Survival Gear for Dads – Day 6

It is amazing to me how quickly time flies and getting to look through various dad devotionals helps me grab hold of and make the most of each day. After a week of grabbing onto Love Slows Down, I did a search to discover what the next devotional series would be and found Survival Gear for Dads | Devotional Reading Plan | YouVersion Bible. Ever found it hard to be a godly dad? Ever found it exhausting to be a godly dad? Ever found it challenging to be a godly dad? Ever found it thrilling to be a godly dad? Ever found it confusing to be a godly dad? Ever found it rewarding to be a godly dad? As today’s devotional tells us “Being a godly father is an exhausting, challenging, thrilling, dangerous, confusing, and rewarding endeavor. It’s both a place you are and a journey you’re on. It’s a destination you arrive at and a process of becoming.” I am excited to get to read another devotional from the Manhood Journey and to read that this plan “will help you gear up for the journey, get a sense of where you are right now, and what steps to take next.” So let’s get into it and see what we can learn and what tools we can add to our toolbelt to be a part of our survival gear for this journey of being a godly dad!

Let’s check out our scriptures for today’s devotional:

• Luke 16:10
• 1 Corinthians 10:24
• Hebrews 13:5

‘ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ‘

Luke 16:10

‘No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. ‘

1 Corinthians 10:24

‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ‘

Hebrews 13:5

God’s Word is so incredible. It’s trustworthy throughout the generations! It’s unfailing and never changing! God’s Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! So let’s grab hold of what His Word tells us today!

Let’s be the dads who can be trusted! Let’s be the dads who are trustworthy no matter how much or how little we are given to take care of! Let’s be the dads who aren’t dishonest! Let’s be the dads who aren’t dishonest with even a little because it will point to a problem in our hearts and so put up barriers to getting trusted with much!

Let’s be the dads who are seeking the good of our wives! Let’s be the dads who are seeking the good of our kids! Let’s be the dads who are seeking the good of all those God brings into our lives! Let’s be the dads who aren’t selfish or self-seeking! Let’s be the dads God created, purposed, and plans for us to be and become!

Putting all of these together, let’s be the dads who are good stewards and demonstrate good stewardship!

Today’s devotional has been provided by Manhood Journey (https://www.manhoodjourney.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)

For more information, please visit About The Publisher.

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Steward Resources“

• Let’s be the dads who wake up each morning and get ready for the day ahead because we know that today will be “more like a treacherous hike over tricky terrain.“
• Let’s be the dads who prepare each morning for the day ahead picking up “tools to help us along the way“
• Let’s be the dads who don’t just get up and go but pause long enough to pick up the “tools every godly dad needs in his pack.“
• Let’s be the dads who don’t rush into each day unprepared but rather “walk step by step, loading in each tool one at a time.“
• Let’s be the dads who don’t try to get through life alone but rather choose to walk it out with God so that “along the way, we’ll get help knowing why each tool is important and how to properly handle it.“
• Today’s devotional get us started with the second tool for our toolbelt that we need to be carrying with us today!
  • “Tool 6: Steward Resources”
    • Let’s be the dads who want to go it God’s way rather than the way of man!
    • Let’s be the dads who choose to live selfless rather than selfishly!
    • Let’s be the dads who know what is valuable and most important!
    • Let’s be the dads who value people over possessions!
    • Let’s be the dads who value relations over money!
    • Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives demonstrating to our wives, kids, and others what’s really most important because we know what will last!
    • Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives demonstrating how much others mean since material possessions won’t make it to heaven or hell!
    • Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives demonstrating how much others mean because we know that their souls are important to God and should be to us too!
    • Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives demonstrating by the way we live that we are storing up treasures in heaven where moths and rust can’t destroy them and where thieves can’t break in and steal them!
    • Today’s devotional shares an example of how the world views things when they take an example from Shark Tank:
      • “Watching an episode of Shark Tank, one of the business mogul’s said, “The most important thing in this world – is money.” Let that sink in. The mogul’s words make for entertaining television. But, that’s a lousy lesson to teach our kids. Are we teaching our kids this unintentionally?“
    • Let’s be the dads who aren’t materialistic! We know we need money to take care of our wives, kids, and others but we need to make sure we keep things in the right priority order!
    • Let’s be the dads who know that every good and perfect gift comes from God! So we don’t have to worry about that! We get to choose to be good stewards of it though!
    • Let’s be the dads who are focused on accomplishing God’s will, plan, and purpose rather than falling into the trap of the world and consumerism!
    • Today’s devotional speaks to this as follows:
      • “The world respects this idea. The ultimate goal is to get MORE. Hopefully, that isn’t how you view your resources. Time, money, resources—they aren’t the most important things. And, biblically speaking, and they’re not even yours. “
    • Let’s be the dads who are godly and understand that everything is God’s and we are to be good stewards of what He gives us to manage!
    • Let’s be the dads who are godly and understand that everything is God’s and we aren’t owners but managers of what He has given to us!
    • Today’s devotional speaks to it this way:
      • “The godly dad understands everything he has is not his own. His money, time, family, possessions, influence. These are all gifts that must be stewarded well.” 
    • Do you realize how blessed and wealthy you are?
    • Today’s devotional raises an interesting reality:
      • “A steward stewards things. If you have access to the following items, you’re incredibly wealthy compared to most people: 
        • clean water
        • clothes
        • a roof
        • transportation
        • one book 
      • Since you’re reading this plan right now, you’re among the world’s better off. Therefore, since you’ve been given so much, how are you stewarding those resources?“
    • Let’s be the dads who are being good stewards of the time God has given us!
    • Let’s be the dads who are being good stewards of the money God has given us!
    • Let’s be the dads who are being good stewards of the resources God has given us!
    • Remember the story of the talents? (In case yo ever wondered how much is a talent of God, sharing this link. One Talent of Gold Today) Let’s be the dads who get to hear “well done, good and faithful servant”!
      • ‘ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ‘
        Matthew 25:14-30
    • Ever considered that being a good steward doesn’t mean just when you have a bunch? Ever heard the story of the widow’s mite?
      • ‘As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” ‘
        Luke 21:1-4
    • Today’s devotional closes with a thought on time, money, and resources:
      • “A few words come to mind when it comes to time, money, and resources.
        • GIVE: You’re committed to giving faithfully and sacrificially
        • PLAN: You manage your time and budget with purpose.
        • TEACH: You help your kids know they’re stewards, not owners.
      • Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 
      • Remember, when it comes to resources, nothing is yours. It’s all God’s. Are you a giver or a taker? An owner or a steward? “