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!

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL: I Timothy 3:2

Have you ever heard someone say, maybe even yourself, "I've become my father!" An utterance of exasperation I have spoken after yelling at one of my children.  Whether we like it or not, as parents we are teachers. In truth, we are the primary teachers of our children. 

"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

If you are a father, you are a teacher. In one way or another you teach your children values and behavior. You teach them by what you do and by what you say. 

You have heard the expression, "Actions speak louder than words".  What you actually do can show what you really believe. My dad used to say some not so good things about people when he was driving.  I still haven't figured out why he had it in for bald guys who drove Ramblers. But, how my dad treated people was what taught me how to treat people. I learned to address people as Mr. and Mrs., Ma'am and Sir. Whether someone was his boss or his employee, they were my dad's friend, whom he treated with respect. My parent's moved a few times and each time dad would request this one pair of gentlemen. He called them Sir. Dad remember their names, asked them about their children. You could see the mutual respect come into their faces when he spoke to them as men doing their job. I learned how to treat people and that knowledge has enable me to have many good relationships with people I work with. The point of course, is that even though my dad said some pretty stupid stuff, what he did taught me. His actions were louder than his words. 

What you say does matter, though. You must say the truth in love. It matters how you say things too. My family and I were doing a little geocaching and we hiked down into this little canyon to get a few caches. On the way back up my youngest son was getting tired and starting to complain and wanting to rest all the time. I got behind him and started talking him up the last part of the hill. I told him that he needed to learn to push through things when it got hard. I didn't yell, I kind of whispered almost in his ear. I just kept encouraging him that the difference between people who are great or who do great things and those who don't is the great ones learn to press on and to push through when everyone else quits. He dug in and pushed his way to the top. 

What we do and what we say teaches our children the truths we want them to know and live by. Trusting God to, by his grace and power, help us to teach our children, is what we do.

Father, help us to trust you and teach our children to live by faith in your light. Praise be to you in us today!