Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
At Legacydads, Dave, Lance, and I often discuss legacy dad stuff (being a godly husband, a great dad, a disciple of Jesus Christ, what it all means, how we get more men engaged in their local communities, and whether we are making any differences). As full-time dads (Dave in the soup of it, Lance as the “empty nester,” and myself somewhere between the land of the two, we can see the fruit of our labor, and we can see when guys who plug in with us take the word of God seriously and apply what they are reading, what they are hearing and what we are saying and take a 1-degree step toward God and see unimaginable fruit in their lives in doing so. Those instances keep us grounded and willing to commit to staying with Legacydads and continuing to podcast and talk with brothers along the way.
Some questions that often arise when we are podcasting and coming up with ideas of what to talk about and how God is moving in our lives, is how can we comfort, encourage, and urge our listeners (both husbands and wives, single men and women, and the like) to live lives worthy of Jesus Christ? It isn’t a life that is focused on checking boxes and doing all the things that a Christian needs to be doing, and those things shouldn’t be neglected, but more importantly, it is about having an authentic relationship with the Author of Life.
Let us take a quick gander at our lives and genuinely ask how our words, thoughts, and actions bring glory to God or myself and those people or things we idolize more. Are they coming from a true place of worship, adoration, and genuineness to be in the right relationship with God, or are they coming from a place of self-interest and self-survival?
This thing called life was never meant to be an easy road. If you are a true follower of Jesus, then you know that Jesus, himself, tells us that if they persecuted him that the world will most certainly persecute us. How do we reconcile that with prosperity gospel or false teachers who completely miss the true mark of Christianity? We don’t, they simply do not co-exist in Gospel truth.
So, then, what? How are we supposed to do what God commands us to do?
Are you a member of a church?
Are you actively serving in that church?
Do you tell others about Jesus (those who do not know Christ)?
Do you obey the 49 commands of Jesus?
Are you in the right relationship with God?
How do I do these things? (If your church or your discipleship in your church is not addressing these important questions, then what?)
All this to say, what are the next steps if I am not? Let’s start with praying to God. Asking him to reveal the things in us that need to change, that need to be repented of, that need for us to go the opposite way of what we are currently doing. Next, let’s get into a regular pattern of reading God’s word and meeting with other like-minded brothers (or sisters depending on your God given Gender). Let’s not just check boxes, but let’s be honest and accountable, raw and authentic, and open to the point that they can call us out and we can call them out when our lives are not jiving with our thoughts, and words and actions.
Join us in doing this life together. Send me an email at Dante@legacydads.org for next steps.
Blessings,
Dante
And let us consider...
