A BRIDGE GENERATION

PRAYER JOURNAL 1/17/19

Psalms 78:6-7 That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.

The longer you live, the more you see and the more you see, the more you reminisce regarding “how it used to be.”  I look at society today and I am shocked; how did we get to this point…the lack of civility; simple politeness; selfishness; no shame.  I suppose every generation looks at the next generation and shakes their head in distaste, but my fear is in realizing that this is the generation that will be governing this great country; will be preaching their interpretation of the Gospel in the pulpits; will be raising children that may never know the truth of our history or of God.

A quote from Steve provoked me to meditate further on the subject.  In discussing our experiences in growing up, raising kids, becoming older and enjoying grandkids, he remarked; “We were the “BRIDGE GENERATION:” we saw how it was and how it is today.”

Yes, we experienced the “GOLDEN AGE” of childhood. Oh, there were sectors of society to avoid but as a kid we were blessed to experience freedom…freedom to ride bikes down steep neighborhood streets, freedom to play baseball all day in the backyard, freedom to walk to school alone, freedom to catch fireflies and play hide and seek in the dark, freedom from electronics and social media and the freedom to respect parents, teachers, pastors, policemen, and other authority figures without the taint of the “Me First And Above All Movement.”

BUT WE WERE THE BRIDGE....so aren’t we responsible for WHAT IS today?  As we walked across the bridge into adulthood, weren’t we supposed to carry all of those established values with us? We raised this generation; they were entrusted into our care and mentoring….WE WERE THE BRIDGE.

Deuteronomy 31:7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with these people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall cause them to inherit it.

For 400 years God’s people had been in bondage to the Egyptians.  There was no one alive that remembered “how it was.”  Not one living person had tasted freedom, oh they handed down the traditions of worship, they taught their children the stories of the God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac, they believed in the one true God, Jehovah but what had He ever done for them; did He even hear their cries? 

BUT…God did hear and He raised up a Leader; a Liberator to rescue them from the slavery of Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land.  God raised up Moses, but because of unbelief and disobedience, MOSES COULD NOT BE A BRIDGE!  He could lead, he could speak God’s words to them, he could instruct them in following the laws that God had given, but he could not be the bridge from the Old into the New!

GOD IS A BRIDGE BUILDER and He had already drawn up the blueprints and prepared the man. 

Scholars believe that there were over 2 million people that left Egypt on the Day of Deliverance; God desired that everyone of them plus the children yet to be born would dwell in the Land of Canaan, as His chosen people; a people set apart to serve Him faithfully…But it was not to be.

They came to the Brink of Deliverance and Moses chose 12 men to go and “spy out” the Land so they could plan their entrance into their Promise.  Now God had already given them the land, it was theirs to possess BUT it was already inhabited by people who did not recognize the authority of the Hebrew God.  The spies returned and gave their report; 10 reported that “though it was a good land, there were just too many people there to defeat and some of them were even GIANTS!”  But 2 of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, believed fully in Jehovah’s promise and faithfulness and gave a good report; “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”  GOD HAD HIS BRIDGE!

GOD HAS CALLED US TO BE BRIDGES; WILL WE ANSWER THE CALL?

Are we content to know the truth about God; to serve God in our little way; murmur and complain when things are not to our liking and leave our children to figure it out on their own, hoping they make it to the Promised Land.

OR…Will we be the Bridge they can cross? 

A BRIDGE OF TRUTH; teaching the Word of God unwaveringly; preserving the TRUTH OF REVELATION and handing it down to our children and children’s children. 

A BRIDGE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS; not giving in to our fleshly desires but living a life pleasing to God every day as example to the NOW generation. 

A BRIDGE OF LOVE; not affirming and approving the pull of their own lusts but showing mercy and compassion as we lovingly point them to God.

A BRIDGE OF LIGHT; allowing God’s light to shine through us in a dark world; guiding a searching generation into the Promise of Salvation and Deliverance.

Purpose in your heart, today to be THE BRIDGE BETWEEN WHAT WAS AND WHAT IS!