Sunday 15th December 2019 Prayer Devotion
Scripture Reading:- 2 Timothy 4:1-18
Topic:- One Minute Pleasure [2]
Text:- 2 Timothy 4:10
B. Matters Arising From The Story:
1. Many parents have ruined the destiny of their children because of momentary pleasure. In order to give them few minutes enjoyment or even few years of freedom such parents fail to inculcate the right values into their children.
2. Parenting is a type of leadership focused on influencing, inspiring and motivating your children to know and do the right thing, and ultimately become who and what they are destined to be. What type of influence are you to your children? Are you inspiring them to become better, or, are the natural good traits in them expiring under your influence? Are your parenting efforts motivating your children towards excellence, or towards indulgence and self-gratification?
3. Don’t destroy your children’s tomorrow today. Be careful what you do with them today so that their tomorrow will be carefully packaged.
4. Even if there is nothing else you can teach your children, teach them that God is everywhere, sees everything and knows everything. Let them know that they cannot hide anything from God; even their deepest thoughts are well known to Him. They should therefore never think of doing anything evil, anytime, anywhere, because God will definitely see them.
5. Groom your children in such a way that they will have choices in life. If your children are ill-mannered and ill-prepared they will have no choice but to take whatever life throws at them. They will be at the mercy of whatever others and the society have to offer, whether good or bad.
6. Do not give your children the impression that there is a short cut to everything they want in life. Rather teach them that they will always have what they want if they work with God, and also work hard.
7. There are parents who in the name of fashion have turned their very young children, especially daughters, into raunchy dolls. And same parents will wake up tomorrow to complain that the internet is promoting indecent dressing among their teens.
8. At times parents forget that what goes round comes around. They consciously encourage their wards to disobey constituted authorities. That is why we find parents going to fight with Teachers in the School for making their children to do the right thing. Such children take pride in being law breakers. And it does not end in the School; sooner or later the parents will get their share of the pain.
9. Your children will do what they saw you doing more than what they heard you saying. If you want them to tell the truth always, then your lips must not utter lies whether they are there or not. Be their example in everything good.
10. May you not prod your children to do things that will ruin their lives and thereby make them to hate you for life.
11. Stop manufacturing excuses and lies to cover your children’s failures. Let them feel the brunt of their actions and/or in actions and learn valid lessons from them. Don’t be the kind of parent that will tell their children to tell the Teacher in the School that they (the kids) were sick the previous day and that was why they could not do their home work. Meanwhile, the children watched Television all day long and the parent did not remind them to do their homework.
12. Note you cannot love your children more than God loves them. Therefore, stop moving them against God. Stop encouraging them to do things that are against the will and laws of God, all in the name of showing them love.
13. Each time you teach, encourage or support your child to do anything ungodly, you are putting that child into a speed boat racing towards imminent doom and destruction.
14. Learn to put a check on yourself by asking yourself these vital questions from time to time, “In the future, what will be the result of this action or lifestyle I am encouraging my child to take or live? Does it have any lasting and eternal value? Even though I feel good about this, and my child is obviously happy with it, is God happy with me? Am I being a good custodian of the precious children God entrusted into my care?
15. Dear parents, if at the end of the day your parenting efforts succeeded in raising children who are temporarily happy on earth but permanently sad in eternity you are of all men most miserable.
My God help us. Amen.
Prayer Point:- I command every monitoring power waiting to strike at the end of my breakthrough, what are you waiting for, summersult and die by fire now, in the name of Jesus Christ.
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