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Monday, April 4, 2022

Psalm 61:5

"Living For God"

Message summary:  Are you leaving a godly heritage for those who come behind you? That’s our call, “That I might live for God”.

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“For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name" (Psalm 61:5). "That I might live for God" (Galatians 2:19).

Child dedicationYesterday we had a child dedication in our church service. These are tender moments when parents publicly declare their intent to raise their children in the ways of the Lord.

Often at a baby/child dedication  an opportunity is given for the congregation to pledge its support to also help in nurturing the child through ministries within the church and otherwise.

But children have a potential for misunderstanding such as a little four-year-old who, after witnessing his baby brother’s dedication, sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His mom and dad asked him three times what was wrong but got no reply, only more sobbing. Finally, the little boy blurted out, "The pastor said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys!"

Certainly a key to any dedication is the challenge to raise your children for Christ, to nurture them in a Christian home and build a godly heritage. We establish the foundations for building a godly heritage early in life and this heritage incrementally expands over the years, one day at a time.

An older minister made an interesting point regarding his generation’s heritage at a funeral service: "We’ve given you much to live with, but we haven’t given you much to live for." I believe that statement is very accurate and timely for the current generation as well. *

The very nature of seeking lifelong fulfillment apart from God’s salvation plan and living His purpose for our life will not contribute to a godly heritage. Something new and promising is always around the corner like a bigger, newer model TV, a faster computer or a more feature-laden “smart” phone. Many try to find fulfillment by getting a more prestigious job or higher educational level or being around the "right" people.

Foundationally, as God’s people we are called to build and leave a godly heritage, not a self-aggrandized list of our own accomplishments and possessions. One's heritage is a person's unique, inherited sense of family identity: the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations and in turn passed on to the next. Of course godly heritage adds a special dimension to that.

Consider those who left behind a godly heritage whom you personally know. Most were not famous and their sphere of influence was probably relatively small, leaving a spiritual impact on their family, church and community. A godly legacy is developed over a lifetime as we choose day after day to "live for God" (Galatians 2:19).

The Psalmist proclaimed, "You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name". Fundamentally this heritage includes the truths we receive and then pass on to our own generation and the generations that follow. Right now all over the world those who fear His Name are transmitting the truth of this heritage while they live and even after they pass on.

In the past the Bible writers did so by writing down the Scriptures which are our authority for life. However God has also used those contemporaneous with us who call on the name of the Lord; those who fear His Name by respecting His authority and honoring Him with their lives. They have sought to pass on that spiritual legacy to us. We received this heritage from our parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, a bold witness at work and many, many others who have passed it on. In one sense we continue to receive and should do so until God calls us home.

But after we get saved we are also called to pass a godly heritage on to others. Paul had been a violent persecutor of the church but after his marvelous conversion he developed the heritage of those who fear God's name.

Galatians 2:19 Paul surely had very little to live with, particularly by our standards, but he had so much to live for which is a much greater blessing. I purposefully chose the last part of a Bible verse to highlight a simple statement made by the apostle Paul, "That I might live for God".

He went on to write one of the most memorized portions of Scripture, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Ask yourself today: What am I living for? Who am I living it for? That’s been the pattern for two thousand years and will most certainly continue until the trumpet sounds. One generation passing the faith on to the next. You’re reading this today and hopefully your faith is centered on Christ. Someone has passed this faith down to you. Are you now passing it on to others? Are you leaving a godly heritage to those who come behind you? That’s our call, “That I might live for God”.


Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer: Father, You have called on us, Your children, to be reliable in giving a solid witness of our faith in You. We are to live godly lives so that we faithfully model that which we also teach to our children and all whom we are privileged to influence. We realize that there is no neutral position; we either live for You or we live for the world. Fix our eyes on Jesus as we journey below so that we fulfill the calling to be faithful and influence others for the kingdom of God, whether in life or in death. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.



* “We’ve given you so much to live with, but we haven’t given you very much to live for.” While acknowledging the overall value of this statement and the importance of passing on a godly heritage, each individual and each generation ultimately stands on the basis of his or her own faith and obedience to God. I could see some using this sentiment as an excuse to blame the previous generation for their problems. There are those who’ve had the benefit of a godly heritage but choose to walk away from it. There are others who never had that benefit yet make a decision to follow Christ and in their generation build a godly heritage.



We had a much higher than normal amount of feedback from our message last Friday titled, "The Foolishness Of This Age". There's no shortage of examples of insane foolishness such as the new designation, "birthing parent" instead of mother. Consider this text, "they invent ways of doing evil" (see Romans 1:30). These attempts to alter language are a direct example of rebellion against God. The Scripture establishes marriage and family here: "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24) and "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living" (Genesis 3:20).

An Australian reader wrote: The world is tired and worn, we are waiting for the return of the Lord. He said, "For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew  24:37). I think its fair to say those days are here. I recall as a child 70s/80s thinking the world isn't that bad I hope Jesus doesn't return yet. Wow when I look how degraded it has become over the last 10 years I can hardly believe it. The arrogance with which these gender agendas are being driven is mortifying. With their own eyes they can see the difference between male and female yet they deny it! Utter insanity.

A Canadian reader sent me an article about gender-themed liturgies in her former church, including a blessing on gender transition. She informed me that she had left this denomination after witnessing its drifting to liberalism and non-Biblical teaching in the past 60 years.



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Take My Life and Let It Be"  Video  Vineyard Music

"A Thousand Hallelujahs"  Video  From our church service yesterday at Calvary Church

Brooksyne's note: I raised my hands to the Lord in worship yesterday morning as we were singing the words of this chorus:
A thousand hallelujahs
God we lift unto Your Name
A thousand hallelujahs
God we lift up once again
All creation lifts its voice
Declaring 'til the end
Oh Lord, how great You are
The Spirit spoke to me that I’ve not only sung “hallelujah” possibly a thousand or more times, but I’ve also lifted my hands in worship a thousand or more times. As a child I’d see adults raise their hands in worship but was rather shy about that as a child or youth until I attended Youth Camp and witnessed hundreds of teens worshiping the Lord with upraised hands. It spurred me on to do likewise and what joy there is in practicing the verse: “Thy lovingkindness is better than life. My lips shall praise Thee, thus will I bless Thee. I will lift up my hands unto the Lord” (Psalm 63). I quietly sang these words instead in the first two lines, “A thousand hands to You God, I lift them to Your name.”

"So I Can Tell"  Video  Cheri Keaggy

"Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King"  Video  Calling Levi

"Hymn Of Heaven"  Video   Phil Wickham  We have so enjoyed this song and agree with this comment: "Chills... even a little bit of tears, thinking about standing beside the heroes of faith, a thousand generations, declaring Holy, Holy is the Lord, along with the angels. I know there won't be crying in the Kingdom, but I bet for the first 10,000 years of eternity I will have tears of joy."

Finally today:

In our Sunday School class yesterday we had a humorous reminder of how limitations in second language comprehension can cause problems in communication. A class member with limited English answered a question our teacher asked. He responded with a hearty "Right on!" The limited English student was not familiar with this expression. With a baffled expression on her face she looked around as if she had been rebuked until the teacher, seeing her consternation quickly clarified, "You're correct"!

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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.



Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."



 
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