Lessons from the Fathers’ Hearts: Joshua

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A devotional look at eleven Biblical dads and what we can learn from them.

JOSHUA

He is the great warrior.  A protégé of Moses.  He was one of the 12 spies that Moses sent out to scout out the Promised Land.  He and Caleb were the only two who told the truth about the giants.  Only he and Caleb believed that God was bigger than the giants and would indeed give them the Land.  And so, Joshua and Caleb were the only two, of all the Hebrew people who left Egypt at the Exodus, they were the only two who were permitted to enter the Promised Land.  All the other men and women and children who left Egypt with Moses died in the wilderness.

And Joshua is appointed by Moses to lead the people into the Land for he was a capable military commander. He also became a strong spiritual leader.

Joshua’s story is told throughout the 24 chapters of the Old Testament book that bears his name.  There are numerous stories of his faithful belief in God.

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Lessons from the Fathers’ Hearts: Noah

Posted on by richlyspeaking
If there was a bumper sticker on the Noah’s ark it would have said “I Love My Family”

A devotional look at eleven Biblical dads and what we can learn from them.

NOAH

The next Old Testament dad we’re going to look at is Noah.  Everybody knows his story.

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  This is the account of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. (Genesis6:5-9)

Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  He was righteous, blameless and he walked faithfully with God.  He was all these things when the rest of the world was not.  It would have been easy to join with the rest of the worldly crowd, but he loved God… and God rewarded him for his faithfulness.  God chose to pluck Noah out of a crowd of “all evil all the time” and God started over with one who was without fault.

And Noah was patient.  A detail oriented man who followed instructions well.  Do you remember how long it took him to build the ark?  100 years.  And why did he do it?  Yes, he wanted to save his life.  Yes, he wanted to obey God.

Noah was a family man… a good dad.

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Lessons from the Fathers’ Hearts: Enoch

Posted on by richlyspeaking

Is it really possible to walk with God 24/7/365?
A devotional look at eleven Biblical dads and what we can learn from them.

ENOCH

Who is Enoch?  Well, we find his story in Genesis 5. It’s just a few verses…

When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had Methuselah. Enoch walked steadily with God. After he had Methuselah, he lived another 300 years, having more sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him. (Genesis 5:21-23, The Message)

Enoch is the father of Methuselah and other sons and daughters.  Who is Methuselah? Methuselah is the trivia answer to “What Bible character lived the longest?” Methuselah.  Who lived 969 years.

But, what do we learn here about Enoch, the man?  A good dad. He walked steadily with God.  Other translations say he walked “continually” with God.  That’s non-stop.  He was with God 24/7/365.  He didn’t compartmentalize God into a little here and a little there each day.  I’ll be frank with you.  I used to be the best waffle Believer out there.  I’d let God have one or two or more compartments of my life, but not all of them.   I would carefully build walls to separate certain areas of my life from others.

But not Enoch. He didn’t say “God you can have my Sunday morning, but not my Saturday night.” Or “God, you can have this relationship, but not that one.” No, Enoch was there, with God, every minute of every day.  When have you spent every minute of every day with someone?  What was the result?  You got to know them, didn’t you? You really got to know them.

And as a result, “God took him.”  “One day he was simple gone.”  And obviously this story became well known throughout the Ancient World. Fast forward about 1500 years and we find the author of Hebrews notes Enoch in the “Faith Hall of Fame.”

Continue reading Lessons from the Fathers’ Hearts: Enoch