I found this devotional: Being Fathered By God. The devotional seems very powerful and purposeful as it calls out how “Every man has had authority figures in his life, and much of what a man perceives about God was shaped by those authority figures. His earthly father is at the top of every man’s authority list.” So I took on the offer to join the journey into this devotional. Will you join me on this 14-day journey?
Scripture for Today’s Devotional:
‘Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ‘
John 14:8-9
Do you realize the value of God’s Word? Do you realize what God gives you through His Word? Are you ready and willing to spend time hearing from God through His Word? Are you ready to share God’s Word with the people around you?
Let’s be the dads who know because we spend so much time with God! Let’s be the dads who know because we spend such quality and quantity time with Jesus! Let’s be the dads who know Jesus and walk with the Holy Spirit in order to walk in alignment with God’s plan and purpose! Let’s be the dads who live for God! Let’s be the dads who live to glorify God! Let’s be the dads who trust God and acknowledge Him so that He is able to show us which path to take!
Today’s devotional was provided by Michael Thompson where on zoweh.org they share the following: “Every man has had authority figures in his life, and much of what a man perceives about God and projects onto God was shaped by those authority figures. At the top of every man’s authority list is his earthly father. How your dad handled your heart has shaped you and contributed significantly to how you perceive God. Join us for this journey towards experiencing the heart of the Father and getting everything out of the way that is in the way of being a Beloved Son.“
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)
Through zoweh.org, you are able to download today’s devotional and many others.
For more information, please visit https://www.zoweh.org/youversion.
Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“The Way We See Him“
- Let’s be the dads who realize that God loves us out of delight, not an obligation!
- Let’s be the dads who love God out of delight, not an obligation!
- Let’s be the dads who love our wives out of delight, not an obligation!
- Let’s be the dads who love our kids out of delight, not an obligation!
- Let’s be the dads who love because we have to but rather because we get to and we want to!
- Let’s be the dads who see God as the one who wants to love us and gets to love us, not has to love or is obliged to love us!
- Let’s be the dads who aren’t looking to live life as a suffering time!
- Let’s be the dads who are looking to live our lives to God’s plan and purpose, in order to live life to the full and more abundantly!
- Ever questioned or felt like less? Let’s consider that feeling and reflect on what today’s devotional shares with us:
- “When my oldest daughter was about eight, she asked me if I thought she looked pretty. “Absolutely,” I said…“Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sooo pretty.” With a hint of dissatisfaction, she replied, “Dad, you’re supposed to say that.”“
- Don’t make it a have-to but instead a get-to!
- Do make it an obligation but rather a delight!
- “My daughter’s statement expressed the way that I frequently felt about my heavenly Father when I was growing up—that He sent his Son to die for me, but that was his duty—that it was a large inconvenience to him—that He loves me—but then, he has to. In other words, my Father didn’t love me just because he loved me. He loved me because he was supposed to love me. It was a matter of obligation, not delight. And on my part, I needed to be thankful and obedient and not rock the boat. Let a sleeping God lie. Try not to do anything stupid. But if I did, when I sinned, I was to wake God up to the fact, ask him for forgiveness, and then check myself into the penalty box to suffer for a time until he calmed down.“
- Don’t make it a have-to but instead a get-to!
- Do make it an obligation but rather a delight!
- “Some days, the suffering started even before I hit the penalty box. That was usually my cue: You have done something wrong; now go to your room! Most Sunday mornings at church reinforced this underachieving and grim life cycle: “Thank you for coming; you don’t deserve his love; come back next week for more reminders of the abundant life.”“
- Don’t make it a have-to but instead a get-to!
- Do make it an obligation but rather a delight!
- “If I could just pull it together, maybe he would bless me or at least not punish me. That probably wouldn’t happen, but I had to at least keep trying.“
- “That is how I saw God for much of my life. And I’m not the only one. Many believe God is mostly mad at us, on the verge of getting even, and setting some record straight. Others see God as distant and disinterested, unconcerned about our daily affairs. Then again, maybe he’s behind the inconveniences and hardships of our lives. I wish I had a nickel for every time I‘ve heard a man talk about God “whacking” him upside the head with a two-by-four.“
- “When my oldest daughter was about eight, she asked me if I thought she looked pretty. “Absolutely,” I said…“Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sooo pretty.” With a hint of dissatisfaction, she replied, “Dad, you’re supposed to say that.”“
- Let’s be the dads who have the right view of God!
- Let’s be the dads who model the right view of God inside and outside of our family and home!
- Let’s be the dads who live with a get-to attitude!
- We get to be married to our incredible wives and love them!
- We get to have incredible kids to love on!
- We get to spend time with people and allow the love of God to overflow into their lives!
- As we reflect on today’s devotional, let’s consider what we think or believe and capture the truth of God!
- Today’s devotional gives us the following questions to help with this time of reflection:
- Which of that is true of God?
- Is any of it true?
- If there is more to God than that, then how does it all work?
- Who is he really?
- What is he truly like?
- Let’s be the dads who spend time in God’s Word in order to know who He is and know His character!
- Let’s be the dads who like our heavenly Father live lives sacrificially for our loved ones!
- Let’s be the dads who delight in our wives, kids, and those people God brings into our world because we get to!
- Let’s be the dads who aren’t burdened or living out of obligations when it comes to loving our wives, kids, and those people God brings into our lives!
- As we pause and reflect on today’s devotional, taking time alone with God, ask Him to help you become the man of God that He created, purposed, and plans for you to be and become!
- Today’s devotional closes with this:
