Like Father Like Son

Whether we like it or not our kids will repeat some of the behavior they see modeled in our lives. Take Abraham for example: In Genesis 12 and in Genesis 20 Abraham moved to a new land and told the people living there that Sarah (his wife) was actually his sister. He did so because his wife was very beautful and he was afraid the people of the land would kill him to get her for themselves. So he lied. Well fast forward a few years to Genesis 26 and you find Abraham's son Isaac doing the same thing (after his father has already died). He moves to a new land and tells the people living there that Rebekah (his wife) was actually his sister. He did so because his wife was very beautiful and he was afraid the people of the land would kill him to get her for themselves. So he lied. Like father, like son.

Here's my point. Our kids will model our behavior. They will follow what they SEE, not what they HEAR. We can tell them over an over about how to live, but they will do as we DO, not as we SAY. Since we know ahead of time that our kids will repeat behavior they see from our lives - let's choose to model behavior worth repeating. Let's choose to live godly lives in front of our kids. With God's help this is possible.

Declaration of Faith

The Bible gives several examples of people's "declarations of faith." Luke 23:39 records the declaration of faith of one of the criminals that hung next to Jesus when he was crucified.

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" ⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." ⁴²Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." ⁴³Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Daniel 3:28-29 records Nebuchadnezzar's declaration of faith once Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were rescued from the fiery furnace.

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."

John 20:26-28 records Doubting Thomas' declaration of faith.

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." ²⁸Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Well yesterday I had the privilege of hearing my daughter's first declaration of faith. Here's what happened. Ally got Disney's Snow White DVD for Christmas and yesterday Kristin was looking for it so they could watch it together. Well after looking around for quite some time (and after Kristin got very frustrated) we still could not find this DVD. I joined the search and we turned over every item in our house. We looked upstairs, downstairs, we lifted the couches, turned over the cushions, etc. etc. Finally, in frustration we all sat down and Kristin suggested we pray and ask Jesus to help us find the DVD. Allyson prayed something like this: "Dear Jesus, please help us to find the movie. Amen." No joke - immediately after we prayed we got back up to keep looking for the DVD trusting by faith that God would help us find it when Kristin saw it hanging inbetween the tree branches of our Christmas tree (one of the kids had shoved it in the tree). Allyson in near disbelief shouted "Jesus IS real!!!" She was beside herself with excitement. It was such a special moment. And THAT was Ally's declaration of faith.

All of us at some point in our spiritual journey need to make our own "declaration of faith." There's no right or wrong way to do it. I love that the criminal on the cross next to Jesus simply said "Remember me" and Jesus responded "Today you'll be with me in paradise." It's not in the words we say but the sincerity of our hearts. When was YOUR declaration of faith? If you haven't made one, I'd encourage you to do so right now!

Missing My Kids

My kids are away in VA right now. It's been like 3 days or something and I totally miss them. Specifically, I miss talking to them. I love hearing their little voices and discovering what's on their minds, etc.

And this got me thinking about how God must feel when some of his kids are away (i.e. they are prayerless, backslidden, etc.) I'm sure that He misses us terribly when we don't pray or when we drift away from Him.

When I do see my kids I can't wait to give them gifts and take them out to eat and do fun stuff with them. I wonder what God is waiting to do with those who return to him? I'll bet he has blessings in store. In the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, the father was overjoyed when his son returned home. And I know that God feels the same way when we return to him.

Is it time to return to God? Is it time to come home to a church family? Is it time to give your life back to Jesus?

Missing Out

Yesterday at Costco Kristin bought some Pop Tarts for the kids. I happen to know that Pop Tarts are delicious when they're toasted, but when I went to toast Ally's Pop Tart she said she wanted it not toasted. I said "Ally, these are really good toasted." But she said "no". I said "Ally, you've never had them toasted. How do you know you won't like it?" She still said "no". So I bent over and said "Ally, I'm your dad and I love you. I only want good things for you. I've had Pop Tarts toasted and they are delicious. I really think you'll like it if you give it a try." Guess what she said? Still a "no".

This got me thinking. How many good things do we miss out on when we say "no" to God? We say "no" because we don't trust God. Ally has every reason to trust me but for some reason she didn't. And in the same way, we have every reason to trust God but for some reason at times we don't. And what happens when we don't trust God? WE MISS OUT!

I personally want to get to the place where if God says "do it" I trust him enough to obey. My challenge will be to realize the truth: that God's way is always better than our way, just as a toasted pop tart (in my opinion) is always better than a non-toasted pop tart.

Know that even if you've been saying "no" to God for quite some time, it's never to late to start saying "yes." As I was writing this blog Ally came over to me with a change of heart. I stopped writing, toasted her pop tart, gave it to her and then heard her say "Mmmm, this is good Daddy."

I think everyone who says "yes" to God has a similar experience. All I can say is "Try it!"