Instructing Our Children About Life

   Wisdom from God does not come quickly.  Wisdom does not come automatically.  Wisdom is not soaked up.  Wisdom comes from time and experience.  Most importantly, wisdom comes from the wise people in our lives.  In the book of Proverbs in the Bible, a wise man talks with his son.  If you read in Proverbs 22:17, he says, "Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach."    12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.   The wise man basically says the same thing in Proverbs 23:12 (above).  The wise man wants his son to perk up his ears and pay attention.  A wise man knows that he can't be everywhere with his son.  A wise man knows that his own days are numbered.  That's why he takes the time to talk to his son before he passes away.    15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad;  16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.  17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.  18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.  19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.   --Proverbs 23: 12, 15-19 NIV   Surely every parent is proud when their offspring do and say the right thing.  It shows the child has been brought up correctly.  A good child is a good reflection of their parents.  It is no different for the wise man in the book of Proverbs.  We all want our hope to be justified that our children will live a good life beyond the one we see.  To have our children follow the righteous path with their whole heart is our deepest desire.  Beyond that, the wise man wants his son to have a burning desire to always respect God.  That is what I desire for all my children, not just the boys.  Our children should apply themselves to listening and applying the Word of God for their lives.  That means they will know what to do when trouble comes knocking.   Trials and tribulations of all sorts will come at our children, whether we are around or not.  We, as parents, should make sure to equip them with the Word of God.  For example, the words of wisdom (grounded with the Bible) of my mother still carry on in my heart.  When I am troubled, I think about what my mother would say to me.  Then, I try to apply what I've learned from her.  Her words of wisdom, and those of the Bible, have carried me on through these ten years without her.    Well, thanks for reading today's blog entry about instructing our children with the knowledge of God.  I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

 How about you, my readers?  Have you sat down with your children lately and discussed with them about what you want them to know about life?  Have you instilled the desire in your children to read the book of Proverbs of the Bible?  I encourage you to expose your children to book of Proverbs.  That book gives lots of good advice to avoid the pitfalls of life.

 God bless you all, my dear friends, with His wisdom and peace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen!
This has been an entry for the Spiritual Sundays series. 

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/

Embracing Proverbs

To embrace proverbs is to gain wisdom.

5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--  

6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

--Proverbs 1:5-7 New International Version 

If you are wise (learned), you will embrace more information.  Knowledge is power.  If you practice good judgment (discernment), then you should seek advice to keep perfecting that skill.  I am always on the search for information.  For example, I want to blog more effectively so I keep seeking information.  

What are proverbs?  I discussed this last week.  Proverbs are wise sayings.  Parables are short stories akin to fables.  Parables teach us lessons, like the story of the prodigal son being about humans going their own way and then coming back to God, the Father.

Sayings are proverbs, adages or idioms that have some wisdom behind them, like Chinese proverbs.  For example, "Wherever you go, there you are."  Funny, huh?  Yes, some of them are funny.  Riddles are puzzling questions like, "What starts to walk with four legs, walks with 2 legs later, and finally walks with 3.  The answer: Man.  He starts walking by crawling as a baby, then walks with 2 legs and then as he grows older, uses a cane to help him walk. 

To fear (or respect, have in high regard) the Lord (of all Lords) is to begin to gain understanding (knowledge).  To me, this means that I must respect and love God to a high degree.  He, in turn, will give me more information that I need to function in this world.  This is like the Bible verse that I love the most: 

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

--Psalm 37:4 (New International Version)
 

I enjoy (delight in) God's love, like a little girl who basks in the presence of her earthly daddy.  He, in turn, gives me what I most desire--wisdom to help me live through this life. 

The alternative is for me to be a fool (stubborn person).  Fools hate being taught new things (wisdom).  Many times fools think they know everything they need to know; however, I know that I don't know everything.  I understand that I am inside the box called life.  Only God can see from the outside of my life.   That's why I turn to him when I am stumped for answers to my deep questions. 

Discipline (correction, instruction) is tough to take from others at times.  I am guilty of not listening to orders from God.  Who isn't?  It is best to turn back to God when we come to our senses.  He is more than willing to accept us and remind us of where we went wrong and to tell us what we can do to rectify the situation.

How does this tie in to homeschooling my children?  My hope is that my children will seek information whenever they are stumped for answers.  I hope they will turn to God when they are at the end of themselves.  He is  there, waiting to give the answer; after all, He is all-knowing.  

How about you, my faithful readers?  What do you think about what your children  should learn? Do you think they should keep learning beyond the classroom?  Or do you think they are done learning once they graduate from high school? What about you, the adults?  Are you satisfied with the information you have in your minds?  I challenge you to keep learning new things about yourself and the world around.  I especially encourage you to learn more about God. 

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.

This entry has been created for the Spiritual Sunday series. I hope you have enjoyed it.

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/

Understanding Proverbs

 To understand Proverbs you must probe.

1 These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David's son, Israel's king -

2 Written down so we'll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it's going;

3 A manual for living, for learning what's right and just and fair;

4 To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.

--Proverbs 1:1-4 The Message [Version]

Today, I want to present what I think is important for my children to learn. I believe the reason to learn how to read is explained from this portion of the first chapter of the book of Proverbs. For my children to know what this means is to equip them for life. The knowing that there are important lessons and instructions in the Bible is invaluable. For them to be able to understand those lessons can empower my children to navigate life in this world.

The Message Bible provides an easy to understand version of the passage. I still remember using the King James Version. It was so hard to understand, but it made me work harder to break down what each word meant. Here is the King James Version, and you will see what I mean. In the brackets, I have inserted a simplified definition of the word that is in bold-face:

1 The proverbs [wise sayings] of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

2 To know [grasp] wisdom [information needed] and instruction [the lessons]; to perceive [comprehend] the words [sayings] of understanding [deep meaning];

3 To receive [get] the instruction of wisdom , justice [practice doing right], judgment [consider all information], and equity [be fair];

4 To give subtilty [cautiously] to the simple [innocent], to the young man knowledge [awareness] and discretion [decide responsibly].

--Proverbs 1:1-4 KJV

I think you can see the major changes between both versions. The Message, which is a more recent version, makes it easier to understand what the Bible says. It might seem to water down the content. I still prefer to break the passage down, word by word. Looking at the keywords is necessary.

In my own words, I will now say what I believe has been said in this portion of the first chapter of Proverbs:

King Solomon wanted these words to be written down so that his son could learn from them. Basically, he wanted his son to grasp (or learn) the information that is needed to live a successful life. It is important for the son to understand the wise sayings. From those lessons, he needed to learn to consider what was the right decision, considering all the information presented in any given situation so he could rule fairly. Further, this information was to be given cautiously to the young man and make him aware that he must always make his decisions responsibly.

I think it is wonderful to know that a parent, like King Solomon, wanted to pass down the knowledge he had gained from God. I think we, as parents, desire to pass on what we have gained through our experiences. Our children need our wisdom in order to succeed in life.

How about you, my readers? Have you considered what you are passing down to the children in your life? If so, what do you think is important to impart to them? I hope you will take the time to ponder what you are passing down to your children. Please ask God for guidance.

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.

This entry has been created for the Spiritual Sunday series. I hope you have enjoyed it.

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/