A Father’s Legacy – Day 8

Ever wondered if God’s timing was perfect? Ever wondered if God’s plan for you was good and for your good? Ever wondered if God’s calling might be connected to what He wants you to do today? Well, the reality that I am writing this post is God’s calling on me to start Be The Dads. Well, the reality that I started this new devotional that happens to be 9 days which means it will end on a specific day makes me believe yes. Options are on the table and which one leans more towards what God is calling me to do and to be and His plans and His purpose for His glory? So are you ready to meet with and live out your life with Jesus for His purpose and plans? Are you ready to meet with and live out your life with Jesus in order to “build a new and different life in Him“? Are you ready to meet with and live out your life with Jesus so that you will be able to transform into standing on the strongest foundation possible! What’s the plan? “Do not live without a strategy.” Let’s be the dads who are focused on each becoming “a legacy-minded man and will result in a life of lasting impact.“

Today’s devotional gets us started with the following verse:

• Acts 1:8

‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ‘

Acts 1:8

Are you ready to wait? Are you ready to wait even if you don’t know what it will look like? Are you ready to wait even if you don’t know how it will happen? Are you ready to wait until the time is right? Are you ready for a sign from God that will tell you the time is right? Are you ready to receive from God so that you will have what you need to move forward? Let’s dig a bit deeper into what today’s verse is saying by getting context from the verses around it:

‘On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” ‘

Acts 1:4-11

So now we get context for what Jesus was saying but let’s go 1 verse farther to capture what they did in response to Jesus:

‘Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. ‘

Acts 1:12-14

So are you ready to wait on God? Are you ready to be in conversation with God till the timing is right? Are you ready to receive power from God before you decide to move forward with anything? Will you keep doing what needs to be done while you wait? Not knowing the day or the time they went to Jerusalem and waited. Not knowing what was about to happen they did what they knew to do which was pray and serve one another. We see how they were moving together in unity and at the speed of health while they waited upon the Lord. If we jump ahead to Acts 2 we discover the outcome of the waiting and the power of which Jesus spoke when we read:

‘When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ‘

Acts 2:1-4

Let’s be the dads who are willing and ready to wait upon the Lord! Let’s be the dads who are ready and willing to wait for the sign before moving forward in God’s power! Let’s be the dads who aren’t satisfied going it in our own strength but want to be doing God’s will and so are ready and willing to wait on God in order to receive the power we need to accomplish His good works for His praise, honor, and glory!

Today’s devotional has been provided by Legacy Minded Men (more details can be found here: https://www.legacymindedmen.org/)

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)

To learn more about Legacy Minded Men, visit https://www.legacymindedmen.org/.

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional: 

• Topic/Title: “Pillar 7: Power“
• Today’s devotional gets us started on the topic of power with the reality that sometimes we plugin or think we plugin to get power but the reality is we never actually engaged it to be able to receive the power.
  • “Back in 2011, our house flooded from Hurricane Irene. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit and we faced the threat of even more flooding. However, something almost worse than flooding happened—the power went out for seven solid days. How do you survive with no electricity for an entire week? Fortunately, we were blessed to have a generator. Unfortunately, when I tried to start the generator, it wouldn’t start.
    
    After a round of troubleshooting, I asked a neighbor who is mechanically inclined to take a look at it. He came over, flipped the switch, pulled the cord, and it started right up. I was dumbfounded. I asked him what happened, and he told me, “You never engaged it. You had the fuse set to off.” Many times, when we want to plug into power, we fail to engage; we fail to connect in a way that turns the power on.“
• Let’s be the dads who go beyond just trying to plugin and move to engage the power from God!
• Let’s be the dads who go beyond knowing about God to knowing God so that we can engage His power in and through our lives!
• Let’s be the dads who go from knowing about Jesus as their savior but not engaging with Jesus in order to have His strength running in our lives!
• Let’s be the dads who don’t short-circuit God’s work in our lives by allowing sin or unbelief to short-circuit our connection to the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives!
• Let’s be the dads who connect with God and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our path and empower every aspect of our lives!
• Let’s not be stuck like the generator issue above where the generator had the power but the connection was bad.
• Let’s be the dads who are connected to God as our source, our strength, and our power so that we can live our lives to the full for the glory of God!
• Let’s be the dads who call Jesus our Savior! Let’s be the dads who call Jesus our Lord!
• Let’s be the dads who aren’t just saved by grace through faith in Jesus but are also giving all we have over to God pursuing His wishes and handing Him the keys to our lives!
• Let’s be the dads who give God the keys to our lives so that we can walk in His power to accomplish His will for our lives and through our lives in Jesus’s name!
• Let’s be the dads who rely on God for everything!
• Let’s be the dads who see the victory because we rely on Him for everything!
• Let’s be the dads who walk with, talk with, and listen and obey the instructions and directions of the still quiet voice of the Holy Spirit!
• Today’s devotional gives us some things to ponder and consider:
  • “Think About It:”
    • “God is still a God of power! What miracles have you seen?”
    • “God is love, so His power works towards people. What practical ways can you release His compassion towards people who are hurting?”
    • “What are ways you can depend on the Holy Spirit more in your daily life?”
• Today’s devotional again calls us to raise the bar:
  • “Legacy Lifter:”
    • “When your strength is gone or feels weak, that’s where God’s strength takes over.“