Are you looking to live a life that is self-centered or Christ-centered? Are you trying to live life your way or are you trusting God, leaning in on Him and His Word, acknowledging Him, and allowing Him to show you the path to take? Let’s remember the benefits not only to ourselves but also to our wives and our kids when we choose to live lives that are Christ-centered!
Verse of the Day: Matthew 16:24
‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”’
Matthew 16:24-28
So let’s make the decision to be dads who give up our own way and choose to live God’s Way! Let’s be the dads who take up our cross daily and follow after Jesus! Let’s be the dads who are leading by example so that we can help leave a legacy in our families that will teach and direct our kids to follow Jesus so that our wives and kids will spend eternity with God and with us!
Let’s be the dads who realize that our kids are important and so we can’t only do it halfway or even 90% because their lives matter! Let’s be the dads who remember that our kids are our heritage from God! Let’s be the dads who want to do it right and yet realize that to do this will require us to lean in on God and allow our Heavenly Father to give us the wisdom and discernment to help us be the best dads we can be! Let’s be the dads who lean in on God because we know that we aren’t perfect and neither is our family and yet God created families as building blocks for society! Let’s be the dads who realize that Jesus came to give us hope and a bright future! God wants to equip us as we read in Hebrews 13:
‘Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. ‘
Hebrews 13:20-21
God has set work for us to do to be the dads! God is working to equip us for every good work! Let’s be the dads who realize that how we interact with and respond to hardships, celebrations, and sacrifices form families’ identities! Let’s be the dads who consider and reflect on these questions:
- Where do we turn in times of crisis?
- What stories do we celebrate?
- What do we sacrifice in order to get it?
Let’s lean into God so that the tone and lies of the devil can be crushed and our hearts can be opened up to God’s truth and plans!
Where do we turn in times of crisis?
‘ “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.” When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.’
Matthew 7:24-29
Let’s be the dads who realize the importance of building our houses on the rock of Jesus Christ! Let’s be the dads who realize that the storm hits both houses, it rains on the good and the evil, the righteous and the unrighteous! Let’s be the dads who lean on Jesus and be Christ-centered families.
Jesus uses the image of a house because families live in houses! Let’s be the dads who help our wives and our kids have their own faith because we can’t give it to others! Let’s be the dads who realize when the storm hits the house, everyone in the family is impacted by the storm! Let’s be the dads who help the family cling to God and we lean in together as a family! Let’s be the dads who when there is a storm tell our families that we need to turn to Jesus and realize that moms in the midst of the storm as also telling everyone that we need to turn to Jesus and that our kids should likewise say that we need to turn to Jesus!
Let’s be the dads who are present and hear the words of Jesus and walk it out daily! Let’s be the dads who live in the present pursuing Jesus and are walking today with confidence because our past has been forgiven when we have given it up to Him!
What are the stories we celebrate?
Let’s be the dads who tell stories to help the family remember! Let’s be the dads who take God’s Word seriously when it tells us about stories and how to share them!
‘“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord , who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name. ‘
Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Let’s be the dads who talk about what God has done in and through our life so that our families don’t forget! Let’s be the dads who realize that if we stop telling the stories our wives, our kids, and future generations will forget God’s goodness and what He has done in and through our lives! Let’s be the dads who pray together with our families! Let’s be the dads who pray so we can see God moving together as a family! Let’s be the dads who share the stories so that we can celebrate and remember God’s faithfulness! Let’s be the dads who celebrate that God has put food on our tables! Let’s be the dads who celebrate that God has put breath in our lungs! Let’s be the dads who celebrate when God puts something new in our lives!
What do we sacrifice?
Sacrifices reveal priorities! Sacrifices determine priorities! If we are going to have something at the center then we have to sacrifice! Jesus has to be at the center, not the job or it is job-centered! Jesus has to be at the center, not ourselves or it is self-centered! Let’s be the dads who lean in and live Christ-centered lives and help our wives and kids to stick to it and live that way too! Let’s consider what Ephesians 6 has to say:
‘Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. ‘
Ephesians 6:1-4
Let’s be the dads who help shift our culture by shifting what is at our core as a family to be Christ-centered! Let’s be the dads who live lives that demonstrate to our wives, our kids, and our world the benefits of living for God! Let’s be the dads who are doing everything we can not exasperate our kids by living our lives in alignment with what we say! Let’s be the dads who are demonstrating that God’s work determines my path! Let’s be the dads who live in alignment, not perfect, but alignment with God’s Word, asking for forgiveness and living in obedience! Being hypocrites or telling your kids one thing and doing another exasperates our kids!
Let’s be the dads who initiate spiritual conversations with our wives and our kids! Let’s be the dads who ask to pray together with our wives and kids! Let’s be the dads who do devotionals with our wives and kids! Let’s be the dads who aren’t acting out of fear but instead in faith and lead our wives and kids and grandchildren! Let’s be the dads who are looking to gain ground from the devil who is trying to tear down and hold back what our family needs going forward because we know that we are never too far gone for Jesus to turn things around! Let’s be the dads who are humble enough to turn around and get back on track rather than falling for the lies of the devil that if we keep going on the wrong path we will eventually be back on course!
Consider the history of and reflect on those who went before you like in the story of Abraham: No family is perfect! Let’s choose to turn back and do life in a Christ-centered way! – God’s story through my life from 2005 to eternity… (wordpress.com)
