Daily Bible Reading - April 23, 2018

Verse

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:  --Acts 2: 17

Reflection

Isn’t it amazing that God has the power to do great things through Him alone, men and women are able to do things that they could never do apart from God.  God can do anything.  He has the power to move mountains, to speak His words through Humans, and to do great works in and through us.  God is truly amazing!

Prayer

LORD, I believe that You have the power to do mighty works in and through me.  I believe that You work through Your Church in mysterious ways.  I give my life to You to do whatever You want in and through me.  You are mighty and wonderful.  Your ways are mysterious, and I praise You for Your great works.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Training the Future Generations

Training a child goes beyond telling them what to do.  Children are keen observers.  They learn from the actions that they see on a daily basis.  –Proverbs 22: 6

Childhood is one of the most important phases of a person’s life.  We learn most of our values while we are growing up.  Most of the things that we do as adults are affected by our childhood experiences.  This is why we need to make sure that we teach our children the right things while they are growing up.  The “right way” to train a child is to bring them up in the things of God.  Children are never too young to learn about the gospel.  There is a vast amount of materials that you can use to teach children about Jesus Christ and what He came to do for us.

As the child grows, the teachings can become more advanced until they are able to understand the Bible on their own.  As parents, teachers, and leaders, we are meant to pour out as much love and wisdom into children as we can, so that they can grow up to do greater things than we have managed to do.

Training a child goes beyond telling them what to do.  Children are keen observers.  They learn from the actions that they see on a daily basis.  If we are trying to train our children to live godly lifestyles but we exhibit behavior that is contrary to our words, our children will choose to emulate our actions over our words.

If we tell children to be honest in their ways, but they see us deceiving others, children will choose to deceive others because they have seen us do it.  When you are tempted to yell at someone who is driving recklessly, choose to be patient instead.  Your child will keep these lessons for when they are older.  The only way to ensure that our children will get to know God and His love is if we choose to teach them about it.

According to Judges 2: 10 – 13, the newer generations of the children of Israel did not know God.  They were not knowledgeable of the many things God had done for their ancestors.  Because of this, they turned into a rebellious and idolatrous nation.  We see similar things happening around us in the modern world.  Many people have turned on God and have chosen to fulfil their selfish desires.

In order for us to change this, we need to make sure that we train up the future generations in the ways of the Lord so that they can continue to spread the message of the gospel when we have left the world.