Manly Training Ministries
Your spiritual life needs maintenance. It’s like a piece of Machinery, it will only be as good as the amount of maintenance you put into it. There are many people who have a very rigid maintenance schedule on their mowers, cars, trucks, boats, weed-eaters, etc. They all have long life expectancy because they are maintained. Fathers cannot afford to ignore their spiritual lives.
There are many bad things fathers do, but perhaps the worst thing a dad can do is to:
Ignore Your Spiritual Life
“The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices.” Proverbs 21:3 (NLT)
This verse is chiding people who go through religious motions, like offering sacrifices for instance, that was something you could do if you were an Old Testament worshipper, but if we don’t really put our hearts into worshipping God our actions don’t please Him.
The previous verse says,
“People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.” Proverbs 21:2 (NLT)
A lot of fathers are missing out on one of the greatest resources for raising good, well-rounded, happy children – being truly spiritual by following God and walking in His precepts from the heart.
“The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.” Proverbs 20:7 (NLT)
Doomed!
If I ignore my spiritual life God can’t bless me as much as He desires to. So. if I overwork and become too busy to meditate and pray and serve God from my heart my attitude suffers and my relationships suffer – especially with my children. If I don’t spend time building my spiritual life, then I’m not spiritually refreshed to have the strength and wisdom for parenting that comes from God.
The average American is too distracted to be truly spiritual. They not only suffer for it but so do their children.
If you’ve made this mistake in the past, ask God to forgive you and then forgive yourself. There is no such thing as a perfect dad. Solomon himself wasn’t perfect by a long shot. But God’s wisdom is perfect.
Too much, too fast!
In today’s fast paced world many of us find it hard to remember to brush our teeth, let alone spend time improving our relationship with God. Most times we get to the end of the week promising ourselves, and God, that we will do better next week only to repeat the process again come Monday morning.
So how do we break the cycle? Are we doomed to go through life only hoping to know God more, but never actually growing any closer to Him? Will we continue on an endless pendulum of spiritually high on Sunday and questioning the existence of God on Monday?
Fortunately for us, a healthy spiritual life is not only possible, but very attainable.
How?
Maintaining your Christian walk involves four key activities: time with other Christians, worship, study and service.
Just like our body requires a balance of each food group, Christian maturity has to include a balance of each faith building activity.
If you are struggling or find yourself getting side-tracked from the things of God it could just be that one or more of these vital areas are out of balance.
Ask God to help you avoid these mistakes, especially if you have been neglecting your spiritual life.
A commercial showed a man with a truck that had over 600,000 miles. It was because of good maintenance. Remember, the engine is only as good as the maintenance that is done on it. Keep yourself in tune, there are already enough “blow ups” on the road of life.
Avoid being Your Child’s Best Friend
Failing to Give your child Structure
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