1) Time This poignantly reminds me that a Bible Study is the growing of a personal relationship. In a sense he tests me how much I really love him. We got the chair, put it in place, and promptly started. 2) Review 3) Reading the text (Proverbs 4:24-27, NASB).
4) Pray 5) Verse 24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put devious lips far from you. (24) I asked him what part of body was mentioned in verse 24. He mentioned lips. I spotted mouth. As I started drawing one, he took the pen and drew one. They of course work together. Wisdom only helps if we make our bodies do what they are suppose to. In this case, I explained, that our thoughts are expressed through what we say. We can say good thoughts or bad thoughts. If we put scripture in our minds, then we will more than likely speak forth good things. I took this opportunity and asked how his Bible reading (devotions) was doing. He mentioned good. I asked what he read today. He said Psalm 7 (I think). 6) Verse 25
As above, I asked what body part is mentioned here. He mentioned eyes. I asked him if he knew what 'gaze' meant. He didn't so I explained and showed him what it was by staring at something. The eyes were opposite than the mouth. The mouth expressed what was on our mind. The eyes, however, bring suggestions and thoughts into our minds. The two pair up and make us want all the things we don't need. The eyes make us want it, and the mouth help us get it. We talked about a boisterous billboard coming home from church. It was terribly placed! Even looking straight ahead, one still would see it. Then I said, one almost needs to keep his eyes right on the road. I mentioned how ads direct our desires. If not careful, they rule us and tell us what to do. We also got into the computer screen. He is so easily fixed to any visual screen whether it be TV, video or computer. We already greatly reduce his time. He only has 20 minutes a day on computer (except Sunday - none). But I know he needed to know why we limited him. So I explained how we train his eye control by our rules. I told him how many terrible emails I get each day. Each one leads down a dangerous path. He needs perfect control of his eyes. 8) Verse 26-27
I asked what body part was spoken in these last two verses. (If he was older a bit, I could have asked him from the beginning to tell me all the body parts mentioned in these verses). After he found foot, he began to draw a foot. It didn't look quite right so he called it an alien foot. Later I mentioned how I had made web pages for these Proverb studies and the reason why. I wanted other Dad's to know how to help their sons. I asked him if he thought it was good that I do this. He thought it would. I asked if he wanted to see them. He did. So I quickly went to the computer screen and showed him the web pages. He was naturally more interested in the pictures. He wanted to see this alien foot on this page. We saw that it spoke about path again. I remember the word 'path' was used several times in Proverbs 4. Path has a lot to do with feet. Our feet take us where we will speak to others or see things. I showed him how to scan a page for the word 'path.' I took a pencil and kept it just above the page and zigzagged back and forth and had him search quickly for the word 'path.' He found one. I then went back over one section that had two more. He found another. The third one kept hidden so I focused in on the place that the third one was found. We discovered all four times it was used.
It was so important to go where Daddy and Mommy tells you. This is the wisdom that he talks about. If you obey them, then your are wise and are specially protected. I closed by asking him what it means to have ones ways 'established.' He didn't know what the word meant. I explained it was like starting something. Once started it was still there. Where you go determines the welfare of his life. This is why he needs (me too) to always go in the right places. We close by a few comments on areas that he specifically needs to work on. He needs to be diligence so not to be lazy and truthful so not to lie or deceive. 10) We both closed in prayer. 9) Other important matters Proverbs 4 is over. He suggested maybe Proverbs 5 next week. That is good I agreed but it gets into husband-wife relationships a bit more than I feel comfortable at this stage However, I thought, he needs to be fortified with the truth. Onwards we go.
As for me, a year later, I have now been taking each of my young children that can read (or learning to read) in a private time with Dad on Sunday. They now look forward to it for the most part and do not put up any fussing. The younger ones are more learning to read and coax them into the Savior's love. I choose passages on what they have been learning, reading or some thought that came to me while praying for them.
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