Guest Contributor: Patty Taggart

 

I discovered Patty when we became facebook friends. She drew me in to begin with by her daily posts that were funny, clever and Biblical.

Then I started reading her longer posts which dealt with specific topics which she gleaned from events in the Scriptures. She seemed to always be able to bring out the essence of what the story was trying to tell us and then leave us with something to think about at the end.

It has been some time since I've been able to post here since I have four other blogs, but I have had a few, select "Guest Contributors" featured here in the past.

I reached out to Patty and she graciously agreed to help me by allowing me to publish her writings here.

So, without further preamble, I will let Patty introduce herself to you in her own way and words.

"Hello,

My name is Patty Taggart. I am the founder and teacher of  Walking with Jesus Facebook group. I love the Lord. I love learning about and sharing His Word. I consider myself a child of God, and a Believer. I don't identify with any particular religion, I believe in love, forgiveness, and mercy. Jesus loved all people, not just a select few. " You are never too far gone or too sinful for Jesus." That is the message that I try to convey. 

I was broken, unloved, full of shame and guilt. I didn't trust anyone, not even myself. At the time, I believed in God, but did not have a personal relationship with Him. All of that was about to change. 4 years ago this month, my oldest son died in a car crash. Needless to say, I was devastated. I was so broken hearted, so lost, so broken. 

The day of the viewing, I was the first one to have a private viewing. I remember looking down the room to the open casket and being frozen in place. My feet would not move.

 Then something happened to me that I will never forget as long as I breath. My feet started moving and when I reached the casket and stopped and looked down upon my son, Jesus wrapped His arms around me and held me as I cried. Then He gave me a vision of my son, in his heavenly home. Jesus chose me at that moment. And I became His. And He became mine. We have an agape kind of love. My only prayer is that all His children can share that kind of love with Him."

The Sins of our Fathers.

Exodus 34:7

"who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

Isaiah 14:21

“Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter

Because of the iniquity of their fathers.

They must not arise and take possession of the earth

And fill the face of the world with cities.”

Lamentations 5:7

"Our fathers sinned, and are no more;

It is we who have borne their iniquities."

There are consequences for all of our sins. But have you ever stopped to consider to whom these consequences may fall upon? A good example of the sins of our fathers, lies with King David. David commits adultery with Bathsheba and then puts her husband on the front lines when David finds out that she is pregnant, hoping that he will die. And he does, so not only is he guilty of adultery but also murder.

 And so God sends Nathan to David and he tells David this story about a rich man that took from a poor man and David's anger was great and says that the man should should restore what he took fourfold and that he should surely die. Nathan tells David "you are this man."

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die."

( 2 Samuel 12:10-14)

So as you can see, God's judgement was on David but also upon his children.  David’s own judgment of a “fourfold” judgment came to fruition: His four sons died terrible deaths because of the result of his sin. Bathsheba’s first son (2 Sam. 12:14-18), Amnon (2 Sam. 13:28-29), Absalom (2 Sam. 18:14), and Adonijah (1 Kings 2:25) all died prematurely because of David’s sin. This promise of the sword never leaving Davids house came to pass.

When David fled from his rebellious son, Absalom, he left ten of his concubines behind to keep his house, but when Absalom came to the forsaken, royal court he followed the counsel of Ahithophel to rape these women, who were unable to resist or flee. In a tent on the top of the house, and in sight of all Israel, Absalom satisfied his lustful revenge on the ten helpless women.

 The prophet Nathan had foretold that the nature of David’s punishment would correspond to the character of his secret crime in his adulterous act with Bathsheba, and in the planned murder of her husband Uriah.

And last, but certainly not the least, the child that was conceived out of adultery.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

(2 Samuel 12:14-18)

All the nations knew that David was protected and lead by the Lord. So the Lord had to have severe consequences so that they could not say that the God of David let him commit adultery and murder. 

 As believers, we know that there are consequences for our sins. But we have to ask ourselves, "how many of our sins, will our children or grandchildren have to pay for?".

~~ by Patty Taggart 

If you wish to read more from Patty come back, because we will be featuring her again in the near future.

Also, you can connect with her at her Facebook page where she keeps all of us well encouraged with her daily posts.

Thank you Patty for sharing with us.

Sincerely, Laura-Lee

Patty Taggart on Facebook

LINK "Walking with Jesus" at Facebook