Called to Greatness E-Book

Dan Britton

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 191

Beschreibung

Fathers, notice your sons. Listen to them. Guide them. Encourage them. You have an opportunity to reflect the heart of your heavenly Father on their path to significance. Sons, honor your father. Love him. Learn from him. Walk with him. You have an opportunity to really know him and grow into everything God desires you to be. The father and son bond makes a difference that can direct the course of your lives. You need each other to be your best. Called to Greatness is a powerful tool to ignite the faith of fathers and sons by intentionally bringing them together every day for thirty-one days. In one month, God can do miraculous things to develop, repair, and mature your relationship. YOU WILL DIVE INTO TOPICS LIKE...   • Loving unconditionally • Walking in integrity • Making a difference • Living a life of significance • Pursuing purity • Being great in the eyes of God Called to Greatness invites and empowers fathers and sons to become great men who humbly and faithfully serve a great God.

Leseprobe

Published by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

www.broadstreetpublishing.com

CALLED TO GREATNESS

31 DEVOTIONS TO IGNITE THE FAITH OF FATHERS & SONS

Copyright © 2015 by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page

ISBN: 978-1-4245-4989-4 (hard cover)

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5016-6 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked HCSB®, are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Scripture marked ERV is from the Easy-to-Read Version. Copyright © 2006 by World Bible Translation Center.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Cover design by Chris Garborg at www.garborgdesign.com

Interior by Katherine Lloyd at www.theDESKonline.com

Author photos © 2010 by Dan Michael Hodges

Printed in China

8/15–1

This book is dedicated to our sonswho have all respondedto God’s Call to Greatness.

Elijah BrittonJimmy PageJacob PageJohn Page

With much love.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Take the Called to Greatness 31-Day Challenge

1

Everybody’s Doing It

Go against the flow

.

2

Eye-Popping Grace

Grace is getting the good we don’t deserve

.

3

Fire in the Belly

The fire within comes from Him

.

4

Take My Wheel

Stay close to Jesus

.

5

Warrior Mind-Set

Be strong and courageous

.

6

RUAVRP

When you refresh, you bless

.

7

Are You Kidding Me?

Humility beats pride

.

8

Successful Failure

God turns failure into success

.

9

All-In

Hold nothing back

.

10

Rubber Band Faith

Real faith stretches us

.

11

Me Monster

It’s not about you

.

12

Playtime

Play together; stay together

.

13

Show Up

Show up or you’ll miss out

14

Five Purity Principles

Purity paves the way to intimacy

.

15

Two Ounces of Power

The heart controls the tongue

.

16

One Word

Focus gives power to your purpose

.

17

Twenty Questions

Always ask

.

18

Relentless

The relentless take ground

.

19

Followership

Follow well; lead well

.

20

Love Wins

You can’t lose when you love

.

21

Turn the Light On

Lose your light; lose your life

.

22

Beware, Strong One

An unguarded strength is a double weakness

.

23

Never Too Late

It’s never too late to do the right thing

.

24

Run Your Race

Keep His pace

.

25

Mentor Me

Mentors take you to the next level

.

26

The New Four-Letter Word

Finish what you start

.

27

Stand Strong

Be unshakable!

28

It’s All Gonna Melt Someday

Hold light and live free

.

29

Go All-Out

Make it count

.

30

My Top 10

Cultivate a life of gratitude

.

31

The Power of Momentum

Keep moving toward God’s best

.

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between a father and son is one of the most anointed relationships ever designed by God. In fact, it existed before the creation of the world, as seen in the very nature of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Jesus left the heavens and became a man, the Father was overjoyed. We see evidence of this when Jesus emerges from the water of baptism and hears the voice of His Father, in Matthew 3:16–17 HCSB:

After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!

God’s favor rests on His Son, Jesus. In the same way, God’s favor and delight rests upon us. When we discover that we are God’s beloved, we need to embrace it—at which point we can become His beloved to others. Fathers, have you embraced God’s words about how valuable you are to Him? Do you feel His pleasure and affection? Once you do, you are empowered to become the beloved to your son.

The Father’s statement “My beloved Son” is more than just an approval or validation. It is a manifestation of pure and true love. It’s a statement of identity. Your son is your beloved; that simply means precious, adored, cherished, treasured, prized, highly regarded, admired, esteemed, and favorite one. Unfortunately, most sons don’t experience this and instead feel they are no good, forgotten, worthless, rejected, and unlovable. No matter what they do, they do not measure up to their father’s expectations. But this is not God’s design for this relationship.

Can you imagine if every son knew that he was his father’s beloved? It would be life-changing because it would eliminate the son’s quest to earn his father’s love and acceptance. It would end the performance-based relationship that is dependent on how well he does on the field, in the classroom, in his career, or on stage. His identity and place in the family would be secure and not affected by circumstances, successes, or failures. Sons would live with security, confidence, and courage knowing that their dad will always be there for them.

But it doesn’t stop there. God the Father tops it off with “I delight in Him.” The Father is thrilled, overjoyed, and pleased with His Son. Every son needs and deserves to hear these five words from his father: I am pleased with you. God can do much with these five words.

As fathers, we desire to experience this type of love with our sons. The Bible has given us countless examples of the father–son relationship by:

•Fathers blessing their sons

•Fathers modeling their walk with God for their sons

•Fathers mentoring their sons

•Fathers asking God to heal their sons

•Fathers reconciling broken and damaged relationships with their sons

•Fathers waiting for their wayward sons to come back home

Called to Greatness is a powerful tool to ignite the faith of fathers and sons by intentionally bringing them together every day for thirty-one days. In one month, God can do miraculous things to develop, repair, and mature your relationship. This book is best utilized if you decide to commit one month to fire up your relationship and go through these thirty-one devotionals together.

It would be beneficial to define the health of your relationship before you begin. Knowing where you are will help you know where you want to go. It also gives you insight into how to approach the relationship. Most likely, you could define your relationship in one of three ways:

1.  Hot –You are engaged, encouraged, and enthusiastic. You feel very good about your father–son relationship. You would give it a rating of 8 or above on a 1-to-10 scale. Both of you would say it is close-knit, solid, and healthy. You spend time together and have a strong connection and bond. This devotional will be extremely helpful in continuing to strengthen what you already have. Don’t let up. Keep it strong by investing in it with this devotional. Take it to the next level. Never be content with where you are. There is always room for improvement.

2.  Warm –You may be so-so, stuck, or stable. You would rate your relationship 5 to 7 out of 10. There is some intentionality, but distractions and busyness get in the way of it being great. Maybe yours is better than many relationships around you, but you aren’t experiencing the fullness that you know you could. You are at a critical time to fuel the fire and allow these thirty-one days to be the igniter you need. Give everything you have to repair needed areas and grow your relationship.

3.  Cold –You are distant, disengaged, or damaged. Your relationship may be marked by conflict, disappointment, or even anger. You would rate your relationship 4 or below. There are real and hard reasons why it’s cold. This book could be the very thing that breathes new life into your relationship. Ask God for a fresh touch to reconcile and restore the relationship to where God wants it. Believe in Him to do a mighty work.

It really doesn’t matter how you rate your relationship right now; that simply gives you a starting point for discussion and improvement. It’s never how you start, but how you finish, that counts. Enter the process with a spirit of humility and courage.

In today’s world, it is rare to find the traditional father–son relationship. No matter what situation you find yourself in, it’s important to overcome any obstacles or barriers and decide to cultivate the relationship and let God do His work. Even if you don’t have a father, pursue and ask a father figure to walk with you for thirty-one days.

Noted sociologist Dr. David Popenoe says, “Involved fathers bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is as likely to bring.” Called to Greatness provides fathers and sons devotional readings around themes like loving unconditionally, walking in integrity, pursuing purity, making a difference, living a life of significance, and being great in the eyes of God. Called to Greatness invites and empowers fathers and sons to become great men who humbly and faithfully serve a great God.

With these thirty-one devotions, fathers can maximize their time with their sons with just ten minutes each day for an entire month. Each devotional features a life-application story, Scripture, application questions, a Take Action section for discussion and journaling, and a heart- and mind-transforming prayer.

Carve out the time. Decide that your relationship with your son (or father) deserves thirty-one days of focus. This could be one of the most significant things you do with him. Don’t delay. Start today and let God begin to do His work.

Called to Greatness may have the only introduction that makes you do some work before you dive into the book. Everything that’s important in life is worth the effort to make it great. As we shared, each session ends with a Take Action section and a prayer. We would like for you to start now and assess your relationship to make sure you’re on the same page before diving in. It’s vital to define and manage expectations. Getting both of you on the same page will allow the Spirit of the Living God to do His work. The Spirit of the Lord shows up powerfully in unity! Get connected. Get unified.

Here we go!

Dan Britton & Jimmy Page

TAKE ACTION

1. Establish your starting point.

Individually rate your relationship from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. Share your number with each other. With no criticism or complaint, share why you gave it that rating. Be honest and transparent with each other.

Write your starting point number here: ___________

2. Discuss your relational temperature.

Based on your scores, would your relationship be considered hot, warm, or cold? Go back and look at the descriptions of each category. Would you agree or change the description of your relationship? Talk openly with each other about your assessment.

Write your relationship temperature here: ___________

3. Create a vision for the future.

Discuss what you’re expecting from the next thirty-one days as you go through the process of investing in your relationship. Take a look into the future and describe what you hope your relationship will look like at the end of the thirty-one days. Write down that picture in words here. Ask and trust God for that.

Describe your expectations for your relationship here:

TAKE THECALLED TOGREATNESS31-DAY CHALLENGE

It’s time to take the Called to Greatness 31-Day Challenge together as father and son. We expect this 31-day journey together to ignite our faith and strengthen our relationship as it prepares us for a life of purpose, passion, and power.

Lord Jesus, we are responding to the call to greatness placed on our lives. We want to be transformed more and more into Your likeness and be connected to each other for Your purposes. We expect You, Lord, to do the miraculous in us and through us along this journey together. We ask for Your help in order to have the relationship You’ve designed and desire us to have. Amen.

On this day, we take the Called to Greatness 31-Day Challenge:

Father’s Signature

Date

Son’s Signature

Date

Follow us on Twitter @called2greatness

Sign up for our newsletter at www.wisdomwalks.org

Pray Together

Father, we ask You to do Your work in our relationship…in Your way and in Your timing. We need Your help and guidance as we take this step of faith to trust You to begin to pull back the hard layers of our hearts that have prevented us from hearing Your whisper. Teach us. Show us. Reveal to us the areas that need the healing touch of Jesus. We are expecting great things because we serve a great God. Have Your way with us, Lord Jesus Christ. Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.

1

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT

CALLED TO GREATNESS PRINCIPLE

Go against the flow.

If you decide to just go with the flow, you’ll end up where the flow goes, which is usually downhill, often leading to a big pile of sludge and a life of unhappiness. You’ll end up doing what everyone else is doing.

–Sean Covey

As a kid, I remember trying to convince my mom and dad that I should be allowed to do something because all my friends were doing it. Their parents were permitting it (either they were lying or their parents never knew about it), but my parents would end the conversation with, “If all your friends were jumping off a bridge, should we let you do that too?” It was tough to overcome that argument. They always said that we weren’t going to be like everybody else and we would do things differently. They assured me that in the long run that would be a good thing. Now as a parent, I find myself saying the same things. It turns out they were right.

Every young man feels this tension of fitting into the crowd or going with the flow. Most boys feel pressure to be liked or fit in with the “cool” kids, and many will compromise their standards and stop doing “the right thing,” particularly when it comes to using foul language, talking inappropriately about girls, laughing at foul jokes, and watching videos. It eventually moves into the areas of alcohol, drugs, and sex. This tension doesn’t stop when you become a man. In some ways peer pressure gets stronger every year.

Fitting in takes no effort.

God calls us to do things differently. If we do life the way everybody else does, we will get the life that everybody else has. Following the crowd is easy. We instantly feel accepted and part of the group without struggle or tension. When we do what everybody else is doing, we are destined for mediocrity. The majority doesn’t strive for excellence, because they drop their standards and ambitions to the lowest common denominator. Going with the flow never produces greatness. In the crowd are missed opportunities, unrealized potential, and regrets.

Jesus expects more of us.

Jesus wants us to stand up and stand out. He wants us to go against the flow. He wants us to be the one who stands instead of bowing down to the idols of the day. He wants us to be the one who isn’t afraid to pray in the restaurant when no one else is praying before they eat. He wants us to rise early and start our day in the Word, seeking Him, while our friends soak up one more hour of sleep. He wants us to live with a sense of mission and passion and go against the flow of our culture. All the great leaders of God swam upstream.

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. –Romans 12:1–2 MSG

God calls us to go against the flow. So look around. What is everybody else doing? Are they taking care of their health, or are they eating junk? Are they entertained by garbage on TV or at the movies, or are they protecting their heart by shielding their eyes? Are they engaging in gossip and inappropriate jokes at the expense of others? Chances are good that if everybody is doing it, you probably shouldn’t. If your life looks like everybody else’s, ask yourself two questions: Why? and Is that a good thing, or does something need to change?

There are three great blessings when we go against the flow:

1.  God will be glorified.When we go against the flow, we position ourselves for God to work in the most unlikely ways. When we go against the flow, God’s power is displayed in us so His fame can be spread through us. God gets the credit, not us.

2.  Greatness is produced.Going with the flow produces mediocrity, never greatness. Going against the flow will always produce strength, courage, tenacity, and boldness. It feels good to be different, especially when you know you’re doing it God’s way.

3.  God is pleased.God delights when His children swim upstream with a little wiggle. Your earthly father does too. Any old dead fish can go with the flow, but only a living fish can go against it. God is pleased when we are set apart for His service.

The cool thing is that being different can actually build your strength of character. Being different and choosing the higher road makes you stronger. Men of God have had to be different; they’ve had to take some heat for not giving in to pressure. They’ve all felt lonely and like outsiders in the group. Some days that really stinks. But they’ve learned that God’s ways are always best.

One of the best things a father can do for his son is to model what it looks like to be different. Don’t do what everybody else does. Find key decisions to make that are different—like not drinking, or choosing to spend time with the family instead of out with “the guys.” And then invest that time with your son, reinforcing his strength to be different and rewarding who he is becoming as a young man. Celebrate that you are in it together.

We are called to greatness.

We live by a different standard. We must be willing to take the narrow road that leads to life without compromise. Don’t do what everybody else is doing. Come together as father and son and decide to do things differently together. The godly life requires that we go against the flow.

TAKE ACTION

1. Are you going with the flow or against the flow? In what ways does your life look like everybody else’s? In what ways is it different?

2. Why is it hard to swim upstream? What role does peer pressure play?

3. What are some key areas where you need to change direction and go against the flow? List them and share with each other. Decide what you can do differently together and form a pact to stick together.

Father, help us to find ways to go against the flow. Give us the courage we will need to do the right thing and be different, especially when it requires that we stand alone. Build a bond between us that celebrates that we are different and doing life Your way. Amen.

2

EYE-POPPING GRACE

CALLED TO GREATNESS PRINCIPLE

Grace is getting the good we don’t deserve.

I do not understand the mystery of grace—only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.

–Anne Lamott

Floyd Harris gave me the same reply every time I asked him how he was doing. It was his trademark saying: “Better than I deserve.” The first time he said it to me, I was confused, so I asked him what he meant. He had a one-word answer: “Grace.” Floyd was a godly eighty-year-old man who knew that the secret to life was to live by grace. I have often used the “Floydian” reply myself, and I typically receive the same response that I gave to Floyd.

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. –2 Corinthians 9:8 HCSB

Being in the church my entire life, I have been around the word grace a lot. I memorized verses, sang hymns, heard