1 Samuel 9:11 “As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, ‘Is the seer here?’” 

ALWAYS GETS THE WRONG ANSWER

Saul was looking for Samuel to find out where his father’s donkeys were.  They had been looking for them without any luck and thought “the seer” could help them.  Why waste the time of a prophet of God looking for donkeys?  They had no idea what lied ahead.  Saul had NO idea he would be anointed as Israel’s first king.

Sometimes when we go to God with a request He has a completely different answer for us than we expected.  Sometimes He probably (notice I said probably) thinks, “What a dumb request.”  Now I am sure He doesn’t really think that.  But looking back at how He answers makes us realize we had really asked for the wrong thing.

TEACHING MOMENT

You have heard the expression, “There is no such thing as a stupid question, just a stupid answer.”  Well…sometimes questions are a little less than smart.  But when our children ask us something we should do our best to answer them with truthfulness.  Sometimes their questions make us stop and think.  Other times the answers are easy.

We do need to do our best, though, to answer their questions.  This teaches them to keep asking questions.  They won’t learn how to do life without asking those questions.  God wants them to ask.  He wants to answer.  That is the key.  They need to keep asking God for direction and the answers to those challenging life questions.

What are you asking God right now?  Has He EVER refused to answer?  You may not like the answer, but I guarantee He hasn’t refused to answer.  Just listen.  He will respond, sooner or later.

God, I know you are listening.  I know You are ready to answer. Prepare my heart to hear what You say and not what I want You to say.

 1 Samuel 6:4 “Then they said, ‘What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?’ And they said, ‘Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.’”

 A STRANGE OFFERING

 I have seen a lot of golden gifts, but I have never seen golden mice or tumors, especially tumors.  Who in the world would think that would make a good gift?  The Philistines, that’s who.  They had been plagued with mice and tumors since they had captured the ark of the covenant and brought it to their land.  God was letting them know they had no business with that.

Have you ever given God a gift that was less than desirable?  Have you offered Him your leftovers or something you really didn’t want anymore?  I used to oversee four Thrift Shops at a ministry.  I can’t even begin to tell you the literal trash we received from people.  And they wanted a tax receipt for it since they were giving to a ministry – to God.

TEACHING MOMENT

 We have to teach our children to give God our best.  The Lord deserves it.  We don’t give out of guilt, like the Philistines did.  We don’t have to “come up with” what we think is a good gift for God.  The Word tells us how and what to give.  We need to give Him our first fruits and our best.  We need to give Him our ALL.

So, how do you teach your kids that?  Help them decide how to invest their lives in service.  The ark represented the very presence and power of God.  We have that already in us in the form of the Holy Spirit, if we are believers.  Pray with your children every day to surrender their life and will to Him.  That’s much better than mice or tumors.  Lol

How are you doing with that?  Have you surrendered your ALL to Him today?  Have you laid down your desires for His?  Have you tried to “capture” the presence and power of God without realizing you already have it?

Powerful and ever present Father, envelope me today.  Remind me I am Yours.  Remind me I have to surrender to You today.  I love You, Lord.

1 Samuel 2:26 “Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.”

 WITH ALL

 Doesn’t this verse sound familiar?  Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Hmmm.  Very similar.  I wonder if Luke had this verse about Samuel in mind when the Holy Spirit inspired him to pen those words.

But look at the words.  Both the Hebrew word in 1 Samuel and the Greek word in Luke mean “pleasing” or “beautiful” or “in favor.”  What does that mean?  It means just want it says.  Samuel and Jesus had this in common.  They both pleased God and those around them.  Centuries apart – man and God-man – and they both pleased the Father.

TEACHING MOMENT

These words are so good for our kids.  We should be teaching them how to be “in favor.”  As they please their Heavenly Father through obedience to His Word and His Son, they will be in favor with us and those around them.  They will be pleasing to others.  They won’t rub people the wrong way.

When your children stray from this, we need to give them gentle reminders of what this means.  It is so easy to get caught up in our own desires and plans that we forget to please God. We forget to strive to be “in favor” through obedience.  It is so much easier to live in obedience if our motivation is to please the Father.  I am not talking about a works mentality.  I am talking about loving Him so much we can bear to disappoint.

Are you desiring that?  Do you reflect each day on how you can stay in favor with God and man?  I want to encourage you today to do that.  Take a look at your actions and words.  Do any of them lead in a direction other than obedience?  If so, stop right there.  Redirect and follow Him.

Lord and Father, I do want to be in favor with You daily.  I know my hope is in Christ.  I rest in that.  But I also want to please You through my actions.  Thank You for empowering me to do just that.

 Ruth 1:16-18 “16 But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.’ 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.”

TRUE LOVE

How many of you have heard these verses quoted or read at a wedding?  Although they do reflect Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law (which is amazing in and of itself) they have nothing to do with marital love.  I don’t use these verses in any ceremonies I conduct due to that fact.  If a couple really wants them, I make sure I explain the context of these verses.

Now, that I have said that…  Ruth’s love is noteworthy.  We often hear how bad relationships are between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.  Face it, mother-in-laws get a bad rap, don’t they?  And even though Naomi was bitter and depressed, Ruth still loved her.  Ruth was selfless in her love for Naomi.  We could all learn from that.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we apply this verse with our children?  Easy!  We should all love everyone this way.  We should love with abandon.  We should put others ahead of ourselves.  We should be unselfish in giving our love to others with no expectation of anything in return.

Teaching our little Gertrude to love this way is only done by modeling that love.  Be honest though, we don’t do that.  We pick and choose who we love.  We love only those who love us back.  Jesus loved EVERYONE.  He even loved Judas who betrayed Him.  So, be that example of selfless love.  Then your children will have someone to emulate.

You are the epitome of selfless love, Father.  You love with abandon.  Show me how to love that same way and teach others the same.

Judges 19:23 “Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, ‘No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly.’” 

WICKED = FOLLY

 Chapters 19-21 of Judges contain probably one of the most confusing stories in Scripture. It involves concubines, homosexuality, rape, war, death and forgiveness.  It is apparent that wickedness has always been among us.  People, left to their own decisions, will wallow in wickedness.  Let’s face it, sin feels good for a season.  But there are always consequences for our sins.

Israel and the tribe of Benjamin are at war WITH EACH OTHER.  It’s brother against brother.  This is NOT what God intended.  They were doing what was good in their own eyes and not relying on the direction of the Lord.  This story is a perfect example of how NOT to live.

TEACHING MOMENT

 When Elrod or Gertrude hits their teen years and is determined to live how they want to live, read them this story.  Show them how totally chaotic and wrong things can go when we are not following the Lord.  Your child, even though they know the right way to live, can choose another path, resulting in wickedness. It’s important they understand that wickedness always brings consequences.

The Lord won’t let believers wallow in wickedness.  He will discipline them at some point.  God will not allow His holy name to be besmirched by us.  His name means something.  He won’t be partnered with evil.  So, just beware.

Is your life reflecting good choices or wickedness?  Can the world even tell you are a believer by the way you live?  Do your children feel drawn to Christ by the way you act around the house?  Turn to Him today and ask Him to guide your every step.

O Lord, I am prone to live just like the Benjamites in this story.  My flesh’s desires are strong.  Give me the strength to always choose right, not wickedness.

 Judges 18:31 “So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh.”

SLIPPERY SLOPE

 What in the world is meant by this?  Surely, they knew better than to make an idol. They were worshippers of Jehovah Who demanded no idol worship.  But here we find them setting up a “graven image.”  It may have been an innocent gesture, but it led to disobedience.

Years later, Jeroboam set up the golden calves as a place of worship away from Jerusalem.  Some believe it was in the same place and because of the long standing graven images that were set up here.  If it was good enough for them, it would be even better later.  This seemed to be the thought.

TEACHING MOMENT

As parents, we have to hold our children to a strict standard as it relates to worshipping the Lord.  Anything does NOT go.  Our world seems to imply that we can worship the Lord in whatever way we choose.  The worlds shouts, “Be free in your beliefs.”  Straying from the Biblical commands, even a little bit, can take you far off course.

Remember, you are not raising children.  You are raising child raisers.  Whatever you teach your little Johnny or Susie will be taught or lived out to their children who in turn will do the same.  You have the opportunity to impact future generations.

Are you doing that?  Are you impacting your grandchildren today, before they are even born?  Yes, you are, whether you realize it or not.  Make a Jesus impression on them today.

Jehovah God, I will hold only You as my object of worship.  I do not need anything else to represent.  You are love and I know You are present always.

 Judges 14:4 “However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.”

HARD TO UNDERSTAND

The saying “God works in mysterious ways” does not appear anywhere in Scripture, but it does reflect several passages’ basic meaning.  What does it mean?  It means God doesn’t think like we think.  He doesn’t act like we act.  His ways are way beyond our ways. Sometimes the way He works makes absolutely no sense to us.

Samson’s parents were just like us in that they wanted their son to marry a good and godly young woman.  But who does he pick out?  A Philistine woman!  The enemy of Israel!  Why would God allow this?  To prepare Samson to defeat the Philistines.  Mom and Dad, God will use our children in ways we can’t imagine.

TEACHING MOMENT

 Our job, then, is to get our children ready for WHATEVER God chooses to do with them.  We can’t force our desires and wishes on our children, even if we think they are godly plans.  We have to love them enough to let God have them.  Wow!  I know!  That is hard, but it is the right thing to do.

God may ask your little Elrod to do something that makes no sense.  He may struggle with it.  Your task is to stand beside him as he follows the Lord.  When others, even in your own family, mock him and you, stand firm.  Trust God’s wisdom and direction.  Just look at how God used Samson to deliver Israel for 20 years.

Are you fighting against the Lord right now?  You may not even see it as fighting, but if you are not yielding, you are fighting.  We have only one right choice – to surrender daily.  Anything else is just…well…disobedience.  Do the mysterious thing with God.

God of mystery, surprise me today.  Liven up my life in a way I can’t even imagine.  But Lord, when You do, let me point only to You.

 Judges 10:15 “The sons of Israel said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.’”

 CONFESSION

When someone says, “I don’t care, just do whatever,” that usually implies they really just don’t care or they are just tired of arguing about the issue.  Right?  Well, this is NOT the case here.  In the pattern in which the Israelites had fallen, they had once again begun worshipping pagan gods, had been given into the hands of an enemy for judgment and now were crying out to God for deliverance.

But look at their words. “Do WHATEVER seems good to You.”  Those are dangerous words.  I have prayed those words before.  Desiring brokenness and humility, I have prayed, “Lord, do whatever You need to to do to bring me where You want me.”  I am not sure I understood those words.  I am sure I meant them, but did I understand them?

TEACHING MOMENT

Your child may throw those words at you.  Like the Israelites, they have done something wrong, and you have to discipline them.  They get mad, rather than sorrowful, and say, “I don’t care.  Just do whatever.”  That is the perfect time to pull out this verse.  Show them what those words could mean.  Asking someone to “do whatever” can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing.  But when they ask God to do that, He can literally turn their world upside down.  Is that what they want?

When we discipline our children it is not to break them.  But it should lead to brokenness and confession.  We should see repentance and a desire for deliverance.  As bad as we want it, however, we can’t force this on anyone.  That has to be desired and asked for by the person.  We just set the table.

I don’t know about you, but I truly desire for a contrite heart.  I want to be vunerable enough to be used by God and not be seen in the process.  I want others to just see Jesus.

O Lord my God, as dangerous as it sounds, break me.  Make me into Your perfect image.  Let others ONLY see You in me.

 Psalm 75:4-5 “‘4 I said to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up the horn; 5 Do not lift up your horn on high, Do not speak with insolent pride.”’”

WATCH YOUR TONGUE

 This is my prayer most days.  “Lord, help me to not be arrogant or boastful this day.”  Honestly, I don’t try to be arrogant.  It just comes naturally.  I can get big-headed and proud.  But I know these words from the Psalms are true.  God is talking to me here.

There seems to be two extremes in the world today.  People are prideful, or they have no pride at all.  No in between, no middle ground.  But look at our Savior. He exuded pride without being prideful.  He showed humility without being slothful.  He commands us to be like Him, so it is possible.  But, of course, it starts with dying to ourselves daily.

TEACHING MOMENT

 As parents, we are to teach our kids to be proud of who they are.  We want them to stand up for themselves and carry their name with respect.  But we don’t want cocky kids who look with disdain on those they think they are better than.  No one wants kids like that.  God gives us pretty clear instructions here.  Look at it again.

The “horn” was a symbol of power, strength and glory.  God is telling us to not use our position to put down someone else.  If God has blessed us with the “horn” it is to be used to lead, not destroy.  Our children should learn that early.  If they are the champions in a sport, act like a champion – lead by example.

Are you “lifting your horn” over someone?  We can do it so easily.  We do it at work, in the home and even in church.  Examine your life and make sure you are not using your opportunities to lead as a chance to “raise your horn” over someone.

Father God, Your horn is the only horn that matters.  I bow in obedience to your strength, glory and power.  Remind me daily to lead as You lead.

 Judges 4:9 “She said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.’ Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.”

GOD WILL USE US

 I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Barak hadn’t asked Deborah to go with him to fight against Sisera.  I bet he thought she was referring to herself, and he was pretty sure he could outfight her.  Nope, Deborah was referring to another woman, Jael.

You really need to read the rest of the chapter.  Jael tricks Sisera, who had fled from the battle, and then killed him with a hammer and tent peg while he slept.  Pretty gruesome.  She must have been some woman.

TEACHING MOMENT

“Come on, Carl, how in the world do I apply this verse to my kids?”  Well, think about it.  Do you think for a second that Sisera ever considered Jael a threat to his safety?  God can use ANYONE He desires to accomplish His will.  He chose to use Jael to be the one to kill Israel’s chief enemy at the time.  Your sons and daughters might just be the one to accomplish His will in some way no one expects.

What are your desires and wishes for your children?  I am sure you have them.  Ask the Lord to expand those.  Ask the Lord to use them to accomplish incredible feats of faith to lead thousands to Christ.  Wouldn’t that be the best answered prayer ever?  Teach your children to submit and trust.

What does the Lord want to use you for?  Are you willing to pick up the hammer and tent peg to defeat His enemies?  Are you willing to lay down your life for your God?  He will lead you if you trust Him.

O God, I know you can use anyone if we will allow You to do so.  Help me to yield.  Help me to teach others to trust Your leading.