DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2020-12-10
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 145:3-4
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ³ The Eternal is great and deserves endless praise;
    His greatness knows no limit, recognizes no boundary.
    No one can measure or comprehend His magnificence.
⁴ One generation after another will celebrate Your great works;
    they will pass on the story of Your powerful acts to their children.

OBSERVATION: Isn’t it easy to sit back and blame the parents next door for their rude kids, or sit at the back of the church so you could analyze every little twitch or movement of the kids in front of you? But, based on our Scripture today, I would beg of you to really look for reasons to praise your living God – yes, especially in the presence of the children, and then be diligent in sharing the awesome story of your salvation and the goodness of God with each and every one of them. Be thinking of the ways our younger generation could be impacted by you meditate with me!

APPLICATION: Common words heard from many adults range from: ‘What is wrong with the children today’ to ‘I know we were never that disrespectful in our day’! But since I consider myself a part of a generation, while other generations exists around me, then I can easily conclude that the Scripture is speaking directly to me today and encouraging me to take action. You see, our younger generation is constantly learning from us. Yes, I know, you keep your mouth shut and you try hard to not interfere in the business of others. However, you will teach a younger person several lessons, depending on your attitude, actions and words, such as: a). Let the person next to you assume the responsibility for what God has called you to do. They can teach the kids; b). No need to care about the welfare of others, for they have the government to lean on for that; c). You have made it this far in life, and those kids will somehow do the same. No need for your input; d). Church is unimportant, and God is there if you need Him. The pastor is only after your money. You learned your life-principles from your mom, and so will they. Friends, children will learn from us as they watch us in action and as they listen to us speak. Don’t blame them for what they are doing, they learnt it from us. I’m sitting on the edge of a beautiful lake, and as I look into the water I don’t see a blank slate. I see the reflection, or a mirror of the trees around the lake. In this case that’s a beautiful sight. But when you look at our younger generation and watch their actions and hear their speech, is it a beautiful reflection of what they are mirroring from you and I? Notice that I included verse 3 above. It shows a part of the praise that David was lifting up to his loving God. Some of us try to mirror that aspect of David’s life, hoping that as we worship God and sing of His wondrous works, others might mirror our worshipful attitudes and do the same. Ashamedly, I am also reminded that others are also mirroring those times that my attitude stinks, or my words were spoken in anger. We want others to reflect our best attitudes and actions. Shouldn’t we aim to always let our lives reflect the goodness of God and His loving attitude at all times, so that our younger generation will have great role models? Oh that God will work miraculously in our lives, for His glory, and for the benefit of those seeking to mirror a solid, worthy, forgiven believer in Christ.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, thank You for being such an awesome, righteous, loyal role model for us to follow. Please help us daily, as Your faithful followers, to seek Your grace and Your favor to help us live just like You. Others are watching, and they are looking for good role models. Oh that they will not be disappointed in following us, Your forgiven children who are seeking to follow You faithfully. May our younger generation be better than us, because they had good role models to follow – ones that imitated You in every aspect of life. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!