For Our Children’s Sake
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
"And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:6, NKJV)
I’ve heard it said that it only takes a minute to become a dad, but a lifetime to be a father. How true.
In this day and age when masculinity and fatherhood are much maligned, ridiculed often, and made to seem as a choice to be avoided, it takes much encouragement for a man to be a father to those whom the Lord has given him. The lion’s heart of the Lord, to be an overcomer and walk in that which he has been created to be, must reside in the heart of today’s fathers. Otherwise, the next generations will continue to slide into the depths of hell that the enemy would so delight to see happen.
Having raised four children, along with my good wife who continues to give so much of herself, even now I find myself even more so interceding for those who follow after us, to have the courage, strength, wisdom and resolve to give of themselves for their children’s sake. When it comes to having a father in your life, really the one person meant to be that one is the child’s father himself. I thank God for men who do adopt the fatherless, the orphaned, and for others who mentor those without a male figure in their lives, but I thank God even more so for the men who are being what a father is meant to be for his children. Being the responsible God-ordained male figure in their life is so needed in our ravished families.
Personally, over those years I have felt so inadequate so often when raising my own kids. With the pressures of marriage, the daily job rigors, and the temptations that come at us to pursue one’s own ambitions and pleasures - when it came to giving of oneself, only by the grace of the Lord has His example kept me committed as much as it did. Without the heavenly Father’s upholding hands touching my own life, I shudder to think where my kids themselves would have ended up. It has been because of the love of the Father working in and through me, for any good accomplished results, having laid that foundation in their lives, to follow after Him.
Steve & Laurie Martin family June 16, 2018
When I see them struggle, trying their best to achieve good, my father’s heart wants to make it all simple and easy for them. And yet I know that they themselves will only know the Lord’s intervention if they press on through these times too. In time, they will have grown the spiritual fruit necessary to raise their own kids.
As I consider what my role continues to be today in their lives, for my role in fatherhood never stops, I believe one major purpose is to daily pray for them. To intercede on their behalf, asking for the Lord’s protection, provision, and divine purpose, remains a true commitment I maintain for each of them.
My power is limited. His power, through the working of the Holy Spirit, is limitless. Praying in tongues, a mighty prayer weapon, activates His strength and coverage that I simply cannot do.
I remain encouraged that the Lord’s word will continue to instruct and assist in our efforts to be strong fathers in our day. I remain committed to being the example I am meant to be to those who call me Dad. I remain steadfast in my daily promise to pray for them and other fathers who also seek to stand for truth, love and faith in troubled times.
Through the love of God the Father, those who are earthly fathers can be the godly fathers we are called to be, for our children’s and grandchildren’s sake.
Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.
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Now Think On This #344- in the year of our Lord 06.14.18 – “For Our Children’s Sake”, Thursday, 10:15 am
