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 A Father After God's Own Heart

 

 

 "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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