Psalms 1:1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

DARK PATHS

We have all heard the warning “Watch where you step!” That is so true. I love to deer hunt. Many times when I am walking into the woods early in the morning or coming out at the end of the day, it is very dark. Even with a good flashlight I have to be extra careful where I step. Logs, vines and holes are just waiting to trip me up.

The Psalmist not only warns us where we walk, but he also warns us where we stand and sit. The wicked, sinners and the scoffers are waiting to trip us up. They want to see us fall flat on our face. They can even set traps for us if we aren’t careful. But we have the biggest Light, His light. It can reveal any hidden traps set by them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our children to avoid traps sounds easy, but it is not. The devil is so good at disguising them. The only sure way they can detect them is by being grounded in God’s Word. It will teach the safe path. It will teach them how to recognize the lures of the world that will get them off the safe path. God’s Word is reliable and will always point the way home.

When our children are young we are in control of the friends they walk, stand or sit with. But as they get older they may have friends they don’t tell you about – until it is too late. Stay involved in the friend choosing. Keep directing them to the Word. Make sure you know their walking, standing and sitting places.

I am so glad I keep a good flashlight handy as I hunt in the woods. There is nothing worse than getting in the woods and losing the light. It can be scary and dangerous. Make sure your kids are equipped with the Light of Lights that can outshine any darkness.

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

SPEWING HOPE

This is probably one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I know, I’ve said that before, but this time I mean it. Lol This verse is so full of truths that it is hard to pull just one thought out of it. But I will try to do that.

Have you ever wanted to give someone else hope? They have come to you with an impossible situation or problem, and they just want to see some light at the end of the tunnel. What do you do? Do you pray with them? Do you give them the name of a good, Christian counselor? Both of those are good ideas. But for you to give them hope you must hope to begin with.

Look at the last part of the verse, “so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” That word “abound” literally means to overflow, to spew over. Do you have that much hope? If you allow the God of Hope to fill you with all joy and peace by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we teach our children hope? There is only one way. We have to be hopeful! We have to show them that we know the source of all hope. When we are facing hard times in the family (sickness, employment, money, etc.) we have to give our children hope. This is one thing that is caught and not taught.

By teaching our kids this truth in our lives, they are prepared to reach out to the Hope Giver when they face their own uncertain times. They will face them. That is for certain. Don’t you want them to have hope? Then be hopeful!

Job 38:3 “’Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!’”

CAUGHT

Have you ever been caught red handed? There is no getting out of it. There is nothing you can say. You know you have no explanation, so you just wait for the hammer to fall.

I bet Job and his friends felt that way when God began to speak. I love this verse. God is challenging Job, if he is so smart and has all the answers, to educate Him. I am assuming, since God spoke to the friends later, that they could also hear this conversation between God and Job. I don’t know for sure, but I believe they were listening in. If so, they, like Job, were probably sitting there like little schoolboys with their heads down.

I remember so well getting caught by my Mom or Dad. Now, I was close to perfect as a child (lol), but when I did get caught, I knew my parents were going to take me to the woodshed. They believed in discipline, and I am glad they did. I don’t remember a lot of conversation either. Isn’t it funny how we forget those things they said to us – until we have children of our own and then our parents’ words come flying out of our mouths?

TEACHING MOMENT

As a parent, you need to let God’s words come flying out of your mouth. Your children need to know that their actions always have a reaction. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is “not so good.” But each and every time we intervene in their behaviors we need to let the Father above direct our reactions and the words we use.

You know the rest of the story of Job, right? What does God do in the end? He restores Job. Why? Because Job finally does confess his own self-righteousness. And his friends? Well, they learned a lesson too about judging others.

Let God teach you today so you can teach your children.

Romans 14:13 “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.”

JUDGING OTHERS

Many years ago there was a comedian named Flip Wilson. He did this character skit called “Here Comes The Judge” on a TV show. I know I am dating myself by referring to this, but this skit was funny at the time. He would dance on the scene chanting, “Here comes the Judge! Here comes the Judge!” Then he would begin to make some obscure, off the wall ruling on something that was just plain silly.

That may sound completely ridiculous, but we do the same. We judge others according to our standards, when the only person who is able to truly judge anyone is God. He is the only Judge that matters. Only His rulings will stand. He will decide what is right, because He is the only righteous One.

TEACHING MOMENT

As your children get older I promise you they will have more opportunities to judge others and be judged by others. How do you as Mom and Dad teach them the difficult trait of being non-judgmental? How do we show them that judging is God’s job?

If we can teach them to look at others through the eyes of God, they will get it. Before we make any judgment of anyone, we need to ask ourselves how God sees that individual. When your child starts to make a judgment about someone, stop them and ask them that question. Ask them how they think God sees that person. Then ask them how they think God sees them. That last one is the sobering one. Are their actions worthy of their heavenly Father? Are their thoughts about others pleasing to Him?

I don’t know about you, but I still have room to grow in this one. So, don’t be too “judgmental” of your children. I bet you have room to grow too.

Job 36:5 “’Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any; He is mighty in strength of understanding.’”

GOD’S LOVE

At this point in the book of Job, Elihu, the young man who had been watching and listening to the 3 friends of Job, begins his discourse berating them all for not being able to put Job in his place. Whether Elihu’s response was correct or not, he does speak some truth in the midst of his ramblings. This verse today is one of those. Look at it.

He is basically saying that no matter how big and mighty God is, He does not overlook anyone. Aren’t you grateful God doesn’t just look on the wealthy or the strong or the beautiful (I especially like that one) or the intelligent? He cares for each and every one. He cares for the lowest of low and the smallest of small.

TEACHING MOMENT

What a great lesson for our children!!! God loves them despite of who or what they are. He will always love them, even while He chastises them. He will always love them, even when they are disobedient and stray. He will always love them, even if they are perfect (or think they are).

How do you love your children? Is it conditional on the cleanliness of their room or the promptness of their obedience? Is it dependent upon their affection back to you? Do you love them more for the A’s on their report card? Of course not! That’s our God! He loves us so much stronger than deeper!

Our children must know that! We must tell them that all the time. God is mighty but does not despise any! Hallelujah!!

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

JELLO TREATS

I remember when I was growing up my Mom would make a lot of jello for us kids. It was cheap, and we loved it. Sometimes she would put fruit cocktail and nuts and even cheese in it. I loved the creations she would come up with.

But what was even cooler was she had some different molds she used to make it. That had a shaped side and a replaceable shaped bottom. After the jello jelled overnight she would dump it upside down and remove it, thus revealing the shape of the bowl in the jello. As a kid, I thought that was just cool. The jello took on the shape of the bowl.

TEACHING MOMENT

As believers, we need to make sure we do let our children take on the shape of the world. It is so easy to compromise a little here and a little there. Before we know it they look just like the world. How do we prevent that?

Pour them into the mold of God’s Word. Pour them into the lives of godly men and women. Pour them into the mold of an environment that exudes Jesus. If you don’t, the world will pour them into its mold.  When we pour them into the correct molds, they will begin to take that shape. They will look more and more like Jesus. When they are exposed all others will see is Jesus.

And when others tell you that you shouldn’t force that mold on them, quote this verse to them. By pouring them into God’s mold you help prove what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Job 28:20 “’Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? 28 And to man He said, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.”'”

HOW WISE ARE YOU?

What a great question! Job, in the midst of his discourse with his friends asks this question and then goes through all the places it is not. Finally he comes to the answer – the fear of the Lord.

So what does he mean by this? Why does “the fear of the Lord” bring about wisdom? Because when you reach the point where you truly love and honor God and recognize His enormity, He gives you the understanding you need. You obtain His wisdom.

Recently my son was showing his mom and I some videos that were made by one of his friends. These videos included aerial shots from a drone. As the drone was flying out from the scene showing the vastness of the area they were filming, my wife said, “We are so small compared to God!” Exactly, when we see that, we are ready to gain His wisdom.

TEACHING MOMENT

So, how do we give this information to our children so they will also gain His wisdom? How do we get them to the place where their fear of the Lord equates wisdom? We have to be deliberate to point out our God sightings. We have to be aware of how the Lord is working in and through us and make sure our kids see it too. God is at work constantly in our lives. There is not aspect of our lives He is NOT involved in. But sometimes we just don’t see Him.

As you drive on vacation or to school with your children, look for God sightings. As you go through a trial, look for God sightings. As you go through your daily routine, look for God sightings. And when you see Him, point Him out to your kids. Make sure they see His handiwork. By doing that, they will learn wisdom through the recognition of the vastness of God.

Romans 10:9-10 “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

NOW I KNOW MY ABC’s

Many of you will recognize today’s verses as part of the “Roman Road” which has been used for years to lead others to Christ. But these verses contain all three parts of the process.

A – Admit you are a sinner. I believe we find this in the last part of verse 10 where it says “and with the mouth he confesses.” Leading our children to this point is easy enough. People confess stuff all the time. Our children will eventually own up to something they have done which wasn’t right. Confession is good for the soul, they say. It is definitely good for salvation.

B – Believe Jesus is Lord and died for you. Verse 9 and the first part of verse 10 tell us this. We believe He is Lord, and we believe in the resurrection. However, even the demons believe and tremble, according to James 2:19. Belief that there is a God and that He does great things will not in and of itself result in salvation. You have to believe that JESUS is the LORD and that He died for you and was raised from the dead. Believing that takes faith. Your children can believe that with a simple child like faith.

C – Confessing our belief and surrender– Again look at the latter part of verse 10. It says we confess with our mouths, and then it says “resulting in salvation.” The only way that confession results in salvation is because you truly repent and believe. Our children have a very simplistic view of God. Why? Because God is simple. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mean God is just God. He is not complicated. Just do the ABC’s of salvation.

The next time you are helping your child with homework, why not cover the ABC’s once again. These ABC’s have eternal worth.

Job 22:5 “’Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquities without end?’”

HE LOOKED BEYOND MY FAULT

I have always had trouble figuring out exactly what verses in Job that were worthy to study. I know it is God’s Word and was inspired by Him through the writer. Some scholars believe it may be the oldest book of the Bible. I don’t know. But I do know that God would not have given us this book if He didn’t mean to teach us through it.

I realized something by reading this verse today. We are all like Job! So many times people judge us, just like Job’s friends, without knowing the background. They observe our external lives and make judgment calls based on what they see. Job’s friends took one look at him and reckoned him as guilty of something. They were frustrated and mad because they could not get him to repent. They had no idea of what was truly going on in the heavenlies.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children can learn also to not be quick judges of people. When you pass that person on the street that is holding the sign asking for food or money, it is easy to judge. “Why don’t they get a job?” “Why don’t they just get cleaned up?” Our children will undoubtedly ask you such questions. How will you answer them?

If we are judgmental of those individuals, our children will learn to be the same. If we are merciful and explain that we do not know what led this person to be in this situation and that we need to be Jesus to them, then they will learn to be merciful.

Teach your children to be very slow to judgment. Teach them to get to know a person before they decide if they like them or not. You have heard the old saying “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, it’s true. You have to look inside to discover the truth. God loves everyone and longs to have them come to Him. Shouldn’t we be part of that plan also?

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

SWEETNESS

I grew up eating mayhaw jelly. Now you may ask, “What is a mayhaw?” Well, “mayhaw” is the term used for Hawthorne berries which produce in May of each year in the swamps of South Georgia. They are very tart and not very pleasant to eat by themselves. But after you cook them and squeeze off the juice, you can make some of the tastiest jelly I know of. My dad LOVED mayhaw jelly.

That reminds me of this verse. Circumstances may seem to be tart and worthless, but after it goes through God’s pressure cooker and press, something sweet can be made of it. But come on now, who wants to go through a pressure cooker and then get squeezed. No one! Nobody likes that, but we can learn so much from these situations.

TEACHING MOMENT

As your children grow and mature, they are going to face “pressure cooker” situations. It will seem that they cannot possibly survive. Your little girl gets her heart broken by some boy. Your son gets cut from the basketball team. Your child fails a huge math test. All of these seem hard while going through them. But in every situation they can learn to be more like Christ.

The hard part for us as parents is to keep our cool. Dads, you want to find that boy who has crushed your little girl and take him out. Moms, you want to “have a talk” with that coach who just cut your son. Wait! Don’t react! Watch God work. He will take that “tart” situation, let it cook a while and then squeeze something out that can be enjoyed. Not because the situation is enjoyable, but the outcome is. We learn, our kids learn and God is glorified. Hallelujah!