In today's post I would like for us to meditate on the words of the Responsorial Psalm. It reads:
Blessed is every one who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord. (Psalm 128:1-4)
We have already learnt about what the Fear of the Lord is. Today, I would like to share the importance of teaching our children the Fear of the Lord. (Taken from Kenny Gatlin Ministries)
According to the Scriptures our children are arrows and we as their parents are the archers.
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.” KJV
As parents we are to point our children at the targets that please God as if they were arrows. In other words, our children will end up exactly where we point them. As parents we carry more responsibility than we may choose to believe when it comes to how are children turn out in life, and where and in what condition they will end up.
ENGRAVING
Deuteronomy 6:3-7
“3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 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.” KJV
VS. 6 – Before you can teach your children effectively, the Word of God must be in your own heart.
VS. 7 – TEACH = engrave
We must engrave the Word of God and the fear of the Lord in our children’s hearts and minds.
THE FEAR OF THE LORD
Psalm 34:11-17
“11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” KJV
VS. 11 – We are responsible to teach our children the fear of the Lord.
VS. 12 – Those that fear the Lord will live long and experience the good things of life.
What is the fear of the Lord? A very simple definition is this: To love what He loves and to hate what He hates. You see if you hate things the God loves, or even the other way around then you are not walking in the fear of the Lord.
VSS. 13-17 – These verses show the difference between loving what God loves and hating what God hates.
These are the things we must teach our children about the fear of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-3
“1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” KJV
Pay careful attention to how this works: When we teach our children the fear of the Lord, things go well with them. Then obviously, if we don’t teach them the fear of the Lord, things won’t go well.
Psalm 25:12-14
“12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” KJV
VS. 12 – When we fear the Lord He becomes our instructor.
VS. 13 – When we teach our children the fear of the Lord their soul dwells in ease.
VS. 14 – Revelation knowledge belongs to those who fear the Lord.
Psalm 128:1-2
“1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. 2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.” KJV
Again we find in these verses that things go well with those who walk in the fear of the Lord. Many parents go to desperate lengths to see that their children can have a good career and be happy, yet they often miss out on teaching them the only thing that assure them this.
Proverbs 14:26-27
“26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” KJV
VS. 26 – When we teach our children to walk in the fear of the Lord they will always have a place of refuge.
VS. 27 – Our children will drink from God’s fountain of life, free from satan’s snares.
There are so many blessings that come upon and are made available to those who have been instructed in the fear of the Lord. It is vital that you do not neglect this in the upbringing of your children.
Also Watch: Fear of the Lord by Andrew Wommack
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