Friday, June 13, 2008

Happy Father's Day!


This Sunday is Father's Day. When Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness he came to the Promised Land. Because of his own personal sins and failures the Lord did not permit Moses to enter into the Land of Promise. But He did allow Moses to help lay the ground work of their entry into the land. One of the things that Moses did was to remind the children of Israel of God's promises and of God's laws. In the Ten Commandments we read that we are to honor our fathers and our mothers. This is found in Deuteronomy 5:16. As we gather in church on this Sunday it is my prayer that we will all take time to thank God for His many blessings and gifts to us and that we will also take the time to thank our fathers for all that they have done for us as well.


Recently I read a wonderful book by Mark DeMoss on leadership principles. The book is called, The Little Red Book of Wisdom. This is a book that every Christian father, and leader should read. I was deeply touched by how tenderly Mark DeMoss spoke of his earthly father. Mr Arthur S. DeMoss died a number of years ago. After his death he left for the work of the Lord a large fortune that he had put into a foundation to ensure that the work of the Lord continued long after he had gone to heaven. Arthur DeMoss was a great man of God. His impact on his son Mark was very evident in this book written by his son Mark. In this book Mark DeMoss tells of three things his dad taught him that he never forgot and that changed his life forever. Here's what he learned from his dad:


1. Give to God the first hour of the day. Arthur S. DeMoss would spend the first hour of every day in his morning watch. He sought after God like a man seeking after some great treasure. His hunger for God made him come to the Lord every day to seek fresh manna from God.


2. Give to God the first day of the week. Arthur S. DeMoss set aside each Sunday to be a day of rest and worship. He made sure his family was in the house of the Lord each week. This was a lesson that Mark DeMoss never forgot. We do our families a great disservice if we neglect to take them to the Lord's house for worship each week.


3. Give to God the first dime of every dollar. Arthur S. DeMoss tithed on all that he made. To fail to tithe is to rob God and to lose many blessings that would have been yours if you had been obedient to God's command.


Arthur S. DeMoss was a man who loved God. May we each be those who love God as well and leave for our families a legacy of love, trust, example, and faithful Christian living so that those who come behind us will see our lives and be led to Christ.


I trust that you will all have a wonderful Father's Day this Sunday!

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