coming together as a family to honor God.

As you use this guide, let us know about it. In this way you can help encourage others in this important service to Christ.

Download family_worship_guide.pdf