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"Never
underestimate the ponderings of a
Christian parent. Never
underestimate the power that comes
when a parent pleads with God on
behalf of a child. Who knows how
many prayers are being answered right
now because of the faithful ponderings
of a parent ten or twenty years ago?
God listens to thoughtful parents.
"Praying for our children is a noble
task. If what we are doing, in
this fast-paced society, is taking us
away from prayer time for our
children, we're doing too much.
There is nothing more special, more
precious than time that a parent
spends struggling and pondering with
God on behalf of a child.
Walking with the Savior
From "Grace For the Moment" by Max
Lucado
A Father After God’s Own Heart
“…and he [Jesus] answered and said
unto them, ‘Have ye not read, that he
which made them at the beginning made
them male and female’ ” (Matthew
19:4).
If our Creator doesn’t know what He
is doing, then no one does! He Who
made us created us in His image with
unique roles to complete His plan for
planet Earth. It seems that there is
confusion in some places what the
roles of male and female are or
whether they are male or if they are
female, but the Bible makes it crystal
clear. There is no confusion there!
This is not to identify the
individual roles of male and female
since God has done that so well and so
explicitly in His Word; but since it
is nearing Father’s Day, the purpose
of these words is to encourage Fathers
to be the image that God intended and
pay honor to those who do.
Society has put such a terrible
burden on men and expected them to
live up to its standards, that men
have to search hard to find who they
are. Some of those burdens are
addressed here (below) and their
contrasts from a Biblical view point.
1. Don’t show emotion be stoic,
never cry
Jesus wept. He wasn’t ashamed to
show emotion, compassion with visible
actions. He loved – That’s an
emotion! – so much that He died for us
all, some of whom reject this act of
love.
2. Always be “macho” (always strong,
always courageous)
“Be strong in the power of his
might” (Ephesians 6:10). God
never intended for man to be strong in
his own power. He knows how
frail we are, but he said the “meek
shall inherit the earth.”
(Meek=God-reliant)
3. Never be less than heroic
Love creates heroes. A godly man
will have love that makes him a hero.
He doesn’t have to suit up like
Superman or Spiderman; his heroic
strength comes from within and godly
love makes him a hero.
4. Don’t admit to being wrong
“It’s not that I am always right; it’s
just that I am never wrong.” By
the world’s standards, to admit to
being wrong is a sign of weakness.
In secular society, admission of
weaknesses will cause some rungs on his
ladder of manhood to break and he
slides down a few notches. God
says, “There is none good, but one
[God]” (Matthew 19:17). To
always be right, he would have to
always be good—and unreachable and
untouchable and useless. “To err is
human, to forgive divine”; admission
and correction brings accessibility.
5. Don’t apologize (bring flowers and
candy but never say you’re sorry)
It takes a strong man to admit that he
made a mistake and needs to apologize.
Flowers and candy are poor substitutes
for the words, “I was wrong. I
am sorry.” A strong man may do
both, but he will always say, “I am
sorry.”
6. Don’t expose any fears or
weaknesses
It’s a façade that one has no fear.
Fear is a safeguard to wellbeing and
against failure and disaster. A
sensible man is afraid to stand on
railroad tracks when the train is
coming! Of course, psychological
fears, imaginary fears and unfounded
fears may be a sign of problems that
need to be addressed by counseling and
health professionals. We are not
considering those fears here but the
strong urge to never disclose fear
lest a man expose a weakness, of which
he is supposed to have none!
7. Demand submission at all times (You
are always right)
A former pastor said, “Man is the head
of the house but woman is the heart of
it.” That’s a pretty good
definition. That’s God way too.
But the head is of little use without
the heart. The head dies
separated from the body containing the
heart. While the head is of
utmost importance, it must cooperate
with the rest of the body to function
at all. To demand total
submission without regard to the
importance of the “submissionee” is a
fatal error doomed to failure.
8. Always do everything better than
the “weaker sex” (woman)
Of course, there are many things that
men can do better than women, but the
man who cannot recognize the unique
qualities and gifts of the girls and
women in his life has limited himself
in his own growth and progression.
It’s not a sign of weakness for man to
recognize that his wife/daughter can
do some things better than he can. It
doesn’t take away from his strength;
it reinforces it because he can pool
his with his ladies’ bringing
unbreakable tensibility.
These enumerated things above are some of the things that
little boys observe as they grow up
to become men with these
characteristics and little girls who
won’t know the difference. Actually
for the most part, they are
perversions of a godly man according
to God’s definition.
God wants men to become the
father girls and boys can look up to,
their hero.
The
best gift a father can give his
children is to love their mother.
We are looking at some of the things God wants in a man, a
husband, a father. His standards are
sometimes scorned by the world as
obsolete and unworkable; but they are
what will really make a man if adhered
to. It will require a “real man” to
abide by them. A weakling can’t cut
it.
While the following attributes from
Galatians 5:22-23 are attributable to
both genders, they will make a “real
man” of every one who will take them
seriously and follow God’s guidelines.
Loving: Not to be mistaken
for the world’s standard which God
calls “lust.” This is unconditional
love (agape) which never gives up and
never quits loving. Displayed love;
love in action. (1 Corinthians 13)
Joyful. Not superficial joy
as a mask, but the inward joy of the
Lord which is his strength (Nehemiah
8:10).
Peaceful. Seeks, pursues
peace through wisdom from above.
(James 3:17).
Gentle. Does not hastily make
decisions, but weighs each facet of
the situation with a gentle spirit,
considering himself in the other’s
place.
Good. We have already seen
that there is none good but God, so
man’s goodness has to come from his
“good” God, implanted in his redeemed
heart.
Trusting. If his life is
pure, his basic nature is trusting;
because he judges by his own actions
and intents.
Meek. He knows that it is God
who promotes those who humble
themselves before Him. His ego is not
inflated.
Temperate. Moderate. He
avoids extremes in his life.
Patient. He has keen insight
into the needs of others and is
considerate as they grow into
maturity.
Kind. His gentle, meek spirit
produces kindness as patience works in
his life.
Generous: He know what he has
comes from God, his source. He also
knows that God has much more where
that came from, so he doesn’t have to
be stingy. He is also generous with
love and kindness.
Faithful. One of the basic
essentials for a happy home. He is
faithful to his own godly convictions
and lives it out in his daily life.
Without faithfulness, he nullifies the
other attributes that sets him apart
as a godly man.
Self-Controlled. Actually
this is spirit controlled. He can
achieve a degree of self-control in
just about anything to further his own
selfish desires by overriding his
conscience and convictions. To be
self-controlled because the Holy
Spirit is in control is the bottom
line to acquiring the other attributes
mentioned above.
What a Father Portrait this
combination creates!
A Father After God's Own Heart!
Dads, be "there" for your kids.
They will never forget you, and it is
up to you to create memories that will
bring a smile many years down the
road, long after you have left this
world. You will also see
yourself as your character is acted
out in your offspring toward their own
children.
Furthermore, you will be rewarded by
your Heavenly Father for your
faithfulness. Being a "Father"
has great rewards, some now and some
throughout eternity.
"And ye father, provoke not your
children to wrath; but bring them up
in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).
What God wants is for dads to be the
kind of father that He, our Heavenly
father, is so the world will come to
know Him, to trust Him and obey Him.
You can do it, dads, if you will come
to know Him, trust Him and obey Him.
Happy Father’s Day!
If your father is living, don't forget
to honor him on his special day.
So he wasn't the perfect father you
deserved--do you know one who was,
except your Heavenly Father? I
suspect that his heart would be so
glad to hear you say "I love you,
Dad?" Oh, you know how most of
you fellows are; you don't like to be
vulnerable and expose your emotions,
but you'll made your dad's day by
telling him. And you'll feel
good too. You can't plant too
many seeds of love. Enjoy your
special day and make another happy
too, maybe even your father-in-law.
If your dad is no longer with you,
think happy thoughts about him and be
thankful for the life he gave you.
......Delores
My
Father
and Robert, his oldest son
View A
Tribute to my dad, Kelsey G. Adams, who was also my advocate and
encourager--
Visit my dad's page at our family
web site
Delores is the featured writer for the month of June and
has another Father's Day article at
Word of Life Ministry
( I
think Bro. Lewis may have closed his website??)
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