June

June marks the month for Fathers. Our Heavenly Father is loving and caring. This month let us see some of His attributes in our earthly dads. The following characteristics spell out D.A.D.

Dedicated

The context of these verses is Joshua & Caleb returning from spying on the area God promised with ten others who contradicted Joshua and Caleb and gave a bad report.

Num 32:9-13 - "For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they (the 10 other spies) discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they (the entire group) did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.10"So the LORD's anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying,11'Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me,12'except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' 13"So the LORD's anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.

  • Notice that Joshua & Caleb are dedicated to follow the plan of God through Moses. The others reported their fears but Joshua and Caleb reported their faith that they had in God. God noticed their faith; and they did get to see the promised land eventually.
  • Godly dads are to be as dedicated as these two men were to God’s plans.

Accepting

Now consider the next few verses.

Psalm 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

Prov. 10:32 - The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

2 Cor. 6:2 - For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Eph.  1:3-6 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

  • God accepted us into His family. Covenant relationship is extended to all who obey the Word of God.
  • You and I are accepted in the beloved on God’s terms as outlined in the Bible.
  • We can enjoy the benefits of the Kingdom of God by accepting all that Jesus did for us.

Disciplined

The dictionary defines disciplined as training that develops self-control and efficiency, orderly conduct, strict adherence for enforced obedience.

As Men of God and Fathers we are to deal ruthlessly with ourselves. Let’s consider the following verses.

Matt. 16:24 (AMPC) - Then Jesus said to His disciples, If any one desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadily to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

  • Notice that God will not deal this way with you; you must as a man of God train yourself. The man of God must willing do those things that contribute to a Godly character.

Luke 14:33 (AMPC) - So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say goodbye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.

  • So D.A.D.s are to be dedicated, accepting and disciplined. They are to be examples of a Christ-like character

Remember to say the following out loud with sincere conviction.... “I’m believing to be at the Right Place, at the Right Time saying the Right Thing and the right thing to say is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”