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Be prepared to be an unpopular parent (Prov 1:10).
Prayer
All praise to you this day, O Lord my God. I praise you for preserving me through the night, and I praise you for new life and mercies this morning. Please be merciful to me, Lord. Without your word, my soul will perish. Even this morning, I feel my soul is famished and needy. Have mercy on me, O Lord, and give me life according to your word. Please unite my heart to fear your name, please give me a heart of wisdom. May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, this day and always. Amen.
Reading
Prov 1:10 - “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”
Meditation
Proverbs 1:10 brings to us what can sometimes be an uncomfortable truth: parents must be prepared to be unpopular at times with their children. And children must be prepared to hear some things that that may not want to hear. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” The fact of the matter is, this warning would not be necessary if it did not have the potential to be tempting or desirable on some level. When a young person falls in with the wrong crowd, that influence can have a powerful pulling effect. It can come with the desire to follow them, to do as they do.
Young people in our day face this most obviously in the school yard, and we need to be clear: the school yard can be a very spiritually dangerous place to be when we are impressionable young people. I know personally of scores of kids who were dragged away from church and into the world under the influence of their unbelieving school friends. I watched it happen with over half the kids in my youth group growing up. I watched them get invited to parties and take up drinking – it was a Proverbs 1:10-19 scenario. They fell in with the wrong crowd and they turned away from God.
Be ye doers of the word…
Parents, think carefully, and – if necessary – be prepared to make unpopular decisions sometimes. I think it was about year nine, a well-known punk rock band had come to my town to play. I desperately wanted to go. I will be forever thankful that my dad, knowing what kind of event it would be, and what sort of reputation the venue had, firmly said no. He didn’t often give me a firm no, but on this occasion he did. I was really upset at the time, but I’m entirely grateful now. When our children are young, we must guard what we expose them to and when. Think carefully about the age when you’re going to let them have a phone, and what boundaries will be in place when you do. Think carefully about how you’re going to let them use that phone. We must be wary of sinners and the influence that they can have on our lives.
If I can speak directly to any young people and children who may be reading: be careful who you take as friends. Better to be unpopular at school and follow Christ, than to be popular and forsake him. Better to say no when the crowd tempts you to say yes to do something sinful. The pathway to destruction is broad and easy, and many are walking on it. Turn instead to Christ and follow him. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Dear Lord, thank you for your preserving grace. Thank you for the many times you have preserved me from doing what is wrong. Please help me to truly see the great danger of disobeying you, and to be fearful of being enticed into disobedience. Lord, please help me to stand firm upon your word at all times, obeying you entirely in all things. My flesh is weak, Lord, and my sinful desires are constantly waging war within my heart. Please forgive me for my sins, please forgive me for the occasions I have given in to sinful enticements and followed in the footsteps of the world. Help me instead to be enticed to worship by your beauty, and to desire you only of all things in the earth. I pray especially for discernment and wisdom in how I choose to engage with media and the online environment. Thank you for leading and guiding me contrary to where my natural, sinful desires would otherwise have taken me. Please guide and lead me in your ways always, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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By Reformed devotions from all of scripture.Prayer
All praise to you this day, O Lord my God. I praise you for preserving me through the night, and I praise you for new life and mercies this morning. Please be merciful to me, Lord. Without your word, my soul will perish. Even this morning, I feel my soul is famished and needy. Have mercy on me, O Lord, and give me life according to your word. Please unite my heart to fear your name, please give me a heart of wisdom. May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, this day and always. Amen.
Reading
Prov 1:10 - “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”
Meditation
Proverbs 1:10 brings to us what can sometimes be an uncomfortable truth: parents must be prepared to be unpopular at times with their children. And children must be prepared to hear some things that that may not want to hear. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” The fact of the matter is, this warning would not be necessary if it did not have the potential to be tempting or desirable on some level. When a young person falls in with the wrong crowd, that influence can have a powerful pulling effect. It can come with the desire to follow them, to do as they do.
Young people in our day face this most obviously in the school yard, and we need to be clear: the school yard can be a very spiritually dangerous place to be when we are impressionable young people. I know personally of scores of kids who were dragged away from church and into the world under the influence of their unbelieving school friends. I watched it happen with over half the kids in my youth group growing up. I watched them get invited to parties and take up drinking – it was a Proverbs 1:10-19 scenario. They fell in with the wrong crowd and they turned away from God.
Be ye doers of the word…
Parents, think carefully, and – if necessary – be prepared to make unpopular decisions sometimes. I think it was about year nine, a well-known punk rock band had come to my town to play. I desperately wanted to go. I will be forever thankful that my dad, knowing what kind of event it would be, and what sort of reputation the venue had, firmly said no. He didn’t often give me a firm no, but on this occasion he did. I was really upset at the time, but I’m entirely grateful now. When our children are young, we must guard what we expose them to and when. Think carefully about the age when you’re going to let them have a phone, and what boundaries will be in place when you do. Think carefully about how you’re going to let them use that phone. We must be wary of sinners and the influence that they can have on our lives.
If I can speak directly to any young people and children who may be reading: be careful who you take as friends. Better to be unpopular at school and follow Christ, than to be popular and forsake him. Better to say no when the crowd tempts you to say yes to do something sinful. The pathway to destruction is broad and easy, and many are walking on it. Turn instead to Christ and follow him. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Dear Lord, thank you for your preserving grace. Thank you for the many times you have preserved me from doing what is wrong. Please help me to truly see the great danger of disobeying you, and to be fearful of being enticed into disobedience. Lord, please help me to stand firm upon your word at all times, obeying you entirely in all things. My flesh is weak, Lord, and my sinful desires are constantly waging war within my heart. Please forgive me for my sins, please forgive me for the occasions I have given in to sinful enticements and followed in the footsteps of the world. Help me instead to be enticed to worship by your beauty, and to desire you only of all things in the earth. I pray especially for discernment and wisdom in how I choose to engage with media and the online environment. Thank you for leading and guiding me contrary to where my natural, sinful desires would otherwise have taken me. Please guide and lead me in your ways always, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe