When you hear the word purposeful, what comes to mind? Not just \u2018with purpose\u2019, go deeper. Our astute dictionarians (my word) would tell us it is: \u2018having or showing determination or resolve; intentional, full of determination, meaningful\u2019. I love these:\u00a0\u2018bent on, bound, decisive, determined, do-or-die, firm, hell-bent on, intent, resolute, resolve, set, single-minded.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0I think they get the message across. People follow others that have purpose in their lives. Most are servant-leaders.<\/p>\n When I consider the family and fatherhood, it would seem that for centuries his role has been diminished, knowingly and unknowingly. Maybe it is from lack of understanding his purpose. I like the two words\u2014resolve and intentional. When\u00a0Abiding<\/em>\u00a0Fathers ministry was first formed, we were discussing what short phrase would be appropriate that would get the message across in five words or less. Viola!\u00a0Be the dad\u2026on purpose!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>It\u2019s one thing to be a biological or adopted father, it\u2019s much more than that.<\/p>\n But most fathers actually don\u2019t understand the depth and breadth of the responsibility and opportunity. It\u2019s truly\u2014discipleship of the highest order. Jesus said as he was departing back to his Father\u2019s side;\u00a0\u201cGo make disciples\u201d.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Make disciples of what? His disciples, followers of Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father, have eternal salvation, except through him. Just having babies, going to work and coming home just falls so short of discipleship. The first time I met my friend, Scot, he said to me:\u00a0\u201cI raised my children, but I did not disciple them\u201d.\u00a0<\/em>I\u2019ve never forgotten that. I believe it sums up the vast majority of fathers as they see their position in the family.<\/p>\n Biblical discipleship, true fatherhood, includes\u00a0being present, loving, praying, mentoring, modeling, teaching, listening, disciplining, blessing, and yes, even providing and protecting.<\/em>\u00a0And it does not require doing it perfectly because you can\u2019t as fallen sinners,\u00a0but it\u2019s the pursuit.<\/em>\u00a0That\u2019s why I believe the two words,\u00a0resolve and intentional<\/u>, are so critical for\u00a0being the dad\u2026on purpose<\/em>. What man is his right man would not want to fulfill this very important privilege?<\/p>\n So, Bill, how can I start and pursue this high calling for my immediate family and generations later? Pray for guidance, seek counsel and associate with other purposeful dads. And go online to\u00a0Abiding\u00a0<\/em>Fathers and join\u00a0Bethedadmovement<\/strong>. We\u2019ll walk with you. And as you are resolving and intentionally pursuing being that special dad, reflect on what you want your family and extended family to say at your funeral.<\/p>\n A dear friend of mine and countless others, a Christian brother, recently went to be with his Lord at 93. Ed Yates was that kind of dad. A husband for 66 years, dad of three, grandad of eleven and great granddad of one. As I was reading his glowing obituary today, written by his loving family, I saw a life lived that we would all want to emulate. Ed lived a purposeful life! Men, don\u2019t wait; resolve, be intentional about your discipleship. God ordained marriage from the very beginning. He has provided you, in Christ, and in the power of his Holy Spirit, with everything necessary to succeed. In fact, Jesus is interceding on your behalf to the Father.<\/p>\n The only way you can fail is to not try. Show the Lord, and your family, that, with his divine help, you want to be and can\u00a0be the dad\u2026on purpose<\/em>. There is no greater joy than to live a\u00a0\u2018purpose driven life\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cMay He grant you according to your heart\u2019s desire, and fulfill all your purpose\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(Psa. 20.4).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Purposeful When you hear the word purposeful, what comes to mind? Not just \u2018with purpose\u2019, go deeper. Our astute dictionarians (my word) would tell us it is: \u2018having or showing determination or resolve; intentional, full of determination, meaningful\u2019. I love these:\u00a0\u2018bent on, bound, decisive, determined, do-or-die, firm, hell-bent on, intent, resolute, resolve, set, single-minded.\u2019\u00a0I think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,64,59,67],"tags":[63,100,101,102],"class_list":["post-6986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abiding","category-mentoring","category-providing-protecting","category-role","tag-discipleship","tag-family","tag-marriage","tag-weekly-devotional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/af2.musiimes.space\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Discipleship<\/h3>\n
Be intentional<\/h3>\n