Let’s be the dads who point people to God by being salt and light! Let’s be so salty that it causes others to thirst for Jesus!
Will we choose God? Will we choose God’s way? Will we choose God’s will? Will we choose God’s purpose? Will we choose God’s plan? God is precise and knows what He is doing! God is the God of details! Consider His plans for getting out of Egypt! Consider His plans for the tabernacle! Consider His plans for the temple! Consider His plans for the holy items in them both! Consider His placement within them both! God knows what He is doing and as I went looking for the next devotional and gain approval to use it, I discovered it will fit in this month. It’s going to speak to us about the importance of a father being present. So as we get ready to jump in let’s choose to be the dads that our wives, our kids, and this world needs for us to be! Let’s be the dads who are able to pour out unconditional love!
Today’s devotional gets us started with the following verse: Jeremiah 17:9.
‘The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘
Jeremiah 17:9
Our human nature is sinful. Our human nature is trying to pull us away from God. Our human nature is trying to tempt us and draw us back into a sinful lifestyle. Our human nature is trying to pull us away from the hope of Jesus and drawback into a dark place where hopelessness and the hope of spending eternity with God are stolen. So let’s draw closer to Jesus and ask Him to help us stick to it! Let’s grab a hold of the reality and wisdom of God’s Word which gives us warnings like Proverbs 4 where there are words of wisdom like:
‘The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.’
Proverbs 4:18-27
Did you catch what it said in verse 23? (I know I didn’t leave the verse numbers above) but it says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Just like how we are to be salt which preserves, heals, and causes thirst for God, so we need to guard, preserve, and maintain our hearts! From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks, and check out what you are saying and see if it might be like the warning lights on the dash of your car letting you know there is a problem under the hood – in your heart.
Let’s decide that we will learn, meditate, and cling to God’s Word! Let’s remember the warnings we find in God’s Word where it tells us “‘The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ‘ (Romans 8:7)“. Let’s be the dads who choose not to be normal or natural! Let’s be the dads who choose to be different, holy, and live our lives with God and for God in the supernatural! Let’s be prepared and put on the full armor of God and stand our ground because our natural tendencies will try to get us off the solid rock and slip back into dark and destructive ways. Let’s be the dads who grab hold of how Jesus tells us to love! Let’s love God with all of our hearts, mind, souls, and strength! Let’s love our neighbors as ourselves! Let’s be the dads who are so filled with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit’s infilling of our hearts, that the overflow into the world around us is the love of God! Let’s resist the natural ways! Today’s verse warns us about the natural tendencies of our hearts! I found an interpretation of today’s verse that shares insight this way: “The normal human mind deceitfully convinces each person that they are good and love God, men, and law. But the reality is just the opposite: It is at war with God and men, and hates God’s holy, righteous, and spiritual law. It loves itself and its desires far more than anything else. It is this deceitful, self-centered enmity that exerts constant influence, pulling us into the defilement of sin.” from John W. Ritenbaugh.
Today’s devotional has been provided by Eternity Matters With Norma (more details can be found here: Eternity Matters With Norma – Home | Facebook)
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.klove.com/books.
To learn more about My Father Can Be Your Father!, visit Eternity Matters With Norma – Home | Facebook.
Takeaways from Today’s Devotional: “PLAYING HOOKY“
- Ever known better and still gone ahead and done something?
- Ever decided to do something wrong and realized you hand’t thought it all the way through?
- Ever gotten caught and had to deal with the consequences?
- These questions above connect us back to day’s verse from God’s Word!
- Were the consequences something that you dealt with quietly or were they surfaced publically?
- Were the consequences something that caused you to think twice about ever doing it again?
- Were the consequences hard or embarassing?
- Let’s be the dads who lead by example!
- Let’s be the dads who keep ourselves and our kids accountable in a loving and yet firm way!
- To catch what happened to the author of our devotional, you can read it here (https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/26478-my-father-can-be-your-father/day/4#:~:text=I%20think%20I,an%20extra%20assignment.%20%C2%A0).
- Today’s devotional checks to see if we can relate to what happened:
- Today’s devotional closes with a time of reflection:
- “IT IS TIME TO REFLECT:“
- “1. Recall something in your life you have done that was deceptive.“
- “2. As you think about that memory, did you get caught in the act?“
- “3. If so, how was it handled, with love, or with hatred?“
- “4. If you didn’t get caught and didn’t get corrected, did you find yourself doing more things that you know were wrong?“
- “5. How would you handle a child skipping school? “
