The Power Of A Father

We live in a nation that portrays fathers as powerless, confused, clueless, non-interested and non-existent.  While there are some situations where there are children with non-existent fathers because they have forsaken their role of father in the lives of their children and while there are some fathers who show no interest in their children's daily lives even though they are present in the home, the overall perception of the father should not be defined by these defects.  Once upon a time in this country fathers were revered and honored as the cornerstone of the family.  We had shows like Father Knows Best, Leave It To Beaver, and The Cosby Show that depicted fathers in positive light as men of integrity who were respectable and respected and revered by their wives and children.  What happened to the image of the father that has caused this nation to now portray them as bumbling idiots who can't do anything right and who are mocked by their wives and children with their permission?  What happened to cause this nation to depict fathers as powerless?
Contrary to the common view of the father in this nation as depicted in our media and as lived out in many homes throughout this country, fathers are important, relevant, necessary, and powerful to their families.  There are a few powerful characteristics about fathers that are unique only to them. 
1.  Fathers provide Identity for their children.  Fathers as carriers of the seed that initiates conception possess the ability to provide the chromosome that determines the sex/gender of their children.  Simple biology lesson here.  Men carry an X and a Y chromosome and women carry only the X chromosome.  If at the time of conception the man provides an X then the identity of the child will be that of a female.  If the man provides a Y then the identity of the child will be that of a male.  Within the seed of the man lies the power to determine the identity of the child.
While fathers provide a natural identity for their children at birth, it is important for fathers to also provide a spiritual identity for their children by introducing them to the Lord, Jesus Christ as savior.  The child knows who he or she is in the natural because of the identity that their earthly father gave them, but when a father introduces his children to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, his children will receive an eternal identity as a citizen of God's kingdom.  By leading their children to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior fathers will present to their children a new identity as a born again child of God (John 1:12).
2.  Fathers provide a Heritage for their children.  A heritage is an inheritance that is transmitted through birth.  Children when born generally take their fathers last name as their own.  With that name comes a heritage through the lineage of the father.  Heritage also speaks of certain characteristics and pedigree that is transmitted through birth.  
By living a godly life before their children and teaching them the ways of the Lord, fathers provide a holy heritage for their children that can be passed along from generation to generation.  Isaiah 54:17 lets us know that we who are born again children of God have a heritage in the Lord.  That heritage is one of victory, protection, vindication, truth, and honor.  Proverbs 22:6 says to train up our children in the ways of the Lord so that when they are old they will not depart from the path of godliness.  The heritage of a godly lifestyle is one that will guide our children for a lifetime.
3.  Fathers provide Validation for their children.  To validate is to legitimize or establish value.  It is an acknowledgement of being pleased by the life of another.  By establishing the legitimacy of their children, fathers validate their children thereby adding value to the existence of their children.  Everyone longs for validation and children long for and seek the approval or validation of their fathers. 
God validated Jesus as His son when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist recorded in Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; and Luke 3:21-22.  God has validated us as His children through the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15), not that we deserved it or were worthy of it in and of ourselves, but because He loved us.  As a father validates his children by establishing their legitimacy, fathers by introducing their children to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and passing along a holy heritage of godly living can teach their children that they are validated by God.
We must be careful not to allow this modern world's values to shape our understanding of what a father is or is supposed to be.  Fathers are crucial to their families and are to be celebrated.  There is much ado made for mothers during the mother's day season and rightly so because mothers are valuable to their families.  However, fathers are just as valuable and should be celebrated just the same.  May the image of the father as God intended it to be, be restored through the scope of God's Kingdom.
    - D. Bailey

Tear The Roof Off! What's Keeping You From Your Breakthrough?

How bad do you want a change in your life?  I am convinced that when a person really desires something that person will go after it with all of his or her heart and do whatever he or she has to do to get it.  There is a story in the Bible of some men who earnestly desired to get into the presence of Jesus because one of them needed healing.  One of the men was paralyzed and lying on a mat and he was being carried by four other men.  Jesus had returned to Capernaum and the word had spread throughout town that Jesus was in town.  We're told in Mark 2:1-5 that Jesus was in a house teaching during this visit to Capernaum and that there were so many people who had gathered to see and hear Jesus that there was no room left.  Not only was there no room left in the house, but there was no room outside of the house around the door.  So, it was a standing room only situation.  Not only was it standing room only, but there was no way for anyone else to squeeze into the house via the door.  Then comes a man paralyzed and lying on a mat being carried by four men earnestly and desperately seeking to get into the presence of Jesus, the embodiment of healing.  The four men tried to carry their paralyzed friend through the door, but there was no way to get in.  When they realized that they could not get to Jesus through the door, they sought to go through the roof.  When they reached the roof they dug through the roof, tearing it to pieces in a certain area and lowered their paralyzed friend through the opening that they had created in the roof right in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw what they had done he commended the man on his faith and blessed him further by forgiving him of his sins. 

Now you may be wondering and asking why these men would go through so much just to get into the presence of Jesus.  To understand why they did what they did you have to understand who Jesus is and what he represents.  Jesus is the son of God, the very embodiment of God's healing nature.  God is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that heals (Exodus 15:26).  Psalm 107:20 tells us that God "sent forth His word, and healed them." [KJV]  John 1:1-2 and John 1:14 reads as follows:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God." [vv. 1-2, NKJV]  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  [v. 14, NKJV]

These scriptures speak of Jesus as being the very word of God clothed in flesh as he dwelt among us in the earth.  Therefore, if God sent His word to heal us then Jesus, the son of God sent from God to us is the word of God sent to us to heal us.  Jesus is the very embodiment of God's healing to and for us.  This is why these men went through so much to get into the presence of Jesus.  They had a need and they knew of the one who was able to supply what they needed.  When you need something you do not go to someone who cannot meet your need because it would be a complete waste of your time and energy. You don't go to people who cannot help you when you have a need in a particular area.  Word had gotten around that the master physician, the one who is the source of healing was in town and these men wasted no time positioning themselves to gain access to that healing for the one who was sick on the mat.  Imagine how heavy this man must have been on this mat; quite probably he was dead weight because he was paralyzed and unable to move and shift himself around.  It took four men to carry him and they made their way through the streets and the crowded corners to the crowded house because they had a need.  They not only wanted a change, but needed a change and knew that unless they were able to get to the one who had the power to change their situation, that there was absolutely no hope.  This paralytic man needed a breakthrough and was not willing to let anything or anyone keep him from getting his breakthrough.

This story is but one illustration in the Bible of how when a person wants something bad enough that person won't stop until he or she gets it.  There are many people who say that they need a change.  There are many who are willing to acknowledge that they want a change.  However, there are few who are willing to do what it takes to take the neccessary steps in order for their circumstances to change.  There are many who say that they will wait until their change comes, but I must say that you have to do more than just wait if you are going to receive your change.  This paralytic man needed a change in his life and word had gotten around that the one who was able to manifest his change was in town.  This man had enough faith to have four of his friends carry him to where Jesus was.  But faith alone was not enough, he had to put his faith to work.  The kingdom principle at work here is found in James 2:17 that tells us that faith alone without works is dead.  Faith that have no works to back it up can do nothing.  It is works that gives legs and arms to your faith.  Faith is great, but it must be exercised and activated by works.  Faith is not something you sit on, you walk in it. 

When these men arrived at the house where Jesus was teaching they saw that the place was standing room only and that there was no way for them to get in by normal means.  Can you imagine going through all of that just to get to the place of breakthrough and not be able to even get in?  But these men had determined spirits.  There was a persistence about them that would not allow them to take no for an answer.  They had persistent spirits that would not allow them to give up and go home and say that they will give it a try another day.  No, their change, their breakthrough was in the house and they were not going to let anything stop them from getting it.  So they decided that there had to be another way into the presence of Jesus.  They went up on the roof and dug through the roof, tearing it away piece by piece.  Desperate situations calls for despearate messures.  There are times when you realize that you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.  I believe that is where these men were.  The paralyzed man knew that his change had come and that if he was going to lay hold of it he was going to have to make a move.  Giving up and going home was not an option for these men.  They had nothing to lose, but everything to gain because the change that they needed was in the house in the manifest presence of Jesus.

Listen, there are times in our lives when we find ourselves in a situation where life has caused us to be paralyzed in different areas of our life.  Life has thrown some curve balls at us and if we're not careful these experiences will cripple us and cause us to be ineffective and defective.  God is our manufacturer and He created us to operate at maximum potential.  Never let anyone tell you what your potential is or is not because they are not your manufacturer.  Your manufacturer is the one who created you (God) and as such He is the one who knows your potential and dictates your potential.  If you are going to walk in your God given potential, thereby operating at your full and maximum potential you are going to have to be connected to the one who embeded that potential in you (God).  If you are going to rise up from your situation and receive your breakthrough, you are going to have to pursue God like your life depends on it because it does.  There are times where if you are going to receive your breakthrough you are going to have to literally tear through that which is keeping you from your God given destiny.  There are times when you have to break into the place of breakthrough to get your breakthrough.  Tear off that which is hindering you from walking in your God given potential.  What is hindering you from walking in the victory that God has already given you?  How bad do you really want the breakthrough?  It's not just going to drop out of the sky and fall in your lap.  You are going to have to walk in Faith and pursue the God of your breakthrough because He is mighty and able to do all things, but fail.  Remember that without faith it is impossible to please God.  It was this man's faith that unlocked his breakthrough.  Jesus stopped teaching when these men broke through the roof of the house to get into his presence because he recognized that which moves the heart of God and that is faith, but not just faith alone, faith with works.  God was indeed pleased to the point where Jesus not only healed the man's body, but pronounced a blessing of forgiveness over his life of the sins that he had committed. 

Remember the next time you need a breakthrough don't be afraid to tear the roof off, so to speak.  Tear through whatever is keeping you from your breakthrough even if it is you.  Some people need to tear through their own junk and limitations they have placed on themselves before they can receive of the Lord.  The roof represents a form of limitation.  The roof of a house is the limit to the height of the house.  If the house wants to expand in an upward direction it will have to literally tear the roof off in order to accomodate that expansion.  When the roof is torn off the limits are taken off.  What limits have you placed on yourself.  There are many who have dreams, but before they can begin to pursue their dreams they ensnare themselves with limitations through the words of their own mouths.  It's not always others who place limitations on us.  Sometimes it is we ourselves who limit ourselves and hinder ourselves.  Those who received of the Lord what they needed to walk in what the Lord had for them are those who walked in faith, those who sought the Lord, and those who would not give up, but were persistent.  Remember, don't just wait until your change comes, but walk in faith and do what it takes to lay hold of when it comes.  What's keeping you from your breakthrough?

   - D. Bailey

 

 

Be Careful! What You Say Will Be Used Against You

     Be careful because what you say will be used against you.  Generally these are the words heard by persons who are being placed under arrest by law enforcement officers.  These words evoke feelings of fear, concern, worry, and panic.  These are not comforting words to the hearer, but true words nonetheless.  Very rarely do we associate these words with God and His church, however, it would serve us all well to know that God tells us the same thing in His written word.  While it may not be worded this same way, the meaning is the same.  These words are words of warning and caution.  They let you know that any word that you allow to escape out of your mouth can condemn you .  Did you know that your words have the power to condemn you?  All day long we speak; we use words all day everyday as a means to communicate and convey a message.  Some view the words that we speak as trivial, but it is quite the contrary.  Our words carry a lot of weight  and have the power to condemn, to build up, to tear down, to reward, to ensnare, and to create. 

     In Matthew 12:36-37 Jesus said, "I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken.  On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said"  (CEV).  This scripture lets us know that we need to take our words seriously because there is coming a day when they will come back to haunt to us.  In order to trace the words that we speak back to the root we must look at our hearts.  In verse 34 Jesus tells us that it is "out of the abundance of our heart that our mouths speak."  So, the fruit of our words have their roots in our hearts.  If our hearts are wicked then our words will be wicked.  If our heart is good then our words will be good.  If our heart is bitter then our words will be bitter.  A foul and obscene heart will give birth to foul and obscene words.  The word, "idle," as used in verse 36 means useless and unprofitable.  How many times have you spoken words that were unprofitable?  Before you speak ask yourself what it will profit you to say those words.  Take a moment and pause before you speak.  James 1:19 tells us that we should be "quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry" (NIV).  Proceed with caution before you speak.

     When you say something to someone with whom you are arguing that is hurtful it is because your heart is vengeful and angry.  When we say hurtful words in the midst of an argument it is because we want to hurt the person that we are arguing with.  Those hurtful words are the fruit of our angry and vengeful heart in that moment.  In Matthew 18:15 Jesus said that it is the words that come forth from a man's mouth that defile the man because they proceed out of the man's heart.  It's not what you put in your mouth that defile or condemn you, but what you release from your mouth.  So, the next time that you start to speak, pause and remember that what you say will be brought back before you on the day of judgement.  Jesus' words in these scriptures lets us know in no uncertain terms that we will be held accountable for every word that we speak, good or bad.  Our words will either justify or condemn us.  Our words can and will be held against us in the day of judgment.

     Psalm 19:14 offers sobering words that we should hide in our hearts and worthy of being committed to our memory.  It states, "may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer" (NLT).  Make this your prayer today and everyday.