The Way of the Father: Lessons From My Dad, Truths About God – Day 1

It’s time for a new devotional for us to review and consider. I found this new devotional from Michael W. Smith, published by K-Love that sounds like it will be a great thing to help us be the dads. Today’s devotional will help us to consider our perspective and see how God sees us and as such how to be the dads who live our lives with the same perspective towards our kids. Today’s devotional tells us how “Because of your relationship with Jesus, your Abba Father looks at you and says, “That’s my child!” God’s first thought is of you as His son or daughter, all from a heart of love.” Today’s devotional is “K-LOVE Books’ inaugural release from artist, actor, and author Michael W. Smith, The Way of the Father, offers this five-day study to encourage and inspire every Christ-follower in a personal journey of faith with the Father.” So let’s get into it and learn more about the way of our Father and the truths of God!

Today’s devotional gets us started with the following verses: John 3:1-2.

“Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.””

John‬ ‭3:1-2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Ever considered if anyone can tell that God is with you when you are out there living your life? Ever wondered what things in your life others see and can tell that you are being the dad who is walking with God? Why not lean in today and walk out today with God so that you can live out your today in away where others will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven? Will you be sensitive to the Spirit and live out your today in a way where by being the dad who God will use, will bless, will lead, will guide, and will empower to do mighty things for the glory of His Kingdom? Let’s choose to make today count and be the dads who cause others to come up to us because they identify something different about us that points them to God.

I remember a time at work here a guy from the office came by and said “Phil, do you have a minute?” I said sure. He said that he noticed I as a religious man to which I questioned him because to me with Jesus it isn’t about being religious but about living a life in relationship with Jesus. He asked if we could go talk in one of the rooms and so we did. It was an incredible time where I learned more about him and was able to both share Jesus with him and even help him to invite Jesus into his life. I don’t go around preaching or pointing fingers or telling people things to scare them into turning to God but here must have been something about how I was living that got his attention because even though we didn’t really work together, he felt comfortable and the desire to connect and learn more about God.

How about you? Are you living different than the world? Are you living in a way where people are able to see that God is with you? Are you ready to get started? are you ready to invite Jesus in and ask Him to walk with you in a way that will help you be the dad that your wife, your kids, and this world needs? Let’s make today count! Let’s be the dads who live our lives in a way where people see Jesus in us and through us and help them realize that we are being the dads ho want to touch and transform the world around us starting at home with our wives and kids.

Today’s devotional has been provided by K-LOVE books (more details can be found here: About The Publisher)

Reading through today’s devotional, here are some takeaways for me:
(check out the devotional on your own too to see if you pick up other nuggets, and please share your findings in the comments)

For more information, please visit https://www.klove.com/books.

Take-Aways from today’s Devotional

• Let’s be the dads who know who we are so that we can be who God created us to become!
• As today’s devotional puts it:
  • “As a son, husband, father, and grandfather, I have come to understand that we can never truly step into our destiny until we know who we are.”
• Let’s be the dads who realize “that what we do for a living actually has little to do with our identity—even though we can mistakenly perceive that to be true.”
• Let’s be the dads who invite Jesus into our hearts and live our lives for and to glorify God!
• Today’s devotional speaks to the following truth:
  • “who we are can only be determined by Whose we are.”
• Let’s be the dads who choose to spend time alone with God, to build a relationship with Him, and to walk out our lives with Jesus!
• Today’s devotional says to following: “We can’t arrive at a true place of intimacy in our hearts with God until we receive the grace that our Father offers us to experience daily when we choose to accept His gift.”
• Let’s be the dads who have strong faith!
• Let’s be the dads who accept the knowledge Jesus and who Jesus is and how He lived!
• Let’s be the dads who accept the belief in Jesus and who He is and how He lived!
• Let’s be the dads who accept the truth of Jesus and was we learn about Him, from Him, and through Him!
• Let’s be the dads who wake up every morning and tells ourselves: “I know I’m not there yet, but I like who I’m becoming. Father, I love what You’re doing. I know I’ve got a long way to go. But today, I love who You are making and molding me to be, in Your image.”
• Today’s devotional prefaced the above quote by saying: “Regardless of who you are, your station in life, age, who your parents are or were; regardless of their presence or absence, how good or horrible they might have been”.
• Let’s stop holding back all God has purposed and created for us to be!
• Let’s be the dads who allow others to hold us back from all that God has created us to be!
• Remember we are children of God!
• Remember we are children of God because “He calls us his children, and that is what we are!”
• Let’s be the dads who go from just knowing or saying that God loves us and start letting God love us!
• Today’s devotional says it this way: “Whatever your struggle, whatever your pain, whatever you have walked or crawled through, whatever you did to someone or someone did to you, God can father you. Let Him be your Parent.”
• Michael W. Smith shares this truth that we need to grab a hold of so that we can be the dads:
• “this simple truth that can set you free: God is a good, good Father. Your good, good Father.”
• Today’s devotional closes out with the following:
  • “Can you look in the mirror and make the statement I shared above? If not, why not?”
  • “Write down anything that might be holding you back.”
  • “Take a few minutes to talk to your Father about how you feel.”