As I continue marking 49 years of walking with Christ since childhood, I (Tosha Williams) want us to take a few moments to explore the enduring influence of early spiritual guidance. As the founder of Family Disciple Me, I believe it is so important to nourish faith in the young, and I look at my own experience as a testament to the power of introducing Jesus to children. This episode is not just a look back at my spiritual journey; it is a call to action, challenging each of us to consider our role in being conduits of faith to the next generation.
This conversation weaves through the significance of Jesus's welcoming spirit towards children, urging us to embody that same spirit within our circles of influence. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or a volunteer in children's ministry, the question stands: How are you making Jesus known to the young ones in your life? As we share stories and insights, this episode serves as an inspiring reminder of the responsibility we bear and the beautiful outcomes that can arise when we faithfully shepherd children towards a relationship with Christ.
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The Family Disciple Me Podcast is a ministry of Family Disciple Me, which exists to catalyze Devotion Driven Discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way.
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Tosha:
I am celebrating the beginning of my year of Jubilee, that is, I have been a Christ follower for 49 years. I accepted Christ when I was 4 years old, and that's why I can celebrate this many years of following Christ now as a 53-year-old. I want to talk about this for just a moment in relationship to the children in our lives, because I wouldn't be celebrating this Jubilee unless, way back when I was a very little girl, somebody had made an effort to speak Jesus into my life. This, for me, begs the question of the Family Disciple Me ministry. To whom are we speaking Jesus? Let's cue the intro and then come back to talk about Jesus' perspective of the next generation.
Tosha:
Welcome to the Family Disciple Me podcast. Our goal is to catalyze devotion-driven discipleship in our own lives and relationships and then around the world. We do this through easily accessible biblical resources that help us meet with God and make Him known. We call this Seek Him Speak Him. You can find out more about this, our ministry and our resources at FamilyDiscipleMeorg. Hi, my name is Tasha Williams. I'm delighted to be on this journey with you, so let's spend this moment together, seeking God in His Word about what he first has to say to us.
Tosha:
Jesus loves children. Jesus wants children to come to Him. Jesus wants adults and older people to lead the children to Him. This is what happened for me 49 years ago, when I was a very little girl. I had just turned 4 years old, about a month and a half prior, and I knew as clear as day, even though it was very little. I knew that I was a sinner. I knew that I did not deserve eternity with Jesus in heaven. I knew that the wages of my sin is death. I knew that death, according to the Bible, after my physical death, was an eternity in hell. And I can assure you of this. As a very little 4-year-old, I was smart enough to know I didn't want anything to do with hell. So, whether by fear of fire or by childlike faith, I chose to follow Jesus. I gave Him my heart, I gave Him my life and I have followed Him ever since. I'm so thankful that I had grown-ups and parents, a pastor's wife and children's ministry leaders, a pastor and other caring adults who consistently, careingly, pointed me to Jesus so that I understood that he is my Savior, because I accepted Him as a little 4-year-old.
Tosha:
Here I am, 49 years later and, yes, I am becoming an old lady, but I am becoming an old lady who has walked with Jesus almost my entire life. It's the reason that I lead the Family Disciple Me ministry, because it is so important that we become people who tell the next generation about Jesus. Who is it that you're investing in their lives? Who is it that you're telling about Him? Are you discipling the children that God has placed in your family, whether they're your very own children, whether they're foster children, whether they're your grandchildren or your nieces or nephews? Maybe they're children that you're volunteering at your church to be a part of the children's ministry, or you are showing up to care for little ones and as they ask questions, you're pointing them to Jesus. How is it that you are making Jesus known to the next generation, to a child?
Tosha:
There was a day when the disciples were very bothered by the children. They didn't want the children to interrupt their worship to bother Jesus, and yet Jesus said Let the little children come to me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. I am so grateful that Jesus welcomed me to Him. When I was a little child, I didn't understand everything. You know what? I still don't understand everything. Come to think of it, I didn't understand all the theology, I hadn't read through the whole Bible, I hadn't sat through seminary and Christian school and biblical studies classes and all the things. I couldn't connect all the dots of the Bible. But I had caring adults in my life who helped me understand that Jesus sees me, jesus loves me, jesus died for me, jesus knows me and Jesus chose me, and they helped me understand how I could choose Him. So the question now is am I doing that for someone else? And the question for you is are you doing this for someone else?
Tosha:
We live in a world that gives lip service to children. We live in a world where many churches have left behind children, but we can be people who continue to welcome the little ones to Jesus, just like he told us to do. That is the challenge of the Family Disciple Me ministry. Whether the little ones in your life are two, three and four-year-olds, like I was, or their elementary kids, or their teenagers or young adults, what an amazing privilege we have to seek Him and then speak Him into the life of those he has entrusted to us.
Tosha:
Oh, friend, let's not be silent. Let's lean in and share Christ with the kids, the teenagers, the young adults that he's entrusted to us, so that they can live a lifetime with Him and reach, dare I say it, their own jubilee as Christ followers. Would that be amazing for us to witness someday, maybe as a part of the great cloud of witnesses? But we'll get to see them carry on their story of faith with Jesus, a story of faith that we got to begin by planting the seed of knowing Him. Oh, friend, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn His countenance toward you as you turn your countenance and the faces of those entrusted to you toward Him, and may he give you peace. Go with God, friend, live into the year of favor that he has given us and share His truth and hope with those he's entrusted to you. Be encouraged.