Ugh… it has been two days too many since I have sat here in Your presence. Sleep has been too alluring and once the day begins to roll it just doesn’t stop. But Father You are faithful! Thank You for once again waking me and encouraging me to be with You this morning.

 1 Timothy 5:1-2 <<click here)

Our families play crucial roles in all our lives. And if they are to have the greatest beneficial impact then they must be families that are bent on living out Your call on their lives, Lord.

In this passage Paul calls upon Timothy to interact with people in his church as he would with his own family. Now when I think about this in my own life it is not difficult to do so. I grew up in a loving, supportive family. I still love and respect my mom and my dad and my sister. I would do anything within my power to help them and they would do the same for me. I feel the same way, as time has moved on, about my wife, my son and my niece. I have a loving and supportive family so it’s easy to parlay that wonderful blessing over to those in my churches.

But, Lord, I am well aware of the fact that not everyone shares this blessing. Sin has brought much hurt and pain into families across the globe. Many will forever carry scars of abuse for the rest of their lives, be it emotional or physical. And of course it is a multi-faceted problem involving relationships with parent to child and child to parent, husbands to wives and siblings to siblings.

Lord, a simple prayer seems too little too late to address this issue which is so deep and so wide, but I lift it up anyway. For You care about every child and man and woman who would do anything to be truly loved. I pray for them, Lord, but enable me… give me the wisdom and the power and the courage to be Your hands and feet… to love others as You have loved me… as You have inspired my family to love me and how I have loved my family. Help me, help us all, Lord to love You with “all of our heart, soul, mind and strength” and in so doing to love our neighbor (…our family) as ourselves.

Sept 18th, Fri, 6:57 am