AS I READ AND STUDIED THE GREAT FATHERS IN SCRIPTURE, I WANT TO HONOR MY FATHER WHO DEMONSTRATED HIS LOVE IN SO MANY WAYS FOR HIS WIFE AND HIS FAMILY. RAISING 13 CHILDREN (9 SONS & 4 DAUGHTERS) ALONG WITH MY MOTHER IN THE INNER- CITY OF LOS ANGELES, WAS NO EASY TASK. HE GAVE OF HIMSELF SACRIFICIALLY ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. HE WAS A PROTECTOR, PROVIDER AND A MAN WHO LOVED HIS WIFE. HE WAS A FATHER WHO EVEN DISPLAYED THE TENDERNESS OF HIS HEART BY SHOWING US TEARS IN TIMES OF LOSS WHICH DISPLAYED A HEALTHY AND APPROPRIATE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE DURING THOSE TIMES. I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU THE LOVE OF A GOOD FATHER AND THE CHARACTER WE MUST STRIVE DAILY TO GROW IN TO AS AN EXTENSION OF LOVE FROM OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! FATHERS, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, BE ENCOURAGED, LOVE YOUR CHILDREN, LOVE YOUR WIFE, BE THE PRIEST OF YOUR HOME AND BE THE EXAMPLE THAT YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO BECOME! HAPPY FATHER’S DAY. IN HIS SERVICE, IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, JOSEPH DISPLAYED HIS LOVE BY PROTECTING HIS WIFE DURING HER PREGNANCY FORA CHILD THAT HE DID NOT FATHER BIOLOGICALLY! BY ADOPTION, A CHILD HAS EVERY LEGAL RIGHT AS A NATURAL CHILD IN THE FAMILY! JOSEPH WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE IN HIS ABILITY TO SHOW NO SIGNS OF IMPARTIALITY AMONGST HIS CHILDREN FOR US TO EMULATE! JOSEPH SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED HIS PURPOSE OF RAISING, PROTECTING AND PROVIDING FOR OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.. ZEBEDEE, THE FATHER OF THE GREAT APOSTLES JAMES AND JOHN DEMONSTRATED HIS LOVE AS A FATHER TO HIS SONS BY ALLOWING THEM TO PURSUE THEIR CALLING TO BE DISCIPLES AND EQUIPPING THEM TO BE HISTORICAL LEADERS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. THE POSITIONS HELD BY HIS SONS JAMES AND JOHN IS PROOF OF THEVALUES ZEBEDEE INSTILLED IN THEM. ZEBEDEE, UNDOUBTEDLY FOREKNEW THE HAND OF GOD WAS UPONBOTH OF HIS SONS. SO AS A GOOD FATHER, HE TAUGHT HIS SONS HOW TO PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES, HOW TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY AS A LEADER AND HOW TO HONOR AND RESPECT AUTHORITY IN EVERY OFFICE.
PASTOR RON ROBERTS
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE MANY OF YOU WHO WILL READ THIS ARTICLE THAT HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE TRUE LOVE OF YOUR FATHER! THIS IS MORE PREVALENT AMONGST A FEW ETHNIC GROUPS THAN OTHERS. THE ABSENCE OF A FATHER IN THE HOME AND IN THE LIVES OF THEIR CHILDREN HAS BEEN A MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO A GREAT DEAL OF CALAMITY AND CRIME WITNESSED BY CHILDREN DAILY. THIS IS UN-IMAGINABLE FROM MY VANTAGE POINT BECAUSE GOD GRACED ME AND MY SIBLINGS TO GROW UP WITH A GODLY FATHER AND FOR THIS, I AM GRATEFUL. WITH A HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY, MY PRAYER IS TOWARDS THOSE WHO STILL BARE THE INJURIES OF THEIR CHILDHOOD IN ADULTHOOD AND ARE STILL HURTING FROM THEIR “ABSENT DADDY” SCARS. THERE ARE MANY PASSAGES AND STORIES IN SCRIPTURE THAT DEMONSTRATE AND MODEL THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD FATHER! IN THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOK OF GENESIS, NOAH DEMONSTRATED THE LOVE OF A FATHER BY HIS OBEDIENCE TO GOD IN HIS RELENTLESS CONSISTENCY TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSE BY BUILDING THE ARK FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS FAMILY REGARDLESS OF THE DAILY RIDICULE FROM THE “ON LOOKERS” BECAUSE THEY HAD NEVER SEEN RAIN IN THEIR LIFETIME UNTIL THE GREAT FLOODS HAD COME TO CLAIM THEIR LIVES. ELKANAH, THE FATHER OF THE PROPHET SAMUEL ALSO DEMONSTRATED HIS LOVE FOR HIS SON BY HIS OBEDIENCE. HE ALLOWED HIS SON TO GROW UP UNDER THE ROOF OF ANOTHER MAN’S HOUSE TO BE MENTORED BY THE GREAT PROPHET ELI. HE KNEW THAT HIS SON’S DESTINY AND HIS SON’S PURPOSE WAS IN ELI. THIS DECISION WAS FOR A GREATER CAUSE THAT WOULD BENEFIT AND IMPACT NATIONS!
Pastor Ron Roberts
TNT MAGAZINE | 18
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