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Making men MEN again. The David Alliance will help you slay your giants.
Episodes
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
Thursday Oct 05, 2023
The David Alliance
Aging is the aggressive pursuit of comfort. Gary Brecka
Think of that statement. We choose comfort over health. I think that ties directly into where many Christians are at with their lives. They choose poverty over pushing in to sowing and reaping and claiming Gods word. They choose sickness over fighting with Gods word and coming against the enemy to violently take a hold of their healing. They choose stagnant marriages over praying Gods word over their marriages for years to make it happen.
Louie Simmons… what a dude. He is the one who made the conjugate system famous in strength training… in fact I and my son are going to another one of his workshops in Columbus Ohio in a couple days. He passed away last year, but he was a master at making people their strongest… he used the example of the wolf pack. Wolves are always fighting for their place in the pack… fighting to be 4 if they are 5, fighting to be 2 if they are 3 etc… But once a wolf quits fighting it gets kicked out of the pack and can never get back in. This is why I push hard to stay strong… it takes a lot, a lot of time, effort etc… and the older I get the more time it takes… but I know once I quit pushing its over… I will just be like every other dude who is weak and fluffy… and even if I keep going to the gym I will be the guy who just goes from machine to machine with nothing really to show for it…
But I digress…
I am a fan of John G Lake. I have almost all of his sermons and most books that he has written or that have been written on him. If I was to pursue one mans faith… let me clarify- I am not pursuing anyone other than Christ… but if I was, It would be John Lakes life and faith. He still doesn’t hold a candle to Jesus, but he was an amazing man. Power authority, miracles, supernatural in all ways…
in the Book “his life his sermons his boldness of faith” he writes something that I have underlined and highlighted at least 7 times that I can tell from my handwriting. I have read this book numerous times and it may be my favorite quote from his writings… this is what he says “The reason people become sick is the same reason that they become sinful. they surrender to the suggestion of the thing that is evil, and it takes possession of the heart. Sickness is just the same. there is no difference. The suggestion of oppression is presented, and becoming frightened, the disease secures a foothold. “in the Name of Jesus Christ I refuse to have this thing”.
It seems like Louie Simmons and John G Lake think alike. If you quit fighting if you surrender to the pull of sickness, sin, weakness, lust… whatever you patronize and give an inch to will take a mile.
My quote at the beginning - Gary Brecka says Aging is the aggressive pursuit of comfort. Gary Brecka
I only disagree slightly in that we don’t have to aggressively pursue it… it can simply sneak in the door and in time it will take over
song of songs 2:15 it is the little foxes that spoil the vine… literally kill your crop, your harvest.
The foxes didn’t keep you from planting… they didn’t keep you from watering, fertilizing or weeding… they kept you from harvesting…
You do all the work and then this little thought comes in and steals the result. You go to church, you read your bible, you pray, you fast, you make sacrifices and you step out in faith… but then you let one little thought come in… well everyone sins… everyone gets sick… not every prayer is answered… not everyone is passionately intimate with Jesus… not everyone has the Holy Spirit speak to them with precise clarity….
After all that… you gonna let the little fox steal your lunch? I hope not. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your God.
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
In 1964 a hand written letter by a 12 year old girl was mailed from South America to London England. It had no postage and was missing much of its address… but it had just enough evidence on the front of the envelope to make sure it made it all the way to London and to the intended recipient… in fact when the postal handlers saw the outside of the envelope they themselves paid for the postage and made sure it got into the hands of the person it was intended to get to… And where did it land? right into the hands of a 90 year old man named none other then Winston Churchill - what was on the outside of the envelope? It was addressed to the greatest man in the world London England… that was it, but everyone knew who it was intended to go to.
If I was going to mail a letter to your block, or your work place… and I couldn’t put your name on it I could only put a description of who you were, what would I write.
Oh Im sure in the past when I was younger I would have received letters addressed to the cocky arrogant kid, to the barefoot water skiing freak, to the skateboard nut, …please make sure this gets into the hands to the 17 year old Girl crazy kid… oh they all would have landed in my lap. But what about today… how would you get it to me? How would that letter arrive to YOUR work… knowing it was for you.
Please send this letter to the guy who slacks off and pushes his 15 minute break into 25 minutes…
Please send this letter to the guy who is always right
Please send this letter to the guy who has the wandering eye whenever a woman walks by
Please get this letter to the guy who talks about Religion but has no relationship with God…
In Acts 19… an unusual story pops up about some demons who know Paul and Jesus but not the 7 dudes who were trying to cast them out
Acts 19:15 the demons answered the 7 sons and said “Paul I know, Jesus I know… but who are you?”, and then the demon possessed man jumped on them and beat the snot out of them.
Matt. 7
21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’…
Lawlessness - disobedience….
So in verse 21 it does not say you won’t enter heaven because you didn’t look like a Follower of Christ, or that you didn’t use his spiritual gifts or powers… it will be because you did not obey him… you were not in alignment with him.
So let me pose my question with some new insights… what if a letter showed up to your work that said “to the guy who is obedient to Christ”…. would it land in your lap? I sure hope so.
What about your neighborhood?
Tuesday Oct 03, 2023
Tuesday Oct 03, 2023
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
Famous last words on your deathbed
Todd Beamer Was A Passenger On United Flight 93, September 11, 2001 Are you guys ready? Lets roll.
I have offended God and man, because my work did not reach the quality it should have. DaVinci
I finally get to see my Marilynn… spoken by Joe Dimaggio about his wife Marilynn Monroe.
What would your last words be? If I have the chance I would like them NOT to be aaahhhhhggg
But rather “serve God no matter what, he is worthy”.
But King David… he was a shepherd boy, the forgotten son, he was a outcast running from the law, he was King, he was an adulterer and he was a lousy father…. and what did he say? What were his last recorded words… and spoken to his son.
Think of that just for a second… scripture records his last words… but is sure to let us know it was to his future heir. His up and coming son… it wasn’t words to the nation of Israel, or to his family or to God… it was to his son- the next generation.
1 Kings 2:2
“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.
Prove - appearing… showing up… transforming into
We can see the sins of David breeding, spreading in his son Solomon. Yes Solomon was a great king, the wisest of the wise… but David loved his wives… and Solomon really loved his women and wives… and in a few ways we see how Solomon grew up and in how some other ways he never really achieved the character of God was hoping him to have.
But David said be strong and prove yourself a man… I wonder what David would have said if could have seen the end of Solomons life.
TMI yesterday my wife and I got into a hmmm lets call it a discussion. She said your oldest is 33 years old and you can’t tell him what to do, you will put a wall between you both. I said “if I do it the wrong way, yes I would put up a wall…. however it is still and will always be on me to tell my son how to live if he is not living for God”. I have told me boys numerous times growing up… if you don’t want to live for God- thats fine, but don’t be a phony… just say Im not a Christian… and I will pray you will become one, but I won’t be torn up inside that you are a liar. And I loved that my youngest son for a long long time did just that… now he is on fire for God, but you get my point. Grow up and show yourself to be a man… I would add a man of God.
One more question… what will it feel like at the end of your life to not show up like a man of God…
Look I see a lot of men in our world who are manly… the kill things, they are tough, they sacrifice for their family, they build businesses, they help others… but if you do not know God - Live for God - and win others TO God… are you really a man of God?
I love the old song by Todd Snider called Talking Seattle Grunge… about a band that was so alternative and wanted to stand out so much that they formed and decided to never play a song, not a note… it pokes fun of being so different that masses can be fooled and fall in love with the gimmick and forget what being in a band is about… - you should check it out. But point being, the world is full of gimmicks when it comes to what a man is… I am sure when we get to heaven there will be men who were scrawny, ugly, uneducated, poor and maybe never had a wife or a woman… and they were THEEE Men of God that are on display because they realized what being a man is about - being like Jesus.
So today…as if I am going to die… I say unto you “Be strong and be a man… a man of God”!
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
Ira Antelis… wrote the song I wanna be like Mike, the classic MJ commercial for Gatorade… But did you know those lyrics are also in the bible and they are not about Jesus…Thats where we are going today
Ira Antelis was hired to write a commercial for Gatorade, they already bought time and had only a week or two to come up with a song. Ira wanted to use the song from Disney Classics Jungle Book “I wanna be like you’hoo hoo”… but the negotiations stalled and MJ and Ira pulled out… and to this day that is why people believed MJ would never say “Im going to Disney world” after his championships… apparently some people believe that MJ can hold some type of grudge or something…LOL, I can just hear Michael… “uh yeah they wouldn’t let us use the song and I thought Ok, I won’t ever go to Disney World… so yeah I took an offense to that”.
But Ira came up with the lyrics and sent it to 3 or 4 song writers and said you got 3 days… we shoot in four - or something like that.
But the song resonated to young and old… everyone saw MJ literally jump off the TV screen and float across the court and dunk the ball… shoot free throws with his eyes closed, put moves on guys that would cause them to literally fall out of their shoes…Remember David Wesley… ouch.
1 Cor. 11:1 11 Do as I do, for I am doing as Christ did.
Be like Mike.
Be like Paul, copy him, imitate him, follow him, do as he does, Make him your example, say what he says, do what he does, act like he acts, think like he thinks, maybe even dress like he dresses… probably not- Im not wearing a robe in todays world… sheesh people would think its a dress and think I have become a woman… and we all know if you are man you can’t become a woman… how fast can I chase a rabbit?
Sorry, but here is the gist of todays podcast…
Can you say to other men, or people “be like me”.
Are you living in such a way as to say “be like me, pray like me, read your bible like me, practice it like me, talk like me… even when you get your car dented or you hit your thumb with a hammer… be like me.
When your spouse is a pain in the neck… be like me, when your kid comes home drunk, be like me…
These words by Paul are not just words that slip out of his mouth unaccounted for… he actually goes on to say “follow my teachings… trust me enough to do what i do and say what I say”.
You konw that is a gut check for anybody… can you today honestly say “he everyone do as I do…. I hope so, and if not make that a goal.
Friday Sep 29, 2023
Friday Sep 29, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
What is keeping you from your purpose?
Pauls rank and education
Josephs need for the approval of his brothers
Moses need of the finest and best the world had to offer (living in Pharaohs court)
Samsons need for sexual escapades
Solomon and his wealth was his downfall
Hey if you are looking for applause, accolades, the approval of men, money, sex, security, affirmation, a clear path… you will never be all that God has for you to be?
IN FACT… there is a case to be made -that for you to be all that you can be you will in fact need less and less of what you think you need.
Here is the short answer as to how you find what God wants you to do and how to do it…
Do what pleases him… and when you feel like you don’t got it in you to do the right thing to please him… then you know what you need. - God give me the strength to not look at that so that I may please you.
You go to interview for a new job… and the interviewer asks you if you have ever blown it at your other job… and you want to please God… now you know you need wisdom and courage.
What ever you think you need to please God is what you need to ask for… not for the applause of men, or to look strong, cool and successful… you don’t need those to please God…
What did Paul say in Galatians 1:17 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
Here is the strategy for a well made man of God
personal relationship with X
Understanding your life mission and goal (and possibly your life verse)
personal systems to operate ones life at its highest level
including systems for spouse, kids, church, faith, job
Learning how to handle finances
learning how to respond to hardships and difficult people
Learning how to be a man…Husband, father, son and a rockstar in your local church.
But there is a cheat code…
You can do all this, and I highly recommend it, You could read books on all of this… and I have and I do. But here is the cheat code that is missing in todays world.
Hanging around manly men… hanging around men of God.
I have talked about how here in the US we are were we are at do to the breakdown of the family… the lack of fathers and especially the lack of Godly fathers in the home. If you have no Dad, if you have a lousy Dad, if you have a Dad that is not a strong man of faith… use the cheat code - hang around other Godly men.
I saw a drunk man wanting to harm his wife and my Dad took him out and threw him up against a car until the cops came.
I saw a man call out a young man who had gone to far with his daughter…
I saw a men climb into a fight between 2 women and break it up while others watched.
I saw a man who every day before work started he sat in his truck for 45 minutes and read his bible and pray
I saw men who were ridiculed for their faith stand and take it and still love those who hate on them
I saw men stand in the center of the UW madison campus and preach the gospel
I have seen many men sacrifice money, time their jobs in order to live for God….
I have seen men leave unGodly friendships
I have seen men break up with beautiful smoking hot women because they were not who God wanted them to date…
I have seen men stick with their wives after having an affair
I have seen men love their kids when they spit in their face and blamed their dads for their own self inflicted wounds
Sure I could have read books, I could have watched youtube videos, I could have worked out a lot of this on my own by personal study… but I cheated by hanging out with MEN, men of God. Manly men… men who were not afraid to stand for what is right even in the midst of a hailstorm of hate and accusations….
here is the bonus… My dad is a manly man of God and because of that he attracted other manly men of God who had influence on me
And now I am trying to be that man for others… and attract manly men into my life for the sake of my own sons!
So here are a few clues on finding the man to mentor you… these are not written in stone, but they will help.
1- Go to a church that has a manly senior pastor… like attracts like.
- 2 Find Godly men who do manly things… Muai Tai, Ju jitsu, hunting,
- 3 Find Godly men who have manly jobs… mechanic, police officer, work in the military, Construction…
- 4 Find men who are active in ministry.
- 5 go to a mens bible study and seek out the person there who has been the Xn the longest
Now what does scripture say
1 Timothy 6:11 “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”
Prov. 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”.
Being with men will teach you to run from some things, How to act and be strong and understand that sharpening is uncomfortable.
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
Wednesday Sep 27, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
What were you really good at growing up… I mean in Middle School and High school…
Or maybe you were just passionate about it… it took up most of the space in your head.
I was not the best student in Middle School and High school and at that time I thought I wouldn’t probably be that successful in life or have any real opportunities - BECAUSE I THOUGHT grade point average was everything…. at least When it came to having success…
Anyway… what I was good at… I was good at speaking, I was never afraid of a crowd or speaking or performing in front of a crowd. But another thing I was really really good at was PAIN. I would not have worded it that way as a kid, but looking back I now realized I was just good at putting up with or embracing pain… sure when I was young I used this super power for the things that mattered to me… Skateboarding, Water skiing, weightlifting… I also didn’t care what people thought of me… I was able to not only put up with peer pressure but actually mock those who would try to use it against me…
Hand me a beer at a party - I would throw it in the fire
Mock me for not having sex before marriage I would mock you for having sex because you lacked the fortitude and folded under peer pressure and now you sold your soul to emptiness… anyway.
But now I still use this super power to make a life for myself… my ministry… my family… my businesses…
My question is this… what were you good at age 12-20? What did you really succeed at? And now how are you using that in your daily life?
Study after study shows that what you were “into” in High school is in some way what you should be doing now…. maybe you were great at building models… and now you are an engineer… Maybe you loved talking in class or listening to other problems… You could be a teacher, or a counselor…
But beyond that… I will ask you again… what were you good at? We all took on different personas growing up, some for survival, some due to peer pressure, some more due to our personality - my wife for example… she don’t need anybody. NOBODY< not a single person. It has become a strength… She grew up in a messed up family with a number of Dads and had to fend for herself. She had to learn to compartmentalize and focus on self preservation. She grew up during high school having to buy her own clothes, makeup, car, insurance, gas money, money for school activities…
Maybe you were good at not giving up even after failing and failing and failing
maybe you were good at being alone
Maybe you were good at befriending the nobody’s
Maybe you were good at scheduling time for extra study because you were not a natural student…
What ever it was… good or bad, use it today in life.
Gen. 50:20 Joseph said what was bad god used for good.
and more clear in 2 Tim. 1:6 Paul writes…
This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.
Fan into flames: Rekindle relight, to gain strength
Gift:Spirit-empowered service to the Church to carry out His plan for His people.
So again what you are good at? Maybe its time to ask God to rekindle that - to light it up for him, and watch it change the kingdom!
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
Just recently an F35 military jet crashed… the pilot ejected, the plan flew another 60 miles without him in it and then crashed… it was a small 100 Million dollar whoops’y daisy… But would anyone on purpose just think… Im”a crash this plane… and if so, what were you thinking.
The book the divine conspiracy a pilot was practicing maneuvers and at one point pulled a hard ascent to shoot into the sky.. but instead crashed her plane straight into the earth… she was so busy maneuvering that she lost sense of direction and did not realize she was flying upside down.- how is this even possible…
Well you can get so disorientated at those speed and with the G Force building up you can end up going by feelings and not by your instrument panel… When you feel your way rather than think your way - you are in trouble especially at Mach 1.6… thats over 1200 MPH…
Unless you were locked in a box, on an island on Mars you know about the WWJD bracelet craze. Millions were sold…and I mean millions - I never bought one, I never wore one… my own personal reasons - basically would Jesus wear one? Im mean really what would jesus do? I don’t think he would wear one… so… anyways.
What would Jesus do…
Its quaint, a nice sentiment, but I feel lacking in really bringing about any conviction… here is what I would suggest… Rather than WWJD… how about
WWJT
What would Jesus think? I feel that this is a much more powerful act in which to practice. We can excuse what Jesus would do… because well…He is Jesus.
But I don’t think asking myself what Jesus would do is going to make me do it… Look we all saw plenty of athletes wear those bracelets and yea… pretty poor witness in the mean time. But the point is, we are transformed by the renewing of our mind… not by the renewing my actions… now before you think I am being nit picky…
stop to realize that we can in fact think what he thinks… in doing so it leans into our heart and mind that if we can think it, and digest it mentally, it can transform us and in fact we can start to do what he would do if we first think what he would think.
Very little if anything is changed by merely doing… or at least it changes very little. We typically do for a while, and then stop… but when we think, when we stop to think what would Jesus think… well now I have to really wrap my head around the “why” and not just the do.
I may have shared one of my favorite stories about a woman who was trying to lose weight… she tried everything, but just could not “DO” it. She went to a Doctor who explained to her that she will never DO it long enough to make it a habit, rather she had to think it first and get it so engrained that it became who she was… so he suggested that this woman carry a big purse with her and in the purse was a bathroom scale with a picture of a skinny woman… when ever she would get ready to eat something rather than trying to do the right thing, she simply would pull out the scale and the picture. She would weigh herself and think about that number on the scale and look at that picture and think about who she wanted to be.
And by thinking first it engrained into her mind, soul, spirit who she really was… and she then acted accordingly.
Why is it so important to read the word of God AKA the bible? Because you have to think about it… yes, we have all read a page or two and then thought… what did I just read… I zoned out. But still the greatest aspect of reading is that we have to think it, we have to put it in our brain and we are first to consume it mentally before we DO IT. The genesis again is that we are not trying to “what would Jesus do” but first and foremost must wrestle with what did Jesus think… and by thinking of what Jesus would think we are thinking what would jesus think.. confusing? Well not really, because thats the point.
So today, don’t worry about what Jesus would do, worry first about what he would think… The doing will come soon enough.
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Friday Sep 22, 2023
The David Alliance
MingleMateMarry.com podcast youtube and website for the perfect marriage material and swag. They got a great hoodie called its a great day to be married… after today maybe some of you will want to wear purchase it… because many of you are not loving the days you are married…
Look at you… you aint no man… you just talk…You gotta a Lamborghini mouth and a moped work ethic…
Mark Twain: "Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.”
Maybe it should be “Actions reveal the truth behind words”
Words today are amplified by social media. the right font, the right video, the right music, the right cliche… But where is the action?
No matter how powerful the speaker, the words chosen, the eloquence and the manner to which they speak, no matter how impactful they seem and no matter what promises are made.. no matter what great change has been promised or what great past accolades have been touted… words mean nothing… they are stupid, they are lies! They lie… unless there is action.
Simply put, it means that what people do carries more weight than what they say. In other words, people are judged not by what they say they will do but by what they do. This phrase is particularly relevant today when we receive countless messages and promises from individuals and institutions.
Look there are businesses out there who are searching, literally searching for people who DO. Think of it, the highest demand is not for those who have a great resume, or those who make grand promises… but for those who DO. Companies lose billions of dollars every year because they trusted people who say and don’t’ do.
Its the same in the lives of people who say they are Christian. Much said, little done. If you truly believe in scripture than you should be the most active, fearless and productive people in your home, job and church.
Here is a good question to ask yourself… if you talk a good talk, but you know deep down in your heart you don’t really follow through, you know its just talk… what do you get out of it? A good question.
What do you get from just a life of words and no action?
Hey we have all seen the parent talk smack or talk repercussions to their teen. Keep it up and you will have to deal with…. But then it never happens. What would happen if you just never told your kids what will happen but you just did it. They talk back and you take their phone for a day, they don’t do their homework they don’t get the car, they don’t clean their room they have their gaming taken away… but you never tell them in advance, you just do it. Believe it or not- if you start this from a young age, your kids will grow up incredibly successful. They will have proof number one that actions have consequences… and not words - I hope you caught that.
But even deeper still… back to our question of what do you get out of talking but not acting.
So here is something I found helpful… and I am not sure all the psychology that is behind this, but it works.
When I have a big goal, when I really want something done… I tell no one, When challenged or encouraged to talk about my accomplishments or my goals… I say nothing, when given windows in which I can share about all that I will do, could do, want to do, or working on doing… I SAY NOTHING. And it motivates me with this one thought… I will say nothing unless I have actually done that act in which they are talking about.
How many times have I heard people say “Im thinking about writing a book”. And I say WHO CARES. Why do I say that? Because no one other than your mother cares… just write the book. I say that having written 12 books… no one cared about my “im writing a book… talk” until I actually wrote the book.
1 John 3:18:“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Matt. 5:16 May they see your works
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. Titus 1:6
These verses are an admonition of being seen by a lack of action, not by a lack of talking…
Wednesday Sep 20, 2023
Wednesday Sep 20, 2023
TDA
If you are a man who has a son, congratulations. You have something that should not be wasted. You have in your possession a great opportunity - something to invest that will pay dividends beyond the scope of any other investment. You have riches that will exceed your time here on earth. If you do not waste it. You have a son… that makes you a father. You now have the opportunity to be a FATHER… what an amazing piece of raw material in your possession in which to forge an eternity with, for God.
How does one invest into that eternity - that legacy?
I think there are 3 things we see in scripture.
Provide - Provide for them. Their body, soul and spirit. live, walk, talk, act, exemplify a man who provides for his kids. It is not enough to just provide food, water and a roof over their head. You must provide for them emotionally, mentally, socially.. be and live the example. Pour into them in all aspects of who they are as humans and spiritual beings. Do you provide hugs, kisses, encouragement, verbal affection, I love YOU’s and the like? If not then might I be so bold as to say you suck as a provider. You are not taking your investment into the future very seriously.
Protect - Maybe you are not the toughest dad on the block… thats fine. but you do have to protect your legacy - that is your children… is your house safe? Oh yes, I have a gun in my bedroom… thats not what I mean.
Will they find porn in your house, on your phone, will they hear you yell at your wife or treat her with the cold shoulder? Will they see a dusty bible? Will they know and see that you are involved in Church life? Will they hear you gossip and bad mouth others or the pastor or their friends…. these things make or break a safe protective home. Are your kids safe to share their fears, their dreams, their hopes and questions? You may have a house surrounded by a mote, guns galore and you may be a blackbelt in Karate - but if your kid doesn’t feel safe and protected emotionally… You failed.
Preview - show them what a Godly father looks like. Here is a tough question if you are willing to answer it gut wrenchingly honest… Would you desire your kids to have the same intimacy with Jesus as you do? Would you be happy if they had the same faith in God? the same prayer life? New the bible as well as you did?
Do you pray before meals? Do they see you pray for direction with problems, opportunities or for the world. Do they see you share the gospel, love those who hate you, give sacrificially? If I asked your kids, help me write a movie script about how Godly your dad is… would they be able to come up with any stories… or would it be one of those movies that starts out with “partially based on a true events”… meaning- there is a whole lot of filler going on in here? But my dad does call himself a Christian… so we’ll just fill in the blanks.
You are blessed to be a Dad, you have an incredible investment opportunity… but you gotta provide, protect and preview…