Invincible Church

06/14/2026

Invincible Church Sermon Notes

6/14/2026

Seize our Opportunities - Acts 13:1-12

As a True Follower of Jesus, we chose to be blessed beyond measure by the grace and mercy of God when we seized the opportunity for salvation from sin through the sacrificial: blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and were made right in the eyes of God (righteous).

It is critical and necessary because it is only the righteous who get to spend eternity in Heaven with God. We can only be made righteous by acting on the opportunity to submit our lives to Jesus as our: lord, savior, and king! This true, one-time event in our life is called salvation, or being saved.

This one-time salvation event starts the process of being a True Follower of Jesus. It is an immeasurable, invaluable, and infinite gift from God, and He gives us the opportunity to choose to seize it. All He wants from us in return is to love Him with all our: heart, mind, soul, and strength

The only way we can show God we love Him is to: discern, recognize, and seize the opportunities He gives us to advance His Kingdom by proclaiming the truth of the Gospel and following the instructions of Jesus to get His work done, which brings glory to God and pleases Him.

It is what God created us to do. We are disciples of Jesus, and He tells us that, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it... For the Son of Man will reward each person according to what they have done."

So, we are living sacrifices for God, just like Jesus and all the disciples before us. This means the things that God has given us, we are supposed to pass on to others. God designed this process so we would be able to experience spiritual peace and hope on this fallen, sinful earth. Since we know God is the giver of all good things.

We have to: believe, have faith, and trust that He will give us everything we need to fulfill His plan for us while we are here. Jesus said, "Freely you have received; freely give." Then it is up to us to seize our opportunities. Which means the first thing we have to do is:

1-Recognize and discern opportunities from God. These opportunities are not random because God has a: plan, purpose, and design for everything. He has blessed us with specific opportunities to participate in His plan, just as He did with Mary, who said yes to the angel, and Joseph, who said yes to his part in God's plan even though it made him very uncomfortable because of the circumstances.

Moses agreed to participate in God's plan even though he felt extremely unsure and unqualified.

On the other hand, the Bible is full of examples where people refused to seize the opportunities that God made available to them. In essence, they were rejecting God.

It is the same for all True Followers of Jesus today. We can choose to say yes to the opportunities God gives us just as easily as we can say no. Now, God can do whatever He wants. He does not need permission, and He does not need us. But He gives us free will to choose His way or the world's way.

The world's way leads to destruction and death. God's way leads to restoration and life. Because He wants us to love Him for who He is, He will allow a person to reject Him and choose to spend eternity separated from Him in a place called Hell. But that is not what He wants.

And as sad as it is, The Bible says that most people will reject God's offer and choose eternity in Hell because they do not want to seize the opportunity He gives through Jesus for eternity in Heaven. It grieves God when people reject Him and Jesus, and it ought to grieve us too. Which is why we should work hard to seize every opportunity God gives us to serve Him by giving people the opportunity to hear the truth about who Jesus really is.

Now, opportunities usually start with an invitation, whether the opportunity is presented: by god, presented by god through us, or just presented by us

The more we respond to the opportunities that God gives us, the more He will allow us to experience and encounter Him at very high levels of spiritual awareness. These positive spiritual experiences and encounters are always incredible. It is hard to even describe the feeling.

So, we do not want to miss, or worse than miss, forfeit any opportunity that God gives us to personally experience and encounter Him. We need to invite and encourage every True Follower of Jesus to seize every opportunity God gives us to serve Him, both individually and corporately as His Church.

Now, we also have to remember that Jesus said it would not be easy. We are in a spiritual battle. It is good versus evil, and God's and Satan's enemies are going to try to: confuse, deceive, and manipulate people. God's enemies do not stop short of: stealing, killing, and destroying!

Also, the lost people in this broken, depraved world will push back hard with: verbal, physical, and sometimes violent resistance. (Which they often describe as mostly peaceful.). Even though we are entitled to free speech as Americans, they will brazenly try to intimidate us into standing down by telling us that we cannot force our faith on them.

But we are called to be: bold, courageous, and spiritually savvy enough to say, "I'm not trying to force anything on anybody, but I have the right to speak what I believe." The Bible tells us to be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. We can be both bold and innocent.

So, we should always seek God first for His: words, wisdom, and ways to handle every opportunity. We also need to realize that: 2) Opportunities may hinder or create conflict with other: plans, relationships, and responsibilities we have. Sometimes opportunities from God are going to disrupt our plans. Which means a disruption can be the indicator that God is giving us an opportunity to get something done for Him.

So, we have to: watch, listen, think, and take the time to pray and discern if there is something specific that God is guiding us to do for Him. The disruption could be the invitation.

We also need to know that: 3) Opportunities are usually experienced gradually, in incremental steps. Most opportunities we see in Scripture happen bit by bit or step by step. God does not usually present opportunities in full detail because it takes away the element of faith required to please God.

The invitation that Mary received from Gabriel in Nazareth was just the first step in the opportunity. When God recruited Moses in the desert, He did not give Moses the entire plan and outcome up front. Moses likely thought he was simply going to be the first person in line as God led the Israelites out of Egypt.

So, the key to pleasing God in the opportunities that He gives us is taking the first step when we do not know or cannot see where He will guide us in the next steps. We have to be willing to say yes to the first step that He puts in front of us and go as He guides from there. And it is not always going to be fun. Which means...

4) Opportunities require steps of: faith, obedience, cooperation, and commitment to Jesus. If we say "no" to God in any of these areas, then we are rejecting an opportunity to get things done for Him that He has specifically designed for the giftedness and blessings He has given us.

When we say "no" to God, or intentionally reject His offer to take the first step, then we are basically telling Him we are not interested in sacrificing the: time, talent, resources, and energy that He has blessed us with to get the work of Jesus done and bring glory to His name.

So, we need to be actively trying to discern whatever the first step God has for us in a potential opportunity to get something done for Him, because it could be anything. It could be something as simple as having new people over to help them feel welcome and get to know them better.

Hebrews 13:2 NIV - 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Sometimes we will subconsciously push back on an invitation from God to take the first step in an opportunity to get something done for Him because it seems too: expensive, disruptive to our plans, inconvenient to our preferences, against what our peer group chooses to do. But we see a prime example in the Bible of what can happen if we will just take the first step.

Luke 5:4-6 NIV- 4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

Now, our goal in everything should be to please God by following the instructions of Jesus and taking every opportunity He gives to bring glory to His name. But we will also miss huge blessings when we use our own logic and reason for not doing something that God is trying to guide us to do.

There are all kinds of worldly reasons that we can use to take a pass on an invitation or opportunity from God. Sometimes it just feels like a nuisance or a waste of time because we predetermine the outcome in our minds. So, we simply have to be found obedient enough to take the first step because we cannot truly determine the outcome anyway.

Once we are saved, if we are truly following Jesus as we are called to do, then we need to realize that as we make this journey through life on earth, we are continually:

2. Accepting or Rejecting Opportunities from God-The New Testament gives us direction from:

A. Barnabas and Saul's Opportunities-And a good place to look is:

Acts 13:1-12 NIV-1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord!

Jesus recruited Saul of Tarsus Himself and gave him the name Paul. Jesus could have recruited a rabbi, but He recruited a Pharisee. The original disciples did not really want anything to do with Paul at first because he had been their opposition.

He had been: angry, violent, and murderous against followers of Jesus. But he was saved and called by Jesus. He did not seize the opportunity from God at first, but Jesus made a believer out of him. Then he seized the opportunity and became the most prominent evangelist and missionary in history other than Jesus. Then Paul recruits Barnabas.

The disciples and prophets placed their hands on them, prayed over them, and ordained them. Then they got to work seizing opportunities from God. Very few of those opportunities were: easy, fun, or pleasant. Illustration: The journeys of Paul and Barnabas. beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and snake-bitten

So, it is plain to see that Paul and Barnabas were on board. Even through all the turmoil and challenges, they were following Jesus, and they had heard and understood all the:

B. Warnings from Jesus- He gives us an admonition in:

Matthew 23:13-15 NIV- 13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] Luke 20:47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

It is the group that Paul had belonged to. They were power brokers in Jerusalem and in all the synagogues throughout the empire at that time. Paul knew how they were trained. He knew their order of service. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Paul was prepared to seize the opportunity because he knew exactly what Jesus had taught in:

Matthew 15:12-20 NIV- 12 Then the disciples came to Him and asked, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" 13 He replied, "Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." 15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us." 16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them."

So, we have to understand that there is going to be opposition to our faith. There always has been. The spiritual realm is real and does not want us advancing God's Kingdom on earth. On top of that, let's look at:

C. We Should Expect Opposition to God's Opportunities from Others

Acts 19:8-12 NIV-8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. 11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

There is a revival breaking out, but in the middle of the synagogue there are people who are publicly and aggressively maligning the work of Jesus that Paul is doing. So, we can expect it to happen to us as well.

It is one of the prominent principles in the Bible. Therefore, we have to be ready to boldly and courageously: train, look for, discern, be ready, and persist in seizing the opportunities that God gives us to serve Him. I will close with this passage from Paul to the church at Philippi, and to us:

Philippians 3:12-15 NIV- 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Keep the faith. Fight the good fight. Finish the race well. I know you will.

06/14/2026

06/13/2026

Invincible Church Sermon Notes

6/7/2026

Biblical Parenting pt 2 – Ephesians 6:1-4

The Bible declares that children are a blessing from God, which makes biblical parenting a sacred responsibility. God designed parenting to happen in the context of, and on the foundation of, a God-honoring family.

The cornerstone of a God-honoring family's foundation is biblical marriage, which is a lifelong spiritual covenant between: God, one biological man, and one biological woman. It is described in the Bible as a cord of three strands that cannot be easily broken.

Last week, we covered more of the children's part of being a family member. Parents and future parents need to know that children develop in four primary areas, just as Jesus did while being raised by Joseph and Mary. The Bible says the four areas are:

The 1st is wisdom, which is mental. The 2nd is stature, which is physical. The 3rd is favor with God, which is spiritual. The 4th is favor with man, which is social.

All together, we see that raising a child right includes: mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially

Ephesians 6:1-4 NIV-1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise 3 "So that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

It is not complicated, but it does require: time, effort, energy, and sacrifice from both parents and kids. Kids have to be taught to obey what is right. The bonus of obeying and honoring parents is that God includes the promise of a long life if we fulfill our part.

So, biblical parenting includes training children to have a positive mental attitude about honor and obedience. Honor is having the genuine spirit of obedience in the heart, and obedience is demonstrating the right attitude by choosing to do what is right through our actions.

Proverbs 4:1-10 NIV-1 Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. 2 I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. 3 For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. 4 Then he taught me, and he said to me, "Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. 6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. 8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. 9 She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown." 10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.

Now, the wisdom from this passage in Proverbs and the warning from Ephesians 6:4 work together to help mothers and fathers understand the balance of: love, teaching, training, and discipline that is required in biblical parenting.

The Greek word for "provoke" in Ephesians 6:4 is only found twice in most translations of the Bible, and it is talking about the idea of intentionally: irritating, embittering, exasperating, or goading a child to the point that they become frustrated or disheartened.

Most parents would say, "Oh, I'd never do that!" But just in case, let's go over some of the ways a parent might provoke a child so we can recognize and avoid them. These are just a few, in no particular order.

1] First way is overprotection, also known as helicopter parenting.

If we do not give them enough opportunities to develop their own independence and let them find out who God has designed them to be, they will get frustrated. That frustration can escalate into either anger or a lack of confidence, especially when they see other children who are allowed to take some risks.

And risks do not have to be just anything a kid decides to do on a whim. As True Followers of Jesus, we should know God enough and understand the instructions of Jesus enough to know that God designed us for a certain amount of: risk, adventure, and spontaneous problem-solving.

The key for us is to be intentional about spending as much time with them as we possibly can while we are: taking risks, going on adventures, and having to problem-solve on the fly. It is the consistent, gradual life-training process that God designed for parents to raise their kids His way.

We need to be confident in the raw ability that God has given them to calculate the risks that will come up along their life journey and do our job by spending the time to teach and train them to think things through. Then we can trust them to be all that God has designed them to be. They will sense that we trust them, and they will be much more likely to want to make the right decisions.

If we will put in the: time, effort, and energy that is required to train them up right, then we can give them the freedom to be who God made them to be and learn how to face life on their own through: experience, trial, and error. Prayerfully, less error than experience and trial.

We train them up right and teach them to conduct themselves in a positive and respectful way. Then we allow them to experience trials and tests, and they will learn. They will learn the best way, which is God's way. We warn them that every now and then they will hit a wall along the way.

But if we hover over them and overprotect them, then we will exasperate them, which usually leads to anger. An angry child is not going to have a loving relationship with their parents.

2] A second example of provoking a child to wrath is favoritism. It is very frustrating.

We have to guard against comparing our children. Making comparisons is easy to do because they all have different personalities and character traits. But each one is also a unique gift from God, and we are supposed to love them all the same, unconditionally, because they are special.

3] Third way to exasperate our children is by pushing perfection instead of encouraging hard work. Hard work wins every time because a certain kind and amount of pain always comes with hard work. Pain changes character, no matter what the final outcome happens to be.

If a child gets C's, the parents demand B's. They get B's, and the parent demands A's. They get A's, and the parents demand all A's. It makes them feel like it is impossible to please their parents. Some parents crush the spirit out of their children with pressure to achieve perfection.

It usually causes either bitterness or depression. It is bad either way. So do not push perfection or demand certain outcomes. Just encourage hard work instead. If they put in the hard work, celebrate the outcome and help them learn for the next round.

4] Fourth way some parents exasperate their child is by overindulgence, meaning giving them everything they want. Some parents even tolerate a child's demands and will give in and get them whatever they want. If the child does not get the next thing they want, they get mad.

And if there are no consequences for their lack of respect or improper response, then they will try to manipulate their parents with other fake emotional responses. If this is not addressed early and often, it will carry over into adulthood.

So, when they get into a work environment where they are paid by somebody else, not Mom and Dad anymore, and where they truly have to earn what they get, their brain may not have been properly trained. They feel like they are not being treated or paid fairly, and they get angry.

Sometimes to the point of violence such as: assault, destruction of property, theft, and even murder. It is not that far-fetched. There are multitudes of real-life examples of it every day.

5] Fifth way some parents cause bitterness or anger in their child is through continual discouragement or negative reinforcement.

There are two ways to approach everything: either from a positive perspective or a negative perspective. It does not matter whether the circumstance is good or bad. People are one or the other, and parents are people too.

So they fall into one of the two categories. Think about it. Most of us enjoy being around positive people, but most of us try to avoid being around negative people. It works the same with parenting.

If we keep reminding them where they are falling short and telling them that if they do not change their ways, they will always be a failure, and we constantly make them feel useless and in the way, then we will crush their spirit. They will most likely end up being a negative and miserable person too.

So, even if the results of their efforts are not optimum, we have to recognize their accomplishments and reward them for their hard work.

If they are honestly being respectful and truly working hard to follow the family rules, we ought to do nice things for them at random times. Because if parents never honor their children, especially when they do hard things, it will destroy their: motivation, initiative, and incentive to do great things.

6] Sixth way some parents provoke their child to anger or frustration is by not spending time with them. Maybe it is unintentionally making them feel like they are an intrusion in the parent's life. Biblical parenting requires sacrifice of our: attention, time, and resources

We cannot just leave them alone and expect them to fend for themselves all the time. There has to be a balance. We should let them gain experience by fixing their own meals sometimes, but not always. Family meals are a must, which usually works best for everybody in the evening.

Have chores for them and set clear expectations on the front end. Also spell out the consequences ahead of time for when the expectations are not met or for blatant failure to follow instructions. Give them opportunities to earn their own money. Also teach and train them how to look for outside opportunities to earn their own money.

Teach them how to save and invest. Then, if they want to buy something, teach and train them how to look for and make the best deals and decisions. Allow them to be contributing members of the family because kids will usually resent their parents when they do not feel valued.

Again, there is a balance. We cannot put them on a pedestal and treat them like a prima donna, but we also cannot treat them like a house servant and make them do all the work.

7] Seventh example of provoking a child to wrath is by not letting them grow up. It is usually done by the parent making all of their decisions for them and trying to keep them from making mistakes. Now, as long as they are trying to make good decisions and there is no obvious danger, it is okay to let them mess up every now and then.

If they accidentally spill or break something and it is obviously not malicious on their part, we need to guard against overreacting. Also, we need to give them the freedom to pursue some of their stupid ideas.

We do not need to condemn or ridicule every ridiculous thing they bring up before they have had a chance to think it through and reason things out before making a decision. We need to support their God-given creativity, celebrate their progress, and not expect perfection.

8] Eighth way some parents exasperate their child is through neglect. The story of King David's son Absalom is a very sad story of neglect. A simple way to handle it is to make a plan to support each other's endeavors. Parents go to the kids' events, and the kids help with some of Mom's or Dad's projects. Actively participate in those parts of each other's lives.

Neglect is probably one of the greatest sins in family life today. A big part of the problem is smart devices. The enemy has made it too easy for us to feel that if our kids are occupied with something, then they will be okay. But that is not how biblical parenting works.

That kind of attitude makes kids a disposable commodity. They are around if we need them, but we can keep them distracted if we do not want to be bothered. The biblical principle is not complicated. Just have a genuine interest in and be an active part of each other's lives.

9] Ninth way some parents provoke their child to anger or depression is through bitter words or constant sarcasm. Most adults have developed a sharper tongue than a child has, and sarcasm that is used for ridicule instead of humor can easily discourage a child.

Most adults have a broader vocabulary than kids do, and they can use it to easily frustrate or confuse their child. So we have to guard against using our superior vocabulary to emotionally slice up our kids, even if it is unintentional.

Some parents say things to their kids that they would not say to any other human being on the face of the earth. So, as a general rule, we should never say things to our children that we probably would not even say to our spouse. That just should not happen.

10] We are at #10. This should be the most obvious way a parent can provoke a child to anger or wrath, and it is physical cruelty. Most adults can overpower their kids with their superior strength. Sometimes our superior strength is necessary when physical discipline is called for in extreme or rebellious disobedience situations, but it should never escalate to physical abuse.

So, as True Followers of Jesus, if we have also been blessed by God to be parents, we have to remember that He has also given us the responsibility to be living examples of the biblical principles and instructions that God has established for the family.

If a husband refuses to love and honor his wife in the same way that Jesus Christ loves and honors the Church, then he will fail to set the example for, and may even destroy, the concept of the authority and submission principle in the child's life.

If a wife refuses to submit to her husband in love and respect in the same way that Jesus Christ submits to God the Father in love and respect, then she will fail to set the example for, and may even destroy, the concept of the authority and submission principle in the child's life.

It is critical that the family environment be everything that God designed it to be. A husband should honorably love his wife unconditionally, and a wife should respectfully love her husband unconditionally. It honors God and sustains biblical harmony in the family.

When parents love each other according to God's plan and work together to raise their children in the love of Jesus according to biblical principles, then they will not provoke them to anger or depression. The child becomes the: blessing, joy, and comfort that God intends them to be.

It is a simple plan, really. Parents need to set the example by living out God's plan. The wisdom of Proverbs says: If a child lives with criticism, they learn to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, they learn to be confrontational. If a child lives with ridicule, they learn to be shy. If a child lives with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

On the other hand: If a child lives with understanding, they learn to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, they learn to be confident. If a child lives with praise, they learn to be thankful. If a child lives with equity, they learn God's justice.

If a child lives with security, they learn to have faith. If a child lives with acceptance, they learn to be loyal. If a child lives with friendship, they learn to find love, even in a fallen world.

So, biblical parents should always be working hard to guard against provoking their children to: anger, discouragement, bitterness, frustration, and depression The Bible tells us that we do it by: approaching all things from a positive perspective, living according to the instructions of Jesus, raising our kids in the: faith, discipline, instructions, and respect for the Lord. It really is simple.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 NIV- 1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all His decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.

We need to meditate on it all the time and teach it to our children. It is the biblical principle of discipline. It implies training, and training requires that rules and regulations be enforced and reinforced by: praise, rewards, discipline, or punishment

Because this world is a: fallen, sinful, evil, and wicked place, we cannot expect our children to stand against the: lies, deceit, and schemes of the enemy along their life journey if we fail to train them in how to follow God's plan and obey God's ways.

So, let us honor God by committing to, and working hard to be, the biblical: parents, grandparents, godparents, neighborhood parents, and surrogate parents or whatever other title of parent He calls us to be. And it is never too late.