Children: August 3, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 3, 2012.

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:

By God’s design we do not enter this world fully grown and self-sufficient. Therefore we all know what it is like to be a child. Every child has the need to feel like they belong to someone and that someone loves and cares for them. That need remains within us through life. Because God desires a relationship with us, He created this need within us.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are part of a family. John 1:12 tells us that to all who receive Him and believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. It was because of His great love for us (John 3:1-2) that God our Father made it possible for each of us to be a child of God by sacrificing His Son to die on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins.

Throughout the Bible God speaks to us as a loving and caring parent and in that role He gives us His instructions in the parent-child relationship. In Ephesians chapter six as well as in Colossians the third chapter we are told that children are to obey and 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. When John the Baptist was 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 a delight to Him.

Child rearing today is a tremendous responsibility for parents. Children are being buffeted by so many outside forces that their 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 follow a path in life that leads to their destruction.

 As every 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.

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, and He wants us to come to Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in 1 Corinthians 3:11.

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:

We are so grateful that You have provided the way for us to be a child of God. Thank You for my children. Help me to be a godly parent. Help me to teach my children to obey and honor You in all they do.