Tag: Proverbs

Don’t Waste Time on Swine (Proverbs 11)

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Pro 11:22-23 ESV Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion. (23) The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath.

Dear son, When we think of a pig’s snout we don’t think of gold rings. You could put a gold ring in a pigs snout but it would be misplaced. Pigs put their noses in the mud! You might put a common metal ring in a pigs nose to help steer them out of the mud, but you wouldn’t give them gold! It would be a waste.

There are some folks who seem trustworthy but they aren’t. There are folks who may look good, but they aren’t good. Just like a gold ring might look nice in a pigs snout. It won’t be long until the nature of the pig comes out and it runs its ring through the mud… that’s just the nature of the pig! There will be people on this earth who lack discretion and aren’t to be trusted with your most precious thoughts, time, or treasures. Don’t give something that is sacred to someone who is profane.

Mat 7:6 NKJV “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

This isn’t just to warn you of the type of people who are out there. You must also decide what type of person you will be. Will you be someone who displays discretion and honors others? Or will you make light of others and their struggles? Will you seek the good or will you stir up hatred and strife? Will you be a producer or consumer?

Father, thank you for the privilege of raising our children. I pray that they would all follow hard after you. I pray that they would become men and women of character and integrity. I ask that they would have discretion and honor those who are worthy of honor. Keep them from profaning the holy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Join us in reading a Proverb A Day through the Month of May (or any month you want)

Choose Your Words Carefully (Proverbs 10)

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Pro 10:18-21 ESV The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. (19) When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. (20) The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. (21) The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

Dear daughter, if you look closely my legs and hands are filled with tiny scars. Scars that I could have easily avoided. Most of them I don’t even remember. They started as something small like a splinter but they grew because of how I dealt with those smaller wounds. I was too afraid of the pain of having a splinter removed, so I would often hide them from my parents until they festered with infection. Hiding the splinters never got rid of them, it only made them worse. I needed to have the splinter removed to get better.

It’s the same way with hate. Denying that you hate someone in your heart doesn’t remove it. It only makes it fester and grow into a bigger wound called bitterness. Bitterness creates contempt and the original wound gets bigger and bigger not because of the actual offense, but because we haven’t dealt with it. Jesus reminds us that we shouldn’t hate from our heart but that we should deal quickly with our brothers offenses (Matthew 5:21-24).

Another way I got some of my scars is by overreacting to a small insect bite. I couldn’t stand the itching and so I’d scratch until I bled. Then I couldn’t stand the scab and so I’d pick at it making the hole in my skin bigger and bigger. My parents were always telling me to, “stop picking you scabs!” I know that sounds gross but some people do that with their words. Rather than leaving situations alone or letting people cool down, they step in and stir things up. They pick a side and open fresh wounds around them all because they don’t know how to control themselves or their emotions.

Some people are careful and wise with there speech. They seek to bring healing to those around them. They seek the truth of the matter and educate those around them. They help people with their words.

We all have mouths, but we don’t all know how to use them. You will have to decide if you will be a liar who conceals hatred in their heart, or someone who stirs up trouble in those around them with gossip, and slander or if you will be someone who educates and helps people around them. My prayer is that you will know when to hold your tongue and when to speak. That you will know when to stay silent and search out a matter and when to speak to benefit others.

Father, Thank you for the gift of raising my children. I pray today that you would watch over their lives and guard their hearts from hate. I pray that you would keep them from gossip. And that you’d bless them to be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Be Humble and Learn (Proverbs 9)

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Pro 9:7-10 NKJV “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked [man only] harms himself. (8) Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise [man], and he will love you. (9) Give [instruction] to a wise [man], and he will be still wiser; Teach a just [man], and he will increase in learning. (10) “The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One [is] understanding.

Son, My freshman year of high school we got a new basketball coach. He was hard. He believed in conditioning. I lost 20lbs in just three weeks of practice with the new coach! He also had a different style of coaching. He lead us through a series of drills and plays evert practice. Seldom ever did we just scrimmage like we had in the 8th grade. Some of the guys didn’t like him. They thought practice should be more fun and more like a game. They whined and complained about the new coach. Some never even bothered to learn the new offense or techniques that the coach was teaching us. Those who really listened to the coach and put in the extra effort earned key spots on the team. The guys who critiqued everything and put forth minimal effort either quit or were cut. The difference was in the attitude. Those who became key players were willing to humble themselves and learn, those who got cut, failed to learn from the expertise of the new coach.

Life is a lot like that. I pray that you are one who seeks out correction, learns from others, and is wise. I pray that you won’t be a prideful fool who just criticizes others. Anyone can criticize, but it takes a real man or woman to humble themselves and learn.

You will come across all sorts of folks in life. You may even be in a position to lead people one day. Learn the caliber of the people you lead. Those who are scoffers and criticize aren’t worth much of an investment. They will criticize you, but the problems is with them. Don’t let them get in your head and don’t imagine that you will fix them. Until they humble themselves to learn, they will never change and you’ll be wasting your investment in them.

On the other hand when you find folks who are willing to submit to authority and learn. Invest heavily in them. Their attitude will take your organization far. I’d rather have a teachable team of novices than a well versed team of malcontents any day. Jesus said it like this in Mathew chapter 7:

Mat 7:2-6 NKJV “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (3) “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? (4) “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank [is] in your own eye? (5) “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (6) “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

Father, thank you for my children and the blessing it is to parent them. I ask that they would be humble enough to learn. I pray that you keep them from pride and malcontent. I pray that they would be quick to examine their own lives and be ready for change. I pray that you give them wisdom in leading themselves and others. I pray that you guard their attitude from becoming someone who scoffs. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Better than Rubies (Proverbs 8)

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Pro 8:10-13, 31-32 NKJV Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; (11) For wisdom [is] better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. (12) “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge [and] discretion. (13) The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. … (31) Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight [was] with the sons of men. (32) “Now therefore, listen to me, [my] children, For blessed [are those who] keep my ways.

Daughter, I was working on one of our cars several years ago. I had to pull off one of the front rotors (the part that connects to the tire). I had the tire off, but the rotor wouldn’t come off. I looked everything up on YouTube and saw someone working on a similar vehicle. It was easy for them, but try as I might the rotor wouldn’t come off our vehicle. I even took a sledgehammer to try and pound it off. Finally in desperation I called a friend. My friend had a repair manual for our particular car and he noticed that our vehicle was different than the one in the video. There was an extra nut that needed to be removed. Sure enough we removed the extra (hidden) nut and everything came off like it was supposed to.

So many people go through life trying to fix themselves. They might even look up guides or listen to videos on how to do things, but if they don’t have the truth they will just end up frustrated. The highest aim and the greatest value you can search for in life is genuine wisdom based on the truth. The greatest asset you can have is a character of humility to learn from God who made you with a purpose and designed you to benefit from wisdom. Don’t waste your energy on winging it, seek God’s wisdom.

If you love and fear the LORD, you will be humble. You will hate what he hates. You will search diligently for the right and abhor the wrong. You will hate pride that threatens to take away the gift of wisdom. You will search for truth diligently and prize it above all.

Father, thank you for the privilege of raising my children. I pray that I model humility for them. I pray that they humbly seek truth from you all the days of their lives. I pray that they are blessed and benefit from wisdom. I ask that they would hate the things you hate. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Real Friends Give More Than They Take (Proverbs 6)

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Pro 6:1-5 ESV My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, (2) if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, (3) then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. (4) Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; (5) save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Dear Daughter, growing up I was always large for my age and most of my friends were smaller. In 8th grade I was the new kid at school and one of the first guys to befriend me was small and skinny. We weren’t friends long before he asked me, “Do you have my back? Like if we get in a fight or something, do you have my back?” I didn’t want to offend him. I thought this was like a best friends kind of sentiment. I thought he was a pretty alright guy and I really hadn’t made to many other friends yet, so I pledged, “Yes I have your back!” The next thing I know he started running his mouth and hurling insults at this guy he didn’t like! Before I knew it he was yelling at me, “you have my back right?” Somehow he had picked a fight that I was supposed to fight. Thankfully I had enough sense to say, “You started this mess, you finish it.”

I found out the hard way that my new friend was only my friend for my size. He was really a jerk that just wanted me to fight his battles for him. He thought that if he had a big friend that he could run his mouth off at people he didn’t like. My pledge to have his back was bigger than I had imagined. I had his back, but he certainly didn’t have mine or eh wouldn’t have picked a fight.

Choose your friends wisely. One of the best ways to get yourself in trouble is to have friends who will leave you with all the responsibility. When your friends ask you to take a risk for them that is not your risk to take, they are not your friends. Let me be clear. When they ask you to lie for them, they are not you friend. When they ask to cheat off your homework, they are not your friend. When they ask you to hold on to something that is illegal or forbidden, they are not your friend. They just want to take big risks and leave you being responsible for their irresponsible actions.

Some people in your life will set traps for you like this. They’ll pretend to be your friend in order to get something from you. Real friends give more than they take. Real friends won’t put you in situations where you will get in trouble or in danger. Lose the friends that always seem too needy. Don’t be the friend that is always putting others in an awkward spot to cover for you.

Father, thank you for my children. I pray that you would watch over them today. I pray that you would guard them from predatory “friends” who would seek to use them or take advantage of their friendship. I pray that they would be good friends to others. Watch over their relationships. Let the all seek after you in all they do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth (Proverbs 5)

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Pro 5:15-20 ESV Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. (16) Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? (17) Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. (18) Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, (19) a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. (20) Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

Dear son, my parents read a book to me when I was little about a little boy who was given a dollar. He met a friend who said he’d give the boy two quarters for the dollar. Two is more than one, the boy reasoned and so he made the trade. Another boy offered him three dimes for his two quarters. Three is more than two, the boy reasoned and so he made the trade. Still another boy offered him four nickels for the three dimes. Four is better than three he reasoned, and so he made the trade. Finally a boy offered him five pennies for his four nickels. Five is more than four he reasoned and so he made the trade. He came home to show his father what he had done and it was then that he realized that with every trade he’d lost value. I’m sure the story was intended to teach us the value of a dollar, but there was a deeper lesson as well. We are often tempted to make bad trades in life and we often don’t value some things like we should.

I cannot emphasizes the value of loving one woman all of your life. There will be moments of temptation that come your way all through your life. It is your duty to guard your heart and pursue your wife. When temptation comes your way count the cost and flee. I know men who have traded their entire life for a moment of pleasure. They traded their wife, their children, their income, their respect, their trustworthiness, and some traded their occupation for a few fleeting minutes of pleasure. There is grace for those who have made this costly trade (Psalm 51), but it’s my prayer that you guard your heart.

Let’s focus in on verse 19-20 for a moment. If you are going to truly value your future wife and pursue the wife of your youth above all it means that you will stay away from sexual relationships outside the bond of marriage. You don’t need any competing memories with your marriage bed. You don’t need any old flames to stir up old passions, jealousy or doubt. This means that you will stay away from viewing pornography. You don’t need to peak into someone else’s bedroom. You don’t need the fantasy of sex without commitment. You don’t need your head filled with false expectations or ideas of how to degrade and exploit women.

What do you do when you have natural urges and you aren’t married yet? Use that energy to go to work in building a life for you and the wife of your youth. Too many young men sit around and play video games into their 30s and beyond. Prepare yourself for marriage so when the right woman comes along you already have a job, have a plan, and are able to be married without living off of someone else.

When you are married and temptation comes your way, never despise your wife. Never for a moment imagine her as cruel for not giving you what you want, when you want it. This is a lie from the devil. Committed relationships take some work. The Devil will always offer you two shiny quarters and tell you that he’ll take that dingy dollar off your hands, but you must know that no matter how shiny the coin he offers you, your dollar isn’t dingy and it is worth way more than he is offering. Commit now to have eyes only for your wife. Count yourself blessed everyday. Do the small things in your relationship well. Kiss her on the way out the door in the morning. Open her door. Treat her like your queen. Speak well of her to your children. Speak well of her to your coworkers. Speak well of her often and never run out of good things to say. Pursue the wife of your youth don’t give your energy or attention to any other and you will be blessed. Sometimes work is the mistress the devil offers instead of another woman. Be careful not to pursue so much overtime that you stop pursuing your wife. (And dear daughter too, look for a man like this).

One last word. There are many lies and perversions in our culture. They are given to you by people with an agenda. I’ll be honest, I have an agenda too. I’m your dad, I want the best for you. You are more than a voter to me. You are more than a consumer to buy my goods. You are more than an opinion in a pole to persuade others. You are my son. My interest in you is greater than what this world offers. I’m on your team. I’m your biggest fan. I love you enough that I will not tell you just what you might want to hear. I will tell you what you need to hear. You are more than sexual appetites and animal lusts. Your identity is greater than your sexual urges. You are a man created in the image of God and you have the capacity to withstand sexual temptation (no matter what shape it takes).

Father, Thank you for my precious children. I ask for your blessing on their lives. I pray for their present and future relationships. I ask you to watch over them in their singleness and in their relationships. I pray that they would seek after you and your blessings. I ask Lord that they would live following your wisdom even when that runs counter to the culture. I pray that my wife and I are examples for them to follow. I ask for your grace to be multiplied to my family as we seek after you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Be Teachable (Proverbs 4)

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Pro 4:10-13 ESV Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. (11) I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. (12) When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. (13) Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Dear daughter, I heard a story about a grandmother who had given her grandson a bible. Unknown to him, she had inserted several 100 dollar bills in the bible. The grandson thanked his grandmother but secretly he despised her for giving him such an impractical gift. There were times in his life when he needed money and he would reach out to his grandmother for help. She would tell always give him a scripture reference and ask if he’d been reading his bible. He was polite and would thank her, but he never looked up the passages. Finally one day he asked her why she never helped him with money when he needed it. She knew he wasn’t reading the bible she gave him and finally confronted him to the point that he admitted that he’d never opened it. She said, “All you ever needed was at your fingertips, but you never opened the gift I gave you. Not only had I already given you the money, but even more than that, the infinite riches of God’s word were available to you all the time as well! What good is a gift if it is never opened?”

God has blessed you with the gift of His Word. It is a guide for life. In it we learn about Him and about us. God has also given you parents to guide you. We’ve learned a lot about life through experience, from our own parents, and others. All of our learning testifies to the truthfulness of God’s Word. We have sought to live out the truth we have seen in God’s Word. There are things in our lives that you should emulate. Sadly there are also places where we have stumbled that we would warn you to avoid. Either way, God has given us to you to educate you. You have many gifts from God, but what good are those gifts if you never open them and use them.

Being teachable is the best skill you can ever have! If you are teachable you can learn almost anything. However to despise instruction is prideful. It assumes you can learn and discern things well on your own already. Pride will lead you to costly mistakes.

Father, thank you for the wisdom you have given us in your word. Thank you for those you have called and equipped to model and teach your word to us. Thank you for my parents and thank you for the privilege of parenting my kids. I ask that we would all be teachable. Keep us from pride. Let us learn with humility from those you have given us as teachers that you might be glorified in our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Trust In The LORD With All Your Heart (Proverbs 3)

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Proverbs 3:5-10 ESV Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (7) Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. (8) It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (9) Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; (10) then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Son, There are things that I wish I knew at your age. If I knew them then, how differently I might have behaved and how differently my life might have been. In our yard we have a tree that has grown up with the vine around it. If someone had the foresight to cut the vine early, the tree would have grown up to be straight and flawless. As it is, the vine was cut and pulled down years later than it should have and now the tree has the scar of where the vine cut into its bark. The tree will forever carry the mark of negligence because we didn’t cut the vine when it was young. There are habits/ thoughts in my life that I didn’t unlearn early in life and have warped me and as a consequence will take years to change.

Your life in a lot of ways is also like that tree when it was younger before the vine took hold. You are young and there are a lot of thoughts and voices that will try and steer you in all sorts of directions. You have the capacity to develop detrimental lifelong habits and thoughts that will hurt you. But you also have the opportunity to cut ties with those thoughts/ voices and pursue the things that will help you grow into godly womanhood.

The one thing you can do is commit to trusting in the Lord with everything. Commit to following Him. This will be displayed in a lot of different ways in you life. Do you trust God with your time? If you really do, you will form the habit of being gathered together with a fellowship of believers to worship Him on a weekly basis. You will spend time in His Word often. Do you trust God with your finances? If you do, you will habitually seek to be generous. You will set aside a regular tithe and offering to be budgeted before you pay your bills. To really trust the Lord is to follow Him and His Word above your own thoughts and desires.

Father, I pray for my children today. I pray that they would trust in you and lean not in their own understanding. I ask LORD for your grace to be multiplied to their lives. I pray that they learn quickly and easily from their parents about what it is to trust you in every area of LIFE. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Diligently Seek Understanding (Proverbs 2)

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Pro 2:1-9 ESV My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, (2) making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; (3) yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, (4) if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, (5) then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (6) For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; (7) he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, (8) guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. (9) Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;

Dear daughter, when you were little we used to watch a Disney animated cartoon series called Duck Tales. It was all about Scrooge McDuck and his pursuit of wealth. He would do anything (short of cheating) to make more money. He would win races, search for lost treasure, and fund crazy inventions. His pursuit was always the same, to make or keep money. He was so shrewd it was laughable.

The writer of Proverbs reminds us today that more than seeking to gain or keep money our most diligent pursuit should be understanding and ultimately understanding of what God might be up to. Understanding isn’t found just by reading about something, but in treasuring the commands of God, listening to godly authorities in our lives, and searching diligently to see God at work. With each pursuit in life we should seek to find out what the Lord is doing.

There are many moments where the people around you will sense or try and create the cultural current by telling you that to “be on the right side of history,” you need to join them in doing what they are doing. They want to tell you what righteousness is from their perspective or even worse tell you to define it from yours. Righteousness isn’t for us to define, it’s for God. All of us who seek to define our own righteousness will one day find that all of our righteousness is just filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Father, I pray today for my children and ask that they would diligently seek You and seek understanding. Let them be those who are able to discern truth from error. I ask that they would listen to the commands of their parents and other godly autorities that you have put in their lives. Give them grace to resist the temptation of fools to define their own righteousness. Let them be ready to meet you on the day of Christ’s return and not caught off guard because of their laxity. Bless me as I age to be one who grows in discenment and understanding. Let me be a blessing to my children and grandchildren. Preserve us in a culture that is shifting beneath us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

RESOURCES:

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The Beginning of Knowledge (Proverbs 1)

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Pro 1:7, 28-29, 33 NKJV The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge, [But] fools despise wisdom and instruction. … (28) “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. (29) Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, … (33) But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

Dear Daughter, We all have choices about what we let influence our lives. We choose to listen to some folks or give more weight to what they say than other. We live in a day and age of echo chambers where if we don’t like the news (or the spin on the news) on one station we turn the channel to another. If we don’t like the politics of folks on one social media feed, we find a different feed, app, friends, etc. You have a ton of options on who you listen to, however there is only one place that you will find true wisdom and knowledge and that’s the LORD.

A reverent respect for God and His Word is where true knowledge and wisdom begins. There are mainly two different paths in life. The one who follows after God and the one who goes her own way. In Proverbs the one who goes their own way instead of following after God is called a fool because she has forgotten that she was made by God, for God and that her greatest purpose is in the hands of God. Fools suffer because of their foolishness.

God has a purpose and a plan for you, but you’ll only find it out when you seek after Him. Fools often despise God’s wisdom because they are looking only for short term gain. But what feels good in the moment can cost them more than they might expect. Remember Esau sold his birthright for a pot of stew. Don’t miss out on Godly wisdom because of bad advice from the wrong crowd. Seek, Find, and Listen to God’s Word, you won’t be let down.

Father, Thankyou for loving us enough to give us knowledge when we come to you in reverent respect. I pray for my children today that they would grow in wisdom and knowledge as they seek after you. I pray that you would keep their feet from the path that leads to destruction. Guard their way. Make them ever vigilant to drink from the stream of your wisdom. Give us grace as parents to teach them your word and to honor you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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