Sphere of Influence

“He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it.”

-Clarence Kelland (In regards to his own father)

 

I recently sent out the following question via Facebook and text message:
What person(s) has been the greatest influence in your life…and why?

 

I received an even twenty responses, and they were all over the board.  Here are some of the findings:

Out of the 20 individuals that responded, 9 (45%) listed their father/parents as their number one most influential person(s) in their life.

Of those 9 people, all of them are Christians.

5 others that did not list their dad as #1 most influential are Christians anyways.

Other answers included: Wife, Mentors/Pastors, No one, and even Stalin & Sun Tzu.  Sadly, one young man recalled walking to the bar when he was 16 years old to ask his dad when he was coming home. 

 It should also be noted that out of those that responded, only a handful were under the age of 30 years old.  Although I am exceptionally pleased to see that such a high (I wish higher) percentage of the responses listed dad/parents as #1, I am also a bit wary that today’s generation of children, teens, and young adults are not as fortunate.  They are growing up in a completely different world than many of us did.  I recently stated, “Today’s youth have more pressure on them than ever before and parents are more disconnected from their kids than ever as well.”  All of this can add up to potential disaster if we as fathers (and parents in general) do not intervene.  So what can be done to help ensure our kids grow up living strong and balanced lives?  Here are a few helpful tips:

 

1.     If you don’t already, bring your children to church with you!  The Swiss did a study in 1994 and the results were staggering: In short, if mom only brings the children to church, only 1 in 50 will become a regular worshipper.  If dad goes to church regularly, despite mom’s devotion that number jumps to between two-thirds and three-quarters of the children will become (regular or irregular) churchgoers.  Even if dad goes to church irregularly, the number of children attending church as an adult still remains above 50%. 

 

2.     Get involved in their life.  I had a meeting with a lady not too long ago than runs an inner-city program for making sure a child’s primary educator is their parents.  Sure, school is essential for academic growth, but if we aren’t involved as well, our sons and daughters intellectual growth may be stunted.  She even told me that it makes a WORLD of difference just by asking something as simple as how was their day at school and talking about it.  Know who their friends are and where they are hanging out at.  Stay involved in extracurricular activities and by all means- monitor their cell phone and internet usage!  Safe and protective boundaries create a world of security they need.

 

3.     Spend time doing nothing.  Seriously, when is the last time you just “chilled” with your kids, no matter how old they are?  We live in such a crazy, fast-paced world that even our own relationships and responsibilities suffer sometimes.  Get “unplugged” for a bit.  In other words, go out and experience the great big wide world God has set out before us to explore!  Check out the park, zoo, and woods.  Build a snowman or tree fort.  If you elect to stay inside, draw, color, do arts and crafts, or even just sit and waste away an entire afternoon talking.  No matter what, use the time wisely, because moments and times like these quickly pass on by.  You can also look up my blog on November 26^th, 2011 entitled “Play Time Under Attack?”  Here is a quote from Andy Rooney that sums this thought up wonderfully: “I’ve learned…that simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.”

 

Remember, God has called us fathers to be our children's number one leaders in every aspect of life.  For those of you who may not have children or even be a single mother, that by no means disqualifies you.  God works through us and other people in amazing ways.  Some of the greatest leaders have come from some of the worse situations, and vice versa.  The important point to remember is that apart from Jesus we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things!

 

Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. –Psalm 144:12 (NIV)

The Failures of Being a Single Father: Truth vs Lies

Brethren, I do regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. –Phil 3:13-14 (NASB)

As a single father myself, I can easily see where being a single parent can be considered synonymous with failure.  I mean, even in my own life I have basically put my daughter in a situation where she will not grow up with me in the home full time.  There will be weekends and events I want to take her to that may not happen because of parenting time; I do not have the opportunity to put her to bed every night and pray with her; and even recently- I enrolled her in intramural basketball and she will only get to play in the games every other Saturday.  All because of my own selfishness, the fact that I gave in to lustful flesh and had a child out of wedlock.  I am such a loser. 

STOP!!!  That is the way I used to see myself: as an unfit dad with a life that was barely holding together.  That is, until I had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and He began to not only restore me, but build me into a better father (I’m saying this EXTREMELY humbly, by the way) than I could have ever imagined.  I now see challenges as opportunities and trials as tests to grow in my faith.  Has life gotten any easier since I came to Christ?  Not really.  However, I am now more equipped than ever to handle the tough times and die to self to become more like Him.  Let’s look into this.   

In general, I would say the majority of single dads are the noncustodial parent- that is, mom has primary physical custody.  This may or may not be the case in your life, but even we dads with 50/50 parenting time are still experiencing loss on a regular basis.  I also learned that NO ONE is a perfect parent, and we will all fail our kids one way or another- big or small.  Now, I definitely do not want to focus on the negatives, so I will draw from the few personal examples I gave above to help you discern between the truth God speaks to us daily and the lies our enemy so delicately (or not) likes to slip in our minds constantly as well. 

Jesus called Satan the “father of lies” in John 8:44.  There is no truth in our adversary.  He either lies completely, or takes the truth and twists about- as he did in Matthew 4:6.  He is very slick at getting to our minds and can be quite successful if we are not standing on a solid foundation in Christ.  Even then, we must constantly pursue the Lord through prayer and Scripture to arm ourselves for battle.  Here are a few examples of situations you may regularly encounter as a single father, the lie that is presented to you, and the TRUTH behind it based on God’s Word. 

 

1.     I am not able to attend all of the events I would like to with my children because I don’t have them all of the time.

The Lie: “You are missing out on the fun and important times with your kids; and they are suffering because of you.”

The Truth: Ecclesiastes 9:10 states, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” (NIV)  My best friend said it perfectly when I first became a father and was facing parenting time challenges: “Even if you have her only one hour a week” he said, “make it THE BEST hour of her week!”  I’ve found over the years that it is not the quantity of time I spend with my daughter, but the quality.  So many parents miss this on a daily basis. 

 

2.     I’m not able to tuck my kids into bed and/or pray with them every night.

The Lie: “Because I’m not able to pray with my kids every night, they may not get as much Christian upbringing as they normally would if I was there full time.”

The Truth: “The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.” –Prov 20:7 (NKJV). This is one that I struggled with for years.  Despite whatever is being taught at the other home, as fathers we still have spiritual authority over our kids and as Ezekiel 22:30 states, the ability to “stand in the gap” on behalf of them before the Lord.  Trust me, when we walk solid and they see it, it will have a greater impact on their lives than we may know. 

 

 3.     My child only gets to participate in some activities part time.

The Lie: “Your child can’t ever become fully involved in certain activities because of split custody arrangements.”

The Truth: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” -2Cor 4:17-18 (NIV) As with any parents (married or not) with sons and daughters in sports and whatnot, scheduling is always a factor.  Even if you do place your child in recreational activities and custody time does not allow full participation, YOUR participation is what really matters. Look at it this way. What do you think is more important: a married father who rarely makes his son’s games or his daughter’s concerts, or a single dad who was there every opportunity he got? The latter is one of the eternal factors that will matter then most when our children are full grown. 

Possess Your Vessel

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor…” -1Thess 4:3-4 (NKJV) 

 

I was at a men’s conference this past weekend.  One of the topics a pastor spoke about was the title of this blog: “Possess Your Vessel”.  Now, I really don’t think I need to go into detail of what that phrase means for us men, it should be pretty clear given the context it is used in.  As men of God, we are called to be the leaders and protector of multiple areas for God’s purpose.  Unfortunately, one of the areas we struggle in the most as a whole and individually are the area of stewarding our own bodies- one part in particular. 

You know the story in Genesis: God created woman to be with man.  Marriage and sex were God’s ideas- to be used within His statutes and for Him to be honored with.  We were created to enjoy intimacy with the opposite sex, all within the bounds of marriage.  Then along came the fall of man, sin entered the world, and sexual perversion has dominated in many ways since.  UNTIL!!!  The blood of Jesus Christ was shed on the Cross- bringing us back into right relationship with God and giving us the power to be freed from sin once again.  Still, we struggle.  Overcoming and domination of the flesh is a constant process, no matter your maturity level in your walk with Christ.  Our job as men, however, is to recognize the strengths and ordaining the Lord has put upon us to be such overcomers. 

Whether your struggle is with premarital or extramarital sex, pornography, or other forms of lust, it all is a major roadblock in keeping us from reaching our full potential in Christ.  What must you do to “possess” your own vessel- to take full dominion over your body?  It all starts with surrender and submission DAILY to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  I have a friend that was just recently married.  He and his fiancée did it right- they waited until marriage to be intimate with each other and married as virgins.  Although I will never have the opportunity to present myself to my bride in such a pure manner, I (and you) have the opportunity to do the best with what we have, and if you haven’t already, begin your journey for sexual purity immediately.  I asked my friend last year “Isn’t it hard abstaining?  Don’t you ever wonder what it would be like to have sex or be intimate with a woman?”  His reply?  “No, because it’s not an option.”  Wow!  I don’t think I can really describe what that phrase has meant to me since I first heard it.  What a perfect example of being submitted to God’s sovereignty.  I have used that phrase several times since with other men. 

Men of God, the foundation has been laid, the blueprint has been written, and we are equipped with everything we need to take back full control to steward our bodies and build these temples for God’s glory.  The question is, “Are you ready to begin the rebuilding process?”

 

“Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” –Gal 5:16 (NKJV)