Created by James E. Woodson III, Journal Your Journey is a daily editorial blog designed to give hope, inspire, and influence its readers to live better, more fulfilled lives. Through divine inspiration, Journal Your Journey delivers daily lessons learned centered around what it truly means to live a life led by God. As you read, we hope that you will be inspired and motivated to make a deeper connection with the Creator and that your life might be transformed. Enjoy!
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
Today, we want to focus on the word "training" in today's scripture.
While we typically think of training in terms of an athlete training for the Olympics or someone training for a marathon - that is, developing a particular skill or type of behavior through practice and instruction over a period of time - there is another definition of training.
Oxford's dictionary defines "to train" as "to point or aim something, typically a gun or camera, at."
What would happen if we thought of scripture in this way? That is, what if we used it to equip as to pierce like a gun? Or to give us more focus like a camera?
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." ~ Proverbs 22:6
The principle of sowing and reaping can be found in today's scripture.
While it specifically addresses raising kids, there's application for all of life here.
If you would put in the work, God says that you will see the reward... in the end. So if you haven't seen the reward yet, it means it's not the end. Keep pressing. Keep praying. Keep waiting.
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” - John 8:32
Many people misquote John 8:32 and/or take it out of context. Most often, you hear people say "and the truth shall set you free" and that's it. But this scripture reveals much more than just that.
If we look at John 8:32 in context, we see in the preceding verse that Jesus talks about people becoming His disciples. A close reading of John 8:31-32 reveals that it's only after becoming a disciple of Jesus that one is exposed to the truth. Exposure to the truth then makes us free.
In other words, there's a whole process to attain freedom. Simple truth doesn't make people free. It's by becoming disciples of Jesus that we come to know the truth and become free.
In other words, Jesus instructs us to become disciples (Matthew 16:24) - that is, to become students or "studiers" of His Word. He tells us to train by abiding in it (John 8:31).
And just like any trainer, He says we can't get the results without going through the process.
So, the real question is, if you truly want to be free, are you willing to go through the process to get there?
In Part 3 of the "Train Up A Child" series, we talked about why God instructs us to train through meditating on His Word. This week, let's address the slightly different question of why meditating on the Word is important.
In Luke 8, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, in which He likens the Kingdom of God to a farmer sowing seed. Some seed falls on good soil and yields a one hundred-fold harvest (Luke 8:8). Some seed falls by the wayside, is trampled, and eaten by birds (Luke 8:5). Other seed falls on rocky soil and withers (Luke 8:6). Still other seed falls among the thorns and gets choked (Luke 8:7).
Jesus later explains to His disciples that the seed that falls on good soil represents people that hear the Word, apply it and bear fruit (Luke 8:15). The seed that falls by the wayside represents people who hear the Word but the devil comes and snatches the seed out of their hearts (Luke 8:12). The seed that falls on rocky soil represent people that receive the Word with joy but fall back into disobedience because of temptation (Luke 8:13). The seed that falls among the thorns and gets choked represents people who hear the Wordbut get caught up in the cares of the world and bear no fruit (Luke 8:14).
In every case, the people hear the Word. But only in one of them does the Word actually take root and bear fruit.
So there has to be a difference between simply hearing the Word and bearing its fruit.
Meditating on the Word is the difference!
For more on this concept, check out Pastor Ron Carpenter’s message below starting at 32:04.
Ultimately, God wants us to be more than just hearers of the Word (James 1:22). He wants us to bear fruit and be world changers. But we can't do that simply by hearing the Word. If that's the extent of our experience with the Word, we are no different than the seed that falls by the wayside. Or among the thorns. Or on the rocks.
God wants His Word to yield a harvest. But it's going to require more than just hearing the Word.
"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." - Joshua 1:8
We are not the only ones who train our children. God
does too.
One of the ways He instructs us to train is found in
Joshua 1:8.
God tells Joshua to "meditate on [the Word] day and night." Psalm 1:1-2 says “blessed is the one… who meditates on His law day and night.” Psalm 119 has at least eight references to meditating on the word, the promises, and
the works of God.
So, no, meditation is not just some yoga, new age term
for Hipsters. It’s a Biblical command. And it’s part of the way God trains us.
So, what does meditation look like for the believer? The
answer may surprise you.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." ~ Proverbs 22:6
We often quote the scripture "train up a child in the way he should go" as a positive affirmation or piece of advice. We use it as a standard by which we ought to parent. True indeed. Proverbs 22:6 can certainly be a standard or command that ought to govern our life.
But Proverbs 22:6 is so much more than just a standard. At its essence, Proverbs 22:6 is a principle. In other words, it's an axiom that holds true regardless of the circumstance. It's a fundamental truth.
As parents, we are supposed to intentionally train our children. That is, we are supposed to teach them skills and types of behavior through practice and instruction over the course of their lives.
But the fact is that even if we aren't intentional about training our kids, we still do it.
No matter what, you are training your child to do something. If you're an active parent and positive role model, you are training your kids to grow up to follow in your footsteps. But be clear, if you're a terrible parent, you are still training your kids. If you respond to situations with pettiness or bitterness, they are learning how to behave. If you are jealous or selfish, you are training your child to respond to life in the same way.
All of us are training our kids in something. The question is, what's the substance of that training?
We can train our kids to be emotionally, spiritually, and physically healthy and productive members of our society. Or we can train them to have the same issues we have. At the end of the day, Proverbs 22:6 holds true. Whatever you teach your children, they won't depart from it when they are older.
Her son texted her Friday [the day before] to say he had dropped his cat off at her Monclova Township apartment so he could go to an “alt-right” rally in Virginia.
“I told him to be careful,” Ms. Bloom said. “[And] if they’re going to rally to make sure he’s doing it peacefully.”
He had told her about the rally last week, but didn’t offer details about its extremist nature.“I thought it had something to do with Trump,” she said. “I try to stay out of his political views. I don’t get too involved.”
She said he had moved out of her apartment “five or six months ago” to his own Maumee apartment, but she declined to give the address. Ms. Bloom said they moved to northwest Ohio from Florence, Kentucky, about a year ago for her job.
A few things to think about from these statements:
Time: The mother had time to train up her son. Fields was 20 years old and lived with his mother up until 5 or 6 months ago. He had been under her roof for at least 19 years and 6 months.
Knowledge: The mother had knowledge that her son was going astray. She said that she knew he was going to an alt-right rally, but didn't know the extreme nature of the rally. Was she living under a rock? Was she in denial? Or was she simply lying to the reporter she spoke to? Either way, the mother knew of her son's views.
Opportunity: The mother had the opportunity to train up her son. She told reporters that she tried to "stay out of his political views and doesn't get too involved." Time and knowledge gave her opportunity to correct her son, but she simply chose not to.
It's funny how parents often to try to skirt their responsibilities when it comes to their kids. Yes, this man was officially an adult and ultimately responsible for his own actions. But he was just 20 years old and lived under his mother's roof for the majority of his life. She had influence with him, but admittedly chose not to use that influence.
This is not to solely blame the mother for what happened to the 32-year old woman that was killed. Certainly, his father's presence (or lack thereof) played a role. Certainly, there were other factors that contributed to the extremist nature of her son's views and actions. But each of us has influence over those around us, and we can either: (a) use that influence to create good in the world, (b) ignore that influence and let something or someone else fill the vacuum, or (c) use that influence to create evil in the world.
In the end, the Bible holds parents responsible for training up their children. Bad things happen to good people when we don't.
