Children: February 22, 2010

February 22. TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2010

CHILDREN

DEFINITION:

A young human off spring; a young person between infancy and youth.

SCRIPTURE:

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God. And this is what we are beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” I John 3:1-2.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Let us remind you that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are part of a family. John reminds us in the verse written above that we are children of God. God is our Father and He sacrificed His Son to die on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins.

The Bible has a lot to say about our children and relates those thoughts to our being a child of God. In Ephesians chapter six as well as in Colossians the third chapter we are told that children are to obey their parents. They are also to honor their parents.

In Proverbs 22:6 we are told as parents that we are to train our children in the way they should go and when they grow up they will not turn away from God. In Psalm 127: 3 we are told that children are our heritage. And when we read about John the Baptist as a boy we read about him being a joy and delight to his parents. (Luke 1:14-15).

These same attributes can be related to us as believers in our relationship to God as children of God. We are to obey our Father. We are to honor our Father. We are to read the Bible so that God through His Word can train us so that as we grow as Christians we will mature in our Christian faith. God, our Father considers us as His heritage and wants us to be a joy and delight to Him.

Child rearing today is a tremendous responsibility to parents. Children are being buffeted by so many outside forces that today’s parents never faced as children. Self will is the root of most sin and misery and if checked at an early age it promotes future happiness. Children, who are allowed to do as they please, will most likely live a life that leads to their destruction.

As any parent knows, children do not come with instruction manuals, and no two children are alike. In raising children today, many parents struggle with discipline. Some parents are afraid to discipline their children at all and others are all too harsh to the point of being cruel and abusive.

We are instructed in Proverbs 23:13, “Do not withhold discipline from a child, if you punish him with a rod he will not die.” Just as God disciplines us, we are to discipline our children.

As a child, both of us received a few well deserved “spankings” along with some other forms of discipline such as a loss of a privilege. The threat of the spanking was worse than the actuality of it, but it did get the point across when nothing else did. The spankings stung our pride more than our bodies and it made us understand the seriousness of our misbehavior.

Yes, our children did get a spanking when nothing else was working. In this day and age parents here in America are fearful that if they “spank or hit” their child, they would be accused of child abuse so because of this fear they are fearful of using any discipline. This should not be. Children need just and fair discipline to help them become responsible adults.

As Children of God we face today many forces of evil in our lives but the good news is that as Children of God, He will be always there for us. Jesus loves His children. In Matthew 19:14, while He was on this earth, we are told that the disciples tried to shield Jesus from the children. But Jesus responded by saying: “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Yes, Jesus loves the little children and as a child of God, we can be assured that He loves us.

Rejoice with us today as we are Children of God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.

But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

PRAYER:

I thank You, my Heavenly Father, that You love me so much that I am now a child of God. And as a child help me to learn from You, my Father, great and powerful things. Help me to love You with all my heart and guide me as I train my children to love You and serve You with complete confidence.