1 Chronicles 22: 12-13 “Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God.  Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel.  Be strong and courageous.  Fear not:  do not be dismayed.”

Those were the words of King David to his son Solomon.  Do they sound familiar?  Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:  for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:  for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  David was using scripture to instruct His son.  He was instructing him what he had been taught.  

David wasn’t just randomly “a man after God’s heart” he spent time knowing the precepts of God and had a relationship with Him!  Psalm 119:40, “Behold, I have longed after thy precepts:  quicken me in thy righteousness.”  If you think that it is enough to just accept Christ as your savior, you are missing out on so much!  David made his share of mistakes and when he did, he owned them but He trusted God and He spent his life striving to be a godly man, by knowing His word and doing His best to serve and follow Him.  Here David was following the commands that we find in Deuteronomy 11:18-19, “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  It is not good enough to just know the word yourself, you are responsible for teaching them to your children!  I would have to think that more than likely Bathsheba, Solomon’s mom also taught him to follow God because David had some other sons that didn’t seem to share his heart for God at all, and Proverbs 31 appears to be words from her to Solomon. Now we do have to remember that sometimes no matter what you have taught your children, not all of them follow, but we can know that if we teach them and if they accept Christ as their savior, God will draw them back.  It may take discipline from God to bring them back, but He will work on their hearts so just keep praying if you have a child that has gone their own way!  It just always amazes me when I read the books of the Kings how it always says, “and his mother’s name was _____________ and then it says whether or not that king did what was right or evil.  We have an impact Mom and the biggest part of that impact is when we are on our knees before God praying for them or we are teaching them the Word of God!

I would really like to encourage you today to spend some extra time with God, getting to know Him better.  Your faith, hope, and trust will grow as you do!  His best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”  Goethe