Happy Father’s Day!! What a special day!! I really enjoy celebrating the men in my life. I am blessed with a wonderful husband, 4 awesome sons, a son-in-law, 2 brothers, a brother-in-law, a step Dad –friend, 7 grandsons, 6 nephews, 3 nephew-in-laws and 2 great nephews. Every man in my life has had an influence in some way on who I am. My sons have taught me so much. As a Mom I’ve watched them grow from my little boys who needed their Mom to men who love the Mom of their children. I’m thankful for Ed who has imparted faith, love, wisdom, laughter and much more to our family and been an example our family can follow. I respect and honor all these men in my life and am thankful there is a day to celebrate them. It is the Wisdom from our heavenly Father and through Him that each earthy Father has an example of love and a direction to go and teach their own children.
This year as we celebrate Father’s Day I asked the Lord what to share with you. He gave me some words that describe a man following after God. He said they are men of excellence – men of valor – men of wisdom, strength and courage. A man following after God’s heart loves his wife. He will honor her, speak well of her and serve her. A man desiring God’s ways is an example to his family as he chooses to go to the Lord in prayer, putting the Lord first, trusting Him and worshipping Him. Today more than ever the younger generations need to see the strength of a man trusting the Lord. They need to know His truth, His wisdom and His love.
As a father you need to help guard the hearts of your children. Guard what they see and what they hear. Let them see and hear the truth that will guide and direct them all their lives. The Lord’s words in the children’s hearts will stay with them forever. When I was about 4 we had to move in with my grandparents for a season. My Dad had made some mistakes and was in jail. I didn’t have a dad who was a great and wonderful example but my Grandpa was a wonderful Christian man. He was my spiritual leader and example his whole life and his words of wisdom still have an influence on me. He was a man of excellence, valor, strength and courage. I will always remember how every single morning after he had breakfast he would read his Bible and then kneel at his chair and pray. It was an amazing example of a man sold out to the Lord. He knew where his guidance, wisdom, strength and love came from and as little kids, my brother and I knew too. Over 60 years later his example still reflects in my life in so many ways.
I share this story to show how powerful it is to live your life for Christ without reservation. You do not know what those around you are seeing or hearing and how many years their lives will be effected by how you show them God’s love, or not. Your example either way, living for Christ or not, will have an effect on the lives of those around you. I realize that all dads have not followed the Wisdom of the Word and the end result will bring lots of hurt. Every Dad reading this has made many mistakes and not heeded the way of the Word at one time or another. What is most important is that you don’t hold on to the offenses and hurts from your past and then repeat your hurts with your family. I am sharing a few verses and wisdom from the Word about being a Godly, wise man who will choose to make a difference in his family and this world. Most of these verses are from the Passion translation. Meditate on these truths and hide them in your heart. They will not return void but make a difference in your life and the life of all those around you.
“The teachings of godly ones are like pure silver, bringing words of redemption to others but the heart of the wicked is corrupt. The lovers of God feed many with their teachings but the foolish ones starve themselves for lack of an understanding heart. True enrichment comes from the blessing of the Lord, with rest and contentment in knowing that it all comes from him.” Proverbs 10:20-22
“Words that bring delight pour out of the lips of the godly.” Proverbs 10:32
“A man of kindness attracts favor while a cruel man attracts nothing but trouble.”
Proverbs 11:17
“Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor. Living your life seeking what is good for others brings untold favor..” Proverbs 11:25,27
“Work hard at your job and you’ll have what you need. Follow a get-rich-quick scheme is nothing but a fantasy.” Proverbs 12:11
“For there is great satisfaction in speaking the truth and hard work brings blessings back to you. A fool is in love with his own opinion but wisdom means being teachable. If you shrug off an insult and refuse to take offense, you demonstrate discretion indeed. But a fool has a short fuse and will immediately let you know he is offended.” Proverbs 12:14-16
“Reckless words are like the thrusts of a sword, cutting remarks meant to stab and to hurt. But the words of the wise soothe and heal.” Proverbs 12:18
“If you want to grow in wisdom then spend time with the wise.” Proverbs 13:20
“Dedicate your children to God and point them in the way they should go and the values they’ve learned from you will be with them for life.” Proverbs 22:6
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
“Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.” Proverbs 16:24
“He who answers a matter before he hears the facts – it is folly and shame to him.” Proverbs 18:13
Isaiah 54: 13, “And your children have been taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children.”
““My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.” So I will celebrate my weakness, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ in me.” 1 Corinthians 12:9
Always remember who you are in Christ. No matter what is going on in your life keep pressing forward in Him and don’t let the circumstances take you out or our cause you to give up. These are trying times. If you aren’t looking to the Lord constantly you will experience confusion, frustration, anger and helplessness. We don’t know what the future holds in the natural. We know in Him we ALWAYS have victory!! The younger generations need to see examples of perseverance, strength and His love flowing from every situation. Without the example of Godly men in their lives today – what do they have for tomorrow? Dads, grandpas, uncles, brothers, friends it’s time to rise up and love like Christ loved the church. He gave himself for the each of us. He is living in you and wants to shine through you so those watching you will know the true and living God. Never before in our life time has a Godly hero in the flesh been more valuable and life changing. I thank all the men in my life for their examples of leaders they are in Christ. There’s a joy in my heart knowing that Ed is praying for our family and seeking the wisdom of God on how to lead. He’s a spiritual leader in our family and an example our grandkids will hopefully be remembering years from now. Our heavenly Father gave us all we need to know how to follow in His ways!