Tag: We are Family

Our Love’s for God’s Most Generous Expression: Our Learning, Growing, Living, Doing, in the Family of Faith. Hebrews 13:1-3

Hebrews 13:1-3 Amplified Bible

The Changeless Christ

13 Let love of your fellow believers continue. 2 Do not neglect to extend hospitality to strangers [especially among the family of believers—being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as if you were their fellow prisoner, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body [and subject to physical suffering].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Love’s Generous Expression

Hebrews 13:1-3 Common English Bible

Our acts of service and sacrifice

13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place.

Keep Loving each other like family.

Do not neglect to open your homes to guests.

Remember the prisoners as if you were in prison with them.

What an incredibly interesting array of both ancient, contemporary ideas!

Loving each other like family – respecting and honoring one another!

Respecting the home, respecting the life of the family and their belongings.

By showing kindness to strangers, you could be showing kindness to a messenger of God.

Paying it forward, buying an extra burger to share with a homeless person, helping someone change a flat tire on their car, offering a ride to a colleague who needs one—in these ways and countless more, our God often gives us all opportunities to show hospitality and compassion for someone who has a need.

As I encounter people who are not part of a faith community, it saddens me when they describe Christians as less-than-compassionate people.

Words I often hear in these conversations are that Christians are aloof,not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant. and judgmental and condescending.

Many people see church buildings in their communities as little more than social clubs, entertainment centers or worse, only occupied on any Sunday.

Any other day, the parking lots are 99.99% empty of cars and any activity.

They hear church people speak out mostly about what the members oppose.

Where is that sound of “little children of all ages” glorifying God and Jesus?

The world needs to see the Body of Christians as people of compassion—good-news people who minister and act like Jesus.

That will happen only when we finally nurture a habit of practicing compassion.

It is not by accident that the writer of Hebrews urges readers to love each other and to look out for the needs of strangers.

It’s easy to overlook the unusual or the unfamiliar.

It takes the love of Christ to step out, move out and reach out to the stranger who might just bring a singularly unique blessing that you never saw coming.

Learning, Growing, Living, in the Family of Faith

There’s all the difference in the world between describing what it means to ride a bicycle and actually helping somebody learn to get on the seat and pedal away.

Making a layer cake seems to be fairly straightforward when I look at the recipe books, but I haven’t had much success in making one that actually tastes right!

What I need is hands-on guidance: somebody to actually take the time to teach me to do it in front of me and then patiently allow me to try my hand at it too.

The moral instruction provided for us in Hebrews 13 is to be trained and formed in our lives not by learning to apply abstract principles but as a result of seeing these principles successfully or erroneously worked out in the family of faith.

We can read, for example, about what it means to love one another, but it is far better to observe such love in the lives of loving people.

We can understand that we are supposed to care for strangers, but we can experience it firsthand if we are brought up and raised in a home where such care, consideration and compassion for one another is faithfully practiced.

We can extend ourselves into areas of ministry and mission which are quite challenging – church prison ministry (https://heartprisonministries.org/) or Christian Prison Ministry (Kairos https://www.kairosprisonministry.org/)

We can read the principles and hear sermons, demands for sexual purity, but we will do far better if we are raised in a flourishing home where they are modeled or we are even able to sit in such homes as we visit other families in our church.

Praise God, the list of mission and ministry opportunities goes on and on.

Establishing these ethical norms is demanding.

It takes the first love of God, our time, effort and patience, and involvement.

The miracles wrought through purposeful discipleship, transformation cannot be achieved by searching the internet, watching a video or reading an article.

If information was enough to bring about transformation, then all we would need to do is write it down or say it.

But you can’t learn love, honor, and faithfulness from the content on a screen.

No, if you are to be content, pure, loving, and hospitable, then that is going to have to be proactively discovered and actively worked out in the family of faith.

Look, then, to your brothers and sisters who exemplify Christ-likeness in these ways.

Read Hebrews 13:1-3 again, praise God for those you know who live these verses out, then be sure to learn from them so in these ways you become like them.

Make it your aim to follow their example that you, like Paul, might humbly be able to say to others, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Easter is but a short time away.

Celebrating the ultimate act of agape love and sacrifice and service.

What will your efforts at discipleship and transformation in preparation for this coming Easter look like, sound like, be more Christ like in these coming weeks?

I have heard repeatedly: “it takes an entire community, an entire village.”

According to Wikipedia, the original quote “it takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb meaning it takes a whole community of people interacting with a child to ensure he or she grows in a healthy and safe environment.

Regardless of which stage of life we are all in: parents raising children, married with no children, single, or late adulthood, even a church, we need community.

In these times of recovery, perhaps we need to go back to the essential basics of the Gospel to learn it all over again – to teach it unto each other all over again?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You that while we were yet sinners You loved us and gave Christ to be the propitiation for our sins. Help us in word and deed to increase and abound in brotherly love for one another, just as we also do for You. Give us wisdom as we enter into mission and ministry to our brothers and sisters in Christ and may we speak the truth in love to Your praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus name, AMEN.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Living our Life and Honoring Our God, Living Our Life, Respecting, Honoring Generations of our Families, Honoring and Respecting Our Grand Parents. Proverbs 17:6

Proverbs 17:6Amplified Bible

6 
Grandchildren are the crown of aged men,
And the glory of children is their fathers [who live godly lives].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

What our Grand parents are to us …

“What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. Most importantly, milk and cookies and plenty of Ice Cream.”

“A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.”—Anonymous

If nothing is going well, call your grandmother. —Italian Proverb

“When Grand Ma smiles, the lines in her face become epic narratives that trace the stories of generations that no book can replace.” Anonymous

To a small child, the perfect granddad is unafraid of big dogs and fierce storms but absolutely terrified of the word “boo.” Anonymous

I still remember the simple lessons taught to me by my grandmother Lou. She taught me how special I was simply by telling me what a coconut looked like.

The time she spent with me, and the things she passed on with her simple, yet gentle words, pats upon my head, are still invaluable treasures that I cherish.

Throughout history, grandparents have played a central role in the lives of their children and grandchildren.

There is even a Grandparents Day the first Sunday after Labor day, put into its place by President Carter in 1978, to genuinely celebrate how important the contribution and impact our grandparents make to families, communities.

Today, let’s give honor where honor is long overdue, to take a few moments to stop and reflect on the value of grandparents—past or present and future.

Let’s dive into a few Scriptures that offer beautiful words of affirmation about the aged—timely words that show just how important grandparents truly are.

Does the Bible say anything about Honoring Our Grandparents?

When most of the books of the Bible were written, parents and grandparents held positions of high honor in the life of the family and of the community.

Children were expected to revere their elders and learn from them.

When God introduced the Law to the Israelite nation, He even included a commandment to “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).

God also made it part of His Law that the younger person should stand in the presence of the elderly as a sign of respect (Leviticus 19:32).

Implied within this command is a multi-generational attitude of respect and honor toward a family and communities senior relatives.

As children observed their parents honoring the grandparents, they, in turn, at some point in life, would shoulder that responsibility when their time came.

Proverbs 17:6 says that “children’s children are the crown of old people.”

Every grandparent understands that comparison.

There is a special kind of bond between a grandparent and a grandchild that benefits both.

Someone has humorously stated that “grandchildren are God’s reward for not killing your own children when they were teenagers.”

Humor aside, there is some truth to that.

Grandchildren, like children, are a reward—a blessing from the Lord and one way that He is good to us (Psalm 127:3).

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” – Proverbs 17:6

What a picture of God’s design for the good of families.

Think about it.

There’s three generations here.

You have got grandparents, parents, and children.

All of us fit into this spectrum in some sense.

We all are children with parents.

We all are grandchildren.

Some of us are parents or step parents of children who pray about being blessed with Grand Children, perhaps even Great Grand Children.

Some are grandparents with grandchildren.

This Proverb Calls Us to Honor Generations of Our Families

And the picture here is ABBA Father God has designed our lives to honor and respect our own parents and our grandparents.

God has designed our lives as parents and grandparents to be glorified in the way we love and raise our children, in the very way we love our grandchildren.

So, as we see these three generations, I just want to encourage you to think about life and think about how you can honor your parents, even just to thank God for them, to pray for them, and grand and great grand parents, as well.

How can you honor them?

How can you pray for them?

I think in my own life, none of my grandparents are living.

My mom and my dad have long gone to be the Lord.

So when it comes to these groups in my life, I think about my mom.

I thank God so much for my mom and my dad and their parents, and by God’s grace, for the legacy, blossoming revelation of faith, they’ve passed on to me.

I could go on and on and on far, far beyond the scope of this devotional just talking about God’s grace toward me.

God, I want to honor all generations of my parents, I’m so thankful for them.

Proverbs 17:6 Encourages Us to Glorify God in Our Families

And then I look the other way and think about my stepson.

I think about how precious he is, what a gift he is, and how much I pray for him.

I want to glorify God by loving him and caring for him well, and then I pray for his growing son.

So I pray for my grandson all the time.

I have no children of my own, but my sister does so I pray for her grandkids.

I pray that they would know God, they would love God, they would know God’s love for them and model God’s love for others.

So, just think about your life and where you are right now in the spectrum, whether you are single, married, a parent, or a grandparent, So I just pray.

1 Timothy 5:1-5 Common English Bible

Caring for God’s family

5 Don’t correct an older man, but encourage him like he’s your father; treat younger men like your brothers, 2 treat older women like your mother, and treat younger women like your sisters with appropriate respect.

3 Take care of widows who are truly needy. 4 But if a particular widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to respect their own family and repay their parents, because this pleases God. 5 A widow who is truly needy and all alone puts her hope in God and keeps on going with requests and prayers, night and day.

In the New Testament, the duty of an adult grandchild is made explicit:

“If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to serve God by taking care of her, as she once took care of them. This is what God wants them to do” (1 Timothy 5:4, CEB).

So the honor shown to a grandparent in need is more than mere respect; it is taking practical steps to support the grandparent and doing whatever it takes to meet his or her needs.

Doing so is a natural part of honoring and serving and giving glory to the Lord.

Grand Parent Responsibility Towards Grand Children

Proverbs 13:22 Christian Standard Bible

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his[a] grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

Just as grandchildren have sacred obligations to love, honor, and assist their grandparents, so do grandparents have responsibilities toward their children’s children. 

Proverbs 13:22 says that “a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”

Righteous people live wisely and pass on their wisdom, their knowledge, and their material blessings to their grandchildren.

In our day, it has become common for grandparents to have full custody of their grandchildren from the parents’ inability [drugs, alcohol, mental illness, legal issues] or their unwillingness to rear their own children.

While this is sad, it also demonstrates the unique love grandparents have that creates a willingness to begin the task of bringing up a child just when child-rearing was supposed to be finished.

Few retirees would volunteer for the emotional, financial, and physical burden of rearing children again, but, because they are grandparents, they’ll set aside their own desires for the needs of a grandchild.

Honoring and Respecting All Grand Parents?

The Bible gives examples of grandparents, and some of those grandparents were wicked: 

2 Kings 11 recounts the sad story of Athaliah, mother of King Ahaziah of Judah.

When Ahaziah died, the Queen Mother ordered the execution of all her royal family so that she could take the throne.

Unknown to her, one of Ahaziah’s sisters, Jehosheba, hid a baby grandson, Joash, in a bedroom so that he escaped his grandmother’s bloody rampage.

He and his nurse remained hidden in the temple for six years while his grandmother ruled Judah.

When Joash was seven years old, the high priest brought him out, anointed him, put the crown on his head, and proclaimed little Joash king of Judah.

When Athaliah saw this, she flew into a rage, but the godly high priest ordered her to be executed.

Thus, it was the murder of his entire family by his own grandmother that had ushered in the forty-year reign of King Joash of Judah.

Did Joash, at some point in his 4o year kingly reign privately or publicly forgive the scriptures do not say.

If there is some reason, legitimate or otherwise, and you are at severe odds with your grandparents, the matter of extending or not extending mercy, granting or not granting forgiveness is between Father God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and you.

Scripture repeatedly says mercy and forgiveness are always the right choices.

Matthew 5:7Christian Standard Bible

7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 9:13 Christian Standard Bible

13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.[a] For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[b]

Kinsman Redeemer

Leviticus 25:25-27 Christian Standard Bible

25 If your brother becomes destitute and sells part of his property, his nearest relative may come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no family redeemer, but he prospers[a] and obtains enough to redeem his land, 27  he may calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man he sold it to, and return to his property.

Ruth 4:14-17 Christian Standard Bible

14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

An unusual grandparenting relationship is found in the book of Ruth.

The story of Ruth is a beautiful tale of love and loyalty between a young widow and her bereaved mother-in-law, Naomi.

Although her husband is dead, Ruth chooses to stay with her mother-in-law to care for her.

She even leaves her own people, the Moabites, to follow Naomi back to Israel where she meets and marries Boaz.

When their first child is born, the townspeople congratulate Naomi, saying, “Naomi has a son!” (Ruth 4:14–17).

The child was no blood relation to Naomi, but, because of the great love and connection between her and Ruth, she adopted the baby as her own grandchild.

This reminds us that grandparenting can come in many forms.

In this day of broken and dysfunctional families, divorce, and step-parenting, godly men and women who will prayerfully step forward, adopt their children’s step-children as their own grandchildren are blessed, as Naomi was blessed.

Her adopted grandchild, Obed, became the grandfather of King David.

When God designed this world, He instituted the ministry of the family as His means of propagating the earth and teaching us about love and relationship.

He intended for the elder to teach the younger and for the younger to revere the elder.

Grandparents, Great Grandparents play a uniquely special role in this design.

Free from the responsibility to train and discipline a child, grandparents can offer open arms, acceptance, and a safe place for a child to run when things are not going well with Mom and Dad.

Grandparents can provide wisdom beyond that of the parents, since they have already walked this road many years before.

A wise grandparent, though, will never intrude upon a parental decision in front of the child.

A grandparent’s role is not to supersede the parent but to support, encourage, and counsel as needed.

When parents, grandparents, and children are living out their roles as God first designed, the entire family, entire generations of families, communities thrive.

If I could give gold crowns to each one of my wonderful grandparents, I would.

They have invested so much into my life, and made such an impact,

I believe they ought to be treated like royalty.

However, I pray, that the way in which I’ve lived my life, would be such an abundant blessing to them, it feels like a crown of honor.

Not only are grandchildren a crown to the aged, the aged are the pride of their family – What a truly excellent reminder of the importance of grandparents!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

ABBA Father, Every good and perfect gift comes from You. I thank you, Lord, for the joy and happiness, the moments of learning, and the guidance and care you have brought to us through our wonderful grandparents. I truly appreciate the kind of life, love, and nurturing they have given our parents, for through these, I was taught to depend on You by faith, and I was raised with the morals and values to respect others and be concerned for their welfare. Thank you, Lord, for our godly grandparents.

Gracious God, I pray also that each and every grandparent would be able to see their grandchildren as crowns of joy. I also ask that every child would be able to see their grandparents as people of steadfast faith they can look up to. Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful legacies they leave behind. I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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