Articles

For Dads

I don't often recommend a volume without reservation, but I think every man should read Temptations Men Face by Tom Eisenman. I'm not saying I agree with everything in it, or that you will, but it's one of those works that deserves being read…especially by men. I appreciate Tom's candour and practicality. He pulls no punches; neither does he wrench your gut with guilt. His observations, insight, and suggestions are both penetrating and provocative. In fact…that book got me thinking about the top temptations father face.

"I'm totally confused. How in the world do I find the will of God for my life?" I cannot number how many times through the years I have heard that question.

I could probably list at least 10 ways that God leads His children today, but I will limit myself to the four that I think are the most significant methods of God's leading.

1. God leads us through His written Word.

As the psalmist said:

Maybe it's because I just had another birthday. Maybe it's because I'm a granddad several times over. Or maybe it's because of a struggling young seminarian I met recently who wishes he had been higher on his parents' priority list than, say, fifth or sixth. He was hurried and ignored through childhood, then tolerated and misunderstood through adolescence, and finally expected to “be a man” without having been taught how.

Rarely will one of God's heroes show up in the Scriptures having lived a life free of failure. Take Peter, for example. As soon as you read the name, you remember his story. Peter experienced the extreme highs and lows of life—from days spent in blessed fellowship with Christ…to the heart-wrenching erosion of loyalty when he denied the Lord. Not once. Not twice. Three times. Once he realized his failure, the Bible says, “he went out and wept bitterly” (Lk. 22:62).

The sound was deafening. Although no one was near enough to hear it, ultimately it echoed around the world. None of the passengers in the DC-4 ever knew what happened—they died instantly. That was February 15, 1947, when the Avianca Airline flight bound for Quito, Ecuador, crashed into the 14,000-foot-high peak of El Tablazo not far from Bogota, then dropped—a flaming mass of metal—into a ravine far below.

One of the victims was a young New Yorker named Glenn Chambers, who had planned to begin a ministry with the “Voice of the Andes.”

In our pocket of society where pampered affluence is rampant, we are often at a loss to know what kind of gifts to buy our friends and loved ones on special occasions. For some people (especially those who “have everything”), the standard gift won't cut it. Nothing in the shopping mall catches our fancy.

The Trinity and Salvation

You can easily zip through 1 Peter 1:2 and miss the Trinity in the work of salvation. Many Christians forget—or at least fail to appreciate—the fact that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together in perfect harmony to secure our eternal destiny. One author writes, “Each person of the Godhead plays a distinct role: the Father chooses, the Son redeems, and the Spirit sanctifies.”¹

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Articles

For Dads

How Can I Discover God's Will?

Taking It Easy with Time and Touch

Hope Beyond Failure

Asking Why

The Gift for the Person Who Has Everything

The Trinity and Salvation

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