As this 3-day devotional comes to a close I have been happy to get to watch, listen, and read from it and receive the wisdom of God in and through it. I am looking forward to seeing how today’s post will conclude and how it will help us be the dads that God created us to be!
Scripture for Today’s Devotional:
‘ And then a certain lawyer arose to try (test, tempt) Him, saying, Teacher, what am I to do to inherit everlasting life [that is, to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]? Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it? And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. [Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5.] And Jesus said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live [enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God]. And he, determined to acquit himself of reproach, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Jesus, taking him up, replied, A certain man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings and beat him and went their way, [unconcernedly] leaving him half dead, as it happened. Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down along that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. A Levite likewise came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled along, came down to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity and sympathy [for him], And went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii [two day’s wages] and gave [them] to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I [myself] will repay you when I return. Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? He answered, The one who showed pity and mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.’
Luke 10:25-37
Let’s be the dads who are prepared to face the troubles, the tricks, the temptations, the tests, and the trials that will come our way! Remember, we shouldn’t be surprised as Jesus has warned us that in this world we will have troubles and fortunately He didn’t stop there but rather encouraged us that we can take hope because He has overcome the world! Let’s be the dads who consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds because we know it builds our faith and perseverance and when it has finished its work we will be complete and lacking nothing! Let’s be the dads who are prepared by putting on the full armor of God! ‘Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.‘ (Ephesians 6:11-18)
Let’s be the dads who are focused on eternity and our desire to spend eternity with God and the desire for our wives and kids to spend eternity with God too! Let’s be the dads who love the Lord our God with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our strength and with all our minds! Let’s be the dads who love our neighbors as yourselves! Let’s be the dads who realize that everyone is our neighbor and so let’s not live with prejudice but rather live with love towards each one! Let’s grab hold of the story of the Samaritan and realize how Jesus used it to demonstrate how we are to love our neighbors!
Do you love your neighbor? Is there anything that would or could or has caused you to not love your neighbor that you need to bring to God and bring to them in order to find reconciliation and healing in order to be able to love your neighbor no matter what?
Let’s be the dads who are able to share mercy and grace with those we come across in our lives!
Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Elevation Church!
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://elevationchurch.org/youth
Takeaways from Today’s Devotionals:
“Who’s Responsible?“
As we close out today’s devotional we can’t miss out on the powerful video that kicks it off. Let’s be the dads who are willing to take on the tough conversations and get to the root and truth of the matter!
- Let’s be the dads who spend time in God’s Word!
- Let’s be the dads who spend time with the Holy Spirit!
- Let’s be the dads who receive revelation through relationships!
- Let’s be the dads who seek revelation so that we can do more!
- Let’s be the dads who aren’t looking to be self-righteous or selfish!
- Let’s be the dads who get revelation knowledge to do more!
- Let’s be the dads who are active in tearing down racism and prejudice!
- Let’s be the dads who realize that there are so many people who are impacted or feeling bad because of the impact of racism and prejudice towards them!
- Let’s be the dads who take ownership of the problem so we can take responsibility and be doing something to make things better!
- Let’s be the dads who realize what we’ve inherited, we didn’t do it, but that we have a part in being part of the solution!
- Let’s be the dads who walk around with awareness and understanding of what is going on!
- Let’s be the dads who share experiences through relationships!
- Let’s be the dads who don’t act out of guilt or condemnation but rather through the lens of what Jesus did and has done!
- Let’s be the dads who see the pain taking place in our world and how the character of Jesus put himself in the middle of our mess and came to serve us, so let’s serve!
- Let’s be the dads who are like the good Samaritan who take responsibility and care well for people around us!
- Let’s be the dads who are like the good Samaritan who takes responsibility and care well for people around us – that is to take our abilities to create interactions that exceed expectations!
- Let’s be the dads who are like the good Samaritan who goes beyond just the minimum expectations but instead goes the extra mile and even provides funding to help the man who had been passed by so many others!
- Let’s be the dads who realize revelation = relationship and relationship = revelation as well as revelation = responsibility!
- Let’s be the dads who look to allow God to clean our hearts!
- Jesus died for those He disagreed with!
- Let’s be the dads who share the revelation into action!
- Today’s devotional kicks off back to the topic of the word revelation:
- Let’s be the dads who answer the call of Jesus to raise the bar, not letting average drop to the lowest common denominator but rather raise the bar and raise the average!
- Today’s devotional continues with the topic of needing to go beyond just feeling bad about something but instead putting that feeling into action:
- Today’s devotional challenges us to pick up the baton from the Good Samaritan in order to get involved and do what is needed for the hurting people around us:
- “In Luke 10, a religious expert asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life, and Jesus told him, “You must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your passion, all your energy, and your every thought. And you must love your neighbor as yourself.”
The Bible tells us that the religious expert wanted to justify himself, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?” (Side note: if you’re trying to justify yourself, then take that as a potential red flag that you might not be concerned with justice for others.)
Jesus answered the religious expert with a story about a man who was attacked by robbers, stripped of his clothes, beaten, and left for dead.
Jesus said two different religious leaders (aka the “ultimate Christians”) saw the injured man, but crossed the street to pass by on the other side. Maybe they pretended not to see so they could avoid the problem. We don’t know their motives — we just know they missed the point. They knew a lot, but they didn’t do anything to make a difference.
Eventually, a Samaritan saw the wounded man and had compassion for him. Jesus was strategic in his storytelling — in that day, Jewish culture looked down on Samaritans because of their race and religion. However, it was the Samaritan who bandaged the man’s wounds, put him on his donkey, and paid for him to stay safe in an inn until he was fully recovered.
Jesus concluded this story by saying, “Go and do the same.” “
- “In Luke 10, a religious expert asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life, and Jesus told him, “You must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your passion, all your energy, and your every thought. And you must love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Let’s be the dads who look to go and do what the Samaritan did!
- Let’s be the dads who go beyond the expected to exceed expectations!
- Today’s devotional challenges us to be doers of the Word and put what we learn into practical action!
- Today’s devotional challenges us to go beyond posting and praying it away but rather like the Good Samaritan, we need to take action!
- Let’s be the dads who “listen to the people in your life who have been knocked down or held back because of racism, and then use your resources, your time, and your influence to help them move forward“!
- Let’s grab hold of today’s challenge from our devotional:
