Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Show up every day. Love Jesus, love your people and refuse to quit because Christ in you, in you is the hope of this nation.
[00:00:12] You are God's plan for the church going forward.
[00:00:16] You are irreplaceable.
[00:00:21] Run your home and your dough like a biblical boss.
[00:00:27] My Abrahamic family leaders. Happy New Year 2026 as your brother Steve Manuel, that's me, the host of Abraham's Wallet. I'm coming to you right at the outset of a brand new year armed with only one thing.
[00:00:42] A straight shot of truth and encouragement right into the glutes of your soul. You know they put those shots a lot of times you got to get them right in the but and I want to shoot this right into the butt of your soul.
[00:00:56] Last year we did this shot in the arm episode. It was really heavy on my heart to do that to start the new year to just as an encouragement to dads. And here we are again. If you have it in your heart that I want to be an Abrahamic family leader, then I would like to encourage you.
[00:01:13] There's no guests today. There's no banter. It's just me and you and the God who sees every single thing you do when nobody else is watching.
[00:01:24] I see you. I think I understand the story of most men that tune in here. I've spent time with two families today and a third on the phone.
[00:01:36] I'm. I'm. I feel very aware of what you go through and more importantly, the Lord sees everything that you go through. I just want you guys to be encouraged today.
[00:01:48] God sees you.
[00:01:50] He sees the guy who's already been up since 5:15 Wrestling your way through prayer because the baby was up at 4:55 and you figured you might as well just stay up and do your best to meet with the king.
[00:02:03] He sees the guy whose wife is still asleep and doesn't know that you just moved money around to cover the orthodontist and you stared at the $43 left in the checking account and you just said in your heart, okay Lord, will we trust you this month again?
[00:02:19] He sees the guy who disciplined the eight year old last night for the 47th time over the same thing and then went to the garage for a caffeinated pick me up so that nobody would see you in your moment of anguish because you hate being the bad guy.
[00:02:36] But you just love that boy too much to let him drift.
[00:02:41] He sees you changing smoke detector batteries at 11:47pm Scheduling oil changes, fighting the health insurance portal, answering the 2:13am elbow from the wife, saying There was a bump downstairs.
[00:02:57] Being the default grill master and tree surgeon and dog whisperer and family theologian, the emotional stabilizer, the vacation planner, the budget guardian, the assistant soccer coach, whether you've ever, ever kicked a ball in your life or not.
[00:03:12] He sees you coming home wiped and the house kind of exploding the second you walk in the door.
[00:03:19] And he sees you sitting on the couch and letting that five year old read you the same dinosaur book for the 19th time this week. He sees it.
[00:03:29] He sees you initiating with your wife even when you're dead tired, because oneness is not optional.
[00:03:36] He sees you opening the Bible at dinner and reading in a voice that's a little shaky because you're not sure you understand the passage.
[00:03:44] But by golly, you're determined your kids are going to hear a man read scripture out loud in their house because that's something you never saw growing up.
[00:03:57] You're already doing the hardest and holiest job on planet Earth.
[00:04:03] It's not a job that requires a little bit of gumption, a little bit of bravery in a moment and then it's over with, you know, like we've got to, we've got to run into this house that's on fire.
[00:04:14] There are moments like that. That's not the job of fathering. The job of fathering is a marathon.
[00:04:20] It happens over and over. It happens. It is a decision that's made dozens of times a day and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of time.
[00:04:32] Times in a month and thousands of times in a year. And it spans over decades and decades. It is one of the hardest, definitely one of the holiest jobs on planet Earth.
[00:04:47] Most of it will never get a trophy or a shout out or even a thank you, but heaven notices every single time.
[00:04:55] If you ever wonder what your actual assignment is, what am I doing? Why am I doing all this? I'm just going to refresh your memory.
[00:05:03] It's right there in black and white in the Scriptures. Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy.
[00:05:16] In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. Each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself.
[00:05:25] And the wife must respect her husband.
[00:05:28] Ephesians 5.
[00:05:30] That's not a suggestion. That is the divine job description. And the standard is not, I'm hastened to say, know as much Bible as the podcast guy or make as much money as the dude you know, with the lake house. The standard is you give yourself up, you feed, and you care for the people. Under your care and you die daily. That's the standard. Wherever you are, wherever your family is, you do what's given to you.
[00:06:00] I understand having goals.
[00:06:03] I understand having mentors who are farther along than you. But we mustn't fall into the trap of comparison. Where you are right now, It's God's will that you make some headway and push. Where you are right now.
[00:06:19] This is Genesis 1:28 happening right now in your minivan and around your fireplace and around your kitchen sink. Be fruitful, multiply.
[00:06:30] Fill the earth and subdue it.
[00:06:33] Have dominion in my name.
[00:06:37] Your 1900 square foot plot with the leaky faucet and the four sinners who call you dad is holy ground.
[00:06:45] And when you steward it faithfully, you are literally fulfilling the first command God ever gave mankind.
[00:06:51] The kingdom advances house by house.
[00:06:55] That's the only way that it advances.
[00:06:57] And your home address is ground zero for the kingdom of God. And you are his man on the job.
[00:07:06] Let me just throw in because it's our habit. I just gotta touch on five spiritual capitals as I'm giving you this little encouraging address, I hope.
[00:07:16] And that is that spiritual capital. Every time you cracked the book when Netflix was screaming your name, opening the scriptures, reading it, I just have to interject.
[00:07:29] It's work to read those words. Imagine God's truth.
[00:07:34] Let. Let your mind work so that you understand it.
[00:07:37] Then go to application and prayer. And what am I supposed to do? That. That's work.
[00:07:43] Sitting passively while the dancing characters on the screen, the flickering lights entertain you. That's not work, it's passive.
[00:07:53] And your call, especially when building spiritual capital, is not to be passive. It's to put forth effort and in the way that you seek the Lord.
[00:08:02] So every time you cracked open that book, every awkward prayer that you gave over spaghetti, the hot spaghetti, that was wa. Everybody's like, like, can we just get to the spaghetti? And you're like, no, I'm doing something here. We're creating a culture.
[00:08:16] Every car ride catechism that you gave, where you kind of explain, give a quick explanation of God's heart, when you see the cows, you see the cows over there. Let me give you a little catechism about the Creator. Every. Every. I'm. I'm thinking of Deuteronomy 6, the comings and goings of life, every, all of those things, it's treasure in heaven.
[00:08:39] When you do it just for you, it matters. Like seeking the Lord just for you, it matters. When you seek the Lord just for him, that matters. Also, Lord, I don't feel like getting up this morning and seeking you, but I do it for you.
[00:08:54] That matters every time you do that for your family. I don't feel like opening up the Bible here at dinner.
[00:09:01] I feel like I'd wish that somebody would open up the Bible and read it to me right now, but I know this is my job. It's nobody else's job. I'm going to lead on this moment. It matters.
[00:09:11] Relational capital every scraped together, date night, whatever that looks like, whether you are running out the door. Okay, the babysitter's here. We've got 45 minutes. I don't know what it is.
[00:09:23] Every heart question that you ask your teenager because you want to. You actually want to pursue their heart. You want to know them. You go like, you know, you.
[00:09:31] You growing up into wholeness and security and knowing that your father knows you and loves you, that's my job. I'm going to make that happen. Those hard questions, every time that you. You gotta work up the courage to say, okay, I was wrong.
[00:09:49] I'm sorry, I was wrong.
[00:09:51] Every time you do that, that is generational glue.
[00:09:56] It is building. It is tying heartstrings between you and the family that will be used to lift family is a blessing to the Lord himself. That relational capital building matters desperately. Every time you reach out to a brother because you feel like you're wandering a little bit. I just. Just a few minutes ago, I got a text message from a friend who's like, I am not making. I. I'm just. I'm just convinced I'm not making enough money.
[00:10:25] I. I've got to find some more work going on. Would you please pray with me? This guy actually texted me this. He's like, I'm sending this out to four or five guys. Would you pray with me?
[00:10:36] I said, before I even address that, I just want to affirm you actually doing what you did, which is to reach out to a couple of guys taking a very humble place and saying, I need some support.
[00:10:48] As many times as you do that, whether you're reaching out to. To just connect with guys socially so that you just feel alive and healthy, you. You tell some guys, hey, let's go on a run. I got a neighbor a couple doors down. I see the dudes coming out early on a Saturday morning. They're picking them up to go out running together. And I just think, that's great. It's wonderful.
[00:11:11] All of these extensions that you make towards strengthening your relationship with your brothers.
[00:11:17] Yes, it matters when you're reaching out to your wife to encourage that relationship. Yes, it matters. You reach out to your kids. Yes, it matters.
[00:11:26] Physical capital.
[00:11:28] Okay, we're all still here. We're still swinging. Not everybody made it to 2026, but we did. Here we are.
[00:11:36] And let's commit again in 2026 to eat and to exercise, to take care of our bodies, to take care of our homes in a way that matters. Because I'm. I want us to see ourselves. I want you to see yourself as you're going to be needed for decades. Your family needs its defender to be strong and reliable.
[00:11:59] And by God, I just say this as a blessing while I'm talking.
[00:12:04] Lord, we're going to take care of ourselves this year for your sake. Not because we're vain or because we want to appear on the front of a magazine. It's because you're our God and we're your men on the scene. We're going to. We're going to build physical capital this year.
[00:12:21] Intellectual capital.
[00:12:23] Every budget meeting you endure, whether you're excited for it or just doing it because it's healthy.
[00:12:29] Every book you read so that you can be a better leader every 10 year vision that you sketch down on a napkin. Every thought, you know, we sat through at our. At our retreat in the fall, we sat through some really good talks. And I'm scribbling furiously.
[00:12:46] These are great ideas. Am I going to implement every one of them? I'm sure I'm not, but I'm. That's where my mind is. I want. Oh, God. I want to. I want to implement every idea I can possibly.
[00:12:58] I can possibly execute on. Because I. I want. I want to give you this gift of a family that is growing toward you. So God help me, help me in that it's all patriarchal brain work that you're doing. It matters. And I bless you to keep going. To be even, I would say. I. I mean, I'm so grateful. Thank you for the time that you're spending listening to Abe's wallet right now. Thank you.
[00:13:24] And I hope that this is fodder for you to do brain work and to. And to be focused on the kind of things that you should be focused on so that your motives are right and your trajectory is right and your tactics are sound and your. The, the way you're doing things are biblically accurate. You know, I want all of that for you. And I know it's work and requires intellectual capital. And I just say it matters. Keep going. And lastly, of course, financial capital. Every dollar that you refuse to blow on the new hot truck that's come out. Oh my goodness. Did you see these new forerunners that are come Hawk. I, I could get one. Let's see if I can move this money around.
[00:14:05] Yes, I could do that. But there's something that's more important that I've, that we need to do financially for the sake of the family. When you forego those little pet things that you want for the thing that's better for the generations and for your, the big picture of your family, every hour that you spend on a side hustle because you think, well, that'll produce a little more income for us. I, I think we need that. Every time that you say no to lifestyle creepy. When you see it coming into your home and not just you, you see it. You see it tempting your wife, you see it tempting your kids. Every time that you say no to lifestyle creep so that your kids don't graduate in school in debt. Or you think, I have visions for where we want to go here. And it's not here. It's not, it's not in our little starter home. I want us to go to new places. So we have to say no to some things.
[00:14:58] All of that stuff in, in our verbiage around here is the same as Abraham refusing the King of Sodom's reward all over again. And he's offering him money. He's going, I'm not doing that. I'm not selling. I'm not selling my thing for a short term gain. I've got bigger fish to fry. I've got a vision that's bigger than this moment.
[00:15:19] Those kind of financial capital decisions, they matter. They matter.
[00:15:24] You're already stewarding in some way. You're already stewarding all five capitals with the measure that God has given you.
[00:15:33] I'll say again.
[00:15:34] Your wife, your kids, your job, your income, your responsibilities. If, if you are stewarding those things with the measure that God's given you, man, that is enough. Don't do the comparison game. I bless you with wherever you are.
[00:15:50] You might be dreaming of starting a new business, but that's not where you are yet. I'm stuck here right now. Great. You just be faithful where you are.
[00:15:57] Let the Lord lead you from here. But I bless you in being faithful where you are.
[00:16:04] 20, 26 is going to be good and it's going to be hard.
[00:16:09] You're not going to do it perfectly every time.
[00:16:12] You're not, you are going to yell when you wish that you had been patient.
[00:16:20] You're going to scroll when you think I should have used that time to pray. That's a great temptation of mine. I got my little chair that I do my quiet time on Bible reading in and sometimes I'm checking on the WhatsApp thing and then I think what's the news item? And suddenly I get lost in that moment. I think wait, this isn't why I'm here.
[00:16:41] We do that stuff suddenly, you know, you're gonna, you're going to feel like you're on chapter three and somebody near you is on chapter 20 and you're gonna feel like a loser.
[00:16:54] It's so easy to do. That's one of like the dangers of like the 20 year. They're the 10 year anniversary from, from high school, the graduation.
[00:17:04] What do you call that? It's called a reunion. The 20 year reunion, the 30 year union of your class, whatever it is, is. There's so much comparison that kind of oh, look at this gu.
[00:17:15] Like God is not telling that guy's story in me. He's telling the story of my family and me. I'm responsible for what I've been given and how I steward what I've been given. Pass fail is not the metric.
[00:17:30] Direction and refusal to quit is the metric.
[00:17:35] So I'm gonna, I'm just hate to beat you over the head with this, but I gotta say it again here. As you look out at the year ahead of you. If you're pushing the ball forward in your generations, with your wife, your kids, your job, you are winning full stop.
[00:17:52] All's well, great job, keep going.
[00:17:55] Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it. That promise is not a guarantee that your kids will never detour. It's a promise that the hours you invest today are echoing into eternity.
[00:18:10] The kingdom of darkness is terrified by a man who simply will not quit for 365 days straight.
[00:18:19] One year from today, you'll have 365 more mornings where you sought the Lord. You woke up and you maybe just said thank you Lord for the day. That's enough.
[00:18:31] I would hope for more from you from, from Bible study or whatever, more time in prayer. But you know what? If I could get, if I could get out of you and bless you with 365Mornings ahead of you where you acknowledge the king.
[00:18:46] You remembered that your life is his and that you're going to be allegiance. You're going to have allegiance. Believing allegiance in him for that day. Man, I would take it you're going to have 365 more dinners ahead of you, which are all chances for leadership from you.
[00:19:05] You're going to have kids who are one year older. You're going to have a marriage one year deeper.
[00:19:11] You're going to have arrows flung farther into the future than you can see right now.
[00:19:16] 2026 is going to hurt sometimes.
[00:19:19] There's a verse in job, I think it's 57 or 75 that says that man is born to trouble. As surely as sparks fly upward, there's going to be trouble, and it's going to be the best year of kingdom fruit you've ever seen.
[00:19:38] If you can just keep walking faithfully, and I bless you with that faithfulness. And I bless you to believe that this will be a year of fruitfulness for you.
[00:19:50] I'm rounding third and headed toward home. I just want to ask you, if you're listening, to just sit still for a couple of minutes and I just want to speak a blessing over you in the name of Jesus, who is your king. Not just your king and master, but he's also your older brother.
[00:20:06] That phrase is used by Paul. He's going to be the firstborn of many brothers, and to me it connotes his, like, his humanity and his empathy with us. He understands. He understands you.
[00:20:20] So I just want to bless you with this.
[00:20:22] In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the firstborn over all creation and the firstborn among the brothers.
[00:20:30] May His Holy Spirit walk so close beside you this year that you can hear his gentle whisper saying, this is the way.
[00:20:39] Walk in it and you would feel that every single day.
[00:20:45] May Jesus be not only your example and master, but your closest friend, your encouraging guide, your loving Father, and the source of a joy that makes no earthly sense, that is that he would be for you the source of a peace that passes all understanding.
[00:21:09] May your wife wake up on random Tuesday mornings and suddenly see or appreciate the weight that you carry and the effort that you put for it. And may her respect and affection for you grow deeper than ever. That'd be a blessing for her. I bless each of your wives to have respect for you. And I bless you to live in such a way that she would have respect for you. May your children, even the toddlers who can't talk yet, even the teenagers who roll their eyes.
[00:21:40] May they grow up in the covering of a dad who fears God more than he fears their disappointment or a little conflict around the house. And may every seed that you plant, spiritual, relational, physical, intellectual and financial, maybe it may it sprout 30, 60, a hundredfold for generations you'll never meet on this side of glory.
[00:22:04] May you fail forward a thousand times, because every man God ever used greatly was first a spectacular failure who refused to stay down. I don't. I don't bless you with spectacular failure.
[00:22:17] I just bless you that with every failure this year, you will endure thinking again that's this is not the end. It's not like I fail and the story's over. The question is, will I proceed with God in faith?
[00:22:33] And may the Father who sees in secret reward you openly.
[00:22:38] And may 2026 be a year in which it could be said something ancient and unstoppable is happening in that family.
[00:22:47] And when you finally stand before the king, whether it's January 1, 2027, or 50 years from now, I'm hoping for the 50 years from now, may he put his hand on your shoulder, look you straight in the eye, and say with a huge grin, well done, my good and faithful servant, my faithful patriarch.
[00:23:13] Those kids, that wife, that little platoon you stewarded, you stewarded them like my man Abraham.
[00:23:22] Enter into the joy of your master.
[00:23:27] So here's the whole battle plan for 2026. I can summarize the whole year ahead with one simple directive.
[00:23:37] Show up every day.
[00:23:40] Love Jesus, love your people, and refuse to quit.
[00:23:46] Because Christ in you, in you is the hope of this nation.
[00:23:52] You are God's plan for the church going forward.
[00:23:57] You are irreplaceable.
[00:24:00] And to you I say, go get them, tiger.
[00:24:04] Run your home and your dough like a biblical boss, and I will see you out there on the field.
[00:24:13] Bless you this year.
