OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY JULY 19TH 2024
THEME: YOUR ARROWS
MEMORISE: As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Psalm 127:4
READ: Psalms 127:3-5
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
MESSAGE
Today's memory verse says that children are like a young man's arrows. Young men can shoot arrows far ahead of them to ward off the enemy or any dangerous animal in their path. Likewise, your children are to go ahead of you into your future to make it more pleasurable. If you train your children well, when they are older, they will take care of you in your old age.
My mother and father did not have formal education. My family was called poor, even by the poor people in our village. The day my father bought an umbrella, we all celebrated in our house; that is how poor we were. However, even though we were very poor, my parents managed to send me to school. They sold their properties till there was nothing else to sell. That was the best decision they ever took because sending me to school brought the family out of poverty. Today, the name 'Adeboye' is known around the world because my parents used the money from selling their properties to pay my school fees.
Spend your money wisely; invest in your children because they are the arrows you will send to your future. They will be there for you when you are old, and when you are long gone, the results of your investment in them will still be obvious. There is an adage in Yorubaland that says that if you decide to build a house rather than build your child, the child you refused to build will sell off the house you built.
Choose to send your children to the best schools you can afford. Choose to spend quality time with them to teach them the basic principles of life and God's word. No investment in your children ever expires. Ecclesiastes 7:8 says that better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. It is better to wear rags now and train your children than to wear the best clothes and leave your children untrained. It doesn't matter what you wear today; if your children are well-trained, they will buy you the best clothes and cars and even build houses for you when they get older.
Beloved, training your children well is important if you want to enjoy long-term prosperity and peace of mind.
REFLECTION
Are you doing your best when it comes to training your children?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 20-24
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 28: GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH
1. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.
2. Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
3. When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell's Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.