Discover His heart: He doesn’t force us to follow Him but desires that we choose to follow
I love telling my children about growing up in the dark ages – no Starbucks, no cell phones, no cable television. Yes, I did walk a mile to school every day, uphill both ways, carrying my saxophone and schoolbooks, slipping and sliding on the icy Minneapolis sidewalks. The only way a television channel got changed was if I got off the couch and changed it. The first computer I saw was the size of a small room and just wouldn’t fit on a lap. I tell them these things hoping to receive praise for surviving such deprivation, but the response is usually one of disbelief. I guess you just had to have been there.
And I love telling them about the day I asked Jesus into my heart. The concept of Jesus in my heart was a little difficult for our daughter to understand at the age of three. I was in the ninth month of pregnancy with our son when she stared at me one day with a quizzical look to the point where I finally asked, “Mandy, what is it?” With all the innocence of three-year-old, she said, “Mommy, with Jesus in your heart and that baby in your tummy, it sure must be crowded in there!” Well, at least she knew about Jesus.
@ Deuteronomy 11
“You must love the Lord your God and obey all his requirements, decrees, regulations, and commands. Keep in mind that I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord your God or seen his greatness and his strong hand and powerful arm…your children didn’t see how the Lord cared for you in the wilderness until you arrived here… But you have seen the Lord perform all these mighty deeds with your own eyes! (1-2,5,7) How will our children ever know what God has done in our lives unless we tell them?
I love telling my children about the price that was paid by my mom to pave the way for our salvation, and I love sharing the beautiful testimony of commitment to the ministry of their dad’s parents. How will they ever know if we fail to tell them?
“Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.” (26-28) The day came when my children, too, stood at the threshold of blessing and cursing.
Through our testimony, our children had a history to draw from, a precedent to help them examine and understand the faithfulness of God to their parents and ancestors. I think it was helpful to them. Now they are grown and have chosen the blessing of God for their lives by obeying His commands. The power of our testimony is far greater than we can imagine, but no one will know it unless we share it.
Moving Forward: “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1)
Tomorrow @ 2 Chronicles 33-36
Phyllis Benigas 