A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother. –Proverbs 10:1(NIV)
One of the things you should work really hard at doing is making your parents happy at all times. God wants you to do this, that’s why it is mentioned in the bible.
If you want to be called a wise child, you should bring joy, and smiles to your father, and make your mother happy at all times.
The Bible defines this as wisdom.
It is also stated in the bible that when you as a child honour your father, and mother your days will be long on the earth. This is the only commandment with a promise.
It’s really important that you as a child prioritize the happiness of your parents. How do you do this?
It’s by thinking of their happiness in all your decisions and making sure that you obey them. Let me show you ways in which you can make your parents happy and be a wise child.
1. Obey everything they tell you
2. Pray for them all the time
3. Read your books and do well in school
4. Do your house chores without being told to
5. Be hardworking and diligent at all you do
6. Keep your books properly so they don’t get torn or missing
7. Honour elderly people around you
8. Be nice to your friends and siblings
You have to be intentional about making your parents happy, be deliberate about it, always do things that will make them smile, and before you do anything ask yourself; will mum and Dad be happy about this thing I am about to do?
If you do this all the time, you will see that you will gradually become mindful of their happiness every day.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, give me the wisdom to make my Parents happy always
ACTION PLAN: Choose to do one thing today to make your parents happy
DECLARATION: I am a good child, I am wise. I have the wisdom to make my mum and dad happy all the time
Hi dear, yesterday I told you how that God watches you. God keeps watch over us his children and his angels are constantly watching over you and I.
The fact that God watches over us also means that he sees all that we do, and that means everything we engage in whether good or bad, the things we do in secret, and the ones that are open to everyone.
Take for instance, your parents might not know if you disobey them, or when you make faces at them when they correct you, but God sees you, and that is because he doesn’t turn his face away from you for a second.
For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths, the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. –Proverbs 5:21-23 (NIV)
I want you to pay close attention to today’s devotional as I will be shedding more light on our focus verse.
Asides that God sees you when you do good things, and of course bad things, another reason you shouldn’t get yourself involved in bad things is that, they will get you in trouble.
There is never an escape route after choosing to do something wrong, the truth will always be exposed and you will get in trouble. It’s even worse when you are caught in the act or you are found out.
See what the bible says;
the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
If you continue disobeying what you are told to do, your actions will get you in trouble.
The only way out, and the solution to not getting in trouble is following instructions, and if you follow instructions, it shows that you are disciplined.
Choose to be a disciplined child at all times, obey your parents, do what is right at the right time, and you will be glad you did.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive grace to do the right thing all the time; Amen
ACTION PLAN: Choose to be deliberate about what you say
DECLARATION: I am a good child, I am wise, and obedient.
I hope you have been following our series on obedience, and learning how to obey God. We have Father Abraham as our case study and I believe we have learnt one or two things in the past few days.
The truth is that obedience pays. The bible says Abraham obeyed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Wow! What a testimony.
This morning, I will be sharing with us how to obey God.
There are several ways by which you can obey God. Let us consider a few.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. – Genesis 12 verse 1,4 (NKJV)
One way we are to obey God is by obeying Him wholeheartedly. Obey with all your heart, not part of your heart. In God, it is either you give him all or you give him none.
See what God says about your heart
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, – Deuteronomy 10:12 (KJV)
The same way you cannot love God halfheartedly is the same way you cannot obey God halfheartedly.
The obedience God recognizes is obedience that is devoid of grumbling or complaining.
When your parents ask you to do something for them, and you grumble, murmur, or complain, you lose the blessing therein.
Let’s learn to obey God wholeheartedly so we don’t lose our reward.
Still talking on the issue of obedience, this morning, I want to quickly show us a few practical ways to obey God as children.
Remember, we are considering the life and times of Father Abraham
Genesis 12 verse 1,4 (NKJV): Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
1. By being obedient to His Word.
The word is God. The only way you can be obedient to God is by obeying his word. If you disobey God’s word, it is as good as saying you have disobeyed God himself.
So dear children, my question to you this morning is; are you obedient to his word?
2. By being obedient to spiritual authority.
Oh yes. There are several authorities that have been placed over us as children. When you obey such authorities, you are obeying God.
Examples of constituted authorities include your school, your church, your family, and so on.
Note that no authority can spring up without the input of God Almighty. So when you obey them, you are obeying God.
There are many more ways we can obey God, but I hope you have been able to draw out lessons and action plans from the above as regards your obedience to God.
The word obedience according to the dictionary means compliance to a command, prohibition or known law and rule of duty prescribed; the performance of what is required or enjoined by authority or the abstaining from what is prohibited, in compliance with the command or prohibition.
Taking a closer look at the life of Father Abraham, you will discover that it was obedience that made him great.
Genesis 12:1,4 (KJV) Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
I will be sharing with us few reasons we should take obedience seriously.
1. Obedience proofs your love for God and to God. If you truly love God, you will obey Him.
2.Obedience is part of our worship. If we profess to love and serve God, then one of the ways we show it is our obedience.
3.Obedience is a test of our faith in God. This is true because faith in God means believing in his instructions and if we claim to have faith them we must obey.
4.Obedience is also a test of character, the ability to follow simple instruction is evidence of good character
5.Obedience helps us as God’s children to shine forth our light in this world
Obeying God is a vital part of our lives as believers, nothing can be compared to a life of obedience. I pray that you receive grace to be obedient all the time in Jesus name. Amen.
PRAYER: Father in the name of Jesus, I receive grace to be obedient at all times in Jesus name
ACTION PLAN: Obey every instruction given to you today
