TOPIC: THE INTENTIONAL PARENT I
MEMORISE:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
READ: Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 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.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
MESSAGE
God expects parents to intentionally train their children so that the children can give them rest. Intentionally training children yields many benefits, but it is disastrous when parents don't train their children in the right way. Proverbs 17:21 says that the father of a fool has no joy. In other words, if parents don't want to spend the rest of their lives in sorrow, they should train their children in the way of the Lord. Proverbs 10:1 says that a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is his mother's heaviness. This means that when children are wise, they fear the Lord and follow His way, making their parents joyful. However, when they are foolish and don't follow the way of the Lord, they make their parents sorrowful. It is non-negotiable for parents to intentionally train their children in the way they should go. This is so important that God commanded parents in today's Bible reading to teach their children God's way at every opportunity.
Training children in the way of the Lord starts with ensuring that they are filled with God's word. Parents who are wise spend time memorizing Scriptures and teach their children to do the same because keeping God's word in their hearts will help them stay away from sin (Psalm 119:11). Sadly, memorizing the Scriptures has almost become alien among many Christians. As a young Christian, I memorized the Bible often.
Memorizing the Scriptures has been extremely helpful for me. For example, when I travel to nations that do not permit visitors to come into their land with a Bible, it is the Scriptures I have memorized that I rely on. Unfortunately, many Christians these days don't even read the Bible, let alone memorise it.
It is extremely important for parents and all other Christians to keep the word of God in their hearts; it is a command, as we see in today's Bible reading. It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Some believers may not realize how bankrupt they are of God's word until there is an emergency, because it is when pressure is applied to a container that its content becomes revealed.
Beloved, it is what your heart is filled with that will spill into the lives of those around you, including your children, if you are a parent. If you are not filled with God's word, you cannot train your children in God's way.
PRAYER POINT
Today is Mothering Sunday. Pray that God will strengthen and preserve all mothers.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Judges 6-8
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 28: GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell's Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.
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