1. At least 75% of the time I have no idea what I’m doing. The great myth of adulthood is the belief that we have it all figured out. In truth, it’s mostly a combination of faking it, knowing enough to steer clear of things we don’t understand, and the inertia of 9-to-5 life. And yet, despite how seemingly unprepared I am for life’s curveballs, the curveballs don’t stop getting thrown at me. Life—the Devil—doesn’t care if I’m not ready for a big shakeup. Shoot, he’s counting on it. I usually have no idea what I’m doing and were it not for the fact that I have a good shepherd (John 10) I would be hopelessly lost.
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  2. Mercy and Grace are often used interchangeably but, in fact, they are fundamentally different: The chief difference between mercy and grace is this: Mercy is when you deserve something bad and are spared the punishment. Grace is when you deserve something bad and not only are you spared the punishment but you are given a great blessing instead. By and large, people—even worldly people—are pretty good about being merciful. Sure, there are those who just seem to get their kicks making people suffer, but generally speaking people like giving second chances. On the other hand, it is a rare thing indeed to find a person willing, not only to spare someone, but to reward someone despite their guilt. As Paul put it, you can maybe find someone willing to die for a good man but forget about finding someone who would willingly die for a wicked person…and yet that’s exactly what Jesus did for us (Romans 5:6-8). Jesus was merciful to us when we deserved to die, but not only did He just refuse to kill, He also died for us that we might have a better life than we deserve.
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  3. The Heavenly Father has given me everything I need to know in the Bible about how to be a dad, and shame on me for not listening enough to Him. He set the template. He recorded the history of His dealings with His children of Israel. He said over and over “this is an example…” and I can probably trace every parental failure of my fifteen-year (and counting) history as a dad to some great Biblical lesson I just failed to apply to my life. I’ve been going through a lot lately, in terms of the job I’ve been doing as a dad, especially the dad of a teenager. There have been times when I’ve thought to myself “I will never again be able to teach another class or preach another sermon or write another devotional on the subject of parenting.” Who am I to tell others how to do a job that I do with such consistent inadequacy? But then, recently, I had an epiphany: My sermons, classes, and devos on the subject do not need to be haughty, “listen to the expert” discussions. Instead, they need to be cautionary tales. Either way, the sermons have to be preached. If I can learn a lesson the hard way, it behooves me as a teacher to impart that lesson to students (the easy way). I recently started drafting up some ideas for what, originally, was a personal Bible study about parental advice from the Heavenly father. I’ve decided to develop it into a thirteen-week class that I will teach, Lord willing, in the summer of 2023. I hope it will be of some use.

Your prayers are always appreciated.

~Matthew