STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS
A Daily Devotional by Bishop David Bakare
Minister to your Father
Thursday,
29 August
And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. Genesis 25:28
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Matthew 15:1-9 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
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LESSON:
Genesis 25:28 And
Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Isaac, the son and heir of Abraham had I
sons - Esau and Jacob. Without any doubt, he loved both of them as every parent
would love his children. But he had his preference. The Bible is very clear on
the reason why. He ate the venison that Esau gave him (Genesis 27:4). Esau
ministered regularly to his father, giving him something he loved to eat and
his father loved him. When you bless somebody regularly with affection and what
he or she loves, you promote the bond and it becomes possible for you to receive
the best that such person has to give.
If you never learnt anything from Esau
before, learn this: minister to your father regularly and consistently, giving
him the venison that he loves. You will promote the bond of affection between
both of you and the soul of your father will bless you (Genesis 27:4). Your
father here, in the first instance, represents your biological parent. Your
parents brought you into this world, and most likely, raised you to maturity.
You owe them honour, you owe them material blessings and you owe them
sustenance, especially in their old age. When you give them these, regularly
and consistently, God cannot but bless you with long life, and it shall be well
with you on the face of the earth (Ephesians 6:1-3).
Moreover, what you do to your parents is a
seed. Your own children will rise up and do the same to you in multiplied
forms. Jesus, while preaching on this, rebuked the Pharisees for their
hypocrisy. The Pharisees taught their people to offer to God what they ought to
have given to their parents. “Wrong”, Jesus screamed. They ought to have given
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's
(Matthew 15:1-9). Give to God His due and your parents theirs. Then God will
multiply His blessings upon your life.
Your ' father ' in the text of today can
also be your pastor, your prophet and your spiritual leader who minister the
word of God to you regularly. It is scriptural to bless them with material
things from time to time, as God provides for you (Galatians 6:6; 1Corinthians
9:7-12; Matthew 10:41). When you do it with joy, you become a partaker of the
grace that is upon their lives, and God blesses you greatly (Philippians
4:13-19).Ephesians 6:2-3 exhorts: Honour thy father and mother ; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and
thou mayest live long on the earth.
Prayer/Action
* Give thanks to God for the life of your biological and
spiritual parents.
* Ask the Lord to make you a comfort and a blessing to your parents.
* Ask the Lord to provide for you so that you can bless your parents regularly.
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