OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2014 "YOU ARE A CARETAKER." BY PASTOR E. E. ADBOYE

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2014 "YOU ARE A CARETAKER." BY PASTOR E. E. ADBOYE

Memory Verse : Psalm 127 : 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 

READ : PSALM 127 : 3 - 5.

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Message

The scripture in today’s Bible reading establishes one fundamental truth that all parents must accept: God owns all children. God laboured to create man, both male and female. He then pronounced His blessing upon them that they should be fruitful and multiply, so that they would reproduce after their own kind. The product of the union of the man and woman whom God created therefore became His own reward! It then follows that any man or woman who claims to own a child is exhibiting ignorance because they do not even have an idea of how the child was formed in the womb.

A case in point with respect to this principle is the story in Exodus 2 : 9b where the daughter of Pharaoh said :
“Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.”

The Almighty God is so generous that he gave us children who in all respects belong to Him. He gave them to us as caretakers with the promise of a reward if we nurse them for Him and not for ourselves. Some parents nurture the children God gave to them with the sole aim of promoting their family name! For some others, they nurture them to carry on the customs of their family! Such people clearly think their children belong to them. They miss the point, and they will be rewarded accordingly. Contrary to such mindset, the Bible in Proverbs 22 : 6 says :

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The question then is: In what way should a child be trained? The answer to this question is found in Psalm 34 : 11 :

“Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

The fear of the Lord goes hand in hand with the knowledge of God. In fact, the fear of the Lord comes from knowing God and understanding His ways (Proverbs 9 : 10). The knowledge of The Holy One is found in His word. All parents should therefore train their children in the fear of the Lord through injunctions from the Holy Bible and not fables. As stated in Psalm 19 : 7, only the word of God is endued with power to change the heart of a man for good :

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

PRAYER POINT :

Pray for all parents in your church, that God will grant them the wisdom to take care of their children the way He expects them to. Pray also for those considered barren, that in nine months from today, their babies will be born.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : EZEKIEL 25 - 27; PSALM 71 : 14 - 24.