Father in Old Testament Hebrew is Abba, and in New Testament Greek Pater. These two denote the following concepts: source, sustainer, nourisher, supporter, founder and protector. Other words related to father are: progenitorimplying the initiator and supporter of generations. Ancestor, meaning ‘to go before’ or ‘precede’. At the start of an ancestral line is a father. Dad gives a generation identity, a standard. A genealogy is nothing but a long list of guys who were sons then eventually became fathers.
Dad is destiny!
What are the roles of a Dad?
Protector – He is a covering over his offspring. He is a warrior who keeps danger away; a guard at the gate. Adam was told to watch over the garden. He fights for his own against abuse, misuse, the lies of the media, bullies, drugs, bad habits, etc.
Provider – A father sustains what is named after him. Provision is more than material things. A dad provides vision, counsel, leadership, companionship and insight. It is wrong to have a lady nurse the baby and go work 12 hrs a day to provide for family. Ladies can supplement, but the provision for the family is a man’s job. That is why poverty and joblessness emasculates men. Noah tilled the land and fed his family. It is hard being dad…
Priest – A real man connects the family with higher power. He prays for them. Teaches them the word and shows them what God looks like. Man, take your kids to church. Teach them values. And model for them those values. Correct or discipline them. Buy them a bible and take them to church functions. Be the Priest. Noah made sacrifices for his family and connected them to God. See Hebrews 11:7. (By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Job (1:5) did the same. During the Passover (Ex. 12), dad gave the sacrifice for the family. Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Joshua said, I and my family, we will serve the Lord. Deuteronomy 4:9 – Teach the traditions of the faith to the kids Psalm 78: 3ff What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
Prophet – A prophet speaks words of guidance, encouragement and hope to the people. Tell your kids who they are – call them out. Speak destiny into them. Adam named the animals, his wife and eventually his kids. Rachel named her last child ‘man of sorrows’ but the dad, Jacob renamed him ‘Man of my strength’. And that’s what Benjamin became. (See Genesis 35) Promote your seed, open doors for them, and prepare them for the future. The names a dad calls his children and the words he says to them have the power to affect their destiny. Promote your kids. #CTA101
GOOD BOOK VERY INSPIRERING
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