Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

November 13, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO HELP ME BE A GODLY FATHER (part 4)

Proverbs 4: 1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live

Solomon speaks of the PROTECTION of wisdom in verse six:

* 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
“She shall preserve thee”, means to hedge about (as with thorns), to guard; generally, to protect, and attend to. A wise, godly life provides protection to the bearer. Living right is its own protection!
Solomon speaks of the WILLINGNESS and the WISDOM of a Godly Father. Finally, he speaks of The Warnings of a Godly Father.
As you develop the characteristics of a godly father, you may now begin the work of instructing your family in the ways of God! It is our responsibility to soak up the warnings in the Word of God and to pass them down to our children! In verse eighteen, Solomon says to instruct your children on:
1. The path of the righteous.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
* Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

In verse fourteen to seventeen, Solomon says to instruct your child on:
2. The path of the wicked
* 14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
* Psalm 1:4
4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish
God help us as parents to instruct our children on the results of the choices that they make. They need to know the right path, and they also need to know the dangers of the wrong path.