Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 22:9-13
Ps 22:9-13
Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
2 Tim 1:3-5
I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
On my son’s first birthday, I made a comment about how much he didn’t know, and my dad replied by saying that this one-year-old had learned a lot more in the last year than I had. He was so right! Babies and little kids are soaking in new things, adding knowledge every waking moment. It is amazing how young ones can learn to repeat things, learn songs, know exactly where their favorite book or favorite toy is kept. They are capable of learning things they never forget.
A little later in his letter to Timothy, Paul says that he had known and learned the scriptures since his childhood. It is never too early to teach our children and grandchildren the Bible. We usually begin with stories and then move on to other things from there. The best starting place is “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This lays the foundation on which the rest of their lives must be built. This is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom.
The world around us will teach our children that there is no God, and that the Bible is a myth, fit only for old people who need a crutch in life. They will try to convince parents that the real world is the world of Satan and sin and that somehow, this is the world that children need to learn about. But the real world is the world that God made, and that God wants to follow him. We (and children) must live in the world, but we must not let the world live in us).
O Lord God, give me wisdom to teach young people to love you. Help me be the example that will lead others to follow you and live for Jesus. Give me a child-like heart, both pure and humble but give me wisdom to avoid evil. Lord, I pray for our nation. Give us leaders who respect you as God and your word as the source of all truth and wisdom. Help them put the good of the country ahead of personal gain and to be willing to openly work with the ones with whom the disagree. Give future generations the freedoms we enjoy today. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Robert
