"But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God." - 1 Timothy 5:4

Tim Burke was born on February 19, 1959 in Omaha, Nebraska. After attending the University of Nebraska, he entered professional baseball and began his Major League baseball career on April 8, 1985. In the early 1990's, Tim and his wife wanted to start a family, but then they discovered they were unable to have children. After much prayer, they decided to adopt four special-needs international children.

This led to one of the most difficult decisions in Tim's life. He discovered that the time on the road playing baseball was conflicting with the time his wife and children needed him to be a husband and a dad. Tim turned to the Lord and prayed and soon the decision became easy. After the 1992 season and eight years in the major leagues, he was going to retire from baseball to devote more time with his family. When he left the stadium for the last time, reporters asked why he was retiring at such an early age. He replied: "Baseball is going to do just fine without me. It's not going to miss a beat. But I'm the only father my children have. I'm the only husband my wife has. And they need me a lot more than baseball does."

One of the greatest ministries you can have is to your own family. It brings joy to your relatives and it is pleasing to God. Today in prayer, give thanks to the Lord for your family and ask how you can be more caring to your family.

"The mind of Christ is to learned in the family. Strength of character may be acquired at work, but beauty of character is learned at home. There the affections are trained." - Henry Drummond

God's Word: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother'--which is the first commandment with a promise-'that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.'" - Ephesians 6:1-3

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2003, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN 1 TIMOTHY pkennedy@devotional.com

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