Point Man – Day 3

A day that started late still needs to be done. Even when you sleep in 3 hours and have to pause to get your son somewhere and get faced with multiple road closures due to flooding and the drive to and fro is extended by over an hour, it is still key to keep first things first and get it done. And even though starting this post 3-5 hours later than usual, it is still important that it happen because it is part of God’s plan for today. Let’s be the dads who stay on point with our wives and our kids in order to be the dads they need us to be and God has purposed and created us to be!

Let’s jump back into today’s devotional. 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:

What better place to start when trying to read a devotional that the source, the truth, the real answers found in God’s Word? God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths! God’s Word never returns void and is sharp enough to get to the center of things, cutting through the stuff that gets in the way!

Let’s be the dads who realize God created us the way He did on purpose, with purpose, and for a purpose! Let’s be the dads who realize God created us to be in a relationship with Him and to live up to His standards so we can be like Him! Let’s be the dads who realize God created us to be stewards of His incredible creation and to reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground! Let’s be the dads who lean on God and trust in God rather than leaning on our own understanding so that we can be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth and governing it, reigning over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground!

Let’s be the dads who help our kids to initiate a path of walking with God! Let’s be the dads who help our kids understand how to live by training them in the ways of God! Let’s be the dads who train our kids in the paths of justice and judgment! Let’s be the dads who train our kids to follow God because we know it will be to their profit and advantage! Let’s be the dads who raise our kids into the nurturing and admonition of the Lord! Let’s be the dads who teach our kids by praying with them and for them, by bringing them under the means of grace, the ministry of the word, by instructing them in the principles of religion, teaching them their duty to God and man, and setting them good examples of a holy life and conversation; and this is to be done according to their capacity, and as they are able to understand and receive the instructions given them: “according to the mouth of his way”, as it may be literally rendered; as soon as he is able to speak or go, even from his infancy; or as children are fed by little bits, or a little at a time, as their mouths can receive it! Let’s be the dads who realize it is our responsibility and calling to raise our kids right! Let’s be the dads who answer the call to raise our kids right!

Let’s be the dads who are building our lives upon the firm foundation of Jesus! Let’s be the dads who are building our lives, our marriages, and our families upon the foundation of Jesus so that we know that we have Jesus as the cornerstone and our firm foundation on which to build!

Let’s be the dads who choose to live as God’s chosen people! Let’s be the dads who choose to live as God’s royal priests! Let’s be the dads who choose to live as a holy nation! Let’s be the dads who choose to live as God’s very own possession! Let’s be the dads who can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light! Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives demonstrating mercy and how we have received mercy from God!

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:
“Start Your Own Nation”

• Ever wondered what life what like at the start of the United States when it comes to God?
• Ever considered how God and the church were the foundation for many if not all the original sources of higher education?
• Ever considered what it might have been like back in those days to follow Jesus?
• How about now? Are you noticing a difference? Are you noticing the challenges?
• Today’s devotional speaks to those times as follows in comparison today:
  • “It used to be that a man who loved the Lord and led his family was called a “God-fearing man” and that was a com­pliment. Today, if you’re called a God-fearing man, it’s likely you’re being mocked. That’s what happens when a na­tion dies spiritually and falls apart.“
• Let’s be the dads who because of or in spite of these facts don’t lose hope!
• Let’s be the dads who because of or in spite of these facts don’t dread the future!
• Let’s be the dads who because of or in spite of these facts take a stand on the reality that “we have our work cut out for us“!
• Let’s be the dads who choose to shine brightly in our marriages!
• Let’s be the dads who choose to shine brightly in our families!
• Let’s be the dads who choose to shine brightly in our world!
• Let’s be the dads who take on the challenge and the mantle of being on point for our families!
• Let’s be the dads who choose to start our own nation that is being built up in spite of seeing what looks to be the world falling apart around us!
• Today’s devotional provides us with some ideas on how to do this:
  • “You start your own nation by realizing that God has al­ready put you into a new nation. The moment that you turn from your sin and call upon the Lord Jesus to save you from it, your citizenship is immediately transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God (Ephesians 2:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9-10).“
• Let’s be the dads who realize that realize we are citizens of heaven and as such are called to live in accordance to the rules of heaven!
• Let’s be the dads who grab hold of what God’s Word says and what Paul tells us in Philippians when we read:
  • ‘Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.’ Philippians 3:17-21
• Let’s be the dads who choose to take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control!
• Let’s be the dads who because we are waiting for Jesus’ return choose to take a stand to make things better here even in the midst of the resistance we may and in many cases will feel!
• Today’s devotional speaks to it this way:
  • “Make no mistake; we are still citizens of our countries. That is what it says on our driver’s licenses and passports and tax forms. But we are also aliens. We are citizens of our countries either by birth or by naturalization, but we can never forget that our true and lasting citizenship is in heaven.“
• Let’s be the dads who remember what God’s Word tells us about the world:
  • ‘I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. ‘ John 17:14-21
  • “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:18-19
• Let’s be the dads who choose to live in this country we are in but do not fall into the idolatry of the country!
• Today’s devotional speaks to it this way:
  • “So as the nation and culture around you continue to erode and fall apart, you can start your own nation, letting that new identity shape your life and your days.“
  • “The most important thing a Christian man can do in his lifetime is strive to raise a godly family. That’s what it means to start your own nation.“
• Let’s be the dads who step into each day bold and courageous like Moses called Joshua to be!
• Let’s be the dads who step into each day bold and courageous like God called Joshua and each of us to be!
• Let’s be the dads who receive the call to take territory for the glory of God each day with each step we take each day!
• Today’s devotional closes out with the following thought and challenges:
  • “In your new nation, Jesus is the King and the Bible is the constitution. This new nation comes into being when a man utters from his heart the same words as Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).“
  • “How does it change things to begin thinking of your family as “one nation under God”?“