Devotional Details

THE CHILDREN’S BREAD

20^th. JUNE 2022

CHILD OF GOD, this week’s topic is centered around FATHERHOOD, and before we delve into it, I would love to use this opportunity to celebrate all fathers; Those who deserve to be called so, and those who are not yet there, but are trying, or at least are hoping to embark on that journey someday. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a wonderful Father’s week, and month!

Let me begin with this reminder, since this is about fathers, though mothers are not excluded from this exhortation, but since we are talking about father’s today, then let my brothers know, that this is for them. The title of this devotional has already revealed my intention for this message, that being a father, is not just a title, rather, it is a calling, an assignment, a title of honor and a very serious responsibility! Fathers are stewards, under whose care the LORD God has committed precious beings; His own children! GOD, Our Holy FATHER, the only true Potter, made a wonderful vessel and so loved you, that He decided that out of everyone in this world, that He was going to give that vessel into your bosom to take care of for Him. At the end of the day, when He comes back to demand for His vessel from you, what is He going to find? Is He going to find a beautiful, and intact vessel, like He gave to you, or a broken, wrinkled, unhappy, and polluted vessel? Is He going to get His original vessel that He entrusted you with, or not? The vessel, that I am referring to, is a wonderful son, or daughter of His, that He put into your care. That vessel is a spiritual, biological, adopted son or daughter, that He gave to you to look after. That precious child may be someone, whom he brought your way for you to protect, even without your knowledge.

Let us use Nabal, the fool, as a bible reference to bring home what I am trying to explain to you. Nabal, was a man, whom God allowed to marry such a wonderful daughter of His; Abigail. What did He do? He almost cost this innocent woman and his entire household to be wiped out, by an angry warrior-king; David! On on hand, this is an indication that it was not the first time Nabal behaved the way he did, and it was also not the first time, that Abigail intervened to save both him, his entire household, and herself! While on the other hand, it was the trap, that the LORD God set for him, in order to hold him accountable for his wicked and evil lifestyle, for one purpose, which was to save the life of Abigail, and the innocent, who were under his roof from his evil authority, leadership, and covering! Nabal, was not a father, because as a grown man, if you have a human being under your care, you are automatically a father because a father is a protector, which Nabal was clearly not!

My precious Father is deceased since 2018, and he has always been in my heart ever since, even more, than when he was alive in his human body! Why? Because he never left my heart as he was the best father I could ever have wished for. My late father did not just answer the name, dad, but more importantly, he lived it! Every Godly thing I learnt, which has been the foundation of my walk with God, was from my Father. I would never forget, that he was a man of truth, honor and integrity. He was a very peaceful man, so much so, that in those days, people would always come to our home, just to seek advice from him concerning different matters. Whenever people around us had disputes, even those who did not know Jesus Christ, in one accord, the parties who would not even see eye to eye, would all decide to bring their disputes to my dad, believing that he was the only one, that they could testify to, who would be honest in settling their disputes, concluding that however he decided, would be accepted by all. At the end of the day, he was always honest in the way he settled disputes; Not partial, and he did not pervert justice – That was my precious dad! As a child, I always saw all that, although I never knew the spiritual implication of what it was, that I was witnessing, till only a few years ago!

My dad would never be a part of bribery, or ungodly lifestyles and because of such a strict lifestyle, he missed out on a lot things, which other people were ready to kill themselves for; I even have stories told by those who worked under him, his friends, family members, and even his foes, who were privy to such situations first-hand, and would always use such stories as references to his integrity, and godliness, while the greedy ones among them, would always use such stories as mockery, insisting that he could have been a multi-billionaire in Nigerian context in his days, had he only come on board with them in their evil schemes! All such stories would end up collaborating what he had already related to us as the experiences he had, and also a confirmation to whom I fully believe he truly was.

I would watch my dad pray always; He was a second-generation Christian, and was not a prophet, priest, or anything in that nature (or could it be he was but never knew?). Nonetheless, one thing I know about him is, that in his limited understanding as a catholic, of Who God Almighty is, he truly and deeply loved God! I would never forget as a kid, how we, his children would always, but secretly make fun of him because he would talk about the Holy Spirit none-stop! It was always the Holy Spirit this, the Holy Spirit that, and the Holy Spirit the other! We did not have a deep understanding of Who the Holy Spirit truly is and thus, could not relate to his enthusiasm for the Holy Spirit. As Catholics, the two-ways relationship with God Almighty, was not what we were used to as the Catholics back in the day, would talk to God, and after talking to Him, would get up and go; No waiting on God, no deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit, etc. Consequently, It was almost embarrassing to see my dad roll like that as before he would talk to us concerning any important issue, we would already anticipate how the discussion would begin and end! Therefore, my sisters and I (my brother never participated in such), without words, we would give ourselves the notorious side-look, while moving our lips, saying the name we knew would be coming out of his mouth, sooner, rather than later, “THE HOLY SPIRIT!” and bang.. he would say it, “The Holy Spirit is leading me to say to you children, etc.” That was my dad- A praying man, and a praying father! I am 100% convinced that the grace of God upon my life is because of my father; Either, inherited through the promise of God in his bloodline, or directly because of the favor he found in the eyes of God Almighty- His Friend, and Confidant – The Holy Spirit!

My dad used to love to drink tea, a lot! So, when he would come back from work in the evenings, after eating, and having some small talk with the family, he would normally recline to the balcony, just to have some quite time. I was the one who would run into the kitchen to prepare a wonderful cup of tea for him, just the way I knew he loved to drink it, going by what he had always told me! Each time, that I would bring the cup of tea to him in the balcony where he would be resting, I would always try to seat by his side, just to chat about how my day in school was, only to hear him silently praying. He would pause for a moment to smile at me, and patting me on the head, he would say, “May God bless you my daughter, I am busy praying, but thank you for the tea.” I would always ask myself why he would pray that much; We were okay, he had a wonderful job, position, and was loved by all. Why pray that much?! I never used to understand his need for consistent prayer time – It was just weird to me; My dad was just too fine and too cool to be a praying mantis! I used to feel deeply sorry for him because of it, and even more so because of the fact that he loved, and enjoyed it. He was always in his element when praying; Fully relaxed and invested whenever he was having those quite times with “The Holy Spirit” in prayer! I mean, we were a praying home, and as a family, sometimes we gathered together to pray in the mornings, when the busy schedule allowed it, but the night prayer was a necessity and nothing would stop us from praying at nights, it was a routine. Thus, his need to pray in-between the usual prayer times, like a vulture, that eats between the meals was what puzzled me! When I say my dad was very good looking, I really mean it! He was so handsome, that the only thing I believed I got from him without anyone, even trying to contend with me for it, is his smile and his good heart- I know that! That is obviously the reason why no man can intimidate me with good looks because I have seen the best of it; I am a product of one! Sometimes, I would sit for many minutes staring at him none-stop, till he would ask me, “What are you sitting here staring at me like that for, any problem?!” Unknown to him, I was always wrestling with my mind as to why I did not get his dentition, his eyes, his hair texture, his complexion, his height, his athletic figure, etc. I knew I had some of his most prominent features, but I needed all, not just a few! I eventually found out the secret to His good looks, and why it was, that I so loved, adored, and honored him like I did; It was not really because of those outer features, but it was rather, his inner values! Although, I still feel that my dad was a bit selfish with his good looks- But I have long forgiven him for that as I assume, that God did not want him to have his clone left behind! Well, at least that’s the best, and only way I can explain it! Nonetheless, I am grateful to God, that pertaining to the things of the Holy Spirit, at least to me, God Almighty through him, was very generous to me! It is so funny, that the same things I used to say about him concerning the Holy Spirit, is now what my children always say about me as I am doing the exact things, that I learned from him, even without intending to do so! How could I be doing the exact things I constantly saw my dad do until my early teenage years, and the exact things we had always secretly mocked him for doing? Things, which I used to ridicule, and detest? How could it even be possible that the same behavior has become my lifestyle without ever having desired it, or even wanted it?

You see child of God, my father invested into me without my knowledge. He invested into us, even when we secretly ridiculed him for praying for us as I am now fully aware, that he was not even praying for himself, but for us his children! He invested into us in such a selfless, and profound way, even without knowing it himself! Therefore, child of God, let us all raise our glass cups of “vine-juice” to the Holy Spirit, Who he had always openly confessed as HE (The Holy Spirit) was all those times, looking around, going through his children, and seeking in whom, He may dwell! My dad’s prayers, and love for the Holy Spirit was not in vain, due to other experiences that I had, pertaining to him, and his salvation; The same Holy Spirit, Whom he was always communicating with, mysteriously manifested Himself to him without his knowledge, during the season preceding his death, to help him make the right decision, which had he not made, or corrected, would have cost him his salvation – Believe it or not!

It was in one of those days as he was in prayers, that he had to stop, and stepped into the living room where we were seated watching T.V. and having fun. It was really unusual for him to stop his prayers like that; He never did. As he came into the living room, with a stern look on his lovely face, staring directly at me, while pointing his finger towards me, he said, “I see a particular very light skinned guy, walking past this house, a 100 times and over, and each time he walks past this house, he would look up here as though, there is something he seems to have forgotten here! Is he looking for you?!”  When I say light skin, I want you to know that in Africa, there are different shades of color, so it is nothing special for anyone to be light skin, or dark skin, rather, sometimes the different skin tones are ridiculed, but not because they are hated, no; It is just foolish habits, that sometimes die hard! My dad was very light skinned and when he was talking to me about the guy that was light skin, he was emphasizing his light skin to make fun of him, while forgetting that he was even of lighter skin than that guy- It was very clear that he was just angry with the guy and not with his skin color! At this time, I had never had a boyfriend, never wanted to, neither did I have male friends that were bold enough to do such. I knew I had very many male friends, who were not more to me, than just friends, but none, who could have been even that bold as to walk to where I lived, just to get under my dad’s skin, the way the mystery guy did! We lived in a close, thus, it must have been easy for my dad to realize, that whoever the guy was, his intention was targeted at our home! I immediately ran out to see who he was talking about, in case it was a class mate of mine, who for whatever reason had something important to tell me, that could not wait for the next day in school, but I did not see anyone, as the guy would have realized that my FATHER had noticed him, and was by no means happy with him, thus, “KOJAK“ zapped! I told my dad, and even swore to him and everyone, who was present in the living room, that I did not know who he saw, and that I also did not believe, that whoever he claimed to have seen had any interest in our home as it could have been a mere coincidence. My dad went back to praying and whoever the guy was, did not show up again as he continued his prayers, till he was through, which unlike other days, seemed to have been much longer than usual, and he never spoke to me about that incident again; I knew I was innocent! Yet, one thing did not escape my observation, “Why would my dad focus on me, when I had 3 other sisters in that house; Two of them, who were older than me, and one, younger?” My dad knew that I was not promiscuous, I did not run the streets, I was not out there, and this is not to condemn girls, whose upbringing are different from mine. This incident would eventually make me know, that the Holy Spirit was indeed with my dad, and that apart from good mothers, real fathers know their children, and are able to connect with them, deeper than anyone else, in ways that human minds cannot even explain because of what transpired some weeks later; On this particular evening, when my dad had not yet come back from work, the doorbell rang, and my little sister, I do believe, went to open the door. What eventually followed, turned out to vindicate my dad, by validating his observation few weeks prior; To cut long story short, my dad really saw KOJAK!

Why do I have the need to talk about my dad? I always remember that he was not just a father, but he was also a man, and a very good father to my siblings, and I. My late dad did his duty as a father like unto the LORD! He loved us like a man, who was fully aware of his responsibilities; That precious vessels were committed into his care by God Almighty. My late dad was a praying father because he must have understood, that having money, good title, position of affluence, and people gushing over him or about him, was not what was needed to protect his family. He understood that good looks will eventually fade away, and will never save his soul, but the Holy Spirit definetly would! He was observant; At that time of my life, he did not “seem” busy, rather, he was a very busy man and father, but the amazing thing about him was, that even the little time he had, he looked into his family, children, and was observant around us. As an adult, and a woman, whom God has called into the deliverance ministry, I only understood few years prior to his demise, that he was after-all, a human being, and not God Almighty, thus, I should not have put him on the pedestal of perfection as that position should never belong to any human being, regardless of how godly they may be, but to God alone! Compared to other human beings that I have come across, read about, and heard about, especially most men- My precious dad was indeed an A-student!

God Almighty, expects fathers to emulate HIM(GOD) because HE is a good FATHER! I know it can be very challenging sometimes, yet, as fathers, you are to give your best because your efforts will never be over-looked by God, even when everyone else does. God is the One, Who gave the family, and the children to you, hence, He has His eyes on you as you take care of your children. On the alternative, His eyes are also on you as you decide to neglect them, and leave them on their own, to wander around like sheep without good shepherds, or to leave them, for only their mothers to do the hard job, which is meant for both of you to do! Your love for your children should never be predicated upon if they appreciate you, or not. You don’t have to be good to them, only on their birthdays! For those of you, who are separated, or divorced from your ex-wives, or partners, God expects you to love and be good to your children, regardless of how unhappy you may be with your ex-partners, or the mothers of your child, or children. Never ever feel, that your children do not need you because just like mothers are indispensable to their children, likewise, there is a place in the hearts of your children, that only belongs to you, which nobody else, can ever fully occupy, besides the LORD God, and that is only when you are no longer alive, or permanently present in their lives! Therefore, do the necessary, that God requires of you, in order to have Godly relationship with your children, even if it means that you have to tolerate their mother in a Godly way, when the occassion calls for it!

Jesus loves you!

Written by Susan Ikeokwu