Happy Father's Day!

I pray you experience the great joy that comes with being a father on this special day and every day! As I thought about Father’s Day, I recalled an excerpt from my book A Man of God that I think really spells out what’s most important for us as fathers. I hope you’ll pass this along to every father you know...

Make the Decisions Today That You’ll Be Glad for Tomorrow

If you’re a young father, I believe you really want to be there to push your little boy on the swing at night. I am convinced you want to keep the daily demands and details of life in focus instead of letting them weigh you down and limit your effectiveness for Christ. I believe you want to live to the full for the Lord Jesus Christ without limits, and to teach your children to do the same....

I don’t know what it would take for you to take off the weights that bog so many guys down and keep them in a rut. But I urge you to do whatever it takes to shed that baggage. You can make a life while you’re making a living.

One of the best commitments you can make is simply to lead your family in faithful worship and service in a church where Jesus Christ is exalted and the Bible is believed and taught.

I read a survey not long ago that said when both Dad and Mom take their children to church, 76 percent of those children become active in their faith. When Dad alone takes the children to church, that percentage drops to 55 percent. But when Dad drops out and leaves Mom to take the children to church alone, only 15 percent of those children remain active in their faith. And if neither parent goes to church with the kids, only 9 percent of those kids become active Christians in their church....

But how many fathers can’t even disentangle themselves from life or get up enough passion even to take their children to church consistently? Their numbers are legion. Don’t let the world limit your focus and your passion to the forty or more hours you put in at the office each week, your favorite hobby, the manicured lawn, or the car in the garage.

Someone has said that we Americans worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship. What we need is a generation of Christian fathers who will say, starting today, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).