HEAVENLY FATHER

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

1 John 3:1 NLT

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!

Who is your daddy?

Very often our picture of God, our heavenly Father, is shaped by the behavior of our earthly father. A godly father will influence his children to trust in a loving heavenly Father. But many children have grown into adulthood with a distorted view of God our Father because they could not trust their earthly father.

I know this to be very true to many of my folks seeking recovery. Mention the word “father” and immediately they are transported back to a place doused in negativity, pain and sadness. Sadly for some the word "father" brings to mind someone who was abusive, neglectful, or not there when they needed him and this has created a "father vacuum"; a wall between them and their earthly father and a distorted view of a heavenly Father they cannot accept.

It makes it tough when we are asking folks to “submit” to a higher power, a heavenly Father, to meet their needs and usher them into peace, comfort, joy, sobriety, and love when the only context of father for them is the POLAR OPPOSITE.

And while no father can or ever could compare with our heavenly Father because no earthly father is perfect, the heavenly Father is capable of filling that void, of handling our hurts, of bringing healing and peace to our chaotic and painful times.

The Word says so.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
[ The Rescue ] All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

As Father’s Day approaches on Sunday, I want you to fix your thoughts on the character of our heavenly Father. Put down the biases and the bitterness that may be conjured up in your mind when you think of the word father and instead embrace the traits of our “ultimate” Father. Things like:

A Father who is there for us...

Ezekial 48:35

…The Lord is there.

A Father who is our refuge in time of trouble…

Psalm 46:1 (KJV)

46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

A Father who will never abandon you…

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLV)

…For the Lord your God is the One Who goes with you. He will be faithful to you. He will not leave you alone.”

A Father who loves you in ways you can’t even begin to fathom…

Ephesians 1:3-6
[ The God of Glory ] How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by hislove. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Now that is your Daddy…

Thought I would close the week with a little link for the dads.

http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/18881/A-Very-Special-Daddy

Have a blessed weekend!

Happy Father’s Day.

I love you all.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney