WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
NOVEMBER 29, 2022
TOPIC: BLESS YOUR CHILDREN
BY T. O. BANSO
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff” (Hebrews 11:20-21 New King James Version).
Some parents are in the habit of cursing their children while some bless theirs. Don’t let the devil use you to destroy the lives or future of your children. Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Refrain your tongue from speaking evil into the lives of your children. If you don’t, you will reap the harvest of what you sow into their lives in the future. 1 Peter 3:10 says, “He who would love life and see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit” (New King James Version)
In Genesis 27:27-29, Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking that he was Jacob whom he actually wanted to bless before he died. The passage says, “And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: ‘Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed. Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!’” (New King James Version). You can see in this passage the words “blessed” and “cursed” are used as opposites.
Esau missed the blessing that his father had intended for him. As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and he left, Esau came in from his hunting where he had gone for the animal to prepare the savory food which his father asked for. He brought the savory food only to discover that Jacob had deceived his father to receive the blessing meant for him.
After he told his father to arise and eat the savory food he had asked for, the Bible says, “And his father Isaac said to him, ‘Who are you?’ So he said, ‘I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.’ Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, ‘Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him-and indeed he shall be blessed’” (verses 32-33 New King James Version).
Although Jacob deceived his father to receive his blessing, note that his father said that he had blessed Jacob and, indeed, he would be blessed. He didn’t go ahead to curse him in anger because he had deceived him. Whatever a man sows he would reap (Galatians 6:7). Without his father cursing him, Jacob was later deceived by Laban (Genesis 29:20-28; 31:7, 41) and Jacob’s children who sold, his son, Joseph into slavery but pretended that he had been killed. They presented to him his coat of many colours which they had soaked in the blood of a goat they had killed (Genesis 37:24-35).
Isaac’s blessing on Jacob was not reversed. Neither did his father curse him even when his action pained him. Balaam told Balak who had hired him to curse the Israelites, “Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it” (Numbers 23:20 New King James Version).
Following Esau’s plea that his father should bless him also, Isaac did. “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck” (Genesis 27:39-40 New King James Version). Even when Esau couldn’t get the blessing originally intended for him, his father still blessed him.
Bless your children. Don’t curse them no matter your annoyance about what they have done or how provoked you are. When you bless your children, you are blessing not only their future but your future too. Your children represent your future. Bless them.
Hebrews 11:20-21 refers to how Isaac blessed his children thus: “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff” (New King James Version). Take note of the phrase “By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.” Bless your children by faith. Decree upon them the Word of God and believe God to perform His Word in their lives.
The New Century Version puts Hebrews 11:20-21 thus: “It was by faith that Isaac blessed the future of Jacob and Esau. It was by faith that Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each one of Joseph’s sons. Then he worshiped as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.” Note the phrase “Isaac blessed the future of Jacob and Esau.” Bless the future of your children. Let your children grow up remembering how you blessed them, not how you cursed the.
In Genesis 48, Joseph brought his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim to his father, Jacob (Israel). When Jacob heard that they were his sons. He said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them” (verse 9 New King James Version). Jacob kissed them and embraced them. He blessed his grandchildren, crossing his hands and placing his right hand on the head of Ephraim, who was not the firstborn, an action that displeased Jacob. He took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head but his father insisted that he did it intentionally.
Jacob said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude” (verse 19 New King James Version). Earlier Jacob had blessed Ephraim and Manasseh thus: “The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (verses 16 New King James Version).
Bless your children and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren if there are. Note that before blessing Jacob blessed his grandchildren, verse 15 starts by saying, “And he blessed Joseph, and said.” In other words, by blessing Joseph’s children, Jacob was blessing Joseph also. Conversely, if someone curses his grandchildren, the person is cursing their father, too.
In Genesis 49, Jacob blessed his children and predicted how their future would be, some of them affected by their past life. In Genesis 9:25 Noah cursed Canaan, the son of Ham, his son, for seeing his nakedness, and instead of covering it went to tell his two brothers (verse 22). He said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants He shall be to his brethren” (New King James Version). This is not a justification to curse your children or their children, no matter the provocation.
You are a child of God, and the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you. You have received forgiveness from God and, therefore, should forgive others, too. Jesus told His disciples, James and John, who sought His permission to command fire, as Elijah did, to come down from heaven and consume the people of a Samaritan village who did not receive Jesus because He was going to Jerusalem. “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. And they went to another village’” (Luke 9:55-56 New King James Version).
Bless your children and their children; don’t curse them. Even in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28, the Bible says to bless those who curse you. Don’t curse your children; bless them and their children. Start before they are conceived, they are in the womb, and throughout their life. Colossians 3:8 says to put anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Bless your children and, indeed, your family.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I repent of every negative word I have spoken into the lives of my children or their children. Forgive me, Father. I cancel every curse I may have pronounced upon them knowingly or unknowingly. Father, let your blessing come upon my descendants. My children and their families are blessed. They shall grow into Christ in all things and become all You have destined them to be. The devil will not pervert their destinies in Jesus’ name.
(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
