TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JUNE 23, 2016.
FATHER
A male parent; God
Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. Ephesians 6:2.
So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord, God, their Father; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. II Chronicles 20:4.
It is highly evident that our society is in rapid decline morally and spiritually. We do not have to look much farther for the cause of this decline than to see the disintegration of the family unit. God ordained the family to be the basis of society. When the family breaks down, society breaks down. Many children are living either in one parent families or in dysfunctional families.
It was God’s plan that father’s should lead the family and provide for them. It is alarming how many fathers have abandoned their God given role to be the spiritual leader of their family and even more alarming is that so many have abandoned their families completely. This is not Biblical and in fact the scriptures give us a very clear direction for fathers as to how to live their lives. No human father is perfect but with the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and Godly mentors a man can become a successful dad and father. Following are several principles to help a father accomplish what God expects from a man who is or becoming a father.
Make sure you have made your decision to follow Jesus so that you can help your children to trust in Jesus as early in their life as possible. They will then grow with the understanding that God is to be the center of everything they do. It is the father’s leadership role to teach this to the children.
Make sure you set Biblical standards in your home such as honesty, purity, loyalty and integrity and then live by them in your daily walk and talk. These values will guide your children to make right decisions.
Teach your children about love, respect, and mutual encouragement. This will teach them how to treat others and how to develop good relationships with others.
In your vocation be a model in cooperation and doing your work at your work-place and at home “heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” Colossians 3:23. Your children then will be inclined to form a healthy work ethic.
Teach your children the right way to handle money: to earn it honestly, give the first 10% back to God, and to invest it intelligently. Teach your children to “be generous and willing to share what they have” I Timothy 6:18.
Unless children learn how to function properly under authority rebelliousness can easily develop. A father has a role to teach their children by example because our children notice when there is a disconnect between our words and our conduct. Setting a good example is essential.
The importance of the father’s role of setting a good example and being the spiritual leader of his family is seen in the family of Gideon. Gideon was a highly successful leader, under God, of the army of Israel. He led an army of 10,000 and defeated 135,000 Medianites with 300 soldiers. Gideon could lead a nation but he failed as a father and could not lead his own family.
His failure came as a result of an extramarital relationship, which is sin in God’s sight. In this relationship he had a son, named Abimelech (Judges 8:31). This caused real problems within his family. In Judges 9:5 we read that after the death of his father, Gideon, he (Abimelech) went to his father’s home and murdered his seventy half-brothers. Gideon’s story serves to illustrate that great leaders are not always great leaders in their daily life at home. Fathers need to put their trust daily in the hands of their Heavenly Father to lead them to be Godly leaders in their own homes.
In the second verse above from II Chronicles we read about the time that King Jehoshaphat of Judah faced a problem. Three neighboring tribes, the Moabites, Amonites and Meunites simultaneously waged war against the King with the sole purpose of dethroning him. King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah were facing disaster.
The King reacted just as fathers today must react. He went to his Heavenly Father asking Him for His leading, His guidance and His protection. Most leaders would have crumbled under this pressure. Unfortunately, many fathers today crumble under much less pressure because they do not turn to God to lead them.
The King proclaimed a time of prayer and a fast throughout his land. The people trusted God so completely that they praised God for the victory before the battle began. God heard the King’s prayer and the prayer of his people (his family) and answered their prayers. God caused confusion among the invading three armies and they ended up fighting each other and destroying themselves because God did intervene on behalf of the King and the people of Judah (his family). God hears the prayers of Godly fathers who pray for and with their families.
Our memory verse for this week is found in Deuteronomy 33:27.
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, destroy.
Thank You that we know that whatever concern us concerns You as well. As fathers, and mothers, help us to look to You for guidance and enable us to be spiritual leaders in our home. Help us to plant healthy concepts daily into the minds and hearts of our children equipping them to be motivated to fulfill Your purpose in their lives.
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