week of 07/26/11 3rd recorded HighQuest Psalm 78:1-8

The passage I read was Psalm 78:1-8

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+78%3A1-8&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

⁸ They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

As I reflect:

I don’t think that there is much to read into on this passage. So my reflection today is short but my meditation and application will be daily from the time I wake till the time I sleep again. A simple psalm from Asaph, I hear the message being communicated as one stating the importance of sharing from one generation to the next. I live in a world that is falling apart because so many have failed to share in this way from the time of Abraham on. The truth of the matter is that history is destined to repeat itself. God however is outside of time and has inspired wonderful advice here as the way out of the loop of repeated history is to communicate the past to the present in light of the future.

For the Christian, we are to teach our children the word of God, explaining the history and praying with and for them that they might understand by the past as well as by our accurate example of life current, how to live in their future. By this I mean, we are to explain what God has said, how man has reacted, and what the punishments and rewards for those reactions were (to include of course the gospel message as well). I think there is much to be learned when we hear of Israel’s falling and being lifted up over and over again. For a child to grasp this and understand those many stories as they apply today, would be a wonderful help to developing their moral understanding of their own life.

Consider this, that a child hears of God’s grace and forgiveness countless times upon His children. That child if he too will know the Lord, will know that they are accepted and loved despite their failures. This is a child far less likely to be doomed to suicide, self mutilation, drugs or illegal actions to gain the acceptance of peers, etc. If this same child were also taught properly what happened as a result of turning away from God and turning to the idols of this world, and being disobedient to God repeatedly and that the Israelites also faced judgment and punishment from a just God, then that child might also be less likely to break both the laws of man and the laws of God. It’s pretty simple in concept to just say that if we teach someone the value of doing what is right and the punishments for doing what is wrong, that that person stands a far better chance of living a morally upright life. Again, for the Christian, this is not just advice, but one of the very few words from God on how to raise our children. Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

My response to the Lord:

Lord, I thank you that though my childhood was diverse spiritually as well as physically, you brought me around. You worked some ideas and teachings into me that set me apart and though I did experiment and sow my seeds in the world at first, when I was broken and at rock bottom, I did remember the lessons you got through my dark existence so that one day I could see light. I thank you for raising me in this way. But Lord, I also thank you that every failure I had due to my sin and selfish ambitions in life gave me the experience to add to the stories I now tell my children from your word. I thank you that my children are raised in the word and that I have the opportunity to tell them about the past and to live well as an example in the current that they might go on to live a future that gives you glory. I pray Lord, that you would work what we teach them into their hearts so that they when grown will not depart from your word. Bless them Lord and multiply their every effort that is for you. In Jesus’ name.