“… visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exo. 34:7b KJV)

Crows pass on memories to future generations

I recently watched a documentary about crows and learned that they had the ability to pass down memories from generation to generation. An experiment was conducted where a man put on a unique mask and threw rocks at a bunch of crows. Afterwards, whenever anyone put on the mask, the crows the man had thrown rocks at sounded an alarm. The interesting thing is that future generations of those same crows reacted exactly the same way whenever someone wore the same mask. Even when their crow eggs were hatched in a faraway city, when the hatchlings turned into full-grown crows and were then exposed to the mask, they “remembered” and sounded the alarm. Somehow, the memories had been passed on to the next generations through DNA.

Human memories are also passed on to future generations

I saw another interesting item in the news recently that was similar in many ways to the documentary about the crows. Apparently, scientists have discovered recently that human memories are also passed down to future generations in DNA. The thing I found so fascinating about this is that the Bible states, in Exodus 34:7, that the sins of the fathers are passed down to future generations, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” This could be a discouraging bit of information if it weren’t for other Bible promises that remedy this. Check out the following promises:

In Christ, the old has passed away

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation..” (2 Cor. 5:17-19 ESV)

You are free indeed

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 ESV)

Therefore

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2 ESV)

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Rom. 12:10 NIV)

Honor is a noun and verb that means respect, character, reward, or fulfillment. Honor has many uses, all of them good. If you are called a man of honor, you are respected. If someone honors you, they recognize and award you for your achievements. There is also a general meaning found in the above verse as honoring others by putting them first above yourself in love.

Children show honor to your parents

“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Eph. 6:2-3 NIV)

Husbands show respect to your wives

“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7 ESV)

Wives show respect to your husbands

“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Eph. 5:33 ESV)

Show honor to the elderly

“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:32 ESV)

Show respect to everyone, even to the  top leadership of your country

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17 NIV)

Outdo each other in showing honor

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Rom. 12:10 ESV)

Show respect to your employers and supervisors

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” (2 Thess. 5:12-13 ESV)

Leave honoring yourself to others

“But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.” (Luke 14:10 ESV)

Therefore

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15 ESV)

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Gal. 5:6b NIV)

In the busy world we live in it’s easy to get caught up in the to-do lists of life. It can seem at times that we can’t get to the end of the things we need to get done. But, in all our busyness, we must remember to keep the focus on what counts the most. The above verse boils it down to faith and love. 

·      Faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1 NKJV)

·      Love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NIV)

The greatest is love 

“Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13 NLT)

Therefore…

“And do everything with love.” 2 Cor. 16:14 NLT)

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD.” (Isa. 54:17 NASB)

Notice that the above passage doesn’t say weapons won’t form, it says they won’t prosper. Stay in faith, God will deliver you!

God delivers

“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.” (Psalm 34:19 NIV)

God is the source of your strength 

“The people will declare, "The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength." And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed.” (Isa. 45:24 NLT)

God goes with you

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6 NIV)

Therefore…

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” (Psalm 50:14 NASB)

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1 NIV)

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:2-5 ESV) 

Hope is mentioned three times in the above passage

1)    We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

2)    Character produces hope.

3)    Hope doesn’t put us to shame.

And these three things happen “because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5 ESV)

Therefore

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13 NASB)

Here’s how to bring glory to God in everything you do!

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)

Serve one another in love

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Gal. 5:13 NIV)

Even Jesus came to serve others

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV)

Therefore

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” (Heb. 6:10 NIV)

“So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.” (Eccles. 11:10 NIV) 

God says many times in the Bible not to be anxious

It’s often stated as an outright command not to allow yourself to be anxious, period! That may seem shocking to those who may believe people have no self control over anxiety. But, just think about it, God would never command you to do, or not to do, anything you couldn’t do! The above passage, for instance, is a command to “banish anxiety from your heart.” Here is more from God’s Word on the subject.

Do not be anxious about anything

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 ESV)

Cast all your anxieties on Him! 

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 ESV) 

Jesus mentions “anxious” three times in the following passage and commands you not to be anxious

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matt. 6:25-34 ESV)

Therefore

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7 ESV)

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

There is salvation in no one else

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV)

Jesus is the mediator between man and God

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5 ESV)

Jesus is the door

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV) 

Jesus is the narrow gate”

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” (Matt. 7:13 NIV)

You’re not condemned if you believe in the Son of God

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18 ESV)

Therefore

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12 ESV)

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12 NIV)

The passage above tells important things we should know about the Word of God.

·      It is alive - not dead, alert and full of life, active, energetic, vigorous, vital, vivacious, exuberant. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John. 1:1 ESV). 

·      It is active - busy, energetic, lively, mobile, vigorous, dynamic.” So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11 ESV).

·      It is sharper than a two edged sword - the notion that if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways. 

·      It penetrates the heart – the center of hidden emotional-intellectual-moral activity.“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7).

·      It divides the soul and spirit

- Soul is your inmost being, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Psalm 193:1).

- Spirit is the immaterial part of you that “connects” with God, who Himself is spirit. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 NKJV)

·      It divides the joints and marrow - The marrow of a bone is in the very core of the bone and the joint is the point of connection on the outside of the bone itself that joins it to another bone. Therefore, the Word of God is sharp enough to separate between the inside and the outside of the bone. 

·      It judges thoughts of the heart – idea, notion, opinion, view, impression, feeling, theory; judgment, assessment, conclusion. 

·      It judges the attitudes of the heart – viewpoint, outlook, perspective, stance, standpoint, position, inclination, temper, orientation, approach, reaction; opinion. 

Therefore

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1Thess. 2:13 ESV)