Do you know about The Ten Commandments? They were given to the Hebrew people by God. Their purpose was to teach people how to love and honor God, and how to live happily with one another. The Fifth Commandment instructs God's people to "Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12).

Love for Family

What is the best way to keep showing honor to your parents, and showing love and respect for your relatives? The greatest way is by sharing the love of God with them and others. This love includes being "patient and kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4) toward them, and sharing God's Good News of eternal life with Jesus Christ.

Honor for Parents

Sometimes, children can help their parents find the path to eternal life with Jesus. If your parents don’t know Jesus as their Savior, don't be discouraged if they don't turn to Him at first. Jesus knew that His message could "set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother" (Matthew 10:35). Even so, keep showing God's love with respect for your elders: "obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do" (Ephesians 6:1). And do not despair, for God promised "I will be your Father, and you will be My sons and daughters" (2 Corinthians 6:18).

Instruction for Children

What if you are a parent who wants to keep sharing the Gospel with your children? The Apostle Paul taught, "do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord" (Colossians 1:10). Showing God's love to them sometimes means parents should be selfless because "love does not demand it’s own way" (1 Corinthians 13:5). But God's Word lets us know that if we "train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

Prayer, Care, and Share Jesus

Sharing Jesus with your Five
(The “Take 5” Challenge continued from last week)

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-3

For the past few weeks, we’ve been challenging you to choose 5 people who don’t know Jesus, whom you feel God wants you to reach out to. We call it the “Take 5” Challenge. The challenge includes PRAYING for God’s blessing on them, for them to accept Jesus as their Savior, to befriend them, and to CARE for and encourage them. (If you didn’t get a chance to read that prayer letter, and choose 5 people to pray for, you can find out more here: Take 5 Challenge

So, how can you SHARE Jesus with the 5 people you’re praying for? You may might have done this repeatedly with your Five, with no success. Or maybe you feel you don’t have a special gift that helps you share Jesus effectively. The key is not to give up, but don’t be pushy either. Observe what God is doing in their lives. PRAY and CARE for them daily. You can be sure the Holy Spirit is working in their lives. This may take weeks, months or even years. God will show you when the time is right to share Jesus with one of them, or He might prompt them to ask you about Jesus.

You can follow the Apostle Paul’s example, as he shared his struggles in prayer, always pursuing the lost so that they would know the mystery of God, namely, Christ (Col 2:1-3). Keep praying and pursuing people on your Take Five list until they accept Jesus as their Savior. Then start ministering to someone new. The Take 5 challenge is something you can even do on an ongoing basis.

If you are discouraged and want to stop ministering to someone on your Take 5 list, why don’t you talk to God about it? He always knows what to do! Remember, it took 20 years of prayer for my Mum to know Jesus as her Savior. Knowing I will see her in heaven is worth every labored prayer on her behalf!!