To read this text CLICK HERE

Deuteronomy 29:9-15, Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.

The assembly in this Scripture is described with unusual fullness - the leaders, chief men, elders, officials, other men of Israel, wives, children, and even foreigners.  Everybody was included in the covenant.  Yes, the covenant was meant to be for the whole body but it also included individual people from all walks of life.  They all were committing to a covenant renewal with God, just as they were on the cusp of moving into the promised land.  Remember, the original covenant was made at Horeb with their parents.  That wasn't sufficient.  This new generation needed to commit themselves to the Lord and recognize their own responsibility in the covenant. 

God doesn't have grandchildren, only children.  This passage reminds me of this truth.  Our children must make a commitment to God on their own, they must have their own faith.  They cannot ride on our coattails.  The new generation of Jews heading into Canaan had to make a new commitment to God on their own, just as our children must make a commitment to God in their own right.  There are some religions in which you are born into that tradition. While you might be born into a Christian family, you aren't born a Christian.  Rather, it's a decision that each individual must make on their own.  Will I follow the Lord or will I not? I can't make that commitment for my kids anymore than you can make that commitment for yours.

How are you encouraging the next generation of young people to follow Jesus?  Is there a young person in your life that you currently pray for and disciple?  What specific actions do we as a church need to make to lead children and young adults into a life of faith?

Let's pray...Lord Jesus, Use me to minister and disciple a young person in their walk with you.  Help me create space and time in my life to walk alongside someone who needs to learn and grow in the faith.  In Your Name, Amen.