Point Man – Day 1

Point Man - A 5 Day Reading Plan By Steve Farrar

Searching through devotionals for dads helped me realize the progress we’ve made throughout this year as it took me going through three pages to find the devotional we will start today. Reading the description caught my attention on so many levels and how important it is for us as dads to live for our family in a world that is attacking God’s plan for a biblical family. The introduction put it this way:

If you are a husband or father, then you are in a war—because war has been declared on the biblical family. Today, leading a family through the chaos of American culture is like leading a small patrol through enemy-occupied territory. But Jesus is not asking you to die for your family; He’s asking you to live for them.

Point Man – A 5-Day Reading Plan By Steve Farrar

Scripture from Today’s Devotional:

‘Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.’

Genesis 2:18-25

‘Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?’

Proverbs 5:15-20

‘ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” ‘

Matthew 7:24-27

‘For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.’

Ephesians 5:25-33

As we begin today, it is so important to start in God’s Word and allow God’s Word to speak for itself. God’s Word is active and alive and will meet us right where we are at today. God’s Word is powerful, sharper than a double-edged sword, and able to cut through everything, even to the level of dividing up the consequences of our thoughts, decisions, and actions as well as between soul and spirit, and the intentions of the heart. So let’s make sure our days start first with God and second in God’s Word so that we can be filled up and ready to be the dads our wives, our kids, and our world need for us to be.

Let’s be the dads who understand God’s original intentions in creation! Let’s be the dads who realize the process required and taken for God to give us a healper who is just right for us! Let’s be the dads who realize that God gave us a task, a purpose, a reason to be including using our words to speak life! Let’s be the dads who realize that God how special our wives are as God created them on purpose, with purpose, and for the purpose of being with us as our helpers! Let’s be the dads who understand the process and the plan of God that we got here because a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one! Let’s be the dads who grab hold of the power and impact of our relationship with our wives and how we shouldn’t feel any shame together!

Let’s be the dads who are focused on investing in our own wives and not being drawn into the trap of the devil and the lies we hear in this world! Let’s be the dads who choose to only have sex with our wives and not allow promiscuity to take place in our lives, our marriages, and our families! Let’s be the dads who keep our lives and our relationships with our wives sacred and united with Jesus in the center! Let’s be the dads who allow our wives to be fountains of blessings in our lives! Let’s be the dads who rejoice in our wives because we see them as loving and graceful! Let’s be the dads who are satisfied and captivated by our wives, speaking love and life into them and keeping ourselves from the traps and lies of the devil! Let’s be the dads who love our wives and don’t waste time or energy doing things that don’t improve our marriages or even hurt our relationships with our wives and kids!

Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives according to God’s will and God’s plan because we know that “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.

Let’s be the dads who love our wives with a particular emphasis on action, just as Christ loves the church! Let’s be the dads who love our wives with a love that should involve a deep, lifelong commitment and the willingness to make any sacrifices necessary on her behalf! Let’s be the dads who are called to a level of dedication that includes love unto death! Let’s be the dads who must love their wives, dedicate their life to staying with their wives, and be willing to die for their wives if need be! Let’s be the dads who choose to be imitators of God when it comes to loving and leading our wives and our families! Let’s be the dads who realize that abuse, mistreatment, or abandonment are not acceptable and definitely never justifiable! Let’s be the dads who love our wives to the point of supporting and providing for their personal care, time, and provision! Let’s be the dads who choose to never neglect our wives and kids! Let’s be the dads who never abandon our wives and kids because we know that such actions and activities are acts of violence against them! Let’s be the dads who love our wives and kids more than just a feeling but to the point it causes us to act and do things on their behalf! Let’s be the dads who grab onto the reality that we are called on to love, not just any kind of love but agape love which means we are to be concerned for our wives and kids with a selfless and sacrificial point of view for their welfare!

Today’s devotional has been provided to us by WaterBrook Multnomah.

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://waterbrookmultnomah.com/books/606866/point-man-revised-and-updated-by-steve-farrar

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Satan’s Strategy: Divide and Conquer”

When men decide to build their family and their entire life on the Rock, the family becomes too strong for Satan to crack. Isn’t that what you want for your family? Pray Psalm 61:2:
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
What signs of division (physical or emotional) can you see between you and your wife? Between you and your children? How can you begin to heal these splits?