But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. John 1:12

Fathers can have an incredible impact on the lives of their children. Sometimes the impact is positive and sometimes, not so much.

My dad, for instance, struggled with an addiction to alcohol. And, of his four biological children, at least four of us also struggled with alcohol. my dad had anger issues, and at least two of his four biological children also struggled with anger issues.

I’m sure that if we each look back at our lives we would see areas in which our parents struggled and we would find that we also struggled in some of those areas. But that doesn’t always have to be the case (even if it is the case, it doesn’t have to stay that way).

Our devotion on King Josiah, yesterday, was a great example of how a child can break away from their upbringing and become who God has led them to be. If you remember his father and grandfather were terrible people who worshiped many false gods desecrated God’s temple and lead God’s people far from Him (2 Chronicles 33), but when Josiah became King, he restored God’s temple and His relationship with his people (2 Chronicles 34). He and his biological father couldn’t have been more polar opposite.

King Hezekiah has a similar story. His father was King Ahaz, who worshiped false gods, created idols and even sacrificed his own children to those false gods (2 Chronicles 28). Yet, King Hezekiah, the scriptures tell us “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 29:2).

When my husband and I look at our 5 children (knowing who we were and the mistakes that we made along the way) we cannot praise God enough for the incredible work that He did in their lives and the stupendous husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters (of both God and us), they have all turned out to be. And it truly is, in spite of who we were, a total work of God that they are such incredible people.

When we submit to God and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we become children of God (See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 NIV). And, just like our Kingly examples in the scripture, all that we have learned, suffered, been exposed to (through our biological parents), has no bearing on who we are, from that point forward. We are a new creation (Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17).

So, although the world would tell us that we will probably follow in our father’s footsteps and that we should focus on where we came from and the things that it says should hold us back (like our upbringing). Understand that our upbringing happens the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That is when He brings us up from the muck and mire (sin and excuses) that we have wallowed in and that have held us captive and He washes us clean by His shed blood. He creates in us an instrument that He can then use to rescue others from that bondage and an eternity of eternal damnation.

I pray that we would have a new understanding of the awesome creation we are, in Christ. I pray that we would understand more fully that there is nothing that we cannot accomplish, for God’s purposes (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13). I pray that we would remember that we are already equipped, and were created specifically for, the works that He planned for us to do (For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10).

The way in which we were raised, the sins that we committed, the atrocities that we may have suffered, are all washed away when we accept God’s free gift of salvation, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. LIVE LIKE YOU ARE FREE AND VICTORIOUS, because YOU ARE! Thank you Jesus!

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and if you have not been living a life of victory, because of your own sin, the way that you were raised or the things that you may have suffered, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God wants you to have live a victorious life (But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57). He desires to be your Heavenly Father and to pour a love and peace out on you, the likes of which you have never known before. Please pray that prayer, and, when you do, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I’d love to be in prayer for you.

Luv Ya!