Sunday, 17 May 2020

Proverbs 17.6, 21, 25 NLT
Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged;
parents are the pride of their children.
It is painful to be the parent of a fool;
there is no joy for the father of a rebel.
Foolish children bring grief to their father
and bitterness to the one who gave them birth.

These three verses of scriptures picture a family can be most joyous and blessed when we instil godly fear or wisdom in our children when we are young. If we don’t train them in the way of the Lord. Life can be painful, with no joy, much grief and even bitterness when we are old. God’s wisdom desires to see blessedness in our family, where grandchildren are the crowning glory for aged grandparents, and where children are proud of their parents.

If parents do not make the raising of children a priority and if children do not honour their parents, both risk losing the greatest joy that life can offer. If we do not spend time training, loving and nurturing our children, we will miss out the joy in our old age. No amount of success in other areas will make up for the failure of having foolish children.

The next two verses, 21 and 25 describe us as grieving parents and explain the reason for our grief. FOOL (kes.eek) denotes a person that is stupid, arrogant, dull, complete lack of understanding, rebellious and usually unable to deal with life in a successful and practical way. A fool lives a life of sorrow that he brings upon himself. He also brings sorrow into the life of his father. The sad thing is that the sorrow doesn’t go away even if the son is grown and moved out on his own. A father will always be a father to his son, throughout his adult life too.

The father of a fool has no joy. The word FOOL (NABAL) is a different Hebrew word. Abigail husband’s name is Nabal. He was a fool because he won’t listen. This word Nabal defines a fool as a senseless, lack of capacity to understand, implying being rude and disrespectful; and thoughtless and disobedience to the Law of God. This is the type that says “there is no God”. Therefore a father of a foolish son will have no joy.

He has pain and sorrow instead of joy. This does not mean he has no joy in his life at all. Each time he thinks of his son, there is no joy. It causes him sorrow. This foolish son keeps on stumbling over again and again by making poor choices in his life. It grieves the father. GRIEF is an emotion caused by the sadness in a distressing situation. It agitates, stirs up or provokes the heart to anger. It keeps a man up at night feeling frustrated and upset, foolishly mourning over a wayward son or daughter. The reason is that the father loves his child.

This foolish son or daughter also deeply affects the mother too. A foolish son or daughter is bitterness to the mother. It expresses tragic, unpleasant experiences of the bitter taste. It is a mental state of regret, grief, anguish and regret. It is a bitter pill to swallow for having a foolish son/daughter.

Prayer for today

Parents, make sure your source of joy is in the Lord Jesus Christ. His love is steadfast. He never changes. No one, not even a wayward son or daughter can rob you of the joy that Jesus gives. Remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength. Ask God for the forgiveness of our negligence and grace to go on loving our prodigal son or daughter till they turn around.

Father, we praise you for answering our prayers that our wayward children have come home to you. Lord, many of our children are still wandering in the wilderness of sin and darkness. We ask that you will set them free. Lord, break their hearts of stone with the hammering of your Words. Lead them out of darkness into the light of your salvation. Lord, don’t let us rest till they come back to you.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for Jesus our perfect example of an obedient son. Help us to love you by daily obeying you and honouring you with our thoughts, our speech and our actions. Grants us as fathers to be a spiritual leader and teacher in our homes. Help us as husbands and wives to bring up our children to have godly values from you. Protect them from the wiles of the evil one, and help them to put on the full amour of God daily to withstand the attack of the evil one. We give praise and thanks in Jesus” Name. Amen.

Pastor Isaac Yim

xxx

每日灵粮
17/05/20星期日
作者：严以撒牧师
箴言17：6, 21, 25
6 子孙为老人的冠冕．父亲是儿女的荣耀。
21生愚昧子的、必自愁苦．愚顽人的父、毫无喜乐。
25愚昧子使父亲愁烦、使母亲忧苦。

这三节经文描绘了当一个家庭向年轻一代灌输属神的敬畏与智慧时，这家庭将可获得最大的喜乐与祝福。若是我们不以属神的方式训练他们，那么当我们年老时，我们的生命将充满愁苦，没有喜乐，许多的愁烦，甚至是悲痛。上帝渴望看到我们的家庭蒙受祝福，那就是，儿孙们成为年老祖父母的荣耀的冠冕，父母亲则以子女为傲。

如果父母不把抚养孩子的责任放在首位，另外如果孩子们不尊重父母，那么这两者将失去生命中最大的喜乐。若是我们不花时间训练，关爱和养育孩子，我们将在晚年时失去这份喜乐。没有任何其他领域的成功可以弥补一个拥有愚昧孩子的失败。

接下来的21和25节将我们描述为一个愁烦的父母，并解释了我们愁烦的原因。 愚昧
的意思就是指一个愚蠢，自大，愚钝，完全缺乏理解能力，叛逆且通常无法过着成功与实际生活方式的人。愚昧人过着悲伤的生活。他也为父亲的生活带来悲伤。可悲的是，即使儿子长大并搬走了，悲伤也不会消失。在整个逐渐成长的生活中，父亲永远都是儿子的父亲。

愚昧人的父亲毫无喜乐。 愚昧（拿八）一词是另一个希伯来语单词。亚比该的丈夫名叫拿八。他是个愚顽人，因为他不会倾听。拿八这个词将愚昧人定义为无知的，不通情达理，含有鲁莽与无礼的意思；并且不关心及不顺从神的律法。这就是那说“没有上帝”的人。因此，一个愚顽人的父亲、毫无喜乐。

他只有痛苦和悲伤而不是喜乐。这并不意味着他一生都没有喜乐。只是每当他想到他的儿子时，就没有喜乐。这使他感到悲伤。这个愚昧的儿子一生都在做出错误的选择，一遍又一遍地犯错。这令到父亲很愁烦。 愁烦是在伤心及烦恼的情况下所导致的情绪反应。它会激起并引起内心的愤怒。它会令人彻夜感觉不安与心烦意乱，为一个刚愎自用的儿子或女儿悲伤。这是因为这父亲爱他的孩子。

这个愚昧的儿子或女儿也深深地影响着其母亲。一个愚昧的儿子或女儿使母亲忧苦。其表达了苦涩滋味中的悲惨与不愉快的经历。这是一种后悔，愁烦，痛苦和遗憾的精神状态。拥有一个愚昧的儿子/女儿就像吞咽一个苦涩的药丸。

今天的祷告
父母，请确保你的喜乐源于主耶稣基督。祂的爱坚定不移。祂从不改变。哪怕是一个刚愎自用的儿子或女儿，也不能剥夺耶稣所赐予你的喜乐。记住，主的喜乐是你的力量。求上帝宽恕我们的过失，并赐予恩典让我们继续爱我们那浪荡的儿子或女儿，直到他们回转。

天父，我们感谢你应允了我们的祷告，让我们那任性的孩子已经回到你的家中。主啊，我们许多孩子仍在罪恶与黑暗的旷野中徘徊。我们恳求你释放他们。主啊，用你的话语锤碎他们的石头心。带领他们脱离黑暗，进入救恩的光明。主啊，在他们回到你身边之前，让我们不要松懈。

我们的天父，我们感谢耶稣，因祂成为一个顺服儿子的完美榜样。帮助我们每天在心思意念上，言语上，行动上，来顺从你，尊崇你，敬爱你。让我们身为父亲的，成为家中属灵的领袖及教师。帮助我们身为丈夫及妻子的，以从神而来的价值观养育我们的孩子。保护他们免受恶者的祸害，并帮助他们每天穿上上帝的全副军装来抵御恶者的攻击。我们奉耶稣的名赞美和感谢。阿们

陈月妃译