Reply-To: "Stu" <[log in to unmask]>
From: "Stu" <[log in to unmask]>
Copying Daddy
Our daughter was always a curious little thing, and she asked endless
questions, especially when it was time to go to sleep at night. And
she liked to look into things that she found, even trying them at
times. Most of those little explorations were harmless. Not the day
she got into a drawer in the bathroom, and pulled out some stuff she
saw Daddy using to get ready in the morning. Deodorant - no problem.
Toothbrush, toothpaste--no problem. My razor--problem.
She'd seen her father run that razor up and down his cheeks, so she
decided to do what she saw Daddy do. Bad idea! Scratches and cuts on
her face. No permanent damage, but not something she did twice.
Let's talk about "The Danger of Copying Daddy."
Not everything daddies or mommies do are a good thing to copy.
Unfortunately, all of us grown up children have copied some things
from our mommy or daddy that never should have been copied. And if we
don't do something about it, it's going to leave not just some
scratches and cuts, but some permanent scars.
Maybe you grew up around a temper that left scars on you, and now
that anger is showing up in you. Maybe you have a heritage of
selfishness in your background, a selfishness that hurt you and hurt
others. But now you're seeing some of those same selfish ways in you.
If you grew up around a parent where lying was a way of life, you may
well have begun to see that pattern of deceit showing up in you and
leaving that same trail of tears. So many wrong ways that we can pick
up from where we grew up: destructive attitudes toward sex,
controlling or manipulating ways, abusive behavior, a negative or
critical spirit that tears people down, a runaway mouth, a tendency
to run from problems and let them grow into monsters. And the list goes on.
Stuff we hated when we were growing up. Stuff we swore we'd never do
when we got older. Stuff we're doing and stuff we're becoming in
spite of ourselves.
And now, another generation is about to experience the same kind of
hurt and damage that you did because you can't stop what you can't
stand. But there is Someone who can. And the chain-breaking miracle
He does is spelled out in our word for today from the Word of God.
There's so much hope in these words in 1 Peter 1:18. "You were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your
forefathers ... with the precious blood of Christ." There is in the
death of Jesus Christ for your sins, the power to break the cycle of
sin and hurt that has infected every one
of us! In a later verse, the Bible says "He Himself bore our sins in
His own body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness.
By His wounds you have been healed." Man! That is such incredible
news! You don't have to be what your father or mother were and
probably others before them. You don't have to be what you have been
if you'll get yourself to the cross where Jesus gave His life to
remove the guilt and break the power of
sin in your life. He then came out of His grave to prove that He has
the power to conquer anything, including the darkness that has always
conquered you!
Which brings you to a crossroads in your life with a cross right in
front of you. You have a decision to make about what Jesus did for
you. Either you walk right on by, or you drop to your knees there and
give yourself to the Man who gave His life for you. Who alone can
liberate you from the long darkness;
who alone can enable you to live so you don't hurt the people you
love the most. Why don't you tell Him, "Jesus, I want to turn from my
sin. You died for that sin, and I'm trusting you as my personal
Savior from that sin."
Stu
Stuart Swartz
616 E. Boothe
Cleveland, Tx. 77327
281-659-0629
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IF YOU WORRY, YOU DIDN'T PRAY. IF YOU HAVE PRAYED, DON'T WORRY.
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