Eyes on Jesus – Day 4

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus or else we will get distracted by the winds and waves, storms and news. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we can keep walking forward with Him rather than allowing the lies and tricks of the devil to trip us up or stop us. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we know which path to take as we trust God rather than leaning on our own understanding. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we don’t give up and can finish strong!

Scripture from Today’s Devotional:

‘But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]. ‘

1 Corinthians 2:14

God’s Word is active and alive and the Holy Spirit will reveal things to us each time we turn to it. So let’s stay close to the Holy Spirit and choose to make time to be in the Word of God daily so that God can speak to us, leading and guiding us, comforting and giving us peace.

Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Tim Ferrara (Discerning Dad) | Twitter, Instagram, YouTube | Linktree!

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://linktr.ee/discerning_dad

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Don’t allow the fear of the future to keep you from living for today!”

• Remember what God told us about tomorrow vs today?
  • “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
• Today’s devotional raises such a question about if you have ever done that to yourself when it says:
  • “Did you ever look ahead in school at the math books of future grades? Maybe a sibling brought home their books and you glanced through them thinking, “I’m never going to understand this stuff!”“
  • “It becomes evident that once you learn the rules of math, practice, listen to the teacher, and progress at the right pace, the later material that looked so hard actually wasn’t as bad as it seemed (regardless if you like math or not).“
• Let’s be the dads who study God’s Word!
• Let’s be the dads who listen to what God has to say through His Word and His pastors and His Spirit!
• Let’s be the dads who practice what we have studied, heard, and learned from God’s Word!
• Let’s be the dads who go from being hearers of the Word to doers of the Word!
• Let’s be the dads our wives, kids, and the world needs us to be!
• Today’s devotional speaks to this need and purpose when it says:
  • “The Holy Spirit brings revelation, and is a source of our discernment as Christians. God is constantly training us, growing us, showing us new things so that when we make progress towards sanctification, we should be able to look back and see how far we’ve grown. Ten years ago, we may have never seen ourselves being the follower of Christ that we are now. We should keep pursuing our Father as He always has more to reveal.“
• Let’s be the dads who spend time in God’s Word so that the Holy Spirit can reveal and enlighten us!
• Let’s be the dads who make time daily to hear from God through His Spirit from His Word!
• Today’s devotional shares a quote from A.W. Tozer that says:
  • “When the Spirit illuminates the heart, then a part of the man sees which never saw before; a part of him knows which never knew before, and that with a kind of knowing which the most acute thinker cannot imitate.”
• Let’s be the dads who allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts!
• Let’s be the dads who allow the light of the Word of God to illuminate things that allow us to see what used to be hidden from our sight!
• Let’s be the dads who allow the light of the Word of God to illuminate things that allow us to see what used to be hidden and so we were totally unaware!
• Let’s be the dads who allow the light of the Word of God revealed to us through the Holy Spirit to provide us with wisdom and discernment that even the most acute thinker cannot imitate!
• Today’s devotional closes with this thought and challenge to reflect upon:
  • “Just like in math, if we are obedient to the rules (the Bible), listen to the teacher (Holy Spirit), practice (read the Bible), and progress at the right pace (understand where you are at in the Christian race and have grace for those who are in different stages than you), then we will be able to discern much more than we would have in our own earthly knowledge.“
  • “Reflect: How can you pray that your relationship with God advances through the next few years? What does that look like in practical steps (ex: Bible reading, less sin, more vibrant prayer life, etc.?) Pray that prayer now.“