To find inspiration as a father there is no better place to turn than God’s word and the timeless wisdom found in the Scriptures. God's Word provides a wellspring of encouragement and guidance for you as a father and will help you navigate the challenges and joys of your important role. 

For many of us, we find it difficult to get beyond our past sins, even when we have confessed them and repented. We tend to remember and dwell on the sins and failures of the past. In addition, Satan loves to bring them to your remembrance as well.

Writing an article like this is so personal to me because I am a dad. I have two precious lives that God has entrusted to me as a parent. When I think about it, there really is nothing in life that prepares you to be a parent. Even if you love kids and may have helped in raising your siblings, it is quite different when you have children of your own. As dads, we have a model of what a father should be. That model is our Heavenly Father. While he is the greatest dad of all, and we will never be everything to our children that God is to us, we can learn a lot about how to engage with our children and what they need.

I don’t know where you are on your “dad journey.” You may read this and not even be a dad. Or perhaps you are a child with a strained relationship with your own father, wanting to do better for your kids. From my perspective as a father, here are ten of the greatest gifts a dad can give his children.

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Does a verse or passage of Scripture only have one meaning, or is the Bible open to interpretation? The answer lies in how you view the Bible and the ways you discover the truth in it.

As men we don’t often talk about it, but I was reminded of something that a fellow brother in Christ once told me. Being a man is hard. I know we like to portray the image of toughness and position ourselves as conquerors who can overcome anything. I also know the people in our lives often see us in this light, but I must concur with my friend. Being a man is hard.

There are challenges that come with manhood, especially when you consider the various roles we play. While I could list all of them, today I just want to focus on one: being a dad. One of the most challenging and rewarding roles in many men’s lives is that of being a dad. I know that is true of my life.

This is one of those jobs that you really can’t study for or prep for. You are thrust into it and must learn as you go. The challenge only magnifies if you have more than one child because you will quickly discover how you dealt with one child may not work on the other. At the end of the day, being a good dad will require much prayer and wisdom that comes from God’s word and the Holy Spirit.

For today, let’s focus on prayer. Here are six prayers that you can pray as you are facing the challenge of being a dad.

How do you love others? While the question seems simple, living out the answer may not be. Jesus said the two greatest commands are to love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Though this is a straightforward command, reality tells us living this out is something far different. Loving someone you agree with can be hard enough, but how do you love those who you don’t agree with? Better yet, how do you love them as yourself?

Many Christians face this dilemma, especially during months like Pride Month. However, when it comes to loving others, Pride Month should really be no different from any other month. The fundamentals of loving people remain the same regardless of who the person is.

Pride Month for Christians

The challenge we face is understanding how to love people the way Jesus did. This is critical because this might have more impact on someone’s life than possibly anything else we could ever do. This does not mean you must endorse someone’s lifestyle to love them. You don’t. It also doesn’t mean everyone will come to know Christ. What it means is we must remove the barriers that prevent people from hearing the truth of God’s Word and the truth of the gospel. The way we love people can be one step to making that happen.

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Here are seven things Christians should consider during pride month when it comes to loving others:

I learned something about idols a long time ago. Everything in your life has the potential to become an idol.

We often equate idols with negative things or sinful pursuits, but an idol is anything that removes Christ from the number one position in your heart and life. There is only one throne in your heart; either Christ is sitting on it, or someone or something else is. When that happens, it becomes an idol.

Idols don’t just affect us individually; they can sneak into your relationships. When they do, they can wreak havoc on those relationships. If you are married or considering marriage, pay close attention to ensure these idols don’t creep into your life.

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What does it mean to be a fool? Honestly that is one word no one wants to be associated with. The Bible makes a clear distinction between the one who is wise and the one who is foolish. While wisdom has the potential to impact every aspect of your life, being a fool can do the same thing. I believe it is important to know what the Bible say about fools so that by God’s grace we don’t end up being one.

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If you've been praying for any length of time, then you have probably experienced prayers that didn't turn out the way you asked. While it's important to remember that God is not a genie granting our every request, the faithful Christian may wonder if some prayers are left on hold, or does God answer every one (just not in the way we expect)?

The New Testament details the birth of the Church and how early Christians built each other up through the Body. But for a variety of different reasons, modern Christians are overwhelmingly not regularly attending church. Many have even given up on church altogether. Does this mean they aren't Christians? How important is it to attend church?

I was thinking about my closest friends, and I noticed two significant trends. Most of my friendships have lasted for decades, and most of those friendships started in church.

While I am not a relationship expert, thinking about these relationships that have lasted through the years has helped me identify some critical factors that are required in building lasting friendships – especially those that happen in church. I want to share with you five things I recognized that have contributed to building these friendships, and hopefully, this can help you do the same.

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