Battle Ready: Understanding Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God

November 2, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Life can feel overwhelming at times. You’re running late for work, fighting with your spouse, or facing unexpected challenges that seem to come from nowhere. While some of these situations have natural explanations, others might be part of something deeper – spiritual warfare. Understanding how to be “battle ready” as a Christian isn’t about living in fear, but about standing confidently in the victory Christ has already won.

What Is Spiritual Warfare?

Spiritual warfare is real, but it’s not always what we think it is. Sometimes we give the devil credit for things he’s not doing, and other times we miss his actual attacks entirely.

When Life Gets Complicated

Running late for work could be spiritual warfare – perhaps the enemy is trying to sabotage your interactions with coworkers or prevent a divine appointment God has planned. But it could also simply be the natural consequence of staying up late and not setting your alarm.

Fighting with your spouse might be a spiritual attack, especially if your godly marriage is causing others to examine their own relationships. However, it could also be the result of selfishness and not following biblical principles like husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church, or wives respecting their husbands.

Losing your job could mean the enemy is trying to remove you from a position of influence where you’re bringing the kingdom of God to your workplace. Or it could simply mean you weren’t performing well as an employee.

How to Discern What’s Really Happening

The key question to ask is: Does this situation move me toward Jesus or away from Him? Does it bring peace or fear? Does it produce life or despair? Does it remind me that God is in control, or does it make life feel chaotic?

When it’s the enemy or our own flesh, situations typically move us toward condemnation, brokenness without hope, helplessness, despair, and anxiety. This is because Satan is fundamentally a liar and deceiver who doesn’t want us drawing closer to Jesus.

Testing the Spirits

Not every supernatural occurrence comes from God. The Bible warns us that the enemy can perform miracles, signs, and wonders too. 1 John 4:1-3 instructs us to test the spirits: “Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. But every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”

We can’t assume something is from God just because it seems miraculous or supernatural. We must always test everything against Scripture and the character of Christ.

The Full Armor of God

Ephesians 6:11-18 describes the spiritual armor every Christian needs to wear daily. This isn’t a one-time decision but a daily discipline of staying battle-ready.

The Belt of Truth

Truth serves as our foundation, holding everything else together. This means both embracing God’s truth and honestly examining our lives. We must ask ourselves: Are there areas where I’m giving the enemy access? Am I walking in darkness in any area of my life?

Common areas that give the enemy access include unforgiveness, bitterness, consuming inappropriate media, or dabbling in occult practices. As Jesus said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The Breastplate of Righteousness

This protects our heart – not just emotionally, but our very soul and life. The enemy wants to destroy us, but if he can’t, he’ll settle for wounding and weakening us.

Crucially, this isn’t our own righteousness, which Isaiah 64:6 describes as “filthy rags.” Our righteousness comes from Christ alone. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we become the righteousness of God.”

The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

We carry peace and good news wherever we go. When we walk into a room, people should sense that a Christian has arrived – someone bringing hope, love, and the gospel.

Too often, Christians are known for what we’re against rather than what we’re for. Our primary business is saving souls and inviting people into God’s kingdom, telling them they can come just as they are.

The Shield of Faith

When the enemy fires arrows of lies and attacks, we hide behind our shield of faith – not faith in faith itself, but faith in Jesus Christ. This is where memorizing Scripture becomes crucial.

Galatians 2:20 is a powerful verse to hide behind: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The Helmet of Salvation

This protects our mind, which needs constant renewal. As we grow in Christ, we often become more aware of our sinfulness. The enemy tries to use this awareness to condemn us, but we must remind ourselves of our salvation in Christ.

When the enemy reminds us of our past, we remind him of his future. We are in Christ, saved and secure.

The Sword of the Spirit

The Word of God is our offensive weapon. We must consistently read Scripture, allowing it to examine us rather than trying to make it say what we want to hear.

The Bible is both medicine and amputation – it heals and wounds, comforts and corrects. It guides us in the most important areas of life: how to treat others, manage finances, and live according to God’s will.

Prayer in the Spirit

Undergirding all the armor is constant prayer according to the Spirit’s will. We trust the Spirit to lead, guide, protect, and deliver us in every situation.

Fighting From Victory, Not For Victory

The most important truth about spiritual warfare is that we’re not fighting for victory – we’re fighting from victory. Jesus has already won the battle. We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

This changes everything about how we approach spiritual warfare. We’re not trying to muster up strength or make something happen. We’re standing confidently in what Christ has already accomplished.

Life Application

This week, commit to putting on the full armor of God each day before you leave your house. Make it a daily discipline, not a one-time decision. Start each morning by consciously putting on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and taking up God’s Word.

Ask yourself these questions:

Are there areas in my life where I might be giving the enemy access through unforgiveness, inappropriate media, or other compromises?
When challenges arise, am I asking whether they move me toward Jesus or away from Him?
Am I fighting from a place of victory in Christ, or am I trying to earn victory through my own efforts?
How can I better carry the gospel of peace into every room I enter this week?

Remember, being battle ready isn’t about living in fear of what might come, but standing in faith in what Jesus has already done. You are equipped, protected, and victorious in Christ.

When God Isn’t Your Priority: Getting Your Life Back on Track

October 26, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

In our fast-paced, constantly connected world, it’s easy to let our priorities get out of order. We live in a culture where everything is screaming for our attention – from buzzing phones to endless notifications. But what happens when God gets pushed down our priority list? What happens when we’re too busy for the very relationship that should anchor everything else in our lives?

The Reality Check: If It’s Important, You Make Time

Here’s a hard truth: if something is important to you, you make time for it. If not, you make excuses. We all have the same 168 hours in a week. After subtracting sleep, we’re left with about 119 hours to spend. The question is: what are we choosing to give those precious hours to?

Think of it like a budget. If you made $20 an hour, you’d have $2,380 worth of time to “spend” each week. Would you spend $80 on four hours of TV? Would you invest $60 on three hours at the park with your kids? When we view our time this way, it becomes clear what we truly value.

What Happens When Our Priorities Get Out of Order?

The Old Testament prophet Haggai spoke to people who had their priorities completely backwards. In Haggai 1:5-7, God tells His people: “Think carefully about your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but are never satisfied. You drink, but never have enough… The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with holes in it.”

Sound familiar? When we place other things in the position that God should occupy, we find ourselves constantly striving but never satisfied. We work harder but never get ahead. We accumulate more but never feel fulfilled.

The Danger of Making Good Things Ultimate Things

The problem isn’t usually that we’re prioritizing obviously bad things. Often, we take good things – family, career, hobbies, even ministry – and elevate them to a place of ultimate importance. When we do this, these good things become idols.

Here’s a simple test: if you can’t give something up, it might be an idol. If you run to it in times of trouble instead of to God, it’s probably taken His place in your life.

How Do We Put God Back in His Rightful Place?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” When God has His proper place in our lives, everything else can fall into alignment. Here are four practical ways to make God your priority:

1. Make Reading, Worship, and Prayer a Priority

One of the first questions to ask when God feels distant is: “What does my worship life look like? When did I last read Scripture? How’s my prayer life?” If you’re not reading, praying, or worshiping, how can you expect to have a relationship with God?

If you only pray during crises, you’ve conditioned yourself that you don’t need God during normal times. If you come to church and it’s the first time you’re hearing the worship songs, that’s a sign that worship isn’t a priority in your daily life.

2. Make Community a Priority

We become like the people we surround ourselves with. Acts 4:32 describes the early church as being “of one heart and mind.” The people we spend time with influence who we become.

If you’re wondering why you’re making certain choices or developing certain attitudes, look at your community. Are you surrounding yourself with people who will draw you closer to God or pull you away from Him?

3. Make Giving a Priority

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). It’s easy to criticize something you’re not financially connected to. If you look at your finances and God’s kingdom isn’t represented there, then it’s not truly a priority.

Giving isn’t about earning God’s favor – it’s about aligning our hearts with His priorities. When we invest financially in God’s kingdom, our hearts follow.

4. Make Service a Priority

James 2:17 reminds us that “faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” We don’t serve to earn salvation or God’s love – we serve because we love God. Service is the overflow of our relationship with Him.

When we put our hands to the same things Jesus cared about, we fall more deeply in love with Him. We start seeing people the way He sees them and caring about what He cares about.

The Time Budget Challenge

Sometimes prioritizing God requires sacrifice. Maybe it means waking up 45 minutes earlier for quiet time with God. Maybe it means leaving for work early so you can sit in your car and pray. Maybe it means locking yourself in the bathroom for a few minutes of Bible reading when you have small children.

The key is finding time in your 119 hours when you can give God your best attention, not your leftovers.

Life Application

This week, challenge yourself to give God your best 12 hours out of your 119. This doesn’t mean 12 consecutive hours, but rather prioritizing God throughout your week in a way that adds up to your best 12 hours of time, energy, and attention.

This might look different for everyone. For some, it’s morning quiet time. For others, it’s evening reflection. The key is giving God your best, not what’s left over after everything else.

Ask yourself these questions:

When I look at how I spend my 119 hours each week, what does it reveal about my true priorities
What would need to change in my schedule to give God my best time rather than my leftovers
Which of the four areas (reading/worship/prayer, community, giving, service) needs the most attention in my life right now?
What “good thing” in my life might have become an ultimate thing that’s competing with God for first place?

Remember, you will never be loved more or less by God based on your performance. But when you prioritize Him, you’ll find that everything else in your life begins to fall into its proper place. God holds all things together, and when we seek Him first, He can sustain and order the rest of our lives in ways we never could on our own.

Finding Faith in the Whisper: What to Do When God Doesn’t Answer

October 7, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

We all have stories of times when God didn’t answer our prayers. Times when we stood in faith, asked God to move, and expected Him to act—but He didn’t. The job didn’t come through. The loved one passed away. The finances didn’t work out.

These experiences often leave us feeling disappointed or confused about God. And that disappointment can keep us at a distance from Him. You may have heard someone say (or said yourself): “God let me down” or “God and I had a deal, and He broke His end.”

Is It Normal to Feel Disappointed with God?

First, let me assure you—it’s okay to have these feelings. Sometimes we don’t get to understand what God is doing. We crave answers, but God doesn’t promise to give us all the answers to every question we ask.

Look at Job in the Bible. He never received answers to his questions about why he suffered. The truth is, it’s not always about getting the answer; it’s about learning faith in the unknown. We can learn how to process our disappointment and confusion and follow God better.

The God Who Whispers

In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah hiding in a cave, afraid and disappointed. God asks him, “What are you doing here?” and Elijah pours out his heart. Then God tells him to go stand on the mountain:

“A great and mighty wind was tearing the mountains and shattering the cliffs before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper.”

God wasn’t in the dramatic displays of power—the wind, earthquake, or fire. He was in the gentle whisper. This reveals something profound about the God we serve: sometimes God shouts, but often He whispers.

Why a Whisper Matters More Than You Think

A whisper is intimate. It requires closeness. Unlike a mighty wind that can flatten buildings from a distance, a whisper requires you to be near. While a hurricane can reverse the flow of the Mississippi River whether you’re paying attention or not, a whisper must be received.

An earthquake will shake you regardless of your readiness. A fire consumes everything in its path. But a gentle whisper brings calm. It’s tender, mild, and inviting rather than demanding. A whisper is an invitation, not a command.

We live in a noisy world where we expect immediate answers to every question. But God doesn’t work that way. The truest questions—the ones that really afflict our souls—are only answered in the quiet, in the God who whispers to us.

Sometimes in the whisper, God gives us answers. Sometimes He doesn’t. But the whisper isn’t meant to bring an answer to every question—it’s meant to reassure us that He’s present and close.

When the Whisper Doesn’t Change Everything

Interestingly, after Elijah heard God’s whisper, God asked him the same question again: “What are you doing here?” And Elijah gave the exact same answer as before. The whisper didn’t immediately take away his disappointment or fear.

But Elijah kept listening. He continued knowing God was with him. That’s what God wanted to develop in Elijah, and it’s what He wants to develop in us—the belief that He is who He says He is and that He’s near to us.

As theologian David Martin Lloyd Jones said, “Faith says, I cannot believe that He who has brought me this far is going to let me down at this point. It would be inconsistent with the character of God.”

Faith Is Wrestling, Not Certainty

Faith is not the absence of doubt but wrestling with doubt. In Psalm 13:1-2, David cries out:

“O Lord, how long will you forget me forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?”

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever asked God, “How long, Lord? Haven’t I taken enough by now?”

Faith is wrestling. It’s not about having all the answers or knowing the “why” behind everything. It’s about trusting when we cannot see. Faith is moving forward, understanding that doubt will always be present to some degree.

How Do We Handle Disappointment with God?

Here are three practical ways to handle disappointment and grief in your relationship with God:

1. Ask Questions

Not every question can be answered, but we should still ask them. Ask the truest questions, even the ones that scare you to say out loud. In Psalm 13, David asks hard questions without getting answers, yet he concludes: “I have trusted in your faithful love. My heart will rejoice in your deliverance.”

2. Be Honest

Be honest about how you’re feeling. There’s actually a physiological benefit to expressing your emotions honestly. Different tears contain different chemical compositions based on the emotions that trigger them. If you don’t address these feelings, your body holds onto that stress.

3. Own Your Feelings, But Don’t Let Them Own You

This may be the hardest of all. We will always have feelings—things happen, and we react. The trick is learning how to respond.

Feel the feeling you’re feeling. Own it. It might be wrong, but that’s okay. If you’re mad or frustrated, admit it. Be honest about that feeling, but don’t let that feeling control your actions. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”

Developing “Even If” Faith

When we learn to settle in the wrestling, we develop what I call “even if” faith:

I will trust even if I’m confused
I will trust even if I don’t see
I will trust even if I’m scared
I will trust even if I don’t have the answers
I will trust even if I’m disappointed

Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? We love that God rescued them from the fiery furnace. But their faith wasn’t based on rescue. They said, “But even if He does not rescue us, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:18).

Similarly, Queen Esther said, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). This is the kind of faith God is developing in His people—an “even if” faith.

The Role of Humility

Humility is foundational to this wrestling. It means accepting that we don’t have all the answers. It means acknowledging that God is God and we are not.

How often do we get frustrated because we told God what we wanted, and He didn’t obey? That’s pride. The reality is, God knows far more than we do.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children.” Some things are for God alone to know, and some things are for us. Humility accepts this distinction.

Just as parents understand things their children cannot comprehend, God knows more than we do. He sees the big picture—how today’s events might impact generations 200 years from now.

Life Application

Disappointment and confusion are inevitable parts of our faith journey. The enemy wants to use these feelings to keep us away from God, but God wants to use them to draw us closer to Him. Who will you listen to?

When you’re frustrated, confused, or don’t know the answer, press into Jesus. Listen for His gentle whisper. Know that He’s close and that He cares.

Ask yourself these questions this week:

What disappointment am I holding onto that’s keeping me from drawing closer to God?
Am I trying to force God to give me answers, or am I willing to trust Him even without understanding?
How can I practice listening for God’s whisper in the midst of life’s noise?
What would “even if” faith look like in my current situation?

Remember, it’s not always about getting the answer. It’s about learning faith in the unknown and trusting the God who whispers.

Jonah: Running from God’s Heart

September 15, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Jonah is a fascinating minor prophet in the Bible. While he’s often remembered as “the guy who got swallowed by a whale,” his story teaches us profound lessons about God’s character and our response to His commands.

Who Was Jonah and What Was His Mission?

Jonah was a pre-exilic prophet, meaning he delivered God’s message before Israel’s exile. Unlike most prophets who were sent to speak to Israel or Judah, Jonah was commissioned to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.

God’s command was clear: “Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it. Because their evil has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). The Hebrew word used here is “Kara,” which means to call out, to proclaim, to cry out against their wickedness.

Why Did Jonah Run Away From God?

Jonah’s response was immediate—but not in obedience. He fled in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to Tarshish (modern-day Spain), which was about 2,500 miles away from Nineveh (in modern-day Iraq). This would be like us driving and then taking a boat to Venezuela to escape God’s call.

Why such extreme measures? The Assyrians were notoriously cruel. Historical records reveal their king boasting: “I cut off their heads and piled them into heaps. I burned their adolescent boys and girls. I slayed nobles who had revolted. And I covered pillars with their skin.”

The Assyrians were vile, wicked people who took pride in their brutality. Jonah didn’t want to be the messenger of God’s word to people he despised.

What Happens When We Run From God’s Call?

God sent a violent storm that threatened to break apart the ship. While the sailors panicked, Jonah was below deck, fast asleep. This teaches us an important lesson: false peace and true peace can both cause you to rest. Don’t assume that feeling peaceful means you’re in God’s will.

When the sailors discovered Jonah was responsible for their peril, they tried desperately to save the ship without throwing him overboard. Their compassion stands in stark contrast to Jonah’s lack of compassion for the Ninevites.

This reveals another truth: our disobedience never exists in a vacuum. When we rebel against God, we often drag others down with us. Our sin affects those around us, even when we think it’s “just our problem.”

How Does God Respond to Our Disobedience?

God doesn’t give up on His plans because of our rebellion. Numbers 23:19 reminds us: “God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Does he not speak and not act or promise and not fulfill?”

When Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, he finally began to pray. Sometimes we don’t know how to get right with God until circumstances swallow us whole. God knows exactly what it takes to teach us to repent and pray.

Romans 2:4 tells us that “God’s kindness leads to repentance,” but 2 Corinthians 7:9 also shows that “godly sorrow leads to repentance.” God knows which approach you need, and sometimes we need to sit in our discomfort rather than being quickly rescued.

What Can We Learn From Jonah’s Reluctant Obedience?

After being vomited onto dry land, Jonah finally went to Nineveh and delivered God’s message of coming judgment. He didn’t tell them to repent—he simply announced their impending doom.

This highlights our role as messengers. Like Jonah, our job is simply to deliver God’s message. As Billy Graham said, “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.”

Surprisingly, the wicked Ninevites believed Jonah’s message. From the king down to the common people, they put on sackcloth (uncomfortable burlap-like material), fasted, and called out to God. They chose life instead of death.

Why Was Jonah Angry When Nineveh Repented?

When God saw their repentance and spared Nineveh, Jonah became furious. His reaction reveals the core issue: “I knew that you were gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, the one who repents from sending disaster” (Jonah 4:2).

Jonah knew God’s character perfectly well. He wasn’t confused about who God was—he just didn’t want his enemies to receive God’s mercy. Jonah knew the heart of God but did not have the heart of God.

How often do we do the same? We know God is forgiving, compassionate, and merciful, but we withhold those same qualities from others. We know what God is like, but we don’t allow His heart to transform our own.

What Does the Plant Teach Us About God’s Priorities?

The book ends with God providing a plant to shade Jonah, then taking it away. When Jonah became angry about losing the plant, God challenged him: “You care about this plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow… Should I not care about Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”

Jonah was more concerned about his personal comfort than about people perishing. He cared more about a plant than about eternal souls.

Life Application

The book of Jonah leaves us with two profound questions:

Do you know the heart of God?
Do you have the heart of God?

It’s possible to know all about God—to attend church, serve in ministry, quote Scripture—without having His heart. But if you truly have God’s heart, it will change you from the inside out.

This week, ask yourself:

When I see tragedy or suffering in the world, does it break my heart as it breaks God’s?
Do I withhold compassion from certain people because I deem them unworthy?
When I point out others’ wrongs, is it because I want them to experience God’s mercy, or because I enjoy condemning them?
Am I more concerned with my own comfort than with the eternal destiny of others?

Let God’s heart beat within your chest, and allow His compassion to flow through you—even toward those you might consider enemies.

Forgiveness and the Banquet: Understanding True Forgiveness

August 28, 2025August 25, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Forgiveness is a topic that often makes us collectively sigh. It’s challenging to discuss because people sometimes abuse the concept, there are misunderstandings about what forgiveness truly means, and there’s often a disconnect between our brain and our spirit when we try to practice it.

What Is Forgiveness Really?

Forgiveness is an act of judgment, not condemnation. It requires acknowledging that a wrong has occurred. You can’t forgive someone if no wrong was committed. Forgiveness is not pretending the offense didn’t happen or doesn’t exist – it’s recognizing the reality of the hurt while choosing to move forward.

How Do I Handle Big Offenses?

Not all offenses are created equal. Some are chronic, systematic, major offenses that have shaped who we are as human beings. When dealing with these big hurts, many believe they must “forgive and forget,” but this phrase isn’t actually in the Bible.

God doesn’t forget our sins through amnesia – He chooses not to hold them against us. Similarly, we don’t need to develop amnesia about our hurts. As Tom Sames wisely put it, “I knew I forgave when I wasn’t angry anymore.“

The depth and process of forgiving someone depends on:

The extent of the injury or offense
Your own personality and history
Your own self-wounding

Is Forgiveness the Same as Reconciliation?

Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing. This is a crucial distinction.

Forgiveness is saying, “I don’t want you to starve.” It’s letting go of wishing harm on someone.

Reconciliation might be saying, “But you’re not allowed at my table anymore.” It’s about how (or if) a relationship can be mended.

Not all relationships can be restored, especially if the other person wants nothing to do with you. Even with family members, sometimes reconciliation looks like being “close from a distance.”

Why Are Small Offenses Sometimes Harder to Forgive?

Ironically, small offenses can be harder to forgive than big ones. The little offenses – what someone said about you, a minor slight, a small rejection – are easy to carry around. We can hold them with one hand, put them in our pocket, and take them everywhere.

We often nurture these small offenses, giving them names and watering them. We identify with them. But 1 Corinthians 13:5 reminds us that love “does not keep a record of wrongs.”

How Should I Handle Rejection?

Rejection is a common small offense we hold onto. But here’s the truth: the more you try in life, the more you will be rejected. If you never want to be rejected, never try anything.

Rejection often provides the pressure needed for growth. Instead of holding onto rejection, use it as jet fuel to propel you forward. Don’t wait for an invitation – if it’s your dream, go do it yourself.

Why Is Forgiving Myself the Hardest?

Self-forgiveness is often the most difficult kind. Two primary reasons make this challenging:

Hindsight bias: We see past events as more predictable than they actually were. We tell ourselves “I should have known” when in reality, we didn’t. If you would go back in time to stop yourself if you could, then you truly didn’t know better at the time.
Holding ourselves to standards that didn’t exist: We judge our past selves by our current moral standards. But our past selves didn’t have those standards yet.

Ephesians 4:24 tells us to “put on the new self,” which implies that the old self is something different. We need to let that old person go.

How Does Unforgiveness Affect My Relationship with God?

When we carry around our offenses, we can’t fully enjoy the banquet God has prepared for us. God sets a table before us, but if our hands are full of unforgiveness, how can we partake in what He offers?

The communion elements represent a banquet – the blood of Christ shed for the forgiveness of our sins. To truly receive this gift, we must put down our offenses.

When we pray “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” we’re acknowledging that we’re all in this together. Just as we’ve messed up, others have messed up too. And just as we want Christ’s blood to cover our sins, we should want it to cover theirs as well.

Life Application

This week, identify what offenses you’re carrying – both big and small. Are you holding onto hurts that are preventing you from enjoying God’s banquet? Consider these questions:

What offense am I holding that’s taking up space in my life?
Am I confusing forgiveness with reconciliation? What would true forgiveness look like in this situation?
How would my relationship with God change if I put down this offense?
Is there someone I need to forgive? Is there a part of myself I need to forgive?

Remember, forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting or pretending the hurt didn’t happen. It means acknowledging the reality of the pain while choosing to let go of anger and resentment. It means putting down your offenses so your hands are free to receive what God has for you.

Sometimes all we can say is, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” We may still be hurting, wounded, and bleeding while asking for their forgiveness. But in that act of forgiveness, we find our own freedom.

Understanding God’s Kingdom: Provision, Peace, and Proper Paths

August 25, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

When we pray “Your kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer, do we truly understand what we’re asking for? The kingdom of God is a profound concept that deserves our attention and understanding, especially as we seek to live as faithful followers of Christ.

What Exactly Is the Kingdom of God?

The kingdom of God can be defined as “God’s sovereign rule and reign over all creation, especially manifested through his righteousness, peace and joy, and fully realized in the person and work of Jesus Christ, inviting believers to live under his authority, both now and in the eternal future.”

In simpler terms, the kingdom of God means God is in charge, and we submit to Him. We are His ambassadors, representing Him on earth just as Adam and Eve were originally meant to do in the Garden of Eden.

The Now and Not Yet Tension

We live in what theologians call a “now, not yet” tension regarding God’s kingdom. Jesus announced in Mark 1:15 that “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.” The kingdom has arrived with Jesus, but it hasn’t been fully realized yet.

Isaiah 11:6-7 gives us a glimpse of what the fully realized kingdom will look like:

“The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf and the young lion and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, the young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle.”

This beautiful picture of complete peace and harmony is what we’re ultimately moving toward. But in the meantime, we have a crucial responsibility: to embody the kingdom while we wait for its fulfillment.

What Does Psalm 23 Teach Us About God’s Kingdom?

Psalm 23:2-3 gives us insight into three essential aspects of God’s kingdom:

“He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths to bring honor to his name.”

From these verses, we can understand that the kingdom of God involves:

Provision
Peace
Proper
Paths

How Does God Provide in His Kingdom?

Philippians 4:11-13 teaches us about contentment in God’s provision:

“I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I find myself. I know how to do with a little, and I know how to make do with a lot in any and all circumstances. I’ve learned the secret of being content, whether fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.”

The kingdom of God is about having all that we need, not necessarily all that we want. There are two ways to learn contentment: have more or desire less. If we’re always looking for the next thing—the next job, relationship, or possession—we can never be content with what we have.

When we learn to be content with what we have, we often find that God blesses us with even more. It’s about trusting in His provision and saying, “God, I have all that I need in you.”

What Kind of Peace Does God’s Kingdom Offer?

Philippians 4:7 describes “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

This peace isn’t just intellectual understanding—it’s a heart-level experience. It’s shalom, a comprehensive peace that can exist even in the midst of chaos. Our homes and relationships should be defined by this peace, not by the absence of challenges but by how we respond to them.

When we see disunity or chaos, we should view it as an invitation to pursue peace. As James says, “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” If we want peace, we must plant seeds of peace.

It’s important to note that peace is not the same as appeasement. Sometimes establishing true peace requires addressing difficult issues, like setting a broken bone. It might hurt initially, but it brings true healing and peace in the long run.

How Do We Follow God’s Proper Paths?

When we pray for God to lead us in “paths of righteousness for His name’s sake,” we’re asking Him to guide us on the right path—even when it differs from what we want.

There’s often a disconnect between what God says and what we desire. Following God’s path means submitting to His will and trusting Him, even when it’s difficult. As Jesus said, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

How often do we pray for God to lead us, only to complain about the path He puts us on? We ask Him to fix our marriages, bless our finances, or provide jobs—but when His answers don’t match our expectations, we resist or ignore them.

The Power to Live Out God’s Kingdom

Acts 1:8 reminds us that we don’t just receive guidance from God—we receive power: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth.”

The early church experienced this power at Pentecost when 3,000 people came to Christ after Peter’s first sermon. But they initially kept this power to themselves, forming a comfortable huddle rather than spreading out as Jesus commanded. God sometimes has to disrupt our comfort to fulfill His kingdom purposes.

The kingdom of God isn’t just about gathering together on Sunday mornings—it’s about going out with the power of the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s representatives in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and to the ends of the earth.

Life Application

This week, consider how you can embody God’s kingdom in your daily life:

Provision: Where do you need to practice contentment with what God has already provided? Are you constantly seeking more, or can you find joy in what you have?
Peace: How can you cultivate peace in your relationships and home? When you encounter conflict or chaos, do you view it as an invitation to pursue deeper peace?
Proper Paths: Are you truly submitting to God’s guidance, even when it differs from your preferences? What area of your life might God be asking you to surrender to His direction?
Power: Are you living in the power of the Holy Spirit, or are you trying to accomplish God’s purposes in your own strength? How might God be calling you to step out of your comfort zone to represent Him?

Remember, we are ambassadors for Christ, representing His kingdom in a world that desperately needs it. As we embody His kingdom now, we point others toward the perfect kingdom that is yet to come.

Understanding the Character of God in Prayer: Insights from the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23

August 4, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

When we pray, who exactly are we talking to? Understanding the character of God fundamentally changes how we approach prayer. The Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 – perhaps the two most well-known prayers in human history – reveal profound truths about who God is and how He relates to us.

What Makes Prayer So Important in the Christian Life?

Prayer is the most important thing we can do as believers. It should be both the first and last thing we do. Throughout Scripture, we find:

Commands to pray consistently
Hundreds of recorded prayers from biblical figures
Examples of answered prayers
People waiting for answers to prayer

As Tim Keller wisely noted, “Prayer turns theology into experience.” The Bible itself functions as a prayer book, with the Psalms offering 150 prayers covering every human emotion and situation.

For Christians, we have the incredible assurance that both the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26) and Jesus Himself (Hebrews 7:25) are interceding for us. Our prayers are so precious to God that Revelation 5:8 describes them as incense in golden bowls before His throne.

How Do the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 Complement Each Other?

These two prayers beautifully align with each other, revealing complementary truths about God’s character:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” pairs with “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”
“Your kingdom come, your will be done” connects with “He makes me lie down in green pastures”
“Give us this day our daily bread” aligns with “Though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil”
“Forgive us our debts” corresponds to “You prepare a table before me”
“Deliver us from evil” matches “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”

Who Is God According to These Prayers?

The opening lines of both prayers immediately address God’s character. There’s a beautiful dichotomy here:

God is holy and separate – “Hallowed be Thy name” reminds us of His uniqueness and perfect purity
God is close and intimate – “Our Father” and “my shepherd” reveal His nearness and personal care

This duality is essential to understand. God’s holiness means He is uncontaminated by impurity and completely separate from creation. As Acts 17:24-25 reminds us, He doesn’t need anything from us – He is self-existent, the great “I AM.”

Yet simultaneously, God is loving and tender like a perfect father. He’s not a distant creator who set the world in motion and then abandoned it. He’s intimately involved in our lives.

What Does the Prodigal Son Story Teach Us About God’s Character?

The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) powerfully illustrates God’s character as our Father. In this story:

A son demands his inheritance early (essentially wishing his father dead)
He squanders everything on foolish living
He ends up feeding pigs (the ultimate disgrace for a Jewish person)
When he “comes to his senses,” he plans to return as a hired worker, not a son
The father sees him from a distance and runs to him, taking on shame that should have been his son’s
The father restores him completely with a robe, ring, and a celebration feast

When the older brother complains, the father goes out to him too

This story isn’t primarily about the wayward son but about the father’s character. The father does what no dignified man in that culture would do – he runs, becoming undignified to spare his son shame. He takes what should have been his son’s and gives what his son didn’t deserve.

This is who we pray to when we say “Our Father.” He runs to us when we should receive shame. He gives rejoicing when we deserve lament.

How Does God Care for the Rejected and Broken?

The “bummer lamb” story beautifully illustrates God’s shepherd heart. In sheep farming, occasionally a ewe will reject her newborn lamb. This “bummer lamb” hangs its head in depression and will die without intervention.

But the shepherd:

Scoops up the rejected lamb
Brings it into his house
Wraps it in blankets
Hand-feeds it
Holds it close to his heart so it can hear his heartbeat

When the lamb is strong enough to rejoin the flock, something special happens. Whenever the shepherd calls, the bummer lambs come running first – they know his voice intimately because they’ve experienced his personal care.

We are all “bummer lambs” – broken and rejected in some way, yet deeply loved by the Shepherd. None of us got into God’s family because we were the cream of the crop. We all needed to be rescued and held close to the Shepherd’s heart.

How Should Understanding God’s Character Change Our Prayer Life?

When we truly grasp who God is – both holy and close, both Father and Shepherd – it transforms how we pray:

We pray with confidence – knowing He runs toward us, not away from us
We bring everything to Him – even our shame, failures, and doubts
We press into Him during our worst moments – not pulling away when we feel unworthy
We trust His character – even when we don’t understand His ways

The enemy wants us to feel shame and pull away from God. But understanding God’s true character empowers us to do the opposite – to press into prayer and worship, especially when we feel unworthy.

Life Application

This week, approach prayer with a renewed understanding of who God is. Remember that you’re speaking to both a holy God who is unaffected by the brokenness of the world AND a loving Father/Shepherd who draws close to hold you.

Ask yourself:

When I pray, do I truly believe I’m speaking to a Father who runs toward me, not away from me?
In what areas of my life am I pulling away from God due to shame or unworthiness?
How might my prayer life change if I fully embraced both God’s holiness and His intimate love?
What would it look like to press into prayer, especially during moments when I feel most unworthy?

Remember: When you understand that God is good – when you’re confused, when you don’t understand, when life is hard – it changes everything about how you pray. Press into Him, knowing His true character, and rejoice in that truth.

Becoming a People Who Abide, Follow, and Make Room for Jesus

July 30, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Vision is different from mission. While mission tells us why we exist and how we operate, vision answers the question: “What do we want to see?” Vision moves us from identity to action and outcome. It’s incredibly important for churches, families, businesses, and individuals to have both mission and vision written down somewhere accessible.

What Does It Mean to Be “A People”?

To be a people means being in community with others. It’s about fellowship and inviting others into that community. Being a people means having:

Common allegiance
Shared vision
Similar motives
Movement in the same direction

Think about a sports team – everyone must execute the same play. In a family, everyone moves forward because they’re on the same page with the same desires. As the church, our desires should align with what Jesus teaches.

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for neglecting “the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” As God’s people, we don’t get to pick and choose which of Jesus’ teachings we’ll follow. We are bound to all of them.

1 Peter 2:10 reminds us: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

What Binds Us Together as God’s People?

D.A. Carson explains it perfectly: “The church itself is not made up of natural friends. It is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together not because they form a natural coalition, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance.”

It’s not our love for the same sports team or our similar education that brings us together. It’s Jesus Christ. He is the common factor we all share. As Peter realized in Acts 10:34-35, “God does not show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

How Do We Abide in Christ?

John 15:4 tells us, “Remain in me and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”

Abiding is both an individual and corporate practice. We stay connected to Jesus so we can produce fruit and be the people He called us to be. It’s about finding our identity and desires in Him. Often, the issues we have with other people stem from not abiding in Christ – we’re trying to find our identity in something else.

What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus?

In Matthew 4:19, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Our job is simple: follow the risen Lord wherever He leads and trust Him for guidance.

Ruth 1:16-17 provides a beautiful example of this attitude: “Don’t plead with me to abandon you or return and not follow you, for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

Following When We Can’t See the Path

Hebrews 11:8 tells us, “By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out even though he did not know where he was going.”

Faith exists precisely because we can’t see everything. Faith and doubt exist simultaneously. Faith isn’t the absence of doubt – it’s trusting God enough to move forward despite our doubts. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but he knew God said “follow me,” and he responded, “I will go.”

How Do We Make Room for Jesus?

Revelation 3:20 says, “See, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”

Jesus is the Lord of all creation, yet He knocks because He wants you to invite Him in. Paul urges us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Don’t stifle the Spirit.” And Isaiah 43:19 reminds us that God is “about to do something new.”

If we are truly following Jesus, we will make room for:

Jesus
The Holy Spirit
People
The future

Making Room for God’s Unexpected Growth

Sometimes God plants things in our lives that we didn’t plan for. Like unexpected sunflowers growing in a carefully planned garden, God often does things that don’t fit into our narrative or plans.

We have a choice: we can pull out what looks like weeds, or we can wait and see what God is growing. How often do we uproot what God is trying to do and then get upset because we don’t see the beauty He intended?

How Do I Know I’m Hearing from God?

There are two primary ways to hear from God:

The written Word (the Bible) – 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” If you want to hear from God, open your Bible.
Learning to hear His voice – Jesus says, “My sheep know my voice.”

We often want complete illumination of our path, but God typically gives us just enough light for the next step. As Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet” – not a floodlight showing the entire journey.

The truth is, we usually only know with certainty that we heard God correctly in hindsight. That’s the faith part. But remember: God is big enough and smart enough to take our shortcomings into account. You won’t ruin His plans for the universe because you made a mistake.

A helpful analogy: Only moving ships can be steered. If we want God’s direction, we need to be in motion, trusting that He’s leading and we’re following.

Life Application

Our vision is to be a people who abide, follow, and make room for Jesus and the gospel. This week, consider these questions:

Where am I finding my identity? Am I truly abiding in Christ, or am I seeking validation and purpose elsewhere?
What is God asking me to follow Him into that seems uncertain or uncomfortable? Remember Abraham, who followed without knowing the destination.
What “weeds” might actually be God planting something beautiful in my life? Is there something unexpected that I’ve been trying to remove that God might be using for His purposes?
How can I better make room for Jesus in my daily life? Consider practical ways to invite Him into your routines, relationships, and decisions.
Am I moving forward in faith, or am I stuck in the harbor waiting for complete certainty? Remember that God can only steer a moving ship.

This week, take one step of faith in an area where you’ve been hesitant. Trust that God is giving you enough light for the steps immediately ahead, and commit to being part of His people who abide, follow, and make room for Jesus.

Understanding the Trinity: A Deep Dive into God’s Three-in-One Nature

July 15, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

The concept of the Trinity is one of the most profound and challenging doctrines in Christianity. It’s not just a theological abstraction but a fundamental truth that impacts how we understand God, salvation, and our relationships with one another.

What is the Trinity and Why Does It Matter?

At its core, the Trinity teaches that God is one being in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully God, yet they are not three gods but one God. This might sound like a mathematical impossibility, but it speaks to the unique nature of God who is unlike anything in creation.

The Trinity isn’t just theological trivia—it’s essential to understanding:

How God created the world
How salvation works
How we relate to God and each other

The Biblical Foundation: The Shema and The Name

The Shema: God’s Oneness

The foundation for understanding the Trinity begins with the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4:

“Shema Yisrael Adonoi Eloheinu Adonoi echad” (Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one)

This declaration of God’s oneness was central to Israel’s faith. They lived among polytheistic cultures that worshipped many gods, but Israel was called to worship the one true God.

When we see “one” (echad) in Scripture referring to God, it’s often making a “Shema statement” about God’s unity and uniqueness. This becomes important when Jesus says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” He wasn’t making a casual statement—he was making a Shema statement that connected him to the divine identity.

The Hashem: God’s Name

In Jewish tradition, God’s name was considered too holy to pronounce. They referred to it as “the Hashem” (the Name). The Name represented God’s character, attributes, and presence—not just a label.

In the New Testament, we see statements like:

“At the name of Jesus every knee will bow” (Philippians 2:10-11)
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17)
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13)

These passages apply “the Name” language to Jesus, indicating his divine identity. When Jesus tells us to pray in His name, He’s not just giving us a formula to end prayers—He’s inviting us to pray in His divine character and authority.

How the Trinity Works: One Being, Three Persons

The Trinity is often misunderstood because we try to find perfect analogies in our world. But God is unique—there is nothing exactly like Him in creation.

God is one being in three persons. This is different from humans, where one being equals one person. For God, the relationship is one being and three persons:

The Father is God
The Son is God
The Spirit is God

Yet the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. Each has distinct personhood while sharing the same divine essence.

The Trinity Throughout Scripture

While the word “Trinity” doesn’t appear in the Bible, the concept is woven throughout Scripture:

In the Old Testament:

Genesis 1:1-2 shows God creating while His Spirit hovers over the waters
The “Angel of the Lord” appears and receives worship (Joshua 5:15)
God speaks of himself in plural terms (Genesis 1:26)

In the New Testament:

All three persons of the Trinity are involved in Jesus’ resurrection
Jesus speaks of sending the Spirit from the Father (John 15:26)
At Jesus’ baptism, all three persons are present simultaneously

Common Heresies About the Trinity

Throughout history, people have tried to simplify the Trinity in ways that distort its truth:

1. Modalism

This teaches that God appears in different modes at different times—sometimes as Father, sometimes as Son, sometimes as Spirit. The problem is that Scripture shows all three persons active simultaneously. Jesus prays to the Father while promising to send the Spirit.

Why it fails: It’s like saying “I’m a father, a son, and a brother”—but those are roles, not persons. God is three persons at once, not one person playing three roles.

2. Adoptionism

This claims Jesus wasn’t eternally God but was created and later “adopted” as God’s Son. This directly contradicts Scripture:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1)
Jesus is described as Creator, not created (Colossians 1:16-17)

Why it fails: If Jesus isn’t fully divine, he couldn’t provide perfect atonement for our sins because He would not be perfect.

3. Partialism

This suggests each person of the Trinity is just a “part” of God—like pieces that make up a whole.

Why it fails: God cannot be divided into parts. Each person is fully God, not a fraction of God.

Why the Trinity Matters for Our Lives

The Trinity isn’t just abstract theology—it’s the blueprint for our salvation and relationships:

The Father initiates the plan of salvation (Ephesians 1:3-6)
The Son executes the plan through creation and redemption (Ephesians 1:7-12)
The Spirit applies salvation by sealing believers (Ephesians 1:13-14)

This perfect love and unity within the Trinity becomes our model for community. Jesus prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one (John 17:21). The Trinity shows us how different persons can be completely united in purpose and love.

Life Application

The Trinity invites us into mystery and wonder. Rather than trying to fully comprehend God, we’re called to experience His three-in-one love.

Here are some ways to apply this truth:

Embrace the mystery. Don’t be frustrated by what you can’t fully understand about God. Let it draw you deeper into worship.
Experience all three persons. Relate to God as Father, find salvation in the Son, and walk in the power of the Spirit. Don’t neglect any person of the Trinity in your spiritual life.
Model Trinitarian love. Just as the Father, Son, and Spirit love and honor each other, we’re called to love others with that same selfless unity.
Look to Jesus to see the Father. If you struggle to see God as loving, look at Jesus. As he said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Questions to Consider:

Which person of the Trinity do I relate to most easily? Which do I need to know better?
How might understanding God as Trinity change how I pray?
In what ways can my relationships reflect the unity and love of the Trinity?
How does the Trinity’s perfect love challenge my own approach to loving others?

The Trinity isn’t just something to believe—it’s someone to experience. As we grow in understanding God as Father, Son, and Spirit, we’ll discover the fullness of His love in ways that transform how we live and love.

Walking in Faith: How Our Actions Impact Those Around Us

June 15, 2025 / Mike Farley / Leave a comment

In a world where little eyes are always watching, how we walk and talk matters more than we realize. Our children, and even those who aren’t our biological children, observe our every move, learning how to respond to life’s challenges by watching us.

How Do Children Learn to Follow God’s Path?

One of the most common questions parents ask is, “How do we make our kids follow the Lord and do what is right?” The simple truth is that we can’t make them. Children are individuals with their own free will and desires. We cannot force them to follow any path, but we can guide them through our own example.

Throughout the Bible, we see this pattern repeated: “He walked in all the ways of his father had walked.” Whether serving idols or following God’s commands, children often follow the path their parents model.

Four Ways to Guide Children Toward Faith

1. Let Them Witness Your Struggle

One of the best ways to lead wisely is to let children see your struggles. Jesus himself told us, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Struggles are inevitable, so allowing children to witness how we handle difficulties teaches them valuable lessons.

However, this doesn’t mean burdening children with adult problems. As Corrie ten Boom’s father wisely demonstrated to her, parents carry weights so their children don’t have to. Some knowledge is too heavy for children, but they should understand that burdens exist and see how we handle them.

Jesus modeled this perfectly in the Garden of Gethsemane. He brought his disciples with him to witness his anguish, letting them hear his prayers: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He showed them how to struggle well while maintaining faith.

When we allow our children to see our struggles in age-appropriate ways, we empower them to handle their own difficulties later in life. Our job isn’t to shield them from struggles but to prepare them to bear them.

2. Don’t Give Influence to Those Who Don’t Deserve It

As parents, we have the primary responsibility for raising and training our children. When we give that influence to others who don’t deserve it, we sacrifice our role in shaping their character.

During childhood development, kids go through stages of identity formation. From ages 6-12, they’re asking, “Am I capable and competent?” In their teen years, they’re figuring out who they are in different contexts. Throughout these stages, they look to parents and peers for answers.

Deuteronomy 6 reminds us of our responsibility: “These words that I’m giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up.”

We must teach our children how to allow the right influences into their lives so that when they face difficulties, they can discern what guidance to accept and what to reject.

3. Fathers Play a Vital Role in Children’s Faith

Contrary to what many believe, fathers have the most significant impact on whether children will attend church regularly and embrace faith. The statistics are striking:

If only the mother attends church regularly, there’s just a 1.5% chance the child will attend church.
If the father attends regularly (even if the mother doesn’t), there’s a 44% chance the child will go to church regularly.

This doesn’t mean God can’t work in other situations—He certainly can and does. But when fathers demonstrate that faith matters by showing up at church, serving in ministries, and participating in small groups, children notice and follow their example.

The good news is that it’s never too late to start. If you’re just beginning your faith journey, your children will notice the change, and it can make all the difference in their lives.

4. Pray Constantly

Prayer should be our first and most frequent response to parenting challenges. We need to pray for:

Ourselves to be the parents
God has called us to be
Our children’s protection and growth
Their friends and influences
Their future spouses
Their schools and environments

Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, “I am not praying that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.” Our children are in a spiritual battle, just as we are. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil spiritual forces in the heavens.”

Let your children see you pray. Let them know you pray for them. This models the importance of spiritual disciplines and shows them how to seek God in all circumstances.

Life Application

Our children and those around us are watching how we live. They notice our responses to stress, our priorities, and our faith practices. The question is: What are we modeling for them?

This week, consider these questions:

What struggles am I facing that I could share (appropriately) with my children to help them learn how to handle difficulties with faith?
What influences am I allowing into my children’s lives? Are these influences worthy of shaping their character?
As a father, how am I demonstrating the importance of faith to my children? If I’m not a father, how am I supporting the fathers around me?
What am I consistently praying for regarding my children or the children in my life?

Remember, it’s never too late to start modeling faith. Even if you feel you’ve made mistakes in the past, you can begin today to demonstrate what it means to follow Jesus. Whether you have children of your own or not, someone is watching your example. Make it one worth following.