The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let the one who hears say, “Come.”
Revelation 22:17
In my previous post, Praying for Our Children we found Thumbkin and we ended our prayer outline with asking, “Where is Pointer?“
Hold your hand up and take a look at that there Pointer. Now I don’t know about you, but for some reason something within me deeply feels that if I use this very finger and direct it intently at the one I am speaking and giving instructions to, it will somehow help my words to penetrate through a thick skull and stick into their brain so that they will actually be heard and observed.
You know… something like this:
Now as we looked at Thumbkin we talked about how important it is to not try and keep our children under our thumb, but to place them under God’s. We saw that we needed to impress His words on them and not our own… As we look at Pointer we must carry that same concept.
When you use that pointer finger to deliver instructions to your children remember to pray that they would have ears to hear and heart to heed the instructions of God. Our children’s willingness to listen to and obey their Heavenly Father is crucial.
Mom this must begin with you listening. This must begin with you obeying. If your children watch you ignore the Word of God and openly and unabashedly disregard His clear and simple instructions for life and holiness, then they are not going to heed His instructions either… or yours for that matter.
They might patronize you in your presence and entertain you with feigned obedience, but the moment you walk away or turn around or they are old enough to step into life without you, it’s as though you never spoke a word. They will do just as the people of Israel did in the days of the judges…
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25
If God had of wanted us to do what is right in our own eyes, He would not have given us His Word or recorded His law, precepts, statutes, and commands for us. There is no greater danger to a soul than to think we can do what is right in our own eyes… I mean think about it. That’s how this whole fallen mess got started in the first place. Adam and Eve wanted to use their own eyes to decide for themselves what was good and what was evil… and look where it got them. Look where it got their children.
Mom if you are making choices in your life and in your children’s life that is simply doing what is right in your own eyes and according to your own understanding… you are walking on very shaky ground… earthquaking ground.
Sincerity can never replace obedience and good intentions are never as good as following through with action. The, well I just thought’s, simply don’t cut it when eternity is at stake.
God gave us His commandments for our instruction.
Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”
Exodus 24:12
They are for us to hear and heed.
Oh that we would just listen.
It was the finger of God that wrote out the commandments in stone for Moses (Exodus 31:18). I can’t help but imagine it was His Pointer.
As a woman of God, a mother to my children, and a teacher of the Scriptures to whoever will give me the opportunity, my prayer for myself, for them, and for all who hear… is that His Word would be received.
Please receive instruction from His mouth and establish His words in your heart.
Job 22:22
Let your prayer, dear mother, be that God Himself would open the ears of your children and seal His Word upon their hearts…
Then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction
Job 33:16
Take note from the fallen parents in Scriptures… God recorded their messes so that we could learn from them (Romans 15:4). Solomon knew well the pain of not listening. He knew how easily the things of this world can distract, how effectively the enemy of our souls can deceive, and how quickly the desires of our flesh can destroy. I can imagine it was with a heavy and fervent heart that he experienced the Holy Spirit’s breath upon his hand as he wrote out this charge to his son…
To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:1-7
Yes, beloved it is a fool that despises wisdom and instruction. I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan to be a momma who raises a bunch of fools… and I most certainly don’t expect to be one myself. God makes it very clear that we are stubborn rebellious fools if we refuse to listen to Him and if we don’t take His correction when He teaches us that we haven’t been paying attention.
Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.
Jeremiah 17:23
The simple truth is that God cannot fellowship with us if we are ignoring Him any more than we can fellowship with our children if they are ignoring us. Let our prayer for our children be that they would listen to the instructions of God.
Instead of pointing your children to your words and to your opinions and to your preferences point them to the Word of God. Point them to His thoughts and to His ways… because His thoughts and His ways are not yours (Isaiah 55:8) unless yours are lined up with His and if yours are lined up with His, then He is there to back you up. When they ask you questions, don’t shoot from the hip… take them to the Book. Teach them how to go to God to receive instruction… and most importantly, live a life that shows them what that looks like. God is just waiting to pour Himself out on those who are willing to listen.
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
Act 10:44
The Holy Spirit falls upon those who are listening.
Oh how I pray that we all are listening…
Next post…
Where is Tall Man? Where is Tall Man?