Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
Psalm 79:8

Have you ever felt that the STRUGGLE of LIFE is fierce, unrelenting and absolutely beyond our ability to grasp, see or comprehend ….?

At times, we believe so, and this belief is affirmed by the following:

…. our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12

Irene and I have felt for some time that the amyloid journey has been as much a spiritual battle as that of being a very physical one…

We were discussing OUR sinful nature and the “sins of our fathers” that pass from generation to generation.  Scripture is abundantly clear about that reality ….

Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.
Exodus 34:7

Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers’ sins they will waste away.
Leviticus 26:29b

The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.
Number 14:18

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me…
Deuteronomy 5:9

We take scripture very seriously.

We also take sin very seriously.  Sin is separation from God; our sinful and willful disobedience is an abomination to the living God.

Last evening Irene and I entered a season of prayer …. confessing and renouncing our sins, iniquities and transgressions before a Holy God.  We confessed our sins of commission …. and those of omission.  We implored His absolution.  We pled for cleansing and purity.  We sought sanctification and forgiveness from the generational sins in our family heritage.  We prayed scripture back to God.

Our confession and extended time of calling upon God resulted in significant emotion, weeping and, in many ways, regret for how we have lived our lives …. even as followers of Jesus for the last 28 years.

Why did we enter such a season ….?

We are praying for a spiritual BREAKTHROUGH.

We long to break the stronghold of SIN in our lives.  We endeavor to break the foothold of generational sins …. those sins that we may or not even be aware of in our family of those who have come before us …. our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents …. those sins that we don’t want passed in our lineage.

• We are praying that our children will not have to forebear the sins of their parents.
• We are praying that our daughters will not be oppressed and tormented by the evil in this world.
• We are praying to loose the chains of injustice.
• We are praying for the yoke of spiritual slavery to be broken.
• We are praying that our progeny will not be punished for our sins.
• We are praying that God will not hold OUR sins against our family and that His mercy will come quickly …. for we are in desperate need.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Isaiah 58:6

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Isaiah 58:9

As we concluded our extended time of intercessory prayer, the Lord showed me a miraculous image in my mind’s eye which I immediately shared with Irene …. that image was that of a chain and shackles …. literally shattered.

Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
Psalm 79:8

Caminando con Fé

Dave