Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today, let’s look at what it means to leave a Generational Faith, Obedience, and Biblical worldview legacy (GEN-FOB).

Today’s scripture, 2 Timothy 1:5 (NIV), testifies…
[5] I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Consider…
I am currently blessed to have five beautiful grandchildren, two girls and three boys. This month my oldest grandchild turned ten. I still remember the first time I held ‘Snookems’, and the immediate love connection that we had. There have been many precious moments that I have cherished with her over her first decade here on earth. One of my favorite moments was witnessing her baptism.

Reflecting on my beautiful beloved granddaughter’s public profession of faith, made me think of today’s scripture. That’s because I saw generational faith being passed down.

I have often heard people cite generational curses as the reason for family dysfunction. And in the Bible I have read about generational blessings like the one described in 1 Chronicles 16:15-18 (NLT)…
[15] Remember his covenant forever— the commitment he made to a thousand generations. [16] This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. [17] He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: [18] “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”

This is a great reminder that we serve an ‘Omnigenerational’ (my phrase) God. I say that because our Omnipresent God is the same in all generations at the same time. The Biblical basis of my newly ascribed attribute includes…

• Psalms 90:1-3 (NLT)…[1] Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! [2] Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. [3] You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!”
• Psalms 135:13 (NLT)…Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation.
• Psalms 100:5 (NLT)…[5] For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

The reason it is important to recognize God’s existence in all generations is because it engenders hope and refutes the idea of a lost generation. It also underscores the importance of leaving GEN-FOB legacies.

Deuteronomy 4:9-10 (NLT) describes this GEN-FOB expectation God has…
[9] “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. [10] Never forget the day when you stood before the LORD your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

God expects us to pass along and inspire…

• Faith in Him
• Obedience to Him
• A Biblical worldview

Psalms 78:4-7 (NLT) declares…
[4] We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders. [5] For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, [6] so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children. [7] So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

As I write this, the Holy Spirit is telling me that each of us are to be messengers in our generations of influence. It is with that understanding that I was led to Romans 10:13-15 (NLT), which explains…
[13] For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” [14] But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? [15] And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

This verse has typically been reserved for preachers, but the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that every believer has received and accepted the message of Christ, and is thereby expected to pass it on.

Now let’s be clear, we’re just told to make sure others know who Jesus is. That means Judges 2:10-15 (NLT) is a possibility despite our GEN-FOB obedience. It says…
[10] After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. [11] The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. [12] They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD. [13] They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. [14] This made the LORD burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. [15] Every time Israel went out to battle, the LORD fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.

Appreciate these verses follow the death of Joshua, who ushered the Children of Israel into the promised land. This goes to show that like the old addage says, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”.

That also makes me rethink the notion of a lost generation. What the passage describes is an abandoning generation. And the scripture aligns with what I see in the world, which is people abandoning the faith, obedience and biblical worldview taught by their ancestors.

My belief made me look for definitions. Oxford Languages defines the adjective lost as:

• unable to find one’s way; not knowing one’s whereabouts.
• denoting something that has been taken away or cannot be recovered.

Whereas, Oxford Languages defines the verb abandon as:

• cease to support or look after (someone); desert.
• give up completely (a course of action, a practice, or a way of thinking).

The contrast of these two definitions is best illustrated by Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. Recall the son knew what his father had, and provided, but he decided to abandon his daddy’s provision and protection to enjoy life on his own terms. This demonstrated…

• Although the son knew his father continually provided for him, he chose to abandon his faith in the sufficiency and wisdom of his father’s daily provision. Recall Jesus tells us to ask our Heavenly Father to give us our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)
• Although the son knew obeying his father was more blessed than burdensome, he chose to abandon obedience to his father’s perfect will and chose instead to obey his own flawed selfish desires.
• And although he knew from his biblical worldview that obeying his father would activate God’s promise of a long life, he chose to abandon heavenly longevity for short-lived earthly depravity.

It’s so easy to see how the same abandoning choices continue from generation to generation. But there’s a subtle but important key that we must embrace, which is the son knew. The Holy Spirit is emphasizing the fact that we cannot make a person choose…

• Faith in God over self-reliance
• Obeying God instead of self-indulgence
• Living Biblically rather than worldly

…but we must make sure they have the information to make an informed choice.

That’s the point of a GEN-FOB legacy, to show and tell the blessings of…

• Faith in God
• Obedience to God
• A Biblical worldview

There’s something else we pass along to the generations, which is accountability. The scripture the Holy Spirit gave me to illustrate this point is Joshua 24:15 (NIV), where Joshua challenged…
[15] But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua’s strong words imply the people knew the blessings from their ancestors faith in, and obedience to, God. Of course they should have known, they were living in the promised land when Joshua made his statement.

But there’s another subtle lesson from Joshua’s challenge, which is we must be courageous and make it clear to those we have generational influence with that they must choose whether or not they will serve the LORD only!

Don’t miss the fact that Joshua was challenging a delivered people, which means God may task us to challenge fellow believers. Galatians 6:1 (NIV) explains it this way…
[1] Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

This let’s us know that our GEN-FOB influence shouldn’t stop at salvation. Indeed we must help fellow believers grow in their faith, obedience and biblical worldview. Writing that brought Hebrews 3:12-13 (NIV) to mind…
[12] See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. [13] But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

And those verses reminded me of Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)…
[24] Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. [25] And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Today, the Holy Spirit is saying to us, use your GEN-FOB influence to help all generations know and grow…

• Unwavering FAITH in God
• Uncompromising OBEDIENCE to God
• A transformed BIBLICAL worldview

When contemplating your legacy, make sure it’s headline is GEN-FOB influencer.

Today’s Song is…
The Blessing

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)