You will find in God-blessed communities that the Lord raises up a few fathers in the faith who are steadfast, unflappable, unswerving, and a blessing to untold thousands. When the world is imploding, they are a sea of calm. When men lose heart, they refuse to give up. These fathers are men of duty, experience, and confidence in the Lord. If you have such men in your church or community, pray for them, support them, and encourage them.

In our community, there is one name which fits the bill described above. Everyone knows his name. Stop any man in the congregation of which I am a part (or in any of the other like-minded congregations in our community) and they will unequivocally tell you the wise father of our community is Mr. Bob Welch of Bible Teaching Ministries. They will also tell you that he is inaccessible on Mondays, because that is the day he climbs the mountain and dedicates his day to prayer. This week Bob is a new grandfather. All of us would like to extend our prayers for Bob, his bride Yvonne, his son and daughter-in-law, and his new grandchild — a child of hope and answered prayer.