We are thinking of you as this year of 2012 wanes its way to the place of memories. Some we will hold fondly; others will bring tears and praise that HE brought us through!
No home and no heart is perfect but let us give a good faith effort to make both our hearts and our homes places where JESUS will feel welcomed and actually enjoy living with us today and all of 2013.
Luke 12: 33 . . . make for yourselves purses that don’t wear out, riches in heaven that never fail, where no burglar comes near, where no moth destroys. 34 For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also.
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit,
I have been eager since earlier this morning to share my YOU VERSION devotion with you today. Contained in the devotion is information that I do not recall having previously received. It is good!
CREATING A TASTE FOR GOD
Perhaps the key passage in Scripture to understanding the parent’s proper attitude toward children is Proverbs 22:6. However, we often misunderstand that verse because we do not really know what the verb ‘train’ means.
To the modern mind, the verb ‘train’ smacks of discipline. We can almost see the hard-boiled sergeant dressing down the new recruit, a strict teacher telling his student what to do, or a demanding father insisting a son do something right. However, in the original Hebrew that is not at all what ‘train’ meant. In that ancient tongue, “train” denoted the action of the midwife when she would dip her finger in the oil and rub the tiny palate of the newborn baby, causing that baby to have a desire to suck. Thus, what that verse really means is, “Create a taste for God in the heart of your child, and when he is old nothing else in life will satisfy his hunger.”
What a difference a correct understanding of this simple verse makes. As godly parents, we are not always to “straighten out our children.” Rather, we are to love them deeply and provide a climate of love and security that is a result of our relationship with God. The child raised in such an atmosphere is a lot closer to Calvary than one raised in a hostile or cold setting.
What a revealing definition of train. It makes so much sense to me! Train up a child so they have a hunger for GOD and that child will not have departed from the LORD even when he is old. It’s a bit late for me as my childbearing years are over :) but perhaps I can still be TRAINED and some young ones will yet benefit. :) I hope you will pass this along to some young mothers. How glorious it would be to have a generation of children so trained.
Proverbs 22:6 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
6 Train a child in the way he [should] go; and, even when old, he will not swerve from it.
To flourish even in a drought; that is Adonai’s will for you and me. I pray it to be so.
Father, I pray to be such a tree with deep roots that find love, trust, faith, peace, and strength in times of the fiercest drought. This morning I have many to bring for blessing. with various needs and situations, for wisdom, guidance, peace, and wholeness. Father, You know the anxieties and the deep cries of our hearts. Close friends with tender needs. Family with plans and dreams. And this day for all who come here to read and pray for today be a HOLY SPIRIT heeded day and a day to exalt JESUS in every place and to make HIM known in our individual spheres. And as this day closes that we will know we have done well, Father and You are pleased with Your children for JESUS’ namesake.
We are glad you are here; stay a while, look around, and be encouraged. We estimate there to be over 3,000 posts here at The White Stone Blog. Please know my hope is ALWAYS to help and NEVER harm. I have voiced many opinions and thoughts here since 2007 and by now I MAY NOT EVEN AGREE with all of them and some of my grammar and punctuation likely needs editing. But this is changeless: JESUS is our ONLY Savior and Hope. Do you KNOW Him?
