An exciting morning as I prepare to jump into day 2 with an email of encouragement from Jarrad Lopes. Day 1 was incredible and am so excited to get to jump into day 2 and see what we can learn from God’s Word and this devotional.
Today’s devotional comes with the following description:
This 7-day reading plan from Dad Tired podcast host and author Jerrad Lopes will prepare your heart and mind for the advent season as you explore God’s presence throughout the Bible and in your everyday life. From the garden to the manger to your own home, Jerrad helps you gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the God who always shows up…and will do the same for you.
Finding God in Advent | Devotional Reading Plan | YouVersion Bible
Scripture from Today’s Devotional:
‘The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you. ” And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.’
Genesis 3:1-24
‘Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord . “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord .’
Jeremiah 23:23-24
God’s Word is powerful enough to cut through to the core. God’s Word is active and alive enough to speak right into our very situation. God’s Word never returns void! So let’s be the dads who choose to get started in God’s Word and turn to God’s Word whenever we need to get to the core of the matter and find wisdom and direction to help us move forward!
Let’s be the dads who are prepared because we know we are going out into a world where the devil is going to get us tripped up! Let’s be the dads who put on the full armor of God and resist the devil so that he will flee and we can stand firm fully equipped for the battle and tasks ahead of us! Let’s be the dads who are ready to behave as Jesus called the disciples knowing the world they were about to go out into when He said: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Jesus is calling us to be prepared and ready by being like “The serpent was “subtle” or “crafty” or “shrewd” in Genesis 3:1.” Jesus is calling us to be “innocent and harmless” like the doves who were clean and “were used for sacrifices (Leviticus 14:22)”. So let’s grab hold of the symbolism and calling God has put on us as we reflect on these symbols and how “To this very day, doves are used as symbols of peace, and snakes are thought of as “sneaky.”“
Let’s be the dads who draw close to God! Let’s be the dads who realize God is close and far at the same time because He is omnipresent! Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives knowing God sees all and knows all! Let’s be the dads who choose to live up to His high calling for our lives and go into the world with shrewdness and yet with a heart and intention that is innocent and harmless!
Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Harvest House Publishers.
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 http://harvesthousepublishers.com.
Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“God Shows Up in the Garden“
- Today the thoughts going through my mind were about obedience, raising the bar, and not judging others based on their sins because all of us have sinned and the penalty is the same.
- It’s interesting that today’s devotional brings us back into the Garden where sin got its start in humanity.
- Let’s be the dads who realize that God isn’t going to bail on us!
- Let’s be the dads who realize that “If God was going to bail, he could have done it a long time ago. In fact, you get only a few pages into the Scriptures before you see his first opportunity to leave.“
- Let’s be the dads who realize that God was able in the beginning to take nothingness and create something from it and that it was good!
- Let’s be the dads who realize that God is good and God has infinite creativity!
- Let’s be the dads who take time as we read in Genesis the reality that God created some incredible things, things He calls good, like “booming galaxies, complex atoms, wild animals, and oceans as mysterious as space“!
- Let’s be the dads who realize that even if things start off well and we run into a bump in the road we shouldn’t just give up!
- God didn’t give up on humanity when Adam and Eve were tricked by the snake!
- So neither should we give up when things go off track!
- Today’s devotional speaks to the creation of humanity and how impressed God was with his handiwork when it says:
- “He places these humans, man and woman, in a beautiful garden—the most organic, non-GMO, farm-to-table garden you could imagine. And then he tops it off by telling these naked and sinless humans to make babies and fill the earth.”
- “Adam and Eve are eating perfect food, experiencing no sin, and enjoying perfect relationships with God and each other. This is exactly the way God designed things to be. It’s unimaginably perfect.“
- “And then, only a couple pages into the Bible, things quickly go sideways.“
- Let’s be the dads who learn from the Bible!
- Let’s be the dads who like Paul can be content no matter how much or how little we have!
- Let’s be the dads who like Paul can be content because we know that “‘I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.] ‘ Philippians 4:13“!
- Let’s be the dads who believe God’s Word and God’s promises so that we won’t be fooled by the lies and deception of the devil!
- Let’s be the dads who study God’s Word and God’s promises so that we know the truth because the truth will set us free!
- Let’s be the dads who turn to God and pursue Him because we know that turning our backs on Him won’t turn out well!
- Let’s be the dads who realize how great God’s love is for us because unlike how today’s devotional says it could have been (which it could have been) if not for the character of God, God is love!
- Today’s devotional says it this way:
- Let’s be the dads who grab onto the fact that God isn’t the God who bails but rather the God who shows up!
- Let’s be the dads who expect God to show up and so we turn back to Him rather than hide or try to hide from Him!
- Today’s devotional speaks to it this way:
- Let’s be the dads who know that God is the “God who doesn’t run away from hard things, but dives into them headfirst“!
- Let’s be the dads who don’t run away from hard things when it comes to our wives and marriages!
- Let’s be the dads who don’t run away from hard things when it comes to our kids and families!
- Let’s be the dads who dive into the challenges headfirst just like our Heavenly Father did for each of us!
- Let’s be the dads who model the truth that God always shows up for us, for our wives, and for our kids!
- Today’s devotional closes with this challenge for us as we head towards Christmas and even just reflect upon our today:
- “As you prepare your heart for Christmas, ask yourself—are you a man who shows up? Do you run away when things get hard, or do you step into them with courage? Being a dad who shows his family what God is like means being a man who doesn’t run away from the hard things.“
- “Because here is the truth: God shows up. He always shows up.“
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