Live a Legacy!

Hey dads! I was preparing for my "Wild at Heart" Life Group yesterday and while doing that there was a lot of questions about what your father was like. This was an interesting topic for me so I got pretty absorbed in the moment. I had a great father and mostly my memories of him are nothing but good so the experience really stirred up some great memories. I wrote a letter to myself on the day my father passed out of this world to the next, so that I could capture my feelings about him before they started to fade. I thought I would like to share some of the things I wrote that day with you and make a couple of points, so here goes.

Today my father died.... I feel very blessed to have been the son of such a great man of God. He taught me to live a life of passion, to live from my heart. He taught me to love God with all my heart, soul, and strength. He taught me to love a woman forever. He taught me to laugh and to cry. I grew up in a home where my father loved us and cared for us, his children, more than he did his own life. It is my prayer and my life's mission to become as great a man as my dad......... as I look back on on his life I am so encouraged to see how one humble man can change so many lives, one life at a time. He touched so many lives so deeply, especially mine.
(Written December 31st in Monterrey International Airport)

Here is a few of the take aways for me.

1. Your kids will not always remember what you said, but they will remember how you lived.
2. When you are generous with your life, your children will be left with a legacy, and not just a memory.
3. Being others centered rather than self centered will have eternal consequences.
4. Loving your wife passionately in front of your family will give your children the courage to do the same.
5. Living for a cause will give you the octane to overcome every obstacle.

My dad was no saint, but I have never known anyone who loved Jesus more than he did. Now that I am a pastor and father I understand the incredible challenge of balancing life in such a way that would inspire your child to feel the way I feel about my dad.

My challenge to you, men, is that you live for God with passion, that you love your wife forever, that you love your children more than you love your own self. Last but not least, I challenge you to live a sacrificial life that would make Jesus attractive to the world around you. I know that this is a tall order, but I believe in you, and more than that God believes in you!

Fathers

I have been thinking a lot about the love of God the Father toward me this week. What an amazing Father we have, and how amazing He is! Any way as I was putting my boys to bed last night it really hit me. As I was praying for them before they went down to sleep in their blanket fortress (our basement looks like a dessert tribe has set up their tent village down there) it hit me how much I love them, and how much was in my heart for their future. At the same time the responsibility that God had given me to take care of them weighed heavily on me. it was one of those intense moments where you just know that God is speaking to you.

As I was processing that moment after the boys went to their tent village, here is what I believe that God showed me

1. Always remember that they belong to God, and that it is my responsibility to lead them to Christ through my relationship with them as their father.
2. Pray every day that they will have a relationship with God that is meaningful and relevant. Never take for granted that they will automatically serve God just because they are my boys.
3. Live a life with God that is passionate and meaningful in front of them so that they can see a working example of relationship with God.
4. Be understanding and caring toward them.

I am so looking forward to this weekend and I am so excited to see what God will do. Last week two people decided to follow Christ in the morning service, and I just know that this is just the beginning of what God wants to do at Jubilee!

I would really appreciate if you would all start to pray for the service on Sunday, also start thinking about who you can invite and also really come on time and with an expectant heart.