Satan can do nothing about our salvation once we have received Christ, so he hopes to handicap us so we won't be a threat.
Based on God's priority in our lives, what might be Satan's priority in terms of the lives of people who are already Christians?
"Pretty high because Christians are the most likely reason he'll lose his hold on unsaved souls so he wants to keep us ineffective."
Read Daniel 7:9-10 and list the descriptions the prophet gave in his vision of God and His surroundings.
"clothing white as snow
"hair white as wool
"flaming throne with wheels ablaze
"river of fire flowing from before Him
"thousands attending Him
"one hundred million before Him"
I've always thought "Ancient of Days was a peculiar name for God. Reflect on the name for a moment. What do you think it reflects?
"He has been around since before time began."
make God a part of your day
He made me a part of His
Perhaps no one in your family was overtly sinful, but they were simply uninvolved in Christ's kingdom agenda.
Maybe you would like to be a link that takes your family line from an unfulfilling life of religion to a passionate life of relationship with Christ.
What is your dream or desire for your grandchildren and great-grandchildren?
"First, simply existence. If Daniel will blossom a bit and open his mind and heart to dating, maybe eventually he will marry, and have a family. I simply desire that they follow the Lord, and do as He would have them do willingly and even eagerly."
My (the author's) parents were never taught how to walk with God daily through prayer and His word.
In what ways are you allowing the next generation to see authenticity in your life?
"Making God a priority: on Sunday mornings, Monday nights, Wednesday nights, and meal times (with prayer); following his commands, especially when it isn't easy."
We are about to see why the work is so very worth it! Look back at Exodus 20:5-6. Many readers are so disturbed by verse 5 that verse 6 never sinks beyond the skull! Write Exodus 20:6 in the space below.
"'…but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.'"
How many generations suffer from the sins of the fathers? "four"
How many generations benefit from one who loves God and is obedient to His commands? "a thousand"
How many of your descendants could be blessed, because you agreed to be a link to a new cycle of faithfulness to God? "countless"
Take another good look at verse 6. Compare John 3:16. Whom does God love? "the world"
To whom does God show love? Choose any that apply.
"those who love Him
"those who obey Him"
How is the teaching in John 14:21 consistent with Exodus 20:6?
"Jesus feels our love for Him when we keep His commands. His love language is obedience."
What kind of "link" was Hezekiah?
"("Apres moi, le deluge")
"He was selfish; rather than plead for further mercy for his own children and grandchildren, he accepted their fate, and was just grateful it wouldn't affect him."
Dearest Rachel -
It is interesting to note that, for all the caterwauling about the supposed unfairness of God punishing people generations removed from the 'original' sin, we overlook the fact that in the next breath, He reminds His people that He shows His love and favor to a thousand generations of those who love and follow Him. That's a long time, considering that, even at a conservative estimate, this comes to something along the lines of twenty thousand years. We're barely a fifth of the way from the point when He said this to them, and while it seems hard to believe that He'll let the world last the remaining fifteen thousand years, it may well be that the remnant will keep this world in His hands for now.
Of course, that's a case that all but requires water to go uphill; the punishment visited on succeeding generations, as you've had and pointed out yourself, is as much due to their abandonment of God just as their parents have, resulting in equal (if not greater) culpability and deserving of punishment. To put it in mathematical terms, their sin isn't so much original sin as it is a multitude of derivative ones. Even in this weekend's sermon, it's been pointed out that if we do not make God our primary focus in life, our children will also relegate Him to a secondary or tertiary place in theirs, and our grandchildren even further, to a quaternary or quinary aspect, at which point He becomes all but invisible in their lives. Our ineffectiveness as Christians literally breeds further dilution of His presence, until such time as He gets fed up with such treatment, and makes His presence known with a vengeance.
Of course, it doesn't look as if that's anything we have to worry about on a personal level, as Daniel seems to be following God more closely than even myself, albeit in ways that seem strange to me. I don't think for one minute that I am raising a Manasseh in my home – although I could only dream of being Hezekiah who, for all his faults later in life, was still described as being "like no king before... or since." Why, I would consider myself fortunate to just be able to say with confidence, like he did, that "'there will be peace and safety on my lifetime.'" That's an assurance modern man is never given.
At the same time, I regret to inform you that your hopes for future generations are as remote as they ever have been; perhaps even more so. I suspect that, like with my struggles at work, he's been watching me and what I've gone through in order to try to find and appeal to 'Megumi.' and considers it all not worth the effort, especially as he doesn't feel any compulsion to engage in the pursuit. I guess that, when you don't know what you're missing, you don't perceive a lack; at which point, his perspective makes sense. But I doubt there will be another generation for God to bless from our line.
Then again, honey, there was a time when I assumed I would never find anyone myself, let alone someone like you. Sure, you made it seem so easy that in my current search, I vastly underestimated the difficulty of finding someone new – which, by the way, makes me wonder all the more why some guys think they can waltz out of their properly-ordered lives at my age and think they can start over, but whatever. Maybe it's that I still want someone whose heart is set on the Lord, even as several other of her organs might long for someone like myself; it's hard to find someone like that at my age who's not already found that someone. Daniel would have considerably better success, if he would only look (and try to appeal to her), but that's where things stand.
Anyway, keep an eye on the both of us, honey, and wish us luck. We're going to need it.
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