Psalm 146:1-2 “1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

When I was growing up in a small Southwest Georgia town and attending the First Baptist Church, I loved the hymn, “Praise Him! Praise Him!”  The first verse is,

“Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! Sing, ye saints! His wonderful love proclaim! Hail Him! hail Him! mightiest angels in glory; Strength and honor give to His holy name! Like a shepherd, Jesus will feed His people, In His arms He carries them all day long; Praise Him! praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness! Praise Him! praise Him! ever in joyful song!”

What can you add to that?  David knew the truths of this old hymn long before Fanny Crosby wrote it.  He had experienced the hand of God since he was a young lad tending his father’s sheep.

TEACHING MOMENT

The next time you pick up your child why don’t you start singing this hymn?  Can’t sing?  Then just speak the words.  Talk about how our hearts should be continually in praise to the Father who is worthy of all praise.

Kids love to sing.  Teach them this hymn and tie in today’s verses.  Connect the song to the Word.  Ask your child if they can think of other ways to praise God.  You may be amazed at what they think of.  And then, if at all possible, do it.

Are you praising Him today?  Are you celebrating that the King of Kings carries you all day long?  He is you, you know.

Tell the world of His excellent greatness.  Better yet, why don’t you show them His greatness by the way you live your life?  Let them see Jesus in you.

Job 35:11 “Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?”

SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER

You have probably seen, or at least heard of, the TV show “Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.”  It is pretty amazing how little adults know in comparison to the average grade school child.  Most of us have forgotten all the stuff we learned back then, especially dates and events in history.

But this verse in Job today reminds us that God has gifted us wisdom.  He has given us intellect to make us smarter than the other created things.  Scientist will tell you how “smart” certain animals are, but I don’t see them studying us in schools.  We are truly God’s greatest creation, created in His image.

TEACHING MOMENT

This is an easy lesson to teach your kids.  How many of you help your child with math or science?  Aren’t you constantly assisting them with projects or vocabulary tests?  Of course, you are.  While you are doing that share this verse.  Remind them that as mundane and boring learning may seem, God has given us the ability to learn and grow mentally.  We have the ability above all God’s creations to think and reflect on things.

Your children need to learn that God has gifted them with the ability to learn, but the most important thing to learn will not be found in a text book.  It is only found in THE book.  God’s Word is the sole source of wisdom for us.  It contains all the answers to all of life’s hardest questions.  There is no test too difficult that the Bible cannot give the answer.

So, why aren’t you digging deeper into it daily?  “Well, Carl, I just don’t have the time.”  Or “I have too much other stuff that demands my attention.”  Really?  Don’t neglect the opportunity you have to learn from His Word.  It is the only book you can read over and over again and learn something new each time.

I challenge you this week to memorize and apply one verse.  Stretch your mind to the limit.  Learn it and then live it.

Psalm 142:1-2 “1 I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord; I make supplication with my voice to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him.”

DAVID’S POSITION

David is fleeing King Saul and is hiding in a cave.  He knows the Lord has anointed him the next king of Israel, but Saul is determined to kill him.  I am sure he is sitting in this cave thinking, “God, what are you up to?”  But instead of just crying, he cries out to God.

Our cries for help may often fall on deaf ears of those around us.  Our family or friends may refuse to respond to our pleas for help.  Counselors and therapists are only human with limited skills and abilities (I am NOT disrespecting them.  Please hear me say that.) However, our Father in heaven is always bending His ear toward His children.  If you are a child of the King, He is just one cry away from responding to you.

TEACHING MOMENT

Has your little Susie or Leroy ever cried out to you for help?  Maybe you were inside the house while they were outside playing.  All of a sudden, you hear them cry out your name.  You know from the tone of their voice they are not merely trying to get your attention.  They need you RIGHT THEN.  What do you do? Do you simply sit around and wait?  No, you jump up and RUN to them.

When you get there and deal with the situation, whether big or small, you have a perfect opportunity to teach this verse.  Explain to them in the same way you came running when they called, God is ready to respond to them when they cry out to Him in need.  Our children need to know that God is the perfect First Responder.  And He always has JUST what we need.

Are you in need of the First Responder today?  What are you crying out for?  How can the Lord meet your need today?  Now, the Lord isn’t a bellhop we call on for stuff.  But He is the one who supplies our every need just when we need it. He will respond to you according to your submission to Him.

Call on Him today!  Let Him have His perfect will done in your life.  Let Him soothe you with His healing balm.

Psalm 139:7 “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?”

The Psalmist tells us here in this great Psalm a very sobering thought.  There is NOWHERE we can go to escape God.  He is everywhere.  His presence permeates all creation.  We may think we are hiding from Him, but nope, He is there.  There is no hole deep enough, no ocean wide enough, no mountain high enough to escape the presence of The Almighty.

But then again, why would you want to hide?  If you are a child of the King, don’t you want to be as near to Him as possible?  What makes us want to hide?  SIN!  We either desire it, so we hide, or we are ashamed and want to hide.  But everything in our lives will one day be exposed.

TEACHING MOMENT

I remember like it was yesterday the day my daughter decided to hide from us in our bedroom closet.  She was only about 2.  It started out as a game to her, but when we started panicking and yelling for her, she got scared and wouldn’t come out.  Her hiding place became her scary place.  She couldn’t move out of fear of getting in trouble.  She was afraid to come out because she thought we were mad at her.

Is that what your children do?  Do they hide from you when they are in trouble?  Our children must know, without a doubt, that no matter what they do, we will love them.  They also need to know that no matter what they do, God loves them.  Could there be consequences for disobedience?  Why of course!  Don’t hide that from them.  Be up front with them about that.  But reassure them that discipline from us or God does NOT negate our love.

Are you hiding today from God?  Are you in one of those places in your life when you just can’t handle being exposed to the brilliance of our God?  His light exposes sin in our lives, and you just can’t deal with that.  Come out of your hiding place?  God is waiting to wrap His arms around you.  He wants to restore your fellowship with Him.

Step into the light and feel the warmth of His love today!

Job 30:20 “”I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.”

BEEN THERE – DONE THAT

Have you ever felt ignored by God?  Come on, be honest.  Hasn’t it happened at least once in your life?  You are going through a difficult, heart wrenching time, and God seems to be nowhere.  You cry out to Him and hear nothing.  His Word doesn’t console you.  Worship just angers you.  Nothing is speaking to you.

Join the crowd.  This has been going on for centuries.  You can look all through Scripture and find references to people who felt abandoned by God.  Job is feeling that in this passage.  He felt God had turned His back on Him.  He didn’t know why.  All hope seemed to be gone.

TEACHING MOMENT

I guarantee you that your children are going to get down in the dumps like Job at some point.  They are going to feel all alone.  Don’t let them stay there.  Just as Job discovered just a little bit later, God hasn’t moved.  He is still present.  He is still watching.  Our children need that assurance that He is there.

Don’t shame your children out of the doldrums, though.  Let them seek God in the midst of their pain.  You can’t seek God for them.  They have to do that for themselves.  But you can share your own struggles with them so they will know they are not “less spiritual” that others.  Be there when they need you, but let them hear God.

How about you?  Are you in one of those times yourself?  Are you feeling like Job?  Have you been crying out to seemingly deaf ears?  Do NOT stop crying out!  God is there!  He is taking you to a point where He wants you – the perfect point.  Because EVERYTHING God does is perfect.  He is making you more like Him with every blow of the chisel. He is knocking off imperfections.  He is making you something in which others can see Him.

Let God work on you!  You WILL like the end product!

Psalm 135:15-18 “15 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them.”

WHAT IS YOUR GOD?

The Psalmist nails it here.  The things we worship other than God cannot see, hear or talk.  Yet, we idolize them.  We spend exorbitant amounts of money to obtain and maintain them.  Anything we possess can possess us.

Think about the things in your life you spend the most time on.  I read somewhere recently that if the average person read the Bible as much as they watched TV they could read through the entire Bible in one month.  Wow!  Guilty!  I know I spend way too much time in front of that thing.  But TV isn’t the only “god” we have.  I could name dozens of others.  What is yours?

TEACHING MOMENT

The point is this – we must teach our children what to worship, or should I say WHO to worship.  They need to know that the most important thing in the world to us is God.  We must model for them true worship.  There is NOTHING wrong with having nice things and even spending time on them.  But we must hold them with open hands.

Our children will adopt our faith when they are small.  We read to them from His Word.  We take them to church.  We send them to church summer camp.  But we must be laying a foundation for the day when our faith becomes their faith.  And we must build that foundation with solid stones.

Mom and Dad, are you laying the right stones?  Are you pointing your children in the right direction?  Is church something that you do on the weekend, if it’s convenient?  Do you make God the priority in your life by spending time with Him each day?

The problem with blind, deaf and mute gods is they begin to make us blind, deaf and mute also.

Job 24:13 “”Others have been with those who rebel against the light; they do not want to know its ways nor abide in its paths.”

OFF COURSE

When I read this verse today the first thing that popped into my head (and that can be dangerous, lol) is our society today.  People are rebelling against “the light” and have no desire to know God.  Do you agree?  If you bring up Biblical values and morals, they scoff at you.  If you try to stand on the principle of one man and one woman marriage, you are considered narrow minded and prejudiced.

I read a quote recently from A.W. Tozer.  “When the world says, ‘Oh, you’re narrow,’ you say, ‘Maybe I am narrow, but the way is narrow, and the path to heaven isn’t as broad as a 16-lane highway. You know why I am too narrow?  I am walking with my God.’”  That just about sums it up for me.  I have to be focused on “staying inside the ditches” on the road to eternity.  It is way too easy to get distracted and get off course or get stuck in a ditch.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our children to stay focused on God can be challenging.  They are going to hear everything but God from the world.  The world’s view of life directly conflicts with what you are teaching them in the Word.  So, our job is to keep them laser focused on the prize.

The next time you have some of your child’s friends over to the house, listen in to what they are talking about.  Chances are they will discuss some things that may not agree with your family’s values.  Why not share this verse with your child when they leave?  Remind them that they are going to encounter a lot of people in their life who “do not want to know its ways nor abide in its paths.”

How about you?  Do you “want to know its ways” or “abide in its paths”?  Remember, a ship that gets just a few degrees off course will travel many extra miles and fail to reach its destination.  You have to stay focused on the end.  You have to keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith.

Job 23:3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!”

GOD DOESN’T PLAY GAMES

Who doesn’t like a good game of hide and seek?  Kids have played it for generation.  There is something exciting about hiding in a spot and hearing the “it” try to find you.  But for the “it” it can be quite frustrating, especially if you keep being “it”.  (Okay, that is enough “its”.  LOL)  When people hide so good you can’t find them or run back to “home” before you can tag them, it can be very defeating.

Some people, like Job here in this verse, feel like God is hiding from them.  When they go through hard times, they think God has taken a vacation or has turned off his ears to them.  That is so not true.  You see, Job’s perception of God at this point in the book has been marred by his physical and emotional suffering.  He has allowed the circumstances of life to blind him.  God was still there.  He was just waiting for Job to see Him.

TEACHING MOMENT

If there is one attribute of God that our children need to learn it is this – that God is always there.  He is omnipresent.  He can be every all the time.  I do not begin to understand that, but I believe it.   Our children need to understand that when they go through hard times (and they will) God has not gone anywhere.  More times than not, we have taken our eyes off of Him.  We are looking in the wrong direction.

As believers, we don’t have to try to find the Lord.  He dwells within us through His Holy Spirit.  We only have to stop and get quiet.  We have to allow Him to speak.  Sometimes that means we need to find a place that is free from all the noise of life.  Sometimes that means we get into the Word (which is always a good way to hear Him) and read.  He will speak.  He does to me everyday through His written Word.

Are you listening today to the voice of your heavenly Father?  Are you screaming at God, “Where are You?  I can’t find You?”  Stop yelling!  Listen!  Let Him speak truth into your hearts today.

Psalm 110:1 “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’”

WHERE ARE YOU SITTING?

When you were courting your spouse, do you remember sitting so close to them that you appeared, from a distance, to be one person?  The joke is told of an old couple who were riding along in their old pickup truck.  The old man was driving, and the wife was sitting on the other side of the truck.  The wife looked over at her husband of fifty years and said, “Look at us.  When we were dating, we used to sit right next to each other in the car.”  Without taking his eyes off the road, he said, “Well, I haven’t moved.”

Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand, and He isn’t moving.  The Father and the Son are side by side in eternity, waiting on us, watching over us and the Son is interceding for us.  As our enemies attack us, the Son leans over and says to the Father, “I haven’t moved.  I am still right here on behalf of Carl.”  Wow!  I am that precious in His sight.

TEACHING MOMENT

The next time you sit down next to your son or daughter or they jump in the chair next to you, bring this verse up to them.  They know how much you love them, right?  Explain to them that Jesus is sitting next to His Father, too.  And He is talking to God about all His children.  Is your child His child?  I pray they are.  If not, what a great verse to use to explain how much God loves them.

Our children desire closeness.  They want to be hugged and loved on.  Even those children who think they are too old for that still need that.  You may have to be the one to reach out first, but do that.  Remain physically close to them.  Remind them daily how much you love them by showing them the affection they need.

Have you been hugged today?  Has someone told you they love you?  Can I hug you today?  Here it comes.  Can you feel it?  Probably not, but I am sending it to you.  Better yet, let the Lord give you a hug today.  Ask Him.  I know from first-hand experience that He is a hugger.

Psalm 109:8 “Let his days be few; let another take his office.”

You may have heard this verse quoted by others in regard to someone who is serving in a political office whom they didn’t like.  I heard it quoted against President George W. Bush and President Barak Obama.  Depending on your political persuasion you probably wanted one of them out of office.  Right?

However, we as believers, must pray for our leaders.  Although I did not vote for some elected leaders, I am still mandated to pray for them.  God allows leaders to be elected for a purpose.  I truly believe that.  Therefore, I must submit to God’s sovereignty and lift up those He has put in place.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children must learn submission to authority.  That begins with us, of course, but it is applied to all authority.  The recent protests in our country against President Donald Trump is just one indication of anti-authority thought.  Protests on college and high school campuses against speakers who espouse opposing views is another.  Our children must respect authority, regardless.  We must model that for them.

So, how do we do that?  How about praying with your children for their teachers and principals?  How about praying for your mayor or governor, whether you voted for them or not?  How about praying for your boss or supervisor whom you may not always agree?  Your children need to see you showing respect and honor for those leaders, even if they know you don’t agree with them.

This devotion is a little different than most of the ones I have written.  But I have learned to allow the Lord to speak through me whether I understand all He is saying or not.  I trust that someone out there needed to hear these words today.  I know I did.

Respect, honor and submission are important principles for all, but especially for us who call ourselves followers of Yeshua.  Will you bow to His rule today?