Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- April 21, 2013
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
2 Timothy 1:5
Your parents’ faith is a gift from God and is not to be taken for granted. What a rock of reassurance you have in a legacy of love for the Lord. They stand for the truth of God and they live it with humility and grace. It is because of their faith that you have faith. They instilled the fear and love of God in you early on. Their awe and respect of God inspired your soul to do the same. Your parents’ faith has been a flame of passion lighting the path of your own walk with Christ. You watched them pray, so you pray; you watched them trust God, so you trust God; you watched them love people, so you love people; you watched them forgive, so you forgive; you watched them do the right things, so you do the right things; you witnessed their generosity, so you are generous. Your parents are models of faithfulness in the ways of God. What a gift! What a reason for joy, thanksgiving, and celebration.
Have you loved your parents and thanked them lately for their gift of sincere faith? Take the time to tell them how grateful you are for your upbringing in the faith. Thank them and God for your training and teaching in the great truths of the Bible all those years. Their faithful teaching and modeling of truth made it easy for you to embrace truth. Now you have the opportunity to do the same for your children. The Bible says, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12). Model for your children what has been modeled for you: service, selflessness, confession and repentance of sin, faithfulness, and forgiveness. Keep the faith alive by putting to death the devil’s attempts to derail your legacy of love for the Lord. Be a legacy builder not a legacy killer.
If you have failed in your role as a parent of faith, now is the time to return to your roots. It is never too late to pick up your parental baton of faith. In your heart, you know it’s the right thing to do. You have explored the other road most traveled. That faithless road is full of sin and deception, hurt and harm. It is a passageway of pride and ego. This unrighteous road is so crowded that you learn quickly that it is filled with peril and life accidents. Now you are back on a search for your father’s faith. Your mother’s prayers have wooed you back and encouraged you to pray for your own children.
It is time to put away foolish and immature ways. Your deep desire is to imitate the sincere faith of your parents. They were smarter than you realized, so unleash the faith of your childhood that was endowed by your parents. Appreciate and accept their indoctrination of God’s wisdom and allow it to serve you well in your adult responsibilities. However, do not lament your lot in life if your parents lacked faith. Instead, apply the faith of surrogate spiritual parents. You are positioned on a faith walk for your kids, so walk wisely. Keep giving the gift of faith to your family. Sincere faith can be passed on from one generation to another. So, by God’s grace, be relentless, passionate, and disciplined to keep the faith alive.
Taken from the April 21st reading in the 365-day devotional book, “Seeking Daily the Heart of God” volume 1… … http://bit.ly/Tv6y9a
Post/Tweet: Thank your parents whose faith is a flame of passion lighting the path of your walk with Christ. #parents
Blessed by these readings?: pray about giving a donation, click… http://bit.ly/KArLE5
© 2013 by Boyd Bailey. All rights reserved.
Wisdom Hunters Resources / A registered 501 c3 ministry
info@mail.wisdomhuntersdevotional.com / www.wisdomhunters.com
Comments are closed.
This is awesome, God’s timing of this devotional comes as I am caring for my parents who have guided my life with the love of the Lord. They are in their late 70’s and we moved closer to them 3 years ago to assist them as they age. My Dad has bladder cancer and Alzeheimer’s, my mom is have her first back surgery tomorrow. We have seen a gradual decline in their health and an increase in our caregiving. The joy in caring for them, assistin them in day to day chores is a blessing to each of us. Nothing is more precious than when my Dad signals to hold hands before a meal to pray-he has had trouble with the words forming but God and our family knows his heart. My husband and I have 2 son’s that we enjoyed raising in the church and with God’s guidance and love. They both have a son now. We are excited to see our grandchildren grow and learn of God’s love and the amazing way that he gave his son to us and for our sin’s, my son once said to me, “Mom do you realize what a sacrifice it was for God to let his son die for our sin’s”. Families with the Lord at the center can do All things! peace and grace-Shelby<
For All I Trust Him. (F.A.I.T.H.)
Iam gratefulthat I had a praying and faithful mother, encourage me to person I’m today.
For All I Trust Him. (F.A.I.T.H.)
Thank you for the Devotion. I am grateful to have had a praying mother, who was also very faithful. She encouraged me to become the praying and faithful mother I am today.
Absolutely love this Boyd! The first two paragraphs describe my mom and I to to the tee! With your permission I would love to change a few words to fit her better and give it to her in a frame for Mother’s Day! Please let me know if you would be ok with that! Thank you so much! Your devotions have always given me so much joy, encouragement and inspiration! God bless you!
Lynnette