Thursday March 1, 2012

Read Deuteronomy 6:7-9

 

I love movies where the underdog comes up tops and wins. Even though there is always a familiar plot and the same old theme, they never fail to impress me. But why is it that the underdog wins and the top dog loses? It’s because the underdog trains hard, works hard, sets his or her sights on a goal and goes for it. The top dog bludges and keeps on with his or her comfortable life and inevitably loses the climatic battle or fight.

 

Being proactive, rather than reactive makes all the difference. In today’s passage God is telling parents and families (the principles apply to singles and couples as well) to be proactive. Parents are to teach and train their children in the love and fear of the Lord. They are to speak of the Lord and His greatness and His demands in every day life - as they walk along, as they eat, as they prepare for bed and so on. God is to be there among the people. How we can learn from these simple but powerful instructions. Instead of talking about idle things like the weather or the football (almost sacrilege!!) why not talk about how great the Lord has been, what the Lord’s been doing in your life and what God’s been teaching you. The Israelites were also to surround themselves with the Word of the Lord - writing it on walls and doors and lintels, even tying them to their hands and foreheads!

 

Imagine how our love for God and our knowledge of God would grow if we surrounded ourselves with the Word of God. I’m not suggesting you tape a verse to your forehead by any means. But imagine if you had inspirational posters with Bible verses around your house. Imagine if you and half a dozen friends decided to text each other a Bible verse each day. Imagine if you decided to memorise just one verse each week, or, dare I say, one verse a day. The love of God, the grace of God would overflow from within you like an inland tsunami.

 

God has never dealt with individuals in isolation. He has always been a covenant God that loves families. God expects, even demands, that parents

teach their children what it means to love the Lord and to serve Him. And the best teacher of all is our example, the model we set for the children. Words are needed. Bible reading time is needed. And all this needs to be cemented together and etched in our children’s heart’s by the life we live, the words we speak and the reactions we have. Not only do they need to hear Jesus from our lips, they need to see Him in our lives.

 

Prayer:

¥ Pray for the children in your congregation. Ask God to grow their faith, to mature them in their belief and to draw these children nearer to Himself. Pray that all of our children will be wise and loving in all their parenting.

¥ Pray for our singles. Ask God to grant them a super blessing so that they can love Him with their entire heart and soul and mind and strength. Pray that God would provide deep friendships.

¥ Pray for our older couples. Pray that God would bless them immensely with purpose and direction. Pray that the fears and concerns of aging would be removed as they set their hearts and minds on Christ Jesus in the heavenlies. Pray for perseverance and patience and even healing where necessary.