Rhoadzie's Daily Blog: Do you worship your Family?

Rhoadzie's Daily Blog: Do you worship your Family?: 1 Samuel 2:29   Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) 29  Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I requ...

Do you worship your Family?

1 Samuel 2:29 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

29 Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship? You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.’

I definitely love my Family. They mean more to me than nearly anything on this Earth. BUT, I certainly place my relationship with the LORD above my family. My priority is serving the LORD first and above all else. Satan tries to confuse me about this. I was just reading the story of Eli and his sons. He certainly loved his sons and he loved the Lord. His actions demonstrated his priority was NOT the Lord. He knew they were doing wrong, he approached them about it, but then threw up his hands and ignored it. On the other hand Hannah, the mother of Samuel, put the Lord first. So much so that she gave up her one and only son to serve the Lord. 

(Wait, that sounds a lot like what our Father in Heaven did for us!) 

When she gave up Samuel to live a life of service,  she was blessed abundantly and Samuel flourished in his role. Hannah got it! She had her priorities right.

Many people put their families above all else. They dedicate every waking moment serving their family. Many Christians justify this through their faith. Most will SAY the Lord is number ONE, but their actions show otherwise. Their busyness taking care of their families prevents them from prayer time, studying God's word, and worshipping. They build FRIEND RELATIONSHIPS with their kids instead of holding them to a high standard. They don't want to punish, just like Eli, because they dearly love their kids. Eli gave "lip service" in his dedication to the Lord. But, when it came down to the tough decision,  his family was first. 

I pray we all can get our priorities straight. I believe the Lord will honor our dedication to him by BLESSING OUR FAMILIES beyond our wildest expectations. Hannah ended up with a house full of kids. Her sacrifice to the Lord and placing HIM above all else made her life full of joy and laughter. Praise God for my family and above all the Love of My Savior Jesus!

Your Faith Family and Prayer

I have come to realize how important my Faith Family is in my life. Stephanie and I are so blessed to have a group of Christ followers that love us, pray for us, and encourage us on our path. Yes, I also have a great biological family that also does these things. It is just UNDERSTOOD that they are an important part of my life. I think people often take for granted or don't even use the power of their faith family to walk through this life. In 1 Samuel, Hannah really needed encouragement. Her husband Elkanah was oblivious to her troubles. She was barren and wanted a son so dearly. Her husband truly loved her, but did not understand the tears and deep anguish. (1 Samuel 1:10) Finally, when things got particularly bleak, Hannah cried out to the Lord. Her prayer was overheard by Eli. He saw her pain. He was touched by it and gave her great words of encouragement;

'Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the petition
you’ve requested from Him.” 1 Samuel 1:17

Eli had no idea how his kind words affected Hannah. She poured out her heart to the Lord and he sent Eli to affirm her. Hannah was so distraught before her prayer that she couldn't even eat. After her prayer and the gentle, kind words of Eli, she began to eat and was no longer sad. Praise God for Eli and his willingness to serve the Lord.

We often do not realize how important we are to our Faith Family. We need to put real effort in listening to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be open and transparent together. We need to spend time ENCOURAGING, NOT offering advice. Eli and Hannah weren't particularly close, but Eli heard her prayer. When he finally realized what the prayer was about, he didn't offer advice. He didn't come up with a plan to cure her pain. He supported her and extended her prayer to the Lord.

I am so thankful for my Faith Family. I am thankful for their genuine love and kindness through all of the good times and the bad. I hope and pray I can be there for my faith family.

ALL Lives Matter

All Lives Matter

'But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever
you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my
people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow
anything but death to separate us!” When Naomi saw that Ruth was
determined to go with her, she said nothing more.'
Ruth 1:16-18

I love this story. I love that the Lord chose a widow from a despised enemy of
Israel to be in the DIRECT lineage of Jesus. Naomi had absolutely no reason to
Love the God of Israel, but she did.

God chooses ALL of us to serve him. In Acts 10:35 - 'In EVERY nation he accepts
those who fear him and do what is right. ' The Lord does not discriminate against nations,
peoples, or any other reason. IF WE CHOOSE THE FOLLOW THE LORD, in all our
sin and weaknesses, he will love us JUST AS HE LOVES his chosen people.

Our country is so divided right now and yet the Lord sees us all the same. Yes, he mourns
our sins and our denial of him. He wants nothing more than we come to him. He wants us
to make him our Lord. He wants us to follow his specific plan for life. He wants us to
search his word to receive the blessings of life. He wants us to accept his love right now
and to die with him so that we can meet him in our eternal home. He does not care where
we started our journey. He does not care what we have done before TODAY. He forgets
all of the past when we come to him. ALL LIVES MATTER, not just the chosen ones.YOUR
LIFE MATTERS. PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!

How GREAT is your life?

'This is the length of Abraham’s life: 175 years.
He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age,
old and contented, and he was gathered to his people. ' Genesis 25:7-8 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/GEN.25.7-8



This week marked the 19th anniversary of my fathers passing to his Heavenly home. My Dad had
a great life. He loved his Lord, he loved his wife, he loved his kids, and he loved his grandkids.
He worked hard when he was in retail and he worked just as hard when he led his congregations as
a full time pastor. His life was well lived. He was not perfect, none of us are. In reality, if any of us live
the life my father did, we would consider ourselves successful and completely satisfied. I am not
sure the world would consider my Dad's life exceptional. He was not a "PROMINENT" figure
even though he was loved and respected by so many people. By Biblical standards his life would
be considered Righteous as he loved the Lord and the Lord was the center of everything he did.

My Dad was not the father of Nations. He did live a life of righteousness through Jesus. His Life was
SO, GREAT.

Abraham was a righteous man. His life in
Genesis (Genesis 12-25) was spectacular?


You can certainly look to the near sacrifice of Isaac as an amazing act . It certainly is a pure act of faith.
It was spectacular. Although his Faith made him righteous, I am not sure this
act of faith made him a great man. I really think the single act that made
him a great man was him being chosen AND accepting the call of the Lord.
He never hesitated and never looked back. Yes, he had some times where he FORGOT the Lord.
He went his own way, without consulting the Lord, a few times.
He felt the consequences of those choices throughout his life. His relationship with
Hagar is the best example. Not only was HIS life thrown into turmoil
because of his choice to join with Hagar, the nations he fathered were also constantly at odds
because of this decision.

Abraham was chosen by God to begin a legacy of faith. He accepted and worked hard to live
the life he was called to. THAT MADE HIM GREAT. My Dad also was called.
No, he wasn't called to FATHER a NATION.
He was called to serve and bring people to a life of faith. HE ACCEPTED THAT CALL.
That is what made his life GREAT.

Stephanie and I have also been called to live a somewhat NOMADIC life of Faith. No, we do not
equate ourselves to Abraham and his life. We do have a great desire to learn more about the life of faith
we have been called. We do PURSUE the Lord each day.
We pray our choices will help others to see the power of Jesus.
We believe we are all called to serve the Lord. Many ignore that call. We don't want to miss
a moment of service to the Lord and can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for us.

Maybe YOU are being called to serve the LORD. Make your life great
by ACCEPTING the call of the Lord. Serve ONLY him. Pray for guidance
and then YOU will have the same GREAT life that Abraham had, that my father had,
and the Stephanie and I are not living!

DO IT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!