Relationships, 365 Day Devotional Mylesunroe 377pg

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MYLES MUNROE ON RELATIONSHIPS:

A 365‑Day Devotional
Dr. Myles Munroe

Bahamas Faith Ministries International
P.O. Box N9583
Nassau, Bahamas
e‑mail: [email protected]
websites: www.bfmmm.com; www.bfmi.tv; www.mylesmunroe.tv
ISBN: 978‑1‑60374‑070‑8
Printed in the United States of America
© 2008 by Myles Munroe
Whitaker House
1030 Hunt Valley Circle
New Kensington, PA 15068
www.whitakerhouse.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Munroe, Myles.
Myles Munroe on relationships : a 365-day devotional / Myles Munroe.
p. cm.
Summary: “A year-long daily devotional focusing on a biblical
understanding of the nature and dynamics of human relationships; includes
a program for reading through the Bible in a year”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-60374-070-8 (trade hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Interpersonal
relations—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Interpersonal relations—
Biblical teaching. 3. Devotional calendars. I. Title.
BV4597.52.M86 2008
242’.2—dc22
2008029611
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical—including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system—without permission in writing from the publisher. Please
direct your inquiries to [email protected].
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 11 12 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 0 9 0 8
Myles Munroe on Relationships: A 365-Day Devotional
is based on Dr. Munroe’s groundbreaking books
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men,
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Woman,
and The Fatherhood Principle.
Introduction
E verything in creation was created to relate to something in its envi‑

ronment. The Creator designed things to serve and benefit from
their relationships with other components within their environments.
The plant needs the sun, the fish needs the water, the bird needs the air,
and the tree needs the soil.
Human being were created to be social creatures and can survive
and thrive only within the context of relationships with other humans.
The successful and effective development and adaptation of our kind
cannot succeed without healthy and meaningful relationships.
However, the unique needs of the human species cannot be met
effectively by elements in the lower strata of creation, such as animals,
plants, birds, insects, and inanimate objects in nature, but can only be
served by those of the same kind. It is interesting to note that the first
created man, Adam, was in the company of all the species of animals,
plants, birds, and sea creatures and yet the conclusion of the Mastermind
behind this massive creation project was that the man was still “alone”
(Genesis 2:18). In essence we were not created or designed to exist with‑
out an effective relationship with another of our kind. Relationship is
to humanity what oxygen is to the lungs and what blood is to the entire
body.
This daily devotional is, therefore, about the most important aspect
of your life on earth. The principles in this book apply to your relation‑
ships with your spouse, other family members, friends, coworkers, and
people you encounter in society at large. You will discover biblical truths
that explain why we experience both joy and conflict as we interact with
others and why many of us have difficulty establishing and maintaining
good relationships.
When we think about improving our relationships, we usually start
by asking questions, such as “What do I want?” “How can I get my needs
Myles Munroe on Relationships 7

met?” “Why can’t I get other people to treat me with respect?” “How
can I have a lasting relationship with someone who will bring me ful‑
fillment?” and “How do I deal with people who aren’t like me?” This
book answers all these questions, though not from the usual approach.
Instead of focusing on ourselves and how we can get what we want from
other people, we will look at our relationships through the eyes of our
Creator and His original purposes for men and women. As you follow
this approach, you will discover it to be greatly effective and satisfying for
building strong, lasting, and loving relationships with others.
For thirty years, I have studied, counseled, and guided thousands of
individuals to live lives of personal fulfillment and social and spiritual
well‑being. The knowledge and experience I have gained has led me to
the conclusion that the central principle of life is purpose. Exploring the
implications of purpose leads us to an understanding of all realms of life,
especially our relationships. It reveals God’s wonderfully complementary
designs for males and females as they join together in His purposes for
humanity.
The quality of our relationships affects every other aspect of our
lives. If we do not really understand the basis for relationships and how
they are meant to work, we can never be truly fulfilled. Purpose is inher‑
ent in our desire for meaningful lives and intimacy and fellowship with
others.
As you progress through this full year of devotionals, you will dis‑
cover more about your reason for existence and how men and women
were created to live harmonious, productive, and purposeful lives. You
will understand biblical truths and principles of purpose that explain the
design and relationship of males and females, and be given practical appli‑
cation for implementing what you have learned in your daily life.
Also featured are convenient daily Scripture readings to guide you
through the Bible in one year, with one Old Testament passage and one
New Testament passage for each day. Since we find our purpose only in
the mind of our Maker, it is essential to read His Manual for ourselves in
order to clearly see how the revelation of His purposes for humanity runs
8 Myles Munroe on Relationships

from Genesis through Revelation. We must allow God’s Word to dwell
richly in our hearts so that, as we meditate on it and absorb it, it truly
becomes a part of our lives. Whenever we study the Word of God, we
should also pray and ask God for wisdom. The Holy Spirit is our teacher,
and we need to ask Him to illuminate the Word and to give us insight.
The fulfillment of God’s purposes on earth requires two genders
working together in cooperation. Let us discover how to live according
to His plan. In this way, we can become all we were created to be as men
and women made in His image. We are God’s fellow workers who have
been given the shared responsibility of exercising dominion over the earth
through our complementary strengths and gifts, to His glory.
May God bless you in your relationship with Him and with the
people He has placed in your life.
—Dr. Myles Munroe

January 1
Why Did God Create Us?
T he ultimate purpose behind the creation of man—both male and

female—was love. The Scripture tells us that “God is love” (1 John
4:8, 16). What I especially like about this statement is that God doesn’t
just give love, He doesn’t just show love, He is love. He desires to share
His love with us because love is His essential quality.
God has many other qualities besides love that we could list. He is
righteous, holy, omnipotent, and almighty. He is all of these wonderful
things and so many more. Yet God could be all of these other attributes
and still exist by Himself in isolation. He doesn’t need anyone else in
order to be holy. He doesn’t need anyone else to be righteous. He doesn’t
need anyone to be almighty. He can be omnipotent, omnipresent, and
all the rest of His qualities by Himself. However, it is the nature of love
to give of itself, and it cannot give in isolation. In order for love to be ful‑
filled, it has to have someone to love, and it has to give to its beloved.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God”
(Isaiah 45:5). There is no other God besides the Lord, yet He is a God
of relationship, not isolation. He desires someone of His nature and like‑
ness whom He can love. Therefore, God’s primary motivation in the cre‑
ation of man was love. He created men and women because He wanted
to share His love with beings like Himself, beings created in His image.
This truth is amazing to me!
Thought for the Day

God desires to share His love with us because love is His
essential quality.
January 11
January 2
Created and Redeemed for Love
T he book of Genesis tells us that God created the heavens and the
earth. He created all the plants and animals. He made the sun,
the stars, and the galaxies. He looked at all these remarkable things that
He had created, and He said that they were good. However, He couldn’t
truly love these things because they were not like Him. Yes, they reflected
His power, glory, and creativity; they revealed His nature and qualities,
but they were not made in His essential likeness. It was mankind that
God created in His image to love.
In the New Testament, Jesus both affirmed and exemplified God’s
love for us. He said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begot-
ten Son” (John 3:16 nkjv). “He gave.” He gave because He loved. You can‑
not love without giving. When you love, you give. It’s automatic. Yet
in order to give love in a way that is truly fulfilling, the receiver has to
be like the giver in nature; otherwise, the love would not be complete.
You cannot give in a meaningful way to something that is not like you,
because it cannot receive your gift in a way that will satisfy your giving.
Giving is only complete when the receiver and the giver are alike. God
desired a shared and mutual love, not a one-sided love.
God looked at what He had created, and here was this man, this
beautiful duplicate of Himself. Here was someone to fulfill His love.
This relationship of love was the primary purpose that God created man.
This is not an abstract concept. This means that the entire human race—
including you and me—was created by God to be loved by Him.
Thought for the Day

It was mankind that God created in His image to love.
Reading: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

January 3
Created in His Image
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
—Genesis 1:27
M an was made in the image of God. When God made man, He

essentially drew man out of Himself, so that the essence of man
would be just like Him. Since “God is spirit” (John 4:24), He created man
as spirit. Spirit is eternal. Man was created as an eternal being, because
God is eternal. It is important to recognize that we are not yet talking
about male and female. It was mankind that God created in His image.
Man is spirit, and spirits have no gender. The Bible never talks about a
male or female spirit.
What was the reason God created mankind in His image? He didn’t
create any of the animals or plants in His image. He didn’t even make
angels in His image. Man is the only being of God’s creation that is like
Him.
God created mankind for relationship with Himself—to be His fam‑
ily, His offspring, spiritual children of God. The nature of God is to
love and to give. Since “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), He wanted a being
who could be the object of His love and grace. He wanted man to be the
recipient of all that He is and all that He has.
The fact that man was created in God’s image is an awesome revela‑
tion about our relationship to Him. God desired children who would
be like Himself. Yet He didn’t just desire it and then walk away without
doing anything about it. He conceived His desire and made it a reality.
Thought for the Day

When God made man, He essentially drew man out of Himself,
so that the essence of man would be just like Him.
January 13
January 4
The Creation of Man
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let
them rule [“have dominion” nkjv] over the fish of the sea and the birds of
the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image
of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them
and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and
subdue it.”
—Genesis 1:26–28
M en and women can know the true meaning of their existence

only by understanding who they are in relation to God’s creation
of mankind as a whole. They need to see how they fit into God’s great
picture of humanity, which He designed and then constructed when the
world began.
The first thing we must realize is that there is a distinction between
being man and being male, and that each has unique purposes for being.
What do I mean by this? The account of creation in the first two chap‑
ters of Genesis reveals the essential difference. Genesis 1 is a declaration
chapter. It declares what God did in creation. Genesis 2 is an explana‑
tion chapter. It explains how God accomplished His act of creation and
shows how the creation of man relates to the creation of man’s two physi‑
cal manifestations: male and female. These two manifestations reflect
God’s various purposes for man’s rule or dominion on earth.
Thought for the Day

Men and women can know the true meaning of their existence
only by understanding who they are in relation to God’s creation
of mankind as a whole.

January 5
Two Physical Houses
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
—Genesis 1:27
A fter God created man, He placed him in two physical “houses”:

male and female. This means that man the spirit exists within
every male and every female. All of us—males and females alike—are
man. The essence of both male and female is the resident spirit within
them, called “man.” Genesis 5:1–2 says, “When God created man, he made
him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them.
And when they were created, he called them [together] ‘man.’”
Why did God take man, who is spirit, and put him in two separate
physical entities rather than just one? It was because He wanted man to
fulfill two distinct purposes. We’ll explore the significance of this fact in
more detail in coming months. For now, we need to remember that the
spirit-man has no gender and that, in order to fulfill His eternal pur‑
poses, God used two physical forms to express the spiritual being made
in His image.
Therefore, whether you are male or female, the person who lives
inside you—the essential you—is the spirit-man. Although males and
females have differences, they are of the same essence. Since human
beings fellowship with God and worship Him through their spirits, this
means that men and women both have direct spiritual access to God and
are individually responsible to Him.
Thought for the Day

God used two physical forms to express the spiritual being made
in His image.
January 15
January 6
Of the Same Substance
The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was
sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.
Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the
man, and he brought her to the man.
T here was beautiful structuring in the creation of woman, as well as

profound meaning. When God had finished making her, she was
just like the man in substance. She was so much in likeness to him that,
when God presented her to him, his first words were, “This is now bone of
my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out
of man” (v. 23). And she became his wife. The man’s words are both beau‑
tiful and instructive. Something that is built has the same components
as the material from which it is made. Therefore, God built the female
out of the part that He took from the male so that they would be made
of exactly the same substance.
The word “rib” in Genesis 2:22 is the Hebrew word tsela. It does not
necessarily mean a rib as we understand the word. It could mean “side”
or “chamber.” The Scripture is telling us that God drew the woman from
a part of the man. Why? It is because the receiver has to be exactly like
the giver. Just as man needed to be spirit in order to receive love from
God and be in relationship with Him, the female needed to be of the
same essence as the male in order to receive love from him and be in
relationship with him.
Thought for the Day

Male and female are of the same substance.
Reading: Genesis 13–15; Matthew 5:1–26

January 7
God’s Design for Men and Women
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
—Ephesians 2:10
S omething has been happening in our society: people have been try‑
ing to change their designs. There are women who want to be like
men, and there are men who want to be like women. God is saying to
them, “You don’t have the circuits for it.” We are God’s workmanship,
His creation. To pursue these desires is the equivalent of short-circuiting.
People are living static lives in which they don’t know their purpose.
They can’t appreciate why people are different.
Imagine a car battery saying, “I want to be a carburetor,” and trying
to function as a carburetor. The car won’t work. Batteries and carburetors
are different because they have different functions. Although their differ‑
ences make them valuable, a carburetor isn’t anything without a battery.
They need each other, because they are both integral parts of something
larger—the car. We must understand that males and females are all part
of something larger called man. Yet they are different, because they have
different purposes.
God is so wonderful. He set things up so that the relationship
between God and man is intended to be expressed through the relation‑
ship between male and female. The Bible refers to Jesus as the Bride‑
groom and the church as His bride. God is giving us an earthly and
physical illustration to communicate the spiritual truth of our relation‑
ship and unity with Him. Therefore, we need to appreciate our creation
as males and females, designed specifically for God’s love and His pur‑
poses in this world.
Thought for the Day

We must understand that males and females are all part of
something larger called man.
January 17
January 8
Principles of Creation
T oday, review these principles of God’s creation of man, thinking

about their implications for your God-given purpose on earth:
1. Men and women can know the true meaning of their existence only
by understanding who they are in relation to God’s creation of man‑
kind as a whole.
2. Mankind was created in the image of God.
3. God created man to be spirit, as He is Spirit.
4. After God created man, He placed him in two physical “houses”:
male and female.
5. Man—the spirit-man—resides within both male and female.
6. God made male and female because He wanted man to fulfill two
distinct purposes on the physical earth.
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and
power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created
and have their being. (Revelation 4:11)
Dear Father,
You are the Creator, the Maker of all things—including me.
You have a purpose for my creation beyond anything I can
easily understand. Help me to keep my eyes upon You and Your
Word as You reveal my purpose on this earth. In Jesus’ name,
amen.

January 9
Eden Was a Delight
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he
put the man he had formed.
—Genesis 2:8
T he male’s priority in creation means that he was the first to be

positioned on earth according to God’s purposes. He was the first
to have a relationship with God, to experience God’s creation, and to
receive God’s instructions.
The male was placed in the environment in which he was meant
to carry out his purpose. This point is crucial. God put the man in the
place where he was supposed to remain in order to fulfill his reason for
being. What was this environment like?
“Eden” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “delicate,” “delight,”
or “pleasure.” The word for “garden” means “an enclosure” or something
“fenced in.” This was more than an ordinary garden. All that was influ‑
encing heaven influenced that particular location on earth. God did not
start by placing man over the entire earth or by placing him just anywhere
on the earth. He placed man at the specific spot called Eden, where there
was a glory connection between the seen and the unseen. There was
glory flowing back and forth from this particular place on earth. The
garden can be considered God’s “incubator” for His new offspring. It was
a controlled environment, a little spot of heaven on earth. God began the
relationship by giving man the absolute best.
Thought for the Day

Eden was a little spot of heaven on earth.
January 19
January 10
A Place of God’s Continual Presence
G od chose a special place on the planet and put His anointing on

it for the sake of man, whom He had created. First Adam, and
then Eve, as well, was placed in a delightful environment—a little spot of
heaven on earth.
A central reason that God placed Adam and Eve in the garden was
so that they could be in His presence all the time. They could walk and
talk with the Lord in the cool of the day. They could hear God’s voice.
This was a place where communion, fellowship, and oneness with God
was always intact.
A manufacturer will always position a part in the location where it
can best carry out its purpose. God, as our Maker, chose the best pos‑
sible location and plan for mankind. We can conclude from what we’ve
learned about the environment of the garden that the primary purpose
of man is to be in God’s presence. Man is not wired to function outside
the presence of the Lord.
Here’s the significance: God never intended for Adam and Eve
to move from the garden. He intended for the garden to move over the
earth. God wanted them to take the presence of the garden and spread it
throughout the world. This is what He meant when He told Adam and
Eve to have dominion over the earth. This is still God’s purpose. As it
says in Isaiah 11:9, “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea.” They could fulfill this purpose only if they were in
constant communion with the God of the garden.
Thought for the Day

God didn’t intend for Adam and Eve to move from the garden.
He intended for the garden to move over the earth.

January 11
The Source of Conflict
I f Adam and Eve were created to be in fellowship with God and one
another, what happened? Genesis 3 explains the initial source of the
conflict between women and men. The devil, in the form of a serpent,
tempted the first woman, Eve, to eat what God had forbidden her to eat.
(See Genesis 2:16–17.) Personally, I don’t think this was the first time
the serpent had approached her. First, she didn’t seem surprised to see
him or to hear him speaking. Second, I believe they had talked earlier
about God’s instructions because of the way the devil phrased his crafty
question: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
(Genesis 3:1). He wanted to cast doubt on Eve’s understanding of what
God had said.
Eve replied, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did
say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and
you must not touch it, or you will die’” (vv. 2–3). She had most of her infor‑
mation correct, so the devil’s next ploy was to try to undermine God’s
integrity in her eyes. “‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman.
‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil’” (vv. 4–5). Eve succumbed to the tempta‑
tion, Adam joined her of his own free will, and they both ate of the fruit
of the tree. (See verse 6.) This decision to reject God’s purposes resulted
in the spiritual deaths of the man and the woman. It was the beginning
of the conflict between man and God and men and women that we are
still dealing with today.
Thought for the Day

The devil’s first tactic was to cast doubt on what God had said.
January 21
January 12
Whose Fault Was It?
And [God] said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from
the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
—Genesis 3:11
A dam and Eve went against God’s commandment. It was the spirit-
man—the responsible spiritual being—within both the male and
female that made the fateful choice to eat the fruit in disobedience to
God’s command. This is why mankind’s ultimate dilemma is a spiritual
one.
When Adam and Eve rebelled, they immediately died a spiritual
death—just as God had warned—and eventually the physical houses God
had given them to live in on the earth also died. However, the spiritual
death was the worse predicament of the two because it separated them
from their former perfect fellowship with God. God still loved them, but
they no longer had the same open channel to Him with which to receive
His love. While they still retained elements of their creation in God’s
image, they no longer perfectly reflected the nature and character of
their Creator.
The devil had presented Adam and Eve with a big lie, and they had
fallen for it, to their own sorrow. However, there was an underlying reason
that mankind fell. To understand it, we need to look to two foundational
principles of purpose: (1) To discover the purpose of something, never
ask the creation; ask the creator. (2) We find our purpose only in the
mind of our Maker. Adam and Eve stopped looking to their Creator for
their purpose and instead looked to themselves. In doing so, they lost
their ability to fulfill their true purpose.
Thought for the Day

We find our purpose only in the mind of our Maker.

January 13
Losing the Garden
W hen Adam and Eve sinned, not only did they lose their perfectly
balanced relationship with one another, but they also lost their
harmonious relationship with the earth. Now they had to live under
harsh conditions. God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns
and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17–18).
He was saying, “It is the earth that is really going to feel the impact of your
disobedience. Because of this, you will have to struggle to survive in it.”
In these consequences of sin—the broken relationship between
Adam and Eve and the cursed ground—we see Satan’s scheme to under‑
mine God’s purposes of dominion. Satan was afraid of the power that
would be released through a man and woman united in God’s pur‑
poses. Therefore, he sought to distort the relationship between males
and females and limit the garden of Eden by bringing an atmosphere of
thorns and thistles to the rest of the earth.
Yet, even though Adam and Eve fell, God’s purpose for human‑
ity has never changed. At the very hour of humanity’s rejection of His
purpose, God promised a Redeemer who would save men and woman
from their fallen state and all its ramifications. (See Genesis 3:15.) The
Redeemer would restore the relationship and partnership of males and
females. Jesus Christ is that Redeemer and, because of Him, men and
women can return to God’s original design for them. We can fulfill His
purposes once again. We can have true dominion over the earth—but
only through Christ.
Thought for the Day

Satan is afraid of the power of a man and woman
united in God’s purposes.
January 23
January 14
God Is Purposeful
G od is purposeful, and He always carries out His purposes. Let’s

read Scripture passages from Isaiah and Hebrews that illustrate a
vital aspect of God’s purposeful nature. “The Lord Almighty has sworn,
‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand’”
(Isaiah 14:24). The first part of this verse states that God has sworn an
oath. Now, when people swear an oath, they have to find something
higher than themselves by which to swear. As we read in Hebrews 6:16,
“Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is
said and puts an end to all argument.” We usually swear by the Bible or by
some great institution. There is only one problem with God’s swearing
an oath: there is no one above Him. So God has to swear by Himself.
If you were called to be a witness in court, you would be asked to
swear on the Bible, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and noth‑
ing but the truth, so help me, God.” If you were to lie, it would be the
same as desecrating the integrity of the Bible, and you would destroy
your own integrity as well.
When God swears an oath regarding something, He has to fulfill
what He swore to do, because He is totally faithful to Himself. God
doesn’t want us to have any doubt about this aspect of His nature.
“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to
the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath” (Hebrews 6:17).
We can be assured that God will fulfill His purposes for us as we allow
Christ the Redeemer to restore us to Him and to restore the relationship
and partnership of men and women.
Thought for the Day

God is purposeful and He always carries out His purposes.

January 15
Everything Is Created with a Purpose
I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
—Psalm 57:2
G od created everything with a purpose in mind, and He also cre‑

ated it with the ability to fulfill its purpose. Everything God has
made is the way it is because of why it was created. The why dictates its
makeup. The purpose of a thing determines its nature, its design, and
its features.
You don’t make something until you know what you want and why
you want it. You’ll never find a manufacturer starting a project in a plant,
hoping it will turn out to be something useful. Its purpose and design
are complete before production starts.
Since God created everything with a purpose, both males and
females need to go to Him if they want to know their true reason for
being. If they try to change His plans or fight against them, they are in
essence fighting against themselves, because they’re working against their
own nature, their own makeup, and the way they function best based on
the Creator’s design. Moreover, because God is love, His plans embody
what is best for us, so they would also be working against their own high‑
est good.
God’s purpose requires two genders working together in coopera‑
tion to accomplish a mutual vision. Accordingly, males and females
have complementary designs that enable them to fulfill God’s purpose
together.
Thought for the Day

The purpose of something determines its nature, its
design, and its features.
January 25
January 16
Created for Fellowship
F or men and women to fulfill their purposes, they must understand

their essential reasons for being. Mankind was created primarily to
have fellowship with God, like a close family relationship. The only rea‑
son man can have this fellowship with God is that God made man to be
spirit, just as He is Spirit. That is why the apostle John tells us that “God
is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
Although God is the Creator, He has always emphasized that He
is man’s Father. It wasn’t His desire to be primarily thought of by man
as an awesome God or a “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24). Although
at times it is difficult for our religious minds to grasp this concept, God
wants us to approach Him as a child would a loving father. “Let us then
approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
God created man so that He could have someone to love, someone
who would walk with Him and work with Him in His purposes for the
earth. That is why, no matter how many relationships you have or how
many gifts you buy for others, in the end, you aren’t going to be satisfied
until you love God. God must have the primary place in your life. Your
love was designed to be fulfilled in Him.
Thought for the Day

You aren’t going to be satisfied until you love God.

January 17
Created to Reflect God’s Nature
The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
—Proverbs 20:27 (kjv)
A second essential reason God created man is so that man could

reflect His character and personality. When God created man,
heaven and earth stood in awe of this amazing being who manifested
the Creator’s very nature and reflected His glory. As children of the Most
High God, we have His nature and share His purposes. Physically, we are
children of men, but spiritually, we are children of God.
Two foundational aspects of God’s character are love and light, and
man is meant to exhibit these qualities. However, just because man was
made in God’s image does not mean that man can reveal God’s qualities
apart from Him. Man was always meant to reveal God’s nature in the
context of being continually connected to Him in fellowship.
Jesus spoke of that connection when He referred to Himself as the
Vine and we as the branches: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing” (John 15:5). First John 4:16 says, “Whoever lives in love lives in God,
and God in him,” and Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the candle
of the Lord” (kjv). This means that when you have fellowship with God,
you reflect His light. You show the nature of God, for “God is light; in him
there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
Thought for the Day

Physically, we are children of men, but spiritually, we are
children of God.
January 27
January 18
Created to Rule
Let us make man in our image,…and let them rule [“have dominion” nkjv].
—Genesis 1:26
A third reason for the creation of humanity was so that men and
women could share God’s authority. God never wanted to rule by
Himself. Love doesn’t think in those terms. You can always tell a person
who is full of love. He doesn’t want to do anything for his purposes alone.
A selfish person wants all the glory, all the credit, all the recognition, all
the attention, all the power, all the authority, all the rights, and all the
privileges. But a person of love wants others to share in what he has.
The word “man” in Genesis 1:26 refers to the spirit-being created in
God’s image. The purpose of dominion was given to man the spirit. This
was before the creation of male and female. Therefore, spiritually, both
male and female have the same responsibility toward the earth because
rule was given to the spirit-man, which resides in both of them.
Man has been given the freedom to exhibit creativity while govern‑
ing the physical earth and all the other living things that dwell in it. The
earth is to be ruled over, taken care of, fashioned, and molded by beings
made in the image of their Creator. In this way, man is meant to reflect
the loving and creative Spirit of God.
God also created man to demonstrate His wisdom and the goodness
of His precepts. This purpose is part of God’s eternal plans: “His intent
was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his
eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians
3:10–11).
Thought for the Day

Spiritually, both male and female have the same responsibility
toward the earth.

January 19
Created to be God’s Children
W hen God created men and women to share His authority, it was
in the context of their relationship to Him as His offspring. God
didn’t create us to be servants but to be children who are involved in
running the family business. This was His plan for mankind from the
beginning. He has always wanted His children to help Him fulfill His
purposes.
This means that God doesn’t want us to work for Him; He wants
us to work with Him. The Bible says that we are “God’s fellow workers”
(2 Corinthians 6:1) or “workers together with him” (kjv). In the original
Greek, “fellow workers” means those who “cooperate,” who “help with,”
who “work together.”
It’s common to hear people say, “I’m working for Jesus.” If you are
working for Jesus, you are still a hired hand. When you understand the
family business, then you become a worker alongside Christ.
What are some of the implications of our being God’s children,
working in His business? First, we don’t have to worry about our day-to-
day living expenses. If your father and mother owned a prosperous busi‑
ness, and they put you in charge of it, should you wonder where you will
get food to eat? Should you wonder where you will get water to drink?
Should you wonder where you’re going to get clothes to wear? No, you are
family, and you are going to be provided for.
In God’s company, there’s always plenty of provision to go around,
and you can rely on that with confidence.
Thought for the Day

God didn’t create us to be servants but to be children who are
involved in running the family business.
January 29
January 20
Consequences of Lost Purpose
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.
—Romans 1:22
D espite all of God’s good purposes for humanity, man and woman
thought they knew what was best for them. Therefore, they rejected
their true reason for being and suffered the loss of many of the blessings
God had given them. They also began to abuse each other’s purposes.
Men and women cannot function in true harmony and effectiveness out‑
side God’s plan. Adam and Eve’s tragic choice led to the fulfillment of
this principle of purpose: Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevi‑
table.
Adam and Eve lost their perfectly balanced relationship. Immedi‑
ately following their rejection of God’s purposes, we see conflict between
them. When God asked Adam, “Have you eaten from the tree that I com-
manded you not to eat from?” Adam accused Eve, saying, “The woman you
put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Genesis
3:11–12). Feeling trapped, Eve tried to put the blame on the devil. (See
verse 13.) Yet God held each of them accountable because they were spiri‑
tual beings responsible to Him.
We see how Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God altered their
relationship. One of the consequences of their sin was that they would
strive with one another. “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule
over you” (Genesis 3:16). The male and female were originally created to
rule together. They were designed to function together equally. God had
said to them, “Fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Both of them
were supposed to be rulers—and that is still His plan.
Thought for the Day

Men and women cannot function in true harmony and
effectiveness outside God’s plan.

January 21
Restoring Right Relationships
Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more
pure than his Maker?
—Job 4:17
N obody knows how something is supposed to function better than

its maker. I suggest to you that the best way for us to make progress
in the relationship between men and women is to go back to the begin‑
ning and see what was in the mind and heart of the Creator when He
made humanity. Knowing our original design and inherent makeup is
the only way to bring about lasting, positive change in the way men and
women interact with one another in all the realms of life.
Proverbs 19:21 summarizes this idea well: “Many are the plans in
a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” God is a God of
purpose, and everything that He made in this life, including men and
women, has a purpose. We can fight against His purpose, but if we do,
we will be unfulfilled and frustrated. He made us the way we are for His
purposes and for our benefit.
Throughout the months of this devotional, we will continually come
back to these two essential principles:
1. The purpose of something determines its nature or design.
2. The nature or design of something determines its needs.
Our Creator purposed and designed male and female, and He has
provided a way to restore us to His original purposes for both.
Thought for the Day

Understanding and living in God’s original purpose is crucial to
restoring right relationships between men and women.
Reading: Exodus 1–3; Matthew 14:1–21
January 31
January 22
God’s Original Intent
P urpose is defined as the “original intent and reason” for the cre‑
ation of a thing. Here are seven principles of purpose to keep in
mind as you understand and return to God’s original design for men
and women:
1. God is a God of purpose.
2. God created everything with a purpose.
3. Not every purpose is known to us because we have lost our under‑
standing of God’s original intent for us.
4. Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.
5. To discover the purpose of something, never ask the creation; ask
the creator.
6. We find our purpose only in the mind of our Maker.
7. God’s purpose is the key to our fulfillment.
Many of the problems males and females face today come from a
lack of understanding of their own purpose in life. Principles one and
two assure you that you do have a purpose on this earth. Without an
understanding of God’s purpose for you, however, you will abuse your
life and, most likely, the lives of those around you. The solution is not
to try to conjure up a purpose for yourself but to discover your Maker’s
original intent for you, because your purpose is found in the mind of
your Maker.
The great news is that discovering and living out that purpose is the
key to your fulfillment as a male or female, a son or daughter, a sibling, a
spouse, a parent, a member of your church, a citizen in your community
and nation, and a human being in the world. “For in him we live and move
and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Thought for the Day

You have a God-given purpose on this earth.

January 23
A Crisis of Roles
P eople used to acquire their ideas of manhood and womanhood from

observing their fathers and mothers or from longstanding cultural tra‑
ditions. Yet hundreds, even thousands, of years of tradition have been set
aside in just one or two generations. My life is completely different from my
father’s life. I can’t use the way my father did things as a model for myself,
and my sisters can’t use the environment in which my mother functioned
as an example for themselves. Our parents lived not only in a different
generation, but also with different concepts of maleness and femaleness.
Historically speaking, until recently, the man had certain accepted roles
and the woman had certain accepted roles, and they didn’t usually overlap.
What makes our current cultural situation unsettling for men, in
particular, is that males have traditionally defined their manhood by
their roles: the functions they perform for their families and in soci‑
ety. However, there’s been a major shift in the roles of both males and
females. The rules of society are changing. This has happened just in
the last forty years or so. We’re in the middle of a cultural transition,
and competing ideas of masculinity are causing perplexing problems for
men. They are being pulled in several directions at once while they try to
figure out what it means to be a real man in today’s world.
Men’s basic conceptions of manhood are therefore being disrupted.
They feel displaced. They are either frustrated or struggling to adapt to
a new but vague concept of who they are, or they’re angry and trying to
reverse the flow of change.
Are cultural roles to be totally abandoned? If so, what will replace
them? “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart
through all generations” (Psalm 33:11).
Thought for the Day

There’s been a major shift in the roles of males and females.
January 33
January 24
What Is a Real Man?
I magine that you are watching a television show similar to To Tell the
Truth. Several contestants try to convince you that they are the Real
Man. Which one is authentic and which ones are the imposters?
Contestant #1 tells you he is the Real Man because he fills the tradi‑
tional male role: he supports his family financially while his wife cares
for the children and the home. As long as he provides a roof over their
heads and food for them to eat, he’s fulfilling his duty as a husband and
father. This man doesn’t consider his wife to be his true equal.
Contestant #2 says he is the Real Man because he has a culturally
progressive role: he shares household and child-rearing responsibilities
with his wife while they both pursue careers. He thinks of his wife as
his equal.
Contestant #3 explains that he is the Real Man because he has been
freed from male stereotypes and has decided to take on the nurturer
role of caring for the children and home while his wife goes to work. He
considers his wife equal to himself—or maybe even better, since she has a
more compassionate, sensitive nature than he does.
These are some of the images of manhood that are competing for
men’s acceptance today. There seems to be no clear-cut winner. In addi‑
tion, society keeps mixing and matching these images until men don’t
know what’s expected of them anymore. Confusion over purpose under‑
mines people’s lives. Do you know yours?
Thought for the Day

To what extent does your image of a “real man” correspond with
what the Bible teaches about men of God?

January 25
The Number One Challenge
W e have lost our understanding of God’s intent for human beings.

This is why the number one challenge to the male in today’s
society is an identity crisis. The average man is confused about his man‑
hood, his masculinity, and his sexuality. He doesn’t have a clear defini‑
tion of what a man is supposed to be. Some men have confused their
cultural, social, and traditional roles with the definition of manhood.
However, this has proven to be one of the major causes of the problem
because, as the roles change, so does a man’s image of himself. Males are
at a crucial crossroads, and where they go from here will have a serious
effect on the course of society.
How do we measure a man? What is true manhood? How do you
define masculinity? What is true male sexuality? What is the true pur‑
pose of the male in relation to the female? Is there a universal definition
of manhood? Can it be attained? Where do we go to get this definition?
These are difficult questions, but we can discover the answers to them.
The male is the key to building strong, enduring social infrastruc‑
tures, stable families, sane societies, and secure nations. It is critical that
the subject of the male’s crisis be a priority for men, women, and national
governments, so that we can secure positive social developments within
the countries of the world. As we progress through this year, we will take
a journey through the land of cultural confusion and beyond to redis‑
cover the purpose and power of the true male and female as God, our
Creator, intended them to be. “He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he
who cherishes understanding prospers” (Proverbs 19:8).
Thought for the Day

The male is the key to building stable families, sane societies,
and secure nations.
Reading: Exodus 12–13; Matthew 16
January 35
January 26
Roles versus Purpose
For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
—Isaiah 14:27
T oday, what do males use as a basis for their self-worth and identity?
Men have linked their identity to their roles, and now that the roles
have changed, they have left themselves no basis for manhood. Whatever
they replace their old idea of masculinity with may or may not be a true or
fulfilling role for them. What is more troubling, when men don’t under‑
stand their place in the world, they will often either withdraw from it or
use their influence in harmful ways, such as committing crimes.
What can men do to regain their footing and identity? First, they
must adopt an entirely new way of thinking. They need to think in terms
of purpose rather than roles. As we have discovered, the reason they are
having problems today is that they have been basing their worth on the
wrong thing all along. Roles have never been the true basis of a male’s
identity and purpose. Roles can be helpful or harmful, but ultimately
they merely reflect culture and tradition.
What men really need to discover is their underlying purpose, which
transcends culture and tradition. The Lord Almighty has a purpose in
everything. A man’s position and actions must flow out of his purpose,
not the other way around. That is why the answer to the male’s dilemma
is not just to adjust to changing times—although some of this will be
needed—but to discover the inherent purpose of the male. Men therefore
need a God-given identity if they are to fulfill their true purpose. Tomor‑
row we will begin to look in detail at the Creator’s original plan for both
men and women and its implications for their relationships.
Thought for the Day

Men must think in terms of purpose rather than roles.

January 27
The Purpose of the Male
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s
purpose that prevails.
—Proverbs 19:21
N ot only do we have many plans in our hearts, but we also have

many opinions about what a man should be! Yet the Lord’s pur‑
pose is the only one that counts—and this purpose is the key to our ful‑
fillment. What we want to consider today is the male’s ideal purpose. This
is not where we are right now. Yet God’s ideal is what we should be moving
toward; and by His grace, we will.
We should always remember that God creates according to the
requirements of His purposes. God desires to dominate and influence
the earth through mankind. Remember that the purpose of something
determines its nature, its design, and its features. This means that the
nature, design, and qualities of males were decided upon by God accord‑
ing to what He determined was best for the sake of His purposes.
I believe that the purpose of the male may be summed up as his prior-
ity, his position, and his assignment.
Priority refers to the man’s order in creation and what this means in
regard to his reason for being.
Position refers to the environment and place in which the man is to
carry out his purpose.
Assignment means the functions or tasks that the man has been
given by God.
Thought for the Day

God creates according to the requirements of His purposes.
January 37
January 28
The Male’s Priority
The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
—Genesis 2:7
W hy did God make the male first? It was not because the male was
better, but because of his purpose. The order in which the male
was created gives us the first indication of his reason for being.
When you think about it, God really made only one human being.
When He created the female, He didn’t go back to the soil, but He fash‑
ioned her from the side of the man. (See Genesis 2:21–23.) Only the male
came directly from the earth. This was because the male was designed by
God to be the foundation of the human family. The woman came out of
the man rather than the earth because she was designed to rest on the
man—to have the male as her support.
God planned everything before He created it, and He started with
the foundation. Have you ever seen a contractor build a house starting
with the roof? No. Likewise, you don’t start with the windows. You don’t
start with the gutters or the rafters. God starts like any other builder.
The priority in building is always what you need to do first. You start
with the foundation.
I believe that the foundation of society, the infrastructure God
intended for this world, has been misunderstood. We often say that the
family is the foundation of society. It is very true that the family is the adhe‑
sive that holds it together. Yet God did not start to build earthly society
with a family. He began it with one person. He began it with the male.
Thought for the Day

The male is the foundation of the human family.

January 29
Jesus Christ,
the Ultimate Foundation
G od’s communications to man in the Bible indicate the importance

He places on building from the foundation up. What did Jesus
describe as our foremost priority? What we’re building on—our founda‑
tion. (See Matthew 7:24–27.) The apostle Paul wrote, “No one can lay any
[spiritual] foundation other than the one already laid” (1 Corinthians 3:11).
What—or rather, who—is that foundation? “Jesus Christ” (v. 11).
God does not think of foundations in terms of only concrete and
water, but also in terms of people. That is why, when God began to
build the human race, He began by laying the foundation of the male.
He placed males at the bottom of the entire building of humanity. This
means that society is only as strong as its males. And for the males to be
truly strong, they must build their own foundation on Jesus Christ.
If the males don’t learn what it means to be a strong foundation
in God, then society is sunk. That goes for America, Canada, Russia,
China—all the nations of the world. If the male leaves the home, or if he
neglects his responsibility, you have a house built on sand. The rafters
rock when the pressures come because the man isn’t there.
When the male has cracks and faults in the substructure of his life,
then the whole building is on shaky ground. Men, let’s talk. This is the
year you must decide to get on solid ground, for as the man goes, so goes
the family, society, and the world. Take a look at the condition of our soci‑
eties and nations. How do you think the men are doing?
Thought for the Day

Society is only as strong as its males.
January 39
January 30
The Foundation’s Responsibility
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like
a wise man who built his house on the rock.
—Matthew 7:24
H ow can you build a human race on a foundation that is made up of

sand mixed with straw? A foundation is always measured by how
much weight can be placed on it. Our societies are in a mess because, as
the foundation, men have become “sandy”—uncertain and unstable.
When God made the male first, He wasn’t saying that the male is
more important than the female. He was saying that the male has a spe-
cific responsibility. He has a purpose to fulfill that is just like the founda‑
tion. Even though the foundation is important, it’s not more important
than the other parts of the building. The foundation can’t perform all
the functions itself. It cannot protect the occupants from the weather.
When the rain comes, the foundation can’t keep you dry; only the roof
can. It’s the same way with the human family. The foundation is crucial,
but the rest of the family is essential as well.
Remember that the foundation is often hidden. I don’t see the foun‑
dation of my house anymore, even though I was involved in discussions
about it and watched it being dug and poured. Today, I walk on the
foundation all the time, but I never see it. The foundation is meant to be
solid and dependable, but not necessarily seen.
Thought for the Day

A foundation is measured by how much weight
can be placed on it.

January 31
Becoming a Strong Foundation
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
—Matthew 7:25
M any of you men need to live like the foundation you were created
to be. Just be there and keep the home steady so that your wife
and children can always lean on you and know that you aren’t going
to crack. Many young boys with absentee fathers—men who are missing
either physically or emotionally—are walking in mud instead of on con‑
crete. These young boys are trying to find a foundation for their lives, but
there’s mud all over them, because there’s just no place where they can
stand on solid ground. Their foundations are missing. When they grow
up, they will go out and try to become foundations themselves, yet they
never will have been shown what a true foundation is.
I once heard the statement, “A young boy becomes a man when his
father tells him he’s a man.” Many young boys have never had a father to
tell them who they are. The purpose of the male is to give foundation to
the structure of life.
I’m praying that God will raise up some strong foundational men—
men who will stand by their wives and stand with their children; men
who will be stabilizers so that their families will feel secure in their
strength. It doesn’t matter what your father was—you can be a strong
foundation by becoming the man God created you to be.
Thought for the Day

The purpose of the male is to give foundation to the
structure of life.
January 41
February 1
Is It Only a Man’s World?
I n the mid-1960s, renowned musical artist James Brown came out with
a song that exposed the spirit of the age, entitled “It’s a Man’s World.”
The song sold a million copies. (I wonder who bought it?) James Brown
was singing about an attitude that pervades the nations and cultures of
the world. That attitude is, in effect, “Even though women are here, this
world was made for men. It’s designed for males. Women are just filling
in where needed. You women stay in your place; this is a man’s world.”
Does the world belong to men? What place do women hold in it?
One of the most controversial issues of our modern times—a topic
that has been debated with much discussion and dissension—is the role,
position, and rights of women. Historically, in nearly every nation and
culture, women have been regarded as holding a secondary place in the
world. The following are traditional perceptions of women that still per‑
sist today: Women are considered inferior to men, second-class citizens,
objects for sensual gratification alone, incapable of real strength, lacking
in intelligence and therefore having nothing to contribute to society,
the personal property of men, personal servants whose only purpose is
to meet the needs of their masters, and deserving of abuse. Women are
misunderstood and degraded around the world, and it is causing them
emotional, physical, and spiritual distress.
These attitudes differ strikingly from the way God sees the woman’s
place in His creation. It is all about His plan! “God created man in his own
image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”
(Genesis 1:27).
Thought for the Day

What place do women hold in the world?

February 2
Woman’s True Nature
W hat is the woman’s true nature and purpose? Do we really know?

If we don’t know, how can we address the abuse woman have
experienced for centuries?
Women and men alike must come to know the woman’s true nature
and purpose if we are to address the plight that has affected women
throughout history and still affects them in the twenty-first century.
Women, as well as men, must gain new perspectives of themselves, since
women have largely developed their self-concepts from cultural traditions
shaped by men who did not understand females.
The basic problem can be summarized in this way: There are fun‑
damental truths about the inherent makeup of women and men that
have been lost to the cultures of the world as well as to the hearts and
minds of individual men and women. They have been replaced with dis‑
torted views of women and of male-female relationships, and these distor‑
tions have been promoted through culture and tradition. Because of these
lost truths, women and men alike do not understand a woman’s nature,
potential, role, and unique contribution to the world. The result is that
women are misunderstood, held back from fulfilling their potential, and
abused. The hurt, loss, trauma, and physical peril this has placed on
women are tragic. There has been a terrible waste of life and potential
over hundreds and thousands of years; this waste has been catastrophic
not only for women, but also for men and human society as a whole.
We must look beyond the cultures of the world and rediscover
intrinsic truths about the nature of women and men. We must transcend
tradition and recapture biblical principles that can free women to be ful‑
filled and valued, regardless of their nationality or geographic location.
Thought for the Day

We must transcend tradition and recapture biblical principles
that can free women to be fulfilled and valued.
February 43
February 3
What Is a Woman’s Place?
“A woman’s place is in the home.”
“A woman’s place is in the world—in business,
education, and government.”
O ver the years, the controversy over the role, position, and rights
of the woman has often centered on these apparently competing
views of what a woman’s place is. Both of these views fail to capture the
essence of a woman’s purpose and design.
Where, ultimately, is a woman’s place? A woman’s place, before any-
thing else, is in God. (The same is true for a man.) It is in the way He cre‑
ated her, in the tremendous value He gives her, and in the purposes He
has for her. Only when we grasp the implications of this truth will we
resolve the controversy and conflict surrounding the role of the woman
in the world.
The nature of the woman must be understood in light of her pur‑
pose, and her needs must be understood in light of her nature. Other‑
wise, she will be unable to fulfill the purpose for which she was created.
A woman’s position and rights are God-given and inherent.
The most important thing we can find out about ourselves and
others is the purpose of our existence. In coming days, we will learn
the female’s design and needs, while also making reference to how her
makeup complements the makeup of the male.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
(Psalm 90:1)
Thought for the Day

Before anything else, a woman’s place is in God.

February 4
One in Christ
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.…There is neither
Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
—Galatians 3:26, 28
W hat is the ultimate cause of the universal devaluing of women

in societies around the globe? Culture cannot take the full
blame, because the problem spans ages and cultures and seems to point
to a deep-seated discord or adversarial relationship between men and
women. Women as well as men need to understand the inherent nature
of the woman, because most women have developed their identity from
men, and they do not see themselves as God does. Women have essen‑
tially become the products of the societies in which they were born and
raised.
Men and women were created equal. Men and women are equal.
That’s not for a senate or a congress or a cabinet or a parliament of any
nation to decide. God already made this decision in creation! Then He
reaffirmed it with the redemption of mankind in Jesus Christ. Male and
female are one in Christ. Don’t ever give anybody the right to say what
kind of human value you have. Don’t let anybody else tell you how much
of a person you are. When you understand that equality is inherent in
creation and discover how it is to be manifested in your life, then you can
begin to live in the full realm of that equality, regardless of what others
tell you about yourself.
Thought for the Day

Male and female are one in Christ.
February 45
February 5
Different, Not Superior or Inferior
T oday those who advocate equal rights say that there is no differ‑
ence at all between women and men. Yet while women and men
were created equal, they were also created different. This is part of their
unique design. This statement may confuse some and anger others,
because somehow we have come to believe that different means inferior or
superior. Don’t confuse being different with being either lesser or greater.
Different does not imply superiority or inferiority; different simply means
different. This is especially true in regard to men and women; their dif‑
ferences are necessary because of their purposes.
In many spheres of life, we don’t consider differences to be weak‑
nesses but rather mutual strengths. In music, who is more important to
a full symphony orchestra, a violin player or an oboe player? Both work
together in harmony. In sports, who is more important to a medley relay,
the swimmer who swims the breaststroke or the swimmer who swims the
backstroke? Both have to be strong swimmers in their particular special‑
ties, for a medley race cannot be swum with only one type of swimmer.
When they win, they share the honor together.
The answer to the historical devaluing of women does not lie in
declaring that there are no differences between females and males, but
in recognizing and affirming their complementary differences. We must
understand and accept these differences so they can be used in harmony
like a finely tuned orchestra.
Thought for the Day

Different does not imply superiority or inferiority;
different simply means different.

February 6
Competition or Cooperation?
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if
one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and
has no one to help him up!
—Ecclesiastes 4:9–10
I f males and females were created with perfectly complementary

designs, why do men and women experience conflict and competition
rather than cooperation? Why does the purpose of dominion over the
earth seem more like a quest for domination of one sex over the other?
God created men and women to dominate the earth, not one another!
Males and females were created in God’s image. The basis of their
equality before God is that man, the spirit, resides within both of them.
As physical beings they were created of the same essence, but differently—
because each has been designed with specific purposes to fulfill. The
different ways in which their dominion assignment is carried out does
not affect their equality; it only reflects their distinct purposes, designs,
and needs.
The male was created to exercise dominion over the earth through
his priority, position, and assignment. The female was created to help
the male fulfill God’s dominion purposes for mankind in both the
earthly and spiritual realms. It is God’s intention that, together, their
individual strengths would combine to produce exponential results (as
the Scripture says in Ecclesiastes, “They have a good return for their work”)—
outcomes much greater than either could accomplish alone. The woman
adds to the man’s power in living and working, so that the sum is far
greater than its parts.
Thought for the Day

God created men and women to dominate the earth,
not one another!
February 47
February 7
Do Men Honor Women?
Treat [wives] with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs
with you of the gracious gift of life.
—1 Peter 3:7
O ne of the reasons the plight of women has been such a difficult

issue to remedy is that it is not easy to change a man’s mind about
a woman’s place in the world. The idea that this is a man’s world is very
deeply entrenched. Even though legislation might be passed or public
policy might change, you can’t easily change a man’s mind-set.
God’s intent that women be equal heirs with men in creation and
redemption remains largely an ignored truth. Men’s internal devalu‑
ing of women is the reason they generally continue to be discounted
and exploited in almost every society in the world, regardless of recent
social and political advances. In industrial nations as well as developing
nations, the plight of the female is still very real. It is tragic to have to
admit this is true in our modern society.
Many women are involved in opportunities and activities that were
formerly reserved for males, such as leadership, management, and sports.
However, although we can say that there has been some improvement,
in most societies, women are still suffering the prejudice of the male
against the female. Men’s hearts cannot be changed by legislation. Even
though the law now says, “Women are equal to men,” this doesn’t mean
that men think so. The persistent devaluing of women continues to hold
back progress, and women are being treated in every way except in the
way God originally intended: “Heirs with you of the gracious gift of life.”
Thought for the Day

God’s intent that women be equal heirs with men in creation and
redemption remains largely an ignored truth.
Reading: Leviticus 1–3; Matthew 24:1–28

February 8
A Change of Perspective
J ohn 4 tells us about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at

the well. When Jesus first began to speak with her, she was wary of
Him. It was unheard of for a Jewish man to speak to a Samaritan, espe‑
cially a woman. She spoke to Him only in the context of the prejudices
between the Samaritans and the Jews that prevailed at that time. “You are
a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John
4:9). Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks
you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living
water” (v. 10).
The woman had a problem, and it was not that she was being rude.
She thought that since Jesus was a Jew and she was a Samaritan woman,
He wouldn’t speak with her. She didn’t know who He really was. He was
saying, in effect, “If you only knew who was talking to you, everything
would be all right. However, I know you don’t know, so go ahead and
talk foolishly for a few minutes.” He allowed her to be foolish. Then He
said, “Let Me tell you who I am,” and He began to reveal to her the deep
secrets of her heart. After that, she changed the way she thought about
Him. She said, “You are a prophet” (v. 19).
Next, she went into the town and said, “Come, see a man who told me
everything I ever did” (v. 29). She didn’t say, “Come, see a Jew” but “Come,
see a man.” People will change their perspective toward you when they
know why you’re here, when they begin to understand your purpose.
Thought for the Day

The Samaritan woman didn’t know who Jesus really was.
February 49
February 9
God Transforms Us
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies
as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of
worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
—Romans 12:1–2
G od’s ways will transform your spirit, your mind, and your outlook.
When you present yourself to God and learn from Him, you will
begin to understand His purpose. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving
the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple”
(Psalm 19:7).
The greatest way for you to find purpose is to yield your life to the Man‑
ufacturer. You shouldn’t come to God because it’s the religious thing to do.
You shouldn’t come to God because “everybody” is doing it. You shouldn’t
come to God because it’s good to be a part of the church. You should come
to God because you want to find out how not to waste your life. No one
knows you like the One who made you. That’s the bottom line.
We are so special to God that He sent His only Son to die for us.
There must be something unique about each one of us for God to want
us to receive salvation so that we can fulfill the purpose for which He
gave us life. We need to seek Him earnestly in order to discover that
purpose. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”
(Jeremiah 29:13).
Thought for the Day

The greatest way for you to find purpose is to yield your
life to the Manufacturer.

February 10
Woman as Enhancer
M ales were not meant to live in isolation or fulfill their calling on

their own. Although the male was created first and was given
the role of foundation and responsible spiritual leader, the female is an
enhancer, a coleader. She shares his vision and works with him to accom‑
plish what they were both created to do. The woman takes who the man
is and what the man has and enlarges and extends it. In this way, his
leadership is effective and their shared vision becomes reality.
God always tells you why He makes something before He makes it.
“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper
suitable for him’” (Genesis 2:18). Therefore, the first purpose of the female
as enhancer is to be a companion for the male, so that he won’t be alone.
The word alone is made up of two words, “all” and “one.” When you put
these words together, you see that alone basically means “all in one.”
God said, “It is not good for this male to be all in one, having every‑
thing in himself.” God made the female so that the male would have
someone to give to, someone to share his vision with, someone to be a
part of his life. Isn’t it sad that many men don’t see women in this way?
The female was created so that the male would not have to be alone. She
is his life companion. “To companion” means to accompany, to attend,
and even to guide someone. It is in this sense that a woman is a man’s
companion.
Thought for the Day

The woman shares the man’s vision and works with him to
accomplish what they were both created to do.
February 51
February 11
For Man’s Good
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
—Genesis 1:31
B efore the creation of Eve, God said, “It is not good for this male to
be alone.” It is clear that, when God made this statement, He meant
that what He was about to create for Adam would be good for him.
Therefore, God’s Word affirms, “Women are good. Females are good.”
The woman was created for the man’s good.
I want to say to my female readers that God knew what men needed,
and it was you! When something is made for something else, it has within
it that which the other thing needs. When something is made to be good
for something else, it has that which is good for the other thing. There‑
fore, everything God created the female to be is good for the male.
A female is very good for a male, but where purpose is not known,
abuse is inevitable. A woman can abuse her nature and purpose if she
doesn’t understand why she is the way she is. In addition, a woman who
does not understand her purpose can be a detriment to a man, and a
man who doesn’t understand the woman’s purpose can be a detriment
to a woman.
Yet God said that the highest good for a man, besides Himself, is
a woman. So, in some mysterious way, in spite of what your past experi‑
ences in relationships might have been, a woman is, by her very nature,
good for a man.
Thought for the Day

Women, God knew what men needed, and it was you!

February 12
Created to Be a Helpmate
I will make a helper suitable for him.
—Genesis 2:18
A woman is a helpful agent for a man. In God’s wisdom, if a woman

is meant to be a helper, she has been designed with many qualities
and abilities that equip her to help. Remember that the Creator always has
a plan for His creations.
The woman’s purpose is to assist the man in fulfilling God’s plan
for his life. The implications of this are profound. First, it means the
male has to have a plan; otherwise, the female is in trouble. Second, it
means that the female must understand that her fulfillment is related to
the male’s vision. In other words, she can never really be complete if she
does not help him fulfill his vision.
When a wife decides she wants a completely different vision for her
life than her husband’s vision, they will experience a division. Di means
two or double. The word division could be thought of as “double vision.”
Whenever you have a couple who has double vision, they are in danger
of divorce, because “a house divided against itself will fall” (Luke 11:17).
You can’t have two visions in the same household, or the man and the
woman will be going in different directions. That is why God created the
woman to be in a helping position. Helpers don’t take over; rather, they
assist. This certainly does not mean that a woman should not have her
own interests and develop her own abilities. It means that, as a couple,
they need to share the same vision for their lives.
Thought for the Day

You can’t have two visions in the same household, or the man
and the woman will be going in different directions.
Reading: Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26–50
February 53
February 13
Woman as Reflector
S everal times in Ephesians 5, Paul exhorted men to love their wives:

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself
up for her.…Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself.…Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves
himself” (Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33).
The single most important reason that the female was created was
so that she could receive love. Therefore, the first purpose of the female
as reflector is that she was made to be the receiver of the male’s love and
to reflect the love that he gives her.
When God made woman, He drew her out of man so that the man
would have someone to love who was of his own nature. In this way, the
man was created to be a giver of love and the woman to be a receiver of
love. Remember that man, the spirit, was created out of the essence of
God and in the image of God in order to receive God’s love. The female
was created in the same pattern. She was made out of the essence of the
male and in the physical image of the male in order to receive the male’s
love.
What this means is that God has designed the woman to function
on love. Love is the fuel of a female. When you don’t give a car fuel, it
can’t run. The same thing happens for humans. In the woman’s case, if
you don’t give her the love God meant for her to receive, she can’t fully
function in the way God created her to function. In order to be fulfilled,
the woman needs love.
Thought for the Day

The primary purpose of the female’s receiving nature
is to receive love.
Reading: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51–75

February 14
The Attributes of Love
W hy are men to love women? The man should love the woman
because she was drawn from him and is a part of him. If he
doesn’t love her, it is the equivalent of the man hating himself. (See
Ephesians 5:29.) A husband treats himself well when he treats his wife
well. The man’s role, then, is to love his wife as himself, with all the attri‑
butes of love that are found in the Love Chapter:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4–8)
When you give a woman love, she comes alive. Yet when she receives
anything less than genuine love, it is as if she short-circuits. When you
don’t love a woman, you are abusing her very nature. A woman will
reflect the love or lack of love that she receives.
It is interesting to note that nowhere in the Bible does God tell the
woman to love the man. A wife is instructed to respect her husband, to
honor him, and to submit to him. Yet God commands the husband over
and over again to love his wife. You would be wise, men, to obey the
Lord’s counsel; it is meant for your best!
Thought for the Day

The man’s role is to love his wife with all the attributes
of love found in 1 Corinthians 13.
February 55
February 15
Love Expressed through Affection
W hat is affection? One definition is “tender attachment.” Women

need to have love continually expressed to them through affec‑
tion, including tender words and gestures.
Men are basically logical and unemotional in their outlook on life,
and they have a tendency to treat women in the same manner. Yet because
of the way women are designed, they interpret a man’s logical approach
as coldness. Men need to learn how to love their wives in such a way that
they can understand and receive their love. It isn’t enough for a man to
think that he is giving a woman love; he needs to learn the ways in which
she receives love. He needs to learn how women in general recognize
love, and he needs to learn how his wife in particular recognizes love.
Again, a woman functions on love; she needs to hear it expressed
often. Many women say that receiving gestures of kindness and tender‑
ness on a regular basis from their husbands, such as physical affection,
notes, and flowers, is what communicates love to them. It is not the
expense of the gifts as much as the true thoughtfulness behind them and
the consistency of receiving them that makes the difference.
Many men believe that they are expressing proper love to their wives
by providing them with the essentials in life, such as shelter, food, and
clothing, or by giving them expensive items, such as major appliances,
cars, and even diamond jewelry. Certainly, many men give these things
out of a motivation of love; however, giving such material items is not
the essence of love—the essence of love is the giving of oneself. (See Ephe‑
sians 5:25.)
Thought for the Day

Women need to have love expressed to them through affection,
including tender words and gestures.

February 16
Restoring Damage from the Fall
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
—Colossians 3:19
W hy must husbands be commanded to love their wives? It is because

the fall damaged the male’s God-given natural love for the
female, so that he wants to rule over her rather than to love her as him-
self. This is why, as the male is being restored to God’s original design
through redemption in Christ, he needs to be instructed to love the
woman. For the same reason, the female’s God-given natural respect for
the male was damaged, and that is why she needs to be instructed to
respect him. Thus, when God’s purposes are restored, peace is reestab‑
lished between males and females. However, when the fallen nature is
allowed free reign, there is discord.
When Paul said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25), he was saying, in effect,
“Husband, above all else, love your wife. Don’t worry about other things
before that, because you can take care of those things in due course.
If you love her, you will take care of many other problems and poten‑
tial problems in your marriage. With love, she will function properly,
because she was born to be loved.”
A woman will reflect the love that she receives. When she is loved,
she is better able to live a life of joy and peace, even in the midst of dif‑
ficult circumstances. When she is unloved, it is as if there is a weight on
her heart. Any man who violates a woman’s need for love is misusing and
abusing God’s purpose for the woman.
Thought for the Day

When God’s purposes are restored, peace is reestablished
between males and females.
February 57
February 17
Set Apart as Special
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her, that He might sanctify…her.
—Ephesians 5:25–26 (nkjv)
I f a man is going to love his wife, he has to keep company with Christ.
He has to find out how Christ loved His church. It will take a lifetime
to study that manual on love! Christ “gave Himself for her.” Then He sanc‑
tified her.
To sanctify something means to take it away from all else, set it
apart in a special place, care for it every day, and value it as a priceless
gem. To sanctify something means that you do not allow anything near
it that would hurt or destroy it. It is set apart for special use. This means
that you don’t pass it around. It is not available to entertain other people.
In Song of Songs, King Solomon speaks of the special love a man is to
have for the bride he has set apart for himself:
You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delight-
ful is your love my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your
love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!
(Song of Songs 4:9–10)
When a man really loves his wife, he considers her the crème de
la crème. When she receives such love, she will reflect it in her counte‑
nance, the way she looks at life, and in her interactions with others.
Thought for the Day

If a man is going to love his wife, he has to keep
company with Christ.
Reading: Leviticus 21–22; Matthew 28

February 18
Giving Affirmation
I n the last several days, we have been discussing a woman’s innate need
to receive love primarily as expressed in the setting of the marriage
relationship. Yet, how does this principle of a woman’s need for love apply
to women whom men may associate with through work or church?
Men can help build women’s self-esteem by valuing them and treat‑
ing them with kindness and Christian love. Women need the affirma‑
tion of men, just as men need the respect of women. Of course, this
affirmation must always be given with wisdom, so that women never
get the idea that the man is expressing anything more than a Christlike
concern. These points are particularly important for men to understand,
since they are often in positions of authority over women—in the church,
in the workplace, and in other realms of life—and they influence wom‑
en’s perspectives and attitudes.
We can return to 1 Corinthians 13 as the man’s guide to respect‑
ing and affirming women in any interaction or relationship he has with
them. Men need to remember that females who are under their authority
or supervision need to be treated with consideration so that the nature
that God has given them will not be quenched. “Love is patient, love is
kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians
13:4–5). When men reflect the love and nature of Christ in their deal‑
ings with women, the women will reflect the love and nature of Christ
in return.
Thought for the Day

Men can build women’s self-esteem by valuing them and treating
them with kindness and Christian love.
Reading: Leviticus 23–24; Mark 1:1–22
February 59
February 19
Five Vital Purposes of the Male
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and take care of it.
—Genesis 2:15
T o become true men, males must reconnect to God’s original con‑

cept of manhood in creation. The only way for a man to discover
and live out his inherent masculine nature is to maintain a focus on
purpose rather than roles that are related to a certain culture or time in
history. Purpose is the key to manhood.
What do we know of God’s plan for the first man? First, God put
Adam in the garden of Eden. He didn’t allow the man to wander around
in an attempt to find it. He also did not leave Eden as an option, which
means that “Eden” is a requirement for a male. God made the man and
told him, “This is where you belong.”
After placing him in Eden, God commanded the man to work.
Note that work was given to the male even before the female was cre‑
ated. Work also came before the fall. Just to set the record straight, work
is not a part of the curse. We can cause it to be a curse if we make it an
idol and become workaholics. But work itself is a gift from God. The
man was also instructed to “take care” of the garden. The Hebrew word
translated “take care” denotes guarding, watching over, preserving, and
protecting it.
During the next week, we will discuss five vital purposes of the
male that men need to know to bring restoration to their own lives and
to their families. These five purposes are natural outcomes of who God
has created men to be.
Thought for the Day

Work came before the fall; work itself is a gift from God.
Reading: Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23–45

February 20
The Male’s Purpose, Part 1:
To Dwell in God’s Presence
T he first thing God did after creating the man was to put him in
Eden. His first purpose for the male, therefore, is that he dwell in
His presence. The word Eden in Hebrew is written with five strokes, each
stroke a symbol representing a word or a character. When I studied the
five strokes, I saw that they indicated spot, moment, presence, open door, and
delightful place. Here is my interpretation of the word Eden. God took the
man and put him in a spot, for the moment, where the presence of God
was an open door to heaven.
The Scripture says the Lord planted, or established, the garden. He
established a spot on the earth that His presence literally came down
from heaven and touched so that it was a door of open access to heaven.
Adam didn’t have to do anything “religious” to enter the presence of
God. He walked and talked directly with God in the cool of the day.
Why did God give the male Eden first, before the female? Because
He wanted the male to have access to God first so he could always know
the will of God for those who came out of him. In other words, Eden is
for leadership access.
The first thing God gave Adam was His own presence. Likewise, the
first thing you need in your life—whether you are a policeman, a politi‑
cian, a CEO, a mechanic, an IT specialist, a doctor, or a carpenter—is
the presence of God. A man needs God’s presence before he needs the
presence of a woman. Adam was already in Eden when God presented
Eve to him. Eve met Adam in Eden where he was dwelling in the pres‑
ence of God.
Thought for the Day

The first thing you need in your life is the presence of God!
Reading: Leviticus 26–27; Mark 2
February 61
February 21
God’s Presence Is Life
D o not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” was
David’s cry in Psalm 51:11. For a male, the presence of God is like
water to a fish or soil to a plant. If you take the fish out of water or the
plant out of soil, it malfunctions and dies. If you take the male out of
God’s presence, he will malfunction and die. This is why Satan will do
anything possible to keep a man away from the presence of God. Satan
wants the men to drop the women off at church and then go to play or
watch sports or do some other activity.
Yet, when a man falls in love with God’s presence, that man begins
to truly function. The Bible says God dwells in the praises of His people.
(See Psalm 22:3 kjv.) In Israel, the priests were the ones who led the
worship—and all the priests were men. But today, when you bring a man
into a worship service, he sits there as cool as a cucumber. He’s too cool
to say amen, too cool to clap, too cool to lift his hands, too cool to sing
to God. He doesn’t realize Satan has him cold, because he doesn’t want
him to get into God’s presence.
At home, many men make their wives lead family devotions. The
devil doesn’t want men to start leading devotions because, if they do,
the presence of God will come to their homes. During the years when
my children were growing up, every morning I would say to them, “We
are going to sing praises to God.” I was blessed to lead them into God’s
presence. “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the
light of your presence, O Lord” (Psalm 89:15).
Thought for the Day

When a man falls in love with God’s presence, that man begins
to truly function.
Reading: Numbers 1–2; Mark 3:1–19

February 22
To Manifest What God Put inside Him
—Genesis 2:15
T he second purpose for a male is work. I researched the word work

and found that in one sense it means “to become.” Work is not
something you do; it is something you become. It is manifesting what
God has put inside you. What are you becoming?
Many people are poor and struggling because they have found a job
but have not found their true work. A fulfilled man is someone who has
discovered who and what he is supposed to become. There’s some work
God wanted manifested on earth that He buried inside you. He wants
you to reveal it. You are not a mistake.
When you go to your job every day, are you becoming what you
dreamed of? Perhaps you are in the right place with your employment
and you thank God for it. But too many people’s jobs stop them from
becoming. There’s no room for them to become, and their manhood is
stifled by a job they hate.
Work reveals the potential God has placed within you. Suppose I have
a mango seed, and I plant it and say to it, “Work.” I’m telling it that I want
to see a tree with mangos that have their own seed in them and can nourish
people. Notice what happens when the mango tree fulfills its purpose. No
mango tree eats its own mangos. The fruit is not for the tree’s own benefit
but for the benefit of others. You, too, were born with something “trapped”
in you that the world is meant to benefit from, and that’s your work.
Thought for the Day

God buried inside you some work He wants manifested on earth.
February 63
February 23
Do You Have Just a Job?
M any men are afraid to talk about their dreams, but God is saying
to you, “Manifest yourself! I want to see what I put into you.”
I don’t have a “job” anymore, but I used to. I worked for the Baha‑
mas government for twelve years. I taught junior high school for five
years. I worked in a food store before that, packing shelves. I worked in
a warehouse lifting boxes. I worked in an ad firm, doing advertisements,
drawings, and so forth. These were learning experiences. Then I found
my true work of helping others understand how to manifest their God-
given leadership potential. I don’t wake up in the morning and “go” to
work. I wake up and become what God created me to be.
Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 kjv). When
other people see your work, when they see you manifesting what God
put into you, they will glorify God. You were born to do something so
awesome that only God could get the credit for it. Purpose is the reason
for your being born; it’s why you exist.
While purpose is why you were born, vision is when you start seeing
it yourself. I believe most men have already been seeing or sensing their
purpose, but it is so big that they’re afraid of it. That’s why they settle for
jobs they hate. A God-given purpose can be fulfilled only through His
guidance and strength. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”
(Ephesians 3:20).
Thought for the Day

You were born to do something so awesome that only God
could get the credit for it.

February 24
To Be a Cultivator
—Genesis 2:15
G od placed Adam in the garden not only to work it, but also to take
care of it. This leads us to the third purpose of the male: to be a
cultivator. Men, I want you to fully realize that you do not just cultivate—
you are cultivators by nature. You are cultivators designed by God. This
means you improve things, maximizing the potential of the people and
resources around you.
You are designed to bring out the best in everything under your
care. This is why God will not give you a finished product. For example,
He won’t give you a business. Instead, He’ll give you an idea and say,
“I want you to bring the best out of that. Cultivate it.” I built my orga‑
nization from seven people to one hundred full-time workers with the
potential of reaching millions of people every week. People see the orga‑
nization for what it is today, but I had to cultivate it every single day of
the last thirty years.
God hid products and resources in the physical world and watched
to see what we would do with them. You will never be given a finished
product by God. He’ll only give you raw material. God won’t even give
you a completed woman. The perfect woman that many men are looking
for does not exist. They get divorced because they are disappointed in the
women they married. They don’t understand that you have to cultivate
your wife. It is your job to love her as God loves her by helping her maxi‑
mize her potential, improve her life situation, and be the best she can be.
Thought for the Day

You are designed to bring out the best in everything
under your care.
February 65
February 25
Cultivating Your Wife
W hen I first married my wife, Ruth, she was so introverted that I

had to encourage her to talk to me. Four people were too much
of a crowd for her. She was afraid of expressing herself. When I discov‑
ered being a cultivator was part of my purpose as a husband, I began to
draw out of her what she really had inside her. Today, my wife travels
around the world ministering and speaking to thousands and tens of
thousands of people. This is the woman who was afraid to be in a room
with four people. God wants you to help your wife fulfill the plans He
has for her.
The Scripture says,
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with
water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and
blameless. (Ephesians 5:25–27)
Jesus Christ is a Husband. His wife’s name is Ecclesia (the church,
the bride of Christ). He will minister to her and develop her until she
is “radiant” and everything He desires her to be. He will present her as a
glorious bride. This is the way husbands are to love their wives. In other
words, if you are not proud of your wife, you are the failure. If you are
ashamed of your wife, you should be ashamed of yourself. The more you
criticize her, the more evidence there is of your failure. Instead, the lon‑
ger your wife lives with you, the better she should become. A godly man
brings out the best in his wife.
Thought for the Day

The longer your wife lives with you, the better
she should become.

February 26
To Be a Protector
T he fourth purpose of the male is to protect. Men, even though many

women may feel they are able to protect themselves, you are still
called to be the protector of your family. Remember that God told Adam
to guard everything in the garden. You were designed to guard and
defend, and to cover everything under your care and in your sphere of
influence. That includes your wife, your children, your neighbors, and
your community.
Many men don’t think about protecting others—they think about
how they can use them. If you are a single man on a date with a young
lady, you are supposed to protect her from even your own sexual desires.
She is supposed to feel safe in your automobile. You are supposed to
guard her virginity, not destroy it. Real men protect; they don’t seduce.
God designed you with physical strength in order to defend women, not
to use your strength to overpower them. That is abuse of power. You are
supposed to be the safest place any woman can be.
Many men use their gifts to destroy women. Christ protected
women! He was a guard for them. Children were safe with Him. He
blessed them. He didn’t abuse them. A godly man always leaves a woman
better when she leaves his presence. Let this be the last day you abuse or
misuse a woman. Say, “Lord, forgive me for any time that I have used,
manipulated, or abused a woman. Forgive me, and may they forgive me.
Today, I am a guard, a protector, and a preserver. Amen.”
Thought for the Day

Men, you were designed to guard, defend, and cover everything
under your care and in your sphere of influence.
February 67
February 27
To Be a Teacher
A fifth vital purpose of the male is to teach the instructions God gave
him. Adam was formed first. God put him in the garden and gave
him instructions concerning it. (See Genesis 2:15–17.) He was meant
to pass along those instructions to Eve and other family members who
would come after him.
Men need to learn the Word of God so they can be in a position to
teach it. Whatever God creates something to do, He builds in the capac‑
ity to do it. God built men with the teacher psyche. Men in all countries
are wired to be teachers. God created the husband to give instruction
and the wife to receive his teaching and then command the children.
You are the teacher in your home. You are the one who is supposed
to have the information, the instruction. It starts with you. That means
you have to hear from God first. Perhaps you have never read the Bible.
You may have read a few verses from Psalms, but you’ve never read the
Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You’re forty years old and you’ve never
read the Bible, but you’re attempting to be the head of the home!
Can you teach your wife the Word of God? Do you know enough of
the Word to become the teacher of your children? If the answer is no, get
busy and make a commitment to read the New Testament first. We need
men who know the Word, not men who know the football scores and the
names of every player on their favorite basketball team. I challenge you to
read and study the Word of God for yourself and your family!
Thought for the Day

Men need to learn the Word of God so they can be in
a position to teach it.

February 28
The Marks of a Man of Purpose
T o sum up the five vital purposes of a male, here are the marks of a
man of purpose:
1. He loves Eden. He loves God’s presence. He possesses a true self-

image based on his knowledge that God created him in His own
image. He knows who he is.
2. He desires to work. If you meet a man who doesn’t like work, he’s
not a real man, a man of purpose.
3. He is able to cultivate.
4. He commits to protect everything under his care.
5. He knows the Word of God, and he teaches it.
What a beautiful picture of a true man. What a picture of father‑

hood that reflects the Father God. If I was a woman, I’d marry that man
right away! He knows who he is, where he is, and what he’s supposed to
be doing. He’s able to cultivate, protect, and teach God’s Word. Many
women are confused today because they can’t find that man. They meet
men who have high-paying jobs, wear nice clothes, and own expensive
houses, but who don’t know what really matters. Or they meet men who
are wandering aimlessly in life, unable to support themselves because
they have no clear purpose. Women are asking, “What’s happening?”
Men, I want to see you change things in your life, family, job, min‑
istry, and community by understanding and fulfilling your God-given
purpose. You will discover your true image and your true purpose only
in your Creator.
Thought for the Day

A man of purpose knows who he is, where he is,
and what he’s supposed to be doing.
February 69
February 29
Principles of the Male’s Purpose
T oday, review these principles of the male’s purpose and reflect on

how you can apply them in your everyday life—directly for yourself, if
you are a man, and in your relationships with men, if you are a woman.
1. The only way for a man to discover and live out his inherent nature
is to maintain a focus on his God-given purpose rather than on roles
that are related to a certain culture or time in history.
2. Five vital purposes of the male are (1) to dwell in God’s presence, (2)
to manifest what God put inside him, (3) to be a cultivator, (4) to be
a protector, and (5) to be a teacher.
3. When a man gets into God’s presence, he begins to function
again.
4. Work reveals the potential God has placed within you. You were
born with something “trapped” in you that the world is meant to
benefit from.
5. God doesn’t give the finished product but the raw material with
which to cultivate.
6. Men are designed to guard, defend, and cover everything under
their care and in their spheres of influence.
7. The male must know God’s Word in order to teach his wife and
children.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
Father God, You have given us Your Word as a light to guide

us in our way. We have been created with a purpose that comes
directly from You. You have designed the male with the inher‑
ent ability to be a protector, cultivator, and teacher. Please help
us to see Your design clearly so that we can walk in it and fulfill
our purpose on this earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.

March 1
Is Your Marriage an “Experiment?”
D o you know what most marriages are today? Big experiments. Some
men think, “I don’t really know what a wife is for, but I’m old
enough to get married, so I’m going to have one.” They get married just
because they’re twenty-five. All right, then what? Do you know what you
have? After three weeks, you realize your wife doesn’t agree with you on
everything. The experiment isn’t working. She begins to ask for things
like time. She wants love and affection and attention. She wants appre‑
ciation. If you are in this situation, you may say, “Hey, I didn’t bargain for
all that.” Well, my friend, marriage is not a trial run. “The two will become
one flesh.…So they are no longer two, but one” (Matthew 19:5–6).
God knew exactly what He wanted when He thought of the male
and female. This means that He is the only One who knows how human‑
ity is intended to function. “Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made
you and formed you?” (Deuteronomy 32:6). If you have any questions about
your relationship with your spouse, you should check the Manual. If you
don’t know the purpose of something, all you can do is experiment.
Everybody who doesn’t know his or her purpose is just experimenting
with life.
Because God’s purposes for us are so essential, over the next week
we will explore the consequences of experimenting with life, as well as
the blessings of living in the purposes for which God has called us, espe‑
cially in our relationships.
Thought for the Day

God is the only One who knows how humanity is
intended to function.
March 71
March 2
We Are Not Divine Experiments
D o you begin building a house when you dig the foundation? No,
you begin building it when the idea is conceived. This means that
the finished house is in the unseen. People pass by the property, and they
don’t see it. However, to you who understand and know what is going to
happen, it is already finished. Digging the foundation is the beginning
of the implementation of your purpose. So, after you dig the foundation,
when somebody asks you, “What are you doing?” your answer is very
definite. You point to the architect’s rendering of the house and say, “I
am building this.”
Likewise, God in His wisdom is not guessing about His plans for us—
for humanity as a whole or for each of us individually. God has already
decided on His purpose. He has the complete picture. It’s on His draw‑
ing board. It’s His vision for us. It isn’t an afterthought. In Genesis 1,
we read how He began to dig the foundation of humanity: “Let us make
man in our image, in our likeness” (v. 26). Genesis was not the beginning of
a supernatural experiment with an unknown outcome. Genesis was the
beginning of the production of something that was sure.
What we need to understand is that when God created the male
and the female, He had already predetermined what we were supposed to
be and do. We are not divine experiments! Together, males and females
are an intentional divine project with a predetermined purpose.
Thought for the Day

God in His wisdom is not guessing about His plans for us.

March 3
Being Sincerely Wrong
M oses told the Israelites that it is possible to commit a wrong unin‑

tentionally. He offered them God’s forgiveness for such a case:
“The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they
will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have brought to the Lord for
their wrong an offering made by fire and a sin offering” (Numbers 15:25).
Remember, if you don’t know the purpose of something, you will
misuse or abuse it in some way. That’s why it’s possible to be sincerely
wrong. It’s possible to be faithfully wrong. It’s possible to be seriously wrong.
You’re serious, but you’re wrong, because you don’t know the purpose
for the thing you’re involved in. This principle holds true for everything,
including people.
How many people go into marriage very seriously? Most people do.
They go to the church, stand at the altar, and say to their betrothed, “I
will love you until I die.” They’re very serious. But then they “die” in six
months. At least their love dies. Then their family and friends try to figure
out what happened. Their marriage failed because they didn’t understand
the purpose of marriage, the purpose of a mate, or the purpose of family.
Because they didn’t understand these things, they abused their union.
People abuse things because they just don’t know their purposes
or they disregard their purposes. When males and females don’t know
God’s intentions, they end up abusing each other, even if they don’t
mean to. If men and women are going to solve their current identity cri‑
sis and fulfill their purposes as husbands and wives, and as fathers and
mothers, they must rediscover God’s plan for them. Otherwise, they will
hurt those around them, even if it’s unintentional.
Thought for the Day

If you’re sincere yet don’t know your purpose, you
will be sincerely wrong.
March 73
March 4
Experimenting with Life
I n the last few days, we have seen that whenever you don’t know the
purpose of something, you’re experimenting. Many people today—
especially young people—are experimenting with life. They don’t know
what education is for, so they treat school like an experiment. They skip
classes and spend their time partying, then they flunk out. They experi‑
ment with sex and sexual identity, and they end up with all kinds of
problems. They experiment with drugs and hurt their bodies.
When I was a boy, I was tempted to experiment in order to find out
about life. I’m grateful God protected me from much of that. But many of
the young people with whom I grew up did not make it through their experi‑
mentation. The experiment blew up. Some are dead. The bodies of oth‑
ers are contaminated and wrecked from using destructive substances. They
didn’t know the purpose of the elements they were using. “There is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
I’d like to say to the young people reading this devotional: if you
want to know why you were born, the worst people to ask are your friends,
because your friends are trying to figure out why they’re here, too. If you
want to know the reason for your existence, don’t ask another product;
ask the Manufacturer. Everyone else is guessing.
What we’ve been doing all these years is asking the product why it
exists. Because the world doesn’t understand much about the reason for
the existence of things, it functions like one big experimental lab. All
of us seem to have been assuming the position of scientists. We have
imagined that we have the time and intelligence to discover the reason
for our existence through experimentation. Then we find out that life is
short and that we’re very poor researchers.
Thought for the Day

If you want to know why you were born, ask the Manufacturer.
Everyone else is just guessing!

March 5
Life Is Precious
L ife is too precious to be treated like a trial run. The only way to avoid
the cost of trial and error is to learn the purpose of your life. Think
about a car mechanic. If he’s just experimenting, he won’t last long in the
automotive business. If he says, “I wonder what this part is for? Let me
guess what section of the engine I should attach it to,” that’s experimen‑
tation. He doesn’t know what the manufacturer had in mind.
Well, if you wouldn’t let an inexperienced mechanic work on your
car, what about your life? No university professor knows people well
enough to write a definitive book about what makes us tick. No psycholo‑
gist or psychiatrist truly knows me. God wrote a Manual on His product,
and the product is me. Tell yourself, “I’m an expensive product. I won’t
let anyone experiment with me.” It’s a dangerous thing for us to experi‑
ment with this precious commodity called life.
In the Psalms, we are reminded that God’s Manual, the Word,
directs our way. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”
(Psalm 119:105). “Your statues [Word] are my heritage forever; they are the
joy of my heart” (v. 111). “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives under-
standing to the simple” (v. 130). If we look to ourselves or others, rather
than to God and His Manual, to learn our reason for living, we will
travel an unreliable and hazardous course in life.
Thought for the Day

It’s a dangerous thing for us to experiment with this
precious commodity called life.
March 75
March 6
Unaware of Purpose
E veryone on earth has a purpose, but most people are unaware of their
purposes. When Adam and Eve turned their backs on God and His
ways, they ended up losing their knowledge of His intent for themselves
and for the world. Rejecting God was the equivalent of buying a sophisti‑
cated and intricate piece of equipment and then throwing away the user’s
manual. If you get something to work under those circumstances, it is
only by chance. The more likely scenario is that you will never get it to
function properly. It will never fulfill its complete purpose.
Likewise, humanity has not respected the fact that God’s creation
and His directions for living were established for a specific reason. If that
purpose continues to be abandoned, males and females will never func‑
tion properly as human beings. This dangerous situation leads again to
one of our key principles for understanding life and relationships: when-
ever purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.
Suppose I’m Henry T. Ford. I’m going to add a motor to a carriage
and build a product called a motorcar. I know the purpose before I build
this vehicle. It will enable people to be more mobile on land. Now sup‑
pose you decide, “I want to use this motorcar as a boat,” and you drive it
off a cliff and into the water. What will happen? You’re probably going to
drown, and the car is going to be ruined. Why? The car was built to ful‑
fill a specific purpose, and if you do not use it according to its purpose,
then you will likely be harmed in the process. We need to keep from
driving off the cliff of life by understanding and fulfilling our purpose
as human beings.
Thought for the Day

If God’s purpose continues to be abandoned, males and females
will never function properly as human beings.
Reading: Deuteronomy 1–2; Mark 10:1–31

March 7
Only One Life
G od desires that all men and women find their purpose and fulfill
it. If a man wants to know who he is in order to live fully in that
reality, he must first understand God’s principles of purpose. He has to
learn these anchors for living from the Word of God. Otherwise, he will
fall into a trap of confusion—where many of us are right now.
Proverbs 19:21 is our foundational verse in regard to understand‑
ing God’s purpose: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s
purpose that prevails.” This crucial truth tells us that we can make all the
plans we want to in life, but if we don’t make our plans according to the
purposes for which God created us, then our plans will be in vain. We
won’t live up to our full potential, and we will be unfulfilled. We may
even pursue goals and engage in practices that are harmful to us. We
have only one life, and we have to make that life count if we are ever to
fulfill our purpose.
What value do you place on your life? Do you know that one of the
most dangerous things in life is wasting time? It is said that time is a com‑
modity that you never are able to recapture. Once you’ve lost time, it’s
gone forever. So the best thing to do with time is to use it in a way that
will bring the greatest results. The best way—the only way—to use time
effectively is to do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed
to do it. Effectiveness does not mean just doing good things but rather
doing the right thing.
Thought for the Day

You have to make your life count if you are ever
to fulfill your purpose.
March 77
March 8
Stopped in the Middle of Traffic
I t is dangerous to live without God! If you don’t know God, you’ll

never know your reason for existence. And if you don’t know why you
were born, you could live a completely wrong life.
One of the reasons Jesus knew His purpose was that He was con‑
tinually seeking God and in constant communication with Him. That
is the pattern each of us needs to follow. Why? There are many good
people who are pursuing relationships, careers, and goals in life that are
not best for them. What we have to concern ourselves with is living
effectively. The only way to live a fulfilled life is to know why you were
born. The only way to know why you were born is to learn it from the
One who created you.
Have you ever had a new car break down on you right in the middle
of traffic? You got out and kicked one of the tires. You just wanted to
curse at it because the car wasn’t fulfilling its purpose. It was brand-new.
It looked sleek. It had a nice paint job. But you couldn’t drive it. What
made you angry at the car? It’s simple: the car’s purpose was to transport
you, to make you mobile; but the car was not taking you anywhere. No
matter how great the car looked, it wasn’t right; it wasn’t fulfilling its
purpose.
Many men and women are like that car. They’re stopped in the mid‑
dle of traffic, and they don’t even realize it. They’re spending their lives
doing things that look good, but they don’t know God—or they know too
little about Him and His ways.
Thought for the Day

Knowing and fulfilling your purpose is the only way
to do what is right.

March 9
Fighting against Our Best Interests
This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched
out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can
thwart him [stop, interfere with, or cancel His purpose]? His hand is
stretched out, and who can turn it back?
—Isaiah14:26–27
I n this passage, God is saying, in essence, “My purpose will be accom‑

plished. No one can interfere with it or hinder it. When I give a
purpose to something, your plans, ideas, opinions, perceptions, and
prejudices about what you think its purpose should be are inapplicable.
What you think about what I have purposed is not going to change My
purpose and design. And before My purpose could change, I would have
to stop being God.”
Let me ask you, if it comes to a contest between you and God, who
do you think is going to win? If God sets a purpose for something, there
isn’t anything we can do to change it. God made the female and the male
for certain purposes, and He designed them to fulfill those purposes. We
cannot alter His design. What we need to keep in mind, however, is that
if we try to change His plans, we’re working against ourselves, because
He created us for good and has our best interests in mind. “‘For I know
the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Thought for the Day

God created us for good and has our best interests in mind.
March 79
March 10
God’s Training Center
G od’s directive to the male and female was, “Fill the earth and subdue
it” (Genesis 1:28). He was telling them, in essence, “Have domin‑
ion over this spot right here so that you become used to ruling on a
smaller scale at first.” The implication is that He intended for this man
and woman to grow in dominion ability by learning to dominate the
garden of Eden, the area in which they were initially placed. This is one
of God’s clear principles: If you’ve been faithful over a little, then your
rulership will be expanded to much more.
Jesus explained this concept clearly in the parable of the talents.
To the servant who has been faithful over a little, the Master says, “Well
done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will
put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
(Matthew 25:23).
God is so good to us. He doesn’t give us more than we can handle.
He always gives us just enough to train us for the rest. I hope you under‑
stand this principle. God will always give you just enough so that you can
get used to the idea of more. Many of us want everything right now. We
short-circuit God’s plan because we grasp for everything at once. God is
saying, in effect, “You’ll get everything, but not right at this moment. You
have not yet developed the character and the experience and the exercis‑
ing of your potential to enable you to handle more.”
Thought for the Day

God always gives us just enough to train us for the rest.

March 11
What Is a Man’s Assignment?
I hope you are convinced that you need to be in God’s purposes in

order to be fulfilled in life! What God gave Adam to do still holds
true for men today because, as a God of purpose, He has a reason for
everything He does. He is teaching us His plan for mankind in the
account of creation.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man…” (Gen‑
esis 2:15–16). Whom did the Lord command? He commanded the male.
What did He tell him? “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but
you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you
eat of it you will surely die” (vv. 16–17). In an earlier devotional, we saw that
one of the male’s purposes is teacher. God wanted him to be the initial
recipient of His plan for mankind. He showed him the whole garden, the
whole environment of Eden, a vision of everything He had created, and
then He gave him instructions for living.
Recall that the female wasn’t formed until after the events of the
above Scripture passage. Thus, the male was given the charge of being
the visionary and leader, the one who would guide those who came after
him in the ways of God. This doesn’t mean that women don’t also have
the capacity to be visionaries and leaders. However, the male is the one
to whom God first entrusted His plans and purposes for the world. This
indicates a major purpose of his existence.
Thought for the Day

The male was given the charge of being the visionary and leader.
March 81
March 12
The Male’s Leadership Responsibility
M en have been entrusted with God’s purposes. The male is to be

responsible for everything under his jurisdiction. This is a seri‑
ous assignment from the Lord. If something goes wrong in your family,
you are accountable. You may say, as Adam told God when mankind
fell, “But the woman….” (See Genesis 3:12.) No, not the woman—you are
responsible. God went straight to Adam even though Eve was the one
who first ate the fruit. When God asked him, “Where are you?” (v. 9), the
question was not one of location, but of position. “You are not fulfilling
your purpose of leadership, Adam. What has happened to your family?”
The male’s purpose was not chosen by the male but by God. What‑
ever your purpose, that’s where your position comes from. Purpose,
rather than social expectation, should determine position. The male is
not elected the head of the family. You don’t canvas for votes in the fam‑
ily to become the head of the home. If you are a man, you are the head
of the family.
You are the responsible one, whether you like it or not. If you run
from this responsibility, it will run after you, because it’s not just a role;
it’s a God-given purpose. However, it needs to be understood in light of
God’s Word and not in the context of many societies’ definitions of what
“head of the household” means. It never means domination, abuse, or
misuse. It means godly leadership.
Thought for the Day

Everything that is necessary to lead the family is
built into the male.

March 13
The Male as Visionary
G od wants men to understand their dominion assignments and

then to develop the qualities that are required in order to carry
them out. This is the way that men can pursue God’s purpose for their
lives and grow in true manhood, for God’s purpose is the key to our
fulfillment.
The first responsibility that brings fulfillment and spiritual rewards
to the male is that of visionary. This is a foundational responsibility
because, without it, he can’t fulfill the other assignments of leader,
teacher, cultivator, protector, and provider.
Being a true visionary is a lost art in our times. The average male
can’t say who he is because he has no real vision for his life. He is either
floundering without purpose or he is diligently pursuing a false vision
based on the values of contemporary society, which are often the oppo‑
site of what God values. God wants males to have a vision for their lives
that comes from Him and belongs to them personally—not something
dictated by the cultural environment, current trends, man-made religion,
or someone else’s image of what their lives should be.
We can know that God has a vision for every male because the
male was created to be a visionary. Remember that one reason the man
was formed first was so that he could be the initial recipient of the infor‑
mation, revelation, and communication God desired to share regarding
humanity’s relationship with Him and its purpose for being. Then He
created the female to enable the man to fulfill this vision. God’s priority
has not changed.
Thought for the Day

Being a true visionary is a lost art today.
March 83
March 14
What Does It Mean to Have Vision?
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
V ision is necessary for life. The word “vision” in the Hebrew means
a “dream, revelation, or oracle.” Obviously, a vision that is con‑
nected to God’s purposes is something that needs to be revealed by God
Himself. You need His revelation of your life’s vision. The only way you
can discover this vision is to listen to what God is saying to you.
To have vision means to be able to conceive of and move toward
your purpose in life. A man shouldn’t get married and then say to his
wife, “What are we going to do? Well, you know, we’ll just wait on the
Lord. We’ll see where we’re going when we get there.” That’s not vision.
While God does want us to wait for His guidance and direction, He
doesn’t want us to abuse this principle by not earnestly seeking His par‑
ticular vision and plan for us.
Now, it’s true that we might not always see the whole picture right
away, as Abraham had to trust God to lead him to an unfamiliar land in
which he would become a great nation. (See Genesis 12:1–2.) However,
Abraham had a clear vision that he was going to the place God had
promised him, and he moved steadily toward that goal. Having vision
means that you can already see the end of your purpose. It means that
you have faith in God and what He has told you to do, so that you are
continually moving toward your vision as it is moving toward you. Your
responsibility is to support and sustain the vision until it comes to frui‑
tion.
Thought for the Day

To have vision means to conceive of and move
toward your purpose.

March 15
Sharing the Vision
W hat vision did God give to Adam? He said, “Here’s the garden:
subdue it, work it, cultivate it. Make it better than it is. Develop
it, and produce more of it.” In other words, “Take this planet and make
it richer than it is. There is seed in this ground that hasn’t yet born fruit.
Make it a harvest. There is gold in the mountains. Dig it out. There are
diamonds in the rough. Mine them.”
After God had given the man responsibility and work in the gar‑
den, He said, “I’m going to create a helper for the man to get this done.”
Therefore, one of the purposes of the woman is to share in the vision
and responsibilities of the male.
Again, the dominion assignment was given to both men and
women.
Male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to
them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it. Rule over…every living creature that moves on the ground.”
(Genesis 1:27–28)
This means that the woman is meant to help the man fulfill this
vision in all areas of life. However, when the man sees the woman com‑
ing into the corporate office, he often becomes jealous. “What is she
doing here?” he says. “Her place is in the home.” Where did that idea
come from? It did not come from God. This beautiful, precious gift of
the woman was given to men so that they wouldn’t be alone. Yet do you
know what men do to women? They view them as trespassers or competi‑
tors in life’s journey. They despise the very thing that was given to them
for companionship and help. Woman was made to share the man’s vision
and to help him fulfill it.
Thought for the Day

The dominion assignment was given to both men and women.
March 85
March 16
Equal Responsibility
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.
—Ecclesiastes 4:9
I f man didn’t need woman, God would not have created her. The
woman enables the man to accomplish the vision and purpose for
which they were both created. She shares in this vision, encourages the
man along the way, and helps him to accomplish it. If a man has a vision,
a woman should do everything in her power to see that it comes to pass.
Women, when you help a man, it doesn’t mean you are putting him down
or putting yourself down. It means that you both have equal responsibility,
each in the proper position.
A male was not meant to carry out his ministry by himself. His
vision was not supposed to be fulfilled by himself. This means that a
woman was not made to fulfill a vision by herself, either. Everything that
the female has—her talents, gifts, expertise, experience, and education—
was given to her to help the male fulfill God’s vision. This is the reason
why women have so much talent.
The problem is that men and women don’t understand their pur‑
poses, and so they end up using their talents against one other. The
woman uses her talents to prove that she doesn’t need the man, instead
of using them to help the man. The man hates this use of her abilities
because he feels intimidated. When this happens, both of them lose
their purpose in life, and both of them are dissatisfied, because she can’t
fulfill her purpose without him, and he needs her to help him fulfill his
purpose. They need each other, but they end up working against each
other.
Thought for the Day

The woman enables the man to accomplish the vision and
purpose for which they were both created.

March 17
Where There Is No Vision
A man needs a clear vision of three things: (1) who he is in God, (2)
what his overall purpose as a male is, and (3) what his purpose as
an individual man is. In this way, he can know where he is going in life
and can lead those under his care and responsibility. Again, “where there
is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 kjv).
First things have to come first. Before God gave the man a helper,
He gave him a vision for what he should be doing. That is also the order
we need to follow today. If a man has no vision, or if his wife has the
only vision, the man and his whole family will have a difficult time.
This is because God has designed the male to carry others with him in
his vision. Our society is in trouble because wherever the man goes, he
brings everybody else along. Right now, most men don’t know where
they’re going, and the women and children who are following have no
direction.
It’s dangerous for a woman to marry a man who doesn’t know God,
because she won’t know where he’s taking her. Even if he does know
God, he needs to learn to live in God’s presence, because some men who
know Him don’t talk to Him enough. No man has the right to lead a
woman if he doesn’t have the ability to truly hear God.
A man cannot ask a woman to follow and help him if he isn’t really
doing anything. The woman is looking for somebody who is doing some‑
thing to which she can contribute. All the potential, all the energy, all
the excitement, and all the creativity within her has to be applied to
something.
Thought for the Day

Before God gave the man a helper, He gave him a vision for
what he should be doing.
March 87
March 18
Jesus Had a Clear Self-Image
M any men don’t have a vision for their lives because they are not
committed to God and to seeking His will in this area. If a man
does not have a relationship with God, he cannot fully function in his
purpose.
The greatest example of someone who had a vision for His life is
Jesus. He constantly repeated and affirmed who He is. Jesus was able
to live in the confidence of His purpose from an early age. Remember
what He said to His parents when He was only twelve years old? “I must
be about My Father’s business” (Luke 2:49 nkjv). Jesus knew His identity as
the Son of God and as God the Son. He said, “Before Abraham was born, I
am!” (John 8:58). He knew His reason for being and His purpose in life:
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).
The example Jesus set for us by His life shows us our need for these
important elements related to purpose: (1) a clear self-image and (2) a
life consistent with one’s purpose and calling. Jesus lived a life that was
totally consistent with who He said He was. He had complete integrity;
He always kept and fulfilled His own words.
John the Baptist is another excellent example of a man who knew
his identity. “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way
for the Lord’” (John 1:23). He had a sense of confidence in who he was and
what he was called to do.
Thought for the Day

If a man does not have a relationship with God, he cannot fully
function in his purpose.
Reading: Deuteronomy 32 –34; Mark 15:26–47

March 19
Know Your Identity
Y esterday, we saw how Jesus and John the Baptist knew their pur‑
poses in life. The apostle Paul also clearly had a vision for his life.
He had a strong self-image and exhibited clarity of purpose. How fre‑
quently he began his letters with such statements as, “Paul, a servant of
Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle,” or “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God.” (See, for example, Romans 1:1, Ephesians 1:1.) He also made
these statements of purpose: “For this purpose I was appointed a herald and
an apostle” (1 Timothy 2:7), and “Of this gospel I was appointed a herald and
an apostle and a teacher” (2 Timothy 1:11). Paul received God’s vision for
his life through his encounters with Him. He was a man who understood
the importance of staying in communion with God. True vision can be
found only in God’s presence.
Jesus was given to prayer and reflection during His entire earthly
life. He was in constant contact with the Father in order to know how
to fulfill His life’s purpose. After a day of particularly busy ministry in
which He had healed the sick and demon-possessed, He got up early the
next day and went to pray in a quiet place. When Peter and the other
disciples found Him there, they exclaimed, “Everyone is looking for you!”
(Mark 1:37).
Jesus could have basked in the people’s praise, but He continued to
follow His life’s purpose. God had shown Him the next step when He
was in prayer. He said, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I
can preach there also. That is why I have come” (Mark 1:38).
Thought for the Day

We receive God’s vision for our lives through our encounters
with Him.
Reading: Joshua 1–3; Mark 16
March 89
March 20
The Kingdom of God Is within You
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be
with you forever—the Spirit of truth.…You know him, for he lives
with you and will be in you.
—John 14:16–17
Y ou aren’t fulfilling your purpose as a man or a woman until you

can hear the voice of God. You aren’t fulfilling your purpose until
you start speaking and affirming the Word of God in your life. To do
this, you need to be in the same “garden environment” that Adam and
Eve were first placed in.
We need to get back to the place where the glory can flow between
God and man, where we can hear the voice of God, and God can give us
direction. Because the Holy Spirit has been poured out into the hearts of
believers, the garden is no longer just one spot on the earth—it is within
the heart of every person who belongs to Christ. That is why Christ said,
“The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). It is not within you of its
own accord; the kingdom of God is within you because God’s Spirit lives
within you.
The kingdom of God—God’s Spirit and will ruling in our hearts—
has come to us through Christ, and it is through Him that we can fulfill
the dominion mandate. We are called to spread the gospel message of
reconciliation with God through Christ and of the gift of the Holy Spirit,
who brings us power for living, working, and creating to the glory of
God. If we want to fulfill our dominion responsibilities and assignments,
we have to do so through the Spirit of God as we follow His will.
Thought for the Day

You aren’t fulfilling your purpose until you can hear the voice of
God and affirm His Word in your life.
Reading: Joshua 4–6; Luke 1:1–20

March 21
Principles of the Male as Visionary
T oday, reflect on these principles of the male as visionary and begin

to apply them in your daily life—directly for yourself, if you are a
man, and in your relationships with men, if you are a woman.
1. Being a visionary is a foundational responsibility for the male
because, without it, he can’t fulfill his other assignments of leader,
teacher, cultivator, provider, and protector.
2. To have vision means to be able to conceive of and move toward
your purpose in life.
3. The male was created to be a visionary. He was given the first vision
of God’s plan for humanity.
4. A man needs a clear vision of (1) who he is in God, (2) what his
overall purpose as a male is, (3) what his purpose as an individual
man is.
5. If a man has no vision, this will negatively affect those who are to
follow him, especially his family.
6. Before God gave the man a helper, He gave him a vision.
7. A male cannot ask a female to follow and help him if he has no
vision.
8. God always provides for the vision He gives.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
not see. (Hebrews 11:1)
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for not leaving us on this earth without a Helper or
Counselor. Your Holy Spirit reveals the vision for our lives and
gives us the ability to fulfill the purposes for which You have
created us. You have designed the male to be the visionary and
the female to work with him hand-in-hand to see the vision
accomplished. Help us to live out this mission for our lives in a
way that brings You glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
March 91
March 22
What a Woman Can Do
W hile the husband is called to be the leader of the family, the

wife’s response to him can determine how successful his leader‑
ship is. Sometimes a husband will say, “I think we should do this,” and
right away his wife will say, “Do what? You’ve never done anything right
yet!” She just wiped out the man’s ego. Her answer tells him she doesn’t
trust him.
Women, even if your husbands have failed in the past, and even if
you aren’t sure about their ideas, you can say, “Well, let’s try it that way,
then.” When you say, “try,” he hears “trust.” “Let’s try it” means you’re
going to trust him in this undertaking. Then, if he messes up, you can
say, “We all mess up.” A woman can protect her husband’s dignity, real‑
izing that she also makes mistakes.
“Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife
must respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:33). Feed your husband’s need for
leadership respect. When he gets to the point where it is strong and effec‑
tive, then it will become a great blessing to both of you. He will learn to
lead because he will know that you support him.
Men need to remember that women are here to help them. I believe
that one of the reasons God took the woman from the man’s side, or
rib, is to emphasize her nature. The word rib means “sustainer” or “sup‑
porter.” That’s what the rib does. It supports the whole upper frame with
the vertebrae. So a woman is a support system. If she functions in her
purpose, she helps the male to function in his.
Thought for the Day

Women need to feed their husbands’ need for leadership respect.

March 23
Delicately Designed
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives,
and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs
with you of the gracious gift of life.
—1 Peter 3:7
T he word “weaker” in this verse isn’t referring just to physical

strength, because some women are stronger than some men. In
addition, women can put up with much emotional adversity and physical
stress and still survive. Many men couldn’t handle what women handle.
I like to translate the word “weaker” as “more delicate.” Peter was saying,
“Husband, treat your wife with consideration and respect, because God
designed her in such a way that she is delicate. She is very, very fine.”
Remember that God took a scoop of dirt with which to fashion the
male, but He built the female a little more elegantly. Her shape is a little
more refined than a man’s. He designed her delicately. I believe this also
refers to the delicacy of her soul. The expression of a woman’s soul is
very refined because of her purpose; she is more sensitive than her male
counterpart.
I believe that the definition of “weaker” should go even deeper to
indicate that the woman is more “absorbent.” She can absorb things
more easily than a man, because she was created to absorb. That is why
God told the husband to be careful how he treated her. Why? She is so
delicate that she absorbs everything around her.
Thought for the Day

God took a scoop of dirt with which to fashion the male,
but He built the female a little more elegantly.
March 93
March 24
Would You Like Unfading Beauty?
Your beauty…should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a
gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
—1 Peter 3:3–4
A woman has a spirit-man inside; this makes her a free and respon‑
sible spiritual being. You can’t imagine the power that you will
have when you understand the spirit that is inside you. Spiritually, men
and women are equal; they have the same spirit-man within. God called
both male and female “man.” I like the way the Word of God expresses
it: “There is neither…slave nor free, male nor female” in the body of Christ
(Galatians 3:28).
First Peter 3:4 says that a woman’s beauty “should be that of [her] inner
self.” It is this “inner self ” that is a woman’s spirit. What the woman is
physically is different from what she is in her inner self. The spirit-man
inside every woman is the being that relates to God. The next time you
women run into somebody who is confused about this concept, just tell
them, “Look, I have a female body, but I have a spirit-man inside. I deal
directly with God through my spirit.”
Jesus said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in
truth” (John 4:24). A woman has her own spirit-being with which to wor‑
ship God. She can bless the Lord and love the Lord and receive from the
Lord herself. A woman who loves and worships the Lord and reflects His
nature has unfading beauty in God’s sight.
Thought for the Day

Spiritually, men and women are equal; they have the
same spirit-man within.

March 25
God Honors Women
G od honors and respects women. He loves and identifies with the

spirit-man inside the female, and so He takes special care in regard
to her. Because a spirit-man lives within the woman, the treatment of
the woman by the man has to be taken very seriously. When you have
offended the spirit-man, you have offended God. You have to be careful
what you do to the spirit within either the male or the female.
Some men forget that there is a spirit-man inside of women. If a man
impatiently tells a female, “I don’t like your moods,” he should check to
whom he is speaking. There is a spirit inside that precious body. One rea‑
son why the Bible tells us not to go to sleep without resolving our anger
(see Ephesians 4:26) is that it’s very important to treat well those who
have been created in the image of God. James reinforced this theme:
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who
have been made in God’s likeness.…My brothers, this should not be” (James
3:9–10). You see, anger or resentment is a spiritual matter.
“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your
wives, and treat them with respect…so that nothing will hinder your
prayers” (1 Peter 3:7). God is saying to men, “Wait a minute. The woman
isn’t just a body of flesh. She has a spirit. The way you treat her will
affect your prayer life.” Therefore, if you don’t treat a woman with con‑
sideration and respect, it could block your relationship with God. God
won’t hear your prayers until you go back and make things right with her
because you have interfered with the spirit-man in the woman.
Thought for the Day

God loves and identifies with the spirit-man inside the female,
and so He takes special care in regard to her.
March 95
March 26
Get Out of the Wilderness
I n order for a woman to become what God intends, she needs to be

filled with the Holy Spirit, submitted to the Word, and learning
to follow the leading of the Spirit. Do you remember what happened
when Adam and Eve rebelled against God? What did God do? He put
them out of the garden. A garden is a specifically manicured, prepared
place. Outside the garden is wilderness. Wilderness people are wild; they
devour one another. God wants us to be transformed by the renewing of
our minds and to get out of the wilderness. (See Romans 12:2.)
Women, you must develop an ongoing, intimate relationship with
God. You can’t just read popular women’s magazines or watch talk shows
and expect to get revelation from God. These sources are usually headed
deeper and deeper into the wilderness. They’re leading you into perver‑
sion and depravity. The wilderness mentality of women is, “I don’t need
anybody else. I’m going to make it on my own. I don’t care what anyone
says; I don’t need any man.” I believe you know that’s wilderness talk
because, deep inside, you have a garden desire. You need to be in rela‑
tionship with God, and you need to be in relationship with men—with a
husband or with your brothers in the Lord—in order to be who you were
created to be.
This is the ideal, and God wants you to work back to it. He wants
you to have the spirit of the garden so that you will be in continual fel‑
lowship with Him. Then you will be able to experience fulfillment both
as a spiritual being created in God’s image, and as a female, created for
God’s good purposes.
Thought for the Day

God wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds
and to get out of the wilderness.
Reading: Joshua 22–24; Luke 3

March 27
A Drive to Excel
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God
I can scale a wall.
—2 Samuel 22:30
G od gave the male what psychologists call ego. I like to call it a drive
to excel. The man’s ego is simply a spirited attitude to win. God
gave him this attitude to help him overcome obstacles in life. Every male
is supposed to have this spirit. When he doesn’t, he’s not fully function‑
ing.
A male always wants to outdo. This is one reason why men are so
competitive. Sports are usually more attractive to males than females
because they provide a release for this drive to excel. A man isn’t meant
to release his drive to excel just on the basketball court. There are men
who can shoot a three-pointer but who don’t bring up their children to
rely on the Lord. There are men who have all kinds of sports trophies but
who haven’t learned to take their drive and channel it properly through
the Word of God. The mark of a man who knows God is, “I know I can
make it, and nobody can stop me.”
Ego, in itself, is not a bad thing. Having a drive to excel is good
because it’s part of a man’s equipment for leadership. When a man has to
bring his family through a difficult situation, he’d better have some ego.
He’d better believe in himself to the point that he can say, “This thing
can’t overcome me. My God will supply all my needs.” He can be confi‑
dent because He trusts in God’s provision. He can be strong because He
believes he is everything that God says he is in Christ. That’s the defini‑
tion of a redeemed ego.
Thought for the Day

God gave the man a drive to excel to help him overcome
obstacles in life.
Reading: Judges 1–3; Luke 4:1–30

March 97
March 28
Mistaking Power for Strength
B ecause men have lost the knowledge of what God created them to
be, they often mistake power for strength. Much of a man’s tendency
to control comes from a false understanding of how his own nature is to
function in dominion.
Men have a deep desire to prove they are strong. It is one of the
underlying issues every male faces, whether he is a ten-year-old boy or
a ninety-year-old man. Men’s internal passion to prove their strength is
inherent in their nature. All men have it in some form or another because
of the purpose for which they were created. It is built in by God in order
to give them the ability to fulfill their purpose of leading, protecting, and
providing. The problem is that the male’s passion to prove his strength
has been perverted and abused by Satan and the sinful nature.
Because of this desire to prove their strength, there is nothing more
frightening to most men than to be perceived as weak. Again, this fear
is a result of the fall. Because his true relationship with the female has
been distorted, he feels vulnerable in this area of strength. He doesn’t
want to be perceived as being helpless or out of control by either males
or females. This fear drives the man to feel as if he has to constantly
prove himself. It is the source of his aggressive spirit and his often overly
competitive nature. It is also the source of some men’s tendency toward
violence. A lot of men have muscle but are weak in their minds, their
hearts, their discipline, their responsibility, and their spirits.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of
the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)
Thought for the Day

Men’s internal passion to prove their strength is built in by
God to give them the ability to fulfill their purpose of leading,
protecting, and providing.

March 29
A Truly Strong Man
M en need a picture of what a truly strong man looks like. A strong

man is a man who understands his God-given strength. To be a
strong man is to maximize all your potential for the purpose for which
you were created. Jesus was the strongest Man who ever lived, yet He is
also described as meek. Someone has said that meekness is power under
control. That is what true strength is. It is power that is ready to be chan‑
neled into good and constructive purposes rather than irresponsible or
selfish ones. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians
6:10).
Males didn’t choose their position; God gave it to them. However,
the problem is that many males have taken another position that they
weren’t given. If we voted for a man to become the president or prime
minister of a country, but instead he took over by force and became a
dictator, he’d be taking a position he wasn’t given. The first position was
given to him by legal authority; the other was seized.
Whenever you take your position by force, you’ve moved out of your
legal standing. The difference between an elected head of state and a
dictator is very simple. The first has authority and the second merely has
power. To have authority means to have a right to govern. Therefore, if a
man slaps his wife, kicks his children, and then says, “I’m the man of the
house; I do what I want,” that’s an abuse of authority; it’s merely wielding
power over others. Whenever you abuse your power, you no longer have
legitimate authority. Any time a man starts to dominate another human
being, he is out of God’s will.
Thought for the Day

To be a strong man is to maximize all your potential for the
purpose for which you were created.
March 99
March 30
Strong and Courageous
A leader has been designed to take risks and meet challenges. God
often gives men assignments that seem too big for them—and they
are. They can be accomplished only through God’s help. Yet the qualities
of courage, strength, and daring enable men to take the necessary steps
of faith that bring God’s intervention.
It is impossible to be the leader of the family and of society if you are
not strong and courageous. After Moses died, the Lord said to Joshua,
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people…” (Joshua 1:6).
Joshua had a “family” of three million people to lead! God gave this
young Israelite a job designed for a man. God added something to His
command to Joshua. He said, “Be careful to obey all the commands.”
(See Joshua 1:7.)
A strong man has to be submitted to God’s authority. No man can
be strong if he is not accountable to someone else. A real man doesn’t
ignore authority. He remains in the garden of God’s presence, praying
and reading God’s Word, so that he may understand and obey His com‑
mands. As a man of God, you must realize that you were not put in a
leadership position because you are big, strong, or overbearing. You are
put in that position because of your purpose. Your strength is meant to
support that purpose.
Some men take their courage and strength and use them recklessly.
When a man turns from God, takes his life into his own hands, and
doesn’t combine courage with common sense, he can cause himself and
his family many problems. True courage and strength come only through
confidence in the faithfulness of God and belief in His Word.
Thought for the Day

The qualities of courage, strength, and daring enable men to take
the necessary steps of faith that bring God’s intervention.

March 31
A Servant’s Heart
A real man, a true leader, is a servant. He is not a ruler. He takes care

of others before himself. Jesus said,
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many. (Matthew 20:25–28)
The apostle Paul echoed this theme when he wrote, “Each of you
should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”
(Philippians 2:4), and “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). How did Christ love
His church? First of all, by giving Himself for her. This means that a
man should give up his personal, private, ambitious, egotistical desires in
order to serve his wife and family. He needs to emulate Christ’s nature.
A true leader has humility, so that he is willing to learn from others
and be corrected when need be. Some of the greatest moments in my life
are times when my wife corrects me, gives me ideas, or provides insight
on something that I haven’t been able to do right. My wife has awesome
resources within her. It takes a real man to submit to help. It takes a fool
to avoid it. God is looking for a leader who makes himself fruitful by
being pruned when necessary in order to yield a healthier and greater
harvest.
Thought for the Day

A true leader has humility, so that he is willing to learn from
others and be corrected when need be.
March 101
April 1
Created to Provide
—Genesis 2:15
W ork was given to the male (1) to advance the purposes of God,
(2) to bring the male fulfillment while using the skills and abili‑
ties God has given him, and (3) to enable the male to provide for his own
needs as well as the needs of those for whom he is responsible.
A male’s first priority is to remain continually in God’s presence. It
is through worship and communion with God that the man receives his
life’s vision, vocation, and work. Some men have forgotten that worship
takes precedence over work. When your work interferes with your wor‑
ship, you cease to fulfill the purpose of a real man.
Remember that the man was given work before the woman was cre‑
ated. This means that before a man needs a woman, and before he is
ready for marriage, he needs work. He needs to find out what God is
calling him to do. Then he can use his vocation and work to provide for
his future wife and children.
God gave the man the responsibility for being the main provider for
the family. A male is made for this purpose. In general, he’s built physically
stronger than the female, particularly in his upper body, because of God’s
command that he should work. A woman is supposed to marry someone
who is already able to provide. If you look at the Old Testament, the way
in which God’s people married indicates what God instructed them to do
regarding matrimony. The prospective groom would have to show that he
could meet the standard of living prescribed by the bride’s father, or he
would have to earn the money before he could have her hand in marriage.
Thought for the Day

It is through worship and communion with God that the man
receives his life’s vision, vocation, and work.

April 2
Designed to Work
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the
Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
—Colossians 3:23–24
T he nature of the work the male was given to do was not mindless
labor—it was cultivation. Remember, to cultivate means to make
something grow and produce a greater yield. Cultivate also means to
make something fruitful, to develop it into its perfection. The man is
to be a developer and a fruit producer. Since God gave this assignment
to the male before the female was created, and before the first child was
born, the purpose of the male is to develop and cultivate both people
and things to God’s glory.
God Himself worked when He created the world, and He still works
to carry out His purposes. Paul said in Philippians 2:13, “It is God who
works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Because you are
made in God’s image and likeness, you are designed to work. Work is
meant to include creativity and cultivation, not drudgery. It is also sup‑
posed to be kept in its proper place. In Genesis 2, the Bible says that God
worked hard and completed His work, and then He stopped His work
and rested. He didn’t burn the midnight oil or work seven days a week
just for the sake of working. He stopped working when it was appropri‑
ate. He told us to do the same. (See Exodus 20:9–10.)
Thought for the Day

Work is meant to include creativity and cultivation,
not drudgery.
April 103
April 3
The Significance of Work
W hat is the significance of work? First, work exposes a man’s poten‑

tial. You cannot show what you have inside unless demands are
made on it, and demands are placed on it by work.
Second, work allows a man to reflect God’s nature. God gave the
male work because it is related to his purpose. His purpose is to stay in
the presence of the Lord and learn to rule and manage what God has
given him to do. In this way, he can eventually fulfill God’s complete
plan for him, which is to have dominion over the earth.
Third, as we have discovered, work enables a man to provide for
those for whom he is responsible in his position as visionary and leader.
Provide comes from a Latin word meaning “to see ahead.” The male
should be a visionary. He should have a vision for his life, and he should
work to see that it is accomplished—for himself, his family, and others
under his care.
I once asked God, “Lord, with all the responsibilities you gave us
men, how do we know we can fulfill them?” His answer was very, very
simple. He said, “Whatever I call for, I provide for.” God is the ultimate
Provider. It is so true. God will provide whatever we need to fulfill our
responsibilities. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phi‑
lippians 4:13).
Thought for the Day

Work exposes your potential.

April 4
Fundamental to His Being
M any women don’t understand the mental, emotional, and spiritual

effect that losing a job has on a man. They cannot fully under‑
stand, because they are not designed to be providers; they are designed to
be producers. When a man loses his job, it’s as if his life has fallen apart.
Some men actually end up losing their minds after they lose their jobs.
Why do they have such an extreme reaction? It’s because it’s not just a job
to them. It’s their means of providing. One of their purposes for being
has been taken away from them.
Some men can’t handle the pressure to provide, so they run from
responsibility. Maybe the man has six kids and can’t feed them. He feels
useless; he feels like a failure, so he leaves. We call his behavior neglectful
or irresponsible. Although this behavior is very wrong, we must realize
that the man is dealing with something internal that he may not under‑
stand, something fundamental to his being.
Suppose a man calls his wife and says, “Sweetheart, I have some
bad news for you. I just got laid off from my job.” This is how some
women would react: “I’m not surprised. You haven’t been able to hold a
job for the last six months.” What has she done by saying this? He feels
humiliated and unwanted. Instead, she should say something like, “Well,
honey, God says that He’s our Source. I’ve always believed that if God
made you my covering, He’ll provide for you so you can provide for us. I
love you for who you are, not because of the job you have.”
Love…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4, 7–8 nkjv)
Thought for the Day

A man needs his wife to respect his desire to provide.
Reading: Ruth; Luke 8:1–25
April 105
April 5
Created to Protect
T he male is like God’s “security guard.” When he shows up, every‑

one is supposed to feel protected and safe. Remember that the
atmosphere of God’s garden is His presence. Therefore, God essentially
told Adam, “Protect the garden, but also protect the presence that is in it.
Don’t let anything disturb My presence here.” It is up to males to main‑
tain God’s presence—at their homes, jobs, or any other place in society.
They are to be protectors.
I hear some men saying, “I can’t wait until I get married so I can
practice what he’s teaching.” Don’t wait until then. A man doesn’t need
to be married to be responsible for women. Start being the protector of
every female who comes into your presence, because you were created to
be responsible for her.
Any woman should feel safe with you when you understand that
your purpose is to protect and guard her and to lead her into the things
of God. What should happen if a woman comes to you destitute, bro‑
ken, depressed, sad, or vulnerable, and she confides in you? The spirit
of protection should come upon you. Lead her straight to God. Show
her Jesus. Then exemplify His character by treating her in a fatherly or
brotherly way.
Men, when you are dating, you don’t protect a woman by throwing
away your own armor. You don’t take her for a drive at night and park
in a secluded place. Keep the lights on bright. Keep the tape playing the
Word of God. Keep the conversation in His light. It takes a real man to
keep his hands to himself. That’s true strength.
Thought for the Day

A male should be the protector of every female who
comes into his presence.
Reading: 1 Samuel 1–3; Luke 8:26–56

April 6
A Natural Protector
A male is a natural protector. His bone structure and upper body

strength are designed to defend, protect, and guard. Now, even if
a man isn’t tall or extremely muscular, he seems to have inner physical
resources that enable him to defend. A man’s wife should be able to run
to him any time trouble comes.
The safest place for a woman should be in the arms of her husband.
Yet one of the saddest things I’ve seen is men abusing their strength.
Instead of using it to protect women, they use it to destroy them. When
I think of a man hitting a woman, my whole body turns into a boiling
pot of indignation. God gave him muscles to protect her, not to hurt her.
“Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:28).
A man’s wife and children are supposed to feel totally at peace in
his presence. As soon as he shows up, everything is in order. When they
hear his voice, everything is all right. When a daughter gets hurt, her
father’s presence makes her feel better. When a son goes away to college,
becomes homesick, and feels as if his life is falling apart, he can call his
father and hear him say, “Son, it’s going to be okay.” Suddenly, every‑
thing comes into place because Dad spoke a reassuring word. When
a wife becomes frustrated or emotional about what’s happening in the
family, her husband can say, “God says He’ll be here for us, and I will be
here for us, too.” That’s a man’s responsibility.
Thought for the Day

A male seems to have inner physical resources that
enable him to defend.
April 107
April 7
Territorial Protectiveness
M ales often exhibit a fighting spirit, which was given to them by

God to protect and defend those for whom they are responsible.
Jesus exhibited a strong, protective nature. In Matthew 18:6, He spoke of
protecting those who believe in Him. He said, in essence, “If anyone tries
to take My children away from Me, it would be better for him if he tied
a rope around his neck, put a stone on the other end of the rope, walked
down to the ocean, and jumped in. It would be better for him to do that
than for Me to get My hands on him.”
A man has a spirit in him that says, “I have to protect what is mine.”
He speaks in terms of “my wife,” “my house,” and “my car.” This posses‑
sive attitude isn’t negative in itself; it’s from God. However, when it is
not submitted to His purpose, it is often used to overpower or control
others.
Some young men don’t know what to do with their spirit of posses‑
siveness and competition, so they end up forming gangs and competing
against other neighborhoods or those who don’t wear the same hat or
jacket as they do. They need strong male role models who can teach them
what to do with their territorial protectiveness.
Jesus got angry, but His anger was aimed at ungodliness and hypoc‑
risy. The Bible says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 kjv). Men aren’t supposed
to fight against other men, but against the spiritual forces that try to steal
what God told them to protect.
Thought for the Day

Men are meant to fight against sin and Satan,
not flesh and blood.

April 8
Blessed to Be a Safeguard
N othing in the world can bless a man like feeling responsible for his
family’s safety. Something happens within a man when he can pro‑
vide his wife and children with a house. He has kept them safe from the
elements. He’s built a place for them, and he feels proud. When a man
provides his wife with a car and the car breaks down, he feels instantly
protective. He can’t stand to think of her out there in the elements, so he
immediately takes care of the situation.
It hurts a man to feel as if he has no part in protecting his wife
and children, to feel as if he’s just visiting in his own home—eating and
sleeping there but not contributing to his family’s welfare. It is impor‑
tant for men to participate in solving family problems. When something
happens in the home or to the children, a wife should tell her husband.
Why? He needs to fulfill his dominion purpose as protector.
Some men have lost sight of their responsibility to protect to such
an extent that they check on their investments more often than they
check to see if their families are all right. These men are using their
natural gift of protectiveness, but they’re using it on the wrong objects.
A man should call his wife every day, making sure everything is okay. He
should also call to see how his children are doing, so they can know their
father is there for them. A man’s spirit of territorial protection is to be
used primarily to safeguard his family and others under his care.
Thought for the Day

Nothing in the world can bless a man like feeling responsible
for his family’s safety.
April 109
April 9
Reflecting God’s True Nature
There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one
glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars;
for one star differs from another star in glory.
—1 Corinthians 15:40–41 (nkjv)
W hen we think of “glory,” we often think of a cloud filled with

light. Yet glory in the sense that we are talking about here has
to do with the nature of something. In its larger meaning, the word glory
can be ascribed to every single thing. The glory of something is its best expres-
sion of itself.
One of the definitions of glory is “a distinguished quality or asset.”
You can see a flower in its true glory when it is in full bloom. You can see
a leopard or a lion in its true glory when it is at its prime strength. You
can see the sun in its true glory at twelve noon; after that, its light begins
to fade. The glory of a thing is when it is at its full, true self. Therefore,
glory refers to the manifestation, or the exposure, of the true nature of
something.
When the Bible says that the purpose of humanity is to manifest the
glory of God, it does not mean just lifting one’s hands and saying, “Hal‑
lelujah!” That is praise, but it is not glory in the sense in which we are
speaking. Reflecting the glory of God means reflecting His true nature. God’s
glory is often best manifested when we respond in a Christlike way in a
difficult situation. At that moment, God is saying to you, “Let the glory
come out now. Let people see what God is like under pressure.”
Thought for the Day

Reflecting the glory of God means reflecting His true nature.

April 10
Different Kinds of Glory
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory
of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
—1 Corinthians 11:7
T he female and the male each have a different kind of glory. The
male is to reflect the “image and glory of God,” while “the woman
is the glory of man.”
The Word of God is stating a profound truth. The women are
reflecting the men, and it’s not always a positive image. Of course, each
individual is responsible before God for his or her own actions. For
example, a woman may reflect her own selfishness rather than her hus‑
band’s kindness. Solomon said, “A wife of noble [“excellent” nkjv] character
is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones” (Prov‑
erbs 12:4). This verse shows the powerful influence a woman can have
in a man’s life. Yet men have a great responsibility to reflect the glory of
God so that this can be reflected to the women in their lives, and the
women can reflect God’s glory in turn.
You can tell what the men in our society are like by observing the
women. Look at our homes; who is running them? The women are often
heading them by themselves. What does this tell you about the man? He
is not being spiritually responsible because he is not fulfilling his purpose
and position as head of the household. Look at our children; what is their
hope for the future? Many of them are directionless. What do they tell you
about the man? He is not providing them with vision. Look at the women;
more of them are employed than are the men. What does this tell you
about the man? He is not fulfilling his purpose as provider. The female—
and often the children, as well—show you what the male is like.
Thought for the Day

The female and the male each have a different kind of glory.
April 111
April 11
The Bride Reflects Jesus
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.
—John 13:34–35
J esus has a bride who is meant to reflect His nature. In the original
Greek, her name is Ecclesia. The English translation of this word
is “church.” Jesus sent the church into the world to be a reflection of
Himself. He said to His Father, “I have given them [the church] the glory
that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22). Jesus said
to His bride, “The world will know who I am and that I was sent by the
Father by the way in which you act, by your unity with one another. The
world isn’t going to come to Me to find out what I’m like; the world is
going to come to the bride. If you don’t love one another, they’ll never
know what I’m like.”
Do you know why the people of the world aren’t coming to Jesus as
much as they should? It is because the church as a whole is often a ter‑
rible witness, and it is because many Christian marriages aren’t reflect‑
ing God’s glory. We are not living in the love and unity that Christ said
would reveal His nature to the world. Therefore, while the church is to
reflect Christ as His bride, it often does not do so. The Bible tells us that
this is unnatural. Jesus is the perfect Husband and deserves to have His
true nature reflected in His bride. The glory of the Lord is meant to be
in the church.
Thought for the Day

Jesus sent the church into the world to be a reflection
of Himself.

April 12
Reflecting God to the World
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which
comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
I t has often been said that a marriage is a church within the church.
If the world isn’t seeing the nature of Christ through the church in
the way that it should, perhaps we should begin to correct this problem
by first looking at the relationships between husbands and wives, fathers
and daughters, brothers and sisters in our homes. We should then look at
the nature of the relationships between men and women in the church.
The woman’s role as reflector of the man’s love and nature can pow‑
erfully reveal God’s remarkable love for humanity. She can show her
family, her community, and the world what it means to be loved by God
and to bear the image of the Creator. She can be a witness to the world
of God’s compassion and sacrifice for man, and of the joy and healing we
can receive through His love.
Jesus said to His disciples of those in the world who are lost, “Open
your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). If men
and women realize the powerful impact of their relationships on the sal‑
vation of the world, they will prayerfully and seriously consider how the
dominion mandate can be fulfilled as they give and reflect God’s love
and nature in their day-to-day relationships.
Thought for the Day

If men and women realize the powerful impact of their
relationships on the salvation of the world, they will give and
reflect God’s love in their day-to-day relationships.
April 113
April 13
God’s Good Idea
G od did not create the woman as an afterthought but as an integral

part of His plan in creation. As such, He designed and built her in
His love and with particular care. Her uniqueness is a reflection of God’s
purposes and design for her.
Women, you don’t understand how special you are. Adam hadn’t
even imagined the woman, but God had her particularly in mind. In
Genesis 2:18, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a
helper suitable for him.” Adam was fumbling around in the bush thinking
up animals’ names. God said, “This is not good. This man needs help.”
So it was God who said that the man needed the woman. You are God’s
good idea and His unique creation.
A woman is a product of God; this makes her God’s property. If you
handle her, you are handling God’s idea. If you curse at a woman, you are
cursing at God’s idea. If you slap a woman, you are slapping God’s idea in
the face. If you abandon a woman, you are abandoning God’s idea.
Women, no matter what men might say about you, no matter what
you might think about yourself, you are a good idea. God’s mind thought
of you, and God’s Spirit brought you into being. You are the result of His
idea, and that makes you very valuable to Him.
Thought for the Day

God created women as an integral part of His plan in creation.

April 14
The Woman Was Placed
in the Garden
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was
walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
—Genesis 3:8
G od specifically placed the woman in the garden of Eden along with

the man. In Genesis 3:8, we read that God walked in the garden
in the cool of the day in order to meet with Adam and Eve. The garden
represents man’s relationship with God, the place of fellowship.
You cannot be the kind of woman you are supposed to be outside of
God any more than a man can be anything outside of God. Any woman
who is outside a relationship with the Lord is a dangerous woman, just as
a man who is outside a relationship with the Lord is dangerous. You can
be who you were created to be, and you can fulfill the purpose you were
meant to fulfill, only as long as you remain in the garden of fellowship
with God. Paul admonishes in Ephesians 5:17–18, “Therefore do not be fool-
ish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.…Be filled with the Spirit.”
The female cannot become what God intends unless she is continu‑
ally in fellowship with Him, filled with His Spirit, learning His will, and
obeying His Word. Many women today are not living godly lives. They
have rebelled against God’s plan. They are living outside the garden in
the wilderness. If this describes your life, return to the garden of fellow‑
ship with God today. Your heavenly Father is waiting for you. “I will give
them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will
be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).
Thought for the Day

A woman cannot fulfill her purpose unless she is
in relationship with God.
April 115
April 15
Was the Woman Cursed?
A fter Adam and Eve rebelled, God made some specific statements
to the woman. I want to strongly emphasize that these statements
were not curses. The Bible does not say that God cursed either the man or
the woman. God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil
you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17–18). In other words, God
said to Adam that the earth would suffer from their disobedience, and
they would have to struggle to survive in it. Moreover, God did not curse
the woman by making her a child-bearer. (See verse 16.) He didn’t say, “Just
for that, now you’re going to have children, and it’s going to hurt.”
Adam and Eve were always meant to have children. Eve already had
the ability to bear children so that humanity could reproduce after its
kind. That ability was established before sin came into the picture. So
bearing children is not a curse. Rather, when you bear a child, you are
fulfilling part of God’s purpose for humanity. However, God told Eve
that, because of sin, she was now going to experience pain in childbear‑
ing. God made it clear that pain—not the ability to have the child—was
the product of the fall.
Many women today consider childbearing and child-rearing to be
a burden because they do not receive enough support in this from their
husbands. The Scripture says in Genesis 1:28, “God blessed them and said
to them, ‘Be fruitful’.” Both female and male were supposed to be fruitful.
That meant that any babies Eve would bear would belong to both of
them—to love and to be responsible for.
Thought for the Day

When you bear a child, you are fulfilling part of
God’s purpose for humanity.

April 16
Principles of Woman’s Uniqueness
R eview these principles of the woman’s uniqueness in creation and

reflect on how they apply to your everyday life—directly for yourself, if
you are a woman, and in your relationships with women, if you are a man.
1. Reflecting the glory of God means reflecting His nature to the world.
2. The male and the female each have a different kind of glory. The
male is to reflect the “image and glory of God,” while “the woman is the
glory of man” (1 Corinthians 11:7).
3. The woman’s role as reflector of the man’s love and nature can pow‑
erfully reveal God’s remarkable love for humanity.
4. God did not create the woman as an afterthought but as an integral
part of His plan in creation.
5. God specifically placed the woman in the garden of Eden, the place
of fellowship with Him. A woman cannot fulfill her purpose unless
she is in relationship with God.
6. God did not curse the woman or the man; He cursed the ground.
7. Child-bearing is not a curse. Adam and Eve were always meant to
have children.
8. Before the fall, Eve already had the ability to bear children so that
humanity could produce after its kind. Having children is fulfilling
part of God’s purpose for humanity.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. God blessed them.
(Genesis 1:27–28)
Heavenly Father, You have created woman as a reflector of love
and as an integral part of Your plan for humanity. May the
women who love You seek out Your best for their lives. May
they long to dwell in Your presence as in the garden. Help them
to see their uniqueness as a gift from a loving Father to be used
for His good purposes and glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
April 117
April 17
Desire and Domination
A fter the fall, God told Eve, “Your desire will be for your husband, and
he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). This was a change from their
former relationship. This statement emphasizes the fact that the male
and female were originally created to rule together. They were designed
to function together equally. God had said to them, “Fill the earth and
subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Both of them were supposed to be rulers.
Though both the man and the woman would still rule, their rela‑
tionship became distorted. First, God said to Eve that because of sin,
“Your desire shall be for your husband.” Once a woman gets married, she has
a desire, a longing, for her husband. Sometimes this desire can become
controlling. Most women would not like to admit that they have this
desire. However, many marriage counselors can confirm that it exists.
They have counseled women who are being abused by men, and they
have wondered how these women take it. While many women have a
limit to their tolerance of abusive behavior, a woman’s tendency is still this
longing for her husband, this desire to please him at all costs.
God also told Eve that the man would develop an attitude of ruler‑
ship over her. “He will rule over you.” He would feel as if he had to domi‑
nate her. This was not part of God’s original plan. However, because
of sin, the man’s twisted perception of life would cause him to want to
dominate the woman.
In God’s creation plan, He never said that the male was to dominate
the female. He said that man—as male and female—was to dominate the
earth!
Thought for the Day

After the fall, the man developed a distorted desire
to dominate the woman.

April 18
Restored by Redemption
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
J esus Christ restored humanity to God’s purpose and plan. I define

the plan of God very simply. The first two chapters of Genesis are
a depiction of God’s perfect program for the spirit-man and his mani‑
festation as male and female. Chapter 3 reveals how and why this pro‑
gram fell apart. Genesis 3 to Revelation 21, the last chapter of the Bible,
explains what God has done and is still doing to restore humanity to His
original program (and even beyond). The Bible is an account of God’s
restoration program, which He effected through various covenants with
His people.
Christ’s life, death, and resurrection accomplished the redemption of
man. The sacrifice of the perfect Man made atonement for the sins of fallen
man and restored humanity to the fellowship with God it had enjoyed in
the garden of Eden. This means that the curse of sin is removed from
people’s lives when they receive Christ’s redemptive work and are born
again. Christ’s own Spirit comes to dwell within them, they are restored to
God’s purposes, and they are able to love and serve God again.
Under the redemptive work of Christ, the woman is restored not
only to fellowship with God, but also to the position of partner with her
male counterpart. Therefore, she is not to be dominated or ruled by the
male, because, if she were, it would mean that the redemptive work of
Christ had not been successful.
Thought for the Day

Under the redemptive work of Christ, the woman is restored not
only to fellowship with God, but also to the position of partner
with her male counterpart.
April 119
April 19
Speaking the Truth from the Father
When the Counselor [Holy Spirit] comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about
me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
—John 15:26–27
F rom the Father through the Son by the Spirit, we are taught the truth,
which we, in turn, teach others. This is part of man’s dominion assign‑
ment carried out by redeemed men and women. The only instruction we
are supposed to speak comes from the Father. The Father, through Jesus,
gives instructions by the Holy Spirit to the bride, the church. Then the
church takes the instructions from her Lord, Husband, and Everlasting
Father, and speaks them out with authority as commands.
This is the principle behind Jesus’ statements to believers regarding
authority. He has given His Bride, the church, the authority to use His
name to command sickness, disease, demons, and mountains. “When
Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive
out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom
of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1–2). (See also, for example, Matthew
17:20; Mark 16:17–18.)
As the bride of Christ, the church has the Father’s instruction,
authority, and power to speak and act with boldness in the world. The
bride of Christ is empowered to declare things. “I bind you” is a com‑
mand, not an instruction. “I loose you” is a command. (See, for example,
Matthew 16:19.) “Come out of him” is a command. The church binds,
looses, heals, and delivers, not as teachings, but as commands under the
authority of our Teacher and Husband, Jesus Christ.
Thought for the Day

The Father, through Jesus, gives instructions by His Holy Spirit
to the bride, the church.

April 20
Male as Founder
I n Scripture, there is no such thing as the son of two fathers. God

always speaks of lineage in terms of one man—the father. Why is that
important? Because the minute you start bringing in another ancestry or
lineage, you split the fatherhood. There can be only one source. That is
why the Bible says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother...”
(Matthew 19:5). It doesn’t say the woman leaves because, when she mar‑
ries, she inherits another “father.” The husband becomes responsible for
his wife 100 percent. He provides, sustains, nourishes, upholds, and sup‑
ports.
The word father also implies authorship, as well as the legitimate
authority of something. “Father” possesses inherent authority.
In addition, the concept of father includes “founder” or “founda‑
tion.” That’s why companies, institutions, and movements use the word
father to describe the person who established the organization, insti‑
tution, or movement. The men who established the United States of
America are referred to as the “Founding Fathers.” Nelson Mandela is
known as the “Father of the New South Africa.” If someone founded
something, he is called the father of it. Why? He generated it. God built
the male to found future generations and to be the foundation on which
they develop. For the next few days, we will be exploring these essential
characteristics of the male as founder and foundation.
Thought for the Day

God built the male to found future generations.
April 121
April 21
The Father of Human Society
I n God’s creation plan, the male is the father of human society and
social relationships. Out of man came the woman and marriage. Out
of marriage came children. So then we have a family. When families
gather together, we have a community. When a multiplicity of communi‑
ties comes together, we have a nation and a society.
The male is the source of the human family. This puts an awe‑
some responsibility on the man as a husband and father. The male is
the source, sustainer, nurturer, and protector of the female because God
took the woman out of the man.
God did not go back to the soil to produce a woman. Why? He did
not want the soil to support the woman. God made Adam to be a father.
God wanted a father to represent Him on earth. Out of a father—Adam—
was produced a woman to be sustained and nurtured by the man. So
God created man to be a father like Himself. Together, the man and the
woman come together in marriage. Again, the Scripture never said that
the wife leaves her father. Why? Her husband is to be her “father” in the
sense of being her source and sustainer.
In our society, too many women are called upon to do a father’s
job. Women were not created to be sustainers. Too many men have
abandoned their women and left them alone to sustain themselves and
the offspring that the men have given them. Whatever is produced by a
father must be sustained and nourished by him.
Thought for the Day

The male is the source of the human family.
Reading: 2 Samuel 12–13; Luke 16

April 22
The Foundation of the House
M en were created to be the source and sustainer of the human fam‑

ily. They are the underpinning not only for their homes, but also
for their churches, communities, and nations. Men, being the source and
sustainer doesn’t mean that you lord it over others, or that you necessar‑
ily run things. It means you are responsible for everything.
The kingdom of God teaches that the man is the foundation of the
house—he carries everything. As a husband, you are the foundation of
your marriage. As a father, you are the foundation of your home. As a
pastor, you are the foundation of your ministry.
Fatherhood is God’s way of building and sustaining the human fam‑
ily. His plan is to fulfill His vision of the earth as an extension of His
heavenly kingdom. This happens as the male functions as the founda‑
tion of the home, allowing all those he is responsible for the protection
and freedom to grow and prosper as God intended.
Human beings are ignorant about the nature of their true purpose,
and this includes fatherhood. King David described the root cause of our
confusion: “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in
darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken” (Psalm 82:5). Darkness
implies ignorance. A lack of knowledge and understanding promotes
ignorance, which jeopardizes the very foundations of society. When peo‑
ple lack knowledge and understanding of the basic, fundamental laws of
God, all life goes off track and ends in failure. True fatherhood is the
answer to resecuring the foundations of our societies.
Thought for the Day

As the foundation, men are responsible for everything.
April 123
April 23
Just as the Father Is Faithful
A s I travel around the world, I see evil everywhere. At times, I ask

the same question Jeremiah did: “Why does the way of the wicked
prosper?” (Jeremiah 12:1). There are drug pushers, pimps, thieves, and dis‑
honest businesspeople everywhere who have big homes, nice cars, boats,
and lots of money. What is the ultimate source of all that they have? How
do they sustain their lives?
The answer to those questions is generally the same answer as to
why the righteous prosper. The Father (Sustainer) sends the rain upon
the just and the unjust because everyone and everything is from Him.
(See Matthew 5:45.) Why? Because God is a good, faithful, and patient
Father; He sustains, nourishes, and protects. He “is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Jesus understood that with God continually as His Source, only
good things could come from Him. The religious leaders criticized Jesus
for doing miracles, saying that He was from the devil. Yet He answered
His critics by saying, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will
give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If
you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
(Luke 11:11–13).
What has Jesus taught us? Simply this: God’s sustenance does not
depend on behavior or how it is received. He sustains what He creates
because of His goodness. Our heavenly Father gives men a remarkable
example for their role as sustainers and nurturers of their families.
Thought for the Day

God is a good, faithful, and patient Father; He sustains,
nourishes, and protects.

April 24
“Dad Is Destiny”
D ad is destiny.” The words sprang from the page in U.S.News & World
Report1 and exploded in my mind like an atom bomb. I could not
believe what I was reading. Even more surprising was the source from
which I was reading those words—words that seemed to spring from the
heart of one of my seminars.
For thirty years, I have lectured and counseled thousands of individ‑
uals on the subjects of relationships, family development, and marriage.
One of the greatest concerns I have carried over these years is the male
crisis facing most of our communities. I emphatically believe that the key
to the restoration and preservation of a sane and healthy society is the
salvaging of the male, especially as a responsible father. Reading those
words in such a popular news magazine gave me great encouragement.
It is a source of enormous comfort and relief to see that contem‑
porary behavioral scientists, psychologists, and government bodies are
finally agreeing with what Christian leaders have known all along.
The statement “Dad is destiny” embodies both the problem and the
solution for the majority of society’s ills. In it lies the key to the salvation
and restoration of mankind. About twenty-five hundred years ago, the
prophet Malachi spoke of the work and purpose of the coming Messiah,
declaring, “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts
of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6). In this Scripture we see the
divine assessment of man’s fundamental problem—a fatherless society!
Thought for the Day

The statement “Dad is destiny” embodies both the problem and
the solution for the majority of society’s ills.
1
Joseph P. Shapiro, Joannie M. Schrof, Mike Tharp, and Dorian Friedman,
“Honor Thy Children,” U.S.News & World Report, February 27, 1995.
April 125
April 25
A Foundational Problem
T he church cannot fix society’s problems when the foundation is out

of place. As we read in the Psalms, “When the foundations are being
destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). No matter how much
the church works at correcting social ills, if the foundation that God
laid for the family is not in place, even the work of the righteous will
not be successful. The devil does not care as much if the church is filled
with women, because as long as men do not come back to their heavenly
Father, then the women and their children are fatherless. Fatherhood is
the foundation of the family, the church, and the culture.
If societies and nations have problems with drugs, unwed mothers,
teenage pregnancy, corruption, and violence, then they must go back to
the foundation in order to solve these problems. If they have a national
problem, then they must go back into the communities to find the prob‑
lem. Community problems are rooted in the families that make up each
community. When we check to see what the families’ problems are, we
must look at marriages. When we examine the condition of our mar‑
riages, we discover that husbands and wives are divorced, mothers have
been abandoned, and men are not sustaining their families.
What does all this boil down to? Brothers, we are at the root of the
problem affecting the nations! The foundational source has a problem:
men are not being the fathers God created them to be.
Thought for the Day

The church cannot fix society’s problems when the
foundation is out of place.

April 26
Who Is the Rock?
W hen I was in London for a speaking engagement a few years ago,

I noticed a foundation being dug for a new hotel not far from
the Millennium Dome. From my own hotel room, I could look down at
the construction site. I took a photo of it because I thought it was such a
striking reminder of what it takes to build a tall building, and I wanted
to use it as an illustration in my seminars.
When you construct a building, what do you do first? You build
down. That’s remarkable, isn’t it? As I watched the men at that construc‑
tion site, they kept digging and digging, and I thought, My goodness, that
hole is equivalent to about five floors below ground level. What were they look‑
ing for? Solid rock.
In a similar way, although a man is to be a stable foundation for his
family, who is actually carrying the whole structure? A physical building
rests on its foundation, but the foundation is resting on rock. Therefore,
if you’re going to be a real man, you have to be resting on the solid
Rock.
If you are thinking that being a foundation is too much responsibil‑
ity for you, you are right. It is not enough to know your function as a
man; you have to know who to lean on in order to weather the storms.
Now, the male is the foundation, but the male is not the Rock. Who is
that Rock? It is Jesus Christ.
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
(Psalm 127:1)
Thought for the Day

The male is the foundation, but the male is not the Rock!
April 127
April 27
Hold On to the Rock
J esus said you can’t build your house on sand or your house will col‑
lapse. (See Matthew 7:24–27.) You can’t say, therefore, “I’m a man.
I have this, and I am that, so everything’s going to be okay.” That isn’t
enough.
I’m a pastor, a businessman, a government advisor, an investor, a
speaker, a facilitator of seminars, and an author, but when my storm
comes, I have to grab onto a Rock that is mightier than I. As King David’s
said, “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead
me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). No matter how successful
you are, you had better find the Rock because your family depends upon
you for survival.
As you hold on to the Rock in the midst of whatever crisis you face,
your foundation will remain sure. Then, as Paul said, you will be able to
build a temple to God on it. “In [Christ] the whole building is joined together
and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). In Jesus, the
whole building is held together.
If your building is pure, who dwells in it? God comes to dwell in a
well-built life and a well-built family. If He’s your Rock, He lives in you.
And if you are a strong foundation in Him, He lives in whatever you’re
holding together—whether it’s a marriage, a family, a church, or a busi‑
ness. It becomes a holy dwelling place for Him.
Thought for the Day

As you hold on to the Rock in the midst of whatever crisis you
face, your foundation will remain sure.
Reading: 1 Kings 1–2; Luke 19:28–48

April 28
Watch Out for Cracks
In him [Jesus] the whole building is joined together and rises to
become a holy temple in the Lord.
—Ephesians 2:21
W e have seen that the key to constructing any building is the struc‑
ture’s foundation, because the foundation carries the weight of
the building. The quality of a foundation determines the stability and
value of what is built upon it. Having the characteristics of a strong foun‑
dation is therefore essential for every man.
A building can have a number of problems and not be condemned.
But if a crack is discovered in the foundation, it doesn’t matter how nice
the interior is, the building will need serious repair and may well be
condemned. Men, we need to be careful not to allow any cracks in our
character. If you see a crack developing, fix it immediately! Do not let it
get any bigger, or the whole structure may collapse. You may think that
character lapses affect only you, but they also affect those entrusted to
your protection, teaching, and care. Strengthen your character, and you
will strengthen your entire family.
Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, persever-
ance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kind-
ness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities
in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:5–8)
Thought for the Day

Character lapses affect not only you, but also those entrusted to
your protection, teaching, and care.
April 129
April 29
A Sure Foundation
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of
salvation and wisdom and knowledge.
—Isaiah 33:6
T he most important part of a building is the part you can’t see. You
can see the walls, the doors, the lighting, and the furnishings of a
building, but you can’t see the foundation once it is laid and the building
is built upon it. Likewise, men are to be like Jesus as a “sure foundation”
for their families. And they are to do what they have to do for those
around them without drawing attention to themselves.
You don’t see a foundation. Why? It’s too busy carrying everything.
Real men do not advertise their responsibility. Real men do not go around
telling everyone including their wives what they’re doing for them. Real
men do not announce to the community what they’re doing for their
families. You just see the family functioning well and working together.
The English word husband is derived from an Old Norse word meaning
householder. We can say that the husband is meant to “hold the house”
intact. He’s the glue that keeps his family together. Likewise, a good pas‑
tor doesn’t tell the church members everything he’s doing for them; the
community just sees or experiences the results of his work.
Real men are quiet. They just carry the responsibility. Become
a man that your family, community, and nation can stand secure on,
knowing that, in Christ, you won’t collapse beneath them, regardless of
what forces come against you.
Thought for the Day

Become a man that your family, community, and nation
can stand secure on.

April 30
Principles of the Male as Foundation
T oday, review these principles of the male as foundation and reflect

on how you can apply them in your everyday life—directly for your‑
self, if you are a man, and in your relationships with men, if you are a
woman.
1. The concept of father includes “founder” and “foundation.”

2. The male is the father of human society and social relationships.
3. The kingdom of God teaches that the man is the foundation of the
house—he carries everything.
4. The divine assessment of man’s fundamental problem is a fatherless
society. (See Malachi 4:6.)
5. The male is the foundation, but he is not the Rock. Jesus Christ is
the Rock.
6. A man needs to be careful not to allow any cracks in the foundation
of his character, which could lead to disaster for his family.
7. A foundation functions without being seen. As the foundation,
men are to do what they have to do for those around them without
drawing attention to themselves.
In [Christ] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a

holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:21)
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving Jesus as the Rock and sure foundation for
our lives on this earth and for eternity. Help us always to hold
on to Him as the Rock that is higher than we are. Help us to
develop His character so we can be solid foundations for our
families. In His precious name, amen.
April 131
May 1
Good versus Best
M en and women can fulfill their God-given purposes by under‑

standing how to be effective in life. We have seen that effective‑
ness does not mean just doing good things but rather doing the right
thing. Wouldn’t it be sad to be serious and committed and faithful—to
the wrong thing? It would be terrible to be busy doing the wrong things
your entire life.
It is possible to do good things but not the things that are best based
on God’s purposes for you. One of the devil’s greatest weapons against
my life is to get me busy doing things that are good but that are not right
and best for me.
God created each of us with a purpose. That purpose is what’s right
for us. Suppose Jesus had become a priest in the Sanhedrin, the highest
council and tribunal of the Jews. That would have been a good thing.
Suppose He had become a member of the Pharisees and been one of
the leaders in the social structure of Galilee and Judea. That would have
been a good thing. Suppose He had become a social worker, helping
the poor, feeding multitudes of people every day with bread and fish.
Would that have been a good thing? Sure. Suppose He had devoted every
hour to healing the sick and raising the dead. That would have been a
good thing, wouldn’t it? Yet none of these things would have been the
right thing for Him in fulfilling His chief purpose of being the Savior of
humanity.
Jesus was always able to say, in effect, “I know the purpose for My
life. Don’t distract Me with things that are merely good. I must pursue
the highest purpose.”
Thought for the Day

It’s possible to do what is good but not what is right.

May 2
Sidetracked in Life
I sn’t it time to stop wasting your life? Discovering our purpose enables
us to stop wasting our lives and start fulfilling our potential. We must
be careful not to become sidetracked along the way. The greatest way to
destroy someone is to distract the person from his or her true purpose.
In the Old Testament, Nehemiah fulfilled an important purpose
in life, but he might have been sidetracked. He was in exile serving as
cupbearer to the king of Persia when he heard that Jerusalem was still in
a broken-down condition. He was distressed and determined, “I’ve got to
repair the city.” So he prayed, and he obtained permission from the king
to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. God’s favor was on his plans because
this was the purpose for which he had been created. He went and started
to rebuild the wall with the help of the remnant of Jews in Jerusalem.
Some men near Jerusalem didn’t like what Nehemiah was doing,
and they tried to stop him. They ridiculed and slandered him, but he
kept on with the work. They conspired to kill him, but he armed some
of the workers and thwarted the plot. They tried to fill him with fear
and make him flee for his life, but he remained steadfast. One of the
last things they tried is usually the most effective means of sidetracking
people. They said, “Come, let’s have a meeting; let’s discuss what you’re
doing. Maybe we can help you.” (See Nehemiah 1–6.) Yet Nehemiah
wasn’t fooled. He told them, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go
down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehe‑
miah 6:3).
Don’t be distracted from your purpose in God!
Thought for the Day

Discovering our purpose enables us to stop wasting our lives and
start fulfilling our potential.
May 133
May 3
Parents and Purpose
D id Jesus have an adolescent problem? The answer is, very simply,

no. Why? One reason is that His purpose was reinforced by His
earthly father and mother from birth. Somehow I believe that God would
love for all parents to know Him so well that they would have an idea of
the life purpose of their children.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will be with child and give birth
to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:31–32). An angel of the Lord told
Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). When Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary
could talk to Him about His purpose. Even though, at the time, they
didn’t fully understand the implications of His name, they could tell
Him, “You’re going to be a Savior.” The Hebrew meaning of the name
Jesus is “Jehovah-saved,” or “the Lord is salvation.” In essence, Jesus’
name means “Savior.”
I can’t emphasize strongly enough that knowing your purpose is cru‑
cial for your life’s course. Every young person comes to a time when he
or she leaves childhood and enters adulthood. This is the time in which
young people are trying to discover who they are and why they are. This
is also often the time when we lose them or gain them—lose them to a
destructive lifestyle and a wasted life or gain them for a positive, fulfill‑
ing future. Purpose, therefore, is a key to a young person’s effectiveness
and happiness in life.
Thought for the Day

Jesus’ purpose was reinforced by Joseph and Mary from birth.

May 4
Don’t Give Up on a Purposeful Life
All who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.…His
mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father
and I have sought You anxiously.” And He said to them, “Why did you seek
Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
—Luke 2:47–49 (nkjv)
W hen Jesus was twelve years old, He went to Jerusalem with His
parents to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. When the feast
was over, His parents started for home, thinking that Jesus was among
the large group of relatives and friends traveling with them. When they
didn’t find Him, they went back to Jerusalem and finally found Him in
the temple courts. They said, “Why did you leave us, Son? Why did you
do this to us?” His answer was very powerful. At twelve years of age, He
was able to say to His parents, “I must be about My Father’s business.”
Are you still questioning what you are about? Are you still wonder‑
ing what kind of business your Father is in and which part you are to play
in the company? Are you still “changing your major” in life every three
years? Do you find you can’t graduate from God’s preparatory school into
God’s work world?
I know it’s not easy to take a hard look at yourself, but it’s necessary
if you’re going to discover your true purpose in life. You will be busy
doing meaningful work when you learn why you are here. At twelve years
of age, Jesus was busy with His purpose. Isn’t that an exciting way to live?
Don’t give up on having a purposeful life, no matter what your age. Get
busy with the right thing.
Thought for the Day

Don’t give up on having a purposeful life, no matter
what your age.
May 135
May 5
Individually Responsible
D oing the right thing in life always starts with a relationship with
God. As we have seen, God deals with the spirit-man inside us
because “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth”
(John 4:24). We worship God with our spirits, not with our genders.
Therefore, spiritually, it does not matter to God whether you are male or
female. He is concerned with the spirit-man.
That means if you are a woman, before God, your spirit does not
depend on your husband. If you are a man, before God, your spirit does
not depend upon your wife. Many men seem to have this impression.
They drop their wives off at church because they believe their wives are
going to cover for them. She’s the spiritual one in the house, they think. She’ll
pray for the kids, and she’ll pray for me. I’ll just go and play baseball. Yet the
man within the male and the man within the female are each respon‑
sible to God.
Many women misunderstand this truth, also. They seem to be wait‑
ing for their husbands to become Christians before they will worship
God. If their husbands don’t care about God, that fact has nothing to do
with their own worship of Him. The Bible says that every person must
stand on his own feet before God. He is going to deal with us Spirit to
spirit. (See Romans 14:10.)
To live in your purpose, you must make your own decision to develop
a consistent and deep relationship with God through Christ. “Make every
effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.…Grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:14, 18).
Thought for the Day

Doing the right thing in life always starts with
a relationship with God.

May 6
What Is an Anchor?
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
—Hebrews 6:19
M erriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary defines anchor as “a reli‑

able or principal support: mainstay” and “something that serves to
hold an object firmly.” Another definition is “anything that gives stability
and security.” You need stability and security in an environment that is
unstable and insecure. This is a description of the world we live in.
Men serve not only as the foundation, but also as the anchor of the
human family. As a verb, anchor means “to fasten, to stop, or to rest.” Men
are supposed to “fasten” the society—to secure it with beliefs and prin‑
ciples that don’t change. The male is also supposed to stop things from
happening that are harmful to others. I am amazed at what men allow
to happen—in their homes, with their children, in their communities. As
anchors, men can stop their families from being swept away by the cur‑
rents of immorality, stabilize uncertain youth, and bring safety and order
back to communities. An anchor also brings rest: when people have a
true anchor present in their lives, they experience an inner peace.
Men, you should think of your family as a ship, and you as the
anchor of that ship. A ship has no foundation of its own. The hull, the
masts, the sails, the rigging, and even the helm can’t fulfill that function.
Your boat may look beautiful on the outside; yet, by itself, it contains
no foundation. The only thing that secures a boat is an anchor. When
the anchor is in place, the entire hull comes to rest. Even if the ship is
beaten, twisted, and torn by waves, a strong anchor keeps it from break‑
ing apart and allows it to weather the storms.
Thought for the Day

Men are supposed to “fasten” society—to secure it with
beliefs and principles that don’t change.

May 137
May 7
Is Your Anchor Strong Enough?
W hen I was growing up in the Bahamas, where I still live, my

friends and I had a little boat called a Boston Whaler. We
worked during the summers and bought our own boat with our earn‑
ings. We would go out and water ski every day after school.
One day, we were skiing when we decided to do a little diving off a
reef. We fastened the anchor to a rock. But the current was so strong that
it pulled the anchor and actually broke it. Now we were in danger; we
had a boat without an anchor in a current. Fortunately, the current car‑
ried the boat to where we were able to get home safely. But the experience
emphasized for me that having an anchor is not enough. Your anchor
must be able to handle the rough currents of life.
The only way an anchor will be truly tested is during intense pres‑
sure. Men, you must realize that if you break under pressure, your “ship”
will become a victim of life’s currents and storms. Just as it is not enough
merely to say your boat has a strong anchor, it is not good enough merely
to say, “I am a man.” You have to ask, “What kind of man am I? What
currents and storms am I really able to handle?”
The Scripture assures us, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Maybe your
plans for your life or your family have fallen apart. Keep in mind God’s
promise that the storm will not be beyond what you can handle with
Him. God will verify your quality as an anchor by the tests He allows to
come to you.
Thought for the Day

What currents and storms am I really able to handle?

May 8
A Key Principle of Testing
W e have learned that an anchor can be truly tested only when

it undergoes intense pressure. In learning to follow God’s pur‑
poses for our lives, we must understand a key principle of testing: our
tests are designed by our declarations. The moment you make a declara‑
tion that you’re going to do something, life will test your resolve.
If a man says, “I am not going to have sex before marriage,” every
old girlfriend of his will appear in his life within the next week. And he
will wonder what happened. He just invited the test by his declaration.
Or perhaps you say, “I’m going to start a business!” That declaration will
be tested by obstacles and setbacks to see if you really mean it.
Remember the declaration Peter made to Jesus: “Lord, I am ready to
go with you to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). In other words, “Lord, I
don’t know about the other disciples, but as for me, I will never leave You
or forsake You.” Jesus replied, in effect, “Peter, Satan has just demanded
you to appear for trial on what you said. I have prayed that your faith
won’t fail in the midst of it, that you will still believe what I told you.”
(See verses 31–32.)
An anchor is tested by storms; it is only as good as what it survives.
For some of you, God is going to bring you through something big, and
He wants you to remember these instructions. You must learn to survive
the little storms so you can weather the larger ones in fulfillment of the
vision. If God is going to trust you with something and use you to accom‑
plish it, He has to test you first.
Thought for the Day

God will test before He entrusts.
May 139
May 9
The Anchor Must Hold
A nchors are designed to secure a ship; that’s why they must be tested.
It’s too late to test them in an emergency. When a ship is heading
toward a rocky shore, its anchor must hold. Similarly, when men’s fami‑
lies run into problems, they must hold. They have to hold those families
together.
If you are a male living at home with your mother and sisters, and
your father is absent, you are the “father” of that house. Your mother
wasn’t designed to fill that purpose. Jesus took over His family’s leader‑
ship after Joseph died. And He made sure with His last breaths that
His mother would be secured in John’s household after He was gone.
He said to His mother, “‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple,
‘Here is your mother’” (John 19:26–27). He was being the sustainer of His
mother.
When the anchor of a family fails, disaster is inevitable. If you walk
out on your marriage, you will not only destroy your family, but you will
also damage the community. If you’re a pastor and things aren’t going
right and you abandon the pulpit before God calls you to leave, you will
cause problems in the body of Christ. That’s not a personal decision
anymore because you’re called to be the anchor.
Remember that storms are only for a season. You are being tested
to insure your strength. You will come back from the storms better than
ever, in a way others have never seen you before. Your best years are still
ahead of you. Let God refine you, and a new man will emerge. You are
an anchor. Protect your ship throughout the journey so that it can arrive
at its destination safely.
Thought for the Day

When the anchor of a family fails, disaster is inevitable.
Reading: 2 Kings 7–9; John 1:1–28

May 10
Anchored on the Rock
T he word Bahamas means “shallow waters,” but there’s a place where

the sea drops off about six thousand feet, which is called the tongue
of the ocean. Once my associates and I had gone spear fishing, and we
were diving at a reef right next to the tongue. As long as our boat stayed
in the shallow area, the anchor held because it could reach rock at the
bottom. But then the anchor got into some sand, and the current from
the tongue of the ocean started dragging the boat.
When the boat drifted over the tongue, the anchor had nothing
to hold on to; it was thousands of feet above the bottom of the ocean.
When we noticed what was happening, we were on the reef yelling for
the captain to come, and he was trying to start the engine, but the engine
wouldn’t start! He was drifting over the depths of the ocean.
That was a moment I’ll never forget. We were about fifty feet from
the tongue where there were massive sharks. We were stranded on the
reef, there was a strong current that could pull us toward the tongue,
and our only refuge was that boat. At that point, the boat’s anchor was
useless as our security because it had nothing to hold on to. After being
out all night in the darkness, we were finally rescued. Our families had
contacted the equivalent of the Coast Guard in the Bahamas, and a ship
came and found us.
You are not strong enough to keep your family’s “boat” secure if you
as the anchor have nothing solid to hold on to. If you can’t hold steady
and you get “lost at sea,” what will they do? Make sure you are holding
“firm and secure” to Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews 6:19.)
Thought for the Day

As heavy as an anchor is, it needs to rest on something heavier
to enable it to hold steady.
May 141
May 11
The Female as Life-Giver
I t has been said that the pressure exerted on a woman’s body during
delivery would kill a man. Apparently, the pressure is so strong that
a male’s body could not physically hold up under it. This phenomenon
sheds new meaning on the verse, “I praise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm
139:14). When God created the woman to be able to carry a baby to term
and to deliver that baby, He gave her extraordinary capabilities! He built
her so that she could do what He had designed her to do. The woman
was designed to be able to gestate—to conceive, carry a baby to term, and
bring forth this new life into the world.
After the fall of humanity, but apparently before the man and woman
were banished from the garden, the man gave the woman a name. “Adam
named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living”
(Genesis 3:20). The name Eve in the Hebrew is Chavvah, and it means
“life-giver.” It is significant that God did not cause the man and woman
to leave the garden before Eve was named. As was mentioned earlier, her
ability to bear children, her role of life-giver, was part of God’s original
design and is not a result of the fall in any way.
In the month of May, the United States and other countries cel‑
ebrate Mother’s Day. This is appropriate for a number of reasons, but
certainly so because the woman is in essence a life-giver. She was given
the ability to receive the seed of the male and to reproduce after their
kind. This is an awesome capability. God gave the female a powerful
responsibility in the world.
Thought for the Day

God gave the female the powerful responsibility of
being a life-giver.
Reading: 2 Kings 13–14; John 2

May 12
The “Incubator”: Transformation
and Multiplication
P regnancy is a remarkable process that shifts the focus and effort

of the woman’s entire body to the task of developing the new life
within her womb. Yet the woman’s dominion role of life-giver is not
limited to carrying and delivering a human child. God’s design for the
woman as life-giver goes beyond her physical abilities. It permeates her
entire makeup as a female.
We could call the woman an “incubator,” because her very nature
reflects her inclination to develop and give new life to things. This pur‑
pose for the woman is not surprising, because there is often a reflection
of the spiritual in the physical world, as Paul told us in Romans 1.
Since God created the woman’s gestational ability as an integral part
of her nature, this ability permeates all areas of her life. She has a physical
womb, but she also has an emotional “womb,” a mental and instinctual
“womb,” and a spiritual “womb.” She brings forth life in all these areas
of her makeup. She receives things into herself, nurtures them until they
mature, and then gives them back in fully developed form.
Everything goes back to the purpose and design of God. The wom‑
an’s nature is to be a receiver, and that is why she can receive the seed of
the man in order to create a new human life. Yet it is not only a matter
of receiving, but also of being able to transform what she has received in
a remarkable way, that makes her an incubator. A womb will never give
back to you just what it has received. It will always take what you have
given it and multiply it.
When a woman receives an idea and incubates it, therefore, it becomes
something greater—something bigger, stronger, and more dynamic.
Thought for the Day

Whatever you give a woman, she’s going to multiply it.
May 143
May 13
A Woman’s Creative Processes
A s part of her dominion role, the woman is meant to conceive,

develop, and give new life to or “incubate” what she receives into
herself. She is gifted with many creative abilities that can assist her loved
ones, herself, and the world. A woman incubates in these ways:
• She sees possibilities and potential.

• She ponders words, actions, and relationships between things.
• She processes words, ideas, needs, and problems.
• She conceives and invents.
• She develops ideas, plans, and programs.
• She protects what she has received while it develops.
• She produces something new from what she receives.
• She multiplies what she is given.
You could say that the woman is an entire research and develop‑
ment department all in one. In this, she reflects the nature of her Cre‑
ator, who “gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they
were” (Romans 4:17). Just as God created man out of Himself, a woman
brings forth new life from within herself.
Thought for the Day

The woman is gifted with many creative abilities that can assist
her loved ones, herself, and the world.

May 14
Emotional Incubation Can Hurt
A woman has the capacity to receive and incubate not only what is
good, but also what is unhealthy for her emotionally, psychologi‑
cally, or spiritually.
Suppose a man tells his wife during a heated argument, “I wish I
had never married you!” The woman becomes angry when she hears it,
but she locks herself into her emotional room. That one sentence goes
into her heart, penetrating it just as the single sperm out of millions pen‑
etrates the egg at conception. Do you know what she does with it? She
incubates it. Nine years later, he says to her, “Honey, you’re the sweetest
woman I ever could have married.” She says, “You didn’t think so nine
years ago.” She is still carrying the emotional pain.
Many men display domineering or antagonistic attitudes toward the
women in their lives over long periods of time. A woman can become
“pregnant” with the bitterness that a man has been presenting to her for
years. At some point, her long-suffering will come to an end, and she will
be full-term. She might say to the man, “That’s it! I’ve had it. I want you
to leave.” The man will say, “What happened? I’m doing the same things
I’ve been doing for the last ten years.” “Well, that’s it; I’ve had enough.
Get out. Take your clothes, everything, and get out of my house.” He
wonders what has gotten into her, but the “baby” of emotional pain has
been in her for a long time, growing and developing.
The Bible tells us in many places to watch our tongues. Solomon
gave wise advice that can be applied in all our relationships: “Reckless
words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs
12:18).
Thought for the Day

A woman can become “pregnant” with the bitterness that
a man has been presenting her for years.
May 145
May 15
Words Can Go Deep
Y esterday, we talked about how a woman has a natural capacity to

incubate the words she receives. If a man knows that a woman is
an incubator, then he can be more considerate about what he says to her.
Suppose a husband tells his wife that he notices she has put on a few
pounds. To him, it’s just a casual statement, but it becomes something
that the woman incubates. All of a sudden he sees her getting up early
and jogging when she never jogged before. He wonders what brought
this on, but it is because she has conceived his comment. Every time he
mentions it, she feels more and more under pressure. Then she begins to
feel insecure. She starts to wonder if he is looking at other women and
comparing her to them. This builds internally until one day she hears
him say something nice about another woman. Then, get out of the way,
because here comes “the baby”!
Single men also have to be careful about what they say to single
women. If a man says to a woman, “Hey, beautiful, you look great,” he is
probably going to have a “baby” in a little while. I’m not talking about a
physical baby. He will conceive an emotional baby. The woman will tell
him, “I thought you said you loved me!”
Again, Solomon provides us with a truth that is especially appli‑
cable to male/female relationships: “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps
silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue” (Proverbs 17:28).
Thought for the Day

If a man knows that a woman is an incubator, then he can be
more considerate about what he says to her.

May 16
A Spiritual Incubator
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James,
and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.
—Mark 16:1
W hy is it that few men attend prayer meetings? I noticed this at

my church and started to wonder about it. Then I realized, “It
is because women are incubators. If they are presented with an idea, a
need, or a problem, they will take it to heart and will work through it
until they arrive at a solution.”
Just as a womb nourishes a fetus during development and an incuba‑
tor protects premature or sick babies, a woman has a nurturing instinct
that can be a powerful source of encouragement in the lives of others. If
a man wants something prayed about, he should tell a woman. She’ll take
the circumstance into her spiritual womb, where she meets with God in
her inner being, incubate it for months, if necessary, and bring forth a
solution. She won’t give up until she receives an answer from God.
Jesus didn’t say that it was a man who kept knocking at the judge’s
door in order to obtain justice. (See Luke 18:2–8.) It wasn’t a man who
persisted with the Lord Jesus for a healing for her daughter, saying, “Yes,
Lord,…but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Mat‑
thew 15:27). Do you know to whom God first gave the resurrection mes‑
sage? Women. It was the women who first saw the resurrected Christ and
went to tell the men. Why? Because the men had locked themselves in
their room! Note also that Jesus gave the woman at the well a message,
and she turned it into an entire evangelistic team. (See John 4:4–30.)
Women are spiritual incubators who birth spiritual results in God.
Thought for the Day

A woman won’t give up in prayer until she receives
an answer from God.

May 147
May 17
Develop Your Gifts
A woman was made to give life. This means that if you need some life
in your life, get a life-giver. Some men today are walking around
trying to be self-reliant, keeping women at arm’s length. They don’t know
the life they are missing.
God made the female to be the life-giver, so that whenever you need
to give life to something, she can do it. Have you ever been in the apart‑
ment of a man who is living by himself? The colors are drab. Everything
is out of place. People tell him, “You need a woman’s touch.” When the
man gets married and his wife moves in, she changes the drab look. She
puts up colorful curtains, hangs pictures on the walls, rearranges the fur‑
niture, and, in no time, makes it into a beautiful place. When a woman
walks into a room, she changes the countenance of that room. She gives
life to a place.
Ladies, your husbands might not be able to provide you with a cas‑
tle right away, but you can take what they provide for you, incubate it,
and give life to it. When you have finished with it, the house will have
become a home.
Many women have been so beaten down by life that they have rarely
used their gifts of incubation. They have been told by others that they
have nothing to contribute. Women, I believe that God wants to set you
free to develop the gifts He has placed within you and the ideas and
visions He will give you. Don’t be afraid. God has given you tremendous
ability, and you can be a blessing to many as you reflect the nature of
your Creator, the Life-Giver.
Thought for the Day

God wants to set women free to develop the gifts He has
placed within them.
Reading: 1 Chronicles 1–3; John 5:25–47

May 18
Principles of the Woman as
Life-Giver
T oday, review these principles of the woman as life-giver and reflect

on how they apply to your everyday life—directly for yourself, if you
are a woman, and in your relationships with women, if you are a man.
1. A major aspect of the female’s dominion role is that she is a life-

giver.
2. The woman is an “incubator” because her very nature reflects her
inclination to develop and give new life to things.
3. The woman’s incubational ability permeates all areas of her life. She
has a physical womb, but she also has an emotional “womb,” a men‑
tal and instinctual “womb,” and a spiritual “womb.”
4. When a man knows that a woman is an incubator, then he can be
considerate about what he says to her.
5. A woman has a nurturing instinct that can be a powerful source of
help and encouragement in the lives of others.
6. God wants to set women free to develop the gifts He has placed
within them and the ideas and visions He will give them.
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of
all the living. (Genesis 3:20)
Heavenly Father,
You are the true Life-Giver. It is because of You that we walk in
a fruitful life today. Please enable us to develop our gifts to the
fullest as we seek Your will for our lives. We want to be used by
You and to develop the things You have given us in a way that
will bless Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
May 149
May 19
Love the Mother of Your Children
A fter loving God, the most important thing a man can do for his
children is to love their mother. Many men buy gifts for their chil‑
dren, such as bicycles and computers, when what the children want and
need most is to see their fathers truly love their mothers. There is noth‑
ing more precious than for a child to see his parents being affectionate
with one another. I believe children get a feeling of security when they see
that.
Men, showing consideration and respect for your wife is extremely
important. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just
as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Are you demanding and
impatient with your spouse, or do you treat her with kindness and under‑
standing? What are you modeling for your children about what it means
to be a husband? Children take in everything they see, and your children
observe the way you treat your wife more than you know. A child will
often lose respect for his father if he doesn’t see him giving his mother
the consideration and love she deserves.
As we have seen, the way men treat their wives affects how God
views them, also. The Word says that if a husband doesn’t treat his wife
with respect, his very prayers will be hindered. (See 1 Peter 3:7.) When
you love the mother of your children, you bring peace and happiness
into your home, and you teach your children what it means to be a real
man.
Thought for the Day

There is nothing more precious for a child to see than his
parents being affectionate with one another.

May 20
Love Your Children
The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone
he accepts as a son.
—Hebrews 12:6
L ove is not buying gifts. Love is you being a gift. The Bible tells us that
our heavenly Father so loved the world that He became a revelation
of that love in Jesus Christ. Therefore, if a man is really a father, he
doesn’t just send gifts. He sends himself. That’s the essence of love.
Love also means correcting, chastening, and reproving your chil‑
dren when they need it. Some children are begging to be corrected, but
their fathers don’t have any sense to realize it. Some children hate their
fathers because they let them do whatever they want. The fathers imag‑
ine the children will do fine on their own. They think, My children are old
enough to handle it, while their children are thinking, I need help, Daddy! I
don’t know the right values in life. I don’t have standards to judge by. I’m looking
to you to give me some guidelines, and you’re telling me, “Decide for yourself.”
Loving your children means setting standards for them. Life today is
very complex and confusing. Children need someone who can tell them,
“This is the way in which to go.” You need to give your children a love
that instills eternal values. I’ve talked to parents who were concerned
because their child was wayward. “We don’t know what happened. We
gave him everything he wanted,” they said. That was the problem. You
don’t give your child everything he wants. You give him what he needs—
unconditional love, godly discipline, and eternal values to live by.
Thought for the Day

Love is you being a gift.
May 151
May 21
Be Responsible for Your Children
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God
disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
—Hebrews 12:10
M any fathers don’t really want to take responsibility for their chil‑
dren, because children take time and energy. Therefore, they
leave them to fend for themselves.
How much time do you spend with your children? Who is really
bringing them up? Perhaps you and your wife leave for work early in the
morning and don’t return until late in the evening. Someone else has
brought them up all day. Realize that everything that person represents
goes into your children. They will learn their views of God, their concept
of themselves, and their philosophy of life from their caretaker.
A father’s responsibility also includes disciplining his children, but
some men don’t have the backbone for it. They are afraid to correct their
children, so they leave it up to their wives. The Bible doesn’t tell the
mother to correct the children; it says the father is to discipline them. Yet
how many fathers leave discipline up to the mothers? Some fathers don’t
correct their children because they want the children to like them. They
don’t realize the effect this has on their families. Their children think,
Daddy doesn’t really love me. They may also grow up believing a parent isn’t
supposed to discipline his children, so they don’t become good agents of
correction for their own children. There are times when love has to be
tough. If you love your children, you will correct them.
Balancing all of life’s demands can be difficult for a father, but your
children should be at the top of the list, after your wife.
Thought for the Day

Who is really raising your children?

May 22
Train Your Children
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did
not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
—Hosea 11:3–4
I t was I who taught Ephraim to walk.” God was talking about His people.
He was saying, “I have always been with you. From the time you were
a ‘child,’ I was working with you. When you fell down, I picked you up.
I was training you.” Our heavenly Father takes a personal interest in our
training. Likewise, we are to personally train our children.
Proverbs 19:18 says, “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do
not be a willing party to his death.” This is serious business. The verse is
saying, “Discipline and train a child now because there is hope in that
discipline, hope in that training.” You are giving hope to your child when
you discipline and correct him because you are giving him a value system
for his entire life!
The above verse makes the strong statement that if you don’t do
this, you may be a party to your child’s death. Proverbs 29:15 says, “A
child left to himself disgraces his mother.” Check out the children in the
reform schools. Check out the inmates in the prisons. Look at the people
living on the streets. Observe the young people who have little sense of
direction or morality. Many of them were left to themselves as children,
with no one to teach them character and values. If you don’t correct or
discipline your child when he needs it, then when he goes bad, you are
responsible.
Thought for the Day

When you discipline and correct your child you are giving him a
value system for his entire life.
May 153
May 23
Condition Your Children
M y heart goes out to single parents who have to fill the roles of
both father and mother. I strongly want to encourage you not to
let your children train you. Don’t allow them to reverse the roles of par‑
ent and child. You may not know everything in life, but you know more
than they do! And that’s enough for you to be in charge. I don’t care how
old they are, when you’re paying the mortgage, when you’re providing for
them, you make the rules. If they disobey the rules, you have to make
sure they experience the consequences.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not
depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 kjv). The word for “train” in this verse is the
same word that is used for conditioning. The Bible is saying, “Condition
your child in the way he should go.” Why? He can’t condition himself. He
was born with a rebellious spirit. You don’t have to teach your children
to swear, lie, steal, commit adultery, or have bitterness and hatred. It’s
already in them. If you don’t condition them, they will naturally become
wayward. You have to train them. If you seek and trust Him, the Lord
will provide everything you need to help you fulfill this role, whether you
are in a two-parent family or are a single parent. “A father to the fatherless,
a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5).
Thought for the Day

You may not know everything, but you know more
than your children do!

May 24
Disciplined by My Parents
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on,
however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those
who have been trained by it.
—Hebrews 12:11
I f you train your children, they will grow up to know God’s ways and
to have peace in their hearts. The things children learn from their
parents never leave them. I still retain what my father and mother taught
me. The same temptations that come to any young man came to me.
What kept me on an even keel were the values and morals that were
instilled in me. There were situations where, if it wasn’t for the train‑
ing of my parents, I would have gone under. What kept me safe was the
character I learned from their teaching and correction. I love my parents
because they disciplined me.
The King James Version uses the word “chastening” instead of “disci-
pline” in Hebrews 12:11. The word chasten means “to correct,” “to reprove,”
or “to discipline.” Some children are punished but not corrected. Parents
sometimes confuse the two. Your children need discipline. To discipline
means to instill moral and mental character, to give values to a person.
You don’t give values just by punishing. You give values by correcting.
My parents had a wonderful way of sitting me down and saying,
“Now, here is why we disciplined you.” They didn’t just punish me; they
corrected me. They said, “If you keep this up, this will happen,” and “If
you keep this kind of company, this will be the result.” Disciplining your
children will be painful for both you and your children at times, but the
results will be positive and healthy.
Thought for the Day

You don’t give values just by punishing.
You give values by correcting.
May 155
May 25
Encourage Your Children
For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own
children, encouraging, comforting and urging [or warning] you to live lives
worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
—1 Thessalonians 2:11–12
C hildren need encouragement. Some children never hear an encour‑

aging word from their parents. Do you hear how some parents talk
to their children? They act as if the children can’t do anything right.
They don’t remember what it is like to be a child, and they expect their
children to have adult skills. A ten-year-old boy is washing the dishes.
His father comes in and says, “Can’t you clean dishes better than this?”
The little guy is at least trying. So encourage him. Maybe he leaves a little
soap on the stove or counter. Don’t look at what he left; look at what he
cleaned up. Encourage him.
Maybe your child can’t read quite as fast as you did when you were
her age. Don’t criticize her. Encourage her. Some children are really try‑
ing. Sometimes a child will try to help out with the chores and will unin‑
tentionally break something. His mother will run into the room and yell,
“What are you doing?” He gets a lecture. So he goes to his room with a
broken heart, a depressed spirit, and a hurt ego. He thinks, I’m not going
to help ever again! Some parents don’t see their child’s intention. They see
only their own anger and frustration. So correct and instruct your child
with patience, and encourage his or her efforts.
Thought for the Day

Some children never hear an encouraging word
from their parents.

May 26
Comfort Your Children
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves
have received from God.
—2 Corinthians 1:3–4
C hildren need comforting. You encourage them when they’re doing

something positive, and when you want them to improve in some‑
thing. But there will be times when they become discouraged, hurt, con‑
fused, or disillusioned. That is when they need comfort.
How can you comfort your children? By letting them know they are
loved, even when they make mistakes or don’t live up to your expecta‑
tions. By listening to their struggles and problems with kindness and
understanding. By giving them warm embraces and loving words when
they are sad. By remembering the times God has comforted you in your
distress and giving that same comfort to them.
To be a comforter, you have to be accessible to your children. You
have to know what’s going on in their lives so you can know when they’re
going through struggles and loneliness. Children will be comforted to
know you’re available to them and that you make it a point to spend time
with them. Your comfort will also help them to know that their heavenly
Father is a Comforter, just as He is described in His Word: “the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.”
Thought for the Day

Comforting your children will help them to know that
their heavenly Father is a Comforter.
May 157
May 27
Warn Your Children
T he Bible points out that conscientious parents warn their children

“to live lives worthy of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). It is the parents’
responsibility to warn their children of the consequences of rejecting
God. “Son, there is an eternal hell. I warn you, whatever you sow on
earth, you’re going to reap in eternity.” “Daughter, I warn you that what‑
ever you become involved in can follow you in your memory forever.”
These are examples of spiritual warning.
Parents are to urge or warn their children to live righteously. Yet
how many parents confuse warning with threatening? “I’m going to kill
you if you don’t stop that!” Some fathers don’t have any kind of tact
because they don’t know any better. A child interprets a warning as love
but sees a threat as hate.
Many parents warn their children, but their children don’t listen
to them because they aren’t setting a godly example. If you are walking
in God’s ways when you warn your children, they will come to respect
the God of their parents. They will say, “If I obey my parents, then I’m
obeying my God. I know that my parents know what is best because I see
God working in their lives. I’ll obey my parents because I want God to
work in my life, too.”
Warn your children. It’s your responsibility. “Him [Christ] we preach,
warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28).
Thought for the Day

Warn your children. It’s your responsibility.

May 28
Are You Moving Toward God
or Away from Him?
Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God not gave thanks
to him.…Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.…
—Romans 1:21, 24
A re you setting a good example for your children by walking in God’s

ways? What are they observing about the way you live your life and
the consequences of your actions?
When humanity rejected God, He gave them what they wanted. He
gave them over to their passions. That’s not as simple as it might sound.
If God had just given us over to what we wanted, the implication might
have been that we could succeed in spite of Him. But when God gave
us over, He also allowed us to experience the inevitable results of our
actions. God didn’t just say, “Okay, go, carry on.” He said, “If you carry
on, you’re going to end up depraved, because that isn’t the way I made
you.” (See Romans 1:28.)
The principle here is that you cannot move away from God and be
successful. You cannot cut off your relationship with the Manufacturer
and expect to find genuine parts somewhere else. Any part you find on
your own will not function properly.
God says that when we reject His purposes, He gives us over to a
depraved mind. In other words, He tells us, “Without Me, your mind
isn’t going to get any better; it will only get worse.” Therefore, if we think
we can find out how to be better women or men without God, we are in
trouble, for the consequences are serious. When we believe that we don’t
need God, we get worse and worse. If you don’t want to live in God’s
purpose for humanity, then you will end up doing yourself harm.
Thought for the Day

You cannot move away from God’s plan and be successful.
May 159
May 29
How Are You Using Your Life?
E ven though humanity as a whole has turned away from God, He

still creates us with gifts and talents that are intended to be used to
fulfill His purposes. Yet since we don’t understand how they are to be
used, we take the talents He has given us and use them against ourselves
and others.
For example, Romans 1:29 says that one of the manifestations of a
depraved mind is unrighteousness or wickedness. Some of the wicked‑
est people in the world are wise when it comes to information. They are
sharp people; they can be wicked with class. Some people are gifted, but
they use their gifts in such a wicked way that their victims don’t know
what hit them until it’s all over. Our gifts, which God means for good,
can be turned and used for evil purposes.
Some people blame the devil for the results of their actions. Don’t
blame the devil; he just takes advantage of your decisions. The devil can‑
not dominate you or force you to do anything. Instead, he waits for your
decisions. When you make a bad one, he’ll ride it to the end, or just as
far as he can, and he’ll try to bring you down with it. Satan is not the
culprit. The culprit is your rejection or ignorance of God’s purpose. You
don’t know God’s purpose for living, and so you abuse your life. Be care‑
ful; that abuse can cripple or kill you.
We must discover God’s purpose for our lives and use our gifts for
His glory.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights….He chose to give us birth through the
word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
(James 1:17–18)
Thought for the Day

God creates us with gifts that are intended to be used
to fulfill His purposes.
May 30
The Cause of Conflict
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from
your desires that battle within you?
—James 4:1
G od’s purposes are vital for successful lives and relationships. When
we don’t understand and appreciate God-given differences between
people, we will inevitably have conflict with others.
The misunderstanding and discord between women and men may
be illustrated by the way many people enter into marriage today. Most
are unprepared for the marriage relationship. They approach it in the
same way that they buy a car. When you want to buy a new car, you go
to various car dealerships, compare the models and features, make your
selection, sign the papers, and then drive your new car home. The mere
act of getting married is like purchasing a new car; it is relatively simple
to do. You look at the choices, find somebody you like, go to a minister
or justice of the peace for the ceremony, receive your marriage certificate,
and then go home with your new spouse.
However, buying a car is one thing; operating and maintaining it
is something else. Likewise, getting married is one thing, while main‑
taining and growing in the relationship is another. Many husbands and
wives have been trying to function without understanding or addressing
the other’s individual needs. Each spouse has been trying to operate
based only on what he or she needs. That’s why many relationships are at
a standstill. To address the conflict between men and women, we must
learn, understand, and appreciate each other’s unique designs.
Thought for the Day

When we don’t understand and appreciate our God-given
differences, we will inevitably have conflict.
May 161
May 31
The Why Dictates the Design
Y esterday, we talked about the importance of learning, understand‑

ing, and appreciating the unique designs of women and men in
order to resolve the conflicts between them. We often assume that a
man needs what a woman needs and a woman needs what a man needs.
In many ways, this is not the case. Despite their similarities, each has a
unique design and unique needs.
Consider these questions: Why are humans different from animals?
Why is a bird different from a fish? Why is the sun different from the
moon? Why are women different from men? Everything is the way it is
because of why it was created. The why dictates the design. God created
everything with the ability to fulfill its purpose. His purposes were
always planned out ahead of time; everything was already “made” in the
mind of the Maker before He created it.
Since God is a God of purpose, He never created anything hoping
that it would turn out to be something viable. He first decided what it was
to be, and then He made it. He always begins with a finished product in
mind. What this means is that God never gives a purpose to something
after He has made it; rather, He builds everything to fulfill the specific
purpose He already had in mind for it. God designed everything to func‑
tion in its purpose, and everything is the way it is because its purpose
requires it to be so.
The unique designs and needs of males and females enable them
to fulfill the purpose for which God created them. The next time you
begin to have conflict with the opposite sex because of your differences,
remember that the other person’s unique design is God-given and vital
to fulfill His purposes.
Thought for the Day

Everything is the way it is because of why it was created.

June 1
My Parents’ Roles
I am one of eleven children, and my family was typical of the not-so-

distant past. My father rose in the morning before we children got
up, and he came home after we had gone to bed. He spent his whole life
working, trying to feed us and keep a roof over our heads and clothes
on our backs. It was a twenty-four-hour-a-day job. My mother had to stay
home, and her job was as hard as his. She had to take care of all eleven
of us—cooking the meals, bathing us, washing our clothes, getting us off
to school, disciplining us. It was a very hard life. It was survival.
Historically, the basic needs of survival required men and women
to develop distinct roles and skills, which were passed along to succeed‑
ing generations. Up until your grandparents’ time or even your parents’
time, everybody knew his or her role and had skills that were equal to it.
Husband and wife knew what they needed to do, and they did it.
Although survival was difficult, relationships were comparatively
easy because there was no confusion over gender roles. A man and a
woman didn’t have to wonder whether one was infringing on the other’s
territory. Her role was to keep the house, cook the food, and care for the
children. His job was to hunt or harvest the crops and build a dwelling in
order to provide food and shelter for the family. Life was straightforward
and so, in that sense, relationships were less complicated than they are
today.
Hundreds and thousands of years of tradition have been set aside in
just one or two generations. Let us have patience with one another as we
sort out roles from purpose and learn to live as God intends.
Thought for the Day

The basic needs of survival required men and women to develop
distinct roles and skills.
June 163
June 2
Contemporary Roles
L ife is completely different for men and women today because we are
no longer utterly dependent on one another for security and sur‑
vival. Our roles and strategies have really changed.
Men used to have a role that was very clear—one they didn’t share
with their wives. How was manhood measured? Young men were told,
“Get a job, son, so you can provide for your family, and have some
babies.” Being the breadwinner and having the ability to procreate was
the measure of a man. But the way society views men is in transition,
and these are not considered the primary marks of manhood any longer.
A number of families still follow the traditional pattern of the husband
holding the job while the wife stays home with the children, especially
while the children are young. However, even these marriages are usually
influenced by contemporary rather than traditional ideas of how men
and women are to relate to one another.
Biology doesn’t determine male-female roles the way it used to.
Today, because of the prevalence of both dual careers and birth control,
a husband and wife might choose not to have children. If they do have a
child, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the wife will stay home every day
to take care of the baby.
This change is bringing new kinds of stresses to the family. For exam‑
ple, since a woman’s primary role of childbearing and child-rearing was
what formerly brought her respect from her husband, the man now needs
to honor his wife in different ways. Similarly, since the man’s primary role
of breadwinner was what used to bring a man respect from his wife, a
working woman needs to understand how to honor her husband.
Twenty-first century relationships are difficult, but we can learn to
live in a way that honors both God and one another.
Thought for the Day

Biology doesn’t determine male-female roles the way it used to.

June 3
What Does a Woman Want?
F or the first time in recorded history, men and women look to one
another primarily for love and companionship rather than survival
and protection. Our priorities as human beings have changed. People are
looking for something more: happiness, intimacy, and lasting passion are
now requirements for relationships. Yet understanding how to provide
these things for their wives often does not come easily to men.
The male’s traditional roles are not enough to make his partner
happy anymore. What can men do to make women happy today? That’s
the challenge. Have you ever heard a man say, “What does a woman
want?” In the past, men used to tell their wives, “Woman, what else do
you want from me? I put a roof over your head and food in the kitchen.”
Remember when men said that? Those days are over.
Nowadays, women want companionship and attention in order to
be happy. My father couldn’t take my mother for walks in the park or out
to dinner at a restaurant. There was no time for it. He made my mother
happy just by making sure that the family had food, shelter, clothing, and
running water.
Women also want intimacy and communication. “Talk to me. You
haven’t told me you love me all day.” Men, that’s the way women think.
“You looked at everybody else except me. You didn’t notice my dress.”
Men are trying to figure out how to build intimacy and communication
into their relationships. In this challenging time in our culture, women
need to show understanding to the men in their lives. In coming days, we
will look at specific ways to build intimacy and communication in relation‑
ships.
Thought for the Day

Happiness, intimacy, and lasting passion are now
requirements for relationships.
June 165
June 4
A Woman Who Knows Her Purpose
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
—Proverbs 19:21
M any are the plans, the opinions, the doctrines, and the concepts
that are in our hearts, but it is God’s purpose that counts. When
we rely on our own understanding of our purposes, we run into difficulty.
Yet when we understand God’s purposes for us, we can address the needs
that come with those purposes. In this way, we can live fulfilled lives.
Many men are having problems in their lives today for two reasons.
First, they don’t know their own purpose; second, they definitely don’t
understand the woman’s purpose. When men do not know their own
purpose or the woman’s purpose, it has a negative effect on the woman,
causing her both stress and heartache. Yet when a woman understands
her purpose and how it relates to the man’s purpose, she can bring much
healing and fulfillment to her relationships. She may even be able to alle‑
viate some of the situations of misuse and even abuse in her life. You’ll
be amazed at what a woman who knows her purpose can become. I’ve
met very few men who can handle a woman who knows her purpose.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to
them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it.” (Genesis 1:27–28)
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Thought for the Day

When a woman understands her purpose and how it relates
to the man’s purpose, she can bring much healing
and fulfillment to her relationships.
Reading: 2 Chronicles 21–22; John 14

June 5
The Purpose of Fatherhood
T he priority of purpose has its origins in our Creator, and it has sig‑
nificant practical applications for us as human beings. When our
Creator made humanity, He designed men and women to fulfill their
specific functions and gave them qualities and characteristics to enable
them to perform His intended purpose. The nature of a thing is deter‑
mined by its purpose. If a man does not know, understand, or fulfill his
God‑given purpose, then problems will arise both in his identity and his
relationships.
From Scripture, we can see that God created the male with a par‑
ticular purpose in mind. We have already talked about some of his major
responsibilities as the first human being created, such as foundation and
anchor. Related to these ideas is the concept of fatherhood. God clearly
intended men to be fathers; therefore, He designed them to be so. The
nature of the male as father is providential, essential, and valuable for
the fulfillment of his particular purpose in life.
“Fatherhood” has a much broader meaning than just the biologi‑
cal production of children. Fatherhood is not a choice for a male but is
inherent in his very nature. Males are designed to provide for and pro‑
tect everything within their sphere of influence. Every male is a father,
and his personal fulfillment is linked to living out that purpose. Purpose
is the source of all true fulfillment and defines one’s existence.
We will examine fatherhood over the next several days, as well as
in other months of this devotional, because of the vital part fathers are
meant to play in the healing of our families, communities, and nations.
I want to present to you the purpose of fatherhood according to the
“Manufacturer’s Manual” (the Bible). We will begin tomorrow with an
understanding of God as Father.
Thought for the Day

The essence of the male is fatherhood.
June 167
June 6
The Father of Life
J esus taught us to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name” (Matthew 6:9 kjv). The Father in heaven was not just Jesus’
Father; He is ours, as well. Isaiah 63:16 declares, “You, O Lord, are our
Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.” When we use the term Our
Father in relation to God, we must remember that this is not so much a
name but a title resulting from a function. We can say that God is our
Father in two main ways: through creation and through redemption.
God is the Source and Sustainer of everything He created, which
makes Him the Father of all things. Whether it is material or spirit, God
is still the Father of it. He is Father by virtue of His creative will. James
1:17 reveals that God is “the Father of the heavenly lights.” That means
stars, suns, moons, and everything that exists in the universe came out
of God. All creation came out of God. Everything came from Him, but
He Himself did not come from any other source. The word God means
self‑sustaining, self‑sufficient One. God is life and gives everything life.
God is also our Father through our redemption in Jesus Christ.
Through His sinless life and sacrifice on the cross, Jesus restored fallen
human beings to their heavenly Father. After Jesus’ resurrection, He said
to His disciples, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God,
and your God” (John 20:17 kjv). We can call the Creator our Father again
because of the reconciliation provided through Christ.
We need to keep in mind that the fatherhood of God is indicative
of His nature; it is the way He desires to relate to us. “But you received the
Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15).
Thought for the Day

God is our Father by virtue of creation and redemption.

June 7
Designed to Be a Father
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should
inhabit the whole earth.
—Acts 17:26
F rom this Scripture we see that God created the male to function as
father on earth. Genesis 1:27 tells us that man was made in God’s
own image, and that the general term man refers to both male and female.
But Adam was created first (see Genesis 2:7–8, 18–23), and it was from
him that all humanity, including Eve, came. That is why, in the geneal‑
ogy of Jesus recorded in Luke 3, the lineage concludes with, “…the son of
Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (v. 38). Adam came from God.
Recall that in Genesis, God created only one human being from
the soil. He never went back to the soil to create Eve or any other human
being. He placed all of mankind in that first man, Adam. This is a mys‑
tery. Everything God wanted for the human race was in that one man.
God went to the soil, carved out one male, breathed life into him, cre‑
ated out of that male a female, and then said, “Now be fruitful.” (See
Genesis 1:28.)
Fatherhood is the design and destiny of the male. God wanted the
male to be the source of all people. The male is father, not by vote or
cultural positioning but by virtue of his disposition in the process of
creation. This is because he was to represent God. God the Father is the
perfect Model, Example, and Mentor for all men who desire to be true
fathers. Just as God is the Father of all living things, He made the male
to be the father of the human family.
Thought for the Day

Fatherhood is the design and the destiny of the male.
June 169
June 8
What Is Father?
W e must have a clear understanding of the meaning of “father”

because one of the greatest dangers to society is a misconception
of what true fatherhood is. Definitions determine interpretations; thus,
we must start here. In the Old Testament, two Hebrew consonants spell
“father”—aleph and beth, creating the word ab. Abba, meaning “Daddy,”
comes from this Hebrew word for father. In the New Testament, the
Greek word for father is pater. So, you have ab and abba in Old Testament
Hebrew and pater in New Testament Greek.
What do ab and pater mean? These words denote the following:
source, nourisher, sustainer, supporter, founder, and protector. The
source of a thing is its ab or father. As the source, the ab sustains and
maintains. Another meaning of the word father is “upholder.” Father is
the source that upholds everything that comes from it.
You cannot be a true father unless you are willing to uphold that
which comes out of you. God sustains everything that came out of Him.
Through the Son, God the Father made the universe and upholds all
things by the power of His Word. (See Hebrews 1:2–3.)
Other words that describe the nature of fatherhood are progenitor
and ancestor. Progenitor comes from the Latin meaning “to beget forth.” It
also denotes “originator.” A father is the initiator or source. God created
man to be father—the progenitor, source, and supporter of generations.
The words ancestor and ancestry ultimately come from the same Latin verb
antecedere, meaning “to go before” or “precede.” At the start of an ancestral
line is the father. He begins the heritage for all his seed. This is very impor‑
tant. The man (father) was given the responsibility not only to start and
provide the future generation, but also to give that generation an identity.
Thought for the Day

You cannot be a true father unless you are willing to uphold
that which comes out of you.

June 9
Fundamentals of Fatherhood
M en must understand the basic principles of fatherhood in order

to be effective fathers. We have discovered that the father is the
source that sustains, protects, nourishes, and provides identity for that
which he produces. Let us review the principles that distinguish men in
their role of father:
The male is the source of the female. First Corinthians 11:8 says,
“For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.” Therefore, the
glory of the man is the woman. (See verse 7.) In other words, the man
is responsible for what came out of him. Since woman came from man,
men are responsible for women and how they treat them.
The male is the source of seed. The male is the host of the sperm.
He is the initiator of human life, whereas the woman is the incubator of
life. It is the woman who gives life to the man’s seed.
The male is the nourisher of fruit. The seed of a tree gets planted,
and then it becomes another tree that bears fruit. Whatever comes out
of the seed is fruit; therefore, fathers are responsible for nourishing the
fruit.
The male is designed to protect. God gave men physical strength
and physique. Their bone structure is heavier and bigger than the wom‑
an’s—not to beat her, but to protect her.
The male maintains his offspring. The fatherhood principle is to
maintain. The male is responsible for the security, sustenance, and devel‑
opment of his seed. Fatherhood means maintenance.
The male teaches his seed. A male is a godly father when he takes
responsibility for his seed and gives his seed knowledge. The source must
train and instruct the resource. That is fatherhood.
Thought for the Day

The father is the source that sustains, protects, nourishes, and
provides identity for that which he produces.
June 171
June 10
In Need of Good Fathers
T he month of June, during which many people celebrate Father’s

Day, is a good time to encourage men in their role as fathers. It
seems that never before have we been as much in need of good fathers
as we do today. When God created the male and gave him his dominion
assignments, He included the responsibility of cultivating and protect‑
ing his offspring. Yet, today, there is a widespread lack of understanding
about the nature of fatherhood. Men of all nations and races lack the
skills of good parenting.
Certain men think that their ability to produce a child makes them
a man. Any male can have a baby. Merely having a child is no guarantee
that you are a real man—or a real father. These men don’t know the mean‑
ing of being a covering, protection, and role model for their children.
Many men were never taught what it means to be a good father, and
their own fathers did not provide good examples for them. When fathers
are a negative influence on their sons, boys grow up with the wrong con‑
cept of marriage and fatherhood. Broken relationships and families are
the result.
In a large number of homes today, fathers are absent due to sepa‑
ration, divorce, and the rising number of out-of-wedlock births. Other
fathers live in the home but are absent from the family, for all intents
and purposes. They have forsaken their responsibility because of career
pursuits and selfishness, as they put their own pleasures ahead of their
children’s welfare. This means that many children don’t have the benefit
of a good father.
Good fathers are always in great demand. Men, will you commit to
being the fathers you were created and designed to be?
Thought for the Day

Good fathers are always in great demand.

June 11
A Tremendous Calling
M en, we have a tremendous calling ahead of us. Our task involves

changing not only our own perspectives of fatherhood, but also
those of our children, especially our sons. God intends every boy to grow
up into fatherhood. As a matter of fact, buried in every boy is a father.
Again, I am not just talking about the male’s biological ability to father
offspring. Being a “father” is rooted in God’s image, because God is
Father. He is not satisfied until the father comes out of the boy.
We have to communicate to our sons the standards of God, so that
the trend I described yesterday can be reversed. But we have to start with
ourselves. We must discover and put into practice what the Word of God
says about fathers and to fathers. Then we can teach these principles to
other men and boys. God’s truth about fathers will be the salvation of
our communities and nations.
God has always been very specific in His Word about the responsi‑
bilities of a father. This role is of particular importance to Him, because
fathers are meant to represent Him to their children. When fathers fail
to show His love and character to their sons and daughters, the children’s
concept of God suffers, affecting their relationships with Him. Now, no
earthly father can ever be perfect. Yet God has provided a wealth of
instruction on parenting in His Word. When men look to Him for guid‑
ance and strength, they can fulfill their responsibilities and be meaning‑
ful reflections of the fatherhood of God to their children.
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
Thought for the Day

Fathers represent God to their children.
Reading: Ezra 1–2; John 19:23–42
June 173
June 12
Know Your Heavenly Father
A fter Jesus rose from the dead, He made the wonderful statement,
“I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”
(John 20:17). Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf, we
can know God not only as our Creator, but also as our Father.
A man won’t be able to understand what it means to be a good
father if he doesn’t know His heavenly Father. A man must also have
faith in God as His Father—that He will love, protect, and provide for
him. Trust and reliance on God is what a father needs to model for his
children. They must see a strong walk of faith in their father’s life, both
when things are going well and when life is beset with difficulties. The
greatest heritage a man can leave his sons and daughters is not money or
property but faith. A house can burn down, or someone can sell or repos‑
sess it, but no one can destroy the faith you have instilled in your child.
Besides, the child will be able to use his faith to obtain another house,
because he has been taught to trust God as his Provider.
In the Bible, you will often see variations on the phrase “the God
of my father.” (See, for example, Genesis 26:24; 32:9; 2 Chronicles 17:4;
Isaiah 38:5.) If your children have seen God reflected in you, then you
have displayed His life and character to them. In doing so, you have
given them a true spiritual heritage.
“I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the begin-
ning” (1 John 2:13).
Thought for the Day

The greatest heritage a man can leave his sons and daughters
is not money or property but faith.
Reading: Ezra 3–5; John 20

June 13
What Kind of God Are You
Representing?
The father shall make known Your truth to the children.
—Isaiah 38:19 (nkjv)
W hy did the children of the patriarchs follow the God of their

fathers? He kept His promises and took care of them. In Genesis
12:2, God said to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation and I
will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Later,
Abraham’s servant reported, “The Lord has blessed my master abundantly,
and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold,
menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah
has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns”
(Genesis 24:35).
Abraham’s son, Isaac, saw firsthand that the God of his father was
real, and he decided, “I’m going to serve my father’s God, too.” Today,
many children are turning away from the true God because their fathers’
faith is weak, and therefore they think their fathers’ God is also weak.
If you are a father, your representation of God in the home will
likely determine what your children believe about Him. Will they say, “I
will serve the God of my father”? Or will they say, “The God of my father
is not worth serving”? I want my children to see the faithfulness of God
displayed in my life. I want them to say, “This God that my father and
mother serve is real. I will follow the God of my parents because He is
faithful.”
Men, if you have one goal in life, let it be this: before you die, you
will hear your children say, “I serve the God of my father.”
Thought for the Day

Your representation of God in the home will likely determine
what your children believe about Him.
Reading: Ezra 6–8; John 21
June 175
June 14
Principles of Fatherhood
T oday, review these principles of fatherhood that we have learned

over the last two months and reflect on how you can apply them
in your everyday life—directly for yourself, if you are a man, and in your
relationships with men, if you are a woman.
1. A good father loves the mother of his children; loves his children; is
responsible for his children; teaches, trains, disciplines, encourages,
comforts, and warns his children.
2. “Fatherhood” is much more than just the biological production
of children. Males are designed by God to provide for and protect
everything within their sphere of influence.
3. God is our Father in two main ways: through creation and through
redemption.
4. The word father denotes one who is source, nourisher, sustainer,
supporter, founder, and protector, and one who provides identity
for that which he produces.
5. A good father knows the heavenly Father.
6. A father’s representation of God in the home will likely determine
what his children believe about Him.
7. A good father leaves a strong spiritual legacy for his children.
The overseer must be…self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to
teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrel-
some.…He must manage his own family well and see that his children
obey him with proper respect. (1 Timothy 3:2–4)
Heavenly Father, there is no one like You. You love us, sustain
us, provide for us, and equip us to further Your kingdom on
earth. We love You and place our complete trust in You. We
pray that You will teach fathers how to represent You to their
children, and that the children will desire to follow the God of
their fathers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Reading: Ezra 9–10; Acts 1

June 15
Perfectly Complementary Designs
G od created men and women with perfectly complementary designs.

The male is perfect for the female, and the female is perfect for the
male. It is when men and women expect each other to think, react, and
behave in the same ways—that is, when they don’t know or appreciate
their God-given differences—that they experience conflict. Yet when they
understand and value each other’s purposes, they can have rewarding
relationships, and they can blend their unique designs harmoniously for
God’s glory.
Many husbands and wives don’t realize that the needs of their
spouses are different from their own. Remember the principle that pur‑
pose determines nature, and nature determines needs? If a woman wants
to help a man fulfill his purpose, she must learn his nature, how he func‑
tions, and what his needs are. She can’t give him what she needs, because
his needs are often different from hers. The reverse is also true. A man
must learn a woman’s needs and seek to meet them. Consider this illus‑
tration: you fill up your car’s gas tank with gasoline so that it will run.
However, you don’t pour gasoline on your plants to make them grow.
Each entity needs to be given what is appropriate for its own nature and
needs. The same principle holds true for males and females.
God has given strengths to the female that the male does not pos‑
sess, and vice versa. Until they recognize the natures God has placed
within each of them, they will be weak in certain areas, because each was
designed to supply what the other lacks. Males and females have differ‑
ent strengths, and neither can fully function without the other.
Thought for the Day

When men and women understand and value each other’s
purposes, they can have rewarding relationships.
Reading: Nehemiah 1–3; Acts 2:1–21
June 177
June 16
Meeting the Needs of Others
W e have already determined that the designs of males and females

govern the needs of each that must be met for them to be ful‑
filled, contented, and living in God’s creation purposes. The problem is
that many people are not fully aware of their own needs, let alone the
needs of others. Again, many husbands and wives don’t know that the
needs of their spouses are different from their own.
Even when people are aware of their needs, they often live in frus‑
tration because their needs are not being met. They end up demanding
that another person satisfy them or they suffer in silence, never expect‑
ing to live a completely fulfilled life.
In the next few days, we will explore the paramount needs of the
female and the male that contribute to a fulfilling relationship: her need
for love, conversation, and affection, and his need for respect, recre‑
ational companionship, and sexual fulfillment. Please keep in mind that
the needs that are listed as female needs and the needs that are listed as
male needs are also the needs of both. However, they will be discussed
in the context of the primary needs of each.
As we come to understand one another’s needs and work to fulfill
them, our hearts and minds will be renewed and more of God’s creation
purposes will be restored to our lives. Women and men must understand
that fulfillment can come only when they work together to address one
another’s needs. In this endeavor, Jesus’ great principle, “It is more blessed
to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), is vital. As you give, meeting the needs
of others, you will be blessed, and many of your own needs will be met
in return.
Thought for the Day

Giving to others by satisfying their needs will
bring true fulfillment.

June 17
The Woman’s Primary Need Is Love
Husbands, love your wives.
—Colossians 3:19
I cannot stress this point enough: The primary need of the female is
love. We have learned that the woman was designed to receive love.
This truth is so central to a woman’s emotional needs that if it is the only
one that men learn and apply, it will make a vast difference in women’s
lives—and consequently in their own.
A woman doesn’t just want love; she truly needs it by design. This
is why a man can give her a house and expensive gifts and she will still
not feel satisfied. The man will say, “What’s wrong with you? I can’t do
anything to please you. I’m giving you all these things, and you’re still
unhappy.” She will answer, “It is not this mink coat or this house that I
really want. I want you. I want you to tell me I’m important and special
and unique to you, and that I am everything you’ve been dreaming of. I
want you to tell me you love me.”
You can’t replace love. To love means to cherish, to care for, and to
show affection. Cherishing a woman doesn’t mean buying her expensive
presents; it means calling her several times a day and telling her that you
love her.
Caring means that you go out of your way to make sure that she has
everything she needs. It means dropping everything you’re doing just to
make certain she is all right. Love doesn’t say, “I’m busy right now. I’ll
talk to you later.” Caring is making other people wait while you meet the
needs of your wife.
Thought for the Day

A woman doesn’t just want love; she truly needs it by design.
Reading: Nehemiah 7–9; Acts 3
June 179
June 18
The Man’s Primary Need Is Respect
T he apostle Paul emphasized the primary needs of men and women

when he stated, “Each one of you [husbands] also must love his wife as
he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:33). As
much as a woman needs to feel that she is loved, a man needs to know
that he is respected. Being respected is at the core of his self-esteem, and
it affects every other area of his life.
Some women think that because the culture has changed, they don’t
need to respect their husbands as the leader in the family. A woman may
say to her husband, “Let me tell you something. I have a college degree,
and you just have your GED. I could pay for this house by myself. I don’t
need you.” Even if the husband is less educated or is making less money
than his wife, he still needs her to show him respect as her husband.
A wife can meet her husband’s need for admiration and respect by
understanding his value and achievements more than anyone else. She
needs to remind him of his capabilities and help him to maintain his
self-confidence. She should be proud of her husband, not out of duty, but
as an expression of sincere admiration for the man with whom she has
chosen to share her life.
We should remember that a single man needs respect as much as
a married man does. He needs the respect and affirmation of women
because he is designed to need it. The women in a single man’s life can
meet his need by recognizing his value and accomplishments as a man
and by encouraging him in his talents and lifework.
Thought for the Day

As much as a woman needs to feel she is loved, a man needs
to know he is respected.

June 19
Different Primary Needs
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also
to the interests of others.
—Philippians 2:4
B ecause the female’s primary need is for love, she often thinks that
the male’s primary need is for love, also. He needs love, but his need
for respect is even greater.
If a female expresses love to a male, without fulfilling his need for
respect, he might not respond in the way she expects him to. He might
remain somewhat distant. For example, a woman may wonder why her
husband doesn’t seem satisfied in the relationship when she has been
lovingly trying to help him by keeping the household running smoothly
and providing for his material needs. A woman might even write her
husband love notes and give him lots of affection, but notice that he still
doesn’t seem happy. She wonders, “What else can I do for this man?”
Yet a male feels about those things in the same way that a female
feels about the male’s provision of a house. He is grateful that his mate‑
rial and emotional needs are being taken care of, and he appreciates his
wife’s efforts. However, these things don’t address his primary need. A
husband is to love and cherish his wife. A wife is to respect and honor
her husband. In this way, there will be a constant meeting of the other’s
primary needs.
Let us pursue the things which make for…the building up of one
another. (Romans 14:19 nasb)
Thought for the Day

Build up your spouse by meeting his or her
primary need.
June 181
June 20
What Do I Do in the Meantime?
O ne of the problems a woman may face is that her husband doesn’t

know he’s supposed to love her in the ways we’ve been talking
about. Even though a woman might be honoring and esteeming her hus‑
band, he might not be showing her love because he really doesn’t yet
know how. This is a very real problem for many wives, who may wonder,
What do I do in the meantime? While men and women need to understand
and meet each other’s needs, if the woman understands the needs of
both men and women but her spouse doesn’t, it is important that she
have patience. She needs to respond to her husband according to what
he knows.
If I know that a person is ignorant, I can’t be angry at him. Jesus is
the highest model of this for us. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do
not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). The difficulty comes when you
know that a person is aware of what he’s supposed to be doing but still
doesn’t do it. In this case, some kind of reproof is necessary. Depending
on the situation, a woman might appeal directly to her husband; or she
might appeal to the pastor, a trusted Christian friend, or even a family
member to speak to her husband for her. Yet her best appeal is to pray
for her husband and allow the Lord to change him.
You can reprove a person who has knowledge, but, again, you need
to overlook the faults of a person who is ignorant. This will keep bitter‑
ness from taking over your heart. Avoid blaming the other person, live
responsibly before God, and make sure you carry out your own respon‑
sibilities to your spouse. “That they may be won over without words by the
behavior of their wives” (1 Peter 3:1).
Thought for the Day

Trust God to teach your partner how to meet your needs.
Reading: Esther 1–2; Acts 5:1–21

June 21
The Woman’s Need for Conversation
I n addition to love, a female needs conversation. She enjoys talking

with others. This sounds so simple, but it is a real need based on
her nature. A woman needs to have a man talk with her. Notice that I
said with her and not to her. Because males have a leadership mind-set,
sometimes their conversations with their wives amount to instructions
rather than a give-and-take dialogue. A man should always make a point
to converse with his wife. Costly gifts don’t mean anything to a wife if
her husband just leaves them with her and then walks away. She’d rather
have the conversation.
The man can fulfill a woman’s need for intimate conversation by
continually making a point to communicate with her. To truly meet her
need, he should talk with her at the feeling level and not just the knowl‑
edge and information level. She needs him to listen to her attitudes
about the events of her day with sensitivity, interest, and concern. All of
his conversations with her should convey a desire to understand her, not
to change her. This means that he should not necessarily immediately
try to solve her problems for her. He should offer his full attention and
understanding rather than quick solutions.
After giving her plenty of time to express her feelings, he should
conduct his end of the conversation with courtesy and openness, looking
her in the eyes and telling her what he really thinks and feels. He should
share his plans and actions clearly and completely, because he regards
himself as accountable to her, and ask for her input. This will enable her
to trust him and feel secure.
Thought for the Day

A man should show a desire to understand his wife,
not to change her.
June 183
June 22
The Man’s Need for Recreational
Companionship
A man feels happy when a woman is involved in his recreational pur‑

suits. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. Because of
the man’s design, he seems to have an inborn need to protect his “terri‑
tory” from threats from the outside world. This is why he needs to feel
as if he is always winning at life. (You women may have noticed this trait
already!) This need translates into a desire to win over the competition
in a sports event or to master a particular area of interest or expertise. It
is his territorial nature that leads to his need for recreational companion‑
ship. He needs to be involved in challenging activities, and although he
likes to win, he also likes to share these experiences with others.
If a woman takes part in whatever a man enjoys doing—playing ten‑
nis, visiting historical landmarks, playing an instrument, designing com‑
puter programs—and lets him tell her all about them, she can strengthen
her relationship with him. He will feel good when she takes an interest
in what he is interested in.
I’ve heard women say things like this about their husbands: “That
old fool; he’s always over at the ball field playing softball. I wish he would
stop that and come home and be a husband.” This attitude won’t help
the situation. He has a need that is being met out there on the ball field.
Why would a man spend hours on something unless he has a need that is
being fulfilled through it? Instead of fighting against what brings fulfill‑
ment to the man, the woman should find out why it is important to him.
Then, if possible, she should participate in it so that they can experience
it together, thus building understanding, companionship, and intimacy
in their relationship.
Thought for the Day

A man feels happy when a woman is involved in his
recreational pursuits.
Reading: Esther 6–8; Acts 6
June 23
Interrelated Needs of Affection
and Sex
A woman needs affection. She doesn’t just want affection—she needs it!
Yet while one of her primary needs is affection, one of the male’s pri‑
mary needs is sex. If these two interrelated needs are not lovingly understood
and balanced, they can cause some of the worst conflicts in a marriage.
What men and women need to understand is that affection creates
the environment for sexual union in marriage, while sex is the event. Most men
don’t realize this, and so they immediately go after the event. They don’t
know what it means to create an environment of affection. They focus only
on their need. Women need affection to precede sexual intimacy.
The man is the provider of the seed, and therefore his natural incli‑
nation is to provide this source. This is one of the reasons why he con‑
centrates on the event of sex. The woman, on the other hand, is the one
who gestates the new life. Her role is to provide a warm and secure envi‑
ronment in which the life can grow and develop. As an incubator, the
woman’s natural focus is on the sensory, intuitive, and emotional realms
of life, and this is why she has a corresponding need for affection. She
needs an environment of affection in order to feel loved and fulfilled.
The problem is that most males are not naturally affectionate. Many
men simply do not understand how to give affection to their wives. How
can a man give a woman what she needs when he feels he doesn’t have
what she needs? He can learn to be affectionate. He can come to know
the woman’s design and then meet her need for affection as it relates to
this design. If a husband is not sure how to be affectionate, he should sit
down with his wife and ask her—gently and sincerely.
Thought for the Day

Affection creates the environment for sexual union in
marriage, while sex is the event.
June 185
June 24
Seasons of Love
M en are to be considerate and respectful to their wives in sexual

matters. Paul wrote, “Encourage the young men to be self-controlled”
(Titus 2:6), and “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-
controlled” (Titus 2:2). Peter wrote, “Husbands, in the same way be consider-
ate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect” (1 Peter 3:7).
Men need to be aware that the woman’s design is related to her
purpose. She is designed to reproduce, and therefore her body has a
reproductive cycle. Even though the man is the one who plants the seed,
he has to plant it during the right season for the female. God designed
her differently from a man because of her purpose in reproduction. The
man needs to cooperate with this purpose so that both parties can be
blessed. At the same time, it is important for a woman to recognize and
be sensitive to her husband’s need for sex.
While a man is always sexually ready, a woman is not always ready
for sexual relations. Many people believe that God designed women to be
on a four-season cycle within each month: summer, winter, autumn, and
spring. Her hormones determine when each of these seasons appears.
You can always tell when it’s summer. The sun is at high noon—
hot. God made her that way. Then comes autumn. Autumn is when
the weather grows cooler and the woman begins acting a little more
reserved. Then winter comes, and the man feels as if he’s been left out
in the cold. Yet winter passes and suddenly spring arrives, it gets warmer,
and everything is new again. A man needs to understand about the sea‑
sons of a woman. He might be ready, but, for her, it might not be the
right season.
Thought for the Day

Husbands need to understand about the seasons of a woman, and
wives need to be sensitive to their husbands’ need for sex.
Reading: Job 1–2; Acts 7:22–43

June 25
Principles of Primary Needs
T oday, review these principles of the primary needs of women and

men and reflect on how they apply to your everyday life.
1. The primary need of the female is love, while the primary need of
the male is respect.
2. To love means to cherish, to care for, and to show affection.
3. If a woman’s husband is ignorant of her need for love, it is impor‑
tant that she be patient and trust God to reveal this need to him
while avoiding bitterness.
4. A primary need of the female is conversation, while a primary need
of the male is recreational companionship.
5. To truly meet his wife’s need for conversation, a husband should
talk with her at the feeling level and not just the knowledge and
information level.
6. A woman can create opportunities for conversing with her husband
by developing an interest in his job, his activities, and his hobbies.
7. A primary need of the female is affection, while a primary need of
the male is sex.
8. Affection creates the environment for sexual union in marriage,
while sex is the event.
Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the
wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:33)
Heavenly Father,
You have made men and women different in their primary
needs, yet we are truly created to complement one another.
Please guide us as we seek to meet each other’s needs with‑
out always thinking of our own needs first. Help us to under‑
stand and walk in Your purposes for our relationships. In Jesus’
name, amen.
June 187
June 26
Knowing the Word
I f a man doesn’t have the knowledge and capability to teach a woman

the Word of God, then he is not really ready for marriage. Getting
past puberty doesn’t make you ready for marriage. Getting a job or col‑
lege degree doesn’t make you ready. I’m talking about God’s qualifica‑
tions. As far as God is concerned, you are ready for marriage when you
are able to teach your family His Word. If you are already married but
don’t know the Word, you should make it a priority to study and gain
knowledge of the Bible. You should go to a church where you can learn
the Scriptures, so you can follow up on what God has commanded you
to do as a man. You can’t teach what you don’t know.
How can you teach the Word of God to your family if all you watch
is television sitcoms or reality shows or ball games? How can you teach
your family God’s Word if all you read is Superman and Fantastic Four or
Time and Newsweek? How can you teach the Word of God to your family
if you haven’t spent any time learning it yourself?
Many men know more about sports than they do the Bible. They can
name every baseball team, who plays on them, and who is pitching in the
series, but they don’t know the Word. They can instruct their boys in how
to play soccer, but they don’t know how to teach them to be sanctified.
Someone may claim, “The Bible is one thing, but I’m teaching my boy
how to be a real man.” What are you really teaching him?
It takes a true man to teach a boy the Word of God, to instruct
him in the values and principles of life that will live on after the game
is over.
Thought for the Day

If a man can’t teach the Word, he’s not really ready for marriage.

June 27
Let the Lord Teach You
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.
—Proverbs 3:13
M en, you must get knowledge and understanding from the Word of
God so you can lead your family with wisdom, integrity, and con‑
fidence. Remember that husbands and fathers are to teach and nourish.
This means they provide “nutrients” and resources that develop, enrich,
expand, and grow that which comes from them. One of man’s major
responsibilities is to teach. Many men are found lacking in this area of
teaching and are intimidated by the women they marry, who seem more
knowledgeable in spiritual things than they are.
Let me tell you something: the male is wired to teach, so you don’t
need to be overly concerned about teaching techniques. Males, by nature,
love to give instruction. The fatherly instinct to teach is inherent within
them. Incidentally, this is why men often resist the attempts women make
to instruct them. Men are teachers, but they must have something worth‑
while to teach. Get knowledge and understanding from God’s Word so
that you can teach His truth.
Ask God to instruct you in His Word through the power of the
Holy Spirit. He desires to give us His wisdom, knowledge, and under‑
standing: “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). “Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget
my words or swerve from them” (Proverbs 4:5). Jesus said, “But the Counselor,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
Thought for the Day

God desires to give us His wisdom, knowledge,
and understanding.
June 189
June 28
Washing with the Word
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself
up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through
the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain
or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way,
husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.
—Ephesians 5:25–28
I n this passage, Paul was saying, “Jesus is a good Husband. A man

ought to love his wife as Jesus loved the church. He gave Himself for
her and cleansed her by the washing of water through the Word.”
If a man is to wash his wife with the Word, just as Christ washes
His bride with the Word, he certainly needs to be filled with the Word,
just as Christ is filled with the Word. You can’t wash if you don’t have
any water.
Jesus emphasized the importance of the Word in our lives. A male
who wants to be a real man—the man God created him to be—has to be
full of the Word of God. There’s only one way to get clean water: go to
the well. You can’t wash with the muddy water of the world. When you
fill your mind and heart only with things such as television or sporting
events, that’s mud. Some men are washing their wives in mud. If you want
the water that the Manufacturer intended you to have, you need to stay
connected to the well of God, which is filled with the Word. This means
consistently reading, studying, meditating on, and obeying the Scriptures;
it also means maintaining your relationship with Jesus and manifesting
His nature and character, because Jesus is the Word. (See John 1:1.)
Thought for the Day

A male who wants to be a real man has to be full of
the Word of God.

June 29
Speaking a Positive Word
W hat does it mean for a husband to wash his wife with the Word?
Christ is our example in this. Every time we have a negative
experience, Jesus comes in immediately with a positive one and washes
away the negative. Husbands are to do the same for their wives.
For instance, when the disciples were afraid, Jesus said, “Be of good
cheer” (Matthew 14:27 kjv). Every time they became nervous, He told
them to remain calm. Whenever they became frightened by a storm,
He told them to relax. He was always there to wash away fear, to wash
away doubt. When they wondered how they were going to feed the five
thousand, He told them to have faith. When they told Him that Lazarus
had died, He said, “Don’t worry about it; he’s sleeping.” He was always
washing His church with God’s truth.
What kind of man do we need today? When your wife says, “We’re
not going to be able to pay the mortgage,” you say, “Honey, we serve the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of my grandparents and
parents. Let’s just keep standing on the Word. It’s going to be all right.”
When your wife feels a little pain in her body and begins to imagine all
kinds of things, such as cancer, you have to be there and say, “Honey,
God is the God who heals you. Come here and let me pray for you.”
That’s washing your wife.
God wants men who will stand up in their faith, saying, “A thou‑
sand may fall on my right, and ten thousand on my left, but in this house
we’re going to come through. My house is covered by the Word of God.
As for me and my house, we’re going to be all right.” That’s a man; that’s
a washer, filled with the Word of God!
Thought for the Day

God wants men who will stand up in their faith.
June 191
June 30
Does God Know You?
A braham was a man who took his responsibility as head of the home
seriously. And the Lord said, “I know Abraham.” (See Genesis
18:19.) I wonder—does God know you? Can He say about you, “I know
that you will teach your family the Word of God”?
If you want God to consider you His friend, then become a teacher
in your home. Again, you have to be filled with the Word in order to give
it to your family. Many, many men still don’t understand and appreciate
the value of the Word of God for the fulfillment of their purpose.
We have talked about the fact that many men just drop off their
wives and children at church because they don’t want to be responsible
for their spiritual training. Abraham knew the Word, and he taught it.
Remember, God said, “I will not hide anything from Abraham.” (See
Genesis 18:17.) Wouldn’t you like to be the kind of man to whom God
says, “I’m going to tell you My secrets”?
A man who instructs his household in the Scriptures attracts God.
No matter how much you pray and go to church and sing hymns, if you
don’t teach your household God’s ways, if you don’t give the Word of
God prominence in your home, then God sees you as a weak man. God
said, in effect, “If a man wants to be a leader in the church, first let him
get his house in order.” (See 1 Timothy 3:12.)
God doesn’t measure your ability to lead by your religious or aca‑
demic qualifications. He measures it by your domestic qualifications. If
you can take care of your children, then God says, “All right, now you
can lead My church.” If you can manage your home, then you can man‑
age the house of God.
Thought for the Day

Many men still don’t appreciate the value of the Word of God
for the fulfillment of their purpose.

July 1
Designed to Adapt
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a
helper suitable for him.”
—Genesis 2:18
A nother word for suitable is fit, which means “adapted to an end or

design.” The woman was designed at creation with the ability to
adapt to the man. This means that she has the built-in energy and “cir‑
cuits” to adapt to the man’s vision in order to help him fulfill it.
A woman’s adaptability also means that when she enters a new situ‑
ation or environment, she is more prone to become like it than a man
is. This trait can be a tremendous blessing, but it can also be dangerous.
This explains why women have to be careful not to open themselves up
to any and every environment they encounter.
A female is more emotional than a male because she is moved by
environmental stimuli. For example, a woman will become excited when
she enters a church service in which the Spirit of God is very strong. A
man will walk in with her at the same time, sit in the back, and check it
out. If she is asked if she would like to join the church, she will join in
three weeks, while he might wait three years. The man is wired to be more
logical than emotional, so he wants an explanation for everything.
These complementary traits, working together, enable the man and
woman to accomplish their God-given vision. While the man sees the
overall vision and the facts related to it, the woman sees the possibilities
and gets right to work. The woman is able to see how the man’s vision can
be implemented and enthusiastically uses her gifts and abilities to make it
become reality.
Thought for the Day

A woman has the built-in energy and “circuits” to adapt to a
man’s vision.
July 193
July 2
Using Her Gifts to Help
G od has given women many wonderful gifts, and He says, in effect,

“I gave you all these things not only for your own enrichment and
enjoyment, but also so that you can use these gifts in your position as
coleader and helper with men.”
If you are a woman, how are you using your gifts? You may be tal‑
ented, educated, experienced, eloquent, and well dressed. Are you using
these assets to prove to men that you are just as good as they are? That’s
not a help; that’s competition. God’s plan is for men and women to work
together for mutual benefit.
Women often need to exercise special wisdom when helping men,
however, because the last thing many men want to admit is that they
need help. They don’t understand how God has designed women to help
them. When a woman tries to assist a man, therefore, the man may
interpret her help as nagging. For example, a woman may be trying to
say to her husband, “God’s vision is for you to be the spiritual leader for
me and for our children; however, you can’t be a spiritual leader if you
won’t develop your spiritual life.” So, the next day, she asks, “When are
we going to pray?” He retorts, “Don’t bother me right now. The Lord will
tell me when to pray.”
The man needs to appreciate the woman’s role of helper, and the
woman needs discernment when giving help. If the man messes up or
fails, the woman shouldn’t kick him when he’s down. Helpers pick people
up and dust them off. Do you know how many men are where they are
today because their helpers made sure they got there? Your man might
not yet be the best husband, he might not yet be spiritually mature, but
encourage him and help him to become all God created him to be.
Thought for the Day

How are you using your gifts?
Reading: Job 22–24; Acts 11

July 3
A Spiritual Encourager
A woman can help a man greatly in his spiritual life. For example,
if your husband doesn’t pray, don’t ask, “Why don’t you pray?”
Instead, pray for him. Then, encourage him whenever he shows an inter‑
est in spiritual matters. Don’t make him feel as if he’s not spiritual.
Many men try to move close to God, but their wives actually push
them away from Him. I’ve seen some women who do not know how to
help their husbands after their husbands receive the Lord. For example,
a woman prays for her husband for twenty years, and he finally becomes
a Christian. She praises God for this answered prayer. Then, all of a
sudden, she becomes depressed. Why? Perhaps her husband hears a state‑
ment from the Scriptures, and he asks, “Where is that found in the
Bible?” She’s embarrassed about his lack of knowledge. Maybe he prays a
little too loudly during the prayer meeting, and she feels ashamed because
she thinks he doesn’t know how to conduct himself. The best thing she
can do to help him is to let him ask his questions, let him learn to pray,
and be thankful about the wonderful things God is doing in his life.
Or perhaps a woman sees her newly converted husband reading the
Bible, and she says, “Why don’t you take out the garbage?” She’s not help‑
ing. The garbage can wait a little while longer. She might even be jealous
and say, “Now that you’re saved, you sit and read the Bible for three
hours at a time. Do you think you’re more spiritual than I am?” Instead,
she should say, “I’ll help you take out the garbage, honey.” Why? In this
way, she will be helping him to become the spiritual leader of the home,
and this will be a blessing to her. A wife needs to support her husband’s
spiritual growth.
Thought for the Day

A woman can help a man greatly in his spiritual life.
July 195
July 4
Nothing to Adapt To
T he world is filled with frustrated women who live with men who
aren’t going anywhere. The first question a woman should ask
a man after he proposes is, “Where are you going in life?” If he can’t
answer this question, she should tell him to find a map and say that she’ll
talk to him later. A woman is too valuable a person to waste sitting in
a house being frustrated for twenty years. It breaks my heart to see the
precious, awesome potential of a female being suffocated by some male
who doesn’t know what he’s doing.
God created the woman to be able to adapt to the man. Yet it’s hard
for a woman to adapt to someone who isn’t leading. She cannot follow
someone who isn’t going anywhere—who doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Therefore, if a man wants a woman to adapt to him, he has to give her
something to adapt to. There are many men walking around who have
nothing to do, and they’re asking women to help them with it. In God’s
plan, that’s illegal. God told the man, “You will be a provider. You will
provide the vision.” A man was made to have a vision. A female was
made to help him fulfill it. But if he doesn’t have a vision, how can she
help him?
The shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the
Lord; therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be
scattered. (Jeremiah 10:21 nkjv)
Thought for the Day

The world is filled with frustrated females who are living with
men who aren’t going anywhere.

July 5
Supporting, Not Comparing
T he woman is meant to bless, support, and honor the man, and the
man is meant to be a head, a covering, and a protection for her. In
this way, they are helping each other to be all they were created to be. Yet
these purposes break down when the man and the woman don’t know
or address each other’s needs.
A woman who is struggling with her husband’s lack of vision or
spiritual immaturity may begin to compare him with other Christian
men. The worst thing a woman can do is to compare her husband with
another man. Ladies, please don’t tell your husbands, “Why can’t you
be like our pastor?” or “Why aren’t you like So-and-so?” That’s the most
dangerous—and ridiculous—thing a woman can say to a man. Every man
is his own being and has his own image of himself. Again, you need to
support him, even if he is not perfect; you need to be an encouragement
to him in his life.
For example, a man always wants to feel as if he is a leader. Try to
make your husband feel that he has contributed significantly to your
family’s success. When you make a man feel that he is important to what
has been accomplished—that he is the one responsible for, or that his
input was necessary for, the success of something—then you will have
somebody who serves you, because a man feeds on respect. However, if
you make him feel unimportant, you will run into trouble. He may even
go elsewhere, to someone who believes he is everything.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
(Proverbs 31:11–12)
Thought for the Day

The worst thing a woman can do is to compare her
husband to another man.
July 197
July 6
The Vulnerability of Adaptability
I have heard men say, “If my wife did to me what I do to her, I’d have
been gone a long time ago.” They are saying that there is something
about women that makes them able to stay in uncomfortable situations
longer than men would. The reason is a woman’s spirit of adaptability.
It’s difficult enough for a woman to have nothing to adapt to, but
it’s even worse if she adapts to something that isn’t right for her. The
word adapt could be translated “submit.” The woman should submit only
when she recognizes the man’s moral authority over her. Some men don’t
deserve to be adapted to. They’re not giving the adapter anything com‑
fortable to adapt to. When this is the case, you will find women adapting
in bitterness, hatred, deceit, or malice. They’re being forced to adapt to
something against their wills, and they resent and even hate it.
Whatever the male gives off or gives out, the female will gener‑
ally adapt to. For instance, I have observed women whose husbands or
boyfriends are prone to swearing. They eventually develop the habit of
swearing themselves. Children also take in whatever comes from their
source, and they end up producing the same kind of fruit.
Yet while a woman is designed to adapt, she isn’t designed to adapt
forever. Women have a tremendous ability to endure frustration and
pain, but most won’t allow abusive behavior to go on forever. Love may
suffer long, but only long—not forever. The woman reaches a point at
which she needs to adapt to some freedom and find something worthy
of spending her life on. A man must be careful to treat a woman’s spirit
of adaptability with respect and sensitivity, and to consider it a valuable
aspect of his unity with her.
Thought for the Day

A man must be careful to treat a woman’s spirit of
adaptability with respect and sensitivity.

July 7
The Abuse of Purpose
S ome husbands wonder why their wives spend so much time at church.
It may be that the women don’t have anything to help with at home.
The men don’t have visions, so the women go to church to help the
ministers with their visions. They help with children’s programs or music
ministries because they have a need to contribute.
Some women even help men to do wrong things if they can’t find any
who are doing the right things. A man may tell a woman, “You wait in the
car while I rip off this store,” and she actually feels good about it because
she feels she is doing something to help him. She feels valuable to this
man. For the same reason, some women carry drugs and do deals for their
kingpin boyfriends. You may wonder how they can do that. In a warped
way, they are seeking to be fulfilled, to have their needs met.
Remember one of our key principles: Where purpose is not known,
abuse is inevitable. When men and women misunderstand their purposes,
these purposes will be abused in some way. “Where there is no vision, the
people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 kjv).
A misunderstanding of purpose has pulled men and women away
from God’s original design in creation. As long as this misunderstanding
persists, we won’t live fulfilled lives as men and women, and our relation‑
ships will continue to suffer.
Thought for the Day

Some women help men to do wrong things in their
attempts to feel fulfilled.
July 199
July 8
A Good Word from a Good Woman
W hen God said He would make a helper for the man, I believe
that He intended the woman to be the “help meet” (Genesis 2:18
kjv) for men in general, not just for her husband. This means that, if you
are a woman, you are meant to be a spiritual help and encouragement to
the men you encounter in life.
Please understand that I am certainly not saying a woman should
submit to other men as she submits to her husband; rather, I am saying
that she can be a tremendous influence for good in men’s lives. Moreover,
the helping nature of a woman can be exercised whether a woman is mar‑
ried or single, since it is a natural part of her makeup. Single women have
male relatives and friends who need encouragement. A single woman has
much to contribute in this way, and, if she marries, she can bring into
her marriage this valuable experience of exercising her gift and under‑
standing the nature and needs of men.
If a woman sees a man she knows destroying his life with drugs, she
might go to him and say, “God has put so much potential inside of you.
It breaks my heart to see you on drugs.” Saying that will help him. You
don’t have to be married to give that type of help. Some men just need
a good word from a good woman. They have been told negative things
about themselves all their lives. They are looking for a woman to tell
them something positive about themselves.
Let me caution you that this can require careful discretion on the
woman’s part so that the wrong impression is not given. Yet a woman can
be a powerful force for good in a man’s life by being a spiritual encour‑
agement to him.
Thought for the Day

The helping nature of a woman can be exercised whether a woman
is married or single, since it is a natural part of her makeup.

July 9
Cultivate Adaptability
A woman is to be commended for her tremendous spirit of adapt‑

ability and its contribution to the lives of individuals, families, and
communities. It is truly a gift from God. As we have seen, this gift must
be treated with respect by both men and women because it can have a
negative as well as a positive side.
Consider the following illustration. What determines the health of
a plant? The soil in which it is rooted. If you put it in soil that is full of
nutrients, it will likely thrive. Yet if you put it in soil that is high in salt
content, it will become sickly and might even die. The plant adapts to
what it receives from the environment to which it is connected. There‑
fore, you can usually determine the health of the plant based on the
quality of the soil in which the plant grows.
Women and men who desire healthy personal relationships should
cultivate a positive environment in which a woman’s ability to adapt can
thrive. A woman enhances the life of a man by being his companion,
adapting to him, and sharing and helping in the vision. In all the ways
in which the woman enhances the man’s life, she is also enhancing her
own, since she is a coleader and participant in the dominion vision that
was given by God. When a woman and man learn to live together har‑
moniously within their purposes and positions, helping and supporting
one another, they can live the lives they were created to live and find
lasting contentment and fulfillment.
Thought for the Day

Cultivate a positive environment in which the woman’s ability to
adapt can thrive.
July 201
July 10
Principles of Adaptability
R eview these principles of a woman’s spirit of adaptability and reflect

on how you can apply them in your everyday life—for yourself, if you
1. God created the woman with the ability to adapt to the man’s vision
and to help fulfill it.
2. A female is more prone to adapt to her environment than a male is.
3. A female is more emotional than a male because she is moved by
environmental stimuli.
4. God gave women many gifts, not only for their own enrichment,
but also for their purpose as coleaders and helpers with men.
5. The man needs to appreciate the woman’s role of helper, and the
woman needs to use discernment when giving help.
6. The world is filled with frustrated women who live with men who
aren’t going anywhere.
7. Whatever the male gives off or gives out, the female will generally
adapt to—whether it is positive or negative.
8. Women and men who desire healthy personal relationships should
cultivate a positive environment in which a woman’s ability to adapt
can thrive.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will
make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
Heavenly Father, You have created women with much energy
and giftedness. You have given them a spirit of adaptability that
makes their role as coleader and helper invaluable to the men
in their lives. Please protect them from adapting to the wrong
environment. Give them the discernment they need to avoid
any source that is not from You. Help men to provide posi‑
tive environments in which women’s gifts can thrive and bless
others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

July 11
What Is Vision?
M en, you may be wondering how you can have a positive vision that
your wife can adapt to and help you with. You don’t want her to
live with frustration, but you still don’t really understand what vision is.
Vision is the capacity to see beyond your physical eyes into a pre‑
ferred future. Vision is purpose in pictures. Have you been seeing pic‑
tures of your dream? When you turn off the TV and computer and
everything is quiet, do you start thinking of your future? Your dreams are
being drowned out by your music, your phone, and other people talking.
In the Bible, whenever God wanted to speak to someone about his work,
He always took him away from other people. God took Abraham to a
mountain all by himself. He took Moses to the desert. David heard from
God when he was out tending sheep in the hills. You need to disengage
from the noise of life so you can see pictures of your future again.
Purpose produces a vision, and a vision produces a plan. Once
there’s a plan, it produces discipline in you. Write down your purpose
and vision, and then get some pictures symbolizing that vision and what
you need to fulfill it. I cut out pictures of my dream and put them where
I could see them every day. I would say, “That’s what I’m going to do.”
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that pre-
vails” (Proverbs 19:21). I have shared this Scripture often because I want
it to be emblazoned on your heart. God’s purpose for your life is already
established; He’s not worried about your future. Whatever you were born
to do is already finished in Him. Cease worrying about it, capture His
vision for your life, and start making plans to go there.
Thought for the Day

Capture God’s vision for your life and start making
plans to go there.
Reading: Psalm 1–3; Acts 17:1–15
July 203
July 12
The Great Challenge of Life
The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding
to the simple.
—Psalm 119:130
T he great challenge of life is understanding life. When life throws

us a curveball, we often just play games and fake it. Many times, we
have to guess and then wonder endlessly if our guesses will work.
What we lack is understanding. I want to repeat an observation
made by David, the great king of Israel, regarding this very issue. By
divine inspiration, he spoke of the moral and social chaos in his commu‑
nity and described the root cause of mankind’s confusion, frustration,
and self‑destruction: “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk
about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken” (Psalm 82:5).
This text declares that the reason why the people of the earth are so
confused and filled with problems is not because there are no answers
but because we don’t understand our Creator. We don’t know His prin‑
ciples, His purpose, His nature, or His precepts.
The greatest enemy of mankind is ignorance of self. Nothing is more
frustrating than not knowing who you are or what to do with what you
have. All of mankind’s problems are a result of this major dilemma.
Essentially, the dilemma is that we lack understanding. Without under‑
standing, life is an experiment, and frustration is the reward.
Thought for the Day

God’s Word teaches us about who we really are.

July 13
Faking It Leads to Failure
I ’ll never forget bringing home my algebra homework during junior

high school. Remember all those formulas? Trying to understand those
many formulas made algebra a horrible experience for me. I remember
just sitting there, staring at those problems. Since I did not understand
the formulas, I could not solve the problems. So, what did I do? I faked
it! I wrote down whatever figures came to my mind. Having numbers
written on the page may have looked good, but all the answers were
incorrect!
This is more than just an interesting story. When it comes to the
issues of life, we often do the same thing I did with my algebra assign‑
ments. When problems arise, we don’t understand the problems, much
less life itself, so we fake it. Although I tried to make the figures work
out the way I wanted, they were wrong because I didn’t understand the
formulas. When test time came, my lack of understanding brought me
the final result of faking it: failure.
One day I decided I had better learn those formulas, so I took a
tutoring course after school with my teacher. It took me hours to learn
them, but I put forth the time and effort until I understood and was able
to do them. Algebra finally made sense to me, and my fear was replaced
with confidence.
Godly principles are very much like formulas. They are set laws that
govern life and are constant in the face of change. Understanding and
applying God’s principles helps us to handle any situation in life.
Thought for the Day

Understanding and applying God’s principles helps us
to handle any situation in life.
Reading: Psalm 7–9; Acts 18
July 205
July 14
Three Problems in Life
They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
—Psalm 82:5
T he above verse identifies three progressive components that are the

source of our sufferings and difficulties in life. First, there is a lack
of knowledge—“they know nothing.” Second, there is a misunderstanding or
misconception of life—“they understand nothing” and cannot comprehend
their environment. Third, there is a lack of spiritual sight—“they walk
about in darkness”; they see nothing. The word “darkness,” in the original
Hebrew, connotes the principle of ignorance—that men are ignorant or
blind to God’s principles. If you attempt to live and solve the challenges
of life from a position of ignorance, then you are walking in darkness
and will experience exasperation, frustration, and failure.
The result of ignorance and a lack of understanding is that “all the
foundations of the earth are shaken.” Foundation implies the fundamental
principles and laws that regulate the functions of the earth. In essence,
when people lack knowledge and understanding of the basic, fundamen‑
tal laws of God, all of life goes off track and ends in failure. Knowledge,
wisdom, and understanding from God, then, are vital keys to under‑
standing the right answers for your life.
Thought for the Day

When people lack knowledge of the fundamental laws of
God, all of life goes off track.

July 15
What Is Understanding?
J esus Christ, the greatest Teacher of all time, said, “He who has ears,
let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). He was separating people who simply
listen to information from those who actually understand it.
Here is how I define understanding: “Understanding is knowledge and
comprehension of the original purpose and intent of a thing and of the principles
by which a thing was designed to function.” To possess understanding of
something, you must know the original intent for it. First, what was in
the mind of the one who made it? Second, how did the creator of a prod‑
uct intend for it to function?
Understanding is comprehension of the truth. Why is this impor‑
tant? Because nothing is truly yours until you understand it. No matter
how much you sit and listen, if you don’t understand a thing, it’s still not
yours. That’s why information does not guarantee knowledge. When you
understand a thing, it becomes yours. Most of our lives are exercises in
misunderstanding.
If you don’t understand yourself, you don’t yet possess yourself. That
is why people who don’t know who they are imitate other people and
become someone other than who they were created to be. If you don’t
know what you were born to be and do, then you become a victim of
other people’s opinions. Understanding who made you and who you are
is crucial so that others do not take possession of your life. When you
have understanding, you know what to do with your life.
Thought for the Day

To possess understanding of something, you must know
the original intent for it.
July 207
July 16
The Plans of the Lord
The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart
through all generations.
—Psalm 33:11
W e have acknowledged that God has purposes that He determines

beforehand and then carries out. To bring this to a personal
level, this includes plans for you and me. God does not do anything on
a whim or without knowing the end result.
The origins of humanity are described in the book of Genesis, which
means “beginning.” However, the creation account that we read about
in Genesis was not the real beginning. I would like to call Genesis “the
end result after God finished His thought processes.” When God finished
deciding what He wanted to do, then He created. First, God predeter‑
mined or purposed everything. Then, He produced it.
This concept is crucial to our understanding of purpose. It means
that Genesis was not the beginning of a supernatural experiment with an
unknown outcome. Genesis was the beginning of the production of some‑
thing that was sure. Therefore, in Genesis, we are looking at the start-up
of the project, as I like to call it. Those who are involved in project man‑
agement know that this is an important step in the process of building.
When you reach the start-up phase, it means that you have all the plans
drawn, all the physical resources in place, all the management resources in
order, and now you’re ready to begin. That’s Genesis.
Thought for the Day

Genesis is both the beginning and the end result.

July 17
Do You Know Where
You’re Headed?
I was driving along an undeveloped street near my home one day when
I saw a large sign with a beautifully painted picture of a building. The
sign said, Coming Soon. I sensed the Holy Spirit saying to me, “Did you
see that?” I asked, “See what?” He said, “Did you see the finish?” I came
back around to take another look at the painting, and the Holy Spirit
continued, “If you were to see the men working on that project, digging up
all the mud and muck, making big holes, and if you were to ask them what
they were doing, they would say, ‘We are building that.’ They could tell
you exactly where they were headed.” I have never forgotten that lesson.
I have a question for you: Is your life similar to that? If someone
were to ask you where you’re going, could you answer that you’re headed
somewhere? Could you specify where? Are you so clear about your dream
that you could paint a picture of it?
If you know where you’re going, then when someone doesn’t under‑
stand the reason for the mud, the muck, the water, and the hole, it doesn’t
matter. Everything might not look right, but you know it is part of the
process. When you’re in the midst of the process, your life might not
look like it’s becoming anything. But take careful note: there’s a painting
of you. God has painted it for you in His Word. Anytime you get bogged
down, every time you get discouraged, you can look at that painting.
We may be able to see the outcome of God’s purposes for our lives
twenty years into the future or only one day ahead. Yet if we are living in
God’s plans for us, we have found the key to our existence.
Thought for the Day

If someone were to ask you where you’re going, could you
answer that you’re headed somewhere?
July 209
July 18
Making Up for Lost Time
I will repay [“restore to” nkjv] you for the years the locusts have eaten.
—Joel 2:25
I once spoke about purpose at a church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A

woman came up to me after the service and said, “I’m fifty-six years
old, brother. Where were you fifty-six years ago?” I asked, “What do you
mean?” She replied, “You’re the first person ever to come into my life and
help me understand that I have a reason for living—and I can’t give an
account for fifty-six years right now.”
Sometimes, people begin to feel the way that woman did; they’re
distressed because they’ve wasted so much time. If this is your situation,
don’t be discouraged. One of the wonderful things about God is that
He has a way of restoring the years that the locusts have eaten. (See Joel
2:23–26.) When you go to Him, He knows how to make up for the time
that you’ve lost.
Yet God would prefer that we follow Him and know our purpose all
our lives. That is why the Word of God says very strongly to young people,
“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). The
Bible is saying to us, “Remember God now—not when you’ve finished par‑
tying and ruining your health with drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, when you
say, ‘Well, I’m sick now; I’d better go find God.’” Don’t wait until after
you have messed up your life to remember God. “Remember your Creator in
the days of your youth.” Why? God wants you to remember the Manufacturer
early so that He can set you on course for your entire life.
Thought for the Day

God knows how to make up for the time you have lost.

July 19
Becoming a Whole Person
S ome of you single men and women are afraid of being alone. When
you hit age twenty-five, you begin to think you’re past your prime,
and so you say to yourselves, “I’m never going to get married. I’d bet‑
ter latch onto the first thing that comes along.” That’s the reason many
people marry spouses who aren’t right for them. Do you know what their
problem is? They haven’t learned what it means to be a whole person.
There is a difference between “being alone” and “being lonely.” You
can be lonely in a crowd, but you can be alone and happy as a lark. There
is nothing wrong with being alone at times. The Bible tells us that it’s
important to be alone and quiet before the Lord. Jesus often made a
point to go off by Himself in order to pray and rest. Being alone can be
healthy, but loneliness is like a disease.
Adam was so occupied with his purpose of working and taking care
of the garden of Eden that he didn’t know he needed somebody. Yet most
of us do the reverse. We don’t have time for God because we’re busy try‑
ing to find a mate.
Jesus talked about the attitude we should have when He said, in
effect, “Don’t worry about what you’re going to eat, what you’re going
to wear, or whom you’re going to marry. Seek first the kingdom of God.
Become immersed in His righteousness. Then God will meet all your
needs.” (See Matthew 6:31–33.)
Become like Adam: get lost in the garden of God’s righteousness
because, when He brings you a spouse, you had better understand His
ways. Adam was so busy following the command of God that, when his
mate came along, he was ready, and it was the right time for him.
Thought for the Day

Be prepared for meeting your spouse by first understanding and
obeying God’s ways.
July 211
July 20
Stop Thinking Small
M any men are not living in the purposes God has for them because
they are thinking in limited terms. Let me encourage you: your
dreams are not crazy; they are your lifework. Staying in a job that is not
right for you is like a fish trying to be a horse. That’s why you have high
blood pressure. That’s why there’s so much stress in your life. You’re
doing things you weren’t born to do. Stop thinking small. Move into
your purpose—not only for your sake, but also for others’.
Remember, a woman was created by God to help a man, but the
man has to be doing something! God’s purpose for creating the female
was to help the male with his purpose and assignment. When a man
finds his work, a woman finds her assignment. I believe many marriages
are breaking up—even in the church—because women are not helping
their husbands with the work God has given them. Your wife is waiting
for you to find your purpose because her assignment in life is tied to it.
She was designed to help you. She may also have her own work, but for
her to help you fulfill yours, you have to know your purpose.
Since God designed a female to help a male, everything He put in
the female works toward that purpose. That’s why a woman is such an
amazing creature! She is one mean helping machine! When she shows
up in your life, she has everything you need. She has insight, intuition,
stamina, wisdom, counsel, the ability to carry burdens, and the capac‑
ity to incubate ideas. She can talk about your vision and protect your
resources.
Men, do you understand your purpose in life? Are you thinking in
limited terms—or in God’s terms?
Thought for the Day

What are you doing with the dreams God has given you?

July 21
The Chief Cornerstone
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with
God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
I was traveling with a group in Israel in the area of Capernaum. We

went to visit an ancient synagogue, one that Jesus was said to have
taught in. Being very inquisitive, I walked around the little synagogue,
and I noticed that, in back, there was a rock at the bottom of the founda‑
tion. I asked our guide, who was a Jewish rabbi, “What is that rock?” He
replied, “Oh, that is the chief cornerstone.”
Thinking of the verse from Ephesians, I said, “Explain that to me.”
The rabbi said, “They laid foundations by interlocking stones.” In other
words, they didn’t pour concrete in those days; they used interlocking
systems. Every rock was carved to fit into the rock next to it so that they
locked in place. When the foundation was nearly completed, one stone
had to lock into the last two stones in one corner to seal the whole thing
together. That was the cornerstone. Without a cornerstone, the founda‑
tion would fall apart. To destroy a building constructed in this way, all
you have to do is move the cornerstone!
If you are a male, you are God’s foundation for your family, but it’s
an interlocking foundation that needs something strong to hold it secure.
Jesus Christ Himself is the only hope for your continued survival and
effectiveness as the foundation of your family because He is the Chief
Cornerstone. “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall
not be moved” (Psalm 62:6 nkjv).
Thought for the Day

Without the Chief Cornerstone, the family’s foundation
will fall apart.
July 213
July 22
Whose Name Is on Your Cornerstone?
See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one
who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
—1 Peter 2:6
P eople all over the world are creating businesses and industries,
amassing wealth, constructing houses, making ships and aircraft,
and pursuing similar endeavors. They are building, building, building,
but their lives are falling apart—their spouses are leaving them, their kids
are on drugs, and they don’t have any sense of what is really important
in life. They have much wealth, but everything is coming apart because
they lack a vital relationship with God and they’re missing the Chief
Cornerstone. Some of you reading this devotional would admit that you
haven’t wanted Jesus Christ in your life. Yet you need Him! He is essen‑
tial to your life. He is not optional.
Today, when we dedicate a school, a church, or another building, we
often put a plaque on the bottom corner of the building. That’s not a real
cornerstone but a ceremonial one that is based on the real, functional
cornerstones of the past. Whose name goes on a cornerstone? It could be
the owner of the building, or perhaps the contractor. If you go to Greece
and Rome today, you can still see who built many of the ancient build‑
ings because their names are carved in the cornerstones.
Whose name is on your cornerstone? If it’s Buddha, Muhammad,
Confucius, Scientology, humanism, atheism, materialism—anything
besides Jesus Christ—I can tell you the future of your building. It will
ultimately fall. But the Scripture assures us, “The one who trusts in him
[Jesus] will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
Thought for the Day

Jesus Christ is not optional—He is essential to your life.

July 23
You and the Cornerstone
I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and
puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down
deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent
struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the
one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man
who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the
torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.
—Luke 6:47–49
E arlier, I wrote about the construction workers in London who were

digging a deep foundation while building a hotel. You can’t build
your life on ground that shifts when it experiences too much pressure.
You need to dig down deep and find the solid Rock.
When God works on a person’s foundation, He uses the same prin‑
ciple. If you make Jesus your Cornerstone, God will build you so well
that He will know you can handle the height of the building. He won’t
be concerned about you crumbling. If you don’t know Christ as your
personal Cornerstone, don’t go another day without that assurance. I’m
not talking about “religion” or “church.” I’m talking about your recon‑
necting with Jesus Christ and submitting yourself to Him as the Chief
Cornerstone. We have to submit to Him because, without Him, we are
nothing and can do nothing. (See John 15:5.)
Surrender your life to Him today. Now is the day of salvation! “I tell
you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians
6:2).
Thought for the Day

If you don’t know Christ as your personal Chief Cornerstone,
don’t go another day without that assurance.
July 215
July 24
A Temptation or a Test?
God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
—James 1:13
T he Bible assures us that God doesn’t tempt us. He may test us, however.
(See, for example, 2 Chronicles 32:31.) What’s the difference between
a test and a temptation? A test is more like the act of tempering metal.
The Greeks and Romans used tempering in the process of mak‑
ing swords for battle. They would put a piece of steel in the fire until
it became so hot you could see into it and determine if there were any
black spots in it. The black spots were areas in which the molecules were
not close enough together; they were weak areas. When they discovered
any spots, they would put the hot sword on a steel anvil and pound it
with a steel mallet. As they struck the spots, the molecules would come
together. They would keep pounding until they couldn’t see any more
spots. Next, they would put the sword in cold water, and the steel would
harden. After that, they would put the sword back in the fire until it
became hot and malleable again. They would continue this cycle—fire,
beating, cold water—until they couldn’t see any more spots. After a sword
had gone through this process, they could be sure it would not break in
the middle of a battle where a soldier’s life depended on it. You never
trust a sword that has not been tempered.
This process is similar to how God tests us. Tempering means testing for
weakness to insure strength. God doesn’t need the tempering process in order
to see your true character. He can already see into you, and He knows
your secret “spots.” He knows your habits, your weaknesses, the garbage
you have hidden away. The tempering is for your sake. He allows you to go
through trials and tests so you can recognize what is hindering your life.
Thought for the Day

Tempering means testing for weakness to insure strength.

July 25
As Strong as Our Storms
G od permits storms in our lives in order to expose our weaknesses.

He knows them, but we must learn what they are and allow Him
to remove them because we are only as strong as the storms we survive.
Every time you survive a storm, it is as if a few more “spots” have been
beaten out of your life. When the spots are purged, then God can call
you one of His swords. He will hold you out as an example, saying, “This
man will defend my cause,” or “I’m not afraid that she’s going to break in
the middle of the fight.”
Have you ever wondered why so many “Christian celebrities” crack
in the midst of trials? They haven’t been in the fire long enough. They
wouldn’t stay under the hammer! They haven’t been strengthened in the
water. We’re meant to dream big, but we must remember that, along the
way, we will be put in the fire, beaten, and then put in cold water. Some‑
times, as soon as we make it out of the water and think the test is over,
God will put us back in the fire because we need to be refined further.
Think about the life of Abraham. The Lord told him, in essence,
“Abraham, I want to trust you with a brand new nation I want to build.
So I have to test you. Kill your only son, the son of promise, as a sacrifice
to Me.” Abraham had to have great faith in the midst of the test to believe
that if he killed Isaac, God could raise him up again. He exercised this
faith and passed the test. He obeyed to the point of sacrifice when God
stopped him. God did not want him to kill Isaac, but He needed to know
that Abraham would put Him before all else and trust Him to fulfill the
promise in His own way and time.
Thought for the Day

We are only as strong as the storms we survive.
July 217
July 26
“The Rain Came”
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall.
—Matthew 7:24–25
J esus said, “The rain came.” He didn’t say, “The rain might come.” Both
the one who builds on rock and the one who builds on sand have to
go through the storm.
“To everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 nkjv). Everything in
life has a season. This means that whatever difficulties we’re experienc‑
ing are not going to last. However, it also means that whatever we are
enjoying now may not last, either. Many of us do not want to hear this;
we think that everything is forever.
Let me remind you that even if you are in Christ Jesus, you are not
immune to storms. When we look at people who are men and women
of God, who are faithful in service to Him, who are praying people, or
who have served others greatly, but who still find themselves in crises,
we say, “This isn’t supposed to happen to people like them.” It doesn’t
matter what kind of “house” you have—the storm is coming. The issue is
not really the storm. The issue is the foundation. Remember that as you
hold on to the Rock, your foundation will remain sure.
I don’t know what your storm is going to be. It might not be what
the person next to you in church is going through. But when it comes,
I want you to be able to say, “I’m going through a tough one, but my
anchor is holding. I’m holding on to Jesus. It’s only a season.” You keep
on believing.
Thought for the Day

You are not immune to storms. Are you holding on to the Rock?

July 27
There Is a Season
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
—Ecclesiastes 3:1 (nkjv)
O
worst.”
ne of my greatest mentors, Oral Roberts, told me, “Son, if you’re
going to be successful in life, expect the best and prepare for the
You are not to trust in the permanence of anything on earth except

for your relationship with God. Parents, friends, coworkers, pastors,
church members—they’re all for a season. Be prepared for the season of
living without them. We must have our anchor on the Rock because the
Rock has no season—He is eternal.
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms”
(Deuteronomy 33:27). Even with those who tell you, “The Lord sent me
to work with you,” you can expect their departure at some point. So,
when a staff member comes to me and says, “The Lord told me it’s time
to move on,” I say, “Well, praise God, thank you for your contribution
for the last twenty years. Now, what do you need to help you get where
you’re going?”
To everything there is a season. Suppose your business is going well.
Prepare now for what you will do if your business goes through some
tough times. Don’t panic and say, “God has left me and the devil has
taken over.” No, that’s just a season. Perhaps you don’t like your current
job. God says, “That’s no problem; everything is seasonal.” Think in
those terms. You have to know how to handle what life brings you. You
have to be an anchor that is not driven by every wind and wave.
Thought for the Day

You are not to trust in the permanence of anything on earth
except for your relationship with God.
July 219
July 28
Prepared for the Storm
I ’ve lived in the Bahamas all my life, and God has used the ocean to
teach me essential lessons on Christian living. Often, my friends and
I have gone out on our boats early in the morning to fish, and the water
is like glass as we speed over the ocean. By one o’clock in the afternoon,
however, a storm may be coming, and, since we’re ten miles from shore,
we have to start tying everything down. The season has changed, and the
boat will rock during the storm, but everyone knows what to do. We’ve
already been trained; we’ve prepared for the storm.
We know to put the anchor down. We actually dive down and put
that anchor under the rock. Then, we brace everything. When the storm
is upon us, it’s too late to do anything else; the season has come. We’re
beaten about by the wind and waves, but after about fifteen or twenty
minutes, it passes us by. Then, it’s peaceful again, and we can go back to
fishing.
It will be the same with you. Once you have committed to the Rock
and have prepared for the changing seasons of life, you will be able to
ride out the storm and then go back to fishing. It’s going to be all right,
and it’s going to be even better fishing because the storm will have stirred
up more fish. Behind every broken experience is a wealthy experience
from the Lord. There is peace in the promise that nothing earthly lasts,
but the Rock is eternal.
Thought for the Day

Behind every broken experience is a wealthy experience
from the Lord.

July 29
An Anchor Stops Things
M en are called to protect their families and communities from the

destructive currents of our modern society. Remember our defi‑
nition of an anchor? It is “something that serves to hold an object firmly,”
and “anything that gives stability and security.”
If a boat is drifting with a current, and you put the anchor down
on a rock, it stops the boat from being controlled by the current. The
current of our modern society is filled with so many strong, ungodly
influences that the male needs to come back in the family, put his anchor
on the rock of a solid, godly principle, and say, “We’re not going in that
direction.”
Note that an anchor does not stop the current itself. The current
will come, but the anchor stops the boat you are in. How many things
have you stopped from happening to your son or your daughter? You see
your daughter wearing certain clothes or looking a certain way, or you
see your son watching something inappropriate on the Internet, and you
say, “No, not in this house.”
A male is an anchor, and an anchor stops things. You may know
that your daughter and son are being taught in school that homosexual‑
ity is acceptable. As a kingdom father, you have to put the anchor down
and say, “That’s not from God.” Many times, I had to tell my son and
daughter, “That music—not in this house. That type of clothing—not in
this house. This boat is anchored.” They made it through the turbulent
waves of those teen years. My children are upstanding young adults who
don’t have memories they can’t enjoy.
An anchor stops things.
Thought for the Day

Men are called to protect their families and communities from
the destructive currents of our modern society.
Reading: Psalm 49–50; Romans 1
July 221
July 30
Blown and Tossed by the Wind
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he
must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea,
blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive
anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
—James 1:5–8
Y ou are the anchor of your family’s “boat,” keeping it steady in

storms as you hold securely to Jesus, your Rock. Yet remember
that Jesus also has given us a Compass, the Holy Spirit, to give us our
bearings and direction in life. He will teach and strengthen you; He will
guide your conscience and establish your convictions so you can reach
shore safely. James wrote that God will give wisdom generously to every‑
one “without finding fault.” Yet we need to exercise faith when we ask, or
we will be “blown and tossed by the wind.” Our anchor will not be secure
but “unstable.”
Do you remember my writing earlier about the situation in which my
associates and I were adrift all night in the ocean after our boat lost power?
Our families called on a higher authority—the Coast Guard—to help us in
our crisis. Similarly, you can call on the Holy Spirit’s help. He will direct
and protect you in both the calm and stormy seas of your life. Even if there
is darkness all around you, He will guide you in the right direction.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night
around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will
shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:11–12)
Thought for the Day

The Holy Spirit will direct and protect you in both the calm
and stormy seas of your life.

July 31
Principles of the Male as
Cornerstone/Anchor
R eview these principles of the male as cornerstone/anchor and reflect

on how you can apply them in your everyday life—for yourself, if you
are a man, and in your relationships with men, if you are a woman.
1. The male is the foundation, but the Chief Cornerstone is Jesus
Christ.
2. Without the Cornerstone, the foundation falls apart.
3. If you make Jesus your Cornerstone, God will build you so well that
you will be able to handle the height of the building.
4. God allows you to go through trials and tests so you can recognize
what is hindering your life.
5. Committed Christians are not immune to the storms of life.
6. As you hold on to the Rock, your foundation will remain sure.
7. We go through various seasons in life, and we need to be prepared
for them by establishing our lives on the Rock.
8. Behind every broken experience is a wealthy experience from the
Lord.
9. Men are called to protect their families and communities from the
destructive currents of our modern society.
Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20)
Heavenly Father,
How precious is Your Son, the Chief Cornerstone, in our lives.
Whether we are male or female, we know we can depend upon
the Rock who is so much higher than we are. Thank You that
as we go through the seasons of our lives, we know that You are
the steadfast and unchanging God who loves us and provides us
with the Rock of our salvation. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
July 223
August 1
Differences in Communication Styles
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
—Romans 12:6
P
play.
aul was writing about spiritual gifts in this verse, but the same idea
applies to the different communication styles men and women dis‑
In His purpose and grace, God made women and men very different
from each other in the way they think, act, and respond. These differences
were designed to be complementary and not divisive. Adam and Eve origi‑
nally lived in harmony with God, and so they were able to live in harmony
with one another. They knew how to draw on each other’s strengths in
communication for the betterment of them both. However, when human‑
ity turned away from God’s purposes and broke relationship with Him,
the lines of communication between males and females were cut or, at
least, badly frayed. Thus, the differences that were originally designed for
mutual support now often lead to misunderstandings and conflicts in
marriage and in other relationships between men and women.
The chances are very good that you have experienced some of this
misunderstanding and conflict firsthand! Handling differences of opin‑
ion and avoiding discord are universal problems in relationships. How are
you to live harmoniously with a husband or wife whom you love but who
processes information and responds in a manner that is different from
the way that you do? Over the next two weeks, we will explore answers to
this common relationship dilemma.
Thought for the Day

God made women and men very different from each other in
the way they think, act, and respond.

August 2
Dealing with Differences
M any women and men struggle with communication issues. How

should you conduct yourself when you have been created to func‑
tion differently from others with whom you live and work? How do you
make yourself understood and how do you communicate effectively?
Differences in perspective and communication style can lead to mis‑
understandings and hurt feelings. Because of this, Colossians 3:13 is always
a good guiding principle to follow: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
In the next few days, seek to understand the purposes and designs of
females and males that influence their communication styles. With this
knowledge—and some patience and forgiveness—men and women who are
seeking God’s redemptive purposes for their lives can communicate effec‑
tively and happily with one another. When women and men are consid‑
erate of one another, they have the basis on which they can develop the
mutual love and respect that is crucial to lasting relationships.
Also keep in mind that we will be discussing the basic natures and
tendencies of females and males in communication. Of course, there will
always be exceptions, for every person is unique. Yet within the variations,
the general tendencies usually hold true.
Men and women must be brought into the complementary balance
that was God’s original purpose for them. This balance will be achieved
when we understand the strengths of each communication style and learn
to communicate with each other according to the style that the other party
can receive and understand.
Thought for the Day

When women and men are considerate of one another,
they have the basis on which they can develop mutual
love and respect.
August 225
August 3
A Woman Is Primarily an
“Emotional Feeler”
T oday, we begin to look at the female’s communication style and

contrast it with the male’s style so that we can understand and
appreciate their different perspectives.
God made the woman primarily as an “emotional feeler” and the
man chiefly as a “logical thinker.” When I state that a woman is an emo‑
tional feeler, I am referring to the way in which she processes the verbal
and nonverbal communication she receives from the world around her.
Because the woman is an incubator, she not only receives thoughts and
ideas into her being, but also transforms them as she processes them in
her emotional, mental, and spiritual wombs. Her communication style
reflects this process. When a woman receives information, she assesses it
both mentally and emotionally at the same time. This is what makes her
distinct from the male, who generally uses these functions separately.
God’s creation is remarkable. He actually designed the brains of
females and males to be different. The neural pathways between the
left and right hemispheres of a woman’s brain (both the logical and the
emotional sides) are intact. This explains what often puzzles many men:
women’s ability to do multiple tasks at the same time rather than having
to focus on just one. The woman’s brain allows her to process facts and
feelings almost simultaneously. Her emotions are with her all the time
she is thinking, and this influences her perspective on the world around
her as well as what is communicated to her.
Thought for the Day

When a woman receives information, she assesses it both
mentally and emotionally at the same time.

August 4
A Man Is Chiefly a “Logical Thinker”
Y esterday, we saw that women have an awesome ability to process

emotion and logic at the same time. In contrast, science has shown
that there are fewer nerves connecting the two hemispheres of the male’s
brain, so the logical and emotional sides are not as closely connected.
Because of this, a man basically needs to “shift gears” to move from his
dominant logical side to his emotional side. This is why men, in general,
think in terms of facts and in a linear fashion. They think like a straight
line—the shortest distance between two points—which gives them the
ability to see the goal (the vision) and to focus their energies on reaching
it in the most straightforward and direct way.
Women, on the other hand, tend to think more like a grid than a
straight line. A woman’s brain is designed to pick up many details that
men don’t “see”—things that go beyond the mere facts, such as the per‑
sonalities, motivations, and feelings of both herself and others. She can
perceive, evaluate, and see relationships between things all at the same
time, like x, y, and z coordinates on a grid track multiple factors at the
same time.
No one person, and no one gender, can look at the world with com‑
plete perspective. Therefore, God has designed things so that when the
female and the male work together in unity, they can help one another to
see a more balanced picture of life. They weren’t meant to understand the
world and fulfill their dominion mandate in isolation from one another.
For this reason, they have built-in ways of seeing the world that are of ben‑
efit to each other.
Thought for the Day

No one person, and no one gender, can look at the world
with complete perspective.
August 227
August 5
Which Filter Do You Use?
G od designed the woman to look at life through an emotional filter

and the man to look at life through a logical filter. This does not
mean that women do not use logic or that men do not have emotions.
They each just have a specific way of looking at the world.
Women often have been written off as foolish and inferior by men
because they are expressive and show their emotions. A woman does not
need to apologize for her emotions. God made her to feel. Males have
assumed that their approach is better than the females’ approach rather
than complementary to it. They haven’t known or understood how and
why the woman was created to be an emotional feeler.
The woman can help the man see aspects of life that, if overlooked or
ignored, can become detours or potholes preventing him from reaching
his goal or from reaching it as quickly as he might have. Her peripheral
vision keeps him from being blindsided as he single-mindedly pursues
his goals and objectives. On the other hand, the man’s linear thinking
helps the woman not to become so enmeshed in the many layers of her
multidimensional thinking that she loses sight of the goal and never
reaches it.
Women and men need each other in order to chart the best course
in life—one that enables them to reach their common goal but also expe‑
rience their journey in the fullest, wisest, and most rewarding way pos‑
sible.
Thought for the Day

Women and men need each other to chart the best course in life.
Reading: Psalm 68–69; Romans 8:1–21

August 6
Feeling, Thinking, and Self-Expression
C ommunication between women and men comes down to feeling,

thinking, and self-expression. Women and men both feel. Women and
men both think. It is their manner of looking at the world and their
self-expression that makes the difference. A woman’s first reaction will
generally be an emotional one, followed by a thinking one. A man’s first
reaction will be a thinking one, but he will also feel.
Let’s look at a situation highlighting these different perspectives. A
married couple plans a romantic evening together. The wife looks for‑
ward to an evening with her husband. She prepares the food, sets the
table, arranges the flowers, and then meets him at the door when he
comes home. Her husband walks in, says hello, then strides right past her
without noticing that she has dressed up. He goes into the living room
and says, “I’m going to have dinner in front of the TV while I watch the
news.” His mind is still in work mode, intent on finding out any informa‑
tion that may affect his work and thus his ability to provide. Because his
wife doesn’t understand this, she is deeply hurt at his behavior; her first
reaction is to feel that he is ungrateful and inconsiderate. She approaches
him angrily. Surprised, he asks, “What’s the matter with you?”
At this point, she sees nothing complementary in the way he is
designed! When we don’t understand purpose, we begin to misinterpret
motives. It is this suspicion that creates conflict. This is why understand‑
ing purpose and design is so important. Both the woman’s reaction and
the man’s reaction are related to the way they are made. She took his
apparent indifference personally, while his mind was so preoccupied with
what he was thinking that he did not notice what his wife was feeling.
Thought for the Day

When we don’t understand purpose, we begin
to misinterpret motives.
August 229
August 7
The Woman’s Self-Expression
B ecause the woman was created to be more emotionally aware, she

feels everything—from the way a person looks at her to what a per‑
son is saying or doing. A woman also can generally express her feelings
and thoughts better than a man can. God designed the woman to com‑
municate what is going on in her heart and mind. Because a man talks
less than a woman does, he can sometimes give her the impression that
he is not doing much thinking. Men think quite a bit; however, they
often don’t express their thoughts, and, when they do, they may express
only the most salient points because they are interested in facts rather
than details.
This is why a man can walk into the house and bypass a beautifully
set table his wife has prepared without saying anything about it. The
man needs help switching his focus from linear thinking about his goals
and work to an appreciation of the sensory and emotional aspects of
life. Then, he can notice and appreciate what his wife has done for him.
The woman, on her part, needs to understand that when the man walks
by her table without saying anything, it doesn’t necessarily mean that
he is being inconsiderate. It means that he is in a linear frame of mind
because this is his natural mind-set.
A woman needs to be patient with a man and give him time to
switch gears emotionally, while a man needs to learn to articulate what
he appreciates and feels.
Thought for the Day

God designed the woman to communicate what is
going on in her heart and mind.

August 8
Do Men Really Have Emotions?
C ontrary to what many women believe, men do have emotions! They

just don’t always express them—either because it is more difficult
for them to do so or because what they are thinking, rather than what
they are feeling, is at the forefront of what they are engaged in.
There are times when a woman isn’t feeling what a man is thinking,
and a man is not thinking what a woman is feeling. When this happens,
the lack of communication between them compounds their frustration
with one another. Again, when the man walks past the beautifully laid
dinner table, he has to remember to express his feelings. At the same
time, the woman shouldn’t consider his unemotional response as being
either irresponsible or inconsiderate.
The man generally bases his thoughts and actions on what is logical;
he factually analyzes everything. This is both a strength and a weakness,
because emotions and insights are very important to the way a person
functions in the world. Therefore, the man needs someone who can bal‑
ance his logic with feeling; otherwise, he’ll go through life with a merely
clinical outlook. He needs someone who can show him the emotional
side of life, who can remind him of his need to be sensitive to others.
I appreciate God’s design. He created us in such a way that males
and females truly need one another.
Thought for the Day

Men don’t always express their emotions—either because it
is difficult for them to do so or because what they are thinking,
rather than what they are feeling, is at the forefront of
what they are engaged in.
August 231
August 9
Are We Hearing the Same Thing?
W hat a woman hears, she receives as an emotional experience;

what a man hears, he generally receives merely as information.
They have two entirely different ways of processing language that is spo‑
ken to them.
The woman receives language in an emotional way because she is
designed to absorb the world around her and to personalize it. She is
designed to take in everything and incubate it. A man doesn’t usually
have an emotional experience with what he hears. This is why it is very
important for a male to understand a female. Before a man speaks to a
woman, he needs to think about what he is about to say and how he is
about to say it. Because a woman receives everything as an emotional
experience, a man must be sensitive about her feelings, considering his
words rather than saying whatever comes to his mind.
On the other hand, a woman needs to realize that when she talks to
a man, he hears it only as information. He runs on information because
he’s a logical thinker. When she wants to talk to a man, she has to learn
to tell him what she thinks, not what she feels. Sometimes a woman will
become upset at something that a man has done and will start crying.
A woman needs to release her emotions, and she often expresses them
through tears. However, the man says, “I’m going to leave. I’ll come back
when you’ve settled down and we can talk.” To the woman, he’s being
cold. What he’s really saying is, “I’m looking for information, and I’m not
receiving any.” The man doesn’t want her tears because he doesn’t know
how to respond to them. He feels sorry that she is crying, but he wants to
know what he can do to fix things. He wants information.
Thought for the Day

What a woman hears, she receives as an emotional experience;
what a man hears, he generally receives as information.

August 10
Women’s Insight and Discernment
While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message:
“Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered
a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
—Matthew 27:19
A woman’s communication gifts include insight and discernment.

Men need to be sensitive to the discernment that God gives to
their wives and to other women in their lives. There is an interesting
example of this truth in the incident when Pilate judged Jesus.
Pilate was carrying out his job, the administration of Roman author‑
ity over the Jews. When the chief priests brought Jesus before Pilate and
accused Him of being an insurrectionist, Pilate’s first inclination was to
rule within the law. He saw no basis for their accusations and wanted to
release Jesus. In the middle of this dispute, Pilate’s wife sent a warning
to him: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man.” In essence, she
was saying, “I have a premonition about this Man. He didn’t do anything
wrong. Don’t touch Him.” She was trying to appeal to Pilate’s sensibilities,
warning him that he should use discretion when making his decision.
Pilate became nervous that things were getting out of hand when
the religious leaders assembled an unruly crowd to demand that Jesus be
crucified. He ended up being swayed by this pressure and ordering Jesus’
death. He may have justified his decision by telling himself that it was
logical: keeping order for Rome should take precedence over preserving
the life of one innocent man. Even though Pilate knew Jesus had done
nothing wrong, he had Him crucified. He would have done better to
listen to the instincts of his wife.
Thought for the Day

Men need to be sensitive to the discernment that God gives to
their wives and to other women for their benefit.
August 233
August 11
Intuition Averts Disaster
David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who
has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment
and for keeping me from bloodshed this day.”
—1 Samuel 25:32–33
G od gave females to males so that men can have balance, so that

they can have the benefit of women’s sensitivity and feeling. It is
very easy for men to make a decision and not care what anyone thinks
about it or who will be affected by it. This is why it is good for a man to
have someone who can say to him, “What you are planning to do may be
right, but the way you intend to go about it is wrong. Perhaps you should
consider…”
The account of Abigail in 1 Samuel 25 is a good example of how a
woman’s discernment averted disaster for a man. Abigail combined intel‑
ligence and insight to address a deadly situation. Her husband, Nabal,
had rejected David’s request for food after David and his men had been
honorable with him and had protected his property. Nabal wasn’t using
wisdom but his own form of logic and pride when he rebuffed David.
David was angry at this treatment and was going to destroy Nabal and his
workers. Abigail went to David and appealed to his sense of justice and
righteousness before God, as well as to his compassion. Her insights and
good judgment kept David from destroying her husband and his men.
Abigail is also a good example of someone who understood how to
communicate with another based on knowledge of the other person’s
outlook. She knew what to say to David that would get his attention and
resonate with his deepest convictions.
Thought for the Day

God gave females to males so that men can have balance.

August 12
Women Love the Details
W hy can’t you remember anything I tell you?” Well, men, how many
times have you heard that question? A major aspect of the dif‑
ferences between the communication styles of women and men is that
women don’t usually forget things, whereas men generally have to be
reminded over and over.
Now, a man may remember facts related to his business, but often
he will forget dates, times, and events. For example, a woman may be
dressing for an evening out and call to her husband, who is in another
room, “You remember that we’re going to your sister’s birthday party
tonight, don’t you?” The man will have completely forgotten. He is wear‑
ing the oldest clothes he owns and holding a big bowl of popcorn, getting
ready to watch the big game.
Most men don’t know the reason why women remember things, and
most women can’t understand why men don’t recall things. It has to do
with their purpose and design. Men tend to think about goals and the
bottom line, while women tend to remember details. These differences
are complementary.
Women are generally more interested in the details, while men are
usually interested in what is abstract—the principles or the philosophy
related to something. This is why, after attending a wedding, for example,
a woman can talk on the phone with a friend for hours discussing all the
details of the event, such as the flowers, the music, what the bride wore,
and what kind of food was served at the reception. When a man is asked,
“How was the wedding?” he may get a blank look on his face and then
simply say, “They got married.”
Thought for the Day

Men tend to think about goals and the bottom line, while
women tend to remember details.
August 235
August 13
A Woman’s Hidden Thoughts
A woman is likely to express what she feels rather than what she thinks,
especially at first. For example, when a woman is under stress and
wants someone to empathize with her so that she doesn’t feel so alone
in her difficulty, she may say something like this to her husband: “Your
parents are coming for dinner tomorrow, the house is a mess, we don’t
have any groceries, the kids have been underfoot all day, and I just can’t
do it all!” Her husband, who is a thinker, will immediately try to come
up with a solution for his distraught wife. “Well, what if I go buy some
groceries?” “No, I have to do that tomorrow when I know what I want
to cook.” “Then why don’t I take you and the kids out to dinner so you
won’t have to worry about that tonight?” “No, we can’t be out late. The
kids need baths, and, besides, I have to use up the leftovers.” “Well, then,
let me straighten things up a little.” “No, I need to do that. I know where
everything belongs.”
By now, the man is totally exasperated because he is trying to help
his wife, but she is rejecting all his suggestions. He doesn’t realize that
what the woman really wants is for him to take her in his arms and tell
her how much she is appreciated. While she would also probably appre‑
ciate his help, she first needs emotional contact with him so that she
can be emotionally stabilized. Then, the other problems won’t seem as
insurmountable. What she was thinking was that she could handle things
if she received some love and affection from her husband. What she
expressed were her overwhelming feelings of overload, which her husband
interpreted as a need for him to solve her problems by taking action.
Thought for the Day

What a woman is thinking can be different from
what she is saying.

August 14
A Man’s Hidden Feelings
M ost of the time, when a man speaks to a woman, he doesn’t com‑

municate what he’s feeling. The misunderstanding this causes con‑
tributes to problems in relationships.
It can be difficult for women to understand how very hard it is for
men to express their feelings. Yet it is very important for a woman not
to jump to any conclusions about a man’s motivations until she discov‑
ers what he is feeling. I’ve counseled many couples in which the woman
doesn’t understand the man’s nature. “He doesn’t care about me. He
doesn’t tell me he loves me. He’s indifferent.” In her experience, this
explanation seems true. But, all the while, the man really feels deeply.
Notice that I said “feels.” He feels deeply for her. The problem is that he
doesn’t say what he is feeling; he says what he is thinking. Note the differ‑
ence: in his heart, he feels great love for her, but in his mind, this love is
not always translated into specific words that he can share with her.
There are many men who are feeling emotions they find difficult to
verbalize. They are hurting; they feel sad and weak inside. They feel like
losers. They are depressed that they haven’t been promoted for ten years
and that nothing is working out with their jobs. They feel as if they have
failed their wives. They feel bad, but it is hard for them to come up with
the words to express these feelings.
Men have to start learning to communicate their feelings to women.
They have to overcome any feelings of embarrassment they have toward
feelings. To help a man do this, a woman needs to learn to create an
environment that will enable him to tell her what he is feeling.
Thought for the Day

It is often hard for men to come up with words that
express their feelings.
August 237
August 15
A Beautiful Complement
T he distinct differences between women and men are meant to

be a help to them—not a hindrance or a source of pain. One way
of thinking and communicating is not better than the other way, and
the inherent differences between the two are not a result of the fall of
humanity. The way women and men are designed is for their good. They
just need to exercise patience and understanding and to value the other’s
contribution.
The female’s emotional feeling will balance the male’s logical think‑
ing. Many women don’t understand how important they are to the men
in their lives. The female was created to help the man in that whatever
the male lacks, the female possesses. The reverse is also true. This prin‑
ciple is based on God’s purpose.
If women and men are not careful, they will come to conclusions
about each other’s motivations without knowing what the woman is really
thinking or the man is really feeling. This has caused many people to
think that their marriages or relationships aren’t working. After a while,
they say, “Forget this,” and they walk away. Later on, they meet somebody
else and get married, hoping things will be different this time. However,
they encounter the same problems that they did in their previous rela‑
tionships. They think the problem is with the other person, when the
problem is often with the inability of both parties to communicate well.
This cycle will continue until they learn to work through and under‑
stand the differences between women and men, why each is unique, and
how God has made them to complement one another beautifully.
Thought for the Day

Men and women need to exercise patience and understanding
with one another and to value each other’s contributions
to their relationships.

August 16
Principles of Communication Styles
R eview these principles of the different communication styles of men

and women and reflect on how they apply to your everyday life.
1. God made women and men different in the way they think, act, and
respond.
2. The woman is an emotional feeler. The man is a logical thinker.
3. The different communication styles of women and men are meant
to be complementary.
4. When women and men understand the differences in their commu‑
nication styles, they can learn how to use their differences for the
betterment of them both.
5. A woman receives what she hears as an emotional experience. A
man receives what he hears as information.
6. Women are more interested in the concrete details, while men are
more interested in abstract ideas.
7. What a woman speaks is an expression of what she feels. What a
man speaks is an expression of what he thinks.
Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience.…Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues
put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
(Colossians 3:12–14)
Heavenly Father,
You have created us, male and female, to complement one
another. Yet You know that our communication is often frus‑
trated because of great misunderstanding. You are the Great
Communicator. You speak truth to us through Your Word
and Your Holy Spirit. Please teach us to speak and to listen to
others with all wisdom and knowledge so that we can be used
to fulfill Your plans for our lives. In Jesus’ precious name we
pray, amen.
August 239
August 17
A Unique Leadership Position
G od has given males a unique leadership influence. As the man

goes, so goes the family, society, and world. I believe that if we
don’t remedy the male’s identity crisis, our whole generation will be in
trouble. There’s no escaping this fact.
The answer for males in the twenty-first century is therefore to:
• define their worth based on God’s purpose rather than society’s
roles.
• learn God’s vision for their lives.
• continue to live in the truth of who they were created to be.
If males understand the purpose and responsibilities God has given
them and the true design of their relationship with females, they can be
free to fulfill their destiny and potential. They can be the men they were
created to be.
If you are a man, you don’t need to be confused about your identity
and place in life, regardless of the conflicting signals society is currently
sending out. You will find fresh vision and direction in rediscovering
God’s purposes for both males and females. Through this knowledge,
men can be and do more than they ever imagined, and women can gain
a new understanding and appreciation for men while enabling them to
fulfill their calling.
What is a “real man”? Someone who knows the reality of who he is
and lives in that reality. This knowledge starts with understanding the
significance of his being created purposefully by God. Over the next few
days, we will continue to explore the definition of the male as father and
its implications.
Thought for the Day

Men will find fresh vision for their lives by rediscovering and
living in God’s purposes.

August 18
God as Source
Through [Christ] all things were made; without him nothing was made that
has been made.
—John 1:3
E arlier, we talked about the significance of the fact that the male was
created as father of the human family. Recall that the word father in
the Bible is ab in the Old Testament and pater in the New Testament, and
that these words denote “source” and “progenitor.” God is the Source of
all substance and all life. He is the Progenitor who creates all things and
then supports and upholds.
God is Father by both nature and function. He is the Father of
creation. God sent forth His Word and created all that is. (See Genesis
1; Isaiah 63; Romans 1:20; John 1:3.) As the Source of all that is, God
carried the seed of the universe. God the Father had everything in Him
before anything was. So, He created the entire universe and brought into
being all that is from nothing (ex nihilo). The Hebrew verb for creating is
bara. The only proper subject for bara is God, for only He creates. There‑
fore, that which produces or creates is the source—the father.
A male needs to understand the significance of his being created
purposefully by God. The highest honor God can give a man is to des‑
ignate him a father. Father is the title or designation God uses for Him‑
self. In fact, fatherhood is the ultimate work of the male. Fatherhood
is a heavy honor and a tremendous responsibility. The father’s job is to
uphold and support the generation he brings forth.
Thought for the Day

As the Source, God the Father had everything in Him before
anything was.
Reading: Psalm 100–102; 1 Corinthians 1
August 241
August 19
The Parable of the Loving Father
B efore men can be all they were meant to be as fathers, they need to
be in right relationship with the heavenly Father. Remember the
parable of the prodigal son—more aptly called “the parable of the loving
father”? The ambitious and ungrateful son took his good inheritance,
left home, squandered his money, and ended up living in a pigpen.
If you stay away from God, He will sustain you even with “pig slop,”
if that’s what you want. Why? You are still the son, and He is still the
faithful Father. But He wants to give you so much more in life.
When the lost son came to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s
hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and
go back to my father” (Luke 15:17–18). In other words, he realized that the
food in his father’s house, even that of the workers, was better than the
food in the pigpen. When this lost son returned home, however, the
father still loved him. Not only was he willing to sustain him, but he also
threw him a party to celebrate his homecoming. “But while he was still a
long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran
to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (v. 20).
You can decide upon the quality of life you want to live, just as the
lost son did. God will feed you whatever you want to “eat.” If you hang
out with the pigs, you will eat pig slop. If you return home to your Father,
you can live in the fullness of His grace and provision. The choice is
yours.
Thought for the Day

If you return home to your Father, you can live in the fullness
of His grace and provision.

August 20
Rebirthed with Everlasting Seed
G od created human beings with genes, which are the source and sub‑
stance of life. These genes are passed down from parent to child.
Our genes determine physical characteristics, behaviors, emotional reac‑
tions, and instincts, as well as how we process our thoughts. At the core
of our natural identities are our genes. When a man sows seed into
the receptor (the woman) and a child is conceived, the next generation
receives its identity by the genes.
Adam was the father of the human race. His genes were released
into humanity. What identity did human beings inherit from Adam,
the progenitor of humanity? Although God gave him life to pass along,
Adam rebelled and rejected his life-giving Creator; therefore, death was
passed on in Adam’s seed. Adam turned away from his heavenly Father
and listened to the lies of the devil, who essentially became a “stepfather”
to him. “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Because Adam allowed sin to enter the world, his descendants were
born with a sinful nature and with bodies that would eventually die. His
son, Cain, even became a murderer. The inheritance we received from
Adam was death. Since we are all Adam’s offspring, we need to change
fathers as soon as possible. We need to be rebirthed with everlasting seed
and genes by the heavenly Father, through His Son Jesus Christ.
Thought for the Day

We need to be rebirthed with everlasting seed and genes by the
heavenly Father, through His Son Jesus Christ.
August 243
August 21
Who Is Your Father?
The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard
you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
—Genesis 3:9–10
W hen Adam disobeyed God, everything went wrong. Human

beings experienced shame, fear, and separation from God.
When the man ate the fruit, in his act of separating from the Father, all
his offspring were contaminated—including Eve.
It is interesting to note that God did not call to Eve—He “called to
the man.” Women are not identified as the ones who transfer sin; men
are. Remember Romans 5:12: “Sin entered the world through one man, and
death through sin.” So, the only way to get rid of Adam’s seed of sin is to
renounce him (the fallen nature)—and his stepfather, the devil—as your
father. Only the Second Adam, Jesus, can birth new life in you and break
the curse of sin and death that you inherited from your original father,
Adam.
Adam did what many men still do today—he blamed Eve for his sin.
(See Genesis 3:11–12.) Men are still blaming the women and mothers in
our cultures for the problems we are having with our children. The truth
is that the root of our problems is fatherlessness.
Men, stop blaming women. Yes, Eve was “deceived” (1 Timothy 2:14).
Yet Adam sinned, rejected his Father, and, through his seed, became the
progenitor of sin to all forthcoming generations. But Christ sows God’s
seed of life into all who would be born again. Renounce the father of all
lies and return to the Father of light and life.
Thought for the Day

The only way to get rid of Adam’s seed of sin is to renounce him
(the fallen nature)—and his stepfather, the devil—and ask the
Second Adam to birth new life in you.

August 22
The Identity Crisis
T he greatest challenge for men today, especially young men, is that

they suffer from an identity crisis. They lack the nurturing influ‑
ence of a true father to give them identity. An identity doesn’t come from
a gang or the government. It comes from a father.
The only one who can give you your true identity as a man is a
father. This fundamental principle is lacking in many of our cultures,
and its absence is the source of many social problems. Most young men
are running around looking for a father, and they can’t find him. They’re
running to their friends, but to no avail. You can’t find fatherhood in
another peer or gang member who is also looking for a father. You can‑
not discover who you are by looking to someone who doesn’t know who
he or she is.
Do you know why being Jewish carries with it such a strong identity?
Jewish tradition, particularly in family relationships, has a very real sense
of the “father spirit.” This sense is rooted in a ceremony called Bar Mitz‑
vah, in which a thirteen‑year‑old boy goes before the men and performs
some prescribed traditional rites, after which the men say to him, “Now
you are a man.” From that day forward, that boy takes on a different
spirit. That’s why Jewish communities are knitted so closely together and
are so strong in business, tradition, and culture.
A man needs to be affirmed by a father in order to confirm his man‑
hood. This is why so many young men yearn to hear their fathers say to
them, “I love you, Son. You’re a man now.”
Thought for the Day

A man needs to be affirmed by a father in order to
confirm his manhood.
August 245
August 23
Get Your Identity from God
I f you haven’t found a true earthly father yet, God qualifies as your
Father. Hallelujah! You can come to God and say, “God, who am I?”
and He’ll tell you, “You’re My son.” “But as many as received him [Jesus], to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name” (John 1:12 kjv). If you have received Jesus, you have the power to
become a child of God. Your identity then comes from Him.
Next, God the Father will say to you, “Now, mature into the image
of My dear Son, Jesus Christ, and you will grow up in Him until you are
a true man.” Jesus the Son tells you, “You are a father.” He gives you your
identity as a father. The principle of fatherhood, therefore, is simple: you
provide identity. When you receive your true identity in Christ, then you
can provide true identity to others.
A male can do nothing greater than fathering—whether he is fulfill‑
ing the role of father for his children or for others in his sphere of influ‑
ence. He can earn a million dollars, but if he fails to fulfill God’s calling
to father as God fathers, then he is a failure. He can own a huge home,
manage a large stock portfolio, and have a billion‑dollar estate, but if he
neglects to father his family, he has failed.
A male who is physically strong but weak as a father is not a man. A
male eloquent in words but silent as a father in teaching his household
the Word and precepts of God is not a man. The measure of a man’s
success is directly related to his effectiveness as a father, for which God
is the only true example and standard.
Thought for the Day

When you receive your true identity in Christ, then you
can provide true identity to others.

August 24
The Head Is Responsible for the Body
A s the head of the family, the father is responsible for the “body,”
just as Jesus, as Head of the church, is responsible for His body.
Many men love to say, “I’m the head of this house,” but they forget
the accountability and duty of being the head. It is vitally important to
understand the spiritual function of being the head of a family. I think
we can see it more clearly if we use a physical head as an analogy. First,
the head contains the brain. If the man claims to be the father and head
of the home, then he must have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians
2:16), which includes the knowledge and wisdom to lead a family in the
ways of God. The father has the responsibility to solve the problems
the family encounters. He calculates where the family is going and seeks
God’s guidance to make long‑term plans for it. The father is the coun‑
selor, career and financial planner, and manager of the family’s resources.
All those functions are in the brain.
If the father is truly the head, he becomes the visionary of the fam‑
ily. The eyes are in the head and they see what’s in front of the body. The
eyes are not in the back or in the stomach. If you are the head, you should
have a vision for your family: insight, long‑range goals, and a plan for
the future. The father discerns things that are happening in the natural,
as well as the supernatural, for the family. As the visionary, the father
anticipates things before they happen and prepares and equips the family
to face the future.
Thought for the Day

As head of the home, the father must have the mind of Christ
(see 1 Corinthians 2:16), which includes the knowledge and
wisdom to lead his family in the ways of God.
Reading: Psalm 116–118; 1 Corinthians 7:1–19
August 247
August 25
The Qualities of Perception,

Conception, and Inception
A s visionaries, fathers have perception, conception, and inception. Perception

is awareness of what’s going on. A father knows what’s happening with
his wife and children at all times. When behaviors or attitudes change, he
knows it. When spiritual or physical needs arise, he is aware of them. Too
often, I hear families complain, “Dad never knows or understands what’s
happening in our lives. He’s too wrapped up in his work to notice us.”
God cares about everything. Jesus was aware of everything that hap‑
pened around Him, even noticing a woman in need barely touching the
hem of His garment. (See Mark 5:24–34.) God the Father is aware of all
things. Jeremiah prayed, “Great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.
Your eyes are open to all the ways of men” (Jeremiah 32:19). Like the Father,
a father is aware of all that happens in his family.
Conception is the creative beginning of a process, which sets in
motion a chain of events. God sets everything in motion; He is “the
God who made the world and everything in it” (Acts 17:24). He initiates,
conceives, and creates. Likewise, a father conceives the beginnings of
things for his family and then becomes the source for bringing what he
has conceived into reality.
Inception is the start of something new. God the Father is always doing
“a new thing” in our lives. He said, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs
up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the waste-
land” (Isaiah 43:19). A father is willing to risk new things for his family.
As the head of the family, the father takes the initiative to listen to
God and conceive God’s ideas, not just what seem like good ideas.
Thought for the Day

Like the Father, a father is aware of what is happening with his
wife and children and initiates godly plans for their future.
Reading: Psalm 119:1–88; 1 Corinthians 7:20–40

August 26
Are You Discerning Your Family’s Needs?
A good father develops discernment for the sake of his family.

Continuing with our analogy of the physical head, after the eyes,
we think of the nose. The nose discerns. Discerning is actually related to
caring—anticipating a need and meeting it. A godly father can sense what
is coming against a family in the next several years. He also has a sense of
what is going to happen next week. Perhaps his teenager is going through
some tough changes and facing tremendous peer pressure. As the head
of the household, he discerns the problem and spends time with that
child to counsel, support, affirm, and advise. A godly father also senses
when his wife is in need of affection or time alone. In other words, a
father can detect the scent of his family, his home, his business, and his
neighborhood. He discerns and prepares for the future.
God the Father prepared for our needs before the world’s founda‑
tion of the world:
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ.…In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
(Ephesians 1:4–5, 7–8)
God made preparations for Christ to die for our sins, for the gift of
the Holy Spirit, and for our eternal inheritance in glory. Now, that’s a
real Father! God discerned our need before we were ever created. Those
of us who are fathers are to do the same for our families and others
within the realm of our influence.
Thought for the Day

Discerning is related to caring—anticipating a need
and meeting it.
Reading: Psalm 119:89–176; 1 Corinthians 8
August 249
August 27
Hearing and Speaking to Your Family
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because
he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
—Psalm 116:1–2
T he effective functioning of a physical head includes the ears.

Likewise, you are a godly father if you can hear for your family. A
father should always be listening to God and to his family, for God the
Father always listens to us, as the psalmist wrote in the above passage. Yet
I hear wives and children continually complain, “Dad never has time to
listen to me.” Fathers, please take time to listen.
As head of the family, here are some questions you need to ask
yourself: Am I hearing the voice of God for my family? Am I picking up
on what’s going on in the world and preparing my family to face it? Am
I hearing the true voices of my wife and children?
Many men think they are too busy to listen. Yet listening is a gift
that fathers give to their families. Their listening tells their families that
they care for them, while a failure to listen communicates a lack of love
and caring. Because God the Father loves us, He always listens to and
answers us. We fathers need to listen as our heavenly Father listens!
Finally, being the head means that the father is the mouthpiece for
the family. The father is supposed to speak the Word of God in the
home. The family should hear God’s Word from the head of the family
first. Everything said at church should confirm and support what has
already been said at home by the father.
Thought for the Day

The father should always be listening to God and his family
because the heavenly Father always listens to us!

August 28
A Helper, Not a Slave
I n the family, the father is the head as a result of God’s timing and
creation. Yet, again, this does not mean the woman is inferior to him.
The woman was created by God to be a helper, not a slave. There is a
big difference between the two. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as a
Helper. (See John 15:26; 16:7 nkjv.) Jesus said that the Holy Spirit not
only would help us, but also would lead us. “He will guide you into all
truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, meaning the One
who comes alongside to help, as well as to be a Comforter, Counselor,
and Guide.
Being a helper does not mean being inferior. A helper can be a
guide and a teacher. Therefore, although the male is always the respon‑
sible head in God’s design, he is not the “boss.” He is not the owner of
the woman.
Remember that when God addresses the human race, He never
addresses us as male and female; He addresses us as “man.” He deals
with the spirit-man within both male and female. In order to function on
earth as mankind, however, males and females each exercise an aspect
of leadership.
While the male is ultimately the responsible head, the female is the
coleader. A good illustration of this is the relationship between Jesus and
His church. Jesus is called the Head, and the church is called the body.
(See Colossians 1:18.) They work in unison with one another. Christ’s
relationship to the church is the perfect model for us of the male-female
relationship and God’s purposes for the woman in her dominion leader‑
ship role.
Thought for the Day

Christ’s relationship to the church is the perfect model for us of
the male-female relationship.
August 251
August 29
A Father Leads His House
I cannot emphasize enough that being the head of the family does not
endow the man with more worth or value. Being the head has to do
with responsibility. Too many men confuse being the head with being the
boss. A father is not the boss of his house; a father is the head. A father
doesn’t rule his house; he leads his house. We must understand the func‑
tion of the father as leader in the home.
Let me share with you some qualities of leadership the father has in
the home:
As leader, the father has a passion and desire to bring out the best
in all those under his care: his wife, children, and any other family mem‑
bers.
A true leader does not suppress, oppress, or depress the potential
and talents of others; he releases them and cultivates them.
A true leader provides an environment for growth. He does not try
to inhibit family members or create an atmosphere of fear. A true leader’s
passion is to maximize the potential of others so they may realize their
full and true abilities.
In a very true sense, a father who is a genuine leader does exactly
what God said to do from the beginning—he cultivates. To cultivate
means to create an orderly environment that brings out the best in a
thing, to culture it. As a leader, the father develops, expands, instigates,
motivates, inspires, encourages, and exhorts. All those functions enrich
the soil in which others grow.
Thought for the Day

A father doesn’t rule his house; he leads his house.

August 30
Leaders Are Servants
M en, the fact that you are the head of the family does not make you
superior, better, or greater than your wives. It means you have
first responsibility and accountability to God for the family. Remember,
being the head is not a value statement about worth or intrinsic value.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5–7)
As Head of the church, Jesus humbled Himself as a servant. Heads
and leaders are first and foremost servants like Christ. It is impossible to
assume a position of leadership without first serving. Jesus said,
You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it
over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not
so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must
be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42–45)
A father can never say that being the head or leader makes him the
greatest. He must always look to serve in leadership, as Jesus did.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you
should do as I have done for you. (John 13:14–15)
Thought for the Day

It is impossible to assume a position of leadership
without first serving.
August 253
August 31
Principles of Leadership
T oday, review these principles of the male’s leadership and reflect on

how they apply to your everyday life—for yourself, if you are a man,
and in your relationships with men, if you are a woman.
1. Fathers must have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16),
which includes the knowledge and wisdom to lead a family in the
ways of God.
2. As the visionary, the father anticipates things before they happen
and prepares and equips the family to face the future. Fathers have
perception, conception, and inception.
3. Fathers discern and address the ongoing needs of their families.
4. Listening is a gift that fathers give to their families. When men lis‑
ten, their listening tells their families that they care for them.
5. A father speaks the Word of God in his home.
6. A father doesn’t dominate or control his house. He develops the
potential of everyone in his house through his leadership.
7. Heads and leaders are first and foremost servants like Christ. It is
impossible to assume a position of leadership without first serving.
Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
Heavenly Father,
You have made the spirit of the Father so very important in
our lives. That spirit of love and protection has been passed
from You to the males in our world. We pray that men would
look at this position as one of honor and responsibility. Please
show them that with God all things are possible, and that You
will provide them with all that they need to fulfill this role. In
Jesus’ name, amen.

September 1
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
He [the Bridegroom] has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner
over me is love.
—Song of Songs 2:4
M arital love is the binding of one spouse to another. Sex is a physical

sign of a spiritual act—the giving of oneself completely to another
and for another. Today, people are looking for sex without love, love
without marriage, and marriage without responsibility. The world’s idea
of sex is shallow and distorted. The world says, “Make love.” God says,
“Love.” We have confused sex with love. It’s one thing to know how to
make love to someone; it’s quite another to actually love someone. “Let’s
make love” refers to a performance. It means to go do something. “Making
love” is merely a technical experience, whereas loving is a spiritual act.
Love is the desire to please another, the total giving of oneself to
another, not the taking of something. Marriage is for love, not just sex. Its
foundation should be love. There are many ways to express love and physi‑
cal affection; sex is just one of them. People can find complete fulfillment
in one another without having the technical experience that our culture
glorifies so much because their relationship goes beyond the bedroom. To
me, that’s a real relationship. Sex was given by God to help express love, not to
create it.
We need real men and women in our communities—people of the
Word who know what true love is. No one can understand the deep mean‑
ing of Jesus and the church better than a married couple that has a good
sexual relationship. It can be a model of Christ’s love for His bride, the
church, if we follow God’s original plan for sexuality.
Thought for the Day

People are looking for sex without love, love without marriage,
and marriage without responsibility.
September 255
September 2
Sex Is God’s Idea
H ow do we know that sex is a good thing? Genesis 1:31 says, “God

saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” God created man
and woman and their sexual nature. Therefore, He said that sex is “very
good.”
God is not negative about sex. He created it. (See Genesis 1:28.) Sex
is God’s idea, not man’s idea. It is such a beautiful expression of love and
giving that only God could have thought of it. Men and women were
designed as sexual beings. Every baby is born as a sexual creature with
the potential to have a sexual relationship as an adult. God is negative
only about the misuse of sex because it harms the people He created to
have a fulfilling relationship with the opposite sex. Second, we must real‑
ize that the Bible itself is very open about the subject of sexuality. The
main theme of the book of Song of Songs is sexual love. It is the story
of a young bridegroom and his bride and their love and desire for one
another.
Why did God create sex? The primary reason is that unity is a cen‑
tral aspect of God’s nature and purposes. In the Bible, the sexual union
of marriage is used as a metaphor to describe the intimacy between
Christ and the church. Christ as the Bridegroom and the church as the
bride gives us an idea of the preciousness with which God views sex. He
views it as a symbol of His oneness with His beloved humanity, who have
been created in His image and redeemed through His love.
Thought for the Day

God is negative only about the misuse of sex because it
harms the people He created to have a fulfilling relationship
with the opposite sex.

September 3
Understanding the Sexual Nature
How can a young man [or woman] keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
—Psalm 119:9
U nfortunately, sexuality is often extremely misunderstood—not only

in the secular world, but also in the church. I am deeply concerned
about the damage this lack of understanding about sex has done—and
is doing—to people’s lives. It has led to confusion and broken relation‑
ships between men and women. It has prevented males from living up
to their full potential as men and husbands. It has destroyed marriages—
and lives. My prayer is that men and women will find wholeness in God
as they understand His purpose and plan for human sexuality.
How did you first learn about sexuality? When I’ve asked men in my
seminars how they were introduced to the concept of sex, they’ve listed
various sources, such as friends or peers, movies and television, biology
books, pornographic magazines or videos, and sexual experimentation
during youth.
Unfortunately, most of us were introduced to sex through one of
these avenues. No one ever says he learned about sex from his parents
or from the Bible. Something is very wrong with how we are learning
about sexuality. Note that, in the above list, not one of these sources
is qualified to provide accurate information. This is why our society is
filled with people who have distorted and unrealistic expectations about
sexuality.
Thought for the Day

People’s misunderstanding about human sexuality has led to
confusion and broken relationships between men and women.
September 257
September 4
Ignorance about Sexuality
S ome of you are suffering right now from the consequences of unin‑
formed or unwise sexual activity. How a person first learned about
sex determines, to a great degree, how he engages in it.
When we receive our information about sex from one or more of
the sources mentioned yesterday and then pass along this information
to others, we perpetuate cultural ignorance about sexuality. This is what
has been happening in many of our societies. Much of what we have
learned about sex has been acquired in an unwholesome context, and it
is filled with misinformation. Men and women lack positive, informed
teaching on the subject of sexuality.
Much of the blame for this lack of teaching falls on the church and
the home. In general, the message we’ve heard from our churches and
families is that sex is unholy or dirty and should not be discussed. Young
people get the idea that parents and children aren’t supposed to talk
about sex, because their own parents don’t discuss it with them. They
are prevented from expressing their sexual questions in the context of a
loving home or church community, so they seek information from other
sources. When we neglect to teach our children God’s truth about sex,
then we abandon them to the culture for their information.
No one has a right to shape your child’s concept and attitudes about
sex, except you. Make sure that a questionable sex education class or
Playboy magazine isn’t your child’s teacher. Train your child in the way he
or she should go. Then, when a friend or teacher starts to say something
erroneous about sex, your child can dismiss it with the knowledge, “That
isn’t what my parents told me. I know that isn’t the truth.”
Thought for the Day

When we neglect to teach our children God’s truth about sex,
then we abandon them to the culture for their information.

September 5
Created for Pleasure, not Remorse
I n Deuteronomy, we find a remarkable statement: “If a man has recently

married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For
one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has
married” (Deuteronomy 24:5).
Imagine—God wanted young married couples to enjoy sex so much
that He issued a decree to insure that it was provided for. The very thing
we think God opposes, He actually promoted. A newly married man was
to have no other responsibilities during his first year of marriage but to
bring his wife happiness.
Note that it doesn’t say the husband is to bring happiness to himself,
but to his wife. Lust focuses on itself, but true love focuses on the other
person. God was saying to the husband, “Your desire in marriage should
be to make your wife happy.” Now, when you make your wife happy,
guess who wins? You both do. When you give, you receive.
God established marriage so the sexual relationship can be full of
pleasure, not repercussions and remorse. God is not against sex. He’s
against the violation of the sexual boundaries He’s established for our
own good. God’s laws are for our protection, not our restriction. His
boundaries have been established for our preservation, not our irrita‑
tion. We think God doesn’t want us to have any fun. In reality, He is
trying to protect us. Whenever we break a law or violate a principle of
God, we invite spiritual death and suffering.
Thought for the Day

God created sex for pleasure, not repercussions and remorse.
September 259
September 6
A Protective Boundary
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your
youth….Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace
the bosom of another man’s wife?
—Proverbs 5:18, 20
T he boundary God has given us to enjoy sex safely is the marriage

covenant. Sex must be engaged in only in the context of marriage—a
solemn, lifelong commitment between two people before God.
The Scripture says that a man is to “bring happiness to the wife he has
married” (Deuteronomy 24:5). It doesn’t say to move in with somebody for
a year and try things out. There are no provisionary covenants. Solomon
said, “May you rejoice in the wife of your youth.…May her breasts satisfy you
always, may you ever be captivated by her love” (Proverbs 5:18–19). This pas‑
sage is a reference to sex. Enjoy “the wife of your youth”—not someone else.
There is a vacuum in the male that needs to be filled by the female. And
God says, “Make sure your wife is the one who fills that vacuum.”
The Scripture says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis
2:24). “For this reason.” For what reason should a man leave? To “be united.”
To whom? “To his wife.” The minute that law is violated, we begin to
reap the repercussions. Verse 24 says, “And they will become one flesh.” The
boundary that God has established for the one-flesh experience is the
husband and wife relationship.
Thought for the Day

The primary boundary God has given us to enjoy sex
safely is the marriage covenant.

September 7
Made for God
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord for the body.
T he Scripture doesn’t say the body is not meant for sex. It simply says
the body is not meant for sexual immorality. This is one of God’s
sexual laws, which He gives us for our good. Something negative happens
in a man or woman’s body when he or she has an immoral sexual experi‑
ence. If the body was not created for it, then something goes wrong when
it is subjected to it. This is why people often feel guilty after such a sexual
experience, whether they admit it or not.
What has happened? Their bodies were not made for immorality.
Somehow the knowledge that they broke the law of God is translated into
chemicals in their bodies, and they feel bad. Science has proven that there
are a few things our bodies are not built to handle. One of them is guilt.
Our bodies have no hormone, enzyme, or chemical to handle guilt. Only
the blood of Jesus can free us from guilt.
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord.” What is
your body made for? It is made for God. It was created to be used in the
context that God has already established. God placed specific boundar‑
ies on sexual behavior—the marriage covenant—and we can have all the
fun we want within that context. We won’t experience these negative
repercussions if we stay within God’s plan.
Thought for the Day

“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord.”
Reading: Proverbs 1–2; 1 Corinthians 16
September 261
September 8
Flee from Sexual Immorality!
Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her
in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites
himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality.
I n the Greek, the word translated “flee” means “Run away. Shun.
Escape.” In other words, avoid it like the plague. How do we respond to
plagues? We get as far away from them as we can! We insulate ourselves
from them.
“All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually
sins against his own body” (v. 18). Paul was saying, “If you steal, it is outside
the body. If you fight, it is outside the body.” You don’t become one with a
person when you slap that person. But when a man has sex with a woman,
he can’t separate himself from her. Remember that sexual intercourse is a
covenant. Some people can’t understand why couples who sleep together
and then break off their relationship have trouble going their separate
ways. It is because the separation causes real trauma in their souls. This
is a serious matter. That’s why relationships outside God’s plan can be so
dangerous.
Your body belongs to God twice. He didn’t just create you; He also
redeemed you, and the price was high—the life of His Son Jesus. How can
you honor God with your body? First, by waiting until you’re married to
engage in sex; second, by having sex only with your husband or wife. You
are God’s temple. You lift up your hands to worship God; you can use
those same hands to caress your spouse. Both acts are holy in His sight.
Thought for the Day

You can you honor God with your body by waiting until
you’re married to engage in sex and by having sex only
with your husband or wife.

September 9
Self-Control Is Essential
T he male was designed to be a leader, a teacher, a cultivator, and a

protector. Therefore, he is wired always to be ready to act. If attack
comes in the middle of the night, he has to be prepared. If attack comes
at midday, he can’t be caught off guard. If problems arise at sunset, a
leader has to be a leader. Because God designed the male to be ready, he
is in a state of readiness in all the various aspects of his life, including his
sexuality. His sexual energy never stops. It may pause, but it never really
stops.
Many women interpret this aspect of the male as something unnatu‑
ral. Yet because it is his nature always to be prepared, his body has been
designed in that way, as well. Therefore, it’s not unnatural for a man to
be sexually ready at all times. The man needs to realize that being ready
doesn’t always mean taking action.
Paul wrote, “Encourage the young men to be self-controlled” (Titus 2:6).
Self-control is a recurring theme in Paul’s writings. He knew that sex can
control men. When you’re always ready, you must be able to exercise self-
control. A man’s need for sex is one of the strongest needs imaginable.
Many men don’t understand this drive themselves. Yet it is an aspect of
the makeup of a man that gives him great fulfillment.
Some men believe that whenever they experience sexual desire, they
have to find someone with whom to release it. They even pay to try to
meet this need, yet they still aren’t satisfied. They don’t understand that
God made them ready because of the leadership purpose He’s given them.
Therefore, their energy should be channeled into positive leadership.
Thought for the Day

Because God designed the male to be a leader, he is in
a state of readiness in all the various aspects of his life,
including his sexuality.
September 263
September 10
A Balance of Needs
Y esterday, we talked about how some men are too aggressive in their
sexual energy, and their wives think of them as thoughtless or
insensitive. On the other hand, there is a sense in which some women
neglect their husbands’ sexual needs because they claim they are too busy
serving God.
Paul told us that this type of situation is a recipe for disaster. He
said that whenever a husband and wife forgo sexual relations in order
to serve God, they should do so only by mutual consent and only for a
short period of time.
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise
the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone
but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not
belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other
except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote your-
selves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt
you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Corinthians 7:3–5)
This passage means that if you are going to pray and fast or go on
a missions trip, you should get the consent of your spouse before you
abstain from sexual relations. Sex was part of God’s original design for
humanity, and it is a holy thing between a husband and a wife. The Bible
says that the wife’s body belongs both to herself and to her husband, and
the husband’s body belongs both to himself and to his wife. There is to
be a balance between having one’s needs fulfilled and showing consider‑
ation for the other person’s needs.
Thought for the Day

The wife’s body belongs both to herself and to her husband, and
the husband’s body belongs both to himself and to his wife.

September 11
Principles of Sexuality
T oday, review these principles of sexuality and reflect on how they

apply to your life.
1. Most of us have learned about sexuality from faulty sources instead
of from God’s Word.
2. God designed men and women as sexual beings. He created sex and
said that it is “very good.” (See Genesis 1:31.)
3. God is negative only about the misuse of sex. He wants us to avoid
repercussions and remorse.
4. The body is not meant for immorality. This is one of God’s sexual
laws, which He has given us for our good.
5. The Bible uses sexual union in marriage as a metaphor for the inti‑
macy and unity of Christ and His bride, the church.
6. God wants us to enjoy sex so much that He has told us what its safe
boundary is: the marriage covenant, a solemn, lifelong commitment
between two people before God.
7. Sex is a physical sign of a spiritual act—the giving of oneself com‑
pletely to another and for another.
Heavenly Father,
When You created us, You considered every aspect of our lives,
including our sexuality. In Your wisdom, You created male and
female with the ability to express love and experience pleasure
through the sexual act in marriage. My prayer is that men and
women will find wholeness in You as they understand Your pur‑
pose and plan for human sexuality. Please help them to heed
Your commands to engage in sexual union only within the
boundary of the marriage covenant. Help Your church and
individual families to communicate this message to our young
people so they may resist the immorality of the world around us
and live according to Your good plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.
September 265
September 12
Cultivate Your Family
The Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden
to dress it and to keep it.
—Genesis 2:15 (kjv)
G od’s instruction to Adam referred to discipline and order. To

“dress” means to cultivate, and to cultivate means to train. We
have seen that a father is given the responsibility by God the Father
to train and equip everything under his care, including his family. To
clarify this assignment, let us look at the difference between cultivation
and growth.
When plants grow without cultivation, they are essentially weeds.
Cultivated plants form a garden. Trees that grow without cultivation and
order are a forest. Cultivated trees are a grove. Without cultivation, there
is no order and no systematic development. But when there is planned
development and training, we see discipline and cultivation taking
place.
Genesis 2:5 reveals that cultivation is part of God the Father’s plan
for humanity. “And no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no
plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the
earth and there was no man to work [“cultivate” nasb] the ground.” Adam’s job
description included cultivating the ground given to him for sustenance.
God placed man in the garden and gave him instructions to work, train,
and keep the earth; He did not want wild, unrestrained, and disorga‑
nized growth. God the Father has an orderly, disciplined, and purpose‑
ful plan for everything.
Thought for the Day

When there is planned development and training, we see
discipline and cultivation taking place.

September 13
Nurture Her Potential
W hile men have a special responsibility for cultivating their wives,

they often have unrealistic ideas about women, so they can end
up neglecting or hurting them. Most of us men are walking around with
specific pictures in our minds of who we want our wives to be, and, when
they don’t meet our expectations, we tend to blame them. At one point,
God showed me that I had this attitude toward my wife, and He had to
correct me.
Here’s the way a man often thinks: he is a certain type of man, so he
wants a certain type of woman. He has ideas such as these: “I am a musi‑
cian, so I want her to sing.” “I’m a banker, so I want her to know about
finance.” “I am slim, so I want her to be slim.” “I want her to be smart.”
“I want a woman who dresses well.” “I like long hair on a woman.” Now,
there isn’t anything wrong with desiring these things. However, I want to
tell you something: the “perfect” woman you are looking for does not exist.
It is your job to cultivate your wife so that she can be all that God
created her to be. You are to help her to blossom and grow into God’s
woman, not tear her down because she doesn’t meet your specifications. In
addition, you can help your wife become all that you saw in her when you
first met her, and which you now think is missing. You need to nurture all
the potential she has. This is not to be done in a controlling way, but in a
loving and giving way, which is the nature of Christ. Think about it: what
pressures are present in her life that are keeping her from being all that she
desires and needs to be?
Thought for the Day

It is your job to cultivate your wife so that she can be all
that God created her to be.
September 267
September 14
What Are You Cultivating?
I f you are a man, God has created and designed you to cultivate any‑
thing you desire, including your family. So, whenever a man receives
a woman as a wife, he is given the opportunity to exercise his ability to
cultivate. A man should pray and ask God to show him how to cultivate
his wife. He is to water her, prune her, and give her sunlight. He is to
add nutrients to her life until she blossoms into the woman she is meant
to be.
Now, God designed the male to be able to cultivate and produce a
beautiful tree. Therefore, if the tree looks like an old bush after twelve
years, it is not the tree’s fault. Similarly, it is usually not the woman’s
fault if she is not what she needs to be. The cultivator was not putting
in the right nutrients and the right water. A wife should be flourishing
under her husband’s loving care. Men, don’t go looking for someone else
whom you believe is more like what you want your wife to be. You are the
cultivator—cultivate your wife.
Let me say a word here to the young, unmarried men: what are you
cultivating? When a young lady comes into your presence, she should leave
a better person than she was before she came. She may try to come on too
strong. Yet when she leaves, she should walk away a lady. If someone asks
her, “What happened to you?” she should be able to say, “I met a man
who told me he wouldn’t sleep with me or degrade me because he respects
me.” Cultivate these young ladies. Don’t drag them down, and don’t let
them drag you down. A young woman shouldn’t leave your presence preg‑
nant. She should leave with her dignity and her virginity. Give these young
women some good soil. That’s being a real man.
Thought for the Day

A man should pray and ask God to show him how
to cultivate his wife.

September 15
Lead Your Family to the Father
P art of Adam’s job description from God was to cultivate the earth.
When Eve came along, followed eventually by the children, Adam,
as a father, was to make certain they did not grow “wild.”
The world believes children need to “sow wild oats” as they grow up,
but that is in direct contradiction to God’s plan of cultivation and disci‑
pline. Today, we have boys throwing their seed—their sperm—all over the
place because we are not cultivating, training, and disciplining them.
Consider the example of Abraham. God said,
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all
nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him,
so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep
the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord
will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.
(Genesis 18:18–19)
Abraham received favor from God because he cultivated his house‑
hold in God’s commandments. He even cultivated his servant. He did
not allow anyone to work in his household without being trained and
disciplined in the ways of God. He made certain that even his servants
obeyed God’s standards and followed his example. Abraham did not
want a pagan working for him. Everyone in his household followed father
Abraham, and Abraham followed God the Father.
The principle is this: A father follows the example of the heavenly
Father and teaches his offspring to follow him. A godly father leads every‑
one following him to the Father.
Thought for the Day

Abraham received favor from God because he cultivated his
household in God’s commandments.
September 269
September 16
Love Your Children by
Teaching Them
A braham made sure that his household learned God’s standards

and followed his example. It’s impossible to teach something you
haven’t learned yourself. This is one of the reasons a father needs to read
and study the Word of God. He must know the commands of God so he
can teach them to his children. Let’s look again at what God said about
Abraham, whom He called His friend (see Isaiah 41:8):
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all
nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him,
so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep
the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord
will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.
(Genesis 18:18–19)
God made a promise to Abraham and said the fulfillment of the
promise was connected to Abraham’s teaching his family the Word of
God. There’s a relationship between the two. God is holding up some
fathers’ blessings because they don’t love their children enough to teach
them the Word.
When fathers teach their children the commands of God, their chil‑
dren will learn that fathers who know the Word are worth listening to.
Proverbs 1:8–9 says, “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not
forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and
a chain to adorn your neck.” A garland was a crown or wreath given to
athletes who won a race. When children receive godly instructions from
their fathers, they can win the race that ends in eternal life.
Thought for the Day

It’s impossible to teach something you haven’t learned yourself.

September 17
The Father Instructs and
the Mother Commands
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake

not the law of thy mother.
T here is a difference between an instruction and a command or law.

Instruction is the giving of original information for direction and
function. A command or law is a repetition and enforcement of instruc‑
tion. In a family context, an instruction is the truth or principle that a
father has learned from the heavenly Father. He imparts that instruction
to his wife. As a mother, she repeats as a command what she has heard.
When I was growing up, that sounded something like this in our house:
“Myles, your father said to wash the dishes. Paul, your father said to clean
the floor.” Dad gave the instruction, and Mom issued the command. She
repeated and enforced the instruction of my father.
I asked no questions and gave no excuses, because I knew that
behind my mother’s command were my father’s power and authority.
When she said, “Wash the dishes,” I didn’t hear her, I heard my father!
I knew that if I disobeyed her command, I also would be disobeying my
father, even though he was not physically present at that moment.
Because men have been given such a clear responsibility to teach,
some men believe that they are more intelligent than women. If this were
a matter of intelligence, many women would blow us away! Being a teacher
doesn’t mean that you are more intelligent—it simply means that your pur‑
pose is to communicate God’s Word and will to your family.
Thought for the Day

Being a teacher means that your purpose is to
communicate God’s Word and will.
September 271
September 18
No Other Source but God
I n the garden of Eden, Eve received instructions from a source other

than God or her husband. Men, we need to teach our wives and chil‑
dren not to receive instructions from any source other than God’s Word.
This is a very important principle: In today’s culture, if our children can
learn to compare the information they receive in books, magazines, and
other media to God’s truth, then they can go anywhere and face any‑
thing and still know the truth.
I encountered many diverse and spurious philosophies in college,
but my father had already taught me the truth rooted in God’s Word.
That truth became the standard by which I measured everything. If Eve
had compared what the serpent said to what Adam had already told her,
she would have known immediately that the serpent was lying. Instead,
she accepted the serpent’s lie without checking it against the truth. She
received instruction from a source other than the Father and, conse‑
quently, she was deceived.
The godly father should always emphasize to his family that what he
has learned is from his heavenly Father. Such a father desires that this be
said of him: “As long as he lived, they [his family and descendants] did not
fail to follow the Lord, the God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 34:33).
As a father teaching my children, I am serving not my earthly father
but the God of my spiritual fathers—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Moses, David, and the prophets. I am serving the Father of my Lord
Jesus Christ.
Thought for the Day

Men, we need to teach our wives and children not to receive
instructions from any source other than God’s Word.
Reading: Proverbs 30–31; 2 Corinthians 11:1–15

September 19
Take Teaching to the Next Level
W hat is biblical discipline? Discipline is not punishment. Discipline

takes teaching to the next level. It is one thing to teach a child,
but correction and further instruction help to shape a child’s character.
Discipline, therefore, is training.
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not
turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Notice the application of this principle in
Ephesians 6:4: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them
up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Again, I want to emphasize
that discipline is not punishment rendered by an irate or enraged par‑
ent. Paul clearly warned, “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will
become discouraged’’ (Colossians 3:21). Fathers have a way of provoking
their children by impatience or harshness. The above verses encourage
fathers, “Don’t provoke but train. Don’t provoke but instruct.”
A father’s primary responsibility is to be like the heavenly Father and
to do what He does. God does not point one way and then go another.
A true father never says, “Do what I say but not what I do.” Instead, a
godly father with integrity can say unashamedly to his wife and children,
“Live the way I live, and you will be like the Father.” This is what the
apostle Paul said to the believers in the Corinthian church, who were his
spiritual offspring: “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ,
you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through
the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:15–16).
Likewise, a father becomes in Christ what he wants his wife and
children to become.
Thought for the Day

It is one thing to teach a child, but correction and further
instruction help to shape a child’s character.
Reading: Ecclesiastes 1–3; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33
September 273
September 20
Training by Example
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart
when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he
punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline;
God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are
illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human
fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.
—Hebrews 12:5–9
Y esterday, we saw that a man must become in Christ what he wants

his wife and children to become. Let us continue to look at what
it means for fathers to be examples to their families. The word discipline
comes from the word disciple, which refers to one who learns by follow‑
ing. So, fathers train and disciple their children by giving them a worthy
example to follow. Their children learn by imitation. That is exactly what
Jesus had His disciples do. He told them, “Follow Me!” (See, for example,
Matthew 4:19.)
A concrete example of this concept is a train. We call an entire line of
railroad cars on a track a “train.” Yet train comes from a word meaning “to
draw” or “to drag.” Technically, only the engine is the train because every‑
thing else attached to the engine is a follower. The principle that governs a
train is similar to the principle God wants us to implement in our families.
A father is never supposed to just point his wife or children in a direction.
He is the engine, and he should be able to say, “Hook up to me. Follow me.
Imitate my example, and then you’ll be going in the right direction.”
Thought for the Day

Fathers train and disciple their children by giving them
a worthy example to follow.
Reading: Ecclesiastes 4–6; 2 Corinthians 12

September 21
Live What You Teach
Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things
your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.
Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
—Deuteronomy 4:9
G od is saying to men, “Don’t let My ways out of your sight. Make

sure you understand and obey them first.” Then, “teach them to your
children and to their children after them.” Why? Because you are supposed
to be the teacher.
Don’t just tell your children, “Do this” or “Don’t do that.” Show
them. Watch your life and make sure you keep the Word of God. Some
men say one thing but do another. For example, they may tell their children
to be honest but then call off work when they’re not sick. Some fathers tell
their children, “Tobacco is bad for you”; meanwhile, they’re puffing away
on a cigarette. Children see this and think, To be a grown-up, you have to
smoke. Adults reinforce this idea by their actions. God tells us not to do
this to our children. People don’t seem to understand that you cannot
teach something if you’re not being a model of it yourself. A good teacher
is one who teaches by example.
Where, again, does the father get his original instruction and infor‑
mation so he can teach it? From God the Father and His Word. Even
if a father has not been fathered by a godly man, he can return to our
heavenly Father, be saved, and learn God’s ways. He can receive godly
instruction from his pastor and righteous men in the church who know
and love the Word of God. And, of course, as a born‑again believer, a
father (as well as a mother) has the Holy Spirit within him, teaching him
everything that the Son hears from the Father. (See John 16:5–15.)
Thought for the Day

God is saying to men, “Don’t let My ways out of your sight.”
Reading: Ecclesiastes 7–9; 2 Corinthians 13
September 275
September 22
Train under Various Conditions
A father disciples his children by letting them see how he functions

under different conditions. A disciple is a follower who learns by
observation. Disciples in the past always left home because learning was
living life, not just talking about it. The father not only teaches in the
home, but he also takes his children out into the world with him so that
they can observe how he handles various situations in a godly way.
It is impossible to be effective as a long‑distance father. A father can‑
not father children he is not with or train children who are not by his
side. You cannot disciple successfully on the telephone or via e‑mail. Not
being present in his children’s lives makes a man a biological supplier of
sperm, not a father. A father trains a child by having the child observe
what he does, says, and decides in the real world.
Fathers need to disciple their households by letting their families
observe them in the following ways: reading and applying the Word of
God; praying and interceding; making right decisions based on the abso‑
lute truths of God’s Word; living out the example of Christ while work‑
ing in the real world; sharing the gospel with others; openly worshiping
and praising God the Father; treating their wives with honor and dig‑
nity; honoring others above themselves; being reconcilers between races
and economic classes; and loving their enemies.
Thought for the Day

A father trains a child by having the child observe what the
father does, says, and decides.
Reading: Ecclesiastes 10–12; Galatians 1

September 23
A Good Inheritance
S olomon said, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children”
(Proverbs 13:22). I like that concept. A good man doesn’t think about
the past; he thinks about the future. Moreover, a good man doesn’t leave
an inheritance of just money and land. That’s not the only inheritance
Solomon was talking about. He was talking about a strong heritage—
something to stand on, and something to lean on throughout life.
I was recently speaking about this topic in Barbados, and a young
man said to me, “But you don’t understand the history of the Afro-
Caribbean man. I inherited my granddaddy and great-granddaddy’s leg‑
acy, you know.” I said, “Hold it right there. Whenever a negative history
predicts your future, your present is in trouble. Don’t come and tell me
that you have to repeat your history. What we are about is creating history.
We need to create a new history for all our children’s children.” Then,
I told him, “It doesn’t matter who your grandfather was. The important
issue is what your grandchildren are going to say about you.”
Maybe when you were growing up, your father left when things got
tough, and you think you need to do the same thing now that you have
a family. Let me tell you: if you leave your child, you’ll teach him the
same thing your father taught you. It doesn’t stop; it causes a perpetual
cycle of destruction. We have to stop this cycle by getting back to God’s
Manual and getting on course again.
Thought for the Day

A good man leaves his children a strong heritage—something to
stand on, and something to lean on throughout life.
Reading: Song of Songs 1–3; Galatians 2
September 277
September 24
What Do You Call Your Children?
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The
one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction;
the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
—Galatians 6:7–8
A wife and children will bear good fruit when the father sows into
them the fruit of the Spirit. In contrast, we see the results of sow‑
ing the works of the flesh. Fathers who sow abuse reap abuse. Fathers
who sow addiction frequently have addicted wives and children. Fathers
who sow divorce reap broken families. But fathers who sow the seed of
the Spirit’s fruit reap love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith‑
fulness, gentleness, and self‑control. (See Galatians 5:22–23.)
Fathers are to teach only the truth they hear from God the Father.
As the perfect example of a teacher, Jesus asserted, “When you have lifted
up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that
I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (John
8:28). All that the Son taught came from His Father, the Source. What a
powerful force a father is in his family when his wife and children know
that whenever he acts or speaks, he has heard from God.
The godly father doesn’t react in anger toward his children by call‑
ing them names like fool, idiot, or stupid. Why not? Because the Father
never calls him those names. The godly father calls his children saints,
holy ones, priests, and sons of the Most High God. The father declares
to his wife and children the image of God in Christ Jesus.
Thought for the Day

Fathers who sow the seed of the Spirit’s fruit reap love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.

September 25
Perfect Love
T he church is described in the Bible as a “she,” a bride, a woman. It

is given a feminine designation. As Eve was presented to Adam in
perfection, Christ says that He will present to Himself “a radiant church…
holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27). Jesus told His bride, “I love you.”
Then, He said to men, “Husbands, love your wives as I love My wife.”
How does Christ show love to the church? He cleanses her by His Word
(see verse 26), just as Adam was supposed to have done for Eve.
Adam’s job was to protect Eve and to make sure that she was kept
continually cleansed by communicating God’s Word to her. Adam’s fail‑
ure was that he, in a sense, abandoned Eve, and that is why she was
vulnerable to Satan’s enticements. Then, when Eve went to Adam after
having disobeyed God’s Word, instead of correcting her, he joined with
her in disobedience.
Jesus, however, is the perfect Man. He told his wife, “Never will I
leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). This is what makes the
difference. Satan cannot overcome the church because Christ will never
leave her, and He will always guide her into all truth. (See John 16:13.)
His love for His bride is perfect; He understands fully what is best for
her. He’s maintaining His perfect vigil over her. He is the Perfect Adam.
Men, what kind of love are you showing your wives?
Thought for the Day

Christ keeps the church by His Word. Likewise, men are
to help their wives keep spiritually cleansed by communicating
God’s Word to them.
September 279
September 26
Ruling by Delegated Authority
A woman is designed to rule by delegated authority. My father gave

my mother directions for our family, just as Christ does with His
bride, the church. Jesus gave believers instructions, and then He left to
return to the heavenly Father:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18–20)
We remain in the world with Jesus’ instructions and the Holy Spirit.
We are supposed to go out to disciple the nations, possess the land, and
take back what the devil has stolen. We have the authority of the Father
to do so. When we command, lives change because the authority of the
Father is in us through His Holy Spirit.
It is tragic that in many homes today, the mother cannot invoke the
name of her child’s father with authority. In fact, many curse the father’s
name. Why? Because fathers have abandoned their responsibility to be
teachers of the Word of God in their homes.
We have seen that one of Satan’s primary strategies is to remove fathers
from the home. Satan attacks fathers to keep them from being the teachers
to their families. He wants the home to be in rebellion against both the
earthly father and heavenly Father. If Satan can remove the father, the fam‑
ily will lack authority. If there is no authority, there is anarchy and chaos.
When there is anarchy and chaos, any number of undesirable things can
happen—kids join gangs, get involved in drugs, and run with bad compa‑
ny—all because there is no authority in the home.
Thought for the Day

When we command, lives change because the authority of the
Father is in us through His Holy Spirit.
Reading: Isaiah 1–2; Galatians 5

September 27
The Nature of Submission
[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something
to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
—Philippians 2:6–8
T here is an evil spirit abroad in the world today promoting the idea
that nobody needs to be in submission to anybody else. Yet Jesus
Himself gave us our model of authority and submission when He sub‑
mitted to His Father. Even though Jesus is equal to God, He submit‑
ted Himself to the Father and to the Father’s plan. The prophet Isaiah
talked about this when he said, in essence, “You aren’t going to believe
this report. A Son will be born, and His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God.” (See Isaiah 9:6.)
We might ask, “But Isaiah, you just said, ‘For unto us a Child is born,
unto us a Son is given’ (v. 6 nkjv). What do you mean that this Child, this
Son, will be called Mighty God? How can He be God and Son?” Isaiah’s
answer would be, “He is God, but He took on the position of Man and
Servant for the sake of your redemption.”
Purpose necessitated the position. God’s purpose was redemption.
The Godhead said, “Somebody has to go down and submit to Us in order
to bring about the salvation of mankind.” So Jesus, the Word of God, who
is God Himself, said, “I’ll go. I know I am an equal in the Godhead, but for
the purpose of redemption, I will be made in the likeness of man and will
submit.” Similarly, a woman isn’t any less than her husband; however, for
God’s purposes, it is her position to submit. (See Ephesians 5:22–23.)
Thought for the Day

Jesus Himself gave us our model of authority and submission
when He submitted to His Father.
Reading: Isaiah 3–4; Galatians 6
September 281
September 28
Submission Activates Heaven
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God;
but the woman is the glory of man.
I n the above verse, Paul was saying that once the man is covered with
Christ, his marriage is under authority. However, the woman then
needs the man to cover her. First Corinthians 11:9–10 says, “Neither was
man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the
angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.”
If you are a female, and you want to do a work for God, all of heaven
is ready to work for you. God says, “All right, we’ll do spiritual work,
but how are your relationships in the natural realm? What is your rela‑
tionship with your husband, your family members, the members of your
church?” Any woman who says, “I don’t need the church; I can do this
by myself,” isn’t going to find any angels supporting her. The angels are
looking for your authority. They will ask, “Whom are you under? How
can you expect us to help you under God’s authority when you yourself
aren’t under anybody?” Submission activates heaven.
Now, if Christ submitted to the Father, who do we think we are? You
may be independent, famous, a fantastic businessperson, and doing very
well. However, if you aren’t going to submit to anyone, heaven won’t trust
you. Don’t believe that you can run off and do God’s work without being
in submission. Don’t ever run away from a ministry and do your own
work because somebody there made you upset. The angels are watching.
You may actually remove God’s protective covering from yourself when
you move out from under your authority. This spiritual principle applies
to both males and females.
Thought for the Day

If you won’t submit to anyone, heaven won’t trust you.
Reading: Isaiah 5–6; Ephesians 1

September 29
Are You a Qualified Authority?
D o you know a major reason why marriages, relationships, and soci‑

ety aren’t working? It is because people are refusing to accept their
positions. What if the tires on your car decided they wanted to take on
the role of the steering wheel? The whole car wouldn’t be able to move.
This is the stalemate that our society is in. Everybody wants the same
position. Nobody wants to trust anybody else.
God created the spirit-man and placed him within the male and the
female. Then He subjected the male to Christ Jesus and the female to the
male. If we do not understand our positions, we will function in igno‑
rance, and the results will be pain and destruction. People perish because
of a lack of knowledge. (See Proverbs 29:18 kjv.)
Men, you have no right to have your wife submit to you if you don’t
submit to anybody else. You are exercising illegal authority if you are
demanding submission without being submitted. As a matter of fact, you
can’t really discipline your children if you’re not disciplined yourself.
The male needs to be under authority before he is able to exercise
it properly. It’s impossible for you to say you are the head of a home
when you aren’t submitted to anybody else. The head of Christ is God,
and the head of man is Christ, and the head of woman is man. (See 1
Corinthians 11:3.) Any man who is out from under Christ is not really
a qualified authority.
Thought for the Day

Men, you have no right to have your wife submit to you
if you don’t submit to anybody else.
September 283
September 30
The Woman’s Source and Provider
A woman’s ultimate Source and Provider is God, and she can always
turn to Him. But God has designed things so that the female
can receive earthly provision through the male. “Man did not come from
woman, but woman from man” (1 Corinthians 11:8) means that the man
is responsible for the woman because she came from man. This is God’s
original plan.
Now, if a man starts thinking that this is his plan, rather than God’s,
his responsibility for the woman will turn into domination over her.
We have to understand that the female’s provision by the male is God’s
design, or we will misuse and abuse it.
The man is responsible for providing because of his position in the
relationship of things. There is a parallel to this in the spiritual realm.
Spiritually, we are to go to God for what we need. Jesus has told us,
“Remain in Me and I will remain in you. If you are separated from Me,
you can’t do anything. I am the Vine; you are the branches, which receive
nourishment from the Vine.” (See John 15:4–5.)
God says that the woman should remain connected to her source.
She should be able to go to the man to get answers. If you are a married
woman, and you have a question, ask your husband. If he doesn’t have
the answer, then go to the next man who is in godly authority. This also
applies to a woman who is not married. The man could be your father,
your pastor, or your big brother in the Lord, as long as it is someone who
represents God as source and provider. That person should be able to
give you guidance. The woman is always supposed to be able to go to her
source to receive whatever she needs.
Thought for the Day

A woman’s ultimate Source and Provider is God, and she
can always turn to Him.

October 1
The Proverbs 31 Woman
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
—Proverbs 31:10–11
O ur overview of males and females and their relationships would not

be complete without a look at the woman who is considered the
epitome of both womanhood and power: the woman of Proverbs 31.
Some women don’t even like to read this chapter of the Bible
because they are overwhelmed by all the things this woman is apparantly
able to do! “Well, if I had a staff of servants like she had, I could do all
those things, too!” they exclaim. Yet when we consider our exploration of
God’s purposes for the woman from creation to redemption, and when
we think about how the woman has been set free to fulfill His purposes,
Proverbs 31 gives us tremendous perspective on what a woman is meant
to be. Let us not become overwhelmed when reading about what this
woman does and miss out on the central message of who she is.
One theme that Proverbs 31 communicates is this: The woman is
a doer. She is a multitasker. She is responsible for taking care of her
husband, children, home, job, talents, church commitments, charitable
work, and sometimes elderly parents. She is a helper and she is a leader.
She receives seed into her physical, emotional, psychological, and spiri‑
tual wombs, incubates it, and then uses it to build and transform the
world around her.
Thought for the Day

Let us not become overwhelmed when reading about
what the Proverbs 31 woman does and miss out on
the central message of who she is.
October 285
October 2
A Woman Who Honors God
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman
who fears the Lord is to be praised.
—Proverbs 31:30
E ven while a woman is fulfilling all her vital purposes in her home
and in the world, she must always remember that a woman’s first place
is in God. Proverbs 31 reminds her, “Don’t neglect your relationship with
God, and don’t forget to develop His character in your inner being as you
go about your extremely busy life.”
It is much too easy to begin to overlook God when you are tak‑
ing care of so many other people and responsibilities. Remember, the
woman was created to be loved by God and to have fellowship with Him
as a spirit-being made in His image. She was meant to reflect His charac‑
ter and likeness, to represent His true nature. God created the woman to
have His moral characteristics within her inner being. She is to resemble
Him not only as a spirit, but also in these qualities. She was designed to
act and function as God does, in love and grace. Therefore, Proverbs 31
is saying, “While you are doing what God has called and gifted you to
do, don’t forget the importance of His character in your life.” That is why
it speaks of the “wife of noble character” (v. 10).
Women need to realize that having a relationship with the Lord and
developing His character in their lives form an essential foundation that
will strengthen and sustain them in all their activities and accomplish‑
ments. With continual refreshing from the Lord, they can purposefully
engage in their many responsibilities and fulfill the exciting purposes
God has for them.
Thought for the Day

It is much too easy to begin to overlook God when you are taking
care of so many other people and responsibilities.

October 3
It Is for Freedom
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not
let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
—Galatians 5:1
I n some ways, a woman may derive her self-esteem from her activities
almost as much as a man derives his self-image from his work. She
wants to feel that she is valued for the contribution she is making to her
family and community. Yet because she is an emotional feeler, she places
this need in the context of her relationships and emotions, and so it is
not as easily recognized for what it is.
Christ has freed the woman and made her an equal partner with
the man so that she can fulfill His purposes for her and develop all the
gifts that He has given her. He has freed her from the effects of sin and
from the oppression that says she is inferior to men. However, now that
she has been set free, she has to guard against oppressing herself. How
might she oppress herself? By doing at the expense of being.
The world tells us to prove our worth by what we accomplish. The
Bible tells us to accept our worth in the One who loves us. You don’t
have to justify your worth by how much you are doing for others or how
many activities you are engaged in. Remember the story of Martha and
Mary when Jesus first visited their home? Although Martha was busy
preparing a meal for Jesus, He quietly reminded her that Mary had made
the better choice by simply sitting at His feet to hear His words of life.
(See Luke 10:38–42.)
Thought for the Day

The world tells us to prove our worth by what we accomplish.
The Bible tells us to accept our worth in the One who loves us.
Reading: Isaiah 17–19; Ephesians 6:1–9
October 287
October 4
Finding Her Identity
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me.
—Galatians 2:20
W hy do police investigators check for fingerprints at crime scenes?

Because they are looking for identity. All of us have fingerprints
that no one before us ever had and no one after us ever will have. This
distinction is an indication of how God created all of us to be different.
Yet, we often still look for our identities in other people or things.
There is a tremendous pull by the culture for women to seek iden‑
tity in all the wrong places. A woman’s true identity is not in her appear‑
ance, her clothes, her wealth, her job, or even her husband and children.
Regardless of what culture and society may say, the highest worth and
dignity were given to the female by God in creation. Remember that the
woman was created to be loved by God and to have fellowship with Him
forever.
A woman first needs to find her identity in who she is in Christ—
God’s beloved child. It is only as she does this that she can be fulfilled
and carry out His plans for her. When a woman submits to God, Christ
will work in her and through her by His Spirit. In this way, she will be
enabled to fulfill all the purposes He has for her—but in His strength,
not her own. “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who
is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Corin‑
thians 2:12).
Thought for the Day

A woman needs to find her identity in Christ.
Reading: Isaiah 20–22; Ephesians 6:10–24

October 5
“You Surpass Them All”
Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.
—Proverbs 31:29
T he woman of Proverbs 31 is not just a busy woman; she is a woman

who knows her purpose in God. Let’s look at some reasons why
this is so:
• She knows that she is to trust God and draw her strength from Him
so that she will not be paralyzed by anxiety; her family and others with
whom she is in relationship will be able to put their confidence in her;
they will know she has their best interests in mind (vv. 11–15).
• She knows that God values her abilities and intelligence, and so she
is free to pursue opportunities and make plans for expanding her
realm of influence (vv. 16–18, 24).
• She knows that God is her ultimate Source and that He desires to
bless her, so she sets about her work with energy and anticipation.
She has a good attitude and doesn’t complain (v. 17).
• Since God has blessed her, she desires to be a blessing to others, and
she reaches out to those less fortunate than she (v. 20).
• Because she knows that her worth comes from her position in God,
she treats herself with respect (v. 25).
• She has immersed herself in God’s Word in order to know His ways;
therefore, she is able to give godly wisdom and instruction to others
(v. 26).
• Because she has come to know the God of all encouragement, she
is an encouragement to her husband, children, friends, and cowork‑
ers, and she invests herself in their lives (v. 28).
Thought for the Day

The woman of Proverbs 31 is not just a busy woman; she is a
woman who knows her purpose in God.
Reading: Isaiah 23–25; Philippians 1
October 289
October 6
Principles of “The Proverbs 31 Woman”
T oday, review these principles of “The Proverbs 31 Woman” and

reflect on how they apply to your everyday life—directly for yourself,
if you are a woman, and in your relationships with women, if you are a
man.
1. A woman of noble character is hard to find; the husband of such a
woman “lacks nothing of value” (Proverbs 31:11).
2. Women should not become so overwhelmed by what the Proverbs
31 woman does that they miss the message of who she is.
3. The woman is a doer. She is a multitasker.
4. The woman is a helper and a leader. She is responsible for taking
care of her husband, children, home, job, talents, church commit‑
ments, charitable work, and sometimes elderly parents.
5. A woman must always remember that her first place is in God.
6. The Bible tells women that they must accept their worth not in what
they do but in the One who loves them.
7. A woman needs to find her identity in who she is in Christ—God’s
beloved child.
8. The woman of Proverbs 31 is not just a busy woman; she is a woman
who knows her purpose in God.
Heavenly Father,
The noble woman in Proverbs 31 works very diligently. In every‑
thing she does, she encourages her family and she pleases her
God. We pray that we would not see a superwoman to envy,
but rather a gifted woman who is simply surrendered to the
will of God in her life. As we each surrender to Your will and
purposes, may we be used by You as You see fit. And may we
always find the time to sit at Your feet and worship You before
we take on all the busy projects in our lives. In Jesus’ mighty
name we pray, amen.

October 7
When I Consider the Heavens

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the
stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
—Psalm 8:3–4
W ith all the magnificence of the universe, it is mankind that is at

the center of God’s thoughts. The wonder of this idea struck King
David one day. David asked God, in effect, “Why are You thinking only
about us?” Although Psalm 8 doesn’t give us God’s answer, I think His reply
would be, “Every time you see the moon and the stars, and everything else
I’ve created, I want you to know that it all exists because of you.”
When my wife and I were expecting our first child, we had the nurs‑
ery fixed up before the baby arrived. I remember standing and looking
at the whole thing the day it was finished. We had thoroughly cleaned
the room. We had the new crib, pillow, sheets, powder, baby oil, diapers,
baby food, and everything else all ready. We had little pictures on the
walls. There was no baby, but everything the baby would need and use
was ready. Then we stepped back, looked at the room, and said, “This
is good.” What were we doing? Preparing. That’s exactly what God was
doing in Genesis 1 when He made the world in preparation for the cre‑
ation of mankind.
When God finished creating the world, He called everything good.
I believe He said this because everything was ready. It was after God
called the physical world good that He said, “Let us make man” (Genesis
1:26).
Thought for the Day

With all of the magnificence of the universe, it is mankind
that is at the center of God’s thoughts.
October 291
October 8
Humanity’s Redeemer
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; [the Redeemer] will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.
—Genesis 3:15
I s humanity doomed to live in the effects of the fall? Has God’s pur‑
pose been lost forever? No. His purpose has never changed. His origi‑
nal design still stands. As we have seen, in the very hour when humanity
rejected God’s purpose, God promised a Redeemer who would save
men and women from their fallen state and all its ramifications. The
Redeemer would restore the relationship and partnership of males and
females. Jesus Christ is that Redeemer; because of Him, men and women
can return to God’s original design for them! Purpose, peace, and poten‑
tial can return to humanity. In Luke 1:68, Zechariah joyously announced
the fulfillment of the promise in Genesis 3:15: “Praise be to the Lord, the
God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people,”
A return to God’s plan, however, means a return to God Himself. It
means coming back to God through the Redeemer, yielding your life to
Him, and asking Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit so that you will be
able to live in His original plan for you. When you do this, God will do
an amazing thing. He will cause the human spirit within you—which is
dead as a result of the fall—to come alive again, so that you will be able to
reflect His character and His ways. As you return to God and continually
yield your spirit to God’s Spirit, you will be able to fulfill the purposes for
which you were created.
Thought for the Day

The Redeemer, Jesus Christ, brought purpose, peace, and
potential back to humanity.

October 9
Jesus Is the Author of Salvation
C hrist Jesus is the “author of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9 kjv) and
the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 kjv). The “author
of eternal salvation”—what does that mean? Jesus initiated, generated, pro‑
duced, upholds, and sustains the salvation of all mankind. He is the sole
Source of our redemption.
If you want to come to God, therefore, Jesus is the ultimate Source.
Despite the works of Muhammad, Buddha, and Confucius, you can’t
go to any of those men for salvation because, according to Scripture,
they didn’t generate, create, or author mankind’s redemption. Jesus is
the Generator of salvation; it germinated with Him and it is completed
in Him. He is both the Author and Finisher of our faith.
I’m so glad He’s not just the Author, but also the Finisher. Many
men are merely authors of babies; they don’t finish as fathers. Jesus is the
Finisher of your faith. He didn’t just start your faith; He’ll see it to the
end until it is complete. (See Philippians 1:6.) He will cause you to grow
up to the full stature and measure of His purpose for you, so that you
look just like Him. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:13.)
Jesus provides the “gene” for the new generation of man. He is the
Source of seed for salvation. In Isaiah’s description of the Messiah, he
concluded with the titles Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlast-
ing Father, and Prince of Peace. (See Isaiah 9:6.) In this verse, the Son is
also referred to as the Father because He produced a new generation of
human beings; He produced the “new man” (Ephesians 2:15).
Thought for the Day

Jesus is the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
Reading: Isaiah 32–33; Colossians 1
October 293
October 10
Right Relationships
W hen you have a right relationship with God, you can have
right relationships with other people. The reverse is also true:
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First
go and be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23–24).
A right relationship with God is dependent on right relationships
with other people. This truth brings the matter of reconciled relation‑
ships between men and women down to where it hurts, doesn’t it? We
must understand clearly what God’s Word says so that we have no excuse
for failing to mend our broken relationships.
Can you imagine husbands stopping in the middle of Sunday morn‑
ing worship and stepping outside with their wives to make things right
with them? If that were to happen, we’d have a brand new church and soci‑
ety. Yet I find that people often try the easy route when they have been in
conflict with others. They go to God and say, “God, please forgive Mary,”
“God, tell Mary that I forgive her,” or “God, I ask You to change Mary.”
They don’t want to go to the person directly. We love to hide behind God
so we don’t have to accept the responsibility of face-to-face relationships.
Our reluctance to deal honestly and directly with others is the reason why
there are so many problems in relationships, even in the body of Christ.
I honor my wife and do right by her, not only because I love her, but
also for the sake of my relationship with God. “Husbands,…be considerate
as you live with your wives…so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter
3:7). Jesus said that my relationship with God is even more important
than my relationship with my wife—and yet God made my relationship
with Him contingent on my relationship with her.
Thought for the Day

We hide behind God so we don’t have to accept the
responsibility of face-to-face relationships.
October 11
The Importance of Forgiveness
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins,
your Father will not forgive your sins.
Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will
be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone,
forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
—Mark 11:24–25
J esus talked a great deal about the importance of forgiveness in our

relationships. He said that if you do not forgive someone who has
something against you, or whom you have something against, then the
Father will not forgive you and will not hear you. Jesus was saying that
relationships with other people are even more important than worship,
because you cannot worship except in the context of your relationships.
It doesn’t matter how serious and sincere you are about God. It doesn’t
matter how filled you are with the Holy Spirit or how much Scripture
you’ve learned. God is not overly impressed by your ability to communicate
with Him, by your ability to articulate your worship, prayer, or praise. His
reception of your worship—whether it is through your giving, your praise,
your administration of the kingdom of God, or your ministry of the gifts
of the Spirit—is contingent upon your relationships with others, especially
your spouse. So, if you give God a thousand dollars, whether or not God
receives it depends on whether or not you are in right relationship with
others. God’s acceptance of even your tithes is contingent upon your rela‑
tionships with other people, not on how much you give Him.
Thought for the Day

You cannot worship except in the context of your relationships.
October 295
October 12
Increase Your Investment
A real man looks out for the needs of others and helps them to grow.
Some men concentrate on only their own fruit, their own accom‑
plishments. They are just bettering themselves. That’s called selfishness.
They don’t have fruitful wives or children because they’ve neglected to
care for them.
Every part of society should be developing if we have real men in
our presence. Too often, we have destroyers instead of developers. They
are tearing down our homes, spraying graffiti on our buildings, stealing,
and shooting. Men need to come back to their purpose and stop using
their strength for the wrong reasons.
A male has been designed to do his work in such a way that he is
able to make it into more than it was originally. In the parable of the tal‑
ents, the man traveling out of the country entrusted the first servant with
five talents, the second with two, and the third with one. It is implied
that the man said to them, “Now, when I come back, I don’t want to see
just the money I gave you. I want to see an increase in my investment.”
When the man returned and found that the servant with the one talent
had done nothing to increase his master’s money, he called the servant
“wicked” and “lazy” (Matthew 25:26).
If a man is still working at what he was working at ten years ago and
hasn’t improved it at all, there’s something wrong. Men are designed by
God to be cultivators who don’t just sit on good ideas but implement
them, who don’t complain about others but see their potential and help
them reach it. Ask God to start working out the ideas He has put within
you.
Thought for the Day

Men are designed by God to be cultivators who don’t just sit on
good ideas but implement them.

October 13
Developing Your Family
G od the Father carefully provides for the development of His people.

To develop means “to cause to grow gradually and continually in
fuller, larger, and better ways.” Consider what Paul wrote about our heav‑
enly Father:
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So nei-
ther he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who
makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters
have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own
labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s
building. (1 Corinthians 3:6–9)
The human father is likewise to develop the people God has placed
under his care. To understand the father as developer, we return to the
garden of Eden and remember God’s instructions to Adam to “dress
it” and “keep it” (Genesis 2:15 kjv). In dressing and keeping the garden,
Adam had to plan for the orderly growth of both plant and animal life.
Developing for order and cultivation started when Adam named the ani‑
mals. (See verses 19–20.)
Inherent in God’s purpose is His plan. The heavenly Father, as Devel‑
oper, planned the garden and also planned what would be in it. He struc‑
tured streams to come up from the earth in order to water the garden. He
provided food for Adam and Eve, had a plan concerning what they could
and could not eat, and gave specific usage instructions to Adam.
Fathers must not leave their family members to wander in a spiritual
and moral desert. The godly father who develops his family has a plan for
their growth—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
Thought for the Day

To develop means to cause to grow gradually and continually in
fuller, larger, and better ways.
Reading: Isaiah 41–42; 1 Thessalonians 1
October 297
October 14
The Developer Always Has a Plan
Y esterday, we focused on the principle that inherent in God’s pur‑

pose is His plan. Planning is the first step in development. Before
a developer starts constructing a housing division or shopping complex,
he makes a building plan. He presents the plan to the appropriate gov‑
ernmental officials in order to obtain the required permits to build. The
plan includes what will be constructed, as well as how it will be used.
Structure and usage are essential to a plan.
Preparing or planting the ground is the second feature of develop‑
ment. Once there is a plan, the developer begins the necessary ground‑
work for building. Earthmovers come in and drainage is provided. The
land is prepared to accept the building—first a foundation and then a
framework. Likewise, a sower prepares the soil and sows the seed in plan‑
ning for a harvest.
The next step is protecting. Every developer protects his construction
site. He may construct a tall fence with barbed wire to keep out intrud‑
ers. He may hire security guards. In a similar way, the farmer who devel‑
ops a crop uses whatever means of protection his crop needs to guard
against insects, diseases, and vandals. He tends the crop by pulling weeds
and providing adequate irrigation.
The Scriptures show how God the Developer protected man in the
garden. He warned him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil and gave him instructions on what to do in the garden. (See
Genesis 2:15–17.) He also walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the
evening. (See Genesis 3:8.) Keeping in fellowship with God was protec‑
tion for them. God plans, prepares, and protects His people, and this is
what He calls fathers to do for their families.
Thought for the Day

In what ways are you planning for, preparing, and
protecting your family?

October 15
Light Produces Light
A fter planning, preparing, and protecting, it is time for producing.

Once a building is finished, the developer uses his shopping com‑
plex, houses, or commercial building to produce income. The farmer
who grows a crop doesn’t just leave it in the field. He harvests it because
he has produced fruits or vegetables that can be sold and used. Likewise,
the Father develops us to be productive in His plan and purpose. Jesus
addressed this issue of development very specifically: “This is to my Father’s
glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John
15:8).
A father walks each step with his family as he prepares and equips
them in the ways of God. He plants the seed of God’s Word in their
hearts. He protects them with prayer, as well as with his presence and
provision for their lives. As a godly father walks with his family, he is an
example of holiness for them. He expects the best from them in produc‑
ing good fruit, which gives glory to the Father. He develops his offspring
to glow with the glory of God. A father expects his family to be the light
of the world, the salt of the earth, and witnesses for Christ in the world.
Light produces light. The light of Christ in a father’s life sets his fam‑
ily ablaze for Christ. The prayer of every godly father is that his children
will become flames of fire, blazing with the Father’s Spirit and shining as
stars. “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those
who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
Thought for the Day

The light of Christ in a father’s life sets his family
ablaze for Christ.
October 299
October 16
Growing into Christ’s Image

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
A godly father is constantly developing his family members to grow

in God’s limitless potential, to be their best through His strength,
and to accept others as they are growing in Christ. He stretches his wife
and children to achieve their utmost for His highest.
The objective of development is permanent growth. The father cul‑
tivates his relationship with his wife and children so that they will grow
beyond themselves and into the believers God purposed them to be.
The powerful message of 2 Corinthians 5:17 is that new creations in
Christ are continually having old things—sin, bad habits, ignorance, and
strongholds—pass away, while all areas of life are becoming new.
Fathers understand that God’s children are always becoming! We
are developing and growing into Christ’s image. We are being changed
“from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18 kjv). Fathers put a badge on their
family members, including themselves, which reads, “Please be patient.
God isn’t finished with me yet!”
Fathers develop fathers. A father grows in fatherhood by leaning
on the heavenly Father. A man learns how to father from a father. The
goal of fathering is to develop men who can father and women who can
mother under the covering of a godly husband. So when your son starts
to make decisions as good as or better than you have been making, you
can affirm to him that he is now a father while continuing to encourage
him as he grows in fatherhood. Jesus promised that when we are in the
Father and the Father is in us, just as the Father is in Him, then we will
do greater works than He did. (See John 14:12.)
Thought for the Day

Fathers understand that God’s children are always becoming!

October 17
Creating an Environment
for Growth
A man is to provide an encouraging environment for his family that

supports their development. The father disciples his offspring by
providing an example of the Father. A father who is like the heavenly
Father encourages discovery and learning as parts of the developmental
process. He promotes steady, consistent, and progressive growth in his
family. Let me share with you some environmental qualities of a father
who develops his offspring:
Encouragement: The father edifies his offspring. “Therefore encourage
one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalo‑
nians 5:11). Fathers never tear down the esteem of a family member. Paul
wrote to the Corinthians that God gave him power to edify, not destroy.
“Our prayer is for your perfection. This is why I write these things when I am
absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the
authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down” (2
Corinthians 13:9–10). Such is the power that God gives fathers—to build
up their families, not pull them down.
Positive feedback: Instead of criticism, a father like the Father gives
constructive correction. He develops his wife and children by building
on their strengths and focusing on what they can do well instead of con
demning them for their weaknesses. In fact, the father bears the weak‑
nesses of his family. (See Romans 15:1.) He covers—not exposes—their
vulnerability, and he protects them from attack with his own prayers and
instructions.
Thought for the Day

A father who is like the heavenly Father encourages discovery
and learning as parts of the developmental process.
October 301
October 18
Opportunity to Try
P arents must understand that some of the most significant learning

experiences in life result from failure. Children can learn from their
failures if a father uses them for teaching instead of judgment and pun‑
ishment. This is how a father develops an atmosphere of acceptance for
his family. He will not reject them just because they tried and failed. He
accepts his family “for better or worse,” just as Christ has accepted him.
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise
to God” (Romans 15:7). Development creates an environment that is con‑
ducive to others encountering learning experiences under the guidance
of a father’s godly wisdom.
A father does not make comparisons. He understands that the only
standard for life is Jesus Christ. He never compares his wife or children
to others, thinking that, by making a comparison, he will force improve‑
ment. For instance, a father never says to his children, “Why can’t you
be more like So-and-so? They are such good kids and never cause their
parents any trouble. They make such good grades in school; why can’t
you?” He never says to his wife, “Why can’t you dress and look like So-
and-so? She is such a good cook and helpmate. Why can’t you be more
like her?”
Such comments by a father come from the father of lies. Satan
desires that we compare ourselves and our families to others so that he
can divide us and conjure up strife. Paul warned against false compari‑
son. (See 2 Corinthians 10:12.) Fathers are not to show favoritism, just as
the heavenly Father does not show favoritism. (See Acts 10:34.) Instead,
they should develop an atmosphere in the family of mutual love, respect,
honor, and caring for one another.
Thought for the Day

Parents must understand that some of the most significant
learning experiences in life result from failure.
October 19
Principles of the Father as Developer
T oday, review these principles of the father as developer of his fam‑

ily and reflect on how you can apply them in your everyday life—
directly for yourself, if you are a man, and in your relationships with
men, if you are a woman.
1. As developers, fathers plan, prepare, plant, protect, and produce
that which God has placed in their care.
2. The godly father who develops his family has a plan for their system‑
atic growth—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
3. A godly father is an example of holiness for his family and develops
them to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and witnesses
for Christ.
4. The objective of development is permanent growth. A godly father
provides encouragement, positive feedback, and an opportunity to
try and fail, and he does not make comparisons.
5. Development creates an environment that is conducive to others
encountering learning experiences under the guidance of a father’s
godly wisdom.
6. A husband and father stretches his wife and children to achieve
their utmost for God’s highest. He cultivates his relationship with
his family members so they can grow beyond themselves and be the
believers God purposed them to be.
7. Fathers develop fathers. A man grows in fatherhood by leaning on
God the Father. A man learns how to father from a father.
Heavenly Father,
We have been created to be developers, and You are a God
who allows us to grow and develop in an environment of love,
encouragement, and correction. Help earthly fathers to learn
to create this same environment in their families and in the
communities in which they live. In Jesus’ name, amen.
October 303
October 20
A Father Cares
T he father is not only one who develops his family members, but also
one who cares deeply for them. In many ways, the functions of car‑
ing and developing go hand in hand. The father’s role of caring is rooted,
once again, in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man, and put him in
the garden of Eden to dress [“cultivate” nasb] it and to keep it” (kjv). The word
“dress” means to cultivate, and the word “keep” means to care for. To care
is to pay close attention to needs and also to meet those needs. In fact,
caring goes far beyond our normal thoughts of serving, encouraging, and
ministering to those around us.
Again, the word care means to anticipate a need and meet it. In
other words, to care means that you calculate the next need of a person
before he or she is aware of it. You make provisions before he or she
even senses the need. I believe that is the kind of caring that Psalm 8:4
describes: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you
care for him?” To be mindful of someone means to have one’s mind filled
with thoughts about that person. God the Father has filled His thoughts
with us. He anticipates and thinks about what we will need before we
even need it.
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we
drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these
things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. (Matthew 6:31–33)
Thought for the Day

To care means to calculate the next need of a person and make
provisions for it before he or she even senses the need.

October 21
Setting the Right Priorities
O n what are you spending most of your time? A father who is like
God the Father cares by spending his time and energy anticipat‑
ing what his wife and children need next. This is a beautiful picture
of a father. No matter what he is doing, he is thinking about what his
daughter will need the next day, what his son will need the next week,
or what his wife will need the next year. He’s thinking daily about caring
for his family.
Our work‑driven cultures try to force men to think continually
about what the company needs, so that they have no time to think about
anyone else’s needs. Men no longer work to live, but live to work. Even at
home, a man’s mind is often drifting off to work and either solving prob‑
lems or thinking of new projects. Or, the father comes home so tired
from working that he dozes off in front of the television. Meanwhile, he
neglects his family because he is too tired or busy to think about their
needs.
Fathers must set the right priorities. A father who cares like the
heavenly Father thinks of his wife and children before his job. A father
should see his job as a gift from God that enables him to care adequately
for his wife and children. The job is a means to an end, never the end
itself.
Men who are wrapped up in their careers and running after the cor‑
porate world have their motivation and priorities out of place. They have
taken their work—a gift from God that He intended to help them sup‑
port their families—and made it an idol. They end up caring more about
the gift than the family for which it was given or the God who gave it.
Thought for the Day

A father who cares like the heavenly Father thinks of his wife
and children before his job.
Reading: Isaiah 62–64; 1 Timothy 1
October 305
October 22
The Church’s True Husband
M any people look to the pastor as a model father. Yet, today, pastors
have a growing divorce rate. Why? Many could be properly clas‑
sified as “workaholics.” Often, pastors’ wives feel helpless trying to turn
their husbands’ hearts back toward home. Many pastors seem to care for
everyone else before their families. To defend their workaholism, pastors
may say to their wives, “This is my calling. I’m doing this for the Lord.”
Unable to compete with God, their family members desperately try to get
their needs met in other ways. The church then becomes a “mistress” to
the pastor, who leaves his wife and family to suffer without him.
Laypeople also need to take this caution to heart, for they often are
a major cause of these pastors’ problems. They expect the pastor to be
Christ and not simply the pastor. The man of God can never take the
place of Christ caring for His bride. As a pastor, I am not married to my
church; I’m married to my wife. The “woman” that I oversee—the assem‑
bly of believers—is not my wife; she’s Christ’s wife. Ultimately, who meets
the church’s emotional needs? Not I. Who meets her physical needs?
Not I. Who meets her spiritual needs? Not I. Christ meets all the needs
of His wife, the church. Only Christ is omnipresent, omniscient, and
omnipotent—not the pastor.
The answer to this problem is found in Ephesians 5, where Paul laid
down the principles concerning Christ and His bride, and the husband
and his wife. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her” (v. 25). Pastors, as well as laymen, are to love their
wives as Christ loves the church.
Thought for the Day

Pastors, as well as laymen, are to love their wives
as Christ loves the church.
Reading: Isaiah 65–66; 1 Timothy 2

October 23
Be the Person God Created
O n television, I once saw a picture of a little child with a caption

that read, “Missing.” The Lord spoke to me and said, “I have many
children who are missing.” Some of you may be missing. You are present
in the world but missing in regard to fulfilling the specific purposes for
which you were created. God is saying to you, “I want you to stop trying
to be like someone else and be who you are.”
Remember that Paul said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example
of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). In other words, he was saying, “When I
look like Christ, imitate me.” The only thing we see in other people that
we are to imitate is the life of Christ.
God has special plans for you, if you will be who He created you to
be. He has given you your personality and gifts for a specific reason. “For
we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
God made you unique because of the purpose He had in mind for
you. The same thing is true for everyone else. We run into trouble when
we try to change people into what we are. This often happens when
people get married. After the honeymoon, people start to try to make
their spouses think and behave as they do. People spend years trying to
change their mates. But God made males and females different because
of what they were designed to do. That means your wife is the way she is
because of why she is. Your husband is the way he is because of why he is.
No one can alter God’s purposes.
Thought for the Day

The only thing we see in other people that we are
to imitate is the life of Christ.
Reading: Jeremiah 1–2; 1 Timothy 3
October 307
October 24
Out of God’s Presence
I f a man is not living in the presence of God, he might be moving,

but he is not really functioning. You can’t fully trust the perspective
of a man who doesn’t know God. You cannot even totally trust the per‑
spective of one who is just beginning to get to know God, because he’s
still getting used to the Presence. Outside the presence of God, people
can be like dangerous, uncontrolled beasts. The first chapter of Romans
explains that when people reject or are ignorant of the purposes of God,
they end up continually abusing themselves. They abuse their bodies,
their minds, their relationships, and their talents.
It is only by being continually in God’s presence that our minds and
hearts can be renewed. We need to learn to walk “in step with the Spirit”
(Galatians 5:25) rather than in step with our own ideas about life. As
the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond
cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
The problem with many of us men is that we think we don’t need
God, when, in fact, He’s the first thing we need. I’m amazed when I
observe men trying to make it without God. They may appear to be mak‑
ing it, but they aren’t. They’re not fulfilling their true purpose. Often,
the “making it” is just an external face they put on to keep people from
seeing the way things really are. If you knew what was truly going on in
their lives, you’d know they weren’t making it.
We should never doubt our need for God. Do you recall the first
thing God gave the male? He didn’t give him a woman, a job, or even a
command; He gave him His presence.
Thought for the Day

It is only by being continually in God’s presence that our
hearts and minds can be renewed.

October 25
Images of Leadership
W hen you see the word leadership, whose face pops into your mind?
Who is your idea of a strong leader?
Most of us have developed our images of leaders from the wrong
sources. We have looked to athletes, musicians, movie stars, and poli‑
ticians as our role models. Yet the majority of these famous men and
women don’t know what a true leader is. If you don’t believe me, ask
them where their children are; ask them where their wives and husbands
are; ask them how their home lives are. Many of the world’s wealthiest,
most famous, most prestigious people can’t keep their homes together.
We have looked to status and personal accomplishment as the mea‑
sure of leadership rather than to God’s standards. God is concerned with
people who have a vision from Him and who can support, sustain, and
nurture their families and others in pursuit of God and His purposes.
Some men want to run away from the responsibility of leadership.
They look at it as too much of a burden. They let their wives run every‑
thing. Others want to pursue their own selfish interests without worry‑
ing about the needs of others. Certain men don’t think they deserve to
be leaders. They think you have to be rich, successful, or highly educated
in order to lead.
Let me make something very clear: if you are a male, you were born
to lead. God made the male first because He wanted him to be respon‑
sible. A male doesn’t decide to lead or not to lead. He has his position by
virtue of his purpose; it is inherent. In God’s plan, that is not a debatable
issue.
Thought for the Day

We have looked to status and personal accomplishment as the
measure of leadership rather than to God’s standards.
October 309
October 26
Advancing God’s Family Business
W hen Jesus knew that His earthly ministry was coming to an end,
He talked to His disciples about their role in advancing the “fam‑
ily business” on earth: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not
know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that
I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
What was Jesus’ reason for calling His disciples His friends? He
said, in effect, “The servant doesn’t know what the boss is doing. I call
you friends because I have told you everything the Father has revealed
to Me.”
Think about how large and prosperous God’s business is. It is so big
that God says He can supply all your needs. (See Philippians 4:19.) In this
context, I don’t think that He is referring to your smaller needs, such as
a house, a car, clothes, or food. Remember, Jesus told us that God knows
these needs even before we ask. (See Matthew 6:31–32.) Therefore, God
must be talking about further investment for the purpose of expanding
the company business. He is saying, in essence, “The company has so
much collateral that My children never have to worry about materials for
further investment.”
I believe that if we will get busy spreading the influence of God’s
company and building His interests, our access to His resources will be
opened up. (See Matthew 6:33.) God created mankind to be His off‑
spring and to work in His business, and He has all the resources we need
to fulfill this purpose.
Thought for the Day

If we will get busy spreading the influence of God’s company
and building His interests, our access to His resources
will be opened up.

October 27
Teach Your Children and
Grandchildren
I n Deuteronomy, Moses gave instructions from God to the heads of

the households about teaching their families God’s ways:
Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the
things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long
as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after
them. (Deuteronomy 4:9)
God is very concerned that parents teach their children about Him.
He isn’t saying here to send your children to church, Sunday school, or vaca‑
tion Bible club. He’s saying to teach them yourself. These other activities
are good, but if what they teach is not reinforced in the home, children can
get the impression their parents don’t think the Bible is important. Parents
don’t realize the negative impact this attitude can have on their families.
“Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” I want to
say a word here to grandparents. When your daughter or son sends that
little boy or girl to you, what does the child go back home with? Some
kids learn things from their grandparents that are disgraceful. Parents
find their little children coming back home cursing or telling foul sto‑
ries, and they wonder where they are hearing them. They’re getting them
from Grandpa and Grandma! Your children’s children should get the
Word from you. When your children send their kids to you, those kids
should go back home knowing more about God.
Timothy received a strong spiritual heritage from both his mother
and his grandmother. Paul wrote, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith,
which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am
persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).
Thought for the Day

God is very concerned that parents teach their children about Him.
October 311
October 28
What Do You Talk About?
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write
them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
—Deuteronomy 6:6–9
R eflecting on the above Scripture passage, let’s look at two specific

ways in which God told Moses parents are to talk to their children
about His commandments.
“Talk about them when you sit at home.” What do your children hear
in your house? What do they hear when you sit down to eat? Some scan‑
dal reported in the newspaper? The latest movie? What do you discuss?
Do you talk about the goodness of the Lord? When you sit around your
house during your leisure time, what do you do? Do you spend time
teaching your children the Word? Do you have family devotions?
“Talk about them…when you walk along the road.” What do you talk
about when you drive your children to school or go on trips? Do you
yell at other drivers or listen to less-than-edifying radio shows? What
example do you set for your children when you’re out in public? Do you
talk about others behind their backs? Or do you live out God’s Word in
a natural, everyday way?
Some men never talk about God outside the church. It hurts to see
men ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They think they’re supposed
to be cool, so cool they can’t talk about Jesus. God says, “A real man
whom I respect is a man who won’t just have devotions at home, but will
walk out into the world and talk about Me along the road of life.”
Thought for the Day

Do you live out God’s Word in a natural, everyday way?
October 29
Fortify Your Children through
the Word
Y esterday, we looked at the first two of God’s instructions from

Deuteronomy 6 about how we are to talk to children about His
commandments. Today, let’s examine the last two “talking points”:
“Talk about them…when you lie down” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Before you
say good night to your children or tuck them into bed, what words do
you leave them with? The assurance of God’s presence and peace during
the night? An encouraging psalm? Or do you wave them off to bed while
you finish working on something?
In fact, what do you think about before you drift off to sleep? Do
you know that the last thing you think about at night is usually the first
thing you think about when you wake up? Sometimes you dream about
it. It amazes me that people deliberately think about the worst things.
Some of you read the worst kind of books before you go to bed. Then you
wonder why your spirit is disturbed.
“Talk about them…when you get up” (v. 7). When you wake up in the
morning, you will more likely think about the Word of God if you have
meditated on it before going to bed. And you will start ministering as
you talk about it with your family.
How do you usually greet your children in the morning? With a
quiet reminder of God’s love and strength for the day? With what spiri‑
tual armor do you send them off to school? It’s a difficult world for chil‑
dren to grow up in today, and they need God’s Word to fortify them for
daily living.
Thought for the Day

Children need the Word of God to fortify them for daily living.
October 313
October 30
The Means of Gaining Wisdom

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if
you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it
as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand
the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives
wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
—Proverbs 2:1–6
I n the above passage, Solomon spoke of the wisdom to be gained from

godly instruction. Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers,…bring them [your chil‑
dren] up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” We have seen that many
fathers leave this responsibility solely to the mothers. This becomes espe‑
cially difficult for women when the children reach a certain age at which
they don’t want to submit to authority. Men need to set a strong spiritual
example for their children, especially at that particular time in their lives.
There is a popular idea today that every person should take total
responsibility for himself or herself, no matter how young that person
is. What the world is saying is that children should be allowed to bring
themselves up. This idea is foolish. Children are children; grown-ups are
grown-ups. Sometimes adults act like children. But children are definitely
not adults, and they shouldn’t be treated as if they were. Parents have a
responsibility before God to raise their children and instruct them in the
ways of the Lord. God does not leave the care and upbringing of your
children to themselves or to society. He leaves it to you.
Thought for the Day

God does not leave the care and upbringing of your children
to themselves or to society. You have a responsibility
to raise your children in the Lord.

October 31
God’s Word Everywhere in Our Lives
I n Deuteronomy 6, after the Lord said we are to talk about His com‑
mandments with our children, He continued, “Tie them as symbols on
your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of
your houses and on your gates” (vv. 8–9).
The point God was making is that whatever your hands find to
do, make sure it is in accordance with His Word. Whatever is in your
thoughts, make sure it’s the Word of God. “The doorframes”—I like that.
The doorposts in Moses’ day were two major posts that held up the
frame of the house. Anyone who came through those doorposts came
into your home. This means that all of your house should be held up by
the Word of God, and that you are supposed to check who comes into
your house to make sure they pass through the Word of God.
God is saying to fathers, and to young men who aspire to be good
fathers, “Get the Word in you. Plaster your whole life with the Word.”
If anybody wants access to your life or your home, he or she is to come
through the Word of God. If any woman wants to marry you, tell her
straight, “If you don’t know God and His Word, I don’t care how cute
you look or how much you can give me—forget it.”
I would love for God to raise up men who wouldn’t compromise,
who wouldn’t marry a woman who’s not a woman of God. Sometimes we
don’t have any standards. We must have standards and values again. Our
values come from what we believe. They create our morals and affect our
behavior. If we believe the Word of God, that’s our value system.
Thought for the Day

If anybody wants access to your life or your home, he or she
is to come through the Word of God.
Reading: Jeremiah 22–23; Titus 1
October 315
November 1
God Sent a Woman
I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of
bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
—Micah 6:4 (nkjv)
W omen should take the above verse to heart and remember it for
the rest of their lives. God was saying, “I sent you three lead‑
ers.” We always talk about Moses, the representative and administrative
leader. We also talk about Aaron, the high priest and spiritual leader.
But God mentioned another leader that many people are uncomfortable
reading about. He said, “I also sent Miriam to lead you.”
God sent a woman to lead. This fact contradicts many of the atti‑
tudes that men have had for years about women in leadership. When
God purposefully appointed Miriam to be a leader to His people, He
endorsed the idea that it is valid for a woman to be in leadership. It is
noteworthy that God did not send Miriam to lead because no men were
available at the time. Rather, He sent her to lead alongside the men. He
put her in a team of leaders. Since God acknowledged Miriam in the
same list or category with Moses, we don’t have to question whether
God intended women to be leaders. “I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and
Miriam.”
The Sinai leadership team included a director, a priest, and a woman.
The director was Moses, the executive leader; the priest was Aaron, the
spiritual leader. Yet right in the middle of the executive leader and the
spiritual leader, a woman was needed in order to bring balance to both
of them.
Thought for the Day

God sent a woman to lead.

November 2
A Woman’s Leadership Role
M iriam’s influential role as a leader over Israel looks back to God’s

purposes for the woman that He established when He created
humanity and ahead to Christ’s redemptive purposes for the woman in
salvation. God intended women to be leaders from the creation of the
world, and He confirmed His continued commitment to this intention
through the ministry of His Son Jesus Christ. This is the basis on which
we will look at the woman’s role in leadership.
Throughout our exploration of God’s purposes for men and women
and male-female relationships, we have seen the following:
• Women and men (as man) are spiritually equal before God and
equally as important to Him.
• Women and men (as man) were given the dominion mandate.
• Males and females (man’s “houses”) have distinct purposes and
designs.
• The complementary roles and abilities of males and females bring
balance, strength, and help to one another as they fulfill God’s pur‑
poses.
In light of these principles, the question many people have been
asking, “Should women be in leadership?” becomes an entirely different
question. Instead of asking if women should be in leadership, we should
be asking how they are to exercise their leadership, given their purpose
and design. Over the next week, we will explore how the woman’s pur‑
pose and design shape her leadership role.
Thought for the Day

God intended women to be leaders from the creation of the
world, and He confirmed His continued commitment to this
intention through the ministry of His Son Jesus Christ.
November 317
November 3
Designed to Lead
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule [“have
dominion” kjv] over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over
every living creature that moves on the ground.”
C onsider once more that the creation account reveals that the domin‑
ion mandate was given to man, both male and female. It is God’s pur‑
pose that the woman, as well as the man, be fruitful and multiply, replenish,
subdue, and have dominion over the earth. To have dominion means to
govern, rule, control, manage, lead, or administrate. Dominion is a powerful
word. God loves leadership and had it in mind when He created the earth.
When God told man to have dominion, He was telling man who he is.
Man (male and female) is a leader who is to cultivate the earth.
There is no incidence of subjection, submission, or oppression of
women in the first and second chapters of Genesis. In God’s perfect will,
there is no such arrangement. The woman and the man were both equal,
blessed, subduing, ruling, and having dominion, and God said, “This is
very good.” Any other arrangement than this was the result of the fall.
This means that anything that God said about the male-female relation‑
ship after Genesis 2 is a repair program.
Since God’s purpose for man was leadership, He designed male and
female with the built-in potential and ability to be a leader. The leader‑
ship spirit is in every person. However, the ways in which males and
females execute dominion are different based on their distinct designs.
Thought for the Day

God designed both male and female with the built-in potential
and ability to be a leader; the leadership spirit is in every person.
Reading: Jeremiah 30–31; Philemon
November 4
The Influence-Power of Women
B oth the man and the woman were created to lead, but their leader‑
ship functions are determined by their specific dominion assign‑
ments. God designed the woman not only for relationship with Himself,
but also to help fulfill His purposes in His great plan for humanity.
Therefore, women are designed by God to execute an assignment that
can be fulfilled only by women.
God designed the male to be a leader by position and the female to
be a leader by influence. Thus, the man has position-power and the woman
has influence-power. There is a difference between these two forms of lead‑
ership. A perfect example of this distinction was Queen Esther’s position
in relation to King Xerxes. The king had position-power. Yet because of
Esther’s godly heart and her great beauty, she had influence-power with
the king and was able to convince him of Haman’s evil plans against the
Jewish people. (See Esther 4–5.)
When God designed the female, He obviously had influence in
mind. A woman is a receiver. God designed her to receive from the male
and to incubate what she receives so that it can grow and develop. A
woman is built to influence. Her wombs—whether physical, emotional,
mental, or spiritual—have a tremendous influence on what they receive
by providing a nurturing and transforming environment. There is much
truth in William Ross Wallace’s famous quote: “The hand that rocks the
cradle is the hand that rules the world.”
Position-power and influence-power are not mutually exclusive; they
are meant to be exercised together in dominion.
Thought for the Day

The man has position-power, and the woman has influence-power.
Reading: Jeremiah 32–33; Hebrews 1
November 319
November 5
Distinct Leadership Functions
P ower and influence are equal but different. A woman and a man are
equal in leadership. The difference is in their leadership functions.
There are two important aspects of position-power. First, position-
power generally comes with a title, such as king, governor, or pastor.
Second, position-power is usually executed through commands, whether
verbal or written. It is the authority that goes with the position—and
underlies the commands—that is the nature of the man’s power.
Influence-power manifests itself in a very different way. First, a
woman may have a title, but she doesn’t need a title in order to lead. She
leads by influence. This is why women usually run the households. Men
call themselves “the head of the house,” but the women run the homes.
Second, a woman doesn’t need to talk in order to run things. She leads
just by her influence. My father used to run our household with his
mouth. He would say, “Clean the kitchen”; “Take the garbage out”; “Take
your feet off that chair.” However, my mother would just look at me, and
my feet would be down off that chair. The woman doesn’t need to say a
word; she just looks, and people respond. This is a powerful influence.
Some men assume that because certain women are quiet or don’t bark
out orders, they are weak. They do not understand influence-power.
Influence-power may be more subtle and quiet than position-power,
but it has a potent effect. Satan understood this influence. The fall of
man resulted from the serpent’s interference with influence leadership.
Thought for the Day

Influence-power may be more subtle and quiet than
position-power, but it has a potent effect.

November 6
Restored to Leadership
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and
treat them with respect as…heirs with you of the gracious gift of life.
—1 Peter 3:7
I nfluence-power is a tremendous gift from God that was intended to be

used by women for the good of themselves, their families, their com‑
munities, their nations, the world, and the kingdom of God. Yet women
have to realize its potential for evil as well as for good. Even redeemed
women have to be careful to discipline their influence-power.
We need to remember that, even though the woman’s influence-
power has the potential to harm, it was God who originally gave her this
leadership gift when He created her. The influence is not the result of the
fall; the corruption of the influence is. God desires that the woman be
restored to her full leadership role and use this influence for His good
purposes. God indicated that this was His plan even at the time of the
fall. All of the declarations that God gave Eve and Adam in Genesis 3
are God’s response to the fall. He said that in the end, He was going to
restore what He had established in the beginning. How? Through the
redemption of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit comes back into a woman’s life, God’s plan
for her reverts to what it was originally. Women are joint and equal heirs
of salvation with men. This means that when a woman receives salvation
in Jesus Christ, she becomes equal in rulership again.
Thought for the Day

God desires that the woman be restored to her
full leadership role and use her influence-power
for His good purposes.
November 321
November 7
What about Paul?
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
—Galatians 3:28
W hen Paul wrote the above statement to the Galatians, he was

talking about the spirit-man residing in both males and females
whom Christ has redeemed. Therefore, in the body of Christ, in the
Spirit, you’re dealing with man, where there is no difference in gender.
In other letters, such as those to Corinth and Ephesus, Paul addressed
problems in which people’s cultural heritages were making it difficult
for them to adjust to their new Christian faith. For example, he told
the Corinthians, “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not
allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says” (1 Corinthians
14:34).
This passage has been terribly misunderstood and has been used as
a general rule in order to keep women down, to subjugate and oppress
them. Many people don’t realize that, in the same letter, Paul gave instruc‑
tions to women who pray or prophesy in the church. (See 1 Corinthians
11:5.) Obviously, they needed to speak in order to do that. Therefore, I
believe that Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians had to do with keep‑
ing order in the churches when the people’s carnality or cultural back‑
grounds were creating confusion and discord. God is a God of order.
Based on Paul’s other writings, as well as additional passages and biblical
principles from both the Old and New Testaments, these few instruc‑
tions of Paul’s should not be considered the sole or final word on the
matter.
Thought for the Day

In the body of Christ, in the Spirit, you’re dealing with man,
where there is no difference in gender.

November 8
Culture or Christ?
W hat is more important, culture or Christ? Did Jesus ever com‑

mand a woman to be silent? Did Jesus ever stop a woman from
preaching? As a matter of fact, the woman at the well began preaching
after Jesus set her free, and then she became an evangelist.
Sometimes, we make Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 14:34,
“Women should remain silent in the churches,” more important than Jesus’
own revelation of God’s purposes. Please do not misunderstand what I am
saying. It is all God’s Word. Yet I truly believe that Paul was dealing with spe‑
cific cultural issues; Christ was dealing with principles. Culture should
not be confused with principles. Jesus elevated, promoted, and restored
women to their original dignity. Moreover, Paul himself affirmed the
female’s equality with the male in Christ.
Even before Jesus died on the cross, He affirmed women in His
earthly ministry in a way that was revolutionary to fallen man but was
right in line with God’s purposes for man in creation. This was a strik‑
ing illustration of His respect for women and their value to Him, their
Creator and Redeemer.
Therefore, it is not only the male, but also the female, who can be
a leader. Their leadership styles do not cancel each other out; it is the
combination of position-power and influence-power that enables man to
exercise dominion over the world, and which will bring the kingdom of
God on earth. The devil is in trouble when the two types of power come
together in unity of purpose.
Thought for the Day

Jesus elevated, promoted, and restored women to
their original dignity.
November 323
November 9
A Trusted Leader
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.
W hen Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, He told His followers,

in effect, “I have to return to My Father, but I want to influence
the world for My kingdom. I am the King and I am the Word; therefore, I
exercise position-power. To influence the world, I need a wife, a partner,
who has influence-power.”
Christ left the earth in the hands of a “woman,” the church. Being
a member of the body of Christ means not only receiving salvation, but
also helping the Lord in His purpose of winning the world to Himself.
This is why He gave the church the responsibility of going into the world
as a witness for Him. Christ sees her as a perfect leader, and He shows
this by the fact that He has entrusted the Word of God to her.
Now, the implication is that the female is a trusted leader, just as the
male is. The church is not the servant of Jesus, just as the female is not
the servant of the male; she is his partner. Jesus said to His disciples, “I no
longer call you servants….Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
Jesus also told the church, in effect, “You will be seated with Me in
heavenly places.” (See Ephesians 2:6.) He did not say, “You will be seated
below Me.” Since Christ is the King, the church is His queen. We need
to see God’s intent for the female in this portrayal of Christ and the
church. She is not meant to sit below the male but to be his partner in
leadership, in dominion.
Thought for the Day

We need to see God’s leadership intent for the female in the
Scriptures’ portrayal of Christ and the church.

November 10
Principles of Female Leadership
T oday, review these principles of female leadership and reflect on

how you can apply them in your everyday life—for yourself, if you
1. God endorsed women in leadership when He purposefully sent a

woman (Miriam) to be a leader to His people.
2. Instead of asking if women should be in leadership, we should be
asking how they are to exercise it, given their purpose and design.
3. The spirit-man in every male and female is a leader.
4. The execution of dominion is different for males and females based
on their purpose and design. The male exercises position-power and
the female exercises influence-power.
5. Power and influence are equal but different. A woman and a man are
equal in leadership. The distinction is in their leadership functions.
6. Jesus affirmed women in His earthly ministry in a way that was rev‑
olutionary to fallen man but was right in line with God’s purposes
for humanity in creation.
7. Through redemption, Christ restored the woman to full partner‑
ship with the man.
8. Paul’s writings on women reflect two contexts: a woman’s equality with
a man based on their redemption in Christ and a cultural context.
9. The female is a trusted leader, just as the male is.
Heavenly Father,
You have created us male and female according to Your perfect
plan. You have also restored us in Christ to Your original plan for
creation. Open the eyes of Your sons and daughters to Your true
purposes for their dominion rule. Show them how Your plan for
male and female leadership should work in a practical way. May
men see their need for women to rule beside them as You have
determined since creation. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
November 325
November 11
The Choice of Submission
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.
L et us return to the topic of submission in light of what we have been

learning about a woman’s leadership role. The definition of submit
is to “willfully give your will to another.” Submission has nothing to do
with force or pressure. It is an act of the will. To submit is the choice of the
person who is submitting, not the command of one who wants to be sub‑
mitted to. Put another way, you cannot submit unless you want to, and
no one can make you submit if you don’t want to.
Many men’s distorted understanding of strength can be seen in the
way they view the concept of submission. Any man who has to force a
woman to submit does not deserve to be submitted to. He is no longer
worthy of submission; he has become a slave driver.
Do you know what makes a slave a slave? Force and fear. These ele‑
ments are dominating too many homes. The Bible says, “Perfect love drives
out fear” (1 John 4:18). This means that if a man has to make a woman
afraid of him in order to force her to do something he wants her to do,
then he doesn’t know what love is.
I’ve never heard of Jesus slapping one of His children. I’ve never
heard of Jesus screaming or swearing at His people. No matter what we
do to Jesus, He is ready to forgive us. This is how husbands need to treat
their wives.
Thought for the Day

Submission has nothing to do with force.
It is an act of the will.
Reading: Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8

November 12
Overwhelming Love
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn
you with loving-kindness.
—Jeremiah 31:3
I believe that about half of us men do not deserve our wives’ submission!
Jesus said to His church—His bride—“Never will I leave you; never will I for-
sake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Yet some men stay out all night, then come home
and expect their wives to cook for them. They forsake their wives and their
children spiritually, emotionally, and even financially—and they still want
submission. That’s a sin, men. You don’t deserve submission. Submission
is not dependent on what you say. It is dependent on how you live.
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? All
right, then. Before you were saved, did Jesus ever come to you and hold
you up against the wall by your collar and say, “If you don’t believe in Me,
I’ll send you straight to Hades?” He didn’t do that. As a matter of fact, He
probably waited a long time for you. When you were involved in all your
foolish living, He didn’t force you to accept Him. He didn’t break down
your door. He is very polite. He quietly convicts people. He doesn’t pres‑
sure us. He just shows us His love. As we see in Jeremiah 31:3, God loves
His people and draws them to Himself with loving-kindness.
So, one day, you realized, This love is overwhelming, and you accepted
His love. You desired to follow Jesus. One of the things I love about Jesus
is that He calls us to follow Him. He doesn’t drag us; He leads and we
follow. This is the same overwhelming love that men should show their
wives.
Thought for the Day

In their relationships with their wives, men should imitate
God, who loves His people and draws them to Himself with
loving-kindness.
November 327
November 13
“Follow Me”
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said.
—Matthew 4:19
“Follow me,” [Jesus] told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
—Matthew 9:9
H ave you ever been on a guided tour of a cavern? The guide takes
you down through dark tunnels, and you follow him. You submit
to his authority because He knows the way through the tunnels. Of course,
you can turn around anytime and go back, but you would probably walk
into some walls and stub your toes and scrape your knees because you
are not familiar with the cavern. However, the point is that you can turn
around if you want to.
That is what Jesus is trying to tell us. He doesn’t force us to submit
to Him. All He ever says to His disciples is, “Follow Me.” This is exactly
what husbands are supposed to be able to say to their wives: “Honey, fol‑
low me.” Following is what submission is really about.
Do you know why we keep following Jesus? It is because He knows
where He’s going, He knows how to get there, He’s the only way there,
and we like where He’s going. Even more than that, His love draws us to
Him. Why do we love Him? It is not because He threatens us with a big
hammer, saying, “If you sin, I’ll kill you.” Instead, He says, “If you sin, I
am faithful and just to forgive you.” (See 1 John 1:9.) Isn’t it wonderful
to follow Him? Every time you slip, He picks you up and brushes you off.
Husbands, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can love your wives as
Christ loves the church.
Thought for the Day

We submit to Jesus because of His love, and
we love Him in return.
Reading: Lamentations 1–2; Hebrews 10:1–18

November 14
Earn Her Respect
We love because he first loved us.
—1 John 4:19
Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience,
not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
—Romans 2:4
L et me be direct: Men, don’t quote Scripture to a woman unless you

are behaving like Jesus does. When you start acting like Jesus, you
won’t have to demand that your wife submit. When you start loving her
like Jesus loves her, when you start forgiving her like Jesus forgives her,
when you start blessing her like Jesus blesses her, when you start caring for
her and listening to her like Jesus does, she will do anything for you—
because she wants a man like Jesus in the house.
God is saying to men, “Don’t you dare demand respect. Don’t you
dare order submission. Earn it.” Remember that Jesus never once com‑
manded anybody to follow Him. Never. He always asked, because He
knew who He was and where He was going. He didn’t need to demand
allegiance to give Himself a sense of importance.
Jesus said, “If you love Me, you’ll keep My commandments.” (See
John 14:15.) Our keeping of His commandments is based on our loving
Him. That’s the pattern we’re to follow in the marriage relationship—
and, really, in all relationships between males and females. If a male
wants to be a true leader, he must learn who he is in God and become
someone who earns respect—someone who loves, guides, and inspires
rather than who forces others to do what he wants.
Thought for the Day

Become the kind of person who earns respect.
Reading: Lamentations 3–5; Hebrews 10:19–39
November 329
November 15
False Submission
D ealing with submission in a situation where a woman has an unbe‑

lieving husband can be difficult, but the Bible gives us guidelines
for what to do under these circumstances. First Corinthians 7 says that if
a woman holds to the standards of the Word of God, and her unbelieving
husband agrees to stay with her, “let her not leave him” (v. 13 kjv). However,
if he cannot live with her convictions, the Scripture says, “Let him depart”
(v. 15 kjv). In other words, if he can’t live with her commitment to the
Lord, the Bible tells her, “Let him go.” You don’t compromise your faith,
even for your spouse.
Some women have a false view of submission. They allow their hus‑
bands to beat them half to death because they think that is being sub‑
missive. I have counseled many women who think this way. They come
to my office badly battered, and ask, “What am I supposed to do?” I say,
“Remove yourself from the premises.” “But the Bible says to submit.”
“Yes, but not to a beating. You are to submit to the Lord. Until you see
the Lord in the house, leave. You are not to be foolish enough just to sit
there and let your life be put in jeopardy.”
There is nothing in the Bible that says a woman should agree to do
something that’s against God’s Word or allow herself to suffer abuse.
First Peter 2:19–20 says that if you suffer for the sake of the gospel, that
is true suffering. But if you suffer for the sake of your own sin and folly,
that is not to your credit. It’s foolish for you to let somebody beat you
black and blue and then turn around and say, “It’s all for Jesus.” That is
not submission.
Thought for the Day

There is nothing in the Bible that says a woman
should allow herself to suffer abuse.
Reading: Ezekiel 1–2; Hebrews 11:1–19

November 16
Submit to One Another
A man…is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.
I s the above statement about woman coming from man true? Sure.
God caused the man to go into a deep sleep and drew the woman out
of him.
The passage continues: “Neither was man created for woman, but
woman for man” (v. 9). Is this statement true? Yes. God said, “I will make
a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). Paul wrote, “For this reason [pur‑
pose], and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority
on her head” (1 Corinthians 11:10). The Scripture says, “For this reason….”
In other words, this is God’s order in creation, and so men and women
should live in that order.
Yet here’s what most people forget: men and women are created to
be interdependent. “In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man,
nor is man independent of woman” (v. 11). God is saying, in effect, “Men and
women need one another. They need each other to be complete.”
“For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman” (v. 12). I
like that statement. Men need women to give birth to them, but women
need men to enable them to conceive. This is definitely not an inferi‑
ority-superiority situation. It has to do with complementary purposes.
Ephesians 5, which talks about wives submitting to their husbands, also
says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (v. 21). There has to
be a mutual submitting to one another if God’s purposes are to be car‑
ried out on the earth.
Thought for the Day

Men and women are created to be interdependent.
Reading: Ezekiel 3–4; Hebrews 11:20–40
November 331
November 17
An Equal Partner
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the
beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
—Genesis 2:20
G enesis tells us that God presented every animal to the man (see
Genesis 2:19), but none was suitable for him. There was no one to
whom he could relate, no one who could help him in his proprietorship
of the earth. So, God said, in essence, “It’s not good for man to be alone
in one body.” It is impossible for love to love alone. Thus, God created
the woman. Remember, the primary purpose of the female was to receive
love from the male, just as God’s major purpose for creating the spirit-
man was to have a relationship of love with mankind.
“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for
him” (v. 18). I don’t think that men can read or hear this Scripture often
enough. You might not think that a man who has a close relationship
with God; who understands his role as foundation; who has been given
the vision; and who can lead, teach, cultivate, provide, and protect needs
anyone else. Yet even a man who knows and lives in his purpose is not
complete, according to God. The male needs a companion, someone to
be his helper—not as a subordinate or a sidekick, but as an equal partner
with a complementary purpose. This is as true for single men as it is for
married men. Men need women as fellow workers and colleagues in this
world if they are to fulfill their purpose in life.
Thought for the Day

Even a man who knows and lives in his purpose
is not complete in himself.
Reading: Ezekiel 5–7; Hebrews 12

November 18
Special and Specific Responsibilities
I f men and women would realize the following truths, we would go

a long way toward restoring both harmonious relationships between
males and females and God’s plan for humanity:
• Dominion is not the same thing as domination.
• Dominion is to be exercised over the world, not over other people.
• Submission is something earned rather than demanded.
• Men and women are equal but different.
• Men and women need one another.
I am convinced that there can be no true dominion over the earth
unless God’s original design is intact. It is crucial for us to understand
the principle that the way we are designed is due to our purpose for exis‑
tence. Males and females each have been called to special and specific
responsibilities in God’s kingdom purposes.
Again, some people have problems with this concept because they
believe that being different implies being inferior or superior to others.
Different does not imply inferiority or superiority; it simply means differ‑
ent. A woman is not less than a man because she is a woman, and a man
is not more than a woman because he is a man. Their differences are
necessary because of their purposes. The only way to fix our confused
society is to get back to God’s plan. Purpose, not varying societal expeca‑
tions, determines position.
Thought for the Day

There can be no true dominion over the earth unless God’s
original design for men and women is intact.
Reading: Ezekiel 8–10; Hebrews 13
November 333
November 19
A Global Identity Problem
C onfusion over personal identity is a global problem. I have traveled

to many nations, and I have concluded that most of the world is
suffering from what I call the “consequences of ignorance of purpose.”
In every nation, in every community, no matter what language the citi‑
zens speak or what color their skin is, people are experiencing a common
dilemma. They are suffering the debilitating effects of a misconception
of purpose. They don’t understand who they really are, and, therefore,
they aren’t living up to their full potential in life. In fact, they are destroy‑
ing their own and others’ potential.
Why are many social ills caused by men? The problem is not a bio‑
logical one of maleness but a spiritual one of identity. There is no way
that we can have a safe and productive world as long as humanity, as
a whole, doesn’t know its reason for existence—and as long as men, in
particular, don’t have a clear idea of their identity. The world’s crisis of
identity, therefore, is not just a distressing problem. It is also a powerful
opportunity for helping others to find their true purpose.
God is calling men not only to understand and live in the fullness
of their identity in Christ, but also to help others to come into the same
understanding. This is what I call “the spirit of a father.” In the next
several days, we will explore the nature and responsibility of this father
spirit.
Thought for the Day

The world’s crisis of identity is a powerful opportunity for
helping others find their true purpose in God.
Reading: Ezekiel 11–13; James 1

November 20
The Spirit of a Father
T he spirit of a father is the awareness that everyone around a father

is his responsibility. As we have studied in Genesis, the woman and
the family came out of the man. So, every woman and child that a father
meets are his responsibility if they are fatherless.
Godly fathers must become fathers of their communities and nations.
There are many women whose husbands are not functioning in their lives
as source and sustainer. There are many children who have only a biologi‑
cal father, not a true one. Christian fathers need to take responsibility by
praying for these families and supporting them in other ways so that they
may be restored to their heavenly Father’s plan for their lives.
There are also women and children who have lost husbands and
fathers to divorce or death. James wrote, “Religion that God our Father
accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). The
fatherless should be fathered by Christian men who can step in the gap,
sustaining and cultivating them.
Matthew 25 includes a parable in which Jesus reveals that those who
truly follow Him will father those who are imprisoned, hungry, naked,
thirsty, sick, and strangers. Men, inasmuch as we father the least of these,
we minister to the Lord Himself. (See verses 40, 45.)
David declared, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in
his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:5–6). What is the
family into which God places the fatherless? It is His family, the church.
We are to go wherever the fatherless are found and become fathers and
families to them.
Thought for the Day

Godly fathers must become fathers of their
communities and nations.
November 335
November 21
Fathering the Fatherless
H ow do we heal the many men, women, and children who never

had fathers like the heavenly Father? Godly fathers must go out
and father them. Recall once more the prophecy for our day in Malachi
4:6: “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of
the children to their fathers; or else I [God] will come and strike the land with a
curse.” When godly fathers fail to father the fatherless in a society, a curse
comes upon that land. Scripture never mentions returning the hearts of
the children back to the mothers because our greatest problem is a father
problem.
Men, we must incorporate the scriptural functions of fatherhood
into our lives so that we will finally understand and fulfill our true pri‑
ority, position, and role as males. God the Father is our Source. Masses
of men must return to God the Father so that the children’s hearts may
be turned to their fathers and to God. We need men of the Spirit to be
responsible as progenitors and providers for the future generations, and
men who are fathers to be willing to sustain their offspring.
As a father—like the Father—remember that each child you meet is
your responsibility. You are to support and pray for that child’s father
or be a godly father to the child if he or she is fatherless. Every woman
you meet is your responsibility and should be treated with dignity and
respect. Every elderly person you meet is your responsibility. God has
equipped you through His Spirit, His Word, and your fellow believers to
handle these responsibilities for Him.
Thought for the Day

We need men of the Spirit to be responsible as progenitors
and providers for the future generations, and men who are
fathers to be willing to sustain their offspring.

November 22
Turning the Children’s Hearts
S alvation is the result of a Man—Jesus, the Second Adam—providing

the orphaned children of humanity with the way to return to their
Father and their original identity in Him. Remember, Adam voluntarily
left his Father. The mission of Jesus was to return fatherless humanity
back to God and to restore earthly family relationships to the way He
intended.
Malachi prophesied that the fathers’ hearts would begin to turn
toward their children when a prophet came to prepare the way for the
Messiah. That prophet was John the Baptist. When the angel Gabriel
appeared to John’s father, Zechariah, telling him about John’s forthcom‑
ing birth, he quoted from the Malachi passage we read yesterday:
Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to
the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord. (Luke 1:16–17)
The people needed to return to their Creator and Father. John the
Baptist was preparing them for what they desperately needed—One who
could lead them back to the heavenly Father. The problem of father‑
lessness that started with Adam still affects us to this day. Jesus came
to eliminate the pain and devastation of fatherlessness. Brothers, our
nations could be healed if every man became a responsible father through
Christ.
Thought for the Day

Jesus provided the orphaned children of humanity with the way
to return to their Father and their original identity in Him.
November 337
November 23
Jesus and His Father
My Father, who has given them [My disciples] to me, is greater than all; no
one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
—John 10:29–30
J esus spoke of His Father more than anyone else. He expressed and
emphatically confessed His need for, dependency on, and submission
to His Father at every opportunity. He never hesitated to give credit to
His Father for any activity or success, thereby confirming the sustaining
work of God in His life. He saw His Father as the Source, Resource, and
Purpose for His entire life.
Whenever Jesus was questioned about His identity, His work, His
purpose, His heritage, His power, His authority, His family, His message,
His philosophy, His theology, His legitimacy, or His destiny, He referred
to “My Father.”
How many men do you know today who speak of their fathers in such
a way? Of course, Jesus was referring to God Himself, the perfect Father.
Yet, how many men give their fathers credit for any of their activities and
successes? On the contrary, most men today consider it “less manly” to
give credit to another because it is perceived as a weakness. What a stark
contrast to the attitude of the ultimate Man, Jesus Christ! His perception
of, and relationship with, His Father should serve as the standard by which
we measure the effectiveness and success of true fatherhood.
I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always
do what pleases him. (John 8:28–29)
Thought for the Day

Jesus emphatically confessed His need for, dependency on,
and submission to His Father at every opportunity.

November 24
Counterfeit Fathers
J esus declared, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came
from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me”
(John 8:42). Jesus was addressing those who did not believe in Him. The
root of their unbelief was that they did not know the heavenly Father. If
you don’t know the Father, you cannot know His Son. Unbelief is caused
by fatherlessness.
Similarly, wayward children, in effect, have no father. They have no
respect for their elders and cannot submit to authority. Children need to
learn about God the Father through fathers who teach them about Him
and His ways.
I thank God for my earthly father. He made certain that his children
respected their elders. He taught me about authority. My father gener‑
ated in me the knowledge of what submission, authority, and respect are
all about. He was the source of my understanding about fathers because
he knew God the Father.
Unfortunately, many children today do not have a father in the
home. They don’t have the benefit of a father to create within them the
respect they need for other authority figures. Instead, they curse people
on the streets, talk back to their teachers, and utterly disrespect their
elders. Without godly fathers creating in us a knowledge, respect, and
fear of God, we are destined to be spiritual orphans. By not knowing our
real Father—and not having our identity in Him—we inevitably substitute
a fraud and counterfeit.
Thought for the Day

If you don’t know the Father, you cannot know His Son.
Reading: Ezekiel 22–23; 1 Peter 1
November 339
November 25
A New Identity
J esus knew that the Jews of His day had become fatherless in regard to
their relationship with God. They thought that Abraham was their
father, failing to recognize that the God and Father of Abraham was their
Source. They had lost a sense of their true identity. The Jews, as a race of
people, did not start with father Abraham. It was God, Abraham’s Father,
who called them into being. Like them, we need to change fathers. We
have lost our original Father God, and we follow a stepfather, the devil,
with contaminated blood and genes filled with evil and ignorance.
Jesus spoke to the religious leaders who questioned His identity and
integrity,
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your
father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to
the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his
native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
Jesus wanted God’s rebellious children to turn their hearts back to
the Father and away from Satan. Everything He did was to get us back
to the Father. After Jesus returned to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to
live within those who had been restored to their relationship with the
Father. Through faith in Jesus, God has provided a way for us to be set
free from our stepfather and born anew into His family. Paul wrote that
we are “new creations” in Christ Jesus. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17.) That
new creation includes a new Father and a new identity.
Thought for the Day

Through Jesus’ redemption, we have a new Father
and a new identity.

November 26
Knowing God the Father
And he will he called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.
—Isaiah 9:6
S ince Jesus is the Everlasting Father, as well as the Son, His father‑
hood requires us to be submitted and obedient to His every word,
because all that He says and commands comes straight from the Father.
In this way, we are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of
Jesus Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18.) In His likeness is the perfect image
of what it means to be both a child of the heavenly Father and a father to
our own offspring, so that their hearts will be turned to the Father.
Remember these key principles for knowing God the Father:
• As the Source, God the Father had everything in Him before any‑
thing was. Everything that exists was in God.
• God is the Progenitor. He upholds and supports all that He created.
• Sin is the result of the first man—Adam—turning his back on his
Father.
• Salvation is the result of a Man—Jesus, the Second Adam—providing
us with the way to return to the Father.
• Fathers are progenitors. They birth generations after them that are
like themselves and their forefathers. When a man is fathered by
God, he produces godly fathers.
• Fathers are the source of instruction, information, and knowledge
about God the Source.
We learn how God disciplines, teaches, instructs, and acts through
earthly fathers who emulate the Father.
Thought for the Day

Jesus is the perfect image of what it means to be both a child of
the heavenly Father and a father to our own offspring.
November 341
November 27
Fishers of Men
T he primary mission of the church is to be “fishers of men.” (See

Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17.) In doing so, the church calls men back
to their original Father, and they are restored to the Father by salvation
through the Son. When men return to the Father, they can be sustained
and nurtured by their Source and then become the sustainers they are
called to be for their families.
Remember, when humanity fell, God never asked the woman where
she was, but the man. “The Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”
(Genesis 3:9). In other words, Adam was out of position. The foundation
had been shaken and destroyed. The whole of creation was unbalanced.
God fathered Adam so that he could father and sustain Eve. Without
fathers, marriages, families, communities, and nations lie in shambles.
A nation can be sustained, nurtured, and protected only when men are
fathers like the Father.
Isaiah prophesied what would happen when men abandoned true
fatherhood and the foundations of the culture shattered. “Youths oppress
my people, women rule over them. O my people, your guides lead you astray; they
turn you from the path” (Isaiah 3:12). When women exclusively rule, the
nation, community, or household is in trouble.
Isaiah 3:12 describes a society or nation much like those in the world
today in which women chase after men, men rule like mad children, and
boys—not men—become leaders. In such cultures, immorality and satanic
oppression will be rampant. If an enemy wanted to destroy a nation, a
community, or a family, whom would the enemy attack? The father is a
primary target of Satan’s attack! When fathers move out of their place as
sustainers, nurturers, and protectors, the foundations are destroyed and
society crumbles.
Thought for the Day

The primary mission of the church is to be “fishers of men.”

November 28
An Unshakable Foundation
I t is time for churches to go after men and lead them back to the Father
through Jesus Christ. When men get back to Christ, they return to
their rightful position in creation as fathers like the Father. Only then
can men bring healing to the brokenness and sustain their marriages,
families, communities, and nations.
Men who live like the heavenly Father are the unshakable foundation
God purposed from the beginning. In Christ, men return to their Source—
God the Father—and then become sustainers, nurturers, and protectors.
Fathering like the heavenly Father encompasses these principles:
• In His foreknowledge, God spoke creation into being in order to
sustain those created in His image.
• God wanted everyone to have one source, so He put the initial seed
for their existence in one body—Adam’s.
• The foundation for the whole human family is the male. Everything
to sustain women should come from their fathers or their husbands
(who are also their “fathers”).
• A father, like God, sustains, nourishes, and protects what comes out
of him as the source.
• Fatherhood is the foundation of the family, the church, and the
culture.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has
anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners.…They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations. (Isaiah 61:1, 4)
Thought for the Day

Men who live like the heavenly Father are the unshakable
foundation God purposed from the beginning.
November 343
November 29
Too Tough to Worship?
S ome men have been restored to their heavenly Father through Christ,
but they have the idea that they’re too tough to worship Him, as if it
isn’t manly. Let me ask you: Who wrote the book in the Bible that’s filled
with worship and praise? It was a man who killed a lion and a bear with
his bare hands. He killed a ten-foot giant with a rock.
Anyone can sit down in a pew and fold his arms. It takes a giant-
slayer like David to write things like, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is
your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm
8:1), and “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord” (Psalm 34:1–2). I love to worship more than
anything else. I’ve led worship in our church for years. I’ve written books
on it. Worship is the most important thing in my life because it protects
the rest of my life and gives glory to God.
Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Yet,
when they do go to church, many men feel ashamed to lift their hands
to the God who made them. Satan doesn’t want you ever to feel com‑
fortable worshipping God, because when you worship Him, you attract
His presence. When you become ashamed of public worship, you are an
embarrassment to God’s assignment for you as a man. On Sunday, you
should be the first one at church, sitting up front, because you are the
worship leader of your family—not your wife, sisters, or daughters. The
first thing that makes you a man is your capacity to enter Eden—the pres‑
ence of your God.
Thought for the Day

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

November 30
A Beneficial Union
“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial.
W e have seen that when a man gets into God’s presence, when he
falls in love with God’s presence, he begins to function as he
was meant to. Women, when a man wants to marry you, do not ask him
if he loves you; ask him if he loves God. If his love for God is not his first
priority, then he is a poor prospect for a fulfilling, lasting relationship.
Refuse to form relationships with plastic men who melt when the
heat and pressures of life get turned up high. Find someone who is real.
Until you find a man who knows that God the Father is his Source and
Sustainer, you must lean on Jesus. He will husband you until you find a
man who can be a godly husband and father.
Some single people become nervous and depressed that they’re get‑
ting older, and so they marry the first person who comes along. They
are permitted to marry. They are of age. It is permissible—but will it
be beneficial to them? The criteria for marriage is not merely being old
enough, but also whether or not it will be beneficial. If you don’t have a
clear understanding of the purpose of marriage, it’s not going to benefit
you. If your spouse doesn’t have a clear understanding of who he or she
is in Christ and who males and females were created to be, it will not be
beneficial for you.
Follow God’s purpose and you will avoid heartache and regret in
your relationships because His purpose is the key to your fulfillment.
Thought for the Day

Women, when a man wants to marry you, do not ask him
if he loves you; ask him if he loves God.
November 345
December 1
The Blessing of Differences
A s we have seen throughout this year, males and females perceive

the world in very distinct ways, and they react differently to people
and circumstances. However, they complement one another perfectly,
bringing balance to each other’s lives. What one fails to see, the other
perceives. Where one is weak, the other is strong.
No one person, and no one gender, can look at the world with com‑
plete perspective. Therefore, God has designed things so that when men
and women live and work together in harmony, His purposes are accom‑
plished on the earth and both male and female can have a wiser and richer
experience of life. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for
their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10).
Needs are a built-in component to men and women because of the
way they are designed. However, when we focus only on our own needs,
and when we refuse to be content unless they are met immediately, we
bring conflict and unhappiness into our relationships. We stop seeing
one another as gifts from God and start resenting one another.
If you want to be blessed, don’t focus on your needs; rather, discover
what the other person’s needs are and seek to fulfill them. This approach
will become a double blessing, because consistently meeting the needs
of another person will often cause that person to want to fulfill yours.
Whenever you are not receiving what you need in a relationship, evalu‑
ate whether you have been trying to meet the other person’s needs first.
Giving to others by satisfying their needs—not demanding to have our
own needs satisfied—will bring true fulfillment.
Thought for the Day

When we focus on only our own needs, and when we refuse to
be content unless they are met immediately, we bring conflict
and unhappiness into our relationships.

December 2
Fulfillment in Life and Relationships
I n this devotional, I have emphasized the vital truth that God’s purpose
determines design in creation. My desire is that this truth would per‑
meate your thinking about the relationship between females and males,
because it is such a fundamental principle and is crucial to understand‑
ing their differences. In this final month of the year, therefore, we will
summarize several major differences between men and women based on
their distinct designs, such as the following:
• Women tend to takes things to heart; men tend to take things
impersonally.
• Women are like computers. Their minds keep processing in the
background until a problem is solved. Men are like filing cabinets.
They take problems, put them in the file, and close the drawer.
• A woman’s home is an extension of her personality; a man’s job is
an extension of his personality.
• Women tend to be guilt-prone; men tend to be resentful.
• Women are constantly changing; men level off and stay the same.
• Women tend to become involved with things more easily and more
quickly; men tend to stand back and evaluate.
Considering these differences, in addition to the others we’ve dis‑
cussed throughout this year, we shouldn’t wonder why men and women
have misunderstandings and conflicts in their relationships! Yet we need
to keep in mind that the above differences are related to the specific
designs of women and men. Again, males and females must understand
that fulfillment in life and in relationships can come only when they
work together to address one another’s needs.
Thought for the Day

Fulfillment in life and in relationships can come only when
males and females work together to address one another’s needs.
Reading: Ezekiel 42–44; 1 John 1
December 347
December 3
Giving and Receiving
M ales and females were created both similarly and differently in

order to fulfill God’s purposes. Just as God drew mankind from
Himself, creating humans as spiritual beings, He drew the woman out
of the man and made her a physical being. This parallel in creation illus‑
trates the oneness and mutual love that God and man, and male and
female, were created to have.
The male is essentially a “giver.” He is designed to give to the woman.
Built into the man’s desire to work and provide is his need to give. God
designed the male to gain satisfaction from both working and providing.
When he’s able to do these two things, he’s a happy man. If you want to
undermine a man’s nature, then provide for him instead of letting him
provide.
The woman is essentially a “receiver.” If you look at the way the female
body is made, she is a receiver from A to Z. She receives seed into her
physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual wombs, incubates it, and
makes it something greater than she was originally given. Her receiving
complements the male’s giving. The woman is of the same essence as the
man because the receiver has to be like the giver. However, in order for the
woman to be the receiver, she also has to be different from the man.
These differences are complementary in nature and are designed so
that the male and female can fulfill one another’s emotional and physical
needs while they are spiritually nourished by God and His love—and so
that, together, they can fulfill their mandate to have dominion over the
world.
Thought for the Day

Men and women were created with complementary designs
that reflect their individual roles in fulfilling the larger
purposes for which they were created.

December 4
Woman Made for Man
Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
H ave you noticed the mystery in this statement? The man was not
made for the woman; the woman was made for the man. This
means that the woman was made for whatever the man has. All of his
money—she was made for it. All of his vision—she was made for it. All of
his dreams—she was made to help bring them to pass. All of his hopes—
she was made to help see that they become reality.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s
womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your
works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13–14)
A woman’s mind is an awesome machine. God gave the woman a
way of thinking that is amazing. If you take a little thought, a little idea,
and drop it into a woman’s mind, you’ll never get that simple idea back—
you’ll get a fully developed plan.
Do you know why many men turn the running of the home over
to their wives? A woman can take a mortgage that’s overdue or a busi‑
ness that’s falling apart and say, “You sit down; let me handle this.” She
knows how to get a man through these things. She can dig him out of
a hole. The sad thing is that when some men get out of the hole, they
proceed to walk over their wives. The unique qualities and contributions
of women must be valued by men. Men, I pray that during this year, you
have developed a great appreciation for the women in your life and the
gifts God has given them.
Thought for the Day

A woman’s mind is an awesome, God-created machine.
December 349
December 5
The Essence of the Matter
In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man
independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born
of woman. But everything comes from God.
E verything comes full circle. After all that Paul had said up to this
point—that woman came from man and was created for man—he
then placed both male and female in the same spiritual position.
My wife and I are equal before the Lord. She can go before the Lord
and get the same spiritual help that I get. She doesn’t need to go through
me, her husband. That is why, if you are a single mother, your spirit can
go to God and do business with Him. You don’t need to get permission
from a man to go to God; you have a spirit-man within. The essence of the
matter is this: in the spiritual realm, there is no difference between men
and women, but in the physical realm, there has to be the proper relation‑
ship of submission.
Once, I was speaking to a woman who is in management at an
insurance company. She told me, “You know, at work, I’m the boss. Yet
when I walk through the door into my home, I’m a wife.” That’s a smart
woman. Of course, you can be the boss at work. But when you get home,
you’re a wife, and your husband is your head, or authority. That means
you can’t treat your husband like one of your employees at the office. An
altogether different authority takes over. Yet a husband has to under‑
stand that he is supposed to be in the Lord when he’s in the home, and
that he himself is under God’s authority.
Thought for the Day

In the spiritual realm, there is no difference between men
and women, but in the physical realm, there has to be the proper
relationship of submission.
Reading: Daniel 1–2; 1 John 4
December 6
Need for Respect/Need for Love
Each one of you [husbands] also must love his wife as he loves himself, and
the wife must respect her husband.
—Ephesians 5:33
A s we have discovered this year, a man doesn’t just desire respect; it

is one of his primary needs. It is part of his nature as leader, protec‑
tor, and provider. The need for respect is at the core of his self-esteem,
and it affects every other area of his life. More than anyone else, a wife
can meet her husband’s need for admiration and respect by understand‑
ing his value and achievements. She needs to remind him of his capabili‑
ties and help him to maintain his self-confidence. She should be proud
of her husband, not out of duty, but as an expression of sincere admira‑
tion for the man with whom she has chosen to share her life.
God created the female so the male would have someone with whom
to share earthly love. To love means to cherish and to care for. Because
she was created for the purpose of receiving love, a woman doesn’t just
desire love; she truly requires it. As much as a man needs to know that
he is respected, a woman needs to feel that she is loved. A woman wants
to feel that she is important and special to her husband. When a man
spends time with a woman, it makes her feel cherished because she knows
she comes first in his life. She feels cared for when he goes out of his way
to make sure she has everything she needs.
Thought for the Day

The need for respect lies at the core of a man’s self-esteem, while
receiving love is a woman’s greatest need.
Reading: Daniel 3–4; 1 John 5
December 351
December 7
Need for Recreation/Need
for Conversation
A man’s competitive nature leads to his need for recreational compan‑

ionship, his need to be involved in challenging activities. Although
he likes to win, he also desires to share these experiences with others.
Nothing blesses a man more than when a woman is involved in his favor‑
ite recreation. If a wife participates in what her husband enjoys doing
and lets him tell her all about it, she can strengthen her relationship
with him. He will feel good that she is involved in his interests. When
a couple shares important aspects of their lives with one another, they
build understanding, companionship, and intimacy in their marriage.
A woman has a need for conversation. Yet, because males have
a leadership mind-set, sometimes their conversations with their wives
amount to instructions rather than a give-and-take dialogue. A woman
desires to have a man talk with her, not at her.
Some men don’t realize that a woman has a need to express herself
and therefore has much within her that she wants to share. A man can
fulfill a woman’s need for intimate conversation by continually making a
point to communicate with her. To truly meet her need, he should talk
with her at the feeling level and not just the knowledge and information
level. She needs him to listen to her attitudes about the events of her
day with sensitivity, interest, and concern, resisting the impulse to offer
quick solutions. Instead, he should offer his full attention and under‑
standing.
Thought for the Day

A male needs to share his interests, and a female needs
conversation: these related needs can be a wonderful bridge of
communication between men and women.
Reading: Daniel 5–7; 2 John

December 8
Need for Sex/Need for Affection
I t is important for a woman to be sensitive to her husband’s need for

sex. Sometimes, a woman sees a man’s sexual energy as animalistic
and thoughtless. If his approach is too abrupt or too aggressive, she may
tell him to leave her alone. There are also times when she is not ready
for sexual relations because of her cycle, so she will put him off. In these
situations, the man may interpret her refusals as disinterest or disrespect,
instead of recognizing the underlying reasons behind them.
While one of the male’s primary needs is sex, one of the female’s
primary needs is affection. The woman’s natural focus is on the sensory,
intuitive, and emotional realms of life, and this is why she has a cor‑
responding need for affection. She needs an atmosphere of affection in
order to feel loved and fulfilled.
Men and women need to understand that affection creates the envi‑
ronment for sexual union in marriage, while sex is the event. Affection
is the environment in which to grow a wonderful marriage. Giving affec‑
tion to a woman means appealing to that which makes her an emotional
being. Sometimes a woman just wants her husband to sit with her, hold
her hand, and talk with her. Her need can also be met by plenty of hugs
and kisses; a steady flow of words, cards, and flowers; common courte‑
sies; and meaningful gifts that show that the man is thinking of her—that
he esteems her and values her presence in his life.
The Bible says that husbands and wives are to fulfill one another’s
sexual needs. (See 1 Corinthians 7:3–5.) It also says that a husband is to
be sensitive to his wife’s overall needs, treating her with kindness and
respect. Men and women must balance having their own needs fulfilled
with showing consideration for one another.
Thought for the Day

Men and women must balance having their own needs fulfilled
with showing consideration for one another.
Reading: Daniel 8–10; 3 John
December 353
December 9
Different Approaches to Life
O ver the months, we have looked at many examples that illustrate

the remarkable difference in how men and women approach and
react to life. While some people may question this, I believe that the
male is naturally a “logical thinker,” whereas the female is naturally an
“emotional feeler.”
Fewer nerves connect the two hemispheres of the male’s brain com‑
pared to a woman’s brain, so that the logical and emotional sides are not
as closely related as they are for women. Because of this, a male basically
needs to “shift gears” to move from his dominant, logical side to his
emotional side. This is why men often think in a linear fashion—like a
straight line, the shortest distance between two points—which gives them
the ability to see to the goal and focus their energies on reaching it.
Because men think linearly, they often dismiss women as emotional
or illogical. They don’t understand how women are made and the per‑
spective they provide on life. Unlike the male brain, the neural pathways
between the left and right hemispheres of a woman’s brain (both the
logical and the emotional sides) are intact. This is why women are able
to do multiple tasks at the same time rather than focusing on just one. A
woman tends to think more like a grid than a straight line. Recall that
she can perceive, analyze, evaluate, and see relationships between things
all at the same time, like x, y, and z coordinates on a grid track a multiple
of factors at the same time.
Instead of dismissing each other as “unfeeling” or “emotional,” men
and woman need to appreciate their unique perspectives, which can
greatly benefit one another.
Thought for the Day

The next time you are tempted to label members of the opposite
sex as “unfeeling” or “too emotional,” stop and appreciate their
unique outlook, which brings balance and perspective to your life.
Reading: Daniel 11–12; Jude

December 10
Differences in Speaking/Listening
W hen a male speaks, it is generally an expression of what he is

thinking. When a female speaks, it is usually an expression of
what she is feeling. As we have seen, they are communicating two com‑
pletely different types of information. Women often don’t understand
how very hard it is for men to express their feelings. It’s very important for
a woman not to come to any firm conclusions about a man’s motivation
for what he’s saying until she discovers what he’s feeling.
In contrast, a woman doesn’t always tell a man what she’s thinking.
If she becomes emotional, he needs to be patient and work through her
emotions to find out what she’s thinking. Sometimes, he has to dig deep
to find out what is actually on her mind because what a woman is think‑
ing may be different from what she is saying.
As a “logical thinker,” a man will hear a verbal communication and
conclude that it is useful or worthless, true or untrue, logical or illogi‑
cal. It is all facts and information to him. However, because a woman
is an “emotional feeler,” she evaluates both the verbal and nonverbal
communication she receives and perceives from the world around her.
When a woman receives information, she assesses it both mentally and
emotionally at the same time, while the male generally uses these func‑
tions separately.
Once men and women understand their differences, however, they
can exercise patience and endeavor to come to the heart of the matter.
Both men and women will experience great satisfaction when they are
truly listened to and appreciated.
Thought for the Day

A man says what he thinks. A woman says what she feels.
Reading: Hosea 1–4; Revelation 1
December 355
December 11
Differences in Problem Solving
M en and women’s distinct approaches to problem solving often

cause them to react differently to life’s difficulties or to conflicts
in interpersonal relationships.
Men generally are like filing cabinets: they make decisions quickly and
“file” them away in their minds. Or, they put a problem in a mental “to do”
folder and go on to other things. They reopen the folder only when they
feel ready to deal with it. In contrast, women generally are like computers.
Their minds keep working things through until a problem is solved.
Men tend to be resentful about problems, and it’s harder for them to
see past their anger. They might just “file away” their problems and ignore
them for awhile. On the other hand, women are guilt-prone; therefore,
they often feel responsible for these situations, whether they have caused
them or not. Even if they are angry, they will look within to see what they
could have done differently or how they can resolve the situation.
Men and women can eliminate much frustration in their relation‑
ships by understanding each other’s problem-solving strengths and using
them to benefit one another. For instance, a woman can assist a man in
resolving a problem with a coworker by talking through the difficulty
with him and helping him to recognize the motivations and feelings
involved. A man can help a woman reach a decision more quickly by
acknowledging her feelings about a situation but also clearly outlining
for her the facts and options involved. Taking into consideration both
intuitive and factual information will help men and women to make
better decisions.
Thought for the Day

Different approaches to problem solving often are the reason men
and women will react differently to life’s difficulties or conflicts
in interpersonal relationships.

December 12
Differences in Realizing Goals
W hen it comes to material things, such as a job task, a building

project, or financial planning, men want to know the details of
how to get there. They like to know what steps they must take to achieve
a task. In contrast, women tend to look at overall goals. They think about
what they want to accomplish rather than focusing on a step-by-step out‑
line of what needs to be done. While a man will sit down and write out
a list of points, a woman might just start doing something to make sure
it gets done.
However, when it comes to spiritual or intangible things, the oppo‑
site is generally true: males look at overall goals, while females want to
know how to get there. These tendencies are why men usually remember
the gist of a matter, while women often remember the details and over‑
look the gist. Men are interested in the principle, the abstract, the philoso‑
phy. They see the general direction they need to go in spiritually, and they
head toward it. As long as they know what they believe, they don’t always
see the need for activities designed to help them arrive at their goal. How‑
ever, women like to be involved in the process. They will attend prayer
meetings and Bible studies, read Christian books, and participate more in
the life of the church because it will help them grow spiritually.
Men and women can bring balance to one another in both mate‑
rial and spiritual things by helping each other to keep visions and goals
clearly in mind while identifying the steps that are necessary to accom‑
plish them effectively.
Thought for the Day

When it comes to spiritual things, males look at overall goals,
while females want to know how to get there. Men see the
general direction they need to go in, while women like
to be involved in the process.
December 357
December 13
Differences in Personality and
Self-Perception
A man’s job is an extension of his personality, whereas a woman’s

home is an extension of hers. This difference can cause much con‑
flict in relationships. A woman may want her husband to spend time with
her at home, but he can enjoy working twelve hours a day away from the
home because he’s cultivating something that is a reflection of who he is.
Remember, when a man loses his job, it can be devastating to his self-es‑
teem because he considers his job to be almost synonymous with himself.
A woman places high value on her physical surroundings and on
creating a home. Men don’t understand why women become upset when
they track sawdust in the living room after it has just been vacuumed.
Men are not trying to be inconsiderate; they just don’t think in the same
terms that women do. When the beauty and order of the home are dis‑
turbed, it can be unsettling for a woman.
Another aspect of the differences in male and female personality
is that men’s personalities are fairly consistent, while women are con‑
tinually changing. Women seek personal growth and development more
than men do. They like to redecorate the home, discover new skills, or
gain a new outlook. Men are often satisfied to follow the same routines,
think in the same patterns, and wear the same suits—for twenty years!
Understanding these differences in personality traits is essential
because they involve sensitive areas of our lives, such as what we value
and how we perceive ourselves. Men and women can use their knowledge
of these distinctions to build up each another’s self-esteem and to give
each other latitude when they view life differently.
Thought for the Day

Men’s personalities are fairly consistent, while women
are continually changing.

December 14
Differences in Ideas of Security
and Comfort
B ecause men put a strong emphasis on their jobs and are not as
emotionally connected to their physical surroundings, they have
a tendency to be nomadic as they look for new career opportunities.
Conversely, many women have a great need for security and roots. While
a move due to a new job seems like an adventure for a man and signals
progress in his career, it can be stressful and difficult for his wife, who
may have to leave family and friends behind for an uncertain future.
Women will also change geographic locations for jobs; however, married
women are less willing to make a move to advance their own jobs than
they are for their husbands’ jobs. They are less inclined to want to dis‑
rupt the lives of their families, especially when they have children.
On the other hand, when it comes to encountering something new,
men tend to stand back and evaluate at first. Women are more ready to
accept new experiences, and they participate in them more easily.
Matters involving security and comfort can require great under‑
standing on the part of a spouse. They reflect issues such as fulfillment,
trustworthiness, fear, and feelings of instability. When men or women
want to make job changes or embark on something new, they should be
aware of the possible reactions of their spouses and show kindness and
patience as they work through these potential changes to their lives.
Thought for the Day

Matters involving security and comfort can require great
understanding on the part of a spouse because they reflect
issues such as fulfillment, trustworthiness, fear, and
feelings of instability.
Reading: Joel; Revelation 5
December 359
December 15
Fulfilling One Another’s Needs
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
—2 Timothy 3:16–17
I n Hosea 4:6, God says that His people are being destroyed. In this
context, He does not say they are destroyed because of sin or because
of the devil, but because of a lack of knowledge. Where there is a break‑
down in communication, or any other problem in your relationships,
there is often something more you need to learn about the other person’s
needs and your own creation design that can meet those needs. Where
do we get the knowledge that we need? From the Word of God.
We have seen that the primary areas of need for women and men
are love/respect, conversation/recreational companionship, and affec‑
tion/sex. Numerous couples have had their marriages transformed by
learning to understand their spouse’s needs and seeking to fulfill them
while offering unconditional love. If you will apply the principles we’ve
shared each day, I believe they will make a significant positive difference
in your relationships.
These principles are drawn from God’s Word. We need continual
training in God’s principles. The Bible equips us to be the women and
men that we were designed to be. I encourage you to be a person of the
Word as you endeavor to understand God’s purposes and design for
humanity and seek to meet the needs of those with whom you are in
relationship. May you be blessed as you are a blessing to others.
Thought for the Day

Numerous couples have had their marriages transformed by
learning their spouse’s needs and seeking to fulfill them while
offering unconditional love.
Reading: Amos 1–3; Revelation 6

December 16
Principles of Gender Differences
R eview these principles of gender differences and reflect on how you can
apply them in your relationships with members of the opposite sex.
1. Men and women have perfectly complementary designs. They bring
balance to one another’s lives and are interdependent.
2. When men and women don’t appreciate their differences, they
experience conflict. When they value each other’s purposes, they
can have rewarding lives and relationships.
3. The primary needs of males are (1) respect, (2) recreational com‑
panionship, and (3) sex. The primary needs of females are (1) love,
(2) conversation, and (3) affection.
4. A male is naturally a “logical thinker,” while a female is naturally an
“emotional feeler.” A male generally expresses what he’s thinking. A
female usually expresses what she’s feeling.
5. Men are often like filing cabinets: they make quick decisions and
mentally file them away, or they create mental “to do” folders to
review at a later time. Women are generally like computers: their
minds keep working through problems until they are solved.
6. A man’s job is an extension of his personality, while a woman’s
home is an extension of hers. A man’s personality is fairly consistent,
while a woman is continually changing.
7. Men are generally nomadic, while women often need security and
roots.
8. When encountering something new, men tend to stand back and
evaluate, while women are more ready to accept new experiences,
and they participate in them more easily.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your perfect design of males and females. We
know Your Word says You have made us wondrously. Help us to
accept the strengths and weaknesses in one another so that we can
truly live in the harmony You intended for us as we seek to meet
each other’s needs. We want to see Your purposes accomplished
through us as we serve You together. In Jesus’ name, amen.
December 361
December 17
Ten Keys to True Manhood
A s we have seen, the foundation for the human family is the male.
How the male perceives himself and how he lives affect all of
his relationships and the quality of life of those around him. Starting
tomorrow, I would like to share ten keys to becoming a real man that
incorporate the themes, truths, and principles we’ve learned throughout
these months—all of which come down to a stewardship of the lives and
resources God has entrusted to us. When God gave man dominion over
the earth, He was saying, “I am giving you stewardship over creation. Take
care of it, so that it will always be a reflection of My character and pur‑
poses.” To be a steward means to be given a trust over what belongs to
someone else. A man is responsible for living out God’s purposes in the
world and enabling others to do so, also.
Men, you must realize that you are born a male, but you have to
become a man. This means that someone could actually grow up to be
just an old male, never living as a real man. We have learned that a male
can be transformed into the man God purposed when He created the
world. Becoming God’s man is the only way a male can live a satisfying
and meaningful life, because His purpose is the key to fulfillment.
Meditate on the keys presented over the next several days until the
true meaning of what it is to be a man permeates your understanding,
and God’s presence and purpose overflow from your life to the world
around you.
Thought for the Day

You are born a male, but you have to become a man.

December 18
Keys to True Manhood:
Loving and Reflecting God
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in
your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
—Psalm 16:11
Key #1
A real man desires and loves God.
A real man seeks intimate communion with God by remaining con‑

tinually in His presence. He loves to worship the One who created
and redeemed him. A real man’s spiritual priorities take precedence over
his physical and temporal ones. In Luke 4:3, the devil tempted Jesus with
a physical need: “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus replied, in essence, “No, you don’t understand. I have My priorities
sorted out. I would rather be in God’s presence than satisfy any temporal
hunger.” (See verse 4.) A real man is clear about what his priorities are.
Key #2
A real man seeks to restore God’s image in himself.
A real man wants to be spiritually renewed so that the fullness of
God’s image and likeness is restored to his life. He seeks to return to the
original plan that God intended when He first made man. This plan is
that males and females would reflect the nature of God, who is Spirit,
while living as physical beings on the earth. A real man is not deceived
by or enamored of counterfeit images of manhood, such as the popular
culture presents. A real man wants to be what he was created to be. He
wants to be like his Father God.
Thought for the Day

A real man wants to be like his Father God.
Reading: Obadiah; Revelation 9
December 363
December 19
Developing Your Gifts and Talents
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me
and to finish his work.”
—John 4:34
I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
—John 17:4
Key #3
A real man aspires to work and to develop his gifts and talents.
J esus was intent on doing His Father’s work to completion. A real man
aspires to do the work of God the Father while developing and using
the gifts and talents God has given him. He isn’t lazy; he has a vision for
his life, and he is willing to work to fulfill it. In God’s economy, a man
who works and makes mistakes is better than a man who doesn’t do
anything.
A real man’s motivation for work is to fulfill the purposes for which
he was created. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not
because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your
fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:26–27). In other words, there’s
a higher reason to work. Don’t work just to pay bills. Don’t work just to
buy food. Understand the true nature of work. In the garden of Eden,
there was no supervisor, no one to hand out paychecks. Work was given
to Adam because it was a natural part of his being. Through work, he
fulfilled his purpose as a man. God wants us to go to work to multiply
His kingdom on earth.
Thought for the Day

A real man aspires to do the work of God the Father.
Reading: Jonah; Revelation 10

December 20
Honoring Your Marriage
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God
will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
—Hebrews 13:4
Key #4
A real man honors his marriage and family above personal interests.
J esus’ first miracle was at a wedding. (See John 2:1–11.) In this way, His
ministry was introduced to the world as one that supports the family.
Jesus is a family Man. His number one desire right now is to be married
to His bride, the church. The books of Ephesians and Colossians say
that the Holy Spirit is our seal of salvation. Like an engagement ring, the
Spirit is our promise that we’re going to be married to our Bridegroom,
Jesus. The book of Revelation says that Jesus is waiting for His bride.
After He returns to earth for us, we will be with Him at the Marriage
Supper of the Lamb. We will be consummated with Christ.
Jesus loves His betrothed. He is a family Man, and He takes care of
His bride. The Bible says that He gave His life for her. He cleanses her “by
the washing with water through the word” (Ephesians. 5:26). A man is to love
his wife “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.…Husbands
ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (vv. 25, 28). A real man protects
and takes care of his wife and family, looking out for their needs before
his own. A few real men who truly understood this truth and endeav‑
ored to live it out could set a standard for entire nations.
Thought for the Day

Jesus is a family Man, and He takes care of His bride;
husbands need to do the same for their wives.
Reading: Micah 1–3; Revelation 11
December 365
December 21
Filling Your Life with the Word
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you….I
meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
—Psalm 119:11, 15–16
Key #5
A real man endeavors to learn, live, and teach God’s
Word and principles.
I n Genesis 2:15–17, God commanded the first man to keep His word,
saying that if he disobeyed it, he would die. In this act, He established
the principle that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that
comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
A real man is a man of principles. He realizes that his spirit must
be nourished by the Word of God or his spiritual health will decline.
God’s Word determines the precepts by which he lives. Because he is a
responsible leader, he is also committed to teaching the Scriptures to his
family.
A real man allows the Word to transform his life so that he can rep‑
resent God’s will on earth, thus spreading the garden of God’s presence
to a world living in the darkness of sin and separation from God.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become
blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and
depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as
you hold out the word of life. (Philippians 2:14–16)
Thought for the Day

A real man allows the Word to transform his life so that he can
represent God’s will on earth.

December 22
Living by Faith and Cultivating Others
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
—Hebrews 11:1
Key #6
A real man demonstrates faith and inspires it in others.
W hen you return to God’s original image for men, you become a
person who helps people believe that anything is possible. You
become like Jesus. He was the only One in history who said, “Nothing
is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Jesus not only said it, but He also
believed it. That’s why the beggar, the prostitute, and the religious man
all kept coming to Him. He made them believe nothing was impossible.
A real man has a spirit of faith and inspires others.
Counterfeit men have no faith. But, even in the darkest hour, a real
man believes there’s a way out. He will tell you a thousand times, “Get
up again; you can do it.” A real man might be scared, but he won’t worry,
because he trusts in God to finish the work He began. The faith of a real
man believes in what God said, not in what he sees.
Key #7
A real man is committed to cultivating others to be the best they can be.
A real man encourages others to reflect the image and creativity of
God in all they are and do—spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and
physically. He prays for wisdom and guidance on how to cultivate his wife
and children so they can mature in Christ and become all that God has
created them to be. He encourages his family to develop their gifts and
talents in any way he can. He delights in seeing these gifts unfold in their
lives, just as God delights in seeing us use our abilities for His glory.
Thought for the Day

A real man helps people to believe that anything is possible.
December 367
December 23
Treating Others as God Treats You
What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
—Micah 6:8
Key #8
A real man loves compassion, mercy, and justice.
A real man exercises compassion, mercy, and justice. Through them,

he shows true strength and brings the kingdom of God to others.
Compassion is passion that is aimed at setting people free. Jesus was
compassionate. If people were hungry, He had compassion and fed them.
If they were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), He had com‑
passion and said, “I am the Good Shepherd; I’ll lead you.” (See John
10:11–15.) To show compassion means to apply one’s strength to meet
people’s needs.
Mercy is not treating a person as he deserves when he has committed
a wrong against you. God has extended mercy to us in salvation. “But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us” (Romans 5:8). As His representatives on earth, we are to show mercy,
also. We are not to seek revenge against others, but to freely forgive them
and do everything we can to lead them to Christ. “We are therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you
on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Justice means doing what is right by others. God hates injustice. A
real man reflects His nature and character by following His command to
“act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Thought for the Day

Through compassion, mercy, and justice, a real man shows true
strength and brings the kingdom of God to others.
Reading: Nahum; Revelation 14

December 24
Committing to God and His Kingdom
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
—Matthew 6:10
Key #9
A real man is faithful to the kingdom of God and His church.
I n Matthew 6:33, Jesus reduced life to one thing: “Seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He
was saying, in effect, “You are talking about your mortgages, cars, cloth‑
ing, food, drink, and everything else. Get your priorities straight.”
A real man has a passion to see the kingdom of God established.
Sinners make him sad. Broken lives depress him. People who don’t know
Christ concern him. A real man rejoices when people are delivered
from the devil. Jesus sent out His disciples with the authority to cast out
demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead. (See Luke 10:1–20.) When
they came back, what did Jesus do? The Bible says He was “full of joy” (v.
21). Jesus was excited about men setting other men free. Real men have
the spirit of the Great Commission in their lives: a love for souls and a
passion for others to know Christ.
Key #10
A real man keeps himself in God.
Our final key is that a real man doesn’t take God’s presence in
His life for granted. He guards his heart and actions so that he can stay
close to God and continually reflect His character and ways. He puts
the entire weight of his trust in the Lord because he knows that God is
“able to keep [him] from falling and to present [him] before his glorious presence
without fault and with great joy” (Jude 24).
Thought for the Day

A real man doesn’t take God’s presence in his life for granted.
Reading: Habakkuk; Revelation 15
December 369
December 25
Called to Peace
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men
on whom his favor rests.
—Luke 2:14
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
—John 14:27
F rom the night of His birth, throughout His earthly ministry, and up
to the present, Jesus gives us peace. As redeemed men and women,
we are called to peace with one another. What Paul wrote about the rec‑
onciliation that Christ brought applies to the male-female relationship:
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the
barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).
Jesus understood people thoroughly, and He also knew who He
was. Understanding the nature of others—and of yourself—is crucial to
maintaining right relationships and not falling prey to selfishness, pride,
resentment, or bitterness, which sow seeds of conflict with others. Always
remember that we have been called to peace.
Now that we have become aware of male/female motivations and
our different approaches and communication styles, we should try not
to react to one another in anger or frustration. Instead of a reaction, let’s
give one another a response—in love. To react is to take action against
someone else before thinking. To respond is to act responsibly in your
dealings with others because you are aware of their motivations and cir‑
cumstances. A reacting person does what is irresponsible by becoming
angry or resentful at another’s behavior. But a responding person takes
responsibility by seeking to understand the other person and by “speaking
the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
Thought for the Day

Instead of a reaction, give a response—in love.
Reading: Zephaniah; Revelation 16
December 26
Let the Peace of Christ Rule
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with
each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
U nderstanding that God designed females and males with different

ways of thinking and communicating will go a long way toward
helping us bear with one another in love. We are all in the process of
learning to be like Christ, of learning how to become what God origi‑
nally intended for us to be when He created males and females. While
we’re still in that learning curve, it is important for us to be patient, kind,
and considerate with one another’s failings.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s
glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 3:17–18)
As we continue to study God’s Word and to follow His Spirit, who
dwells within us and speaks to our hearts, we will be transformed daily
to become more Christlike. As Christ’s true followers, we will reflect His
love and peace toward one another.
Thought for the Day

We are all in the process of learning to be like Christ.
Reading: Haggai; Revelation 17
December 371
December 27
Made for One Another
I am convinced that neither death nor life,…nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38–39
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ.
O ur relationship with our heavenly Father is essential to all other

relationships. A relationship of love was the primary purpose for
which God created man. This is not an abstract concept. This means
that the entire human race—including you and me—was created by God
to be loved by Him. We must always remember this as we seek to apply
His principles to our earthly relationships.
Some years ago, I was pondering the question of why, when human‑
ity rejected God’s ways, God didn’t start over and make a new race of
men. The reason is that God is not a two-timer. His love is pure and
unconditional; it is not based on the actions of the receiver. Therefore,
when we offer our lives to God, we should not do so believing that God
merely feels sorry for us. We should go to God because, in response to
such unconditional love, we can’t love anyone else the way we love God.
God and humanity were made for one another. It doesn’t matter
whom else you love, you are never going to be satisfied until you love
God. No matter how many relationships you have and how many gifts
you buy for others, when it’s all over, you will still be lonely. Why? It is
because the Person whom you were made to love above all else—God—
doesn’t have the place in your life that He needs to have. You were made
to love God. Your love was designed to be fulfilled in Him.
Thought for the Day

Your love was designed to be fulfilled in God.
Reading: Zechariah 1–4; Revelation 18
December 28
What Will Your Legacy Be?
A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.
—Proverbs 13:22
M
dren?
y prayer today is that parents and potential parents will take a
look at their lives and ask themselves, What can I leave my chil-
Do you want to leave them a house? Fine. However, that doesn’t

mean you will leave them a home. Do you want to leave them a car?
Good. But that doesn’t mean you will have taught them to be responsible
enough to take care of it. Do you want to leave them some books? Won‑
derful. Yet that doesn’t mean you’re going to leave them with the interest
to read them. Values are transmitted by example, not talk. Morals are
transmitted by personification, not lectures.
Proverbs 17:6 says, “Parents are the pride of their children.” I think the
greatest thing parents could hear their child say is, “These are my mother
and father. I’m proud of them. They are the best parents.” Will your chil‑
dren be able to say of you, “The pride of my life are my parents”; “I want
to be just like my father”; “I want to be just like my mother”?
When your children want to be like you, they want to be like God,
whom you represent. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as
dearly loved children.” As you imitate your heavenly Father, your children
will imitate you and reflect the character and life of their Creator. That
is what the dominion assignment is all about.
Thought for the Day

What legacy will you leave your children?
December 373
December 29
The Community of God
W e have seen that one of the greatest problems we face today is

fatherlessness. The church has a corporate responsibility to
father the fatherless. We are not in this alone. Together, we are a com‑
munity of faith; we are God’s family, in which every member supports
and cares for every other. I believe that the church should form the most
magnificent “adoption agency” in the twenty‑first century. The way you
change a nation is not by attacking the government but by fathering your
own children and the fatherless. Godly fatherhood is the key to this gen‑
eration and all to come.
Consider this thought: God’s Son entered this world and had to be
adopted by an earthly father—Joseph. Joseph could have rejected Mary,
thinking that she had been unfaithful to him and had become pregnant
by another man, but he didn’t. He believed what God told him through
the angel about Jesus’ conception through the Holy Spirit. At great per‑
sonal risk and sacrifice, Joseph stepped out responsibly and became the
earthly father of Jesus, Savior of the world.
Fathers, be like the heavenly Father to your families, communities,
and nations. If the male doesn’t hold like an anchor, we lose the vision and
destiny of the country and the resources of the community. Ask the Lord
to fill up any empty spots in your life that your father couldn’t fill. Forgive
your father if he wasn’t there for you, or if he was an alcoholic or an abusive
father. Go to your heavenly Father and let Him make you a secure anchor,
so you can help bring healing to the land, restoring individuals and fami‑
lies. Join with other members of God’s family to meet these needs. Then,
future generations will rise up and give glory to our Father.
Thought for the Day

Together, we are a community of faith; we are God’s family, in
which every member supports and cares for every other.
Reading: Zechariah 9–12; Revelation 20–21

December 30
Press On to Your High Calling!
W e have been looking at God’s ideal purposes for women and

men, which we desire to move toward. However, we must keep
in mind that entering into God’s purposes will be a continual process of
learning and transformation. We are starting where we are now—not at
the place we should be, and not at the place at which we will arrive.
Paul told us, in regard to our spiritual growth, that we are to forget
the things that are behind us and reach for what is ahead of us. We are
to press on to the mark, which is the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:14 kjv). When Jesus came to earth, He showed us the mark
that we are to hit. So, whatever He says is what we’re supposed to pursue.
He showed us God’s original plan so that we could have something to
aim at. We should never accept what we currently have as the norm.
When you begin to understand and live in the purposes of God,
some people may become very uncomfortable with you. When you tell
them, “Look, I know what it is to be a man. I know what it is to be a
woman. I went to the Manufacturer and got the right Manual,” they may
say, “Oh, no, that’s an old manual; it’s out of date.” However, we cannot
improve on the original.
When we—both women and men—gain an understanding of our
uniqueness and purpose in God, we will be able to assist one another
in properly understanding and fulfilling the lives God created us to live.
What’s more, when we mend the broken relationships between female
and male, both of whom are created in the image of God, we will begin
to see healing and new purpose for the individuals, communities, and
nations of our world.
Thought for the Day

Jesus showed us God’s original plan so that we could
have something to aim at.
December 375
December 31
A Final Word
See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.
—Colossians 4:17
B rothers in Christ, communities and nations will be transformed

when men return to God and His purposes for them. God is look‑
ing for those who will dedicate themselves to standing “in the gap on
behalf of the land” (Ezekiel 22:30). He wants to bring His life-changing
power to broken marriages, damaged families, shattered societies, and
individual men, women, and children who need reconciliation with God
and a restoration of His purposes for them. But He’s waiting for men like
you—real men who will commit themselves to fulfilling their dominion
purpose of spreading God’s presence throughout the whole world. I pray
that people will be able to look at your life and say, “Now I know what a
real man looks like,” as they are transformed by God’s presence in you.
Sisters in Christ, I wholeheartedly encourage you to pursue all of
God’s purposes for you. He created your spirit out of His being and out of
His love. He designed you perfectly to fulfill your calling in Him. Accept
the freedom He has given you in Christ. Know that you are esteemed
by Him. Develop the creative ideas He has given you in your innermost
being. Use the many gifts and talents He has placed within you. Be the
blessing to yourself, your family, and your community that He created
you to be. Yet most of all, discover that “your life is now hidden with Christ
in God” (Colossians 3:3). Your place is with and in Him.
Thought for the Day

God wants to bring His life-changing power to broken
marriages, damaged families, shattered societies, and individual
men, women, and children who need reconciliation with God
and a restoration of His purposes for them.
Reading: Malachi; Revelation 23–24

My Prayer for You
Heavenly Father,
You are our Designer and Creator. You knew exactly what You
wanted when You thought of the male and the female. You had
them in mind before You made them. You first concluded what
You wanted, then created them and enabled them to function in
exactly the way You had planned. You are the only One who knows
how humanity is intended to successfully function. I pray that all
those who read this daily devotional will commit to becoming the
men and women You designed and created them to be. Let them
experience lasting fulfillment in their relationship with You and in
all their human relationships. Enable them to be complete in You
so that they can be a blessing to themselves, their families, and the
world. In the name of Jesus, Your beloved Son, amen.
© 2007 Andy Adderley, Creative Photography, Nassau, Bahamas
About the
Author
D r. Myles Munroe is an international motivational speaker, best-

selling author, educator, leadership mentor, and consultant for
government and business. Traveling extensively throughout the world,
Dr. Munroe addresses critical issues affecting the full range of human,
social, and spiritual development. The central theme of his message is
the maximization of individual potential, including the transformation
of followers into leaders and leaders into agents of change.
Dr. Munroe is founder and president of Bahamas Faith Ministries
International (BFMI), a multidimensional organization headquartered
in Nassau, Bahamas. He is chief executive officer and chairman of the
board of the International Third World Leaders Association and presi‑
dent of the International Leadership Training Institute.
Dr. Munroe is also the founder and executive producer of a number
of radio and television programs aired worldwide. In addition, he is a
frequent guest on other television and radio programs and international
networks and is a contributing writer for various Bible editions, jour‑
nals, magazines, and newsletters, such as The Believer’s Topical Bible, The
African Cultural Heritage Topical Bible, Charisma Life Christian Magazine,
and Ministries Today. He is a popular author of more than forty books,
including The Fatherhood Principle, The Most Important Person on Earth,
The Principles and Power of Vision, The Spirit of Leadership, Understanding
the Purpose and Power of Men, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer,
and Understanding the Purpose and Power of Woman.

Dr. Munroe has changed the lives of multitudes around the world
with a powerful message that inspires, motivates, challenges, and empow‑
ers people to discover personal purpose, develop true potential, and
manifest their unique leadership abilities. For over thirty years, he has
trained tens of thousands of leaders in business, industry, education,
government, and religion. He personally addresses over 500,000 people
each year on personal and professional development. His appeal and
message transcend age, race, culture, creed, and economic background.
Dr. Munroe has earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Oral Roberts
University and the University of Tulsa, and he has been awarded a num‑
ber of honorary doctoral degrees. He has also served as an adjunct pro‑
fessor of the Graduate School of Theology at Oral Roberts University.
Dr. Munroe and his wife, Ruth, travel as a team and are involved in
teaching seminars together. Both are leaders who minister with sensitive
hearts and international vision. They are the proud parents of two col‑
lege graduates, Charisa and Chairo (Myles, Jr.).

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New

MYLES MUNROE ON RELATIONSHIPS:

Dr. Myles Munroe

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

E verything in creation was created to relate to something in its envi‑

Myles Munroe on Relationships 7

8 Myles Munroe on Relationships

Myles Munroe on Relationships 9

T he ultimate purpose behind the creation of man—both male and

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

12 Myles Munroe on Relationships

M an was made in the image of God. When God made man, He

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2

M en and women can know the true meaning of their existence

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 7–9; Matthew 3

14 Myles Munroe on Relationships

A fter God created man, He placed him in two physical “houses”:

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 10–12; Matthew 4

T here was beautiful structuring in the creation of woman, as well as

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 13–15; Matthew 5:1–26

16 Myles Munroe on Relationships

Thought for the Day

T oday, review these principles of God’s creation of man, thinking

Reading: Genesis 18–19; Matthew 6:1–18

18 Myles Munroe on Relationships

T he male’s priority in creation means that he was the first to be

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 20–22; Matthew 6:19–34

G od chose a special place on the planet and put His anointing on

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 23–25; Matthew 7

20 Myles Munroe on Relationships

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 26–27; Matthew 8:1–17

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 28–29; Matthew 8:18–34

22 Myles Munroe on Relationships

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 30–32; Matthew 9:1–17

G od is purposeful, and He always carries out His purposes. Let’s

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 33–35; Matthew 9:18–38

24 Myles Munroe on Relationships

G od created everything with a purpose in mind, and He also cre‑

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 36–38; Matthew 10:1–20

F or men and women to fulfill their purposes, they must understand

Thought for the Day

Reading: Genesis 39–40; Matthew 10:21–42

26 Myles Munroe on Relationships