"...it's very possible to be content in our obedience to God."

Hi to all the listeners out there, you're here with Jessica on Moms for Christ Podcast. Today I want to talk about teaching our children how to love and to obey. And you may be thinking, ‘What kid loves to obey? They do what they're asked to do because they know that they have to.” But the Bible tells us that it's very possible to be content in our obedience to God. 1 John chapter 5 verses 3 through 4 says, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” And so this verse says, obeying the commands of God is not something that should be burdensome for the Christian. As we begin to obey the Lord, as we are able to take the time and read the Word and make sure that it is being reflected in our day to day lifestyle, we get closer to God and you're able to know Him in a deeper way and your relationship with Him gets stronger and stronger.

"...it is through obedience that the children of God are able to be distinguished"

When you develop that strong relationship with God through your obedience in His Word, then you are able to gladly obey the Word of God because you see the benefit. You see His blessing and His covering and His shelter and His provision and the promises that start coming in your life like never before. And so it is through obedience that the children of God are able to be distinguished from the rest of the world because only the children of God are able to obey Him and they're able to do it with joy in their hearts.

"Those who are born of God overcome the world"

When we see here that it says that everyone born of God overcomes the world and that this is our victory -- What do we need to overcome in the world? In the world there is disobedience and there is lawlessness towards the things of God. Everything that God's Word does say, what the world teaches is exactly the opposite. There is something that is naturally found inside the flesh, inside of natural instinctual man, that causes us to want to do the exact opposite of what God is calling us to do. When we are able to overcome that sinful nature of doing what we want instead of what God is calling us to do, we become victorious over that which is found in the world. We are able to overcome the nature of disobedience and lawlessness and through that we display the love of God to all of those around us. We display that we are the children of God and that His son, Jesus Christ, lives inside of each and every one of us. Those who are born of God overcome the world. We overcome the desire to be disobedient.

"Learn to love to obey"

Now when it comes to our children and we see sometimes the disobedience rising up, we really need to take the time to say, “I need to be able to foster the ability of my child to also love to obey.” So when it comes to our children, the same is true for them. You see, we do not want it to be burdensome for them to have to obey what they are being told to do, we want them to flourish in their obedience the way God wanted it for us. You see, it's not about restricting us or not allowing us to have fun or anything like that. As parents, we know that our children have to learn to obey because it keeps them safe. You know, when you learn discipline you become a more successful adult in the future when you were able to obey those rules that are set in place by those in charge of you or with authority. You were able to show them that you love them and that you appreciate them and this will give them success from the time that they are young all the way into their adulthood when we learn to love to obey.

I just like to share with you that even for our own son, I truly feel that as a parent, the greatest gift that I can give to him is teaching my son how to obey. I truly believe that that will teach him to love God in the future, how to prepare him for a relationship with God and receiving His son, Jesus Christ, in His heart. Learning how to be a disciplined individual will be one of the greatest gifts that my husband and I will be able to instill in him. As a 3 year old, he's definitely still learning, but he is so proud of himself when he is able to, as we say at home, “Listen and Obey.” We celebrate at home when Joshua does a good job obeying and listening to any directions that his mom or dad may give to him.

"There is freedom in obedience"

So moms, let me just pray for you as I close. Father, I declare that there is freedom in obedience. We thank you that you have called us into obedience so that we may show the world that we love you and that we are able to serve you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Give us the tools that we need to teach our children how to obey and how they can love doing the right thing just like your son, Jesus Christ. So God, it is our prayer today and it is our desire that you will be able to look down from heaven and that you would say, “This is my son. This is my daughter. And with them I am very well pleased.” Bless you all. Thank you so much for listening. I'll talk to you soon. Amen.