Loving your children

    Good morning and it really looks like a beautiful morning, even outside!
    Today's reading for me was in Proverbs 4.   The verse that stood out to me was Vs. 4 "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live."  Earlier in the morning I had read:  Eccl. 12:13-14 from another study that scripture says:  "The end of the matter; all has been heard.  "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."
    It looks as though Solomon really wanted to get this point across concerning knowing and keeping God's commandments since Solomon wrote it two times and in two separate books.  He seemed to be learning in his life that fearing God is of ultimate importance, acknowledging who God is in all His amazing character:  Holy, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Righteous and on and on we could go with His divine character, a character that should get our attention and cause us to fear.
    Since He really is the author and finisher of our faith do we hold fast to His words in the Bible?  Do we realize this is the whole duty of man to keep His words.  In order to keep them, we must know them.  Are we reading our Bibles?  Are we teaching the Word to our children?  How helpful it was that our children attended a Sunday School where each child was encouraged to learn a verse each week and that verse was provided for in a Sunday School paper.  But you may not have a Sunday School paper where verses are listed.  Might I suggest they memorize the 1st verse of each chapter of the Proverbs, then the Psalms, then in Matthew, etc. etc.  Even this would take years to do :).
     When the children were very young it took time to teach that verse.   Often it was done after dinner around the table for a few minutes.   By the end of the week they usually had it memorized.  As they got a bit older the practice of memorization was turned over to them.  You will need to choose a consistent time to work on the verse with your children.
     The verse in Proverbs says that if we hold the Word fast, keep it we will live.  I'm thinking the "live" here, means a fulfilled life, it won't necessarily be easy but it will be full of blessing.  We don't just want memorization but the actual carrying out of God's Word in our lives.  Ecclesiastes goes on to point out that what we do, every deed, secret or not will be brought into judgment, whether good or evil.
     Do we want our children to really live?  Then they need to be in the Word of God, and we need to be setting an example of how to do that.  I'm hoping if you have children, that they are seeing that you fear the Lord.  That you love His Word and read it everyday.  That you pray to God and anticipate His answers to your prayers and that you praise Him for those answers.  That you keep His Word in your life and ask forgiveness when you are wrong.  He is so worthy.  Keep teaching the Word to your children.....you won't regret it!