FIGHT FOR
CONTINUITY
Sixth
of six devotions in Covenantal Alignment
series
Exodus
20:5-6: “You shall not bow down to them
or worship them [Idols]; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing
the children of the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those
who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me
and keep My commandments.”
Continuity [kon-tin-U-i-tee] means
to go on and on. Because of the opening Scripture, everything we learned
about lining up within God’s covenant of obedience needs to be fought and won
for our kids and grandkids…on and on.
Because we’d rather pass on
blessings than curses or punishment.
Covenants with men are a very big
deal to God. He rules as sovereign Lord. He administers a pyramid of authority over
people. (Family, school, work, local and
national government). His rule is ethically
moral. God binds His promises with Cause-Effect
oaths. AND He remembers our obedience or
disobedience!
In His justice, God treats our kids what
our actions earned—as the continued “Effect” from our choices.
Fighting to remain aligned with
God’s covenant passes on His blessings to our kids. That’s their inheritance [in-HAIR-i-tence]. God’s “Free
Will” gift is that big of a deal. EVERY
choice people make has either blessings or punishments attached!
Check out the lesson linked
below to see worldwide judgment from that fruit that Adam and Eve ate. The devil tempted Eve with how she can “be
like God” in Genesis 3:5. A quick
choice, Eve decided that sounded great. So she took one bite. She didn’t die immediately. She handed the forbidden fruit to Adam.
Adam figured, What
the heck? Eve is still alive. Adam chose to disobey God’s command not to eat
fruit from that tree (Cause). God must have been mistaken. Eve didn’t die! His one bite brought judgment to whole world
(Effect).
Adam deliberately chose (Free-Will Cause) to eat the
fruit. The first Effect was seeing
themselves naked. The next Effect was
hearing God call. Hide, Eve!
Adam was scared.
Take Home Nugget
As
if banishment from the garden wasn’t enough punishment, the continued effects
from their disobedient choice tumbled down hard. We feel sorry for Abel after his brother Cain
killed him (Genesis 4). But Cain’s sin
was continuing effect from his parent’s sin.
How many people today suffer a curse of God’s punishment for sins
committed in previous generations?
Believers
must fight to maintain alignment with God’s covenant. The narrow road of following Jesus isn’t easy
to navigate (Matthew 7:13). For the sake
of our offspring, we must fight for blessings continuim.
Holy Lord, please empower me
to make obedient choices to stay aligned with Your covenant today so that
future generations will reap Your blessings.
Adapted from “Inheritance: Generational Impact.” Dr. Tony Evans. December 24, 2015. http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/alternative-view/
J.D. Griffith
Most Recent eBook by J.D.
Griffith:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment