Biggest Mistake Made by Homeschoolers!
Too many homeschoolers make the mistake I made in my first years homeschooling–setting aside Bible time for academics–putting trust in the wrong foundation!
We can so easily get anxious about the academics that we miss wisdom. Education must contain more than facts, theories, and objectives. God’s written Word provides the principles and wisdom we need to live lives that are pleasing to Him. True wisdom rests in our knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Word. A focus on studying God’s Word will transform both the teacher and the student by the renewing of their minds.
No matter how solid the methods of Bible study, you should purpose to study every single day. “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word in all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Our important objective in homeschooling should be, as Jesus summed up the entire Law and the Prophets, to encourage every person to love God passionately–with all of his heart, soul, and mind–and to love his neighbor as himself.
A.W. Tozer said, “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.”
What’s Your Focus?
Emphasizing the external may bring an appearance of godliness but it actually denies its power. Any time our focus takes precedence over focusing on Christ we have lost our focus. When we depend on Him, not a church, a man, or a doctrine, then our faith begins to grow. ONLY in Him do we begin to love.
Our goal should be to live effectively by seeking His wisdom, and becoming hearers and doers of His Word. It is my prayer that all who read my writings will, at a minimum, take away this advice: Commit to begin each school day in God’s Word. Make a promise to yourself that you will make God’s Word your first priority, and never even open another book before you have spent time in prayer and Bible study.
A Command from God
We worry about state requirements but what does God require? God commands you to diligently teach your children His Word. Deuteronomy 6 says, And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Read the Amplified version of these verses: And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children…
Do you see how efficient God’s plan is? While you are teaching the Word to your children, you are learning. Once you begin to read the Scripture for yourself (instead of relying on a pastor to teach you) you will understand more and more of the Biblical truths on a deeper level.
Daily Bread
The Word of God is nourishment like milk or meat (Hebrew 5:12). To help you really grasp the importance of this truth here is a disturbing photo of a poor, starving child’s hand. Now imagine that there is a bottle of rich nourishing milk on the table that would save his life and comfort him, but his mother leaves the bottle sitting on the table because she thinks it’s too much trouble to give it to him.
Would you skip feeding your child a meal? Visualize that image every time you feel tempted to skip Bible study.
Paul told Timothy that we are nourished by words of faith and good doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6). God’s Word contains nourishing life-giving power–don’t withhold it.
Imagine the Potential
you imagine the potential results if every Christian homeschooler in America began devoting the first part of each school day to studying God’s Word?
Time spent in God’s Word can produce a spiritual transformation. Christ’s prayer in John 17:16-17 was that His followers not follow false loves or the values of this world, but that they would be holy. It is possible for us to produce an entire spiritually mature generation comprised of young men and women trained and equipped to feed themselves the Bread of Life–and to be able to discern the sacred and spiritual from the profane and carnal–a generation that would know Truth and be able to boldly answer a false teacher by saying “That’s not what that verse means. You are taking it out of context.”
You should also have the necessary Bible tools so your entire family can learn about biblical culture, historical settings, and language in order to fully understand God’s instruction for life. There are some that won’t hesitate spending $25.00 on a video or game but won’t invest in a good Bible atlas or Bible dictionary (useful for a lifetime).
Seek and be Filled
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Mathew 5:6
Comments
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. Excellent task, cheers.
Comment by truevyne :
I think the article is not so true for my family. We do have Bible time, but I am afraid we fall short in another way- not creating a hunger for the Word. A friend and I have resolved to try something new this year for Bible in our homeschool. We intend to teach our children to become Seekers of Jesus through guiding them to ask deeper questions (ask,seek,knock) and wait on the Lord.
Comment by barbara :
after reading all morning about disturbing trends in the homeschool community, that was a great thing to get off this machine and start the day with…Thanks Robin! Blessings!
Comment by Sharon Sue :
I think I am going to love this new magazine. Quite frankly, most of the paper magazines for home schooling are kind of “tired”, in my opinion. After 23 years of home schooling I would like to see articles that go beyond the fluff and how to home school or how to begin home schooling!!!!!!! Same old, same old!!!!! There is a place for all that but I yearn for something more. I think this e-magazine will be refreshing and helpful. Thanks for letting us know about the new magazine and for being a contributing writer.
Comment by Deanne :
GREAT article Robin! After 10 years of homeschooling, we have ALWAYS found that when we let the Bible “slide” for academics, we totally lose our focus and vision (and desire to keep on homeschooling!) I wanted to also say that we started the Wisdom study last month (with a 16 and 13 year old) and are absolutely LOVING it! I already had the fiction book, “Wisdom Hunter” on the shelf and my teens are enjoying seeing “wisdom in action”. Thank you Robin.
Love Deanne
Comment by Lin :
Wow–What a wakeup call, Robin! You made me realize that I had gradually slid away from having a structured Bible time to a whenever Bible time as the requirements for academics became stricter for older children. It was easy when they were little. Then the Bible was the full basis for their education. But as I saw math skills lagging, my major focus has been on the math struggle and I tend to let the important things recede in the midst of the math battle. Thank you for the wakeup call. We will be back to the Bible today….
Comment by Penney Douglas :
Very inspiring article. We’ve been reading novels about the time of Noah and Nimrod, but it’s time to get back to the Bible itself. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love,
Penney
Comment by Bobbie-Jo :
I commented on the article at it’s site, but wanted to say here that I love Heart of the Matter blog (so far) and will keep reading!
Thanks.
Comment by RebeccaC :
Robin, thanks for stopping by my blog. I believe that this was a “divine appointment”, as reading your article really confirmed some things God has been telling me over the past weeks/months. Even full-time missionaries struggle with balancing academics with real wisdom! The pressure to have “smart” kids is tremendous — you know! Thanks again for sharing. I’ll be back for more!!
Blessings!!!
RebeccaC’s last blog post..Where Are We Anyway?