“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”  Ephesians 6:4

Fathers have a way of communicating to their children that sometimes leaves them baffled!  In our house, Dad had some favorite answers that had been passed down from the previous generation.  When the children asked him for money, he would reply, “I’d rather owe it to you than cheat you out of it.”  The kids never quite knew how to take this answer!!  It makes me smile when I hear my sons saying the same thing to their kids!  Another was, “The wrong course vigorously pursued is better than no course at all!”  This was always met with groans!

Here are some “Dad” quotes you might hear at your house:

-A closed mouth gathers no feet!

-You need to do what you have to do before you can do what you want to do!

-This is a democratic family; everyone gets one vote and I get five!

-Marry your best friend.

-If everybody else is doing it, it’s probably wrong.

-You have to eat an elephant one bite at a time.

-Don’t be foolish just because you know how to.

-If the store doesn’t have it, you don’t need it!

-If you keep on doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting!

-If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

But, Dad also had pearls of wisdom to pass on to his kids.  As the spiritual leader in the home, it was his responsibility for the training of the children.  Here are some thoughts to ponder:

-If you are going to err, err on the side of grace.

-The evidence of repentance is a changed life.

-If you have not received a fresh word from God, return to the last thing God told you and examine your obedience.

-If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

-Unbelief is the natural weed of the human heart.

-The will of God will never take you where the grace of God cannot keep you.

-We are willing to forget 10,000 mercies in the face of one difficulty!

-No set of circumstances can block God’s purpose for your life.

-Confident faith waits on God and produces humility.

-In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things charity.

Father!  What a great name!  God the Father has seen to it that He has a person as His namesake in the family! Fathers are the representative of God to their wives and children.  WOW!  In Psalm 1, a Dad whose delight is in the Word of God is like a tree planted by streams of water.  He lives a fruitful live!  More life lessons are “caught” than “taught.”  Children watch and learn from example.  Studies have shown that the faithful attendance of the father in church has double the impact than the mom on the likelihood of children walking with the Lord.  Training and instruction is especially found in Deuteronomy 6:6-9.  “Impress (the Word) on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home (devotions) and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands (what you do) and bind them on your foreheads (your values).  Write them on the doorframes of you houses and on your gates,” (atmosphere of the home). 

 May God bless all the Fathers who lovingly lead their families in righteousness!

Your friend, Jean