Heart of the Father

Everyone needs a father's approval.  Even Jesus was given and encouraged by His Father's greeting, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

God obviously intended for fathers and mothers to be the first examples of His loving care and security, taking care of every need.  Yet even when our human fathers fall short, God is.  He is everything that fathers were meant to be.  The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.      Nothing will ever replace, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Father."

  Sometimes in the moning I like to just kneel before God and acknowledge Him, Abba Father, holy, holy, holy.  Lord Jesus, worthy are You, Lamb of God.  Holy Spirit, thank You for living in me and opening my heart to know the Father as Abba, Daddy, and for revealing Jesus to me so I can know and love Him.   

  In our prideful mind we forget how much we need the Holy Spirit to know God. Galatians 4:6, as well as Romans 8:15, states that it is the Spirit who allows us to cry "Abba Father."  The Spirit causes us to know God as "Father" in a genuine heartful way. (God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crrying out, "Abba Father!")  Secondly, in John 14 and 15, Jesus points out that the Sprit will "testify of Me" and "bring to your remembrance all things I have spoken to you."  In other words, it is the Spirit who shows us Jesus.  We are blessed when we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us the way He knows Jesus, and to encourage our hearts by confirming we are the Father's beloved children.   

 This morning the Spirit gave me Psalm 18, which was written by David after he was delivered from Saul.  His words echo our heart response for being delivered from Satan and the bondage of the flesh.   "I will love You, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies."   All of these titles point to the fatherly way God stands with us and defends us as a father.  Moreover, Luke 12:32 goes even further.  It pleases the Father to give you the Kingdom.  He delights to show you mercy, to provide for your needs, and to cause you to walk in supernatural life.  You can trust Him as your Father.

The Trinity is beyond total comprehension for our finite minds, but what is revealed is given to help us get to know Him.  Have you noticed, probably around Christmas in the Isaiah 9:6 passage, that one of the names of Jesus is "Everlasting Father?"  Jesus also demonstrates the Father-heart toward His own.  Didn't Jesus say if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father?  Rather than try to figure it all out, just receive it and enjoy the presence and security of a loving Father God who takes care of you today, and always will.  God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit demonstrate the heart of the Father, and the One God through the three persons will never leave you or forsake you. 

  Honor your father, or those who have fathered you, and especially enjoy the strength and encouragement of having a Father who loves you with an evelasting love.  Father's Day is a great opportunity to thank God for your father, and those who have shown fatherly care to you.  Even Paul tells the Corinthians that he is their father in the Lord because he taught the Word of God to them.  We are blessed to have those who brought us into the Kingdom and taught the Word of God to us.  Give thanks for your fathers in the Lord.  Rejoice in knowing the eternal blessings of being in the heart of the Father today, and forever.