Dr. D's Devotional
Title: Discipleship 26
by Dennis Reschke
A man of God once said, "To do anything less that what you
were created to do will bore you". Spiritual fathers and mothers rarely
get bored. They, instead, have a sense of fulfillment and dignity.
Are
you a brother or a father? A brother will inspire you, but a father will
direct you. A brother may wound you, but a father will heal you. A brother
often sees you for who you are, a father sees your potential. A brother
has a tendency to judge you, while a father will lovingly correct you. A
brother may condemn you for wasting your inheritance on riotous living,
but a father will love you, woo you back home, and restore you. Aren't you
glad the prodigal son ran into his father before his older brother? Had
he ran into his older brother first, the outcome would have been much different.
The benefits of obedience: "And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto
you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren,
and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and
in the world to come eternal life" (Mk 10:29,30). The person who gives up
their comfort zone will gain spiritual children! A perceiving father is
a retriever of lost ax heads, lost visions and lost anointings. God loves
to use weak people who only find their strength in Him.
Mark Handby, in
his book You Have Not Many Fathers, said, "A spiritual father in not necessarily
the one who birthed you into the kingdom. Instead, he is the one who rescues
you from the doorstop of your abandonment and receives you into his house,
gives you a name, and makes you his son." When Elijah was whisked away in
the chariot of fire, Elisha cried out, "My father, my father," not, "My
prophet, my prophet" (2Kings 2:12). Elijah had truly becomes a father to
this young prophet.
Fathers teach their sons to make decisions. In the
church, this translates to episcopal government. This is a government format
whereby a primary leader, called by God, takes his/her role as the leader
of a team and recognizes the fact that God speaks through him. Both the
Old and New Testament give numerous examples of this "leader who leads the
way" leadership principle - Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Gideon,
David Jesus, Peter, James, Paul... The down side of this style of leadership
manifests when the pastor and other church leaders find themselves leading
more like leaders of corporations than fathers. The people tend to become
complacent, seeing no need to actively participate to advance the kingdom
of God.
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