Tag: Slaves to sin

A Heart After God

On By cdyeagerwritesIn Children, Devotions, Fatherhood, Parenting4 Comments

He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. – 1 Kings 15:3 (NIV)

Sin is a problem, but not an unsolvable one.  The passage above happens with tragic repetition through 1st and 2nd Kings highlighting the problem of sin and pointing to the solution.  The problem is being complicit with our sinfulness rather than struggling against it.  David isn’t brought up in this passage because he was without sin, but that he struggled against it.  At his core, David desired to be right with God, even when he messed up.  David’s offspring, however, seem to have lost a heart for God.

There is much to be said for wisdom, strength and talent, but none of them get us anywhere good if they are not ruled by a heart surrendered to God.  Too often we define ourselves by those things that the world and those around us value.  These kings thought they were being good kings by giving the people other gods to worship, building powerful armies and constructing mighty cities, but this is a worldly view.  God wanted men who would lead the people to His heart.

God is still calling for his children to break away from the sins of their fathers and mothers.  He is calling them to seek the heart of their heavenly Father and run from sin.  He is asking them to be like David, who though he struggled, returned again and again to his God with a contrite heart.  The world wants to teach our children that they have excuses and rationales for their sinful behavior, or even worse, that their behavior isn’t sinful at all.  Not only do we as parents have to struggle against sin, we have struggle with a world that wants to convince our children that sin doesn’t exist.

I want my daughters to have hearts that belong to God, who seek Him earnestly and pursue righteousness, but they will never feel the need for any of it if they don’t understand their sinful state.  Teaching them about their sinful bent is less about shoving sin in their face and more about helping them see it with their own eyes.  It is far better for them to discover the error of their ways than to be slapped in the face with them.  It is about speaking the truth in love, about gentleness and mercy.

Lord, help me lead my children to a discovery of their sinfulness so they can turn to You for righteousness.  May they not fall into the sins of their father, but have hearts that strive after You.  Give us all hearts for You and You alone. Amen.

Crossing the Red Sea

On By cdyeagerwritesIn Children, Devotions, Fatherhood, Parenting2 Comments

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.  During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.  He jammed[b] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea.  The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. – Exodus 14:21-28

When the Israelites were finally released from slavery, God needed to take them somewhere else.  He needed them to get away from their old life and old surroundings.  They needed to realize that God had something better for them.  They needed to discover what they were created for and they needed to travel to make that discovery.  So that this point would be clear and unforgettable, God takes them across the bottom of the sea on dry ground.  Talk about an object lesson.

Our children need to be taken out of their environments as well.  There are times where a complete change in geography can help open them up to see God and the promises He has for them.  They need to understand the relationship of responsibility and freedom and how they grow together.  This is not easy.  Teaching our children to live a life of freedom is not easy, but it is worth every struggle we face in the process.

While God gave the Israelites every opportunity to see what He was doing for them, where He was taking them and why, they still went back to their enslaved ways of thinking.  Before and after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites complained.  Freedom was too dangerous and demanding and difficult.  They were gripped by fear and they started acting like they belonged to someone else.  But they belonged to God and so do we and so do our children.

We need to have a relationship with God that will allow us to be Moses to our children.  Our ability to be moved by God to do and say what our children need to do and hear is critical.  They will look to us to lead them away from their oppressors.  They will be watching us to see if what we say matches with how we live.

Lord, help me to lead my children from slavery to freedom.  Give me wisdom to know my child’s needs and lead them to God.  Help me to know when my children are slipping back into their old, enslaved habits.  Amen.

Calling Our Children Out of Egypt

On By cdyeagerwritesIn Children, Devotions, Fatherhood, ParentingLeave a comment

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.  Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.  This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.  The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.'” – Exodus 7:14-18 (NIV)

I have been a slave.  A slave to my own desires.  A slave to ignorance.  A slave to imperfection.  A slave to the brokenness of humanity.  I was born into this slavery and there was no way out of it by my own design.  I didn’t even have the inclination to try.  But there were voices calling me out of the land of slavery, calling me out of Egypt.  A mother’s voice sang songs of Jesus and read to me the words of God.  A father’s voice full of wisdom and tempered with grace called me from a plagued land to a land of promise.  Many other voices of friends, mentors and ministers have pushed and pulled me in the right direction on a journey not yet completed.

I made my way from the land of slavery toward the land of promise and am still on the road.  I forget sometimes about the voices that called me out of slavery, and I lose my way in the wilderness.  In those moments, it seemed like the life in Egypt would have been the easier route, but the voices cut through the foolishness and pride and set me back on course again.  I am so thankful for the voices that have spoken on behalf of God into my life.

Our children need to hear us calling them out of Egypt.  They need to know that there is something better in this life than living by our base desires and fractured feelings.  They need us to speak against the enemy and stand against the deceivers who would keep them in bondage.  Our children need to know that they will not walk through the wilderness alone and that the Promised Land is worth the journey.

Lord, help me be a voice calling my children from slavery to sin into freedom in Christ.  Help me to lead my children through the wilderness of this life and instill in them the hope of the Promised Land of eternity with You.  Amen.

A Heart After God

On By cdyeagerwritesIn Children, Devotions, Fatherhood, ParentingLeave a comment

He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. – 1 Kings 15:3 (NIV)

Sin is a problem, but not an unsolvable one.  The passage above happens with tragic repetition through 1st and 2nd Kings highlighting the problem of sin and pointing to the solution.  The problem is being complicit with our sinfulness rather than struggling against it.  David isn’t brought up in this passage because he was without sin, but that he struggled against it.  At his core, David desired to be right with God, even when he messed up.  David’s offspring, however, seem to have lost a heart for God.

There is much to be said for wisdom, strength and talent, but none of them get us anywhere good if they are not ruled by a heart surrendered to God.  Too often we define ourselves by those things that the world and those around us value.  These kings thought they were being good kings by giving the people other gods to worship, building powerful armies and constructing mighty cities, but this is a worldly view.  God wanted men who would lead the people to His heart.

God is still calling for his children to break away from the sins of their fathers and mothers.  He is calling them to seek the heart of their heavenly Father and run from sin.  He is asking them to be like David, who though he struggled, returned again and again to his God with a contrite heart.  The world wants to teach our children that they have excuses and rationales for their sinful behavior, or even worse, that their behavior isn’t sinful at all.  Not only do we as parents have to struggle against sin, we have struggle with a world that wants to convince our children that sin doesn’t exist.

I want my daughters to have hearts that belong to God, who seek Him earnestly and pursue righteousness, but they will never feel the need for any of it if they don’t understand their sinful state.  Teaching them about their sinful bent is less about shoving sin in their face and more about helping them see it with their own eyes.  It is far better for them to discover the error of their ways than to be slapped in the face with them.  It is about speaking the truth in love, about gentleness and mercy.

Lord, help me lead my children to a discovery of their sinfulness so they can turn to You for righteousness.  May they not fall into the sins of their father, but have hearts that strive after You.  Give us all hearts for You and You alone. Amen.

Crossing the Red Sea

On By cdyeagerwritesIn Children, Devotions, Fatherhood, ParentingLeave a comment

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.  During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.  He jammed[b] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea.  The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. – Exodus 14:21-28

When the Israelites were finally released from slavery, God needed to take them somewhere else.  He needed them to get away from their old life and old surroundings.  They needed to realize that God had something better for them.  They needed to discover what they were created for and they needed to travel to make that discovery.  So that this point would be clear and unforgettable, God takes them across the bottom of the sea on dry ground.  Talk about an object lesson.

Our children need to be taken out of their environments as well.  There are times where a complete change in geography can help open them up to see God and the promises He has for them.  They need to understand the relationship of responsibility and freedom and how they grow together.  This is not easy.  Teaching our children to live a life of freedom is not easy, but it is worth every struggle we face in the process.

While God gave the Israelites every opportunity to see what He was doing for them, where He was taking them and why, they still went back to their enslaved ways of thinking.  Before and after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites complained.  Freedom was too dangerous and demanding and difficult.  They were gripped by fear and they started acting like they belonged to someone else.  But they belonged to God and so do we and so do our children.

We need to have a relationship with God that will allow us to be Moses to our children.  Our ability to be moved by God to do and say what our children need to do and hear is critical.  They will look to us to lead them away from their oppressors.  They will be watching us to see if what we say matches with how we live.

Lord, help me to lead my children from slavery to freedom.  Give me wisdom to know my child’s needs and lead them to God.  Help me to know when my children are slipping back into their old, enslaved habits.  Amen.

Calling Our Children Out of Egypt

On By cdyeagerwritesIn Children, Devotions, Fatherhood, ParentingLeave a comment

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.  Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.  This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.  The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.'” – Exodus 7:14-18 (NIV)

I have been a slave.  A slave to my own desires.  A slave to ignorance.  A slave to imperfection.  A slave to the brokenness of humanity.  I was born into this slavery and there was no way out of it by my own design.  I didn’t even have the inclination to try.  But there were voices calling me out of the land of slavery, calling me out of Egypt.  A mother’s voice sang songs of Jesus and read to me the words of God.  A father’s voice full of wisdom and tempered with grace called me from a plagued land to a land of promise.  Many other voices of friends, mentors and ministers have pushed and pulled me in the right direction on a journey not yet completed.

I made my way from the land of slavery toward the land of promise and am still on the road.  I forget sometimes about the voices that called me out of slavery, and I lose my way in the wilderness.  In those moments, it seemed like the life in Egypt would have been the easier route, but the voices cut through the foolishness and pride and set me back on course again.  I am so thankful for the voices that have spoken on behalf of God into my life.

Our children need to hear us calling them out of Egypt.  They need to know that there is something better in this life than living by our base desires and fractured feelings.  They need us to speak against the enemy and stand against the deceivers who would keep them in bondage.  Our children need to know that they will not walk through the wilderness alone and that the Promised Land is worth the journey.

Lord, help me be a voice calling my children from slavery to sin into freedom in Christ.  Help me to lead my children through the wilderness of this life and instill in them the hope of the Promised Land of eternity with You.  Amen.