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.
Billy Graham tells of a woman who asked, “Why do I need a home?” She said, “I was born in a hospital, educated at a college, courted in an automobile, married in a church. I live out of a delicatessen-tin cans and paper bags. I spend my mornings on the golf course, my afternoons at the bridge table, and my evenings at the movies. And when I die I will be cremated and buried in a brass urn. All I really need is a garage.”
Tragically, millions live like this woman. Our homes often are mere parking places in which we spend a portion of the night, places where we pass our family members like ships in the night. But we are paying a great price for our lives of distraction. A good deal of the violence and chaos of our society results from these unstable homes. God never intended our homes to be mere parking places for busy bodies needing rest and refueling. Rather, homes have purpose, and God’s Word contains directions for their proper use.
God planned marriage so that two people can become together what they could never be alone. Each individual completes the other as they become a unit. However, no marriage can really be complete without a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. God created marriage, and it is foolish to think it would ever be complete without Him as the foundation.
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?
