Being Fathered By God – Day 8

As we start week 2 or day 8 of our devotional, I reflect on how I found it and am thankful that God is leading me through this year to do devotionals differently from years gone by.  I found this devotional: Being Fathered By God. The devotional seems very powerful and purposeful as it calls out how “Every man has had authority figures in his life, and much of what a man perceives about God was shaped by those authority figures. His earthly father is at the top of every man’s authority list.” So I took on the offer to join the journey into this devotional. Will you join me on this 14-day journey?

Scripture from Today’s Devotional:

• Luke 17
• John 6:67-68
• 2 Peter 1:2-4

‘Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”’

Luke 17:1-37

‘ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ‘

John 6:67-68

‘Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. ‘

2 Peter 1:2-4

God’s Word is active and true! God’s Word never returns void! Let’s make time and take time to be in God’s Word so that we can be equipped and trained, ready for what the day ahead will bring!

Let’s be the dads who read God’s Word and are prepared for the stumbling blocks the devil will put out before us! Let’s be the dads who aren’t out there trying to trick people into stumbling! Let’s be the dads who forgive, even if the person has repeatedly done it but comes back to you seeking forgiveness! Let’s be the dads who realize that forgiveness keeps us from living lives where we drink the poison and think it is going to impact the other person! Let’s be the dads who walk by faith and allow God to grow our faith because we know that even when we are of little faith, the size of a mustard seed, we can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you! Let’s be the dads who turn back and praise Jesus for answered prayers rather than walking along without a spirit of gratitude! Let’s be the dads who receive what Jesus offers us with faith! Let’s be the dads who are preparing and ready for Jesus to return! Let’s be the dads who are living and testifying about Jesus so that others will be and can be prepared and ready for Jesus to return!

Let’s be the dads who stick close to God! Let’s be the dads who cling to Jesus! Let’s be the dads who won’t walk away from Jesus!

Let’s be the dads who walk in God’s grace and peace! Let’s be the dads who live our lives to the full because God’s divine power gives us everything we need! Let’s be the dads who cling to and hold onto God’s promises for we know they are powerful and true! Let’s be the dads who walk in the promises of God so that we can participate in His purposes and plans for our lives, having escaped the corruption of this world!

Today’s devotional was provided by Michael Thompson where on zoweh.org they share the following: “Every man has had authority figures in his life, and much of what a man perceives about God and projects onto God was shaped by those authority figures. At the top of every man’s authority list is his earthly father. How your dad handled your heart has shaped you and contributed significantly to how you perceive God. Join us for this journey towards experiencing the heart of the Father and getting everything out of the way that is in the way of being a Beloved Son.“

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)

Through zoweh.org, you are able to download today’s devotional and many others.

For more information, please visit https://www.zoweh.org/youversion.

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Notorious Love“

• Today’s devotional points out an interesting point, that if Jesus was notorious for something it would be LOVE!
• Let’s be the dads who like Jesus, everywhere we go, we love people!
• Let’s be the dads who like Jesus, everywhere we go, we provide people with evidence of what love is!
• Let’s be the dads who like Jesus, everywhere we go, we provide people with evidence of what love really looks like!
• Let’s be the dads who like Jesus, personify love!
• Let’s be the dads who live our lives in such a way to point people to Jesus!
• Let’s be the dads who live our lives in such a way that people can see Jesus working in and through us by the way we love!
• Let’s be the dads who live our lives engaging with others, initiating conversation and relationships with others, just like Jesus did!
• Let’s be the dads who are willing to move towards others like Jesus did when He approached others!
• Today’s devotional speaks to how “At a few stops along Jesus’ ministry, he declared, in effect,
  • “No more healing. You don’t want me—you want the miracle. But there is no miracle without me” (Matthew 12:38–42).“!
• Let’s be the dads who get Jesus and choose to live our lives with Him!
• Let’s be the dads who like the one leper who sticks to, returns to, and goes to Jesus because we are more interested in the healer and the creator than the healing and the creation!
• Let’s be the dads who don’t turn from Jesus but stick with Him and like Peter realize that where else would we go!
• Today’s devotional points us to the words of Peter from John 6:67-68:
  • ‘ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ‘
• We see the impact of Peter sticking with Jesus when we read his words from 2 Peter 1:2-4:
  • “May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.
    2 Peter 1:2-4“
• Today’s devotional closes with the following point:
  • “How right Peter was the first time. “Where would we go? You are life.” Sounds to me like the Peter of many years later is offering a taste of something he has stocked up on over his time as Jesus’ friend. Peter feels compelled to share. (Don’t we all when we find something glorious and good?) The old apostle knows, not just in theory but also through life-altering encounters and Life-giving experiences, that the Father is good. Jesus made sure of it and makes sure of it still.“
• Today’s devotional provides us with a challenge for our time with God:
  • “When was the last time you experienced the goodness of the Father, him loving on you?“
  • “What in the passage in I Peter do you long to experience the most? What are you NOT experiencing?“
  • “What might you be so bold as to ask the Father for? What is a deep desire unfulfilled and do you believe he is good?“