The King who Brings Peace

Intentionality Requires Fathers To Stand Up

Daily Devotional Intentionality Requires Fathers To Stand Up Ephesians 6:1-4 NIV A seed does not grow because the soil is perfect. It grows because the farmer is present — watering, weeding, watching. Your child is that seed. Your presence is the water. You don’t have to be an expert farmer. You just have to refuse to leave the garden. In parenting, the primary call is to fathers. Mothers are everywhere; in school, hospital, market, kitchen, shower room, name it! Fathers, where are you? Very few are committed to the parenting mission. This is what you can declare as a father: “I will not be an absent father or an angry father. I will be a present father. I don’t need to be perfect — I need to be available. I am raising children, not just paying bills. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I will bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4 NIV Many young mothers are exhausted, but many young fathers are absent — even when they are in the house. Society trains men to provide money, not presence. To discipline in anger, not disciple in love. Paul speaks to fathers directly. Not mothers. Not grandparents. Fathers. Because God wired the home with a gap only a father can fill. When fathers are silent, children scream for attention in other ways. When fathers are harsh, children become exasperated — crushed in spirit, provoked to wrath. You might say, “But my father was not there for me. I have no example.” Then hear this: become the first one to break that syndrome. God is not asking you to be perfect. He is asking you to be present. You don’t need 3 years of experience. You need 3 minutes of obedience today. Experience is built when you show up. Moses said in Deuteronomy 28 that curses come when we turn from God’s commands. One of those commands is fatherhood. The flesh of a man says, “I worked all day, I am tired.” The Spirit of God says, “Stand up. Your son is watching. Your daughter is forming her view of God as you watch.” Rise up, dear father, and take your place. PRAYER Abba, Father, forgive me for believing the lie that my presence doesn’t matter. Forgive me for provoking my children through absence or anger. Today I stand up. I may not have had an example, but I have You. Teach me to train, not just to shout. Teach me to instruct, not just to correct. Make me a father after Your own heart — present, patient, and pointing to Christ. For the sons and daughters who have no dad, raise up men in the Body to stand in the gap. In Jesus’ name, Amen. By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Intentionality means teaching as we walk

Daily Devotional: INTENTIONALITY MEANS TEACHING AS WE WALK The Home Is the Classroom and discipleship is a daily meal. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-8 My home is holy ground. We don’t just make Sunday visits to God — we walk with Him. I will teach as we sit, as we walk, as we lie down, and as we rise. The Word is not an event in my house; it is the atmosphere. _This is true parenting._ “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7 NIV We don’t go to school to learn parenting. Parenting _is_ the school. Moses never said, “Take your children to church once a week for spiritual formation.” He said: do it when you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, and when you get up. That’s four times a day. That’s all day. God designed discipleship to happen daily. The home is the first church. The dinner table is the first altar. The car ride is the first classroom. Bedtime prayers are the first theology lessons. Many parents wait for a “holy moment” to teach their children. But Moses says the holy moments are hidden in the ordinary ones. You gain parenting experience _while_ you parent — in real time, with real issues, using real Scripture. The problem is we separate “spiritual time” from “normal life.” Yet God doesn’t. He wants the Word in the kitchen when the porridge burns. He wants the Word in the taxi in a traffic jam. He wants the Word at bedtime when fear creeps in. If we only speak of God at church, our children will think He only lives at church. But if we speak of God while we walk, they learn He walks with us. Intentionality doesn’t mean long sermons. It means short, repeated truths dropped into normal life. A 30-second truth at breakfast beats a 30-minute lecture once a month. Your words about God, dropped daily into the routine of life, will shape the hardest heart. But it won’t happen in one Sunday. It happens on Monday morning, Tuesday evening, Wednesday on the road… daily. Prayer Lord, forgive me for making faith a Sunday event instead of a daily environment. Open my eyes to see the “road moments” You have already given me. Put Your Word on my tongue when we sit, when we walk, when we lie down, and when we rise. Let my home be a place where You are named, known, and loved. Help me to disciple daily. In Jesus’ name, Amen. By Rev. Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Intentionality begins with God's Word

Daily Devotional INTENTIONALITY BEGINS WITH GOD’S WORD You can’t Impress What Hasn’t First Impressed You Read: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Yesterday, we began with a question about experience! Parenting, in particular, is a special case. As soon as a child is placed in your arms, you are automatically on duty. The first thought that comes to mind is the nurturing we received. Experience is important; companies won’t hire you without it. However, God calls us to parent without a trial period. “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV So, where do we draw our experience from? Today’s text draws our attention to a unique approach! “Impress them on the children…” Before you can impress it on them, it has to be part of you! So the question is, what is it in you that you want your children to pick up? Do not rush to teach your children first. It has to start with you, and then you transfer it to them. To impress is not to direct or force (enforce); rather, someone should admire or be drawn to what they see! When our children take it to the street in protest, it is that spirit impressed on them that rises up within them! Be intentional in every move you make because someone is observing. You cannot give what you don’t possess, and you cannot impress what has not impressed you! Please note: a father who does not sit with the Word cannot effectively shape a son with the Word. Similarly, a mother who avoids Scripture cannot cultivate children who revere it. Intentional parenting involves heart saturation rather than mere behavior modification. Many individuals tend to parent reactively rather than from revelation, influenced by culture instead of Christ, and guided by their upbringing instead of the transformative power of the Word. Dear parent, let this serve as your guide: I am not parenting out of panic but from the Word. What I hold in my heart will influence my home. My children will come to know God because I know Him. Prayer; Father, forgive me for trying to teach what I haven’t first treasured. I confess I’ve parented from emptiness. Today, write Your commands on my heart before I speak them aloud. Let Your Word dwell in me richly so it flows from me naturally. I don’t need experience — I need You. Impress me so I may impress them. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Action Point: Read: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 aloud and slowly absorb everything in it. By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Parenting with Intentionality

Daily DEVOTIONAL: PARENTING WITH INTENTIONALITY Monday 20th April 2026 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” `Proverbs 22:6 NIV` Many employers will demand experience before considering any new recruit. A minimum of 3 years is often required. But how about parenting? Where do we go to gain experience? During weddings, people receive a `permit to practice` marriage and all its components — with the assumption that they are ready and good to go. No internship. No probation. Yet overnight, two people become husband and wife, and soon after, mother and father. What about the young mothers — and fathers? Though not many fathers seem to know their role! Society trains us for careers but assumes we will figure out parenting. We prepare for exams, not for the exam of raising souls. Yet God never sends us without equipping us. Parenting is not about perfection or prior experience. It is about intentionality under the guidance of the Promise Keeper. This week we shall look at five aspects of parenting that we can employ, have some action points, and also we can share with others in our reach. PRAYER Dear Lord, You trusted us with children before we felt ready. Forgive us for parenting by accident instead of by intention. Please teach us to hide Your Word in our hearts so we can impress it on theirs. Make our homes altars where Your name is honored. In Jesus’ name, Amen. ACTION STEP This week, choose one verse to memorize as a family. By Rev Joshua Ssali

Bwogoberera Omubiri Ojja Kufa

Deuteronomy 28:14-35, Romans 8:12-17