December 20, 2024

Be The Dads – Your kids, Your wife, and this world needs.

That God created us to be and that our kids, family, and the world needs us to be.

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Rejoicing the Heart: What could we do today?

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Stepping into today are their ways we can make a difference in the lives of others to help them receive the hope of Jesus and create rejoicing in their hearts? What could we do today that would plant seeds of joy into the hearts of our wives, kids, and others God brings across our path? How can we world changers that help others find Jesus, find purpose, and change their world and trigger a rejoicing of their hearts?

selective focus photo of confetti floating in the air Rejoicing as we graduate into God's grace
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

Rejoicing: Love and Cherish Your Wife

Loving Your Wife as Christ Loved the Church

Ephesians 5:25 (NIV) "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

Practical Applications:

  1. Selfless Sacrifice: Demonstrate sacrificial love by putting your wife’s needs above your own. This could involve helping with household chores, taking care of the children, or simply expressing gratitude for her efforts.
  2. Effective Communication: Foster open and honest communication. Take time to listen to her thoughts and feelings. Share your own thoughts and concerns, creating an atmosphere of understanding and unity.
  3. Spiritual Partnership: Pray together and encourage spiritual growth. Support each other’s faith journeys and strive to strengthen your relationship with God as a couple.

Rejoicing: Nurture and Guide Your Children

Raising Children in the Ways of the Lord

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it."

Practical Applications:

  1. Model Godly Behavior: Children learn by example. Demonstrate love, patience, kindness, and forgiveness. Show them what it means to follow Christ in daily life.
  2. Teach Scripture: Incorporate biblical teachings into your family routine. Share Bible stories, discuss their meanings, and apply the lessons to real-life situations.
  3. Pray Together: Establish a habit of family prayer. Seek God’s guidance together, and encourage your children to develop their own relationship with Him.

Rejoicing: Impact the World Through Acts of Kindness

Being a Light in the World

Matthew 5:16 (NIV) "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Practical Applications:

  1. Serve Others: Engage in acts of kindness and service in your community. Volunteer as a family at local charities, participate in outreach programs, and be a source of love and support to those in need.
  2. Practice Generosity: Teach the importance of generosity by sharing your resources with others. This can include donating to charities, assisting neighbors, or helping those facing financial difficulties.
  3. Share the Gospel: Live out your faith boldly and be ready to share the hope found in Jesus Christ. Your actions and words can have a profound impact on those around you.

This year I am using the 365 Daily Devotions book I received for Christmas and applying it towards being dads. It’s called WALKING WITH GOD by DAVID JEREMIAH. It’s exciting to get to learn from a new resource this year as we have tried different options the past two years and will keep working through this one for 2024. For more information about the author and his ministry, visit: DavidJeremiah.org.

Topic: ENLIGHTENMENT

Verse: Psalms 19:8 (NIV)

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Firstly, let’s be the dads who study and walk in the precepts of God because they are right and give joy to our hearts! Additionally, let’s share them with our wives and kids so that they too can receive this joy in their hearts. Finally, let’s be the dads who walk in the commands of God who provides a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path through His Word, giving us light so our eyes to see.

How God’s Word meets us right where we are at triggering rejoicing:

Today’s Devotional asks us to consider our times of reading and studying the Word of God. It asks if we have had experiences where the Word of God has been more impactful, nearly “jumping off the page” type of impact in our lives. I know it is true in my life. It’s been captured so many times through my posts on From2005ToEternity.wordpress.com which God called me to start as my first blog and to share what He is speaking to and over me.

Rejoicing by spending time in God’s Word:

Today’s Devotional also points us back to today’s verse and how God’s Word is like a lamp that enlightens us. God’s Word can open our eyes to see something we haven’t seen before even though we’ve read it before, “giving us a revival”. Today’s Devotional points us to read Ephesians 1:18 and the words of Paul that says:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, -- Ephesians 1:18

Let’s be the dads rejoicing in the Lord through what He is speaking to us through His Word. God’s Word is a light that we can use to shine into our lives and that or our wives and kids. Let’s be the dads who are “reading God’s Word prayerfully and expectantly.” Let’s be the dads who are living and walking and even reading in the Spirit so that the Holy Spirit can “illuminate” our reading of God’s Word.

Today’s Devotional calls out the power of the Bible and how it “seems made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond.” So today, let’s be reading God’s Word lit by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let me tell you a little secret; whenever you cannot understand a text, open your Bible, bend your knee, and pray over that text.

CHARLES H. SPURGEON

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