Following in Dad's Footsteps

To be honest with you, I was never a fan of the Old Testament. It has way too many names that I cannot pronounce, places that I cannot find on a map and rituals that you could be arrested for if you tried to practice them today! However, as I read through this section of the Bible I am amazed at how God has used it to speak to me. I guess II Timothy 3:16 is true! This morning I read I Kings 15 and man was I convicted. Look at these verses and maybe you can see what I am talking about:

I Kings 15:1-3 1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah, 2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 3He committed all the sins his father had done before him his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.

I Kings 15:9-11 9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 11Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.

I Kings 15:25-26 25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

In all three of these sections the son did what his father did. Whether is was good or bad, he did what his father did. Hold on a second while I pull the dagger out of my heart! Men (and women) what are we teaching our kids? What are we pursuing in this limited amount of time we have on Earth? Are we chasing after what this world has to offer? Are we storing up treasures in the bank and in our 401K accounts (where greed and corruption can wipe them out in a matter of weeks)? Are we filling up our house with stuff that will end up in a yard sale or mission mart in a year? I pray that I (we) don't get sucked in to what the world is trying to offer us. Romans 12:1,2. I pray that we would lead our kids in a way that they will be Godly men and women. I pray that when we are no longer around to tell them what they should do, they will know based on how we lived our lives and the decisions we made.