Instruction for Our Children

As adults, it is our responsibility to teach the next generation what they need to know, as far as what to expect and how to respond to circumstances, with the fact in mind that every decision that we make is crucial to the formula of who we will become. Not only do our decisions and actions affect us, but they affect others as well. And because of this, we should seek to be the very best that we can, as our best is potentially an example of a guideline to someone else's success as well. So in order to teach or instruct others with the "best", via our words or more so through our actions, we should look for the best lessons and instructions. For this, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." This verse reveals that instruction from God has been given to us in the Bible, and it will teach us and maintain us in the ways of the Lord. By following the Scriptures, we will have equipped ourselves with what is necessary to keep us righteous, and thus pass it on.

‎From the very beginning, the first and most important lesson to be established is that God is real and all that we do should consider him first. God has blessed us with the opportunity to influence the future and teach this very lesson, and we should do it right. A firm foundation should be set based on God and understanding that we are sent as God's authority. The Scriptures, as afore mentioned, are written doctrine with which we can use to guide ourselves and others, teaching them through examples given in the Bible, by Jesus' life and even our own encounters.

Another crucial lesson on our agenda should be what Proverbs 19:20 says "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future." Part of gaining this wisdom for the future is applying the instruction from the knowledge that is taught. If we know what to do and do not apply it, we leave room for inactivity (idle minds) and a potential for free interpretation of what is learned and basically hope that it is applied correctly.
In Psalm 32:8, David declares "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
We should witness the interpretation of the knowledge being played out. This will allow us to guide bad decisions back to the right coarse. In my roughly 15 years as a teacher, I watched as children acted on what they had learned. Some things from home, some from myself, and even some things that they had "taught" themselves. I was constantly reminding myself and realizing that they had only been here a few years. They were learning life and lessons that were second nature to me. It was up to me to realize what they did not know, reiterate what they did know and show them how to relate it all. In putting God first, we must teach the children in a way that will grow their intelligence and progression, and show them how to serve God with that knowledge and gained abilities. God has placed us all here on earth with talents and a purpose. We must guide our children in the way that they need to go to figure this purpose out. We must guide them to God.

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Thankfulness: Why?

When the word thankful comes to mind, I remember how I tried to explain the word to a preschool class that I was teaching. To this challenging task I simply said that if you are thankful, that means that you are glad to have something or someone. This was a relatable definition for the children, which was realized by the barrage of items named as they were defining what they were thankful for. Just like the children, when we hear “thankful”, an abundance of personal blessings should flood our minds.

Many times in my life I have heard people say something like this, “Thank you God, (I am thankful) for who you are.” I began thinking and reading about why we should thank God.

In Psalm 95:2-3, David says, "Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."
[And Why?]
"For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods."

God is a great Provider and King, and one reason of many, is that He is so because of the sacrifice He sent for us to enable us to have Eternal Life. He truly loved us, in all our imperfect ways, and promised us peace as a gift for believing and depending on him. As a reciprocal action we should talk to him, and thank him for being close and allowing us to be his chosen children and heirs to the “unshakable Kingdom” and abundant blessings [Hebrews 12:28].

Paul wrote in Romans [5:1] that the peace we have received is a direct result of being “justified through faith” by the gift that is Jesus Christ. And receiving this gift releases us from certain death which is the punishment for sin [Romans 6:23]. For this we must praise God and honor him.

We are not worthy of God’s goodness, yet He gives to us out of grace and mercy because He loves us. We are not treated as we deserve to be, as God has halted what would be just, to show us love. Following in this way, we should halt what the human and carnal nature would have us do and return the love to God and respect what He has done and given to us, by taking care of ourselves, taking care of others who are in need, and by simply thinking, speaking, and acting in a manner that is pleasing to God. This is the ultimate Thank you! For it is at this time of unity with God, and cohesion with his righteous path for us that we fulfill his holy plan for our lives!

What we do for God will last a lifetime, until the end of the ages. It is also contagious, and our responsibility as one of the chosen is not complete until we spread the praise and give God to others.

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:15-16

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Independence and Deliverance(pt.2): Acknowledging God

O give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. (Psalms 105:1)

In Psalms and Isaiah, the authors [David and Isaiah respectively] gave  a great blueprint to follow in regards to acknowledging God. They first show us how to recognize that even when (especially when) we are in trying times or “storms”, we should have faith that God is going to deliver us. We, as believers, have but to call on him and patiently wait on his reply. He will be what we need in times of uncertainty-strength, shelter, a present help.

For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.  Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.  And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord ; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:4‭-‬5‭, ‬8‭-‬9 KJV)

Secondly, It is our duty and all around common courtesy to extend thanks to God for all that He has done to and through us. We are but a small piece in a much grander scale of life, yet He treats us as though everything revolves around us.
O Lord , thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. (Isaiah 25:1 KJV)
In addition to giving him thanks, we also should declare publicly his wonders performed in our life. As Christians, we should praise and share our testimonies because they can be what help to create hope for others. Therefore, if God has blessed, and brought us to better situations, we should share our encounter with someone else. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; (Psalms 107:2 KJV)

Independence and Freedom (pt. 1): Deliverance from Decisions

The celebration of Independence recently, proves to be a great reminder how coming together in numbers against an enemy will cause an oppressed people to become free. As this July 4th celebration has become an extravagant annual happening, there is another similar event in past history that shows a nation being liberated from an oppressive people. The Israelites, in the Bible, were brought to be captive slaves on multiple occasions and freed every time. But sometimes oppression is a direct reciprocity to actions of negligence by the receiver. For example, the Israelites, though the chosen people, were proving themselves unworthy of representing God and of receiving God's promised inheritance. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.(Psalms 106:39 KJV)

For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.(Psalms 78:58 KJV)

As a Divine Parent, God can not allow his children to fall into transgression without there being any consequences. Though the discipline is difficult to administer, because it is a derivative of love, it must be done. The presence of trials at times may in fact be God's way of molding us and giving us the opportunity to learn once again how to trust him and to give him his due praise, before He delivers us. Independence and Freedom on any level is a gift from God and to take it lightly is, in essence, not appreciating it. As the phrase goes, ”We do not know what we have until it is gone.” It would be a terrible tragedy to experience the absence of God, so in order to avoid this, we simply must envelop ourselves in God and allow him to consume us as a fire. Then we will not need to be concerned with returning to God, because we will already be with God, waiting patiently, in safety, knowing that He will bring us out and back into his arms.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you, saith the Lord : and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord ; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Jeremiah 29:11‭-‬14 KJV

Praise and Deliverance

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1

This verse is a wonderful blueprint toward how a  Christian’s attitude should be, in regards to acknowledging God’s goodness. Written by the man after God’s own heart, this entire chapter of Psalms [34] reflects on the solid belief and example of God being there for us. The psalter makes sure to always include God’s workings in his life, no matter the situation he finds himself in or coming out of. Perhaps the approach that David takes toward revealing God’s divine intervention causes him to remain or at times, return to being of the description given- being righteous. Blessing the Lord at all times, and continuously praising God no doubt increased the relationship of David and God.

Verse 19 mentions the righteous in that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous:but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” David surely had his fair share of afflictions, but one in particular is believed to have been the source of his penning these profound words declaring his praise.

Before the poetry of this chapter, is a partial explanation making reference to an incident involving David and his confrontation with Abimelech. In the incident, David, in fear for his life, plays the role of a man gone mad, on the ground in the dirt, drooling in his beard. This image is shameful, to say the least, but it worked. His life was spared and he was sent away. God had saved him, once again. His life was spared and he explains further, “ I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears (v.4). He realizes his shortcomings, referring to himself in verse 6 as “This poor man” crying, when once again “the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” The commonality here is that when in distress, the Lord will hear his righteous, and deliver them out…of them all.”

Thousands of years after these events,we too can find ourselves on the receiving end of God’s deliverance. We have but to ask, and in the words of Jesus himself, “it shall be given; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) In almost a mirroring of the image that David set forth in Psalm 34, Paul’s Epistle of Ephesians [5:20] reminds us to always give thanks to God for all things. We must remember who he is and what he is capable of. He hears us and delivers us from all that might oppose us. This deliverance is available by believing and consistently praising God’s name -always. David stated it perfectly in an earlier chapter. Psalm 9:10 says, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Beautiful poetry!

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Boldly before the Throne: Mercy

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7

Mercy can be described as pity toward those who are in lack, or under strain. Mercy could also be a withholding of punishment or justifying action against someone of opposition. For a Divine or Heavenly explanation, Psalm 103:10 states,"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our inequities." In other words, God does not treat us as our sins deserve, and our sins bestow upon us a penalty of death. But instead, God offers mercy and an opportunity to engage in and continue a close relationship with him. We should heed Scripture and "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (Luke 6:36) We should follow God and do for others as He does for us- giving mercy and becoming merciful.

Songs of Mercy

King   David showed evidence that even though he was a great warrior, and king, he humbled himself before God. As made known in his praises of Psalms, and in his life story in general, there were many reasons for David in particular to do so, but one specifically- mercy. Even toward the end of his days, David acknowledges God's mercy and tenderness. He actually preferred to deal with God in  light of his transgressions, because he knew in his heart that God is a merciful God, and "His mercies are great." Man, however, especially in that day and time, was not as inclined to be so forgiving. (2 Samuel 24:14)

Back in his time of Psalm writing (Psalm 51), David recognized and asked for God's mercy. He realized his fault and infirmities, all the while knowing how forgiving God is and that He, in His "tender mercies" could "blot out [my] transgressions." As God did with David, so also will He do for us. God's mercy can be described as an undeserved pity given to us by our Creator. God knows that we are undeserving, but in spite of this, because of His loved toward us, decides to help us, and bless us, and grow us though we are broken and imperfect. This phenomenal gift is God's mercy. In order to receive this amazing gift we must go boldly before the throne.

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