Monday, July 25, 2011

Passing on Life Learning

Devotional for 7.25.11

Let’s again hone in on Proverbs chapter 4 as we continue to focus on this season’s GEMS theme, Get Wisdom: Go beyond the Gold!

PASSING ON LIFE LEARNING

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.
Proverbs 4:25-27

In Bible times when people headed out on a long journey by foot they choose a traveling companion that would look out for them and a well-traveled path that would keep them safe. They fixed their eyes on their destination and their feet toward the goal. The same holds true on the faith journey which parents, grandparents, GEMS counselors, and every member of the body of Christ takes with children.  

Be a traveling companion that passes on wisdom. In Proverbs 4 Solomon instructs his son to pay attention and gain understanding (Proverbs 4:1a). He then points to the learning that he received as a child. 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 with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live” (Proverbs 4:3-4). From generation to generation we must pass on the baton of faith by guiding children in the way of wisdom and leading them along straight paths (Proverbs 4:11). What children are you intentionally mentoring right now? Will you grab hold of the opportunity to guide more?

Choose level paths. Safe and level paths protect us from bad choices that almost always come with painful consequences. The safety of firm paths doesn’t guarantee that we’ll never be bruised and battered by hardships. A Proverbs commentator wrote, “Wise living does not bring about the good life. Rather, it keeps one from getting lost. It points out the folly of choosing evil as though it were some path to gain and instead reveals it for what it is, a true loss of life and character.”

Let go. There is a time and season to walk this faith journey hand in hand with children within our home and in our clubs, knowing there will be a time and season when they set out on their own path and are fully responsible for the decisions they make. When they leave the nest or our clubs encourage them to keep God’s word and wisdom in their sight and within their heart (Proverbs 4:21). Remind them of their responsibility to choose well and wisely. In the same way that Paul cheered on Timothy, encourage them to pass on the life learning they’ve received! “Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (2 Timothy 2:1-2, NLT).

Wisdom Step: Be intentional each time your path intersects with children. Pass on His wisdom to a child today.

Discipleship is like the generation gap between parents and children: We often tell kids to grow up. They can’t grow up. They need mentoring. They can’t grow up because they’ve never been there before. We as parents [and mentors] have been there. The goal is not for them to grow up but for us to become like them and show them how. That’s what Jesus did. He became like them to show them how.

Dan Riemenschneider

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Guard Your Heart

Devotional for 7.18.11


We’re up to Proverbs chapter 4 as we continue to focus on this season’s GEMS theme, Get Wisdom: Go beyond the Gold!

GUARD YOUR HEART

Above all else, guard your heart,
For it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:23

The children’s song, O Be Careful, Little Eyes, wisely instructs children of all ages to be careful what their eyes see, what their ears hear, what their hands do, and where their feet go. According to Proverbs 4:23, it’s missing a verse:

Oh be careful little heart what you keep.
Oh be careful little heart what you keep.
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little heart what you keep.

What we keep within our heart, to a great extent determines how we live. That’s why Solomon gives the command to guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life (Proverbs 4:23, NLT).  

In my high school basketball days I was a scrappy guard. I had zero comprehension of what to do on offense, but had an innate understanding that on defense I was to guard the basket at all costs. The context of this verse isn’t a guarding that keeps a basketball from the hoop, or a hockey puck or soccer ball from the net. This verse’s primary focus is not so much to guard our heart by keeping the bad stuff out, but by keeping the good stuff of God’s teachings, commands, and wisdom in!

The verses that precede the instruction to guard our heart reiterate the importance of keeping a vigilant watch over what we keep within. My son (daughter), pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight; keep them within your heart (Proverbs 4:20-21). Deuteronomy 4:9 says, Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children (and your GEMS!) and to the children after them.

Our heart houses our motives, thoughts, and emotions. What we keep within the control center of our heart will guide the choices we make and the paths that we take. The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 4:18-19).  

Wisdom Step: Do a heart check. What is your greatest affection and treasure? Is it God and His Word? Your family? Your agenda? Work? Money? Weekends? Travel? What you treasure will determine the course of your life. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Old Sarum Primer, 1558