In Tune with Him Daily: Guidance for Youths, Focus for the Middle-Aged, and All-Round Depth for the Elderly

By Inyang Ukot

This devotional is the product of a deep-seated desire to place in the hands of readers a unique material that meets the needs of youths, middle-aged and the elderly. This book meets your needs today, is entirely practical just as it is entirely scriptural. In terms of arrangement, it starts by reminding the reader of the Lord’s Prayer. Unlike most devotionals, it has table of contents that tells the reader the topics, dates and pages where the subjects are treated for the entire year; the reader can go to a topic of interest and read it before or after the date. Moreover, there is no assigned year, making it valid any year. You can purchase it on any day of the year, start using it and get back to that date the following year. Topics are taken from Genesis to Revelation. Bible passages averagely stay within fifteen verses, with depth of contents even when just one verse is studied. The icing on the cake consists of four feature articles and ten word-search puzzles. The titles of the feature articles include: The Youth: The Errors of Rachel; Trust; and Challenges and Fulfilment of The Elderly. They cover interesting areas on youths, women, children and the elderly, respectively. The ten puzzles are for your exercise. Even readers completely unfamiliar with the Bible are welcome as the this ‘study-devotional’ meets everyone’s heartfelt needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973693895

Inyang Ukot

Inyang Ukot is a children's worker. He has been working with children since 1974. He started off as a teenager teaching a children's Sunday school class in his local church before proceeding to the medical school where he also taught in the children's Sunday school of Chapel of the Healing Cross at College of Medicine of the University of Lagos and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. He joined close Christian friends to run Housing Estate Sunday School in Calabar upon graduating from the medical school. He has been involved in children's ministry and established Children's Christian Materials Foundation. He has written Christian books which include: The Making of a Servant of God - A Biography (1993), Children's Puzzle Book (1994), Light to my Path - Bringing clearer meaning to daily Bible reading; helping even children read the Bible daily and understand it (2020), In Tune with Him Daily - Guidance for Youths, focus for the Middle-aged, and all-round depth for the Elderly (2020), and Ultimate Praise - Psalms: Praising God in All Circumstances (2020). The three recent books are available online at Amazon.com and other platforms for purchase.He is a specialist in Family Medicine and has so far authored six books in that specialty. He is married and has four adult daughters and a granddaughter.

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Copyright © 2020 Inyang Ukot.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture marked (KJV) is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9388-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9389-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020911153

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/10/2020

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

[For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.]

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

(Matthew 6: 9–13, NIV)

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtor.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

The Lord’s Prayer

(Matthew 6: 9–13, KJV)

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

CONTENTS

Introduction

An Honest Prayer

The Youth: (When To Weep And When To Reap)

The Errors of Rachel: (Hindrances to Entering God’s Promises)

Children: (Ministering to Your Children)

The Elderly: (Challenges and Fulfilment of The Elderly)

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

INTRODUCTION

In Tune with Him Daily is a study-cum-daily devotion reading resource, crafted to help young people (youths) and adults of all age-brackets, to spend about 15 minutes every day to study a few of the precious truths found in the Bible. This book is not synonymous with the Bible and should therefore not be used as an alternative to the Bible. The idea is to bring some Bible truths to the reader who is either a youth or an adult. The Bible should be kept side-by-side when using this book. The Bible passage for the day should be read just prior to reading the write-up for the day; the passages are generally not in excess of fifteen verses. This devotional should provide the reader with daily spiritual fueling to ensure a step-by-step walk that keeps them in tune with God throughout each day. They are preferably read in the morning hours after awakening; they may also be used in the evenings and at night but for those who prefer reading just before bedtime they should beware of reading with sleepy eyes and minds dulled by the tiring activities of the day. The topics span Genesis to Revelation and cover various subjects found in the Bible, though not all. Most of the teachings are representative of what you will find in the entire Bible and they are made as practical as possible, showing their relevance to our lives today. The more experienced reader of Christian material should be patient with the author because of explanations like: "Ezra was both scribe and priest. A scribe was a teacher of the Law of Moses and a priest stood in-between the people and God during their services and religious ceremonies." They are to ensure that every reader has a clear understanding of every non-day-to-day word; a reader of this book does not have to be familiar with the Bible at all, neither should they pause for search in reference materials for answers.

The greatest resource used is the NIV Bible. There are also thought-provoking articles on contemporary topics to help stimulate further personal study – these write-ups are found at the beginning of the devotional, before the commencement of the daily reading materials.

Your experience of the Bible should not be limited to reading just this devotional and the few passages selected from the Bible. This devotional provides only a bird’s eye view of the Bible and the teachings in it. It is strongly recommended that you have and make good use of the following:

o A Study Bible;

o More than one version of the Bible – at least an older and newer;

o A Bible Commentary;

o A Bible Dictionary.

They are important resources which are also available electronically; they will enable you do personal study of the truths, facts, teachings, and doctrines in the Bible. So many people depend only on what they hear other people tell them. What you have been hearing or what you will read in this devotional should stimulate your interest to search the Bible on your own for context (background) and intent (purpose).

Kindly engage yourself meaningfully rather than simply rush through any topic. May you be blessed as you go through this resource in one year.

AN HONEST PRAYER

We call the prayer below ‘An Honest Prayer’ because it makes sense or works ONLY when you truly mean what you pray; that is if you really want Jesus to live in and control your life. To help you know the basis for the prayer there are nine references below the prayer ‘box.’

We advise that you pray the prayer (or something like it) only when you get to the point that you believe the things inside the prayer – this may happen at the beginning of your use of this devotional or as you continue using it. We do not force you to pray the prayer as not even God does that.

Have a good time as you have your daily devotion – and may God bless you!

Father, I thank You for loving me.¹

I am sorry about sin inside me. It makes me do what you do not like.²

I thank You for Jesus Christ Who died for me.³

I also thank You because Jesus Christ is alive so that I do not have to die in my sin.⁴

Jesus, I come to you and ask you to forgive me and save me.⁵

Jesus, please enter my life now and take away the power that sin and Satan have been having over me.⁶

Jesus, I pray that you give me the power of the Holy Spirit to live the rest of my life doing things that will make God happy.⁷

I thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life because I believe you heard me and answered my honest prayer.⁸

Father, I pray this prayer in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!⁹

1. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.

2. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23; For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Romans 7:19.

3. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11.

4. He (Jesus) told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. Luke 24:46.

5. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. John 6:37; But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. Luke 5:24.

6. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in... Revelation 3:20; In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. Mark 3:27.

7. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it. Isaiah 30:21; The Spirit of truth .... will guide you into all the truth. John 16:13

8. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. John 6:47; I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28.

9. Ask and it will be given to you; Matthew 7:7; And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13.

THE YOUTH

(WHEN TO WEEP AND WHEN TO REAP)

God Almighty has created times and seasons for man and with each season comes a responsibility, a call for action. No season is created for idleness, meaning that any season left unaddressed shall bring forth another season of sighs, tears and regret. This discourse calls on the youth to carefully consider two inevitable seasons, namely, Weeping and Singing. These are two seasons we have to consciously determine which comes first. We shall examine this concept based on the Psalmist’s prescription in Psalm 126:5, 6

Those who sow with tears

Will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

Carrying seed to sow,

Will return with songs of joy

Carrying sheaves with them.

The above quotation has highlighted issues that allude to times and seasons. For instance, there is a season for sowing and there is a season for reaping; for going out and for returning; for weeping and for singing. If you match the stated seasons, you have these pictures:

i. Sowing goes with weeping

ii. Reaping goes with joy and rejoicing

iii. Carrying seed to sow (associated with going)

iv. Carrying sheaves (in return). Those who try to avoid weeping by refusing to sow shall weep inevitably when they ought to reap.

It would be a disaster to sow with joy because sowing requires bestowal of pain, labor and discomfort. This presentation posits that, it is better for the youth to engage in sowing with weeping, with hope that the reaping season (which would have been past youthful season) will come with rejoicing. But let us briefly consider the two broad seasons of life, namely the youth and the adult seasons.

The season of youth is characterized by vigor, vibrancy. The youth dreams big, engages in experimentation. The wise man captures the youthful season this way:

Remember your Creator in the days your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in them... Ecclesiastes 12:1

Also Prov. 22:6 declares:

"Start children off on the way they should go,

and even when they are old, they will not turn from it"

From these scriptures we can safely infer that the youthful season is the season of sowing (which could be so painful that it brings tears, hardship or some form of inconveniences). It is the season to build capacity that will enable the individual function maximally and productively in the future.

This is therefore the time one can consciously choose tears on account of the rigid exposure to tough and demanding tasks of training, discipline which are the requirements for going to school and making it worthwhile. This also is the period when you must say ‘No’ to certain attitudes, habits and tendencies that are injurious and have the ability to deny you joy in the future. For instance, a young person that goes into drugs, drinking and gambling, together with cultism, is courting criminality. These things bring excitement in the now but leave behind pain, shame, frustration and regret. Those who heed this path tend to drop out of school, pursuing the fast lane. This way, they deny themselves the basic capacity for survival in the world of work.

Sowing is a deliberate activity that involves clearing, tilling the ground for planting. In the same way the youth must consciously create positive dreams and execute these dreams by consciously pushing aside distractive tendencies and attitudes. This is the time to seek education, acquire skills that may not look appealing in the now but which will make a difference in the future.

The youth must consciously seek God and imbibe His words which must form the core values influencing their world view, education, career development and family life.

The youthful period is the season for sowing (investment) and it takes a long gestation period and, therefore, requires careful cultivation and maintenance of the values. This brings us to the next area of consideration.

Carrying Seeds: Seeds speak of potentials that could translate to real life when sown. Until you sow (invest) seed, you don’t have life (future) that would give fulfilment. The seeds that must be carefully cultivated are:

➢ Faith in God and His Words

➢ Discipline

➢ Hard work

➢ Character development, among others.

Those who carry seeds today will certainly carry sheaves tomorrow, if they sow in tears. But those who fail to carry seeds with pain today have forfeited the right to carry sheaves tomorrow, so they would carry shame, frustration and failure (weeping).

We live in a generation where these seeds are lacking, which is why the youths that carry them must patiently sow and painfully cultivate them. There are no shortcuts to success and this is what causes pain and tears. But when we remember the adage, No pain, no gain, we encourage the youths to accept pain now to gain later (in adulthood). When the seeds grow and fruit, it is a season of rejoicing; it sets in because a seed will produce several other seeds and make the sower a contented and happy person. But before the fruiting is the period of carrying, planting, watering, weeding and driving away pests.

When we remember some youths in the Bible, what they had to go through to become successful in future, then we have no other option than to sow in tears and wait in hope. Consider for instance, Joseph who had to face rejection by his brothers, humiliation and demotion in the hands of Potiphar in Egypt. Those were his days of sowing in tears. He refused to be discouraged and so did not give up. When he was made a father to Pharaoh, a ruler of Pharaoh’s household and a ruler over the land of Egypt, he had started reaping and bearing his sheaves (of success and prominence). He could save the lives of his family members and the people of Palestine. At this point his tears were drowned in his joy and rejoicing. He had become a blessing but this was the product of first sowing in tears.

Then, of course, Moses who chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25–26). He went on to suffer indignities in the hands of Pharaoh until he became the hero and outstanding servant of God for all time. It took patience, hope and faith to survive the turbulent days of tears and pains. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

How about the four Hebrew children in Babylon who were subjected to intimidation and humiliation of being put into the Lions’ den and the fiery furnace? Those were not pleasant experiences but they went through them all. The season of carrying sheaves with joy came when they came out unhurt, when the king pronounced that every member of that empire was to worship Jehovah.

What we are saying is that, you can choose when to weep and when to sing. If you can choose to weep in your youth stage, you will inevitably sing in your adult age. If you choose to carry seeds in the time of youth you will, in adult life, carry sheaves (success in education with the attendant blessings of a good testimony, a happy, stable and God-fearing home and a social standing that honors God and blesses people). But if you choose to skip tears now, you will eventually weep in adulthood and the pains then would be much greater than the pains of sowing in tears as a youth. The loss at that stage is almost irrecoverable.

If you give your life to Christ as a youth, you would have imbibed the self-sacrifices and self-control that would have placed you on a pedestal of avoiding the sinful pleasures that could degenerate into barrenness, drunkenness, ungodliness, etc.

Everything in life is about choice and every choice carries with it, attendant consequences. Choose to weep now and joy will be yours in future; but if you choose to avoid weeping now, automatically you have signed up for pain ahead. There may be no consolation then. Weeping certainly is no sign of weakness. Chose right and avoid regrets.

The Rev Nsa Eyo, BA Ed. (Hons.), M. Ed., DipTh. is a minister of the Gospel with over 20 years of service. He currently works at Unical Chapel of Redemption, University of Calabar, Nigeria, as the Chaplain. His areas of service in Christianity are teaching, raising disciples and evangelism. His hobbies/other interests are reading, current affairs educational service.

THE ERRORS OF RACHEL

(HINDRANCES TO ENTERING GOD’S PROMISES)

Hebrews 4:1–11

Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience, Hebrews 4:11

Introduction: The desire of every Christian is to enter God’s rest. This may be physical, spiritual, or eternal rest. The ultimate rest is eternal rest even as our Lord Jesus Himself had promised us that He was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:1–4). No one must miss this.

The time between God’s promises and possessing the promises is a very challenging time interval that is characterized by battles. These battles are not against flesh and blood. They are battles against unseen forces that the Bible refers to as rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil. They are determined to stop children of God from possessing God’s promises. This is why the Bible encourages Christians to take the shield of faith with which to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). While these arrows can be satanic attacks and various forms of demonization, it is worthy to note that the greatest arrows hurled at children of God are aimed at working against their faith and also turning them from righteousness thereby luring them into sin. When hit, they present as faithlessness, worldliness, discouragement, disobedience, anger, rebellion etc. This was why Joshua, when the children of Israel were about to enter into the Promised Land, was instructed emphatically by the Lord to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). It was to strengthen him because of the battles that they had to fight to possess God’s promise. God may make us promises, but battles must be fought to gain possession of the promises. This also implies that God may make one a promise and the person may not eventually get it, as we see in Hebrews 3:4ff where the first generation of the Israelites that left Egypt did not enter the Promised Land because of some errors which the Bible summed up as unbelief.

Also, in Genesis 35, we see a woman, Rachel, who did not enter God’s promise. The Lord had appeared again to Jacob and blessed him; affirmed his change of name; poured the blessings of fruitfulness and multiplication upon him; and also reaffirmed His determination to give him the Promised Land to possess. After this, Jacob and his family moved to settle in Ephrath i.e. Bethlehem. To one’s amazement Rachel, the beloved of Jacob, had a painful and difficult labor and died in child birth. Her body was not carried to Ephrath but was buried on the way to Ephrath. She did not enter the Promised Land. These raised questions in my mind: Why did Rachel not enter God’s promise? Could there be reasons, or was it just coincidence? Why would Rachel have great difficulty, i.e. prolonged and obstructed labor, and die in childbirth? Israelites were not supposed to have difficult childbirth or die in childbirth (Isaiah 66:8–9). Yet Rachel, the beloved of Jacob had difficult labor and died in childbirth. Was she not the one for whom Jacob labored for fourteen years? Was it just a coincidence or was there a deeper reason why she died on the way and not enter Ephrath?

A critical look at the life of Rachel reveals that she was hit by many arrows which manifested as errors. What were her errors? We shall take a look at some of them and, by God’s grace, learn from her mistakes.

Accepting to Be A Second Wife (Genesis 29:28)

Polygamy is not in God’s original design for the family. He gave Eve, not Eves (wives) to Adam and He did not take Eve to Adams (husbands). In Matthew19:4, Jesus restated that the original will of God concerning marriage from the beginning was one man, one woman. The two shall become one flesh. Polygamy is not God’s will. This is why it does not work. It didn’t work in Bible times neither is it working in our time. The first wife is the covenant partner. This implies that Leah was the covenant wife of Jacob. There have been arguments on this subject matter as many people think that it was Rachel that Jacob labored for, not for Leah. True. Jacob was deceived into marrying Leah. However, a careful look into scripture reveals that it was Leah that gave birth to Judah and Levi. This implies that Leah, who was married first was the covenant wife. Who else but the covenant wife would have given birth to the tribe from which the Lord Jesus would come? Again, priesthood was given to a tribe that came from her womb, the Levites. Also, Leah was the one who was buried in the same cave where Abraham, Sarah and Isaac were buried (Genesis 49:29–31), while Rachel was buried on the way to Ephrath (Genesis 48:7). Her bones were never brought to that cave.

Envy (Genesis 30:1)

Envy is a very dangerous arrow that is hitting many believers. Many times, people try to hide it but it manifests in character and attitude. The Bible records that Rachel, on seeing that God had opened the womb of her co-wife and sister Leah and that she was bearing children, became envious of the blessings on her. She could not appreciate and celebrate God’s grace upon another person. This pushed her to make demands from her husband with a competitive spirit. Often you hear people comparing themselves with other people. Some wives would say things like, Don’t you see the type of car that Esther’s husband bought for her…? When you don’t appreciate the grace of God upon other people, you will hardly attract blessings of God upon yourself.

Negative Spoken Words (Genesis 30:1)

Rachel’s envy for her sister led her to demand that her husband give her children otherwise she would die. By saying this, she had unknowingly made negative pronouncements on herself. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Words are very powerful because they put things into creation. She virtually signed her death warrant when she said those words because husband’s can never give children. This is because children are a heritage from the Lord (Psalm 127:3).

Giving God’s Place to Man (Genesis 30:1–2)

By making demands for children from her husband instead of from God, Rachel was giving God’s place to man. She looked to her husband rather than God for her blessings. God, in Exodus 20:3, made it clear that He is a jealous God. He does not want us to have other gods before, or besides Him. Looking to man for one’s blessing is a form of idolatry. Many times, people look to human beings for help, forgetting that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father of lights who does not change (James 1:17). This does not mean that God does not use people to provide help.

Rivalry (Genesis 30:3–8)

Rivalry is unhealthy competition. There are competitions that are good. For instance, students can compete to make the best results in school and come tops. This is healthy competition. When competitions are motivated by envy and jealousy, it becomes rivalry. Rachel, on seeing that her sister was having children, resorted to unhealthy competition. She could have believed God for her own children like Hannah did when Peninah was taunting her. She rather resorted to making human arrangements. This made her to give her maid to her husband so that she could raise children for herself through her. The names she gave to the children that her maid bore for her are an indication of what was going on in her heart. When you celebrate others that have been blessed by God, you attract grace. We must learn to rejoice with those who rejoice just as we mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15).

Stealing (Genesis 31:19)

When Jacob was fleeing, with his family and possessions, from Laban Rachel stole her father’s household idols and took them along with her. When Laban caught up with them and accused Jacob of theft, Jacob not knowing that his dear wife Rachel had stolen the idols, made a pronouncement that whoever the idols was seen with would not live (Genesis 31:30–32). This was the second pronouncement of death over Rachel. The first one was by herself (Genesis 30:1) and this second time by her husband. Still, Rachel was unrepentant and would not confess the theft. The reward of sin is death. Today, many people are taking what does not belong to them in government, offices, and in homes. Stealing is sin.

Idolatry (Genesis 31:19)

In Genesis 31, Jacob called his wives and intimated them of his plans to go back to his people in obedience to the Lord’s instructions. This was after hearing that Laban’s sons were not happy with him because they believed that he had taken everything that their father owned. Laban’s attitude had also changed towards him. As they were packing their things to go, to one’s utmost surprise, Rachel stole her father’s household idols. Why would she go for the idols? It is bad enough to steal but to steal idols is beyond imagination. Surely, she did not steal the idols to keep her father from worshiping them. The only answer that one can find is that she was an idolater. God abhors idolatry. In the second commandment given to Moses, idols in the form of anything in heaven, earth or in the waters below must neither be made nor bowed down to (Exodus 20:4). Idolatry was the reason He killed twenty-four thousand Israelites through plague in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. These people had joined themselves to Baalpeor (Numbers 25). It is worthy to note that idolatry in the present day presents in many forms. Indeed, anything that one prefers to God is an idol. This can range from human beings to objects like telephones.

Lying (Genesis 31:34–35)

After Laban accused Jacob of stealing his idols, Jacob ordered that a search be made for the idols in the camp. Rachel, in order to cover her sin of stealing, hid the idols in the camel’s saddle, sat on them and lied to her father that she was in her monthly period. Sin is in the domain of darkness. That is why it wants to be covered. Many people use lies to try to cover their errors. The fact that she lied means that she knew that taking her father’s household idols was wrong. Anything that one is doing and the person is hiding, is not worth doing. The Bible cautions in the book of Revelation 21:8 that the fearful, the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.

Dishonoring her Father (Genesis 31:34–35)

The only commandment in the Bible that has a blessing attached to it is the commandment to honor parents, so that one can live long in the land that the Lord God is giving (Exodus 20:12). This implies that one’s life span can be cut short when one does not respect parents. Rachel dishonored her father when she did not rise for him (Leviticus 19:32). She also dishonored her father by lying to him. The matter of honoring parents is so important that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who claimed that they would rather give to God as dedicated gifts what they should use in taking care of their parents Their wrongly-motivated and ill-advised religious gifts to God did not impress the Lord Jesus. He frowned at this (Matthew 15:3–6). Many people fall into this error of giving to the church, or to their men or women of God, what they should use to help their aged, sometimes needy parents.

Sitting on Idols (Genesis 31:34)

When Rachel sat on the idols that she stole from her father she would have thought that she was being smart, especially as she was able to hide what she had stolen from everyone. She succeeded in escaping from being caught but she did not understand the spiritual implications of what she did. She did not understand that by sitting on the idols, she was polluting the gateway of her reproduction. Many have polluted the gateway of their physical, material and spiritual reproduction because they sit on idols. In other words, many have polluted their gateway of productivity because they are into subtle or brazen idolatry. When one is receiving political and sundry power from demonic, cultic, occult, and other questionable sources, the person is sitting on idols. Many businessmen and business women are going to satanic altars to succeed in their businesses. Even in the churches, some ministers and other leaders are operating with powers that they receive from demons in order to perform miracles, signs and wonders. These have grievous eternal consequences.

Bitterness (Genesis 35:18)

Rachel was bitter even at the point of death. On the way to Ephrath, the Bible records that she fell into a difficult labor which led to her death. Despite the encouragement of the midwife, she named her son Ben-oni, i.e. son of my sorrow. But for the intervention of Jacob who quickly named him Benjamin (son of the right hand) the baby could have been ruined for life. Bitterness has the potential of eating one up. It is not possible to manifest the grace of God when a person harbors bitterness because a spring cannot bring forth both bitter water and fresh water from the same source (James 3:11)

Non-Acceptance of The God of Jacob (Genesis 31)

Of all the negative darts or arrows that hit Rachel, the most important one is the arrow of unbelief. Her actions showed that she never believed in, or accepted, Jehovah as her God. Although her father’s family were idolaters and they did not know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we can see from the account of Jacob in Laban’s house that he remained faithful to Jehovah who was with him to guide, bless and protect him. When she married Jacob, he must have told her about his God and she must have seen him worship God. This is evidenced in the fact that when he called his wives to tell them what the Angel of the Lord had told him in the dream, they did not express any surprise neither did they ask him which god had spoken to him. What other reason could Rachel have for stealing her father’s household idols except that she was still attached to the idols and wanted to keep worshiping them.

Jacob loved Rachel and paid dearly to make her his bride. Despite the fourteen years of labor by Jacob to pay her bride price, she was not converted to the worship of Jehovah. To the Jews, the number seven is a number signifying completeness. Jacob loved Rachel and paid the complete price two-fold to make her his bride. Yet, she was not converted. This was a type of what Jesus did for humankind. Note the similarity between what Jacob did for Rachel and what Jesus did to make us His bride. He loved us and gave His life for us (Galatians 2:20 and Acts 20:28). He paid with His blood. This is the highest price that anyone can ever pay for his bride. Jesus loved us and paid the ultimate and perfect price to make us His bride. And God, out of His love for the world, gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Many, like Rachel, have heard about the ultimate price paid by Jesus on His cross at Calvary, yet they do not want to accept the free gift and get converted.

Conclusion

Joshua was charged to be strong and courageous because of the physical battles he needed to fight in order to lead the Israelites to enter and possess the Promised Land. As many as are steadfastly pursuing eternity in Christ Jesus must fight battles to enter and possess God’s promises for their lives. However, the battles are not bodily or physical (2 Corinthians 10:3–5). Daily, the devil hurls darts or arrows as presented in the arrows that hit and stopped Rachel. Despite the high price that Jesus paid to make us His brides as well as make us partakers of His eternal inheritance, the errors above can stop us from receiving God’s promises to us and also hinder us from entering the ultimate Promised Land (1 Corinthians 10:1–12; Revelation 2:18–26; Revelation 22:12–15; Colossians 3:1–11)

Oluchi Gladys Onoh, PhD., is an artist by profession. She is married to Most Rev. Dr. Torty Okwara Onoh, a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. Together, they have served God and man in various parishes in the country. She is blessed with five children. She is an intercessor with keen interest in discipleship. She is also passionate about evangelism and has written many tracts for that purpose.

CHILDREN

(MINISTERING TO YOUR CHILDREN)

Deuteronomy 6:1–9, 20–25; Matthew 18:10–14

To avoid any doubt, this article starts with a definition of terms. In the context of the contents of this write-up, ministering means looking after, tending, or caring for; children means offspring, kids, youngsters, adolescents, or youths. If you consider these words that describe the keywords of the title, I am dwelling on meeting the needs of people who have proceeded from us, and therefore are younger than us, though they may have attained the accepted age of adulthood. To give something, you must have it. If you find someone freely distributing items that are not theirs to other people, that person is most likely a thief, and what are freely dispensed are stolen items, until proved otherwise.

The earlier definition that I used is the definition of biological children. Children do not have to be biological, just like family members do not have to be related biologically. According to the US Census Bureau, A family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is a householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. From this definition children, being members of the family, may not be related by birth, but by adoption.

This article takes the relationship further by extending it to such people that you have (or can reasonably have) a positive influence over. It then means that any younger person that can gain something positive from you – whether the person is born to you, adopted by you, under your care in the school system or in church, in your neighborhood, etc.) – is, jointly with you, the subject of this work.

Certainly, the Bible says a lot about children, but attention shall be concentrated on mainly what Solomon, Moses, and Jesus said about them.

King Solomon

The very popular verse, Proverbs 22:6, states: Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it. In that same chapter, King Solomon said: Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away – verse 15. The same writer mentioned something in the very next chapter, something many people would take offense over; it is in verses 13 and 14 and I would like to replicate it here: Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death. I deliberately quoted these verses because some readers may not want to refer to the Bible, but they could do so after reading this. I also chose to juxtapose them as placing them side-by-side makes it easy for every reader to get the intended meaning. We should minister to our children as early as possible in life – that is the time to start them off, letting them know how life should be lived. Even four-footed animals and birds do that. The entire purpose of introducing a child to life as early as possible is to ensure not only survival, but also success. Many of us have the understanding that pampering them is the right way, simply because we believe that we are applying the word love to child upbringing. It is ideal love that made God release Jesus into the world to experience contradictions and indignities for our ultimate benefit. We should look at what this king said from the standpoint of equipping the child with tools of survival in the world; and our world is getting more and more sophisticated, complex and without boundaries, information-wise. We should equip our children with such solid principles that whatever new or unfamiliar thing that is thrown at them can be quickly assessed and analyzed by them (even in our absence), and the right decision made, with attendant appropriate course of action taken.

The part I know that many readers would disagree with the Bible is its recommendation of using the rod – and that was the purpose of quoting the verses just above. However, we must get the right perspective. When you read Proverbs 22:6 and go straight to Proverbs 23:13 and 14 you find that discipline that is that rod – not necessarily a physical stick, iron, or steel rod! A rod is basically straight and rigid. It is usually unbendable, though it can bend, or even break depending on the material the rod is made of. We, therefore, find that the main feature of a rod that we can depend on is its straightness. If you use discipline that is straight (appropriate, predictable, direct, and with a purpose in mind) this rod that you are applying will set your children off in the way they should go. What many parents do is to be extremely harsh with children (especially the ones living under their roofs) in the belief that it is what the Bible teaches; I certainly do not accept that prescription because it is not backed up by other principles and practices found in the Word of God. The very important reason we must discipline our children is that they may miss the way, and even die if we do not discipline them, considering the truth that folly or foolishness is intricately attached to their hearts.

It is also interesting that King Solomon did not end his teaching on children’s upbringing without telling us the benefits to parents. In Proverbs 23:24 and 25 we read these words: The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice, may she who gave you birth be joyful. There is reward for carrying out this great work of raising children who become disciplined and live lives of doing the right things (righteousness). If we, the parents, hold the rod the way King David mentioned in Psalm 23, we shall ensure that we live lives that our children can copy for we shall direct them with the rod – the way a shepherd does – with both obedient and errant sheep. According to King David, God has and uses the rod and staff – and these comfort him. May we also use our rod of discipline so adeptly that we eventually comfort our children, rather than break and scar them. We must let children know that nobody likes discipline when it is administered; it is only after it has done its work that discipline is appreciated.

Moses

Moses gave the people of Israel directives which we find in the first of the main passages selected for this article. Moses started by telling them in the first verse that the instructions were not his but from God. The foremost ingredient for success in attending to our children is mentioned in that same verse i.e. parents must obey and put into practice whatever they want their children to do. Isn’t it very confusing for children to be told to go one way when they find that their parents are going another way (and, sometimes, the opposite way)? Some readers will remember being in such a position in their childhood. In obedience to the first six verses, the early Israelite parents could justifiably instruct their children as follows:

Impress: The first way to minister to our children is to impress truth on them. There should be no argument that you cannot be impressed by a thing that is not impressive. In the same manner you cannot impress me, or any other person (including your children) if you cannot show me, especially by example or by experience. It is because of this that many parents choose the avenue or instrument of force to get their children to do things, including things like reading the Bible, praying, and going for church activities. The easiest way to impress your children is to be a living example of what you want them to do and be. In real life, many parents have impressed their children to embrace the wrong path of life, but deep within them hoping that they will turn out right. When children get wrong impressions and wrong examples from parents and other close and trusted adults around them, it is only the grace of God that will make them think, see things and behave in a way contrary to the way they have been used to from their early childhood.

The next thing that Moses taught was talking to children. Till today, after making them see, the next efficient way of communicating truth to children is to make them hear. Did you notice that Moses mentioned the circumstances when we can communicate the ways of life to our children? They are: sitting, walking, lying down and getting up.

Sitting: It will do you a lot of good to cast your mind back to what you have been doing with these opportunities. When you sit in your house and have the opportunity of communicating with your children, what do you pass on to them and what feedback do you receive? What TV programs do you watch with or without them – and what contents do they have that you discuss with your young ones? Are they free to ask you questions regarding what they heard outside the home and they want clarification from you? When you discuss with them do you use, allow or encourage swear words? How many tons of abuses do you or your spouse rain on your children when you get upset? If these, and more, happen when you are in the house with them how then do you discuss the contents of the Bible with your children, and expect them to abide by them? During your telephone discussions with your business partners, fellow-employees, friends, etc. at home, before leaving for the day’s work or after returning, do you realize that your children may hear or overhear your deliberations (or portions of them)? Should those things run counter to what they have been hearing in church, which ones will they embrace?

Walking: The passage mentions when you are walking by the way. I will extend this to whenever we are on the move. For most parents who have the opportunity of being in the same means of transportation with their children, what happens when you are on the move is important. This chance of interaction with your children is an important opportunity of talking with them. The reason is that when you are walking, driving, traveling by car, train, airplane, etc. it is essentially an uncontrolled environment. The children may see what you do not see, just as you may see what they do not see – the same thing happens with hearing, transient physical contact with other people, etc. While this is not suggesting that a parent will be talking throughout a journey, it is important for every parent who wants to let their children know the right way to go to, watch out for every opportunity to share one important life-lesson or another. It does not have to be only on spiritual matters, but also any subject that happens to crop up while you are on the way – keep in mind that what you encounter is very likely unplanned. Finally, you need not speak as you can send an SMS on the matter; and if you must speak, it does not have to be at that very instant as you can simply ask your child(ren) to take note of so-and-so which you may discuss on returning home. For older children, you will know the appropriate