1 Sam. 2:12
A few months ago I was doing the most ungodly thing you could do...I was getting in my morning run...(I believe running is reserved for hell). Anyway as I was running it hit me that my son was 10 yrs old. It like took my breath away! I had a panic attack right there...I started doubting everything I was doing as a parent...I kept thinking, have I done enough, what have I instilled into his heart, Man am I screwing this kid up or what? I mean he only has 8 more years at home then he's on his own. Who will he become and will he live a life that honors God? All these things began to flood my mind. But what that moment did for me was push a reset button in my life about what is most important! It reminded me of this simple truth-"I am leading my family everyday, the question is where am I leading them?" They are following me...the question is where am I going? As a parent it is a very sobering thought to think that my boys are watching, modeling, and replicating every word, attitude, and action I live out of my life. And I will admit that sometimes I can be careless in how I talk to Debbie or how I handle stress or bad days in ministry. But I praise God for passages of scripture and moments in life like this morning where God pushes the reset button for my life.
In reading 1 Samuel Ch 1-2 you see a stark contrast between a family that lives to glorify God and honor Him at all cost, and a family that carelessly walks through the religious rituals of faith. In Ch 1 we see a woman (Hannah) who desperately cries out to God, in faith to open her womb. And when God answers her prayer, she immediately offers Samuel back to the Lord (C1v28) "as long as the child lives." And then we see the priest Eli and his 2 boys who actually serve in the Lord's temple and who could care less about the things of God. C2 v12 actually tells us that the sons of Eli were "worthless men; they did not know the Lord." Now my question is how did they get to the place where they became worthless men, men (not boys) who did not know the Lord. I have to believe their arrival at this place in life was not by accident. It was intentional. I'm just not sure it's where Eli wanted to intentionally lead them! As you read there story, you will find out that Eli's sons abused their positions as temple servant's and actually despised everything about the Lord and their work in the temple. (c2v17) And then you read that Samuel continued to (c2v26 )"grow in stature and favor both with the Lord and men." Two very different families. Two very different leaders. Two very different outcomes! Samuel would go on to lead the nation of Israel and eventually crown the greatest king of Israel, King David. The 2 sons and their father would all 3 die tragically the same day. What a waste!
Listen it matters how we live! It matters what we watch! It matters how we talk! It matters where we go! Everything in our family hinges how we live out our faith before of kids! You are leading your family somewhere, and be sure they will follow you...the question is where are you leading them?
God my prayer today is 1 Samuel 2:35... "And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever."
As for me and my house we will serve the Lord...
Not Ashamed...Bill
In reading 1 Samuel Ch 1-2 you see a stark contrast between a family that lives to glorify God and honor Him at all cost, and a family that carelessly walks through the religious rituals of faith. In Ch 1 we see a woman (Hannah) who desperately cries out to God, in faith to open her womb. And when God answers her prayer, she immediately offers Samuel back to the Lord (C1v28) "as long as the child lives." And then we see the priest Eli and his 2 boys who actually serve in the Lord's temple and who could care less about the things of God. C2 v12 actually tells us that the sons of Eli were "worthless men; they did not know the Lord." Now my question is how did they get to the place where they became worthless men, men (not boys) who did not know the Lord. I have to believe their arrival at this place in life was not by accident. It was intentional. I'm just not sure it's where Eli wanted to intentionally lead them! As you read there story, you will find out that Eli's sons abused their positions as temple servant's and actually despised everything about the Lord and their work in the temple. (c2v17) And then you read that Samuel continued to (c2v26 )"grow in stature and favor both with the Lord and men." Two very different families. Two very different leaders. Two very different outcomes! Samuel would go on to lead the nation of Israel and eventually crown the greatest king of Israel, King David. The 2 sons and their father would all 3 die tragically the same day. What a waste!
Listen it matters how we live! It matters what we watch! It matters how we talk! It matters where we go! Everything in our family hinges how we live out our faith before of kids! You are leading your family somewhere, and be sure they will follow you...the question is where are you leading them?
God my prayer today is 1 Samuel 2:35... "And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever."
As for me and my house we will serve the Lord...
Not Ashamed...Bill
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