A good message for Father’s
Day! But it is through tears of grief and joy that I share it. I praise God for the way He used us and for
the gift of Bible study, writing and Legacy He implanted in Gramps heart and mind. I hear God’s voice nightly as I reread his
many commentaries and have been blessed to share them with others.
"Therefore we do not lose
heart but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed
day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an
eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things when are not seen; for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor.
4:16-18).
Hey
Gang: Several years ago God impressed on my heart a question
that penetrated deep into my soul: 'You have diligently prepared to pass your
earthly possessions down to the bone of your bone, but what have you done to
pass your spiritual legacy down to them?’ That day I
vowed I would give a Bible to each of my children and grand's that would
include all the notes I had accumulated while serving as Chaplain at the
Village. A massive promise to God that has taken more than twenty years to
complete.
I never really realized
the impact that decision made until I received a letter written by my grandson
Ryan, who lost his battle to cancer. It is one of the true "pearls
of my life". I would like to quote the entire letter here, but
it is much too long, but I do want to share one sentence that is etched in my
inner most being. Summer of 2012 he and his bride, Kendra, attended a
family camp at Miracle Mountain Ranch. The speaker talked about passing
legacies to our children; His legacy was to pass a Bible that he had read that
year to a family member.
Ryan wrote these
words:
"This hit home
with me as I stared down at my Bible. Back home I had left the worn-out,
falling- apart, tattered, brown Bible I'd been given. It was the same
sword my grandfather wielded for many years as he labored and fought to save
kids and families through the camp and treatment center he and my grandmother
founded. It has decades of notes, underlines, scribbles and
prayers. As I read my grandfather’s Bible, I encounter the same God he
encountered so many years ago when he first opened this book. More than
that I get to see how it impacted my gramps.
The power of this book in
his life is so evident that it jumped off the pages. I can hear his voice as I
read his thoughts and it's almost like sitting here studying with him!
This book is so important to me, I had copied every line, note, jot, tiddle,
and scratch to "my Bible. It too is worn and showing its
mileage. It's a blend of all my grandfather's thoughts and mine added
into it as well. It encompasses my heritage, my faith, and my
personality".
Soooo, my friends,
this is not the message I planned on sending you this morning but we recently
celebrated Ryan's life as a super daddy, a great husband, but mostly a
dedicated covenant-related servant of Yeshua, his Lord.
Recently I came across a
neat little story about a man who was in his final days. He called his wife of
many years to his side, took her hand and said, "I will be going away for
a little while to prepare a place for your coming to me
again".
There is no greater joy
than to know that one day soon we will join Ryan and David, my son, and I pray
all of my children and their children and their children at the Marriage Feast
of the Lamb. I also pray that each one reading this Morning Message from Gramps
will be there with us to celebrate the coming together of Christ and his Bride
for all eternity.
Are you passing your
spiritual legacy down? Keep in mind we do not have a clue when God will
say - if you are His child, “Time to come home!”
Blessings,
Gramps
PS This Bible above now
carries names of three Generations: Kermit H… Ryan P… Colton P….2015
PPS I can count at least 13
Bibles Gramps read and marked individually - note always all the same. He did commentaries on all the Books of the
New Testament, several of the Old Testament and the thoughts God gave him on
other subjects. I am blessed. Gma J 2021
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