Tag: spiritual heritage

Faithful Heritage

Isaiah 51-53

The first year that I attended National Berean Youth Camp (aka RYOT, aka FUEL) way back in the late 1980’s, I was overwhelmed by the number of familial relations. Everyone seemed to be related to everyone else! I was the odd man out because I didn’t have twenty cousins also in attendance at camp. As I have grown up and continued to be involved with the Church of God General Conference, I am still discovering others’ family connections. But I am excited that my family of origin now has a third generation participating in COG events! 

The rich history of the Church of God is like a beautiful family tree that has incredibly deep roots that go back for more than a century! As a Conference we are dedicated to nurturing the next generation, helping the young ones to know where they come from and what earlier generations have done on their behalf. At the same time, we continue to graft new fellow believers into this family tree giving them a secure foundation on which to build their faith and grow their own family branches.

In today’s Scripture reading, God, through the prophet Isaiah, is reminding the people of Israel, that they have a rich heritage that extends back to Abraham and Sarah. From one couple, an entire nation was born! And what’s exciting is that you and I get to be part of that heritage as well! 

Isaiah 51:1b-2a remind me of what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:14-15: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

We can be sure in what we believe because we have had trustworthy teachers, preachers, mentors, and leaders that have remained by our side as we grow deeper in our understanding of the Word of God about who God is, what has been accomplished on our behalf, and the abundant life that we are invited to participate in. My personal experience of those within the General Conference who have invested in my life are too many to count. I am so blessed and thankful, for it is their involvement in my life that has shaped who I am today. You and I have a similar opportunity to pay it forward with the same love and generosity by investing in others.

If you are reading this on the publish date, July 19, 2025, we have over two hundred FUEL participants (students and staff) that have just returned from FUEL, a week-long event designed to bring high school and college aged students closer to God, his Son, Jesus, and each other. If you know anyone who attended, be sure to reach out to them and ask them about their experience. Nurture the relationships that make the General Conference so incredible and encourage the next generation in their faith so that we can continue to grow the Family of God family tree.  

Reflection Questions

Who are the “Abrahams and Sarahs” in your life – people whose example reminds you of God’s faithfulness?

How does remembering your spiritual roots or faith heritage strengthen your trust in God today?

-Bethany Ligon

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Tell the Next Generation

1 Chronicles 7-10

Psalm 78 4b NIV

 

I believe today’s reading will be the last of the genealogies for awhile.  There are a lot of names, a lot of generations.  Father to son.  Father to son.  Father to son – and sometimes a daughter.  Father to son. A whole lot of heritage.  A whole lot of passing along from one generation to the next.  It reminds us that our life is not just what we see and experience today.  We have a past that has shaped us and we (and our children) have a future for which to prepare.

 

I am reminded of a passage in Psalm 78 that we read last week but didn’t have time to discuss directly.

 

My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Psalm 78:1-8

 

I am thankful for a father who passed along to me the spiritual heritage he received from his father and grandfather.  Both of my parents brought their children up to seek and serve the Lord first – it is by far the most important life lessons that they taught.  In fact, today’s photo is a Bible timeline that I inherited from my dad, and one of my favorite treasures from him. He spent hours researching and meticulously drawing out this timeline to help illustrate for his Bible students (including his children) God’s faithfulness and plan for the ages.  And, he lived it out with his life, too.

 

So, now it is my turn to pass along what I have heard and learned.  How do I do that with the words I speak, with the priorities I set and with the life I live?  How do I help my children seek God, grow in faith and love Him more and more?

 

There are so many negative influences and evil that would love to help us and our children forget God’s great deeds, His law, His faithfulness and His plan for the ages.  But we must not forget.  Nor is it enough to just remember for ourselves.  We have a great responsibility to hand these truths down to the next generation so they can hand them down to the generation after them, etc…until Jesus returns.

 

Maybe you cannot celebrate an upright Godly spiritual heritage in your genetic past.  You don’t have the benefit of an antique family heirloom Bible timeline rolled up in your closet.  That’s okay.  Paper rips and ink fades, but if you have a love for the LORD you have priceless spiritual mentors you can call mom and dad.  And, then, we must in turn create a spiritual heritage rich in God’s goodness, laws, and plan for salvation for those around us: our children, grandchildren and those children of all ages and colors and countries who need to know what God’s Word says and who God is.

 

God’s genealogy doesn’t end here in 1st Chronicles.  It is continuing today, and into the future.  Will it be recorded that you passed along what is of the most importance to those that came after you?  Don’t let yourself, or your children, be listed as the ones that forgot.  Tell of His goodness.  Put God first.  Pass it on.

Marcia Railton

 

Too important to not mention: I love verse 6 in Psalm 78 (above) where we see the value and great worth of, “the children yet to be born”.  Whether the children are conceived or not, born or not, they were planned to play a part in God’s design of the passing along of family and faith.  How tragic that this link has been broken time and time again when the children yet to be born are killed for convenience before they even get a chance to hear, learn and share of their Creator.  Tell of His goodness.  And His Word and His law.  Do not forget.  And do not ignore the evil that rejoices when God is forgotten.  We need to speak louder since voices in the chain are silenced.

 

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Chronicles+7-10&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be Psalms 102-104 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan