Saturday, August 13, 2016

Passing On What You Cherish

"The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight. They worshiped the Baals and abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They infuriated the LORD, for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths." Judges 2: 11-13
Yesterday would have been my Granny's 92nd birthday. I thought about her a few days before when I knew August 12th was coming up. She was a sweet woman who wouldn't let you go hungry, didn't like rock and roll music, and who gave advice by buying you books to read. She loved God. The day she passed away, they found her tithe check already written out in her check book. She lived off very little, but gave so very much. My mom found her prayer journals when they were cleaning out her house, and oh the prayers she prayed!
The Scripture above is about a time when the Israelites were not serving the Lord. Do you know why?
They had not been passing on what they cherished. They were not telling their children about God and His miracles for their nation anymore. They turned their back on Him and were worshiping other false little g gods. 
Our faithfulness to God does not just pass on from generation to generation. I don't live for God now simply because my Granny did. Or because my mom took me to church when I was little.
Let me just say this too, if you are a parent, you are responsible for telling your child about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It's not the church's job. It's not your parents job. You need to be the leader to them and help them come to know Him as their Lord and Savior.
Now that I said that... hear me on this. If you tell your child about God, live out a Christian life in front of them, and THEY choose a different way of life. That's on them. God does not hold us responsible for what our children do when they are of accountable age.
So here's the question... what do you cherish?
You probably thought this topic was going to be about STUFF. Passing down the stuff that you cherish to your family when you go.
NOPE! It's about the things you can't see.
Does your family know how much you love God and what He's done in your life? Do you tell them about Him?
The Sunday School book I'm slowly learning from says this, "It's also important to recognize that we are called not merely pass on information to our children but the faith. The problem with this generation of Israelites was not that they did not "know" cognitively what the Lord had done. The problem was that they did not know God personally."
If we are talking to others about our relationship with God and how we know Him personally, it might help them want to know Him personally too. Especially our children. However, this goes beyond OUR children.
My best friend has a niece that is living for God because of her influence. You have children in your life that you can lead to the Lord and help them get to know Him personally. Even if they are just children at your church.
Will you pass on this relationship with God that you cherish? I sure hope so.
God bless you today and always.

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