Your Daily Devotional for February 12, 2006

February 12, 2006

 

Your Child’s Heart

By Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.  Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways:  now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

 

1 Samuel 8:3-5

 

Stop!!  Think!!  Ask some questions!!  How is your child’s heart today?  The actions of the sons of Samuel were part of the cause that people asked for a king and had to settle for God’s second best. 

 

I’m not asking if your children are perfect angels!!  I am asking if they have a heart for the things of God.  God’s Word commands us to help our children strive to have a heart for God.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, “Hear, O Israel:  The LORD our God is one LORD:  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

 

Notice that God wants us to have His Word in our hearts—not just on our walls or in our minds, but in our hearts.  Then we are to teach it to our children and put it within their hearts—shepherd their hearts.

 

We need to be careful of the danger of familiarity.  We need to not take for granted that a child has Christian parents, goes to Sunday school, or sings in the teen choir.  Do they have a heart for God? 

 

While your child has influence now, it will be even greater ten years from now.  How will that influence be on the lives of other people?  Will they draw others closer to God, or will they cause others to sin because of their testimony, influence, and direction of their lives?

 

As you sit with your children at dinner, drive to church, and tuck them into bed tonight, check out their heart for God.

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