Focus on the Fundamentals – Day 10

Today we hit the last day of our devotional and pause to reflect on the fundamentals shared through the armor of God that we should be practicing, strengthening, and sharing daily.

Fundamentals:

1. Discerning Truth (Belt of Truth) (Eph 6:14)
2. Repentance (Breastplate of Righteousness) (Eph 6:14)
3. Sharing the Gospel (Shoes—The Readiness To Proclaim the Gospel) (Eph 6:15)
4. Faith (Shield of Faith) (Eph 6:16)
5. Testimony (Helmet of Salvation) (Eph 6:17)
6. Reading the Bible (Sword of the Spirit) (Eph 6:17)
7. Prayer (Eph 6:18)

Let’s be the dads who build our lives on the rock who is Jesus Christ! Let’s be the dads who build our lives upon the fundamentals! Let’s be the dads who are about building community and relationships with our wives, kids, the body, and the world around us! Let’s be the dads who are seeking and finding our purpose and then pursuing it and changing the world!

Scripture from Today’s devotional:

‘ Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).’

Ephesians 6:18

‘ THERE WAS a three-year famine in the days of David, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord replied, It is on account of Saul and his bloody house, for he put to death the Gibeonites. So the king called the Gibeonites–now the Gibeonites were not Israelites but of the remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah had sought to slay the Gibeonites– So David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? How can I make atonement that you may bless the Lord’s inheritance? The Gibeonites said to him, We will accept no silver or gold of Saul or of his house; neither for us shall you kill any man in Israel. David said, I will do for you what you say. They said to the king, The man who consumed us and planned to prevent us from remaining in any territory of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered to us and we will hang them up before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, [on the mountain] of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord’s oath that was between David and Jonathan son of Saul.’

2 Samuel 21:1-7

‘ Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always); Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]; Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].’

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We can trust and build our lives upon God’s Word! We know it is truth and the truth will set us free! We know it is verbally inspired by God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct! So let’s read God’s Word, meditate on God’s Word, study God’s Word, and put God’s Word into practice in and through our lives!

Let’s be the dads who pray on every occasion and in every season! Let’s be the dads who pray in the Spirit! Let’s be the dads who stay alert and persistent in our prayers for all believers everywhere! Let’s be the dads who reflect on the things of the past and if there are things we can do to help bring healing and reconciliation to them! Let’s be the dads who ask God about things of the past and if there are things we can do to make them right today! Let’s be the dads who engage those who were hurt in the past and ask them what it would take to make things right, to atone for what had been done! Let’s be the dads who rejoice in the Lord always! Let’s be the dads who are happy in our faith and who are glad-hearted continually! Let’s be the dads who pray without ceasing! Let’s be the dads who praise God and thank Him in everything, no matter what the circumstances may be! Let’s be the dads who consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds because that is what God asks of us in James 1:2-3!

Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Discerning Dad!

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://discerning-dad.com/

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Fundamental 7—Prayer (Eph 6:18)“

• Let’s be the dads who realize the power of prayer!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that prayer is important!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that prayer activates the armor of God!
• Today’s devotional speaks to these when it shares this verse from Ephesians:
  • ““And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18 NIV)“
  • “Without prayer and communication with God, we have no ability on our own to battle against the Enemy. Prayer is a fundamental of the faith.“
  • “If we truly believed in the power of prayer, we would probably do it more often.“
  • “Prayer is not a checklist of what we can get from God, it is what builds our relationship with Him and allows us to mold our will to His.“
• Let’s be the dads who consider the ACTS model shared in today’s devotional when it comes to prayer:
  • “If you use the ACTS model (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), you will notice that asking God for things comes at the very end. Too often prayers are just a laundry list of what we want from God. Prayer is not an avenue to get what we want; prayer builds our relationship with God. It is how we can mold our will to His.“
• Let’s be the dads who are looking to break strongholds through prayer!
• Today’s devotional points us to an example of this through David in 2 Samuel 21:
  • “In 2 Samuel 21, there is a 3-year famine. David sought the Lord and realized sacrifice and vindication were needed. After that, “God answered prayers on behalf of the land.” Don’t wait that long to pray and seek God. The things you don’t see as strongholds are often spiritual in nature. Prayer is how we wage war against our enemy“
• Let’s be the dads who turn to Jesus to see what and how He modeled for us to live our lives!
• Today’s devotional asks an interesting question about Jesus if He needed the fundamentals:
  • “Did Jesus need the fundamentals? After all, He was God and He could have skipped over them, but no, He modeled them for us. He went away to pray, spread the Good News, used the Word of God to combat Satan, and stood for truth. Jesus showed us a perfect life, which we maintain as our goal, knowing that we will never be perfect.“
• Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives with these fundamentals!
• Let’s be the dads who never neglect the fundamentals!
• Let’s be the dads who lean into these fundamentals and onto God and His Word!
• Today’s devotional closes with these considerations and challenges:
  • “Don’t neglect the fundamentals, you never graduate past them. You never arrive in a position of authority as a Christian where you don’t need them.“
  • “A mature Christian will find value in the fundamentals because of the fruit that has come in their life from them. If you want to prepare for the big game or the battle that you need to face, focus on the fundamentals!“
  • “Fundamentals and repetition can be tiresome and boring in many disciplines, but ask God for His joy in doing them!“