Monday, October 18, 2010

Does our faith affect the next generation

Since I blogged last on faith I saw a church sign that reads Faith- the ability to not panic.  WHOOA wait just a minute.  I don't think that's what God says faith is. 
In the bible when God talks about people who have faith they have "done something they were told to do" or trusted with there WHOLE heart that God would take care of them and do what HE said.  Examples: Abraham in  Romans 4- God told him he would have a son and he trusted what God said even though "old age" was against both he and Sarah.  He also trusted God in that when he was told to sacrifice Isacc he had all things ready to do so when the Angel of the Lord stopped him.  God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many generations and he trusted God enough that he was willing to kill the son in which those many generations would come.  A Gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28-  She had heard that Jesus could heal people and she trusted without a doubt that He could heal her daughter and she kept persisting until He answered her pleas. Mary in the "gospel" accounts what if she and Joseph hadn't had faith.  Joseph had faith in what God told him thru the angel that she would have a Son and he would be called Jesus and He would save the people from their sins.
 
We have here three examples in the bible of genuine faith that has affected the next generations.  If Abraham had decided that he better could have decided about his children than God then the rest of us wouldn't be here.  If this woman hadn't had faith that Jesus would heal her daughter, the daughter would still be demon possessed. And then Joseph's and Mary's faith. WOW...  Joseph had faith that what the angel said was true and he didn't put away Mary.  And Mary what if she had decided that being pregnant was just an inconvenience or at the wrong time. Then we wouldn't have the chance to spend eternity with God in Heaven.

So I think that our faith does affect the next generation in ways that we can see and in ways that we can't. The faith in the church is affecting the next generations.  We have older men and older women who are instructed in Titus 2 to teach the younger men and younger women how to conduct themselves.  I don't see that happening in MOST churches today. We aren't told...much less instructed on these things and these are the things that affect our faith.  We don't see examples in the church of those men and women who TRUST in GOD for all THINGS.  We feel the need to control some areas of our lives.  We feel the need to only have faith in God when things are going the way we want and if not then we take back the reigns.  God didn't say it was going to be easy to let Him control things and He didn't say we would like all the paths He directs us in.  But He did tell us it would be worth it. Luke 6:23 Matt. 5:12

I want to encourage each of us to look inside of ourselves and examine do we have the faith we want our children to have?  Do I know 100% without a doubt that if the Lord returns today that I'll spend eternity with God in Heaven and if my children have my faith will they do the same.  If not then we don't have the faith that the Bible instructs us to have.

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