InsertCover’Image’Here’ - NIV Bible€¦ · This’devo3onal’Bible’reading’plan’for’Dad's’ includes’21’readings’thathelp’you’to’be’a posi3ve’Chris3an’role’model’for’your

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This devo3onal Bible reading plan for Dad's includes 21 readings that help you to be a

posi3ve Chris3an role model for your family. These readings will cover topics such as self-‐discipline, love, pa3ence and much more. This

devo3onal plan will help in your day-‐to-‐day life to show your children what it truly means to be a role model and follower of Christ in every sense.

Table of Contents Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5: Day 6: Day 7: Day 8: Day 9: Day 10: Day 11: Day 12: Day 13: Day 14: Day 15: Day 16: Day 17: Day 18: Day 19: Day 20: Day 21:

Listen up, boys Don’t make me laugh Could I please have a receipt on that? Be very careful This entrepreneur’s lesson The power of unused power I’m going to bring you down Reverend Dad Don’t step right up The Bride wore black Stop stepping over your family Seeds, self-‐sacrifice and your baby Help yourself to everything You are here It’s always something Give me pa3ence…right now It’s worth the wai3ng Great advice from King David…and my mother Stop Straight talk Get out of the way

Day 1: Listen Up, Boys Did you ever go to summer camp as a kid? And if you did, do you remember the first night when the Camp Director — I think those guys slept and showered with whistles around their necks and clipboards under their arms — stood up and announced the camp rules? On and on he would drone about not swimming alone, not leaving the camp grounds without permission, mess hall “e3queê” — something about how to scrape excess food off plates into coffee cans — and of course, the most important rule . . . no boys in the girls’ cabins. And it seemed like all the rules were for the boys and not for the girls. Remember? The last thing the director said really sounded crazy. “If you follow these rules, you will have a great 3me here at camp.” By the 3me the director was finished, you sat there thinking, “Hey, this doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. They’ve got way too many rules at this camp. Is this prison or summer camp? And what could he possibly mean about having a “good 3me by following the rules?” Now, try to remember how you felt about the camp the day you were leaving. You were saying goodbye to guys you had met. You were telling each other that this was the best week of your life. You were remembering the great 3mes you had had together. You were promising to stay in contact with each other . . . oh, sure you would! Anyway, you had completely forgoên how you felt aeer the Camp Director’s rules on opening night. Only a few guys had actually disobeyed, and sure enough, they had experienced the pleasure of having their parents drive up to take them home a li^le earlier than planned. Following rules, you concluded, does make for good experiences. What a great lesson to learn as a youngster. The Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River and enter the promised land. Before they did, Moses put on his whistle and tucked his clipboard under his arm for a li^le speech. He warned them what would happen to them if they disobeyed God’s laws — much worse than being sent home from camp. And then he gave them an incredible promise. If, in your new home, you decide to truly seek God, you’ll find Him (see verse 29). Can there be a higher goal for our families than enjoying God’s presence? Can there be a greater reward for following God’s rules? I don’t think so. Don’t let the laws bog you down. The rewards of obeying them — living in a home where God lives — are well worth it.

Con3nue to the Next Slide for Related Scripture

Day 1: Scripture

Aeer you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long 3me—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The LORD will scaêr you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the na3ons to which the LORD will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-‐made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath. -‐ Deuteronomy 4:25-‐31

Day 2: Don’t Make Me Laugh

Turn on the television any night of the week, and you’ll find a comedy that has something to do with a family. Many of the folks who write these programs have researched what will make the viewing audience laugh. Through focus groups and pilot shows, they have carefully studied what to do on the screen that will humor us while we’re sinng in our family rooms. A reoccurring character in these programs is the clumsy, indecisive, passive and very confused dad. He may be quite successful in business, but get him home and his IQ drops to room temperature. The moment he sets his laptop or backpack down, this poor guy is overwhelmed by his unmanageable, demanding wife and his disrespecpul, loudmouthed children. Some3mes we sit and laugh at this foolish man in spite of ourselves. Israel’s enemies were also laughing. And like our laughter at bumbling dads on TV, their entertainment was the result of a man doing a dumb thing. The man was Aaron, and the laughter was the result of his atrocious leadership of God’s family. Moses was on a business trip to visit with God and he had lee Aaron in charge. A bad decision. And with Moses the lawmaker gone, the Jews saw an opportunity for some good, old-‐fashioned complaining. “Give us handmade gods,” they whined. “We’re 3red of worshiping a God we can’t see.” So Aaron gave into the pressure and let them build an idol — a make-‐believe god. The out-‐of-‐control Jewish family became comic relief for everyone (see verse 25). “How funny it is,” these other na3ons must have said, “to see a family where the children make the rules.” Your neighbors have enough on television to keep them in s3tches. Be the sober-‐minded dad in your home. In spite of the tempta3on to let your family’s complaining and whining win out over your solid leadership, don’t let your behavior around your home make your neighbors laugh. And truth be told, living in a family where the dad fails to take responsibility and lead isn’t very funny at all.


Day 2: Scripture

When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scaêred it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. 21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” 22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” 25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. -‐ Exodus 32:19-‐25

Day 3: Could I Please Have a Receipt on That? In the mid-‐1970s, I got my first job in sales. In addi3on to my genng a good product to sell and a territory to sell it in, I received a travel expense budget. My boss explained the procedures for repor3ng money that I spent on the road. “Here’s the form you fill out when you get back,” he said, “and by the way, the Internal Revenue Service does not require receipts for expenses less than 25 dollars.” In a few days, I was sinng on an airplane, headed for the West Coast. I remember thinking, Let’s see. If I put a few less-‐than – 20-‐dollar expenses in my reports for money I don’t actually spend, this could really add up. Aeer all, I’m working night and day for this company, and I’m not genng paid for all this extra 3me. Over the next few weeks, I discovered an interes3ng fact. And although this dawned on me a long 3me ago, it’s as fresh as if it had dashed across my mind last week. Here’s the truth: You are who you are when no one’s checking up on you. Josiah the king had given his secretary Shaphan an assignment. The king had asked him to tell the high priest to take the dona3ons that had been made at the temple and give them to the construc3on supervisors for parceling out to the workers. Then Josiah adds an interes3ng postscript. He tells Shaphan that the supervisors do not need to fill out expense reports. Josiah reminds his secretary that the supervisors don’t need to account for the money because they are “ac3ng faithfully.” The thing that ought to capture us about this story is the remarkable trust that King Josiah placed in his supervisors. I wonder how the high priest told them that Josiah was not requiring any receipts for their expenditures. I wonder if any of these men were tempted to slip a few shekels in their waistbands when they discovered that they weren’t going to be audited. I imagine that he simply said to these managers, “Spend the money carefully but don’t be concerned with keeping records. Our king trusts you, even when no one is checking up on you.” Can you imagine how mo3va3ng this would have been to these supervisors? “Wow, the king trusts us with this money,” they may have said to each other. “How could we do anything but be trustworthy?” There are lots of different ways to mo3vate your children to do the right thing when you’re not around. You can read them a list of consequences if they mess up. You can sit them down and interrogate them when they come home. Or you can tell them that you trust them to be honest, trustworthy and faithful. Which of these op3ons do you suppose will get you the best results? I do, too.


Day 3: Scripture

In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase 3mber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.” -‐ 2 Kings 22:3-‐7

Day 4: Be Very Careful

My wife, Bobbie, has no affec3on whatsoever for the Fourth of July. Of course, I’m not referring to our na3on’s celebra3on of independence from the tyranny of eighteenth-‐century Bri3sh rule. I’m referring to firecrackers. Neither of us grew up in states where private ci3zens could buy or detonate fireworks. So, aeer we were married and moved to a state where this was legal, I loaded up. I told my wife that I bought and shot off firecrackers so our girls would have a special experience of celebra3ng our na3on’s freedom. She wasn’t listening. One of the more interes3ng moments during the Wolgemuth family fireworks show was when one of these Chinese delights didn’t go off. I had lit the fuse, seen the sparks, heard the unmistakable hissing sound, run like crazy . . . but nothing had happened. In a few minutes, the girls had uncovered their ears and had declared that one a “dud.” Unfortunately, it was my job to go back to the misfired device to see what had happened. If you have ever done this, you know exactly what I’m describing. The last thing you’d ever do is to boldly walk up to the firecracker, pick it up and look it over. No, actually, what you do is to carefully 3ptoe toward the fizzled waste of money. It’s as though you’re on thin ice. Your heart is pounding in your temples. Your children are cheering you on. Your wife is in the house, dialing 9 – 1 – 1. You’re literally shaking at the thought that it s3ll might blow up. This is not funny. Throughout the Bible — and especially in the Old Testament — we are warned about entering God’s presence casually. Glibly. Forgenng His awesomeness. His power. His restraint in light of our sinfulness. The account of Isaiah entering the temple and becoming aware of the presence of a holy God is a pre^y incredible one. To this point in the story, Isaiah has been reminding folks of their sinfulness. Suddenly he’s reminded of his own. This account is in the Scripture to help us to never forget that our God is an exalted God. Coming into His presence should make our hearts race. It should make our feet tread lightly, our hands tremble. We are standing before pure dynamite. With this image firmly in our minds, isn’t it incredible that this same God loves us and tenderly calls himself our Father? Let the contrast of these two incredible truths bury themselves deeply in our hearts. By the way, I gave up on the fireworks. Bobbie was right. Several years ago a dad in our town said “farewell” to his right hand on Independence Day. I’m pre^y sure this isn’t what the founding fathers had in mind.


Day 4: Scripture

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” -‐ Isaiah 6:1-‐8

Day 5: This Entrepreneur’s Lesson

On my 44th birthday, I received the phone call every entrepreneur dreads. The voice on the other end of the line was a very familiar one. The man had, for 13 years, been one of my closest friends. “Robert,” he began, “we have to call the note on your business loan. I know what this means, and I’m sorry. I’m your friend, but I’m also a man under authority. I have to do what I have to do.” I hung up the phone and sat there stunned. My five-‐year-‐old dream had come to an end. I walked into my business partner’s office, closed the door behind me, and gave him the awful news. Our eyes welled up with tears as we began to realize the impact of what had just happened. A few minutes later, our whole staff was together, not having any idea what they were about to hear. My business partner and I had done our best to protect them from the rough seas our li^le enterprise had encountered, but now we had to tell them they were out of work and should start looking for other jobs. I went back to my office and called my wife, Bobbie. When I heard her voice, I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Once I gathered my composure, I told her what had happened. “We’ve lost everything, Honey,” I said. “I can’t believe it.” Over the next few days I made dozens of phone calls. One of the first was to a man to whom our business owed tens of thousands of dollars. The purpose of my call was to tell him that I was closing the doors to my business and he was never going to see his money. Aeer I broke the bad news, there was a moment of silence. I braced myself. “I know you’ve done your best, Robert,” Patrick began. “God has been faithful to both of us in the past, and he’ll be faithful in the future. He will provide.” I was overwhelmed by Patrick’s response. I thanked him for his understanding and promised that if there was anything I could ever do to make this up to him, I would. He thanked me, offered a short prayer over the phone, and we said good-‐bye. I’ll never forget this man’s wise words. Jeremiah couldn’t have said it beêr. In fact, Jeremiah did say the same thing. “[God] has driven me away and made me walk in darkness . . . he has weighed me down with chains . . . he has barred my way with blocks of stone . . . Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed . . . Great is [God’s] faithfulness.” This was true for Jeremiah in his distress. It was true for me when our business folded. And it’s true for you today. No unexpected phone call will ever take it away.


Day 5: Scripture

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

-‐ Lamenta3ons 3:22-‐23

Day 6: The Power of Unused Power How fast will your car go? You don’t know? Well, how high do the numbers on your speedometer go — 130 . . . 140 . . . 150? And you probably have never even taken your car up to 100 mph. Right? Wow, just think of all that raw, unused power! It’s enough to make your heart pound, isn’t it? If you’re mechanical enough to understand what’s really going on under your hood, you know something about this power. You know that if you actually drove those speeds very oeen, you could cause serious damage to your finely-‐tuned engine . . . not to men3on what this would do to your stellar driving record. But knowing that you could drive at speeds north of 100 and choosing not to can be a pre^y heady thing. Some3mes power is more powerful when it’s not used. Did you no3ce that Zephaniah’s prophecies are all wriên in the future tense? He was telling the people that many, many terrible things would happen to them if they con3nued in their disobedience and sinfulness. He was reminding them of something they had known all along: when God unleashes his power, it’s an incredible thing — a devasta3ng thing. “Do whatever you can,” Zephaniah seemed to be saying, “to avoid the Sovereign Lord’s wrath and power.” In your job as a dad, you have a disciplinary speedometer. This instrument registers numbers much higher than posted and safe speed limits. Do you have the right to push your accelerator to the floor and demonstrate some of that power? Of course you do, and some3mes it’s all you can do. But most experts agree that if you spend too much 3me at those high speeds, you’ll do damage to yourself, not to men3on those around you. Some3mes that power is more powerful when it’s not used. When your children see you voluntarily holding back, they’ll be impressed with — and thankful for — your restraint. They may even be willing to get in line without your pressing the accelerator. Some3mes dads are called on to use their power. Their families need the strong voice, the demonstra3on of authority or the crack of the whip. It’s not enjoyable, but it is necessary. But most of the 3me, even when you could use that power, it’s beêr to hold back, leaving some of that poten3al force unused. God’s restraint — His mercy and His grace — is what makes Him so awesome. Does He have the power to do whatever He wants? Of course, He does. Does He have the right? Again, yes . . . especially given our sinfulness. But most of the 3me it’s His tenderness and pa3ence that melts our defiance and realigns our wayward hearts. Perhaps you need to discover the power of unused power. Your family will be grateful.


Day 6: Scripture “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD. 3 “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea— and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”

“When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD, 4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem.

I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests—

5 those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host,

those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molek,

6 those who turn back from following the LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.”

7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;

he has consecrated those he has invited.

-‐ Zephaniah 1:2-‐7

Day 7: I’m Going to Bring You Down

In his prime, Muhammad Ali was, according to many experts, the best boxer ever to step into the ring. He was also very good for the sport, assuming that lots of publicity for such a brutal sport could be called “good.” As a teenager I can recall watching this brash young fighter, wagging his finger at an opponent. His verbal taunts were as relentless as his lee jab. “I’m going to bring you down,” He told Floyd Paêrson, the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, in 1965. And Ali took him down. In the years to follow Muhammad Ali directed his pointed finger and audacious claims in the faces of the likes of the behemoth Sonny Liston and the mighty Joe Frazier. In those days, there wasn’t a boxer alive who didn’t fear the great Ali. No boxer could stand under his pi3less aâck. One of the most oeen repeated themes in the Bible is this: When our hearts become proud, God will, in his own way, level us out. “Though you soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” God told his contemptuous people through the prophet Obadiah. In 3me, even the stupendous Muhammad Ali went down . . . his age and his own poor health became the supreme victors. “Pride goes before destruc3on, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18), Solomon warned. “Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.” (29:23). “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,” Jesus would tell his followers centuries later (Ma^hew 5:5). There are two important principles at work here. First, God will use whatever and whomever He chooses to humble His people. Muhammad Ali wasn’t exactly a modest character himself, yet God may use someone just like this in your life to bring you to a place of submission before Him. While we may ques3on His tac3cs, God’s goal is to create a contrite heart in us, and He’ll use whatever it takes to get us there (see also Romans 9:17). Second, humility — a servant’s heart and a gentle tongue — is the natural consequence of a grateful spirit. Yet humility is one of those elusive goals that you must forget in order to achieve! The more you try to not think about yourself, the more difficult it will be for you to be humble. Humility is the by-‐product of something else. It’s the result of understanding one’s own sinfulness and God’s holiness. It’s the consequence of one’s daily commitment to pursue his righteousness. Humility comes when one discovers who one is in Christ, accepts one’s place before Him, then forgets all of that and obediently pursues Him. Our God is a mighty God. He has called us to be His followers. He is the One who deserves all the glory. Kind of makes you proud just thinking about it, doesn’t it?


Day 7: Scripture

The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign LORD says about Edom—

We have heard a message from the LORD: An envoy was sent to the na3ons to say, “Rise, let us go against her for ba^le”—

2 “See, I will make you small among the na3ons; you will be uêrly despised.

3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clees of the rocks and make your home on the heights,

you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’

4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,”

declares the LORD.

-‐ Obadiah 1:1-‐4

Day 8: Reverend Dad When I was in grade school, Memorial Day was my favorite holiday. Incredible though this may sound, I even preferred it to Christmas and Thanksgiving. I grew up in a large family where Christmas presents were quite prac3cal — a wool scarf or gloves, usually — rather than fun, and where Thanksgiving meant that my job was to drag every chair in the county into the dining room. I wish I could report that Memorial Day was so special to me because it reminded me of those who had given their lives so I could live in the luxury of freedom. I wish I could say that it reminded me of the courage of great men and women who stood firmly to their convic3ons, no maêr the cost. These are true and wonderful, but these were not the reasons. Actually, Memorial Day was my favorite because I had a chance to play the trumpet in the marching band in our local parade, and because school was almost over for the whole summer. As a man, for different reasons now, I s3ll have a deep love for the day our na3on sets aside to remember the faithfulness of courageous and fallen soldiers. It’s a humbling thing to realize that people — total strangers — spilled their blood for me. God’s promises had been so visible to the Jews that, every year, they set a week aside to remember and be grateful. Even today, Passover is a 3me when the children of Israel recall his goodness. And today’s reading announces God’s Passover requirement to fathers, “Tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me’ ” (verse 8). Jewish tradi3on has a very, very important lesson to teach dads. Please don’t miss this. You are the priest in your home. Tell your children about God’s faithfulness in your life. Introduce them to God’s amazing grace and forgiveness. Demonstrate what His love looks like when it’s lived out in a person’s life. Yours. And pray that each one will have his or her own personal rela3onship with Christ. If you’re like me, you and I have the privilege of being members of a church fellowship. Weekly, we are ministered to by men and women, called of God to teach and challenge us. But having these professionals in our lives has not taken us off the hook. Their job is not to assume this special role in our homes. This one is ours. We have a calling to live our lives as an example. To teach our children God’s ways, to remind them of His faithfulness, and to show them what it looks like to live with humble gra3tude, surrounded by His grace.


Day 8: Scripture

The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hintes, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a fes3val to the LORD. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed 3me year aeer year. -‐ Exodus 13:1-‐10

Day 9: Don’t Step Right Up For the most part, my years of undergraduate educa3on were truly enjoyable. I enjoyed the freedom and the autonomy. I loved the camaraderie of new friends. The only truly significant frustra3on of college was trying to decide what I was going to be “when I grew up.” I had some classmates who, the day they hit the campus, knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. Jim Hall was going to be a doctor. Steve Oldham was going to be a coach. Herb Shaw was going to be a CPA. Dan Alley was going to eat pepperoni and extra-‐cheese pizza. But I had no idea. Suspec3ng this career ambivalence, my college professors were like carnival hawkers . . . “Step right up! . . . Be this. Be that.” Dr. Heath thought I should research ancient languages. Dr. Harrison thought I’d make a decent doctor. Dr. Wilson thought parish ministry would be perfect for me. As a dad, you some3mes find yourself tempted to encourage your children to “step right up” — to sell them on your dreams for them. Some3mes they feel the pressure to become what you want them to become. Because you want the best for your kids, it’s tough to avoid this tempta3on, but it’s even tougher to grow up under it. Today’s verse speaks directly to this problem. It’s one you should plant deeply into your conscious mind. . . . Being an effec3ve dad has nothing to do with crea3ng a clone of yourself. This is not an exercise in aiming your child at your target. Being successful as a father means helping your children to go in the direc3on they should go. To follow their own calling. To listen to God’s voice in their own lives. To shape and encourage them to iden3fy their own gies and strengths, then to give them the courage to aggressively pursue those gies. Several years ago, I was having lunch with one of my closest friends. Oeen when we get together we joke and laugh, making a public nuisance of ourselves. But this 3me the conversa3on was gravely serious. At one point in the conversa3on my friend said something I’ll never forget: “I’m a grown man. I have two children, two cars, a career and a mortgage of my own. And I’ve just discovered that I have become exactly what my parents wanted me to become. I have no idea who I am.” You are not selling anything to your kids. You’re not trying to get them to follow your agenda. Your job is to help them discover their God-‐given gies and passions, and to encourage them to seek the Lord’s guidance. What you really want is for them to pursue their own dreams — then you do whatever you can to help them be successful. Train your children in the way they should go. Someday they’ll thank you for this.


Day 9: Scripture

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is beêr than silver or gold.

2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

3 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

4 Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.

5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pipalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

-‐ Proverbs 22:1-‐6

Day 10: The Bride Wore Black When you and I were growing up, we learned about pros3tutes. It may have been from something we saw on television or heard from one of the tough guys at school, but we were introduced to what some have called, “the oldest profession in the world.” We were told that some people literally sell themselves to willing buyers for a one-‐3me sexual experience. We discovered that there are pi3able people in the world who, in every sense of the word, are “used.” The story of Hosea is one of the most emo3onally gripping in the en3re Bible. Here was a man called to be a prophet of God. As he was preparing for his ministry to the Israelites, God visited him with a message: “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife.” Hosea, assuming he was like you and me, must have been stunned with this direc3ve. Certainly Hosea had hoped to find a nice Jewish girl, a virgin from a good home to be his lifelong companion. How Hosea must have been crushed with this horrific assignment! So Hosea met a pros3tute named Gomer and asked her to be his bride. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for Hosea on their wedding night? . . . Don’t you wish he could have married his highschool sweetheart who would have been ecsta3c about spending her first night basking in the delight of her precious, innocent husband? Instead, Hosea got a woman for whom the thrill was gone from life. A hardened woman. Our hearts ache for Hosea, don’t they? Now we know how God felt. His people, whom He had loved and protected, had slept around in a spiritual sense. Not once or twice on business trips, they had flaunted their unfaithfulness to him, literally bringing their false gods into the holiest of places . . . shamelessly brandishing their infidelity. God was furious, angry that His people had been so foolish . . . so calloused . . . so arrogant. But mostly, God’s heart was broken. What could have been a holy union between God and His beloved people had become a punch line — the brunt of laughter and ridicule. So God told Hosea that it wasn’t good enough for him to know about this spiritual adultery, he wanted Hosea to feel it . . . to literally live with the heartbreak of loving a rugged harlot instead of a cherished and virtuous bride. What an incredible lesson. You and I are like those arrogant Israelites . . . and like the adulterous Gomer. We are men who seek approval and pleasure apart from our faithful God. This story is an illustra3on of exactly what it’s like for God to love us. He could do so much beêr, but He loves us more that we could ever know . . . more than we ever deserved . . . even more than we loved our childhood sweetheart. Isn’t this awesome?


Day 10: Scripture

The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

-‐ Hosea 1:11

Day 11: Stop Stepping Over Your Family The woman at the other end of the phone was furious. Her husband had, for many years, handled the family’s finances foolishly, and she had just discovered a whole bunch of needless expenditures. “We’re broke again,” she wailed. “And I’ve had it with Sid,” she added. Over the next several months I met with Sid. As we talked, I discovered that runaway spending wasn’t his only problem. In fact, the money thing was only a symptom of a much bigger problem. Sid would see something he wanted to accomplish, he would focus on this goal, and then he’d ignore everything else . . . his wife, his family, his health, his chores and his friends. He was on a personal, selfish mission and could not be distracted! “Do you know what my problem is?” Sid finally admiêd one day over cheese enchiladas. “I have a problem seeing.” “I didn’t know you needed glasses,” I replied, not having any idea where Sid was going. “No, not a problem with my eyesight,” he returned. “I have a problem no3cing things . . . paying aên3on enough to see what’s going on with anyone else but myself. I’m so focused on tasks and goals that I’m stepping over the people who love me most.” This is exactly the message of the Good Samaritan. The Levite and the priest were each fixated on their goal. They were focused on what they had to do: taking care of the temple and leading the people in worship. Two extremely worthwhile assignments, wouldn’t you agree? So when they saw the injured man on the roadside, they didn’t really see him. They saw themselves and their own tasks first, and since these jobs were so important, their eyes looked past the person in need. This story is about American dads . . . . We’re on a mission, and we’ll not have our aên3on diverted. We are, aeer all, hope-‐filled winners in the game of life, and we intend to keep winning. Except for one thing. All of this striving to complete our tasks is actually absorp3on with ourselves. . . . The priest and the Levite had extremely important jobs. God was a full-‐3me job for both of them. But Jesus was telling his disciples — and this includes you and me — that even God-‐jobs are no excuse for missing those who are lying at our feet . . . our first priori3es . . . those who need us even more than the Samaritan needed help from these two. Wow, what a lesson. By the way, Sid and his wife worked it out. They actually separated for several months, but Sid’s wife allowed him to come back to his house for dinner nearly every day. His assignment was to do the dishes. In no 3me, Sid’s wife fell madly in love with her man with a dishrag in his hand. She fell in love again with a man who stopped stepping over her.


Day 11: Scripture

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was aâcked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look aeer him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” -‐ Luke 10:30-‐37

Day 12: Seeds, Self-‐Sacrifice and Your Baby Although I had certainly seen many pregnant women before I got a chance to live with one, I had a lot to learn about this par3cular condi3on. What a woman goes through to have a baby is nothing short of . . . well . . . inconceivable. For the first few months of my wife’s pregnancies, mornings were the worst. I remember feeling so bad to see her sick at the start of nearly every day. I’m responsible for this, I would think to myself. Once the morning sickness part ended, my wife’s belly began to inflate like a beach ball. I was completely awestruck by the way my growing child was changing her body. I tried to imagine what this must feel like — to give myself so completely to something in such a tangible way. I couldn’t do it. I wondered if I would be willing to do such a thing to have a child. I changed the subject. . . . When we went to the hospital for the actual birth our first child, my wife felt what I would describe as . . . sheer panic. Extrac3ng this kid from her body was a brutal experience. What else can I say? Three years later, the second delivery was even rougher. . . . Jesus, in today’s reading, described the price He was about to pay with His own death. His sacrifice provided the way for us to experience life. This is another inconceivable thing. Jesus went to the cross for me . . . for my sin. If he hadn’t, where would I, where would we, be? This principle — sacrifice producing life — is also a picture of what our wives went through to have these babies. For nine full months — and more than a few months aeerward — this woman who loves you “died” to herself. She set aside her pride to share her body with someone else. Someone who would, during those nine months, upset her stomach, make a flight of stairs a complete workout, and keep her awake at night with all that tumbling and kicking. Finally, this li^le someone would bring your wife to the brink of terrorizing pain at its birth. Think of the price your wife paid for you to be a father. Isn’t this a powerful picture of what it looks like when a “kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies . . . it produces many seeds?” Yes, it is. Does your wife know how grateful you are that she went through this laborious experience of self-‐denial and pain for your child . . . and for you? What a good idea it would be to thank your heavenly Father for the sacrifice He made for you. It would also be wonderful to make sure that your kids’ mom knows that you love her and are grateful for what she did to have a baby. You are responsible for this.


Day 12: Scripture

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. -‐ John 12:23-‐26

Day 13: Help Yourself to Everything

Giving money away has always been very easy for me. Now before you get upset at the stridency of this statement, let me quickly assure you that I didn’t pick this up on my own. I learned it from my dad . . . who learned it from his dad . . . who probably learned it from his dad. Dads have a profound impact on their children’s antudes toward giving. For instance, as incredible as this sounds, my grandfather never locked the doors of his home. “If someone comes to our house and they are in need, they’re welcome to anything we have here,” he told me. This antude about generosity was passed in full measure to his son, my dad, who passed it on to us. Giving has been a tradi3on in our family. As a child, I never saw my dad handle an offering plate without punng something into it. Even when we were on vaca3on and were visi3ng an unfamiliar church, my dad never let an opportunity for generosity pass him by. No doubt, he also wanted his children to witness the sa3sfac3on of giving. Mission accomplished, Dad. The best part of this is that I have learned that there is joy in the simple act of giving. In other words, the joy isn’t primarily in knowing where your gie is going, because stewardship is its own reward. Another way of saying this might be that a man is measured not by how much he has, but by how much he gives away. The members of the early church knew about this. They “shared everything they had . . . [so] there were no needy persons among them” (verses 32,34). Those who had been blessed with possessions turned their aên3on away from their own success and lavished their blessings on others. . . . Ted Sherman took me out to lunch in 1971. My wife and I were in career youth ministry, depending on the kindness of God’s faithful servants to survive. Before lunch had even arrived, Ted told me that he was going to invest in our ministry. And before I even had a chance to say, “Thank you,” Ted said something I’ll never forget. “I have a teenage son, and I hope he gets involved in your work,” Ted said, “but I want you to know that my gie is not a bribe. If my kid decides not to come to your mee3ngs, that’s okay. I’ll s3ll give.” He paused for a moment and then con3nued, “And by the way, please, never feel obligated to thank me for my giving. This money doesn’t belong to me in the first place. The joy of sharing is good enough for me.” Although I never asked Ted Sherman about his dad, I’ll bet he was a generous man, too. Ted learned this from someone, and dads can be the best teachers on the subject of giving.


Day 13: Scripture

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles con3nued to tes3fy to the resurrec3on of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from 3me to 3me those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. -‐ Acts 4:32-‐37

Day 14: You Are Here Not long ago I was somewhere — I think it was Phoenix, but I’m not sure since I didn’t ask for direc3ons — and I was going on another adventure through a big shopping mall. This has been, for some reason, a favorite pas3me of mine when I’m in a city that I don’t visit oeen. Aeer a few wrong turns, I found the big, lighted mall directory. I did not ask for direc3ons — “Excuse me, can you please give me direc3ons to the direc3ons?” I stood there for a few minutes, surveying the way the mall was laid out. I decided to strike out toward one of the bookstores, but there was a problem — a very serious problem. Some prac3cal joker had pulled the “You are here” s3cker off the directory. “How can I possibly get to where I want to go from where I am, unless I know where I am?” I said out loud. No one answered. The text you read today describes the landscape of your rela3onships as clearly as the directory at that Phoenix mall. “Do not rebuke an older man harshly . . . treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. Give proper recogni3on to those widows who are really in need . . . Anyone who does not provide for their rela3ves, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (4:1 – 3,8). But all of these instruc3ons are a waste of space unless you and I take an honest look at where we are. If, when we read this list, we say to ourselves, Respec3ng older men? I do that. Trea3ng young men with friendship and not condescension? I do that. Honoring older women? I do that. Esteeming young women and revering their purity? I do that. Providing for my family’s every need? I do that, too. But if we say these things and don’t do them, we’re as lost as I was in Phoenix. Life is a lot of hard work. People count on us. They watch us to see how we speak, how we react under pressure, how we honor others and them. We can never go on vaca3on from these responsibili3es. We are always in the process of working on them. But if we haven’t taken a sober look at where we are in our rela3onships — if we have looked the other way rather than dealing honestly with our propensity for selfishness, dishonor and laziness — these rela3onships will never be healed. . . . “Father in Heaven,” we may need to humbly confess, “I am impa3ent with my elders, patronizing to young people, unaware of people in need, and insensi3ve to my family. But Your presence helps me to admit my lostness, Your grace forgives me of these failings, and Your wisdom gives me the direc3on I need. Thank you. Amen.”


Day 14: Scripture

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 3 Give proper recogni3on to those widows who are really in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into prac3ce by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5 The widow who is really in need and lee all alone puts her hope in God and con3nues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7 Give the people these instruc3ons, so that no one may be open to blame. 8 Anyone who does not provide for their rela3ves, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. -‐ 1 Timothy 5:1-‐8

Day 15: It’s Always Something The wedding guests were in place. The grandparents were properly seated in the second row. The mother of the bride had just been escorted to the first row, across the aisle from the groom’s mother and dad. The air was filled with the kind of indescribable excitement that only a wedding can bring. This was especially true for me, since I was the dad at the back of the church with our daughter Missy on my arm. She had waited a life3me for this very moment. The pastor and our future son-‐in-‐law were preparing to enter the church from one of the sanctuary’s front doors on the organist’s cue. They checked to be sure that everything was in place. It was, including the wireless microphone clipped to the minister’s robe. Unfortunately, the minister didn’t know that the mike was on! “Well, Jon,” Reverend DeVries joked to the anxious groom, “You can s3ll back out.” Of course, neither man had any idea that this very private conversa3on was being broadcast to almost 600 people. The congrega3on held its collec3ve breath. “No way,” was all Jon said. An audible snicker passed over the seated guests like a wave. My wife sighed in relief. The color returned to the faces of Jon’s parents. Has this ever happened to you? You have done everything in your power to do the right thing. No stone is lee unturned. In your opinion, your plan is as perfect as a plan could be. Nothing could have described our daughter’s wedding beêr than this. But in spite of all of this detailed planning, the technician in the sound booth turned the microphone on too early. It could have been an embarrassing disaster. Joseph’s brothers had followed his instruc3ons to perfec3on. They had done everything exactly as they were told to do. But at his master’s command, Joseph’s servant had slipped a silver chalice into Benjamin’s sack of grain, and now these men were being accused of stealing — and they weren’t guilty. So they returned to Egypt and threw themselves at Joseph’s feet, begging for his mercy. Isn’t it interes3ng that, even though they were not guilty of this par3cular charge, they knew they s3ll needed forgiveness? Because of other things they had done — selling their brother like a used car, for one — they s3ll needed Joseph’s mercy. Regardless of how well you and I have planned this day, something will probably go wrong. One of those li^le unexpected things will pop up, and we’ll be faced with a li^le — or a substan3al — detour. Well, our merciful Heavenly Father has a li^le message for us. In spite of the seeming flawlessness of our plans, something will develop a glitch. Count on it. And the lesson to be learned is the one these men learned that day. Perfec3on is unachievable. God’s mercy is always necessary for our inescapable sinfulness . . . impeccable plans and all.


Day 15: Scripture

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” -‐ Genesis 44:16

Day 16: Give Me Pa3ence…Right Now On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your ability to be pa3ent? Being born north of the Mason-‐Dixon Line made me a Yankee by birth. Growing up in Chicago indelibly marked me as a northerner . . . a mid-‐westerner, through and through. But in 1979 we moved to Texas . . . then in 1984, to Tennessee . . . and finally to Florida in the year 2000. And frankly, we’ve grown accustomed to the South. Technically, Texas isn’t an American state in “the South.” Texans will tell you that Texas isn’t in the south, the north, the east or the west. Texas is a sovereign na3on. And Florida? Hard to tell exactly what it is. In any case, one of the things we discovered while living in the South is the two-‐lane roads that wind through coun3es everywhere. These routes were trails built by early se^lers and used as a party game like “Twister” and “Charades.” Guests would be dispatched to a certain des3na3on, being given an alloêd 3me to return to the party. All the small, roadside graveyards ought to give you a clue as to what happened to some of these guests. I’m kidding, of course. But you’ve never been lost like you’ll get lost on these narrow roads. One of the features of these winding roads is the double yellow lines that grace every one. This means that if you’re in a hurry, you’d beêr hope you don’t get behind someone who doesn’t really care about your hasty trip. I have literally spent miles traveling closer to the car or truck in front of me than his “Skoal: Breakfast of Champions” bumper s3cker. This has been a great “conversa3on starter” between my wife and me many 3mes. As in “many 3mes.” My score is a two or three on the above pa3ence quiz. How about you? If you haven’t already, read Deuteronomy 8 — the whole chapter. Please take special note of today’s key verse. Moses was saying to the Jews, all that you have been through — including 40 years of wai3ng in the wilderness — is exactly the discipline your loving Heavenly Father knew you needed. Follow Him. Do not be anxious. Be pa3ent. If you try to pass Him on a double-‐yellow line, you will be destroyed. Hit head on. Although you may be able to relate to my impa3ent despera3on on these li^le roads in Texas and other Southern places, there’s actually a sobering truth here: Follow your Heavenly Father’s course. He may be moving as fast as you can handle, or He may be crawling at a snail’s pace. In either case, He knows exactly what He’s doing. Have conversa3ons with your children about the special kind of discipline and pa3ence the Lord is teaching you. Because they’re watching you, they’ll catch on very quickly.


Day 16: Scripture

Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. -‐ Deuteronomy 8:5

Day 17: It’s Worth the Wai3ng Mrs. Sands was my fourth-‐grade teacher. A soe-‐spoken lady . . . a lovely person, with lots of experience, she was my first teacher in a new school. I remember her being especially tender toward this frightened nine-‐year-‐old boy. But the most vivid memories I have of fourth grade were not of Mrs. Sands or Whiner School. They were not of our classroom with its squeaky wooden floors and lie-‐top desks to hold all our school supplies. What I remember most about fourth grade is wai3ng. For some reason, during that year of my life, three o’clock never came. Almost every day, around one o’clock, I can remember glancing at the huge, round 3mepiece on the wall above Mrs. Sands’ desk. My heart would sink, knowing I had to sit there for two more hours . . . two very long hours. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it — except wait. . . . When was the last 3me you really wanted something but you couldn’t have it . . . you couldn’t get it, buy it or even put it on a credit card? With wai3ng comes wonder . . . hope . . . the thrill of receiving what we’ve so desperately an3cipated. Dinner tasted so much beêr because I was really hungry. Christmas morning held such awe because I didn’t shake the packages. My mother’s aeer-‐school open arms were . . . well, they were what this lonely nine-‐year-‐old boy desperately longed for . . . my mother’s open arms. The writer of today’s psalm knew all about this. He draws us a picture of a thirsty deer, longing — pan3ng — for a cool stream to sa3sfy him. Then he tells us that his soul, the most in3mate part of his life, can’t wait for God’s tender presence. God has become the sa3sfac3on of his deepest hunger, and the day has arrived . . . the day to eat a lavish meal, to open the brightest packages, to melt into the embrace of a mother. Have you lost this wonder? Do you pride yourself in genng what you want, when you want it — in never really having to wait for very much? If you have found yourself leaning toward the cliff of instant gra3fica3on, watch your child; no, in fact, become your wai3ng child. Remember the wide eyes and pounding heart, knowing that the big day is right around the corner. Then ask God to fill your own heart with the kind of love for your Heavenly Father that mysteriously draws you to want more — more of His love, more of His forgiveness, more of His guidance . . . more of Him. I’ll bet you can hardly wait.


Day 17: Scripture

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night,

while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul:

how I used to go to the house of God under the protec3on of the Mighty One

with shouts of joy and praise among the fes3ve throng.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,

the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

-‐ Psalm 42:1-‐6

Day 18: Great Advice from King David…and My Mother It was going to be the biggest business deal of my life. My partner and I had orchestrated the purchase of a major corpora3on. We had done our due diligence, we had met with the execu3ves of the for-‐sale company, we had prepared a business plan, we had raised all the money we would need to make an offer . . . and several counter-‐offers. We also had plenty of top-‐notch, meter-‐running lawyers and hard-‐charging brokers on point. The rush of this deal was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I thought about our transac3on all the 3me. I can remember waking up in the morning, lying quietly for a split second, then having “the deal” scream into my mind like a siren. I strategized about it in the shower and talked about it over oatmeal. My wife was very pa3ent. I thought about the deal while driving to the office, ea3ng lunch, sinng in church, flying on airplanes, jogging . . . you get the idea. Finally, on one mid-‐summer Tuesday aeernoon, we tendered our opening offer. The next morning, only a few hours aeer the company’s board had met to “accept our proposal,” I got a call from a broker. Somehow a very clever buyer — with a no-‐shop deal — had come to the table at the last moment. With no opportunity to let us counter-‐offer, the board accepted the other proposal. Our whole Wall Street transac3on had slipped through our fingers. I was sick, broken, angry, embarrassed and confused. How could this have happened? The first two words of today’s psalm say it all: “Save me.” King David must have just lost the deal of a life3me. ”the floods engulf me . . . my throat is parched” (vv. 1 – 3). That’s okay, David, I know just how you felt. When I was a kid, my mother used to lean in on me when I was facing an unusually horrible youngster-‐type crisis. “Robert,” she’d warn, “this is a test. How well you do will be an example for good or not-‐so-‐good.” Her wise words came crashing back on my consciousness that July morning. It’s not what happens to me that maêrs, I recalled from something I had read, It’s what happens when something happens to me that really counts. Did you read verse 6? “May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me.” The lesson is unmistakable. My friends are watching me when the deal goes bad, when my faith is shaêred, when things don’t turn out as I had planned. It’s my chance to show them how my love for God and His love for me is absolutely enough. My reac3on to failure delivers an opportunity — a test — to prove how quick He is to meet my needs. It’s my chance to make Him look good. Thanks for the reminder, David. Thanks, Mom.


Day 18: Scripture Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry depths,

where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters;

the floods engulf me. 3 I am worn out calling for help;

my throat is parched. My eyes fail,

looking for my God. 4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.

I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

5 You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you.

6 Lord, the LORD Almighty, may those who hope in you

not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel,

may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me.

-‐ Psalm 69:1-‐6

Day 19: Stop In 1982, our company published the biography of a Hawaiian woman who, as a child, had contracted leprosy. Because of her popularity among her fellow Hawaiians, we decided to launch the book in Hawaii with a great media event including the governor, the mayor of Honolulu, and many other dignitaries. As the publisher, and with a voracious sense of duty, I felt an obliga3on to also aênd the fes3vi3es! During the months leading up to this trip, I had actually not been feeling well myself. It wasn’t bad enough to send me to a hospital, to bed or even to consult with my physician, but I had just felt weak, lethargic, no appe3te . . . just blah. Finally, at Bobbie’s insistence, a few days before flying from Dallas to Oahu for the book party, I went in for some blood tests. Early the second morning of my stay in Hawaii, my hotel telephone rang. Glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand, I saw that it was only 3:30a.m. The voice on the other end of the phone was Darlene Tate, my secretary. “Robert,” she began, “I’m sorry to be calling you so early, but I have terrible news.” My heart froze. “What happened? What’s wrong?” I responded, as wide awake as I have ever been in my life. “The report came back from your doctor,” she replied. “You have hepa33s. . . .” In 24 hours, I was sinng on the examining table in my doctor’s office. “You’re going to have to go to bed,” he said, his face telling me that this wasn’t the opening line to a joke. “There is no medicine I can give you. No prescrip3on except rest.” Aeer a drama3c pause, he spoke again, “Robert, you‘ve been running too hard. Your liver will shut down if you keep up this pace. But if you come to a complete stop long enough, your body will actually fix itself. No other medica3on will be necessary.” I turned off the radio for the short drive home. How can I afford to stop? I wondered. Who’s going to take care of the business? But for the next ten days, I did absolutely nothing but rest. I took no medicines. I didn’t even watch any day3me game shows on television. I just slept. And incredibly . . . I got well. In a week and a half I felt brand-‐new. Today’s psalm was wriên by a busy and frazzled king. Can you imagine the work of keeping a whole country in order? So David stopped. He set the “wonderful things,” “great maêrs,” and even his pride aside. And in the quiet, he felt God’s arms, like those of a compassionate mother, literally heal his soul. This is a serious maêr. Stop running, turn off the computer, set down your smart phone and sit quietly . . . let God touch your soul. Speak with Him. In the quiet, listen to His voice. No other medica3on will be necessary.


Day 19: Scripture

But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child I am content.

-‐ Psalm 131:2

Day 20: Straight Talk Having framed many walls during my years of construc3on work, I have always made certain that I have my sixteen-‐pound sledgehammer close by, as well as my level. I lay the two-‐by-‐fours down on the deck, making sure that they’re rela3vely straight. I look down the edge of each one to make sure the crowns are all going in the same direc3on — almost every milled piece of lumber has an arc running from top to boôm . . . the crown. Then I nail the wall together. Once I stand the framed wall in place, I do my very best to make sure that it’s square with the other walls and perfectly ver3cal, with the bubble on the level exactly in the middle. I bring my sledgehammer along because, at moments like these, it’s the best thing available to encourage the walls to be exact. In fact, our children will tell you that I actually call my sledgehammer “The Encourager.” Unfortunately, this equipment is very noisy to use. Given a choice, I’d rather have a Chopin concerto playing in the background than have all that banging and racket. But I also used to hang wallpaper back when my wife and I were youth group leaders and needed a few extra dollars, so I know in3mately the value of making a wall straight and true. So, noisy though it might be to get those walls perfect, I’d prefer disrup3ve and straight to serene and crooked. Although James probably never hung a pre^y Waverly stripe in anyone’s foyer, I am confident that he’d agree with this conversa3on about sledge hammers and precise walls. “The goal,” he would have said, “is to be mature and complete . . . not lacking anything.” And the way to achieve this loey goal is to pay the price of perseverance — living life with steadfast determina3on and resolve, persistence and tenacity. And the way to earn all of these admirable quali3es is to “face trials of many kinds” — the sledgehammers of failure, frustra3on, sickness, loss and defeat. Have you ever seen an “ar3st’s rendering” of a building that’s not been built? Some3mes you see them hanging in the lobbies of large corpora3ons. Now imagine that the work has begun on this new building. A smart general contractor would have copies made of that ar3st’s rendering posted around the construc3on site. “Work with this goal in mind,” he might tell his crew. “All this hard work might be a li^le more meaningful if we have a picture of what we’re building for you to clearly see.” Similarly, experiencing “pure joy” while “facing trials of many kinds” is only possible with an ar3st’s rendering of “mature and complete” close by. The sledgehammer isn’t quite as annoying and intrusive if you keep that great-‐looking wallpaper in mind. This brings a whole new meaning to the expression “straight talk,” doesn’t it?


Day 20: Scripture

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the tes3ng of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-‐minded and unstable in all they do. -‐ James 1:2-‐8

Day 21: Get Out of the Way My first assignment in publishing was to escort the former Iowa Senator Harold Hughes, truckdriver-‐ alcoholic-‐turned-‐believer, on a por3on of his book tour. While he was in Chicago, my task was to do everything possible to make certain that schedules were carefully followed, delivering the Senator to the right place at the right 3me. When we first met, I knew that this rough-‐hewn man wasn’t impressed with me. He was a person who had known life’s brutal underside. He saw me as a naïve, clear-‐skinned youngster, raised in a safe, white, middleclass family, and completely unfamiliar with the real stuff of life. Unfortunately, I had work to do and couldn’t concern myself with the Senator’s contempt. My job was to serve him, maximizing his energy and aên3on to the interviews and appearances on the i3nerary. I worked like crazy to make this happen. At the end of third day together — the final day of the tour — Harold and I talked turkey over dinner. “You know,” he said to me, just as our entrées arrived, “you’re the kind of person I used to despise.” Now there’s an opening line to enhance your diges3on. “But,” the Senator con3nued, “I’ve watched how hard you have worked on my behalf, and I have sincerely appreciated your serving antude. I want you to know that I’m truly grateful for your efforts. Thank you.” I felt as though I had just received an Academy Award. Although I didn’t overdo my “thank you,” his kind words had meant a lot. I had actually enjoyed the challenge of winning his respect by lavishing him with thankless service — making him the star. . . . John the Bap3st had an interes3ng job. He was, if you will, the designated front man for the Messiah. He challenged people to confess their waywardness, he told people about the coming Savior, and then he bowed out. One of my friends said it this way, “John the Bap3st prepared the way, declared the way, and then he got out of the way.” Actually, you and I have something in common with John. We are Christ’s forerunners, front men and emissaries. Our job is to lovingly confront, courageously challenge, then be invisible, allowing God to do what only He can do. We do this in our places of work, and we do this in our homes. . . . We are Christ’s ambassadors. He has not asked us to set policy, stand before the microphones, or even try through our own wisdom and crea3vity to convince people of their need for a Savior. His charge is a pre^y simple one: tenderly challenge people by the example of our own lives to live righteously, be ready to tell others of our love for Christ and His amazing grace, and then let God do the work. Prepare the way, declare the way, and then get out of the way. God is very good at what He does.


Day 21: Scripture

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to tes3fy concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. -‐ John 1:1-‐9

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