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FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART August 19,2024


I do not know if it is because of my upcoming birthday, but I have been thinking a lot about my parents lately. Today, August 19th, is the 18th anniversary of my dad’s passing. Every year, as my birthday gets close, I am reminded of the painful memory of losing my father. I inherited my hard, bald head and my work ethic from him. As I was eating the blackberry cobbler from Sling Shot Charlie’s last week, I started tearing up thinking of my mother. It made me think of her delicious dewberry cobbler. I inherited my soft, loving heart and concern for others from her. God combined the two of them to make the man you see today!

Our parents have a lasting influence on our lives, in more ways than we realize. As we get older, we might begin to question the wisdom of the things they taught us. We may find ourselves choosing to follow a different path in life from the example that was set before us. We might even rebel to a totally opposite manner of living from what we experienced growing up. Worldly views and the voices of other people can sway us into believing that our parents were wrong. Abandoning the teachings of our youth, we may choose a completely different lifestyle.

However, the foundation that your parents established in your heart is never truly gone. The Bible is clear on this truth. We read in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Of course, this is a general proverb that speaks of the basic principles of life. There are always those who will break away from the teaching and never go back. Even though the parental teachings remain in their hearts, they choose to reject them or rewrite them for their own pleasure. Yet, the benefits of instilling the truths of God’s Word in the hearts of our children are still clearly taught here.

As I enter a new decade of life in a few days, I am grateful for the lessons that my parents taught me. I was blessed to have a hardworking father, who provided a home for me and my siblings. My mother labored in so many ways: sewing, ironing, cooking and cleaning. Most importantly, my mother had us in church every time the doors were open. She lived out her faith in the Lord at home, just as she did at church. She never questioned God’s will or God’s Word, even to her last breath on this earth. I have no fear or concern about getting older. I want it to be said of me at my passing, “He was a Proverbs 22:6 kid.” I pray that my children and grandchildren will carry on the legacy of faith in Jesus Christ that they saw in me!

Serving in love,

Bro. Jim

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