[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, June 3, 2016

[Paul Smith]

Hello and good Friday to most of you.  Of course, for you in Australia 
and New Zealand as this message is being written, it's already your 
Saturday with all the day holds for you.  At any rate, I hope that your 
day is going well, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.

Before I give you today's Daily Thought article, and since it is 
relatively short, I'd like to give a shout-out to anyone reading these 
lines who are attending the International Association of Audio 
Information Services at the Weston Hotel in Princeton, NJ, USA.  Hope 
that your deliberations are going well and that, when the conference 
ends sometime tomorrow, that you can honestly say it was good that I 
attended.  I only mention this because I'm on the Board of Directors of 
the Radio Reading Network of Maryland and, as such, was invited to join 
the IAAIS email list.

And now to the Daily thought article for today.  It was written by 
Cynda Strong for the Lutheran publication "Portals of Prayer." It 
begins with a verse of Scripture, and the article in question is 
entitled "Parental Love," rendered as follows:

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be 
called children of God; and so we are.  (1 John 3:1)

I thought it was strange when our Bible study leader, a newlywed, told 
us she was already praying not only for her unborn children but also 
for their spouses.  Years later, I'm thankful for her example.  Both of 
my children are happily married to loving, God-fearing spouses.  It's 
never too early to pray for your children--even those not yet born.

Many theories abound in the proper way to rear children.  Saving for 
their education, having good health insurance, and purchasing the best 
educational toys are mentioned often.  But God tells us to raise our 
children, first and foremost, by nurturing them in the faith.

Knowing God begins at Baptism, where we are named His eternal child, 
redeemed by His blood shed on the cross, to be His own.  What greater 
gift can you give your child than to know our loving heavenly Father 
and His dear Son? What greater comfort can one have than to know your 
children will live forever with Christ?

John tells us that we are children of the heavenly Father, simply 
because He loves us.  He wants the best for His children.  And Christ 
is the absolute Best!

And there you have today's daily thought message and article.  Hope you 
got something from it, especially you parents who have children, 
whether by natural means or adopted or who have foster children.

Until tomorrow when another Daily Thought message and article will be 
presented, Lord willing, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just 
keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in 
which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul