Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 17:6-7(KJV):
6 Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
7 Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

Proverbs 17:6-7(Amp):
6 Children's children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine or arrogant speech does not become (an empty -headed ) fool ; much less do lying lips become a prince.

Thoughts for the Day:

These verses in Proverbs inform us of the generational blessings God intends for both parents and children to enjoy. These verses also emphasize how our speech betrays us. Children and grandchildren were meant to be great blessings from God.  However, because of the devil's influence in the world, he attempts to destroy this blessing by alienating the children from their fathers and vice versa. God meant for our children to be a great blessing and heritage.

Psalm 127:3-5:
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

A father's children were meant to bless him by being a defense to him should any enemy speak against him. Godly children will not only defend their father, but will honor him and their mother, as the Bible admonishes them to do. They will glory in having good parents and be thankful to God for their heritage. Many families today lack this generational blessing, as both parents and children have broken God's laws and do not have a godly relationship with each other.

For children to receive this generational blessing they must begin by honoring their parents.  This is one of the Ten Commandments. This commandment comes with a promise.  If children obey their parents they are promised long life.   One of the reasons for this, is when children respect their parent's wisdom and experience and they obey them, they will be protected from the harm that comes to children who rebel.

Exodus 20:12: "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

Throughout the Bible, the righteous declare that their purpose is to declare the glory of God to the next generation.

"One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4 KJV).

From these, and many other scriptures, we can see clearly that each generation is called to build on the foundation left by the previous generation. Therefore, all generations are in great need of each other to complete the work that God has called His corporate Body to fulfill. Fathers and mothers need to be those godly examples to their children so that the torch of God's Word will be passed down to them, and they in turn will pass it on to their children.

Proverbs 17:7 says that excellent and fine speech does not become a fool.  You can judge a man by what kind of speech is coming out of his mouth. A fool will not be speaking the Word of God, but will utter foolish things. This same verse says that lying lips do not become a prince.  Those in positions of leadership and authority need integrity and character to rule well.  A liar can never be a good leader, as dishonesty will eventually undermine the trust of all his followers.  

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, I am thankful for all that You have given me.  Lord, forgive this generation of families that have failed one another.  Restore the breaches in families and homes.  Give the children a submissive spirit toward their parents and speak to them to honor their mothers and fathers.  Give the fathers and mothers the love and wisdom that they need to minister to their children.  Heal those relationships and restore the broken homes .  Heal our land O Lord.  I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.