JUDGES 2:6-10 – When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

THEME OF THE DAY. WILL THE FAITH BE PASSED DOWN? Today’s scripture is a transition period in the history of Israel. Joshua is separating and sending the people to the inheritances God gave them. The people were following the Lord under Joshua’s leadership but now, Joshua is passing away as is the generation that followed him and the Lord. Now pay attention to what unfolds. It is sad, serious, and should cause us to take serious spiritual inventory in our own lives. We read . . . And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Friends, will that happen to us? As we get older, and yes, that is happening, what about the next generation following us and their commitment to Christ and the faith? What about our children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbors when it comes to continuing the line of biblical Christianity and the furtherance of the Gospel in their generation? Or, will it end with us? Like it did with the generation following Joshua and God’s people of old. Yes, I know God will always maintain a remnant that ensures Christianity will continue until He brings down the curtain on human history. But that does not remove us from our responsibility to ensure the next generation is educated and able to be a part of that remnant. So, let’s do some self-reflection along the lines of today’s nugget theme by asking some questions focusing on how well or not we are doing in passing down the faith to the next generation, but particularly, in our families.

First, for those of us who have children still living in our homes and under our authority. Are we consistently leading them to Christ in His Word, prayer, and faithful church attendance? Are we modeling Christ-centeredness in our individual lives as parents? Are our children seeing a home where Jesus is not only professed “Lord” but is practiced as “Lord” in everything we do, say, and invest our time and resources? Those questions will be answered when our children are no longer in our homes. If they continue in the faith, praise God, we fulfilled our responsibilities. However, I am aware this isn’t 100% so don’t be discouraged if we “did it right spiritually” but they walk away from the faith. The real issue is “Did we do it right spiritually as parents, not giving our children a reason by our hypocrisy to walk away?”

Next, how are we doing in passing down Christ and the faith in all our relationships beyond our families? In our neighborhoods, on the job, and in our social circles, are their people who don’t even know we are Christians? Or are we gospel-centered and making Jesus known, not only by our lifestyle, but by our words? Oh, may it never be able to be said by anyone knowing us and who die without Christ, “Why didn’t you tell me about Christ and His gospel?”

So, will the faith be passed down from us? I hope so. It is one of the chief reasons why God didn’t save us and immediately bring us home to heaven.

PRAYER: “Father, may I do all I can to ensure the faith and gospel is passed down to the next generation.”

QUOTE: “Let this motivate us. We will face the Lord and give account of our influence for Him in our families.”