Thank you, Father, for my father(s).

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
   extol him who rides on the clouds;
rejoice before him—
   his name is the Lord.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
  is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
   he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Psalms 68:4-6 NIV

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for being my Father, for giving me an earthly father, for allowing me to be a father, and for the fathers in Christ I had, who were godly men pointing me to you.

Fist Pump for a Good Prayer

The Lord blesses us in different ways. I was really blessed this week end by my sons. I went with my youngest son to a Boy Scout event called The Great Pumpkin Smash, where boys (and adults who wish to participate) get to destroy pumpkins with anything from arrows to shot guns. 

After we got home yesterday we cleaned up, rested a bit and then went out to dinner. My two oldest sons came over and joined us. At the end of the meal they tried to pay. It was very nice. 

Psalm 127:3-5 says:

   Sons are a heritage from the LORD,

      children a reward from him.

   Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

      are sons born in ones youth.

   Blessed is the man

      whose quiver is full of them.

   They will no be put to shame

      when they contend with their enemies at the gate. 

At camp breakfast my youngest volunteered to say grace for the meal. He got a sincere "good job" from the Scout Master. He prayed sincerely and with thanksgiving. It may seem weird to sort of fist pump your son for praying well, but, it seemed like he was praying to the God he knows, not just the one I tell him about. I'm proud of that.

I thank God that I was blessed to sit with my family and eat a meal with genuine love. That's a good day to me.

GOD TO YOU: WHERE ARE YOU?

"Have mercy on me, O God,
     according to your unfailing love;
 according to your great compassion
     blot out my transgressions.
 Wash away all my iniquity
     and cleanse me from my sin."
 Psalm 51:1-2

Have you ever had someone tell you they were sorry for something and you said, "That's all right, forget about it"? We've all done that and probably had someone say that to us. The deal is that sometimes issues need to be dealt with and simply saying "That's all right, forget about it" can lead someone to believe that they can repeat the behavior. 

God is holy and he is perfectly just. Sin, my sin, your sin is not just swept under a rug, so to speak. In Christ Jesus our sins were not pushed out of view, the punishment was served by Christ. God, in his great  compassion knew that we could never right the wrong of our sins and so he sent his one and only Son to die in our place. Now we have eternal access to the Father through the Son. 

Way back in the garden of Eden the LORD God called out, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9). He stills calls out to us in Christ, "Where are you?" God, the Creator of the Universe, sent his Son so that we can have a relationship with him. 

Father, thank you for your compassion. Thank you that Jesus died in my place that I can call you Father. Praise be to you in us today!

SET ME IN A FAMILY/ Psalm 68:4-6

"Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
     extol him who rides on the clouds - 
 his name is the LORD -
     and rejoice before him.
 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
     is God in his holy dwelling.
 God sets the lonely in families,
     he lead forth the prisoners with singing;
 but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."
 Psalm 68:4-6

I am been blessed with a wonderful godly wife and four children who all know God's Name. 

When I first became a Christian I knew I was not called to be single. I thought God would provide a wife pretty quickly because it just wouldn't be good to be single (for me). Well, God had other plans and I ended up not getting married until I was thirty six. Yes, that was a long time. I didn't like being single and when I did meet my wife, everyone wanted to know what kind of women could deal with me. 

One of the things that I found attractive about her was that her two boys were good boys. So, at thirtysix, I married into a family. The boys were and are to this day great young men. I sort of felt like Rip Van Winkle and I had somehow slept through this huge portion of my life. I woke up, was married and had two sons! 

The point here on Father's Day is that I thank God for setting me in a family. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you for being my Father and giving me such a great wife and children. Praise be to you, my Father. Praise be to you in us today!

WHAT GIFT(S) HAS GOD GIVEN YOU? / Matthew 7:9-10

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:9-10

The best gifts God has given me, besides my salvation, which is a gimme, are my wife and my children. 

What is/are the best gift(s) God has given you? Leave us a note in the comment section.

Thank you, Father in heaven, for the wonderful gifts you have given me in my wife and children. Thank you for my salvation by which I can call out to you, "Abba, Father!" Praise be to you in us today!

GUESS WHAT? YOU'RE AN EXAMPLE: Titus 2:7-8

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." 
Titus 2:7-8

Sometimes the family will be watching something on TV and I will check the scores on my phone or my e-mail. My son will drift over and check to see if I am playing Angry Birds or Super Stickman Golf (and if I am he'll ask if he can play). The deal is that I am always being an example of something. Even if I am just relaxing, I am being an example  of how to relax. "Always being an example by doing what is good."

If your children have been involved in sports than I am sure you have seen the one parent who is out of control, verbally. Now, I can be very loud and shall we say "expressive", but, I still need to be godly, even watching sports. "Always being an example by doing what is good." I remember once when my daughter was pretty young and we were watching the Lakers in the playoffs. I think Shaq was loafing on a play so I yelled something at the TV and my daughter parroted me, yelling exactly what I yelled. I didn't cuss, but, it wasn't necessarily appropriate language for a three year old. "Always being an example by doing what is good."  

You know, I just pray that my actions are just naturally godly so that no matter what I'm doing, my children will be able to follow my example. That is why I need to seek Christ everyday. "Always being an example by doing what is good."

Father, make us and mold us into the image of Jesus Christ. May our faith in you produce daily living that glorifies you. Praise be to you in us today!

YOUR TEACHING AND THEIR LEARNING: I Timothy 4:16

"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." I Timothy 4:16T

Sometimes I will be sitting on the couch reading my email or something on the computer and my youngest son will just walk over and peak to see what I doing. I think he's checking to see if I am playing video games. The point is he's watching. 

As a husband, father, coach, Scout leader and a teacher I am almost always in someones view. Watching my life and doctrine must be a constant. Doctrine is important because I act upon what I truly believe. What I believe about how people should be treated with come out in how I act. I find it interesting that this current generation is not as familiar with the golden rule as previous generations (ask a bunch of teen agers if they have even heard of it). It shows. I want my children to know that Christ laid down his life for them and that example is the example to follow. I need to follow Christ's example so that they might follow Christ's example too. 

Who's watching you? What is your life teaching them? What do you want to teach them?

Father, may our actions reflect you as we seek to live by faith in Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

TO LEAD YOU FAMILY, SERVE YOUR FAMILY: I Timothy 3:6

There is a marked difference between how Christ viewed leadership and how the world views leadership. Christ emphasized that if you want to be great you serve (Mark 9:35), while the world emphasizes being served. Humble leadership is what builds a family.

"He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgement as the devil." I Timothy 3:6

The point of family leadership isn't to always get your way. The need isn't to be always right. The goal is that I live as Christlike as I can and seek to allow Christ to reign in my family. 

The danger is when I (either spouse actually) seek to be king  of my castle and impose my will upon my subjects. The problem that Paul recognized with recent converts becoming church leaders was that they were easily tricked into thinking that their worthiness was warranted because of their innate righteousness. They became conceited. Think about Moses when he smote the rock the second time (Numbers 20:9-11). He got into trouble not because he got angry, but because he said, "Must we" as in God and I!  God will not share his glory. 

As a father. I am a sinful human, saved by grace, to live a life of faith by loving my family, which happens to be other sinful humans. I serve. I love. I forgive. I love. I serve. 

Father, help us to serve our families by faith in love. Thank you for you unfailing love and mercy for us! Praise be to you in us today!

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR FAMILY: I Timothy 3:4-5

Experience is respect sometimes. Being able to say to other teachers that I spent my first 16 years in education in South Central LA has always been a bit of a respect factor. When another teachers sees how I run my class, they know I am not all talk, I practice what I preach. It's all about trying to act godly.

"He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)" I Timothy 3:4-5

There are three things Paul mentions concerning family leadership:management, guidelines and respectful relationships. 

I think management is all about planning and execution. I try to have a plan because even when things don't go according to plan I have some bearings to go by when reacting the current crisis.

My family guidelines are God's. I must be in the Word on a daily basis and I want my children and wife to see that I am. I want my life to reflect that God's Word gives me direction, not my whims. Plus, when my children live out on their own, they know to seek God's ways.

Finally, I need to "encourage" godly relationships by continually pointing myself, my wife and my children to Christ as we interact with each other. If you can love your sister and or brother, you can love most anyone. 

May God enable you to manage your family by teaching them to obey God's Word and love each other as Christ loves them.

Father, help us to love as you have loved us. Enable us to lead our families with love and grace. Praise be to you in us today!

BE ON THE LOOKOUT: I Timothy 3:2

I want to continue to look at these characteristics of a church leader as the characteristics of a godly husband and father. 

"Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach". I Timothy 3:2 

I think it is telling that whenever you have someone commit a heinous crime that the media shows a picture of the killer when they were in elementary school. Then they wonder how that innocent looking child became a mass murderer. I have worked for good while in a middle school with discipline. Ninety-nine percent of the students with behavior issues have a missing or missing in action father. When people question why these children behave without remorse and seem to have very little understanding of right and wrong and no ability to empathize with other human beings, they often find a gap in the parent - child relationship. 

The idea of being temperate and self-controlled has to do with being aware of your own sinful nature, the world we live in (which is darkness) and how it affects you and your marriage and family. The word temperate has the meaning of vigilant with a clear head. Kind of like the idea of being on watch for your family and marriage. You need to first of all have yourself rightly connected to under the reign of Christ. Then you need to be involved in your marriage and in the lives of your children. It's funny that if I ask my wife or my daughter how their day was, they'll tell me, often in detail. My son, on the other hand, does not feel the need to tell me the details. That is why even though I try to be involved with both my children's lives my connection with my son is different.

As a husband and father I need to be aware and proactive as the leader of my home. I know it is easy to not be aware. It is easy to miss what might be really happening in my marriage or with my children. I know my family needs the forgiveness, grace and mercy of God. We need God to reign over us and in us, starting with me. 

For me, I try to talk, listen and pray with and for my family (not necessarily in that order). Even as I write this blog post I am "reminded" of some things with my family I need to attend to a bit more. I encourage you to be aware of what is going on in your marriage and family and to check your yourself with regards to being the shepherd of your home. 

God has called each of men to be the servant-leader of our marriage and family. He will enable you. 

Father, help us to be temperate and self-controlled. Praise be to you in us today!