Proverbs 25: 21-22 “21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

HATRED VS KINDNESS

I recently read a little poem that describes our passage today.

“By heaping coals of fire upon its head:

In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow,

And pure from dross the silver runs below.” S. Wesley.

Those words describe exactly how we are to treat our enemies.  We are to treat them with kindness so that they may learn to glow.  Our light (Christ’s light) can shine through us and cause them to glow.  What a blessed thought.  But it isn’t easy.

TEACHING MOMENT

Your children will encounter enemies during their life.  Now they may not be life threatening enemies, but they will cause your children grief.  Teaching our children how to handle these individuals is a life skill that is so important.

They should pray for their enemy.  They should seek ways to bless their enemy.  They should repay cursings with blessings.  It won’t be easy for your children.  They will still shed tears.  But by allowing themselves to be intimidated or scared by their enemies, they give them all the power over them.  Don’t let that happen.

Parents, are you allowing the Lord to love your enemies through you?  How can you turn all the anger they have for you into love for them?  Your children are watching (and learning) from you.  They will observe your actions toward people they know don’t like you.  Show them how to do it Christ-like, not the way you want to do it.  Then “the Lord will reward you.”

Numbers 32:8 “This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.”

NO ONE’S PERFECT

When the leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad approached Moses about staying on the East side of the Jordan to live, he was livid.  He assumed they were repeating the sin of their fathers who had refused to enter the Promised Land 40 years earlier.  Moses immediately chastised them and sought to convict them to change their minds.

However, the leaders gave him an answer he didn’t expect.  They promised to lead the people across and fight for them for the land, but leave their families behind.  They were willing to leave their families for years in order to fulfill the Lord’s command to go and possess the land.  That wasn’t what Moses was expecting to hear.

TEACHING MOMENT

This passage struck me as something that we do all the time.  We jump to judgments.  You may have heard the saying “Some people only get their exercise by jumping to conclusions.”  That’s so true.  We must teach our children to refrain from judging others.  We do not know their whole story most of the time.  We especially should not pretend to know what someone else is thinking.  That can be very dangerous.

Once again, the question is how to do that.  And once again the answer is by modeling the behavior for your children.  We must set the example.  When we are faced with the opportunity to judge, we must refrain from doing so.  God is our judge.  We have no business judging others.

Now let me just say that I am as guilty as the rest.  But we must refrain.  We must let the Lord reveal their hearts.  We can observe their actions and behaviors and see how they match up to the Word, but we cannot judge their intentions or motives.

Will you allow the Lord to subdue your judgmental spirit?  Will you allow Him to speak truth through you to others?  Be like Moses – just keep pointing them to the Promised Land.

Proverbs 23:13-14 “13 Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. 14 You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol.

PROPER DISCIPLINE

Before you stop reading, hang on.  I am NOT advocating beating your children.  I have worked with children since 1979, so I would never tell you to abuse your child by beating them with a rod.  That Hebrew word could also be translated as “club.”  Don’t use that either!  Lol

Neither is Solomon saying to club your child.  What he is saying is that an undisciplined child is headed to no good.  I am reminded of Hebrews 12:11 “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”  No one likes to be disciplined, and parents should not enjoy disciplining their child.  But to be good parents we must correct them when they have willfully disobeyed us or God.

TEACHING MOMENT

This is a perfect verse to share with your children when you have to discipline them.  They need to understand that, just as the Lord disciplines us, we must discipline them.  They need to know that by doing that we are showing our love to them.  Now I promise you that little Gertrude or Elrod are not going to believe you.  They do not want to be disciplined.  But I also promise you that later on, they will appreciate it.

Children thrive in a disciplined environment where they know the boundaries.  They feel safe knowing Mom or Dad are watching out for them to keep them in line.  A child who does not have any rules applied to them will choose the easy way every time, thus not learning those life lessons so necessary for success as an adult.

Do the world a favor.  Discipline your child.  Seek advice from other parents or a child specialist.  But whatever you do, do not “spare the rod.”  You need to find whatever method of discipline works best for your child and be consistent with it.

Be honest with me.  Don’t you want the Holy Spirit to correct you?  Don’t you want the Lord to “scourge” you when necessary.  Welcome correction in your life.  The Word does say that the Lord scourges those whom He loves.  And you know He loves you!

Numbers 27:18 “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;’”

WHO SHALL LEAD?

Moses had just been told to go on the mountain and look at the land of Canaan across the Jordan for he would not set foot in it.  Then Moses would die.  Moses’ first thought was, “Lord, who shall take my place to lead these people?”  He wasn’t bemoaning the fact that he was going to die or that he would not enter the Promised Land.  His first thought was for the people he had been leading for 40 years.

But the Lord had already chosen his replacement.  There was no hesitation on the part of the Lord.  He immediately told Moses to take Joshua, the man who been beside Moses these 40 years, the man who had led the armies of Israel, the man who had stood guard at the tent to meeting, the man who had been one of the spies 40 years earlier, and anoint him in front of all the people.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do you get an application from this passage for your life and the lives of your children?  For me, it is saying that God has a plan for your life long before you are ever aware of it.  He had been preparing Joshua for 40 years to lead.  Joshua had not been told that he was next in line to lead.  He just led as Moses instructed him.  He had been faithful to what God had entrusted him, and for that, God had found him worthy to lead.

Your children need to learn to trust God in the way He leads them.  The purpose He has for them may not be revealed right away.  He may wait 40 years to reveal it to them, like He did for Joshua.  He may choose to use them in a way they never even thought of, like Joshua.

How about you, Mom and Dad?  Are you fulfilling God’s calling in your life?  Are you still waiting for God to reveal it to you?  Perhaps He is still preparing you for something.  Perhaps He has told you but you don’t like what He said.  Joshua struggled with this, I am sure.  But He allowed the Lord to work through him.  Will you?

Numbers 26:64-65 “64 But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, ‘They shall surely die in the wilderness.’ And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.”

TRUE TO HIS WORD

40 years earlier God had laid down the consequences for rebellion by the adults (20 years and older) who had refused to listen to the counsel of Caleb and Joshua and claim the Promised Land.  Now here we are right before they are going to enter Canaan, for the second time, and all those who had been alive back then were gone.

God keeps His word.  Whether that means the promises He makes to us for blessing or the promises He makes to us for discipline.  God demands justice.  Praise be God that He has sent His perfect Son to be the propitiation for our sins, or we would be just like those adults who died in the wilderness.  No hope, no blessing.

TEACHING MOMENT

You need to be true to your word to your children.  They need to know that when you say you are going to do something, you are going to do it.  That can mean something good or it can mean following through with discipline.  They will learn from you that your word means something.

You are, in a sense, modeling God’s behavior to them.  Just as He is consistent, you need to be consistent.  Just as He follows through with promises made, you need to follow through with promises made.  AND just as God extends mercy through His Son Jesus, you have the opportunity to extend mercy when they do not deserve it.  But make sure they understand that is what you are doing and not just feeling sorry for them.

How are you doing, Mom and Dad?  Are you following through?  They say (and I sure wouldn’t know, lol) that the key to a great golf swing is the follow through.  That gives you a better shot.  The same is true with raising children.  You need a good follow through.  Be consistent.  Be like Him.

Numbers 24:25 “Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.”

Most of you have heard the story about Balaam, and you probably only remember the part about the talking donkey.  But there was so much more to the story.  Balak, the King of Moab, offered Balaam a great sum of money and honor if he would curse the Israelites.  You see, Balaam was a prophet and supposedly heard from the gods.  But Balaam was not a true prophet of Yahweh.

The whole story shows how Balaam got a kick out of the attention he was getting.  Even after a donkey talked to him and the One True God spoke to him, he does not change his ways.  He continues to be a prophet for hire.  The verse above says he “arose and departed and returned to his place.”  And for that lack of change, his life is taken by the Israelites in battle.

TEACHING MOMENT

When God speaks to us we should be changed.  We should be on our face in awe and reverence when the Lord decides to speak into our lives with truth and glory.  Our children will observe how we react to God’s activity in our lives.  It is so important for us to show them the proper way to respond to a Holy God.

When we, as a family, have faced a life decision, we have tried our best to explain to our children why we were doing what the Lord asked us.  We made many moves in ministry based solely on the fact that we knew the Lord was directing us.   Some of the moves made no sense at the time, but looking back we can see the hand of God all over it.

How can you as parents speak into your children to cause change?  By being changed yourself!  You have to show your children what change looks like.  You have to allow them to experience your change.  Listen friends, when God speaks things happen.  There should be a change of focus and direction based on how and when He speaks to us.

Will you today allow the Lord to change you, whatever that means?  Will you submit to His authority in your lives?  Or is He going to have to send a talking donkey to you?

Proverbs 19:24 “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, but will not even bring it back to his mouth.”

Have you ever see a truly, lazy person?   I remember as a young boy going to a play that my dad was in.  It was entitled “Too Tired To Move.”  The whole play was set with the characters lying around the stage talking but never moving.  They all had the same excuse.  They were all just too tired to move.

I am thankful my dad taught me a strong work ethic.  I was mowing yards and holding down part time jobs at a young age.  In fact, my dad even built my brother and I a small trailer to pull behind our Cub Cadet mower to haul our push mower and gas can.  We had a lawn care business way before that was popular.  I bought my first car from my earnings.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teach your children this proverb.  Laziness will never allow them to be all the Lord wants them to be.  Our children need to learn to be productive citizens.  Boys need to learn how to provide for their families.  Girls need to learn how to be motivated to start their own career or care for their families.  Give your children chores to do to learn how to work.

Our society today tells us to protect our children’s feelings.  I agree.  We should never intentionally try to hurt our children emotionally.  But we have gone so far in this direction that we have not challenged our children either.  Encourage your children to excel.  Encourage your children to do their very best.  That is our job – to prepare them to be ready to leave our nest.

Parents, listen to me!  Don’t keep your children as children.  Don’t be guilty of not allowing them to fail.  Failure can teach our children so much.  Help them learn from these failures and apply God’s Word to each situation.  The last thing you want is for your child to feel entitled and dependent on you forever.  The best thing we can do for our children is to teach them to depend solely on the Lord, Who is the provider of all things.

Numbers 20:12 “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’”

DO JUST WHAT I SAID

To get the full context you really need to read Numbers 20:2-12, but for this devotional thought I just gave you the last verse.  Do you remember the story?  The people were murmuring, once again, this time for water.  Moses goes before God, and He tells him to SPEAK to a rock and water will come forth.  But Moses takes the rod and hits the rock twice.  He never mentions that God told him to SPEAK to the rock.  In fact, Moses doesn’t either.  He speaks to the people and then hits the rock.

Did Moses go to the rock?  Did water come out?  Yes to both questions, but did Moses follow the Lord’s instructions?  No, and because of that disobedience he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.  Sounds harsh, doesn’t it?

TEACHING MOMENT

Our disobedience, no matter how slight, has consequences.  Our children must know that.  They must know that half obeying is still disobeying.  They must know that telling a half lie is still lying.  Are we going to kick them out the family for that?  Hardly.  But we must be consistent in handing out discipline.  Otherwise, they think they can partially obey.

This may sound too hard for some of you parents.  Sorry!  I just see way too many parents not being firm with their children when it comes to disobedience.  I have seen the results of that from 38 years of ministry to children and youth.  Trust me, you don’t want to let your children “get by” with things that will cost them dearly in the future.

But what about you, Mom and Dad?  What are you trying to get by with?  What are you half obeying?  Are you listening to the Lord and then picking out which parts you want to obey?  Are you reading His Word and then following only the parts that fit into your lifestyle.  Stop!  Obey!  Be blessed!

Proverbs 17:28 “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”

WISE WORDS

I heard once that President Abraham Lincoln paraphrased this verse by saying, “Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”  How true!  But some people just can’t stop their tongue, it seems.  They have to have the last word.  They have to “put in their two cents worth” when we wouldn’t give them a “penny for their thoughts.”  Okay, that is enough clichés.

Have you known many wise people?  The ones I have known don’t say much, but when they do speak you want to listen.  They take in all the conversations around them and seriously ponder them before saying a word.  I have a friend like that.  He is in his 80’s now.  You can just see the wisdom on his face.  When he explains a verse or passage you had better have a pen in hand because you are going to want to remember exactly what he says.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children need to find people like that in their lives.  Hopefully, we parents can be a wise advisor to them.  But we have to admit that we do not have all the wisdom we need either.  It is not a challenge to our parenthood to find others to whom our children can go for advice.

We also need to advise our children to “keep their mouths shut” sometimes.  Some kids just love to hear themselves talk.  They jabber and jabber and jabber.  They talk without thinking sometimes.  They will get in petty arguments about things that don’t matter.  They need to hear this verse.

How about you, Mom and Dad?  How do you talk to each other?  Are you so insistent to get the last word that you don’t even hear what the other person is saying?  Are you formulating your answer before they have even paused in their words to you?  Stop it!  Listen!  Before you say a single word, ask the Lord to give you the words He wants you to speak.  That would be wise!

Numbers 15:41 “I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”

OUT OF SIGHT…

As I have gotten older my memory is not as good as it used to be.  I have to make lists now to remember things.  Thank goodness for smartphones.  I can make my list in my notes app and have it with me wherever I go…as long as I don’t forget my phone.  Lol

The Lord is reminding the people, once again, that He is the One who delivered them.  He is their God.  Why did God have to keep reminding them?  Were they that forgetful?  Had they forgotten all they had seen Him do in Egypt and on their way to the Promised Land?  Obviously, they were doubting Him again.

TEACHING MOMENT

Are you constantly reminding your children to do their chores or clean their room or brush their teeth or….you fill in the blank.  It seems as parents that we have to tell our children over and over to get them to comply.  It probably is NOT a matter of them forgetting.  They are probably just NOT focused on listening to you.  They had rather do it their way in their own time.

This passage speaks wonderfully to that.  The Hebrew children had been fighting against God and doubting Him since they left Egypt.  God had to remind them that He had not changed.  He still loved them and had a plan for them, but they had to listen to Him.  He had to have their attention.  Sound familiar?  I bet it does.

Before we jump on our kids for listening to us, we need to examine our own lives.  Are we listening to our heavenly Father?  Are we attentive to His instructions for our life, instructions that when followed lead us in the right direction?  If you are like me, I think I have a better way.  But usually my way bombs.

Will you, just for a second, drop what you are doing and focus on Him?  Listen!  Closely!  What is He saying?