June 13, 2008 Family Values…from The Father! (II)

Happy Father's Day everyone...even to the single moms who have the daunting task of being both mom and dad within the home!

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
(Deuteronomy 6: 6-9 NIrV)


God is reemphasizing His commandments to the families through Moses once again. The parents (Dads too!) are to be the primary teachers of our children, not school teachers, not coaches, not mentors, not even the pastors. And we fathers must be held accountable to what is being taught within the homes. We are the priests, the spiritual leaders and the Lord requires us to be the stewards (house managers) of the home! We can’t keep putting all the work and responsibilities on Mom and be content with going to work five or six days a week! THE FATHER will hold us accountable!!!

Check out the example above as Moses shared what THE FATHER taught him. Let’s honestly examine our lives. Is God’s word established our heart? Do we as Dads meditate upon His word, spend time in reading and applying His word, gaining more and more of His wisdom for our lives? Do we as fathers teach our children, have personal devotions with them, and speak of the Lord’s greatness throughout the day, pointing out His majesty as we spend time with our families? Do our children see us in personal devotion and ever hear our heart talks with the Lord? Are the Lord’s values felt in our greetings, witnessed in the agreements we make, and experienced even as we enter a room? Is His love felt by our wife and children in our embraces, in the time we give them, in our efforts to protect them?

Finally, do visitors feel the presence of Christ as they come to our door? Does the pizza delivery person sense a different kind of spirit in us as they bring dinner to our home? Do neighbors see a consistent pattern of godly activity in our lives? Do our community and church family know they can count on us for integrity, accountability, and trust? In other words, are we as fathers carrying out the mandate from God to be fruitful, multiply, influence and make disciples of our family members and other acquaintances in our life?

It’s my prayer that I and all fathers will do our best to learn from the Word of God and then teach others to teach others about His love, from the time we awake until we lay down for the evening. May our FAMILY VALUES be directly FROM THE FATHER.

Happy Father’s Day…to You DADDY and to every father who reads this message!