It is amazing to me how God has used so many simple little things in my life to help me grasp greater concepts. We have just had a nice snowfall here where I am living, and my wife and I had taken our two girls out to play in the snow. Well the snow was really deep to my girls, so I made the offer... "I'll lead the way and you can follow in my footprints". At first, that just seemed like the nice fatherlike thing to do. But something that I thought was so simple, God used to remind me of my roll as a father. I am to lead my family! To lead them to safety, to lead them to happiness, to lead them towards a healthy lifestyle, to lead them to morals, to lead them in integrity, but most importantly to lead them into a place where they can experience a true and thriving relationship with Jesus Christ! I have been a Youth Pastor and working with you for approximately 8 years, and I have seen a strong decline in the amount of men that live up to their God given responsibilities to their families! Some men, take too large of a stride with their steps, and their families cannot keep up. Some walk to close to the edge of a drop off, and it would be hazardous for the kids to follow. Some just walk through every thing, mud, thorns, thickets, and all without a thought of those following them, they are just concerned with themselves. As fathers, we have all assumed the God given rolls as leaders of our homes. My question is when was the last time that you stopped and looked behind you to see if you could be followed? If your children were to follow directly in your footsteps, would they be lead in integrity or would they be headed for a drop off? As leaders, when we walk, we must take steps in a way that they can be followed. We must not make them so big that they are unreachable by little legs. We must lead them into a real and alive relationship with Jesus! So, when was the last time that your children saw you flip off the tv and read the Bible? When was the last time that they saw you on your knees praying? (bedtimes and meal times are important, but they need to see more!) How are they going to learn how to reach into the thrown room of heaven, if you don't lead the way? Just something to thing about as you take steps through your day.
Proverbs 10:9 (New International Version)
9 The man of integrity walks securely,
but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.
Proverbs 11:3
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
In His Service,
Pastor Phillip B.
