{"id":21995,"date":"2024-03-23T00:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T07:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=21995"},"modified":"2024-03-22T16:53:09","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T23:53:09","slug":"parental-concerns-for-themselves-and-their-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/parental-concerns-for-themselves-and-their-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Parental Concerns For Themselves And Their Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>All good parents share the same concerns about their own children and their proper upbringing. Every mother and father worry about the impact and effect that environmental influences have or will have on their children as they grow and mature. Every human being who is \u201cgrowing up\u201d will indeed be influenced by their own personal mental environment. Such an environment is determined by the books they read and the people with whom they associate.<\/span><\/p>\n

God always wants to be included in the leadership impact on His children. He tells us so in the Book of 1 Chronicles, Chapter 28, verses 1–10, NKJV:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(1) \u201cNow David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel:<\/span><\/strong>
\nthe officers of the tribes and the captains of the divisions<\/span><\/strong>
\nwho served the king, the captains over thousands and<\/span><\/strong>
\ncaptains over hundreds, the stewards over all the<\/span><\/strong>
\nsubstance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with<\/span><\/strong>
\nthe officials, the valiant men, and all the mighty men of<\/span><\/strong>
\nvalor.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(2) Then King David rose to his feet and said, \u2018Hear me, my<\/span><\/strong>
\nbrethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a<\/span><\/strong>
\nhouse of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and<\/span><\/strong>
\nfor the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to<\/span><\/strong>
\nbuild it.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(3) But God said to me, \u2018You shall not build a house for My<\/span><\/strong>
\nname, because you have been a man of war and have shed<\/span><\/strong>
\nblood.\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(4) However the Lord God of Israel chose me above all the<\/span><\/strong>
\nhouse of my father to be king over Israel forever, for he has<\/span><\/strong>
\nchosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the<\/span><\/strong>
\nhouse of my father, and among the sons of my father, He<\/span><\/strong>
\nwas pleased with me to make me king over all Israel.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(5) And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the<\/span><\/strong>
\nkingdom of the LORD over Israel.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(6) Now He said to me , \u2018It is your son Solomon who shall build<\/span><\/strong>
\nMy house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son,<\/span><\/strong>
\nand I will be his Father.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(7) I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to<\/span><\/strong>
\nobserve My commandments and My judgments as it is this<\/span><\/strong>
\nday.\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(8) Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the<\/span><\/strong>
\nLORD, and in the hearing of our God,be careful to seek out all<\/span><\/strong>
\nof the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may<\/span><\/strong>
\npossess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your<\/span><\/strong>
\nchildren after you forever.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(9) \u201cAs for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father,<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nand serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nthe LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nof the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you;<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nbut if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(10) Consider now for the LORD has chosen you to build a house<\/span><\/strong>
\nfor the sanctuary; be strong and do it.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter 28 of 1 Chronicles rings with strong statements from David. He reminded Solomon that God had chosen both him and his task. God had said to David: \u201cSolomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him\u201d(v.6). Then David summed up his godly, fatherly advice in verse 9 as above.<\/span><\/p>\n

David\u2019s words to Solomon apply to us in every area of potential success.<\/span>
\nDavid gave his son three vital directives we would be wise to obey:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Acknowledge God.<\/strong> Acknowledging God first thing every morning transforms my day. I often begin my day by reconfirming His authority over me and submitting to Him as Lord in advance of my daily circumstances. I try to accept the words of Joshua 24 : 15 as a personal daily challenge: \u201cChoose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.\u201d When I fail to begin my day by settling the matter of authority, I am often in a mess by noon! Remember, any day not surrendered to the Spirit of God will likely be lived in the flesh (Gal. 5 : 16–17). Spiritual living does not come naturally–sin does.<\/strong> The first step to victory is acknowledging the authority of God in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Serve Him with wholehearted devotion.<\/strong> The Hebrew word for<\/span>
\nwhole-hearted is \u201cshelem\u201d and means \u201cunhewn, untouched stones.\u201d In<\/span>
\nthe Old Testament, shelem often referred to rocks that were uncut.<\/span>
\nNotice something quite interesting about the temple God commanded<\/span>
\nSolomon to build. 1 Kings 6 : 7 tells us, \u201cIn building the temple, only<\/span>
\nblocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel, or any<\/span>
\nother iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.\u201d Do<\/span>
\nyou see the significance? No stone could be cut in the temple. The<\/span>
\nuncut stones represented the kind of devotion God was demanding from<\/span>
\nHis nation–Shalem, whole hearted devotion, uncut hearts. David was<\/span>
\nused of God to describe shalem perfectly in Psalm 86 : 11: \u201cTeach me<\/span>
\nyour way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided<\/span>
\nheart, that I may fear your name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have an undivided heart? Does God have only a piece of your heart, but the rest belongs to you or someone else? If you have given your heart wholly to God, perhaps you remember a time when your heart was divided.<\/span><\/p>\n

A divided heart places your entire lives in jeopardy. Only God can be totally trusted with our hearts. He doesn\u2019t demand our complete devotion to feed His ego but to provide for our safety. God uses an undivided heart to keep us out of trouble. David learned the price of a divided heart the hard way. He lived with the repercussions for the rest of his life. Let\u2019s just take his word for it and surrender now! Never forget, God\u2019s commands are for our good.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Serve Him with a willing spirit.<\/strong> The Hebrew word for \u201cwilling\u201d in this reference is \u201cchapherts\u201d which means \u201cto find pleasure in, take delight in, be pleased with, have an affection for, to desire, to choose ; to bend, bow. The main meaning is to feel a strong, positive attraction for something, to like someone or something very much.\u201d Do you see what God is saying? He wants us to serve Him and honor Him because we want to! Because it pleases us! Because we choose to!<\/strong> You see, the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts! Hear the beat of His tender heart as He says, \u201cChoose me because you delight in me!\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Many motives exist for serving God other than pleasure and delight. God wants us to serve Him with a willing spirit, one that would choose no other way. Right now you may be frustrated because serving and knowing God is not your greatest pleasure. You may be able to instantly acknowledge a divided heart. Your question may be \u201cHow can I change the way I feel?\u201d<\/span>
\nYou can\u2019t. But God can. Give Him your heart–your whole heart. Give him permission to change it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The words of the Book of Deuteronomy<\/strong><\/span>, Chapter 30, verse 6<\/strong> have changed my life and my heart:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts<\/span><\/strong>
\nof your descendants, so that you may love him with all your<\/span><\/strong>
\nheart and with all your soul, and live.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I pray daily that God will circumcise my heart to love Him. I know we will never be men and women after God\u2019s own heart with half-hearted devotion. A heart wholly devoted to God is a heart- His.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We started this journey with a pair of underlying questions: Why was David a man after God\u2019s own heart? And how can I be a man or woman after God\u2019s own heart?<\/span><\/p>\n

Any old heart will do. Any whole heart will do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beth Moore<\/span><\/strong>
\nPortraits of Devotion<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

God wants your whole-hearted attention, obedience, and devotion to His directions and instructions. You will only reach that particular point in your life when you first Know God personally through having and continuously developing a close personal relationship with Him, and secondly, by growing closer and more intimate with Him through your reading and feeding upon His Word on a daily basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, according to God\u2019s Word, you will only reap in life that which you first sow. Through reading God\u2019s Word on a daily basis, you are sowing the Truths of His Word into your own spiritual heart,…into your own mind. Therefore, through this process you will be sowing that which God wants you to learn and know into your own being. Once you have done that, you have positioned yourself to reap a great and good crop of exactly what you have sown into your own mind. The words of the Lord will then ring loud and clear in your life…because you sowed abundantly,…you shall reap abundantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

God will reward an increase in your faith. By reading and feeding on the Word of God you will have grown and increased your faith and thereby will have earned a great reward from your heavenly Father. The Scripture tells us in the Book of Romans, Chapter 10, verse 17 NKJV:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u2019s Greatest Blessings to All of You………………<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All good parents share the same concerns about their own children and their proper upbringing. Every mother and father worry about the impact and effect that environmental influences have or will have on their children as they grow and mature. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-believers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21995"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22001,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21995\/revisions\/22001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}