Halfway through the week and just over halfway through our devotional we are studying. Still a lot to do and yet we need to celebrate what has been accomplished too. Take a breath and thank God for where you are at right now. This devotional caught my eye when I read the following description:
“An NFL chaplain, a preacher, a comedian, and a chief of police share a powerfully honest and insightful guide for men who sincerely want to improve relationships with their kids. God the Father gifts us with the perfect example for being dad. If you’re not the dad you thought you’d be at this point or simply looking to up your dad game, Imperfect Dads, One Perfect Father will encourage you.”
Imperfect Dads, One Perfect Father | Devotional Reading Plan | YouVersion Bible
Scripture for Today’s Devotional:
‘ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. ‘
Matthew 6:14-16
God’s Word is so timely and so powerful. God’s Word never returns void! Let’s meditate on what God has to say today!
Let’s be the dads who forgive others who have sinned against us, have missed the mark, have hurt us, have ticked us off, or something else! Let’s be the dads who can forgive others because we realize all that Jesus has done to make it so that we are and can be forgiven! Let’s be the dads who realize the importance of forgiving others to the good of our own physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health! I had the blessing of getting to share one of my forgiveness stories with a group of coworkers at an event called Story Slam where people shared about a situation, what happened, and how it changed each of us through it, that’s right work asked for my testimony.
It’s important to grasp how God tells us that how we judge others is how we will be judged right, and so today when we read that “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” it means it is important for us to forgive others! God’s Word also thinks forgiveness is so important to forgive and leave what you were going to do and deal with it first when it says “‘ “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.‘”! So let’s be the dads who choose to forgive quickly rather than living the downward spiral of unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger
!
Today’s devotional has been provided by FIVE STONES CHURCH.
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://www.fivestonespeople.com/youversion-devo-dadbook.
Takeaways from Today’s Devotionals:
“Fathers Who Forgive“
- Let’s be the dads who forgive!
- Let’s be the dads who can forgive!
- Let’s be the dads who do forgive!
- Let’s be the dads who are willing and able to learn how to forgive, no matter what happened!
- Let’s be the dads who forgive without looking for excuses why we shouldn’t!
- Let’s be the dads who forgive because we know that hurting people hurt people and so need to be forgiven just as we need God to forgive us!
- Let’s be the dads who realize that not only have people hurt us but we have hurt others and as such, we need to forgive and ask to be forgiven by others we have hurt!
- Today’s devotional shares the following about forgiveness and forgiving:
- “Forgiving is kind of like a really big deal. Why? Because of our sin nature, we’re all doomed. But God, the sacrificially loving example of how to be a nurturing dad, forgave us so that we might continue in a relationship with Him and come to know a blessed life as we’ve never experienced before.“
- “God loved us so much that He gave his only begotten Son as a sacrificial atonement of our sins so we may be forgiven of those same transgressions that keep us away from Him. Forgiveness is an ultimate act of freedom that we are afforded because God loved us and forgave us first. Dad, ask for forgiveness and forgive others. It’s the greatest gift you can give yourself and your kids.“
- Today’s devotional challenges us with this call to action:
