JDL - Direction Three - Grandfathers and Fathers

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6 (ESV))

Where do we go from here? Where do we begin our lives with Jesus’ direction? We begin back before our birth. Our Jesus-directed life begins with our parent-directed life. Our parents, our mother and father, are our first teachers. They teach us, not so much from what they tell us, at least not from early on, but by what they do and how they do it; that is, they teach us by their actions. There is truth in the adage, “More is caught than taught.” If a parent ever wonders about a particular behavior or word or words spoken from their child, all they need to do is look in the mirror.

The foundation for a Jesus-directed life then lies in the foundation laid down by one’s parents and in particular, the father who is the God-given head of the household. From the commandments we have God’s warning and promise. His warning is that if the father fails to raise up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that child “may” grow up not knowing the Lord, that is not know that Jesus is his/her Savior. If that is the case, then that child is doomed to eternal death because of the sin of the father. And likewise, as that child then does not raise his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, then his children too, without faith in Jesus, will condemn his children to eternal spiritual death which is hell.

The good news, however, is that the father who does raise his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord will raise children that are pleasing to the Lord, who will know and believe in Jesus and will be saved. Thanks be to God that His law (the bad news) is but for three or four generations. In other words, there is hope that someone somewhere along the way of one’s life will come and share the Good News, the message of Jesus with them so that they might be brought to faith and life.

Thus, for the Christian, a Jesus-directed life begins even before birth. For a non-Christian, a Jesus-directed life begins as someone shares the message of the Good News of Jesus with them and as the Holy Spirit works through that Good News, that Gospel message, working and giving faith to him/her.

If you were raised in a Christian home, give thanks and praise to the Lord. If you were not raised in a Christian home, then much of what will be said may be new to you (and perhaps even if you were raised in a Christian home, some of this may be new to you).

Our Christ-directed life begins outside of us. We have a God whose usual way of working with us is through means, namely through His means of Grace. God does not usually come directly to us. It is not that He cannot do that, but that is not His usual way of coming to us. He comes to us through something; namely He comes to us through His Word, the Bible. When we pray, we talk to God. When we read His Word, He talks to us. This is carrying on a conversation with God.

The Word of God, the Bible, is a book with power. The power behind the Word of God is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to do what His Word says. Thus, when we read in the Bible that our sins are forgiven, then our sins are forgiven. When we read in the Bible that God gives us faith, then we have faith. When we read in the Bible that God does something, anything, then we know that is what is done.

If you were to peruse the book of Acts, you will notice that time and again the early church grew. At times it grew by leaps and bounds. If you look carefully at the passages which describe these growths of the church, you will notice that the churches did not just grow by themselves. In each and every case, the church grew as a direct result of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God. As the Holy Spirit worked through the written, spoken, and proclaimed Word of God, the church grew. So, we see God working through means.

As we continue on in the next days, we will see that there are other means that God uses as well for giving us His good gifts and blessings. But for now, be encouraged to make good use of this one means, the Word of God, and see how through this means He will direct your life.

Think About
How do you drink water? You use a cup to hold the water and bring the water to your mouth. The cup is the means you have of getting a drink. To eat ice cream you use a spoon to move the ice cream from the bowl to your mouth. The spoon is your means or instrument for eating your ice cream. Likewise, the Holy Spirit uses the means of God’s Word to give us faith.

Prayer
Gracious Lord and Savior, thank You for working through the means of Your Holy Word to give me faith. I pray that you would continue to work through that same means to strengthen and keep me in faith. Stir in me a strong desire to make use of this means by reading and hearing your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.