Your Legacy, Part 1

Men, consider this thought-provoking question. What will be the effect of your life upon your children and grandchildren? Today we look at some Scripture that will challenge you to consider your choices and how they will affect your family.

INSIGHTS FOR YOUR TOOLBOX

Do you look like your parents? Not only do physical characteristics pass on to children but behaviors, attitudes, and addictive behaviors run in families. In the same way, certain types of sin can pass from generation to generation. We all have skeletons in our closet, but that sin can be traced back to one man, Adam, our first father.

Each one of us remains a slave of sin unless we are set free by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. To get out from under the generational curse, you must be grafted into a whole new family tree. (See Romans 6:20-22) There is freedom available in Christ.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Each person is responsible for their own choices. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” Romans 10:13 It is your decision to walk in freedom.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2

Your Legacy, Part 2

The young boy looked down the church pew at his dad. He watched him fold his hands and bow his head and the little guy followed suit. Today we look again at the importance of your influence in our series, Your Legacy.

INSIGHTS FOR YOUR TOOLBOX

Scripture gives us another peek at the influence of a father in II Chronicles 17:3-4, “And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and followed His commandments.” What we do matters to the next generation!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The following lines are an excerpt from the poem, No Man Is An Island, which was written in 1642 by the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, John Donne, and was included in his Sunday sermon.

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…

Who I am matters, for who I am influences my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren – the continent of my family. What will be your legacy?

Your Legacy, Part 3

God wants us to think in terms of generations. His Word specifically shares how we can build a godly legacy and pass this on to our sons, grandsons, and greats. Join us for our third devotional in this series entitled, Your Legacy.

INSIGHTS FOR YOUR TOOLBOX

Deuteronomy 6 is an exhortation to love and fear God by keeping His commandments and to pass this on to future generations. God cares very much about how we raise our children and the legacy that we pass on to our families. As this passage talks about keeping God’s commands, it constantly references our children along with obedience.

• v. 2- “that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son.”

• v. 7- “You shall teach them diligently to your children . . .”

• v. 20-25- “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son… So the Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our own good always…”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

This godly legacy begins in me with a desire to love God with our whole being. We can even ask for God’s help with this. Deuteronomy 30:6 says, “Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.”

To love the Lord your God is the foundation to build that godly legacy.

Your Legacy & The Prodigal

Parents often spend hours agonizing over the choices of their children. We wonder why…what did we do wrong? Let’s go to God’s Word and together discover the help and hope here for parents of prodigals.

INSIGHTS FOR YOUR TOOLBOX

Watching a child walk away from God is heart-wrenching. How do we deal with this pain and even despair? God’s Word is relevant to our suffering, and He wants to comfort us. Let’s look at some amazing promises in Romans 8. The entire Trinity is involved in your situation. Verse 26 tells us that the Holy Spirit is praying for us; verse 34 shares Jesus is praying and pleading on behalf of the Father’s throne, and He is listening. Now add Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God…” Only God can take such a difficult situation and our pain and bring good out of it. He uses this to grow us to be more like our Savior.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

When we struggle or feel that there is no hope, it is hard to trust. It is a spiritual battle, and we must fight with our souls to believe the truths of Scripture. Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in the Lord AT ALL TIMES, pour out your heart to Him…”.

“Trust is not a passive state of mind but a vigorous act of the will whereby we choose to believe the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us”. -Jerry Bridges