January - February 2023
The Messenger
We are starting a new year – Happy New Year - now let us quickly review some of the past year before we move forward. Early last year, we were reading and studying Proverbs. We noted that it is useful as a training book for parents as they teach their children. Solomon was the wisest man in history, supernaturally endowed with God’s wisdom. That means Proverbs is a treasure trove of God’s wisdom, as given to us by his servant, Solomon.
The purpose of the Book of Proverbs is teaching God’s mind to God’s people. Thus, the words of Proverbs need be passed from one generation to another. A thousand years later in history, I believe that is why our Father God chose Joseph and Mary to be Jesus' earthly parents. Their parents taught them from the scripture, and God knew Mary and Joseph would be faithful to teach the scripture to their family, while Jesus was young. We know that by the time he was 12 years old, His understanding and His ability to articulate His understanding amazed the experts of the Law in the temple. We need to teach our children in a similar way, supplementing what they get at their schools with The Truth from Scripture. Allow me to say more on this.
First; the little ones need to be taught that the LORD God is not somebody to be afraid of. Knowing that we can go to Him when we do wrong and ask for forgiveness; and when we are scared or hurting, His loving embrace gives us confidence. The Bible says over and over that “God is love” and that “God so loved” us. The Bible is one great love letter to humanity. However, there are some people who think that the Old Testament God is an angry God. That is not true. God is the same yesterday and today and forever. Moses, in his last speech to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 32: 6, said, " Do you thus deal with the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?" They knew God was love by the loving things God did for them: liberating them from slavery, feeding them in the wilderness, giving them The Promised Land for a home, defending them from enemies, giving them the Law, raising up prophets and warriors to lead them, and more. Many of us had earthly fathers who were somewhat like this: our fathers provided for and protected us, and that was showing love to us. This is why the Old Testament writers that called the LORD God, “Father”, such as David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
Second; we teach our young ones to read and then teach them how to read the Bible to learn its teachings. We do this in the beginning by telling them the scriptures in story form, and then later on, by letting them do the reading of the actual words in our presence (they will have questions that we will need to answer), and then...
Lastly; they will read the scriptures for themselves by themselves, relying solely on the Holy Spirit to interpret the meaning for them. This is how we develop a love for the Scriptures in the next generation. There is so much to be discover about God and how we can live according to God's will. But it is not gotten by videos on a video screen – faith comes by The Word of God. Speaking of Proverbs, read Proverbs 2, all of it, and until we meet again, remember this verse from Proverbs 20: 27 (NKJV): "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of the heart." Shalom!
~Guest Columnist
The Messenger
We are starting a new year – Happy New Year - now let us quickly review some of the past year before we move forward. Early last year, we were reading and studying Proverbs. We noted that it is useful as a training book for parents as they teach their children. Solomon was the wisest man in history, supernaturally endowed with God’s wisdom. That means Proverbs is a treasure trove of God’s wisdom, as given to us by his servant, Solomon.
The purpose of the Book of Proverbs is teaching God’s mind to God’s people. Thus, the words of Proverbs need be passed from one generation to another. A thousand years later in history, I believe that is why our Father God chose Joseph and Mary to be Jesus' earthly parents. Their parents taught them from the scripture, and God knew Mary and Joseph would be faithful to teach the scripture to their family, while Jesus was young. We know that by the time he was 12 years old, His understanding and His ability to articulate His understanding amazed the experts of the Law in the temple. We need to teach our children in a similar way, supplementing what they get at their schools with The Truth from Scripture. Allow me to say more on this.
First; the little ones need to be taught that the LORD God is not somebody to be afraid of. Knowing that we can go to Him when we do wrong and ask for forgiveness; and when we are scared or hurting, His loving embrace gives us confidence. The Bible says over and over that “God is love” and that “God so loved” us. The Bible is one great love letter to humanity. However, there are some people who think that the Old Testament God is an angry God. That is not true. God is the same yesterday and today and forever. Moses, in his last speech to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 32: 6, said, " Do you thus deal with the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?" They knew God was love by the loving things God did for them: liberating them from slavery, feeding them in the wilderness, giving them The Promised Land for a home, defending them from enemies, giving them the Law, raising up prophets and warriors to lead them, and more. Many of us had earthly fathers who were somewhat like this: our fathers provided for and protected us, and that was showing love to us. This is why the Old Testament writers that called the LORD God, “Father”, such as David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
Second; we teach our young ones to read and then teach them how to read the Bible to learn its teachings. We do this in the beginning by telling them the scriptures in story form, and then later on, by letting them do the reading of the actual words in our presence (they will have questions that we will need to answer), and then...
Lastly; they will read the scriptures for themselves by themselves, relying solely on the Holy Spirit to interpret the meaning for them. This is how we develop a love for the Scriptures in the next generation. There is so much to be discover about God and how we can live according to God's will. But it is not gotten by videos on a video screen – faith comes by The Word of God. Speaking of Proverbs, read Proverbs 2, all of it, and until we meet again, remember this verse from Proverbs 20: 27 (NKJV): "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of the heart." Shalom!
~Guest Columnist
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