Yesterday I read all of Psalms 119 in the CSB version. I have probably read it at least 50 times before but in my reading this time I thought of how the author truly loved the Word. There are 175 verses in this psalm on how the Word has and does effects the author’s life and my life as well if I take time to read it. I admit it made me envious as I too love the Word but don’t seem to express it like he does. Also when you read psalm 119 you realize how intimate of a relationship the author has with the Lord. Intimacy is a behavior that a lot of us simply don’t take the time to develop. Intimacy takes time. It’s not a quick fix. Today I finished the Psalms and started Proverbs and in chapter 1, verse 33 it says this, “But whoever listens to me will live securely and be free from the fear of danger.” Listening to God includes reading His Word and what results is freedom from fear. I want intimacy with God and the absence of fear in my life. I will read the Word and develop intimacy with God and fearlessness!

This morning I read in my quiet time Psalms 78. In the CSB version it has the heading, Lessons from Israel’s Past. As I read on I saw the primary lesson. It is this. Talk to your kids as they are growing up while they will still listen. The day will come when they may not. If I have any regret in my life in raising my kids it is that I didn’t talk with them as much as I should have because no one talked to me as I was growing up. The lesson is that if you don’t talk to them you may be setting them up for a fall.

Let me share the lesson in verses 1-8:
“My people, hear my instruction; listen to what I say. I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the things we have heard and known and that our fathers have passed down to us. We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the Lord, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed. He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children so that a future generation⎯children yet to be born⎯might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God's works, but keep His commandments. Then they would not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

Six times there is an emphasis on communicating with our children and then concluding with what will happen if we don’t. If you read the following verses in the chapter you can see for yourself what happened and why God admonished Israel so strongly.

Last night I watched again the blockbuster movie Braveheart. You will remember it is the story of Scotland’s greatest hero, William Wallace played by Mel Gibson. In Stirling, Scotland there is a 220 foot tower memorializing Wallace built in 1861. Why? So the Scots would not forget their history and therefore, not repeat the same mistakes that caused them to need a William Wallace. If he had not shown up in their history to save them Scotland probably would be non-existant. That momument serves as an opportunity for the fathers of Scotland to tell their children what freedom is all about and why it is worth fighting for.

I as a Christian and every other Christian must remember the importance of sharing our own history as to how God redeemed us for eternity and gave us so many events of his marvelous care for us. We don’t need a momument we just need to communicate our story. After all it is HIS-tory as well.