Happy Father's Day to Dad and Rusty!

I am overflowing with thankfulness today! The older I get, the more deeply I understand the blessing it is to have Godly parents. Don't get me wrong...God redeems families who are broken in every way, and every family is broken somehow. But by God's grace, I had a Dad who was an earthly picture of my heavenly Father to me. For many adults who still struggle to comprehend that God loves them, I do not. (I have plenty of other struggles, friends, so no boasting here!) I believe I have always felt loved by God because my Dad so beautifully loved me. He was patient with me. He pursued my heart. He invested in me spiritually. He lovingly corrected me. He encouraged me and always told me he was proud of me. He was not perfect, because no earthly Dad is. But he loved us with a love that only comes from the Father. In 1 John it says that if you don't know God, you don't really know love. The One True God is the One who loves through us, and He loved me fully through my Dad.
One of the things that now amazes me about my Dad is that he didn't have a Dad. His Dad was killed in the Korean War, and his mother died a few years later. He was raised by his grandparents. He grandmother was a believer, and God used her to bring him to faith. His grandfather...well, I don't know that much about him. He was called Pappy, and I know he loved my Dad, but drove a truck for a living. I know he had one arm, lost the other to war. He was not always around, from what I understand. In short, my Dad was not a great Dad because he had an example to follow. He didn't mimic what he knew, or look to a role model. He started from scratch, and asked the Lord to make him a Godly Dad to his five children. What an example of God's transforming love! It sure is nice to have a Godly role model, but it's not always the reality. I'm sure God used other Godly men in my Dad's life to teach him. But my Dad's story could have ended very differently. He had every reason to. I'm so thankful for God's hand on my Dad and the legacy that he has produced in the brevity of one generation. My Dad now has five adult children who know, love, and serve the Lord wholeheartedly. He has seventeen (Ella will make eighteen) grandchildren that are becoming the coolest kids ever! We can't wait to see what they are going to do for the Kingdom! Are Dads important? I sure think so.


It's a funny thing, but I married a man similar to my Dad is several ways. Servant hearted, to the core. My husband Rusty amazes me. It requires very little sleep, a whole lot of caffeine, and a ton of Advil to pull of what he does each day, but he makes it look easy. My husband is a Dad of four, almost five little people, family practice Doctor, and an elder/ pastor at our church. A typical day for him entails getting up in the wee hours. This week he was preparing a sermon. Rounding on his patients in the hospital. (That's where he is at the moment.) Then on to whatever breakfast meeting he has for that day; mentoring younger men, meeting with his accountability group, or having a weekly elder meeting. THEN, his actual work day starts at 8am. When he comes home from work, he jumps on the trampoline or wrestles with the kids. He eats dinner with us and then leads us in family worship. I'm exhausted thinking about it! But he also suffers from a rare arthritic condition, so he pops the Advil like crazy all day to ward off the joint stiffness all over. He doesn't complain, and it humbles me when I think about what I would be like in his place. (BIG complainer!) But most of all, he loves us with all He's got. He is so faithful in teaching and loving us! Like my Dad, he is investing in us spiritually on a daily basis, he is loving and affectionate, he has made us a top priority above all of those other things. He continues with the madness that is our life with JOY. I love this man so much! I am so proud of the Dad he is to our munchkins. He's not perfect. Again, no earthly Dad is. But he is more than I could have prayed for! Rusty, I hope you feel honored and loved today. I am so thankful for this journey we are on together. And this journey of parenthood is about to take us as far as Africa together! This calling you have as a father is a holy one, it's an adventure, and it's downright sanctifying. Thank you! We love you! We are overflowing with thankfulness to God for you today!

My Dad: Leaving a Legacy of Godliness

If I didn't know and love the Lord, I would be without excuse.
I have been shepherded by parents who have modeled faithfulness and devotion to Him in a way that I am seeking to follow now as a parent.
My Dad is a pastor, and he writes daily e-mail devotionals to his church. He goes through books of the Bible, verse by verse, in these daily devotionals. I receive them, because I like reading what Dad has to say each day from the Word. (It's a little like sitting at the breakfast table when I was a kid and him reading to us from his little devotional book in his p.j.'s...but not quite.) I particularly loved what Dad wrote today. It's a lot like 2 Corinthians 7:1 that I'm memorizing right now. "Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body and spirit, and let us work toward complete purity because we fear God."
The other day, I was having a conversation with some folks and the term "preacher's kid" with all it's negative connotations came up. I quickly told them I was a P.K. but all five of us kids are grown now and loving and serving the Lord. They asked what was the difference in our home? There's an easy and clear answer. My Dad never put shepherding a church flock above shepherding his home flock. He was a real, Godly man at home and he taught us to love God.
I wanted to share a little snippet of my Dad with you, to show you the legacy that I have received, and bless you with him. Many of you may be the first generation like him, passing this down to your children. What an amazing testimony to God's goodness!

James 1:21

New American Standard Version
Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

Pastor's Paraphrase
Understanding that He has a plan for each of us to become more like Jesus each day, let us rid ourselves of anything that even resembles the immorality and impurity so common among those who reject the Lord.

"How does this help me become more like Him?"
Many years ago, I traveled to another country and witnessed something I had never seen growing up in America. At that time in this large city in Asia, the sewer system ran above ground. There was literally human waste running in the ditches of the streets. As you can imagine, the smell was not pleasant and I cannot even imagine the potential health hazards that such exposure to filth posed. I am sure that to live in such conditions, one would have to take great care and precautions not to become infected and become ill.
Thankfully, in our country today there are strict standards and guidelines to protect our physical health from such filth and infection. However, there is far less protection morally and spiritually. Sin and immorality flow freely in our society. Guarding yourself from spiritual infection is even more difficult than biological infection because the pollution of the heart and soul is much more acceptable in our culture. We have become desensitized to that which can pollute our hearts and poison our minds.
We find our plan to safeguard ourselves in Romans 12:2, where Paul commands us not to shape our lives according to the morality and practice of our culture. Instead, we are to allow the Holy Spirit to teach and apply the principles of Scripture to our hearts so that He may use them to transform our lives. We must live in a culture that flows freely with spiritual and moral pollution but we do not have to swim in it. The challenge is to live in this world without becoming polluted by it.
We must use wisdom and discernment to make the right decisions concerning what is immoral and unwise. We must teach our children and grandchildren modesty and good taste. We must help them understand behaviors that put them at risk for the attack of the evil one or a hindrance to their testimony for Christ. Most of all, we must model for them and teach to them the priority of bringing glory to Christ with all of their lives. As His children, we are not our own to do as we please. We have been bought at a very high price - His own blood.
We must remember that we are not citizens of this world - we are here on assignment from our King. Our loyalty and allegiance, as well as our values and behaviors, must come from our homeland. We must live here for Him for now but we're just passing through.

"How should I pray for Him to change my life?"
Pray for the protection of the Holy Spirit upon your mind to protect you from the pollution of this culture. Ask for strength to withstand every temptation to blend in with and become comfortable with the immorality of our day. Allow the Holy Spirit to do His transforming work of renewing your mind each day.



Dr. Ed Seay
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church