April 22, 2025 • 29 mins
What if the guilt you feel as a dad isn’t a verdict, but a message pointing you back to what matters most? We open with a hard truth many men carry—missing moments, long hours, and the quiet fear of not measuring up—and then move toward a better promise: God’s strength shows up right where ours runs out. Using 2 Corinthians 12:9 as our anchor, we explore how admitting “I can’t” becomes the starting line for real change at home.
• Redefining dad from guilt to greatness
• Grace made perfect in weakness
• Abraham’s calling before capacity
• Practical steps to begin again
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
What kind of father do you want to be?
What kind of man do you want tobecome for your family and for
yourself?
If you've ever wondered how tostep into the fullness of your
role as a father, husband, andman of God, then you're in the
right place.
Here at the Father Difference,our mission is to inspire and
equip men to be the best fathersthey can be.
(00:23):
It's a powerful mission.
And today, we're going toexplore exactly how you can take
steps toward that calling.
Whether you're a father, a son,a husband, a grandfather, single
dad, stepfather, or just lookingto grow.
I believe God has somethingpowerful for you in today's
message.
(00:43):
Whether you're tuning in live orwatching this later, we are so
excited to have you here.
If this is what you're lookingfor, let's subscribe so you can
tweak each week to the FatherDifference Live.
You can sign up below.
And now your host, a husband,father, grandfather, author, and
(01:04):
former NFL player, Peter EdMcLass.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
Hey there, beloved.
Good to be with you.
Today we're going to talk aboutredefining that.
I just want to give a shout outto all you that are online from
TikTok, YouTube, Facebook,Twitter, Instagram.
You're all over the place.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere.
(01:39):
We come this week.
And this week we're going totalk about redefining dad.
It's going to be probably athree-part series over the next
three weeks, little shortershows.
I'm actually broadcasting hereon the fourth floor of my
daughter's and son-in-law's homein Switzerland.
It's an old barn built in the1800s.
(02:01):
And I'm here uh looking at themountains, and it's pretty epic.
It's kind of a tough place to behere, but we're going to talk
about it anyway.
And I'm really grateful thatyou're here.
And so we're tonight, we'regoing to talk about redefining
dads from guilt to to greatness.
(02:24):
And, you know, I meet dads allthe time that are struggling.
Matter of fact, you know, wedon't we don't say this out loud
too much, dad guilt.
That feeling when you you miss asoccer game or a or an event
with your kids, or you worklate, or you think you're not
(02:44):
doing enough.
You know, it's really real,according to studies that show
that 60% fathers feel guiltyabout not spending enough time
with their kids.
But there's some good news.
Guilt doesn't have to run theshow.
And that's what we're going totalk about.
And and the next slide here.
(03:05):
And so we're we're kicking offthis three-part series called
Redefining Dad from Guilt toGreatness.
And today we're going to unpackwhy dad's, you know, why guilt
happens.
And it's not because you're justfailing, it's because you care.
(03:25):
Because if you didn't care aboutnot being there for your kids,
then the Holy Spirit's notworking on you.
I mean, society right now justpiles on expectations for us as
men to be the provider, to bethe coach, right?
The superhero all at once.
No wonder we feel stretched in.
(03:46):
No wonder we come home from workand your wife looks at you with
that look, and your son or yourdaughter's just done something
that needs a dad in there, andyou feel guilty that you weren't
there.
And a lot of times that guiltwill just cause you to check
off.
But the Bible reminds us of thisincredible promise.
(04:08):
And it's in 2 Corinthians 12,verse 9, and it says, My grace
is sufficient for you, for mypower is made perfect in
weakness.
What does that mean?
I'm not talking about weakness,where he's not talking about the
(04:29):
weakness of sin.
The word there in the Greek isactually a word that when you
realize that you don't have thestrength and the gifts to be the
dad you need to be.
We're just going to talk aboutthat area tonight.
That God's power really is madeperfect when you say, Lord, I
(04:55):
can't do this.
I need help.
Matter of fact, the first stepof recovery for anybody's in a
recovery program is they admit Ican't stop drinking or can't
stop smoking this or eating thator spending this in any place
where God's working in our life,the requirement for the
(05:17):
breakthrough.
Are you ready?
Is admitting that you can't doit without God.
Now we all know thatintrinsically.
Some of your biggestbreakthroughs probably happened
because you finally admittedthat you couldn't handle it.
But boy, does that pride kick inwhere we want to have the
(05:40):
answer, where we want to becelebrated, where we want to do
that.
Because the truth is that God'sgrace covers where we fall
short.
Guilt's just a signal, not asentence.
It points to what matters toyou.
And if it didn't matter to you,you wouldn't even think about
(06:01):
it.
You wouldn't even feel guilty.
But the Holy Spirit will stiryou to step into that place and
that arena is a dad where youjust don't feel like you you got
what it takes.
And the truth of the matter isthat in Christ we do.
(06:23):
Outside of Christ, we don't.
You know, we're close, we'rewe're we're zeroing in on
700,000 copies of The Differencea Father Makes around the world.
(06:47):
And I've yet to have a guy readmy book and say, Oh, yeah, I
knew how to do everything,didn't really need to read your
book.
And that book is filled withthis promise that God's grace is
sufficient for us in ourweakness.
When we choose to say we don'tknow how to do something, or we
(07:11):
don't have what it takes for ourkids in that moment, or we come
home and we're exhausted and wejust we're just beyond
ourselves, is when we learn tostep into God's grace, it it
changes things.
So that that's that's the firstthing to think about.
And so I want to tonight I'mgonna do something just a little
(07:34):
different in sharing this withyou, is that I'm gonna read you
and walk you through mydevotional that I actually sent
out today, and it's called TheFather's Forge, How God Shapes a
Dad.
The story about Abraham, and itgoes right along with our
(07:55):
subject here to prove it.
And so I'm gonna read this withyou, and I want you to think
about these words.
If you don't get my devotion,you can actually get it right
here from my website atthefatherdifference.com, and you
can sign up and get that everysingle day.
It's a free gift for you.
(08:15):
Here's one of them that we'regonna walk through, and I'm I'm
so grateful for all theresponses that I get from people
around the world.
We have thousands of people whoget this every single day, and
I'm so grateful.
And it's a devotional that helpsconnect you to all that you need
to be a great dad.
(08:36):
And if you're a mom, a greatmom, and I see we got a few moms
slipping into our time here.
I'm so grateful that you'reonline.
I got a bunch of friends there.
Love you, much.
Don't have time to respond toeverybody, because I want to
make this our time shorter thanthan longer, and and maybe a
little bit more powerful withsome application.
(08:59):
So here is the scripture, and aBible says that we call Abraham
father not because he got God'sattention by living as a saint,
but because God made somethingout of Abraham when he was in
nobody.
(09:23):
Think about that.
God was God himself, it says inthe scripture, this refers to,
is the one that made Abraham afather by giving him a son.
When he couldn't have children,when he was too old, his wife
got pregnant.
And she laughed when she heardthat God was gonna do this.
(09:47):
But Abraham became a father whenhe was old, when he had no
capacity to be a father.
That is a promise for you.
That's how God shapes us.
When we come to that place andwe don't feel like we have all
the equipment we need, and we dothat.
The the problem with guys whothink they have the equipment,
(10:09):
and say they're raising a greatfamily or they were raising a
strong family, and and theydrive their children, they can
they can drive them right out oftheir home, and they're teaching
them that they got they can justuse their will to completely
rule their lives, was one of thebiggest lies you can possibly
(10:31):
live in.
Let's let's continue.
See Abraham when he was anobody, isn't that what we've
always read in scripture?
God said to Annie, I set you upas a father of many people.
This is uh in Romans 4, verse 7,Abraham was first named father
(10:52):
and then became a father becausehe dared.
Look at those words, he dared totrust God to do what only God
could do.
Raise the dead to life.
This is very referring to a timewhen God asked Abraham to
sacrifice his son after he gotthis promise to take him to a
(11:16):
hill and sacrifice him, and Godpromised him.
And it was the incrediblepicture.
I don't want to look at all thatright now, but it's the picture
of what happens when we dare totrust God to do what only he can
do.
And Abraham took his son tosacrifice him on an altar, but
he knew that God could evenraise him from the dead and with
(11:40):
a word make something out ofnothing.
That's Romans 4, 17 in amessage.
You can look that up later.
And so that's how God does that.
God can take something that'sbroken or something that has no
capacity and give you capacity.
Abraham had a son because hedidn't have a capacity to be a
(12:00):
father, and God made him afather.
It's a powerful picture.
So, hey, beloved, so think letme kind of tell you something
straight from the heart of thatcame McLassan.
And I have learned this over andover and over again.
God's got a wild, beautiful planto make you a father.
(12:20):
If you're a dad today, there issomething that happens to you
when you become a dad thatcompletely changes your life.
Matter of fact, the Bible saysthat when Enoch became a father,
he walked with God for the restof his days.
See, we need God to walk withGod to be the father we need to
be.
(12:41):
And so it's not about you havingall the answers I write here or
the perfect track record.
Nope.
It's about him seeing you rightwhere you are.
Maybe uh feeling like a nobody.
Maybe you wondered if you ifyou're cut out for this dad
thing.
(13:02):
And and you're saying, you know,and God's really saying here,
that's my guy.
I'm gonna I'm gonna forge thatman into something
extraordinary.
It's God that that that that isplanned to in his plans, and
when you become a father, hedoes something to you as a
(13:23):
father.
And the way you father throughyour children and learn mistakes
and all, he's forging somethinginside of you that he can
duplicate in your sons, andthat's incredibly powerful.
And as a grandpa, there'snothing as powerful to me than
it's a father having the heartof my children and them watching
(13:48):
how they raise their children.
Using even some of the samethings that I've said out of my
mouth.
The good things, maybe some ofthe bad too.
Think about Abraham for aminute.
He's been reading his devotionalfrom today.
He was picked because he had hewasn't picked because he had a
(14:12):
wall full of father of the yeartrophies, right?
For plaque.
God chose him when he was old,creaky and childless, childless,
with a wife who laughed out loudat the promise of a baby.
Laughed yet God called him afather before he held his son.
(14:34):
So the capacity for him to be adad happened at the word of God
to him.
Why?
Because God's not in thebusiness of waiting for us to
get it together before heblesses us.
He blesses us first, and in thatprocess, his grace helps us get
it together.
He's in the business of takingour nothing and making it
(14:59):
something, something eternal,something that that echoes
through generations.
I mean, one of the most profoundthings to me is you know, when I
came here to Switzerland, my mydaughter and my son, son-in-law
(15:19):
have been talking about me totheir church, and and all I had
a men's group uh a week ago upin the mountains on the side of
a mountain.
It was incredible.
And they wanted me to talk forabout 20 minutes, and two and a
half hours later, I was stilltalking.
It was incredible.
(15:41):
And I I I discovered they allhad written written bad my book.
They had all these questions andthey all had this hope that
maybe one day they could be afather different than the dad
that raised them.
And I had a blessing time withthem and I prayed for them.
(16:01):
I'm just so honored to to seehow God has taken this message
that he he put inside of me forEdna Blassen where I was weak
and and then became strong inhim.
It was him that did this for me,it wasn't me and my ideas.
(16:23):
And now just sharing that storywith these guys, just the hope
they had and just the tears thatthey they they live in a culture
here where fathers don't expressemotion very much at all, and uh
don't don't praise theirchildren.
(16:46):
And and it and so to for them tobegin to hear that in scripture
from God Himself into theirlives, it's just transforming
for you, for me.
Why?
Because see, God God's not inthe business, I'm gonna read
this again, of waiting for us toget it get uh get it together.
(17:06):
He's in the business of takingour nothing and making it
something, not somethingeternal, something that echoes
through generations.
You're becoming a good presentfather, or if you're a mom
watching this, will echo intoyour children and your
(17:27):
grandchildren one day.
Know what you want?
Know what you want from yourchildren and your grandkids.
It's never too late to be thefather that your kids need you
to be.
Or the grandpa.
I know a lot of grandpas who arefathering their grandchildren
(17:48):
because they kind of blew itthemselves in their own story
with their kids, and they'retrying to repair that.
We do a lot of coaching aroundthat.
If that's something you want ussome coaching, our our team is
the best and would love for youto check out the Fatherhood
Academy.
And I'll share with that at theend.
(18:08):
So I love how Abraham's storygets gritty after his son Isaac
arrived.
God didn't hand him a playbookfor easy parenting.
Right?
He had to receive it every day.
I gotta learn to be a grandpaevery day.
I gotta learn to be a fatherwith my kids every day.
(18:29):
Because when you start out andyou don't rest on the lores of
yesterday, and you just say,God, I need a fresh dose of
fathering today for me, so thatI can be the father I need to
be.
Boy, you'll have all the graceyou need.
He asked Abraham to climb amountain and lay his boy on an
altar.
Can you imagine the weight ofthat?
(18:51):
But Abraham trusted God sodeeply he believed even death
couldn't stop God's promise.
God's promises are sure.
That's the kind of faith thatturns a man into a father.
Not just one of nations.
Think about that, beloved.
(19:12):
So here's the deal.
Kind of tie this together.
I am a little distracted lookingat these extraordinary mountains
out here.
You don't become a great dad bymuscling through on your own.
If you're muscling on your own,you're gonna teach your sons
that and they're not gonna turninto great men, they're gonna
(19:35):
turn into monsters.
I played football with a lot ofguys who just it was all about
their personal power.
God's made us for him and forhis power.
And so when you're not trying tomuscle it on your own, you you
become the kind of dad byletting God father you.
(19:57):
When you let God the father loveyou and father you, it will
change your story.
It's kind of the core message inmy own life, in my own family,
is that when you let God makethe father make a difference in
you and father you, you're gonnamake a difference in the life of
your sons and your daughters andyour grandkids and your
(20:22):
marriage.
See, his love, his voice, isstrength.
That's what will shape you intothe man your kids needs.
You need God's love in you, youneed God's voice to you, and you
need God's strength to be thefather you need to be.
So today I want you to take astep with me.
(20:43):
Uh grab your Bible, you know,dog, ear or digital, doesn't
matter, and open it up.
And this is what I want you tosay every day and grab your
journal with you because we'removing from this place of guilt
to this place of learning how tobe father by God.
(21:07):
And I want you to say this everymorning, God speak to me, show
me who you're making me to be.
God, speak to me and show me whoyou're making me to be.
Let those words sink in like ablacksmith's hammer shaping
iron.
(21:27):
That's where that transformationhappens, is when you begin to
talk to God as your father,because he is your father.
I remember that first momentafter you know, I discovered the
blessing of the father for Ed,and grabbing my Bible, my
journal, my favorite latte, andstarted reading scripture, and
(21:55):
when something popped out, Iwould write the scripture down
and talk and just write downwhat what I thought God was
saying to me in the scripture.
And then at the end, at everyone of my devotional times, I
would have a question where Ithought, well, if you're my
father now, I need to talk toyou because I could never talk
(22:16):
to my stepdad, and I couldn'ttalk to my birth father because
he was killed in action.
So I need a father.
Would you speak to me?
And man, I gotta tell you, whenthat happened in my life, it
completely transformed me.
And he started to speak to me.
And I'm not he wasn't audiblyspeaking to me, and like some
(22:39):
boys, hey, like my Ein Einsteinhair, that's what my
granddaughters call it.
But he would take that scriptureand and give me an impression,
or he would whisper somethingdeep in my heart, and from that
place of feeling his love andhis presence and his life, that
(23:02):
filled me up for what I neededfor that day to father my kids,
or father my grandkids.
And it's a profound thing whenthat happens.
It's profound.
The more you let God father you,the more equipment you're gonna
have to father your kids.
(23:24):
And that's what I got for you.
We got you know, part two ofthis is coming up, and can't
wait to share that with you.
And uh, God's forge is ready, myfriend.
You gotta go for it.
He's calling you by name.
And I would love if you sent mean email and said, I I asked
(23:46):
that question of God thismorning, and just go and send me
an email and connect connectwith me.
You can send us into my websiteif you go to the
thefatherdifference.com, uh, youcan send me an email, and I'd
love to hear from you about howyou're applying this uh in your
(24:09):
own life.
I'm looking right here, I don'tsee that the email address.
So you just go to edcandy at thefatherdifference.com and you can
get me.
So before I get off, I want topray for you.
I think one of the greatest newsof this message tonight for me
is that no matter how much Iblow it, God the Father said,
(24:32):
I'm ready to do what I need tohave done.
And his mercies are new everymorning.
And so maybe you've blown it asthe dad and you need a new
beginning.
Well, I'm gonna pray for you.
Maybe your kids aren't talkingto you.
I'm gonna pray for that as well.
So, Father, I pray for myfriends that are watching, and I
(24:52):
pray that your Holy Spirit wouldtouch them and fill them and be
with them.
I ask you to bless them withyour blessing.
I pray, Lord, that you wouldgive them the courage to grab a
journal and their favoritebeverage tomorrow morning and
just ask that question.
God, speak to me.
Show me who you've called me tobe and give me words for those
(25:17):
that I love, give me words formy kids today, give me grace for
my kids today.
Father, I pray you would openyour word to them and make it
powerful, and they'd fill theirheart with treasure every single
day to be the father they needto be.
And so, Lord, I pray you'd blessthem.
I pray you'd make them hungryfor your word.
(25:38):
I pray you would multiply themand use them in the name of
Jesus.
Bless my brother, bless mysisters that are watching, and
equip them in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So grateful you're here,connecting, share this with a
friend, and I'm gonna be backonline live on Thursday with the
(26:01):
gals, different the mothermakes, and uh, it's a great
Thursday night live that we haveuh for gals.
And uh, if you've if didn't knowabout that, you can we do this
every Thursday at 12 p.m.
Pacific Standard Time, USA Time.
And so we're gonna be recordingthat show here on Thursday for
(26:24):
the gals in your life.
Share that with your wife, andthat'd be awesome.
All right, bless you, my friend.
And so before I get off here,there's a little outro about our
Fatherhood Academy, and wouldlove for you to consider joining
and become a part of that.
And we'll see you next week.
(26:45):
God bless.
SPEAKER_00 (26:46):
Dear friends, imagine a world where every
father feels equipped to leadwith faith, love, and purpose.
A world where families thriveand communities grow stronger
because of devoted,Christ-centered fathers.
SPEAKER_01 (27:00):
You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's
put in my heart for every singlefamily.
You know, he is on the move, Ibelieve.
He promises in Malachi thatbefore the great coming day of
the Lord, he's gonna dosomething profound.
He's gonna turn the hearts offathers back towards their
(27:22):
children.
So the hearts of their childrenwill turn back to their father.
That's what God is doing.
I mean dads daily who want tolearn to be better fathers.
Yet many have never been shownhow.
Too many families are beingfractured to bitterness, and
with parents and grandparentseven being killed.
(27:45):
That's why we're launching anonline community to quit and to
be the fathers that God iscalled to be.
It's more than a program, it's apart of a movement that God is
already doing to reshapefatherhood.
It's a sacred calling rooted inthe teachings of Christ.
(28:06):
And we're calling this theFatherhood Academy, where men
will embark on a journey ofhealing and spiritual
restoration to help themtransform their family
relationship.
And to make this vision areality, would you consider
partnering with us financiallyif we continue to reach and
(28:29):
disciple every man dad andgrandfather comes away?
Your donations will help createa ripple that cost the
neighborhoods, communities, inan ultimately our native.
SPEAKER_00 (28:53):
Your gift, whether a one-time donation, or ongoing
funding support, will help totransform lives.
Together, we can equip fathersand grandfathers to lead with
faith and create a brighter,hopeful future for generations
to come.
Click the link to donate today.
(29:14):
Thank you for believing in thismission and joining us on this
transformative journey.
What kind of father do you want to be?
What kind of man do you want tobecome for your family and for
yourself?
If you've ever wondered how tostep into the fullness of your
role as a father, husband, andman of God, then you're in the
right place.
Here at the Father Difference,our mission is to inspire and
equip men to be the best fathersthey can be.
(00:23):
It's a powerful mission.
And today, we're going toexplore exactly how you can take
steps toward that calling.
Whether you're a father, a son,a husband, a grandfather, single
dad, stepfather, or just lookingto grow.
I believe God has somethingpowerful for you in today's
message.
(00:43):
Whether you're tuning in live orwatching this later, we are so
excited to have you here.
If this is what you're lookingfor, let's subscribe so you can
tweak each week to the FatherDifference Live.
You can sign up below.
And now your host, a husband,father, grandfather, author, and
(01:04):
former NFL player, Peter EdMcLass.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
Hey there, beloved.
Good to be with you.
Today we're going to talk aboutredefining that.
I just want to give a shout outto all you that are online from
TikTok, YouTube, Facebook,Twitter, Instagram.
You're all over the place.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere.
(01:39):
We come this week.
And this week we're going totalk about redefining dad.
It's going to be probably athree-part series over the next
three weeks, little shortershows.
I'm actually broadcasting hereon the fourth floor of my
daughter's and son-in-law's homein Switzerland.
It's an old barn built in the1800s.
(02:01):
And I'm here uh looking at themountains, and it's pretty epic.
It's kind of a tough place to behere, but we're going to talk
about it anyway.
And I'm really grateful thatyou're here.
And so we're tonight, we'regoing to talk about redefining
dads from guilt to to greatness.
(02:24):
And, you know, I meet dads allthe time that are struggling.
Matter of fact, you know, wedon't we don't say this out loud
too much, dad guilt.
That feeling when you you miss asoccer game or a or an event
with your kids, or you worklate, or you think you're not
(02:44):
doing enough.
You know, it's really real,according to studies that show
that 60% fathers feel guiltyabout not spending enough time
with their kids.
But there's some good news.
Guilt doesn't have to run theshow.
And that's what we're going totalk about.
And and the next slide here.
(03:05):
And so we're we're kicking offthis three-part series called
Redefining Dad from Guilt toGreatness.
And today we're going to unpackwhy dad's, you know, why guilt
happens.
And it's not because you're justfailing, it's because you care.
(03:25):
Because if you didn't care aboutnot being there for your kids,
then the Holy Spirit's notworking on you.
I mean, society right now justpiles on expectations for us as
men to be the provider, to bethe coach, right?
The superhero all at once.
No wonder we feel stretched in.
(03:46):
No wonder we come home from workand your wife looks at you with
that look, and your son or yourdaughter's just done something
that needs a dad in there, andyou feel guilty that you weren't
there.
And a lot of times that guiltwill just cause you to check
off.
But the Bible reminds us of thisincredible promise.
(04:08):
And it's in 2 Corinthians 12,verse 9, and it says, My grace
is sufficient for you, for mypower is made perfect in
weakness.
What does that mean?
I'm not talking about weakness,where he's not talking about the
(04:29):
weakness of sin.
The word there in the Greek isactually a word that when you
realize that you don't have thestrength and the gifts to be the
dad you need to be.
We're just going to talk aboutthat area tonight.
That God's power really is madeperfect when you say, Lord, I
(04:55):
can't do this.
I need help.
Matter of fact, the first stepof recovery for anybody's in a
recovery program is they admit Ican't stop drinking or can't
stop smoking this or eating thator spending this in any place
where God's working in our life,the requirement for the
(05:17):
breakthrough.
Are you ready?
Is admitting that you can't doit without God.
Now we all know thatintrinsically.
Some of your biggestbreakthroughs probably happened
because you finally admittedthat you couldn't handle it.
But boy, does that pride kick inwhere we want to have the
(05:40):
answer, where we want to becelebrated, where we want to do
that.
Because the truth is that God'sgrace covers where we fall
short.
Guilt's just a signal, not asentence.
It points to what matters toyou.
And if it didn't matter to you,you wouldn't even think about
(06:01):
it.
You wouldn't even feel guilty.
But the Holy Spirit will stiryou to step into that place and
that arena is a dad where youjust don't feel like you you got
what it takes.
And the truth of the matter isthat in Christ we do.
(06:23):
Outside of Christ, we don't.
You know, we're close, we'rewe're we're zeroing in on
700,000 copies of The Differencea Father Makes around the world.
(06:47):
And I've yet to have a guy readmy book and say, Oh, yeah, I
knew how to do everything,didn't really need to read your
book.
And that book is filled withthis promise that God's grace is
sufficient for us in ourweakness.
When we choose to say we don'tknow how to do something, or we
(07:11):
don't have what it takes for ourkids in that moment, or we come
home and we're exhausted and wejust we're just beyond
ourselves, is when we learn tostep into God's grace, it it
changes things.
So that that's that's the firstthing to think about.
And so I want to tonight I'mgonna do something just a little
(07:34):
different in sharing this withyou, is that I'm gonna read you
and walk you through mydevotional that I actually sent
out today, and it's called TheFather's Forge, How God Shapes a
Dad.
The story about Abraham, and itgoes right along with our
(07:55):
subject here to prove it.
And so I'm gonna read this withyou, and I want you to think
about these words.
If you don't get my devotion,you can actually get it right
here from my website atthefatherdifference.com, and you
can sign up and get that everysingle day.
It's a free gift for you.
(08:15):
Here's one of them that we'regonna walk through, and I'm I'm
so grateful for all theresponses that I get from people
around the world.
We have thousands of people whoget this every single day, and
I'm so grateful.
And it's a devotional that helpsconnect you to all that you need
to be a great dad.
(08:36):
And if you're a mom, a greatmom, and I see we got a few moms
slipping into our time here.
I'm so grateful that you'reonline.
I got a bunch of friends there.
Love you, much.
Don't have time to respond toeverybody, because I want to
make this our time shorter thanthan longer, and and maybe a
little bit more powerful withsome application.
(08:59):
So here is the scripture, and aBible says that we call Abraham
father not because he got God'sattention by living as a saint,
but because God made somethingout of Abraham when he was in
nobody.
(09:23):
Think about that.
God was God himself, it says inthe scripture, this refers to,
is the one that made Abraham afather by giving him a son.
When he couldn't have children,when he was too old, his wife
got pregnant.
And she laughed when she heardthat God was gonna do this.
(09:47):
But Abraham became a father whenhe was old, when he had no
capacity to be a father.
That is a promise for you.
That's how God shapes us.
When we come to that place andwe don't feel like we have all
the equipment we need, and we dothat.
The the problem with guys whothink they have the equipment,
(10:09):
and say they're raising a greatfamily or they were raising a
strong family, and and theydrive their children, they can
they can drive them right out oftheir home, and they're teaching
them that they got they can justuse their will to completely
rule their lives, was one of thebiggest lies you can possibly
(10:31):
live in.
Let's let's continue.
See Abraham when he was anobody, isn't that what we've
always read in scripture?
God said to Annie, I set you upas a father of many people.
This is uh in Romans 4, verse 7,Abraham was first named father
(10:52):
and then became a father becausehe dared.
Look at those words, he dared totrust God to do what only God
could do.
Raise the dead to life.
This is very referring to a timewhen God asked Abraham to
sacrifice his son after he gotthis promise to take him to a
(11:16):
hill and sacrifice him, and Godpromised him.
And it was the incrediblepicture.
I don't want to look at all thatright now, but it's the picture
of what happens when we dare totrust God to do what only he can
do.
And Abraham took his son tosacrifice him on an altar, but
he knew that God could evenraise him from the dead and with
(11:40):
a word make something out ofnothing.
That's Romans 4, 17 in amessage.
You can look that up later.
And so that's how God does that.
God can take something that'sbroken or something that has no
capacity and give you capacity.
Abraham had a son because hedidn't have a capacity to be a
(12:00):
father, and God made him afather.
It's a powerful picture.
So, hey, beloved, so think letme kind of tell you something
straight from the heart of thatcame McLassan.
And I have learned this over andover and over again.
God's got a wild, beautiful planto make you a father.
(12:20):
If you're a dad today, there issomething that happens to you
when you become a dad thatcompletely changes your life.
Matter of fact, the Bible saysthat when Enoch became a father,
he walked with God for the restof his days.
See, we need God to walk withGod to be the father we need to
be.
(12:41):
And so it's not about you havingall the answers I write here or
the perfect track record.
Nope.
It's about him seeing you rightwhere you are.
Maybe uh feeling like a nobody.
Maybe you wondered if you ifyou're cut out for this dad
thing.
(13:02):
And and you're saying, you know,and God's really saying here,
that's my guy.
I'm gonna I'm gonna forge thatman into something
extraordinary.
It's God that that that that isplanned to in his plans, and
when you become a father, hedoes something to you as a
(13:23):
father.
And the way you father throughyour children and learn mistakes
and all, he's forging somethinginside of you that he can
duplicate in your sons, andthat's incredibly powerful.
And as a grandpa, there'snothing as powerful to me than
it's a father having the heartof my children and them watching
(13:48):
how they raise their children.
Using even some of the samethings that I've said out of my
mouth.
The good things, maybe some ofthe bad too.
Think about Abraham for aminute.
He's been reading his devotionalfrom today.
He was picked because he had hewasn't picked because he had a
(14:12):
wall full of father of the yeartrophies, right?
For plaque.
God chose him when he was old,creaky and childless, childless,
with a wife who laughed out loudat the promise of a baby.
Laughed yet God called him afather before he held his son.
(14:34):
So the capacity for him to be adad happened at the word of God
to him.
Why?
Because God's not in thebusiness of waiting for us to
get it together before heblesses us.
He blesses us first, and in thatprocess, his grace helps us get
it together.
He's in the business of takingour nothing and making it
(14:59):
something, something eternal,something that that echoes
through generations.
I mean, one of the most profoundthings to me is you know, when I
came here to Switzerland, my mydaughter and my son, son-in-law
(15:19):
have been talking about me totheir church, and and all I had
a men's group uh a week ago upin the mountains on the side of
a mountain.
It was incredible.
And they wanted me to talk forabout 20 minutes, and two and a
half hours later, I was stilltalking.
It was incredible.
(15:41):
And I I I discovered they allhad written written bad my book.
They had all these questions andthey all had this hope that
maybe one day they could be afather different than the dad
that raised them.
And I had a blessing time withthem and I prayed for them.
(16:01):
I'm just so honored to to seehow God has taken this message
that he he put inside of me forEdna Blassen where I was weak
and and then became strong inhim.
It was him that did this for me,it wasn't me and my ideas.
(16:23):
And now just sharing that storywith these guys, just the hope
they had and just the tears thatthey they they live in a culture
here where fathers don't expressemotion very much at all, and uh
don't don't praise theirchildren.
(16:46):
And and it and so to for them tobegin to hear that in scripture
from God Himself into theirlives, it's just transforming
for you, for me.
Why?
Because see, God God's not inthe business, I'm gonna read
this again, of waiting for us toget it get uh get it together.
(17:06):
He's in the business of takingour nothing and making it
something, not somethingeternal, something that echoes
through generations.
You're becoming a good presentfather, or if you're a mom
watching this, will echo intoyour children and your
(17:27):
grandchildren one day.
Know what you want?
Know what you want from yourchildren and your grandkids.
It's never too late to be thefather that your kids need you
to be.
Or the grandpa.
I know a lot of grandpas who arefathering their grandchildren
(17:48):
because they kind of blew itthemselves in their own story
with their kids, and they'retrying to repair that.
We do a lot of coaching aroundthat.
If that's something you want ussome coaching, our our team is
the best and would love for youto check out the Fatherhood
Academy.
And I'll share with that at theend.
(18:08):
So I love how Abraham's storygets gritty after his son Isaac
arrived.
God didn't hand him a playbookfor easy parenting.
Right?
He had to receive it every day.
I gotta learn to be a grandpaevery day.
I gotta learn to be a fatherwith my kids every day.
(18:29):
Because when you start out andyou don't rest on the lores of
yesterday, and you just say,God, I need a fresh dose of
fathering today for me, so thatI can be the father I need to
be.
Boy, you'll have all the graceyou need.
He asked Abraham to climb amountain and lay his boy on an
altar.
Can you imagine the weight ofthat?
(18:51):
But Abraham trusted God sodeeply he believed even death
couldn't stop God's promise.
God's promises are sure.
That's the kind of faith thatturns a man into a father.
Not just one of nations.
Think about that, beloved.
(19:12):
So here's the deal.
Kind of tie this together.
I am a little distracted lookingat these extraordinary mountains
out here.
You don't become a great dad bymuscling through on your own.
If you're muscling on your own,you're gonna teach your sons
that and they're not gonna turninto great men, they're gonna
(19:35):
turn into monsters.
I played football with a lot ofguys who just it was all about
their personal power.
God's made us for him and forhis power.
And so when you're not trying tomuscle it on your own, you you
become the kind of dad byletting God father you.
(19:57):
When you let God the father loveyou and father you, it will
change your story.
It's kind of the core message inmy own life, in my own family,
is that when you let God makethe father make a difference in
you and father you, you're gonnamake a difference in the life of
your sons and your daughters andyour grandkids and your
(20:22):
marriage.
See, his love, his voice, isstrength.
That's what will shape you intothe man your kids needs.
You need God's love in you, youneed God's voice to you, and you
need God's strength to be thefather you need to be.
So today I want you to take astep with me.
(20:43):
Uh grab your Bible, you know,dog, ear or digital, doesn't
matter, and open it up.
And this is what I want you tosay every day and grab your
journal with you because we'removing from this place of guilt
to this place of learning how tobe father by God.
(21:07):
And I want you to say this everymorning, God speak to me, show
me who you're making me to be.
God, speak to me and show me whoyou're making me to be.
Let those words sink in like ablacksmith's hammer shaping
iron.
(21:27):
That's where that transformationhappens, is when you begin to
talk to God as your father,because he is your father.
I remember that first momentafter you know, I discovered the
blessing of the father for Ed,and grabbing my Bible, my
journal, my favorite latte, andstarted reading scripture, and
(21:55):
when something popped out, Iwould write the scripture down
and talk and just write downwhat what I thought God was
saying to me in the scripture.
And then at the end, at everyone of my devotional times, I
would have a question where Ithought, well, if you're my
father now, I need to talk toyou because I could never talk
(22:16):
to my stepdad, and I couldn'ttalk to my birth father because
he was killed in action.
So I need a father.
Would you speak to me?
And man, I gotta tell you, whenthat happened in my life, it
completely transformed me.
And he started to speak to me.
And I'm not he wasn't audiblyspeaking to me, and like some
(22:39):
boys, hey, like my Ein Einsteinhair, that's what my
granddaughters call it.
But he would take that scriptureand and give me an impression,
or he would whisper somethingdeep in my heart, and from that
place of feeling his love andhis presence and his life, that
(23:02):
filled me up for what I neededfor that day to father my kids,
or father my grandkids.
And it's a profound thing whenthat happens.
It's profound.
The more you let God father you,the more equipment you're gonna
have to father your kids.
(23:24):
And that's what I got for you.
We got you know, part two ofthis is coming up, and can't
wait to share that with you.
And uh, God's forge is ready, myfriend.
You gotta go for it.
He's calling you by name.
And I would love if you sent mean email and said, I I asked
(23:46):
that question of God thismorning, and just go and send me
an email and connect connectwith me.
You can send us into my websiteif you go to the
thefatherdifference.com, uh, youcan send me an email, and I'd
love to hear from you about howyou're applying this uh in your
(24:09):
own life.
I'm looking right here, I don'tsee that the email address.
So you just go to edcandy at thefatherdifference.com and you can
get me.
So before I get off, I want topray for you.
I think one of the greatest newsof this message tonight for me
is that no matter how much Iblow it, God the Father said,
(24:32):
I'm ready to do what I need tohave done.
And his mercies are new everymorning.
And so maybe you've blown it asthe dad and you need a new
beginning.
Well, I'm gonna pray for you.
Maybe your kids aren't talkingto you.
I'm gonna pray for that as well.
So, Father, I pray for myfriends that are watching, and I
(24:52):
pray that your Holy Spirit wouldtouch them and fill them and be
with them.
I ask you to bless them withyour blessing.
I pray, Lord, that you wouldgive them the courage to grab a
journal and their favoritebeverage tomorrow morning and
just ask that question.
God, speak to me.
Show me who you've called me tobe and give me words for those
(25:17):
that I love, give me words formy kids today, give me grace for
my kids today.
Father, I pray you would openyour word to them and make it
powerful, and they'd fill theirheart with treasure every single
day to be the father they needto be.
And so, Lord, I pray you'd blessthem.
I pray you'd make them hungryfor your word.
(25:38):
I pray you would multiply themand use them in the name of
Jesus.
Bless my brother, bless mysisters that are watching, and
equip them in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So grateful you're here,connecting, share this with a
friend, and I'm gonna be backonline live on Thursday with the
(26:01):
gals, different the mothermakes, and uh, it's a great
Thursday night live that we haveuh for gals.
And uh, if you've if didn't knowabout that, you can we do this
every Thursday at 12 p.m.
Pacific Standard Time, USA Time.
And so we're gonna be recordingthat show here on Thursday for
(26:24):
the gals in your life.
Share that with your wife, andthat'd be awesome.
All right, bless you, my friend.
And so before I get off here,there's a little outro about our
Fatherhood Academy, and wouldlove for you to consider joining
and become a part of that.
And we'll see you next week.
(26:45):
God bless.
SPEAKER_00 (26:46):
Dear friends, imagine a world where every
father feels equipped to leadwith faith, love, and purpose.
A world where families thriveand communities grow stronger
because of devoted,Christ-centered fathers.
SPEAKER_01 (27:00):
You know, beloved, that is the vision that God's
put in my heart for every singlefamily.
You know, he is on the move, Ibelieve.
He promises in Malachi thatbefore the great coming day of
the Lord, he's gonna dosomething profound.
He's gonna turn the hearts offathers back towards their
(27:22):
children.
So the hearts of their childrenwill turn back to their father.
That's what God is doing.
I mean dads daily who want tolearn to be better fathers.
Yet many have never been shownhow.
Too many families are beingfractured to bitterness, and
with parents and grandparentseven being killed.
(27:45):
That's why we're launching anonline community to quit and to
be the fathers that God iscalled to be.
It's more than a program, it's apart of a movement that God is
already doing to reshapefatherhood.
It's a sacred calling rooted inthe teachings of Christ.
(28:06):
And we're calling this theFatherhood Academy, where men
will embark on a journey ofhealing and spiritual
restoration to help themtransform their family
relationship.
And to make this vision areality, would you consider
partnering with us financiallyif we continue to reach and
(28:29):
disciple every man dad andgrandfather comes away?
Your donations will help createa ripple that cost the
neighborhoods, communities, inan ultimately our native.
SPEAKER_00 (28:53):
Your gift, whether a one-time donation, or ongoing
funding support, will help totransform lives.
Together, we can equip fathersand grandfathers to lead with
faith and create a brighter,hopeful future for generations
to come.
Click the link to donate today.
(29:14):
Thank you for believing in thismission and joining us on this
transformative journey.
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