MEDITATION MONDAYYesterday was Sunday. It was also Father's Day. Dan got up to speak yesterday morning. He said that it's interesting that on Mother's Day we heap our mothers with praise and then on Father's Day we "beat up" on our dads. He said that he had a feeling that this would be interpretted the same. He said that he would only have one slide to show: I DARE YOU! He began his lesson dressed like Dan...
.He quickly moved on to some "dress" that he got while in Israel. He talked about the Israelites led by Moses and then by Joshua. They did not know where God was leading them. He talked about our church family's move to temporary facilities. We have not known where God was leading us, but He has provided. He talked about fathers leading their families and made similar connections as he read from Joshua 24.
.
.Dan said that there are many reasons why people believe that young people leave the LORD. He personally believes it is the home... specifically fathers. He believes that satan's attack is focused on the family. If satan can tear the family apart, he has done great destruction. He wants to tear our families apart by seperating dad and mom from each other:
.
- spiritually
- physically (sexually)
- relationally
- emotionally
..."until there is a divorce!"
.
Satan wants to tear our families apart by getting the children to:
- Lie
- Disrespect
- Disobey
.
He reminded us all that we don't get "do overs"... God does allow us second chances which Dan calls "do betters".
.
Dan's dare was for fathers. He dared them to begin now and DO BETTER. Dare to serve God the way it talks about in Joshua. I have put his dares in a 1,2,3,4,5 format and an A,B,C,D,E format for easy remembering. Wouln't it be wonderful for daddies to take the dare and to "softly and tenderly come home"?
.
Dare to...
.
- A - ssemble. (Meet weekly with God's family to worship Him, read/study His word, talk to Him together, and serve / fellowship each other).
- B-ible. (Read God's Word daily. Meditate on it. Do not be just hearers but doers of the Word - God's will for you).
- C-hildren. (Love your children enough to spend a quantity of time with them that is quality time; do things that they are interested in, too... not just what you are interested in. Your children are a gift from God).
- D-eny yourself - (Jesus said, "take up your cross daily and follow me..." His kind of love = Love God + love others as yourself)
- E-phesians 5:25-vf and I Corinthians 13:4-13 (25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy... In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." Remember that "you promised in your wedding vows"... to remain pure... to love her... be patient, be kind, keep no record of wrongs... read 1 Corinthians 13 and use that as how you love... Love NEVER fails! Your wife is a gift from God.)
.
Having trouble clinging to other things you are tempted to serve? Other gods?
- Pleasure?
- Recreation?
- Lust?
- Money?
- Fitness?
- Freedom (free to be you)?
- Work?
- Control?
.
You must give those up to take the A,B,C,D,E dare!
.
Just in case you are unfamiliar with the scene in Joshua 24:14-22, here it is:
.
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
.
16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God."
.
19 Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you."
.
21 But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the LORD."
.
22 Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD."
.
To every transformed mom who is reading this, I dare you to share this post with your hubby or a father who you know. Dare him to softly and tenderly come home!!!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment