Father's Love Letter

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

'Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications Copyright 1999-2008 www.FathersLoveLetter.com'

Grace

Thank You Lord, For Being There!

The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to him. He wants to make them strong.

Lord, you are my shield, my wonderful God who gives me courage.

The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

I love you, LORD! You answered my prayers. You paid attention to me, and so I will pray to you as long as I live.

Taken from 2 Chronicles16, Psalm 3, 2 Thessalonians 3, and Psalm 116

Good and Evil

A man in our Sunday school class made several comments on the material we were studying, but one kind of stood out in my mind, "All evil is sin, but not all sin is evil." His claim was that a man can do good yet sill sin (wrong motives, etc), but he is still doing good, not evil. I know that in the eyes of others the man is doing good, but in the eyes of God is the man doing good? Is man capabable of good apart from God? Does anyone care to weigh in? Any verses you can think of to support or deny this assertion? Verses that come to my mind are:

Genesis 6:5
Romans 3:12

Never Less Than Adequate

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit," and this is what it means to walk in the Holy Spirit: to take one step at a time, and for every new situation into which every new step takes you, no matter what it may be, to hear Christ saying to your heart, "I AM," then to look up into His face by faith and say, "You are! That is all I need to know, Lord, and I thank You, for You are never less than adequate."

THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation--whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Major W. Ian Thomas

Repentance

I am sure that every Christian has heard the word “repentance.” To many, the word means that we stop doing something. We stop worrying, we stop fornicating; we stop our adultery; we “JUST STOP SINNING!” Is that what true repentance means? Surely we will stop those things if we are repentant, but is the act of stopping equal to repentance or is it the result of repentance?

Maybe I should start by looking at how God deals with His children when they sin. Note that God isn’t dealing with His children on the basis of condemnation and punishment, but out of a loving caring for our wellbeing and for our relationship to His other children. He knows what’s good for us and He doesn’t want to see us hurt ourselves and to hurt others.

So when we sin, God brings about a conviction in our lives. He says, “Gary you made the wrong choice!” “The path you have chosen will only bring you pain and will hurt those who are close to you.” At this point I have two choices, I can choose to agree with God (confess). I can say, “You are right Father, I made a choice that was wrong; I was choosing to do it my way instead of trusting you.” The other choice I can make is to go my own way. I can say, “Father, I hear what you are saying, but I am choosing not to trust you with this, I think my way is better.” Of course most of us don’t actually verbalize it in that way, but the result is the same as if we had.

I still haven’t got to repentance yet. I have talked about conviction and I have talked about confession, but what is repentance? The Greek word for repentance is “Metanoia” and literally means “to change your mind.” So what are we changing our mind about? Well, in the context of what has been discussed thus far, it means to change our mind about our direction; to choose God’s way instead of our way and it takes the form of a change from unbelief to belief; from distrust to trust. It is telling God that I no longer want control of this area of my life and that I am giving Him control of it…I am trusting Him with it.

Notice that in all of this there is no mention of an attempt on our part to change our behavior. That is because I have only been talking about our part in this. It is up to us to change our mind, but it is up to God to change our direction, to change our behavior…for we can do nothing apart from Him!

The Force

The "force" of religion* always makes it about the battle, about the doctrines and theology and layers of tradition that man "needs" to pile on top of Jesus. But Paul scraped through all of that in his first letter to the Corinthians:

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

To me it all boils down to Jesus and His power working in our lives. Unfortunately, I get so caught up in stating my case; trying to prove my point; and never giving up until "I win," that I forget we are part of the same body. In the end, what did I win if I caused my brother pain.

There is nothing in ourselves that seeks after God; correct theology can't bring us to Him and incorrect theology can't keep us away. Our gracious God meets where we are. He knows we are stubborn, prideful, weak and slow to understand, yet He loves us and patiently works in our lives to break through our fog and reveal to us the depths of His love. I believe that we can only love (agape) others to the extent that we are convinced of His love for us.

I certainly don't know all of the answers and I have asked God to deliver me constantly believing that I do. I have given up on the wisdom of men, even my own. My desire is to rest my faith in the power and wisdom of God.


*that thing that MAN has created to put his relationship to God in a neat little box that somehow makes sense.

Happy 4th of July

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

The Answer

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - http://www.reverendfun.com/)

My Husband Test Score

110 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!