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Sunday, July 4, 2010

A Proverb a Day

Back in the day, there was a saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". Well today, I say a Proverb a day will keep the enemy at bay! LOL At church we've been challenged to read a proverb a day in the month of July. Today, on our independence day we are on day 4 and therefore Proverbs 4 and I thought I'd share my thoughts.

Often times, when I hear people talk about Proverbs 4 they focus on the passage in verse 23 above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. The importance of guarding what goes into your heart. What you watch, listen to, the people you associate with. And that's very important. But today a different passage stuck out to me.

Verse 3 When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, "lay hold of my words wth all your heart, keep my commands and you will live.

This verse is saying that from the time he was a very small child his father taught him. He taught him about God from infancy. His parent knew the importance of starting to teach his child from the moment they are born. Now, I was quite young when i gave birth to my oldest son, still only 18 years old. And this passage makes me think of my shortcomings. I was so young, I was still trying to grow up myself, I didn't know that I should start when they were an infant.

Since then, I've grown up and I see the value of starting in infancy. If your children hear you speak of the Lord and live a life of example to them from the moment they are born, they are going to grow with those values. If our children are surrounded with the love of their parents and the love of God from the beginning, then when the attacks come, they will have a firm foundation to stand on. Something they've grown up with their entire lives and is part of their soul, not something they've just started learning about and is a good way to live. But something that is part of their soul.

Be assured, the attacks will come. The enemy wants nothing more than to destroy our children and have them walk away from God. Our children need a firm foundation, and not just something they are taught but something that is lived by example in front of them. They need to know that wisdom will guide them through the storms of life. And they need us to talk to them about it. If your kids are older than the infancy stage, it's never too late to start, but if your children are still young, or perhaps you haven't had children yet, love them enough to start early.

So today, I leave you with this, from infancy teach your children the following things, v7 Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom and she will protect you, love her and she will watch over you. v. 24-27 Put away perversity from your mouth, keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. do not swerve to the right or the left, keep your foot from evil.