Picking the right choices for the road to your Divine legacy

 Picking the right choices for the road to your Divine legacy

We are all familiar with common phrases, statements and assertions about legacy of individuals. They are usually made at funerals after someone dies. Legacies, such as those left behind by the deceased are usually spoken of as occurrences of the past. There are also legacies associated with groups of people with common interests or even nations. Legacies should not  be considered as end points of life or existence but a continuous chain of purposeful living. 

God’s intention is not the mere mention of achievements after death but rather of our lives lived as a productive and fulfilling legacies. The best way that this can be achieved is by following a certain roadmap with a proven track record. While the path may be different for every individual, the sum total in the afore mentioned groups will be beneficial to all community members. Such membership is interconnected in form of associations, families, villages, cities and nations etcetera. 

English language definition of legacy (Merriam Webster dictionary):

• 1 : a gift by will,  especially of money or other personal property. Example: She left us a legacy of a million dollars.
• 2: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past the legacy of the ancient philosophers. Example:  The war left a legacy of pain and suffering.
• 3: a candidate for membership in an organization (such as a school or fraternal order) who is given special status because of a familial relationship to a member. Example: Legacies, or children of alumni, are three times more likely to be accepted to Harvard than other high school graduates with the same (sometimes better) scores 

From the English definition you can see that a legacy entitles one to certain privileges already established by a common bond of activities. It also carries an inherent responsibility to maintain it by following certain guidelines. This maintains continuity and connectivity of purpose 

God’s definition of legacy is encapsulated in his promises, we shall use one such promise for reference here. It’s a promise of a roadmap and 

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me whole heartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you”

In this scripture God is giving us an assurance of success, connection and continuity if we follow his guidelines. The guidelines are simple: pray and seek him. We determine the outcome by our choice to follow through in this matter with this legacy.

Making your choices

First of all, our Divine legacy will be affected by our view of who God to us. We should not base our view or relationship with God, the acceptance or denial of his guidance on the actions or failures of others.

For example, people may act evil by committing crimes of hate and persecution against fellow human beings because they are of “different” persuasion or beliefs. Their actions are not a reflection of a powerless or non caring God. You may see or hear of Christians especially in leadership doing things that are wrong or outright immoral even as we will see in the scripture examples below. Discouraging and painful as it may be, do not let them derail you from the path of your Divinely destined legacy

Even though your destiny has already been set, it is not guaranteed. You have to make personal choices to get to it. This is illustrated well many times in the Bible when a Bible characters such as Jacob, Joseph and David, were about to pass on. 

They spoke to their children about the future. We will use David speaking to Solomon as our first example of a blessed family legacy. The sons of Eli and Samuel on the other hand, will show us some of the origins of What we commonly call family curses despite the fact that their parents served God. The Bible says that God’s blessings have a longevity up to a thousand generations. In his kindness God let the curses run for only three generations, shorter if repented. 

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭5:9-10‬ ‭NLT
“....I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”

The legacy of Solomon - firm establishment of family blessings

In this instance, we see a legacy that was firmly established because Solomon followed his father David’s advice. David passed on the mantle of leadership to Solomon, and Solomon followed the legacy. In fact Solomon did so well that he is known as the wisest man outside of the deity of Jesus Christ.

1 Kings 2:1-4 NLT

“As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’”

1 Kings 2:12 NLT

“Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.”

Legacy of Eli’s sons - sin against God, one source of ”family curses”

There’s really not much I can say or add to what God says about Eli’s sons and the sin against God and his ordained work. The verses below are self explanatory. 

Those who God calls to carry his Word will be judged more harshly as the Book of James says. And they may bring a judgement on their house, known as a family curse, but for the Grace of God destroying God’s intended legacy for them.

1 Samuel 2:22-32 NLT

“Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people. 

One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel! “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days.”

1 Samuel 3:13 NLT

“I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them.”

Samuel’s sons, legacy of corruption and abuse of power, another source of “family curses”

Samuel’s sons illustrate to us how corrupt leadership is born in our lives, calling, communities or even nations. When we demand to govern our lives by the ways of man, the spirit of selfishness, corruption and abuse of power by those in authority flourishes. 

Despite Samuel warning the community, the people wanted to do it their way in governance now, because Samuel’s own sons were unacceptable.What if they had instead asked God to repair their broken system? But excluded God in their solutions.

1 Samuel 8:1-3, 5-9, 11-12, 14-15NLT

“As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

“Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.

He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.”

Jesus, our redeeming legacy

Jesus gave us a new and redeeming example that rectified our mistakes and reroutes us back to Jeremiah 29:11 . Thus far our legacy has been been dependent on man, the fallen man. 

But the Bible says that in Christ we are now a new creation and all things have come new and old things have passed away ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). 

Furthermore, we now have a new family legacy that self repairs through Grace and the Blood  of Jesus. Jesus did all the work and finished it at the cross. All we have to do is be in Christ and let the Holy Spirit guide us day by day, minute by minute. 

Ephesians 1:5-8 NLT

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”

Impact Prayer

Father, we thank you for your Grace through the finished work of the Cross. We thank you for the Blood of Jesus which cleanses us from all unrighteousness including the legacy iniquities. The iniquities brought on us by our family actions of the past. This is all at the foot of the Cross at Calvary. 

It’s all broken and we declare your plans that you promised in Jeremiah 29:11 over our families, villages, cities and nations.

All this is achieved through the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!

Listen to our companion podcast on this and other blog posts at www.africhristpodcast.com

Born for the Impossible

Born for the Impossible

- by Sheila Katusiime 

Story line Scripture:

Judges 16:1-22

Present Case and Observation

It does sound cliché to say we were born for the impossible in a world that depends on proven systems that have been running for hundreds of years. Success or failure depends on whether we follow a proven system of thinking and doing things. For many of us, we are taught to work hard in school, get good grades, get focused on what you want to do in life and you will have endless opportunities beaconing. Additionally, people skills are important because we need be connected to the right people, we are told.

However we should notice that the great men and women in the Bible possessed none of the above skills at last the way we know them and yet they accomplished seemingly impossible tasks and feats. What they possessed was a mind up to accomplish what they were born to do. They didn’t need to be the smartest men or women of their time, nor even possess much. Many were not even “connected” with the “right” or powerful  people either. 

Here’s what they understood from the onset: that they had to connect with the Lord God. They didn’t  connect with him selfishly for personal gain.  They connected with him because they knew and were convinced that he was the only “system” in place for them to become who he had called them to be. This simple act of faith is what empowered them to accomplish the seemingly impossible tasks. They didn’t start out with a “10-year plan” to become the greatest leaders, but were intentional with their plans step by step. They grew in understanding of who the Lord God was.

Application

Our specific Biblical example here is Samson. Samson knew he was different because nobody could do the physically impossible tasks that he performed. He also knew that the Lord God empowered him to do each one of those feats. He believed that he was born to defeat an eminent enemy that was threatening to overrule the very existence of Israel. 

Everywhere Samson went, he was tracked and followed because the Philistines knew this was the guy that threatened their territory.  In Judges 16:2, you can tell Samson had a clear understanding of their plans because he had a counter strategy against them. He woke up in the middle of the night and physically uprooted the doors of the city gate foiling their planned ambush. Samson was so convinced of his assignment in life that he studied his enemy enough to develop working strategies against them. We should note however that he was still in the formative stages of his calling and his enemies were not yet defeated. This is when he met Delilah the lover who would betray him.  

What was unfortunate for Samson is common with many of us today is that we think just because some of our battles are successful, we assume the enemy is defeated. But if an enemy keeps attacking you, that enemy has not been defeated therefore we need to be on guard. On guard means we must continually be aware of our enemy because satan comes up with new tricks every time.

Three times Samson missed the fact that Delilah was a set up by his enemies. This is will especially happen to us during the maturation process. We judge ourselves by our current victories rather than attempted enemy probes and attacks. If we keep being attacked, there is still much we need to know about our attackers and therefore can’t afford to let our guards down. 

We must stay humble under the mighty hand of God. Being on guard does not mean you are not susceptible to sin, it means you take your assignment seriously enough to stay in a learning posture. Just as a student in school focusses on their future goals and career avoids distractions, we have to stay very intentional spiritually. Samson’s journey ended prematurely and he never got to defeat his enemies despite his capabilities. Compare him to what Samuel or Joshua did as they matured over a 40 year period to fulfill the call God had on their lives.

Impact Prayer

Lord Jesus, we are truly humbled by Samson’s example, yet we don’t know how to stay humble. Equip us to stay in an intentional learning posture with a teachable spirit ready for your guidance in all things we plan and do in our calling. Amen.

Judges 16:1-22 (NKJV)

Samson and Delilah

16 Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.” 3 And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”