“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
– Deuteronomy 6:4 -9
Joseph Kemp was a Scottish Pastor whom God used in the Revival at Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh (1905-1907). His father, a policeman, drowned when he was seven years old and his mother died two years later. The loss of both his parents resulted in Joseph and his five siblings to live as orphans in separate homes. Joseph and Mr. Russell’s paths crossed. Mr. Russell had also been an orphan, and he took a particular interest in Joseph. When Joseph was twelve years old, he had to leave Hull to start working as a page-boy, in Bridlington. Mr. Russell gave him a Bible and sent with him several letters to encourage him. Joseph learned how to pray through Mr. Russell’s instruction: “Lord, take my heart, and give me Thy Holy Spirit.”
One of his letters read: “Now, my friend, let me ask you to read your Bible every day if it is only a little; and remember, when you read it, it is God’s voice speaking to you. Believe every word of it. Even if people tell you it is not the truth, don’t listen to them. I want you to begin at the beginning by believing in Jesus and be saved first.”
When Joseph was able to move back to Hull, Mr. Russell took him into his small home (Mark 6:10). Mr. Russell’s thorough training shaped and laid the foundations of Joseph’s future. It was with the support and encouragement of Mr. Russell that, at the age of twenty, Joseph left for pastorate training at Glasgow Bible Training Institute. Later, he would pastor at the Charlotte Chapel church and be used mightily by God as an instrument of Revival.
Mr. Russell reminds me of Luke, who wrote two letters to Theophilus (Luke 1: 1-4; Acts 1: 1-3), and Paul, who wrote to his protégé Timothy (1&2 Timothy). It is astonishing how their letters impacted those two individuals and guided them. Just like them, God wants to use you to become a spiritual mentor to your family. God longs for men to lead their families in the truth of the Lord. God rejoices over those parents who guide their children in His ways. He wants you to prepare your loved ones for their futures by laying their foundation firmly on God. If you start teaching and directing your family at your home, they will understand the way they should go and be empowered to become all that God wants them to be.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for those spiritual mentors and friends you have placed in my life. Please help me to be one for my family and those friends that you have entrusted to me. Amen.