Today we get to continue digging into the traits of a godly dad. It’s interesting to just go with whatever the search results provide as the devotional to dig into. Today’s devotional from Bible.com is looking to empower us to be the dads. Today’s devotional from Bible.com is looking to help us address our feelings of inadequacy by providing us with the traits we need to be the dads. Today’s devotional from Bible.com is looking to help us get out of the starting blocks and into the race by sharing 6 biblical traits we need to model in our own lives in order to be the dads God created and purposed for us to be. So let’s dig in deeper as we jump into this new devotional in order to be able to learn and practice what God’s prepared in advance as good works for us to accomplish. Let’s grab a hold of these traits in order for us to be the dads, the godly dads we need to be for our wives, our kids, and our world.
Today’s devotional connects with the following verses:
‘The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. ‘
Proverbs 18:21
‘Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. ‘
Ecclesiastes 7:19
‘As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. ‘
Proverbs 27:17
‘ “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’ ‘
Matthew 6:9-13
I enjoy getting to take a look at the scriptures before going to the devotional as it allows me to reflect on what God’s Word has to say to me. God’s Word never returns void! God’s Word is alive! God’s Word is like a double-edged sword and it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Let’s be the dads who watch what we say. Let’s be the dads who are conscious of the words we speak because words have power. Words have the power to build up and to tear down! Let’s be the dads whose words build up our wives, our kids, and our world. Let’s be the dads whose words tear down strongholds as we stand in the gap for our wives, our kids, and our world. Today’s verse tells us how our words have the power of life and death. Today’s verse also tells us that those who love the power will eat of its fruit. Jesus speaks to the importance of using our words wisely when He says:
Matthew 5:22
Let’s be the dads who turn to God for wisdom! Let’s be the dads who aren’t too prideful to ask! Let’s be the dads who grab hold of the reality that we can ask God for wisdom who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Let’s be the dads who ask for wisdom believing and not doubting, filled with faith! Today’s verse speaks of the power in receiving God’s wisdom, so let’s be the dads who ask and live our lives wisely!
Let’s be the dads who don’t go it alone! Let’s be the dads who surround ourselves with godly men! Let’s be the dads who are willing to lean in, deal with the pain, allow sparks to fly, so that just as iron sharpens iron, we can sharpen one another!
Let’s be the dads who are in constant communication with God to help us stay on track and know which way to go! Let’s be the dads who take hold of Jesus’s instruction on how to pray! Let’s be the dads who give our cares of to God because He cares for us! Let’s be the dads who don’t babble to make us look holy but rather we take hold of what Jesus spoke in order to walk in alignment with God! We shared insight into the pattern of Jesus’s prayer previously! So let’s pray the Lord’s Prayer regularly! Let’s be the dads who are leaning in on God!
Today’s devotional has been provided by Manhood Journey (more details can be found here: About The Publisher (manhoodjourney.org))
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 Manhood Journey: https://www.manhoodjourney.org/product/1-1-guides-bundle/.
“Day 6 The godly dad understands biblical leadership.“
- Today’s devotional provides us “The 3 P’s of Leadership” from the Manhood Bible studies:
- “Power (what it is and how to use it)”
- Let’s be the dads who see power as God purposed rather than the way of the world.
- “The world tends to define power as telling others what to do, being in a position of authority or trying to get people to do what you want.“
- Let’s be the dads who understand that power can come through our words and by gaining wisdom!
- Put another way – Words have Power and Wisdom is Power!
- “Words are power > Godly dads understand the power of words. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” You have an effect on your family with words of love, hate, tearing down or building up. Just try saying the right thing with the wrong tone in your house and demonstrate the importance of words.“
- “Wisdom is power > Ecclesiastes 7:19 says, “Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.” Basically, wisdom can give you more power than a king. “
- “Proverbs (how to use this Book of the Bible to make wise decisions)”
- Let’s be the dads who spend time in proverbs seeking wisdom!
- Let’s be the dads who take time to grasp what wisdom is available from Solomon, captured in the book of Proverbs!
- Today’s verse from Proverbs speaks practical advice on how to live life!
- “The Book of Proverbs is one of the most practical books in the Bible on how to apply God’s wisdom in our lives. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”“
- “This isn’t a painless experience, gentlemen. Iron sharpens iron through friction. There’s a scraping away of metal. There’s heat involved. There’s banging the metal into a blade.“
- “Dads can sharpen each other by challenging one another, holding each other accountable and pointing out sin.“
- “Prayer”
- Let’s be the dads who don’t only study the Word of God through the Bible but also spend time with God in prayer!
- Today’s devotional speaks to prayer this way: “prayer is a major way to stay in tune with God about decisions as a leader. Jesus taught us how to pray. I know this because Matthew 6:9-13 says, “This, then, is how you should pray…”:“
- Let’s take the Lord’s Prayer and use its pattern to help us when we pray!
- Let’s take the Lord’s Prayer and when we are challenged what to pray look for ways to pattern our prayers after it!
- Today’s devotional provides an overview or “cliff notes” for it:
- “1. Worship – Tell God how great He is. Thank God for who He is and what He’s done for you.“
- “2. Intercession – Interceding for others simply means asking God to exercise His power in the lives of other people.“
- “3. Petition – Since God is our Father, He is our provider. He cares about all our needs, whatever they might be.“
- “4. Repentance – Ask for forgiveness for your sins by admitting them and purposing in your heart (and with God’s help) not to continue committing them.“
- “5. Guidance – Ask God to guide our steps and decisions going forward. “
- “Power (what it is and how to use it)”