The Legacy of a Father

By April Coble

Most people that know my

family don’t realize that the

man I call dad, Danny Hill, is not my

biological dad. My natural father was

murdered when I was 6 and my mom

remarried about 2 years later. Danny

began his entrance into my life in the

typical “step-father” role. Conflict was

often on the table and I was constantly

battling a variety of emotions that

children go through when parents

remarry. The “you’re not my dad”

syndrome, the “I want to go and live

with grandma” stage, and the ever

recurring, “mad at the world” phase.

To be honest, it is amazing that there are

even happy memories at all during those

first few years of blending family.

About four years into the new family,

there came a turning point. My parents

made the decision to move from

Thomasville to Clemmons in order to

attend Agape Faith Church. Looking

back, any member of my family can say

that is where things began to change.

My mom and Danny realized that for

God to be able to do a work in our

family, they had to allow Him to do a

work in them first. I began to see a real

change in them and how they treated

one another, and eventually that

change began to infuse itself into the

entire family.

Once the dust had settled, there came a

realization that I was more like the man

I had spent so much time battling, than

the man that had given me a last name.

I realized that God had hand chosen a

new father for me that could teach me,

lead me, and pass on to me a heritage of

integrity and a heritage of family values.

The memories of the fussing and fighting

began to fade, and memories of him

praying late at night for our family

began to take their place. He wanted

more for us than what he knew he could

provide, so he yielded himself to God to

be strengthened into the father he needed

to be. He knew that there were promises

from God that would not only change

his life but change his family. Twenty

seven years have passed since Danny first

became part of my family. Somewhere

along the way I yielded my heart and he

became my dad.

When we yield to the heritage that God

has for us, we can begin to understand

the message about the blessing of

Abraham. What is the blessing of

Abraham? How could the blessing of

one man, thousands of years ago,

possibly change someone's life in modern

times? God's interest and involvement in

the welfare of our forefather Abraham

speaks volumes to us today. As

descendants of Abraham, by virtue of

faith, we are promised the same measure

of blessing if we will approach God on

the right basis.

As believers, we have been given great

and precious promises. In this motivating

series, Pastor J.B. Whitfield shares how

we are called to partake of the nature

and character of God. We manifest that

nature by standing on the Word.

What we build on will determine

whether we have success or failure in

life. Pastor Whitfield explains what it

means to really stand on the promises

and walk in all the blessings that are

rightfully ours through Christ. These

messages share how you can know the

nature and will of God and experience

what He intended for every area of your

life.

Join Agape Faith Church Sundays in

October for our Legacy series, Sunday

mornings at 9am and 11am.

For more information you can visit us

online, and download our weekly

podcast. www.agapefaith.com.