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All the Fathers

Today is a day that we honor fathers. Yes, it was probably started by a greeting card company but the foundation is definitely Biblical.

Our heavenly Father is loving and gracious, always there to encourage and direct. We learn from Him. He protects and corrects. His love is never ending. Be thankful for the men the Lord has placed in your family – fathers, sons, uncles, grandsons and dad-like role models.

I’m going to ask you to do something this morning before you start the celebration of honoring the fathers in your home. Please pray for those fathers who are estranged from their children, pray for those who have lost children to death or bad decisions.

Some men have a heart’s desire to father but have no natural children so they provide fatherly influence to nieces and nephews or mentoring to children in their community . All of these men need our encouragment and love today.

Our heavenly Father has adopted us and called us to be His own. He welcomes us to come to Him always – come to Him and find rest and help in time of need.

He knows all about us and His love sustains us.

“We sinned against him, but he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved. 11 His love for his followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. 12 And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. 13 The Lord is as kind to his followers as a father is to his children. 14 He knows all about us. He knows we are made from dust. 15 He knows our lives are short, that they are like grass. He knows we are like a little wildflower that grows so quickly, 16 but when the hot wind blows, it dies. Soon, you cannot even see where the flower was. 17 But the Lord has always loved his followers, and he will continue to love them forever and ever!” Psalm 103:10-17 ERV

Take time to thank the men who are fathers in your family and also thank those who have been role models, men of character and godliness. Then thank and honor Your heavenly Father for all He has done for you and for bringing these men into your families.

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Long Life & Honor

The more I thought about how to title this morning’s blog the more it sounded like something from Star Trek, “Live long and prosper”.

It made me wonder, how many seasoned saints heard Leonard Nimoy make that statement in the 1960’s and said “that sure sounds like Scripture”?

I am not a Trekkie. In fact, I’ve probably only seen a half dozen episodes of the original series and none of the movies or subsequent spinoffs. However, that theme is worth pondering.

I actually found it twice this morning in the book of Proverbs.

“By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4 NKJV

“He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness, and honor.” Proverbs 21:21 NKJV

These two verses, repeated as close together as they are, give us instruction for daily life. Life goals, as it were. Most of us want to prosper in this life but prosperity can mean different things to different people. To some it means great wealth and to others it means a life filled with joy and peace.

Jesus repeated Solomon’s teaching when He said to His disciples:

“The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.” John 10:10 NLV

Early in our marriage I had my own definition of prosperity. I told David I would know we were prosperous when I could go to the grocery store without a calculator and be able to pay for the items in my cart. That may seem very simplistic, and it is but going from not having enough to having a full cart and the money to pay for it was prosperity. It still is!

“The Lord is my Shepherd. I will have everything I need.” Psalm 23:1 NLV

“ And my God will give you everything you need because of His great riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NLV

Getting to know the Father and His character, understanding the example that Jesus set for us and following the leading of the Holy Spirit bring us to a place of confidence in the promises of God.

“The Helper (Holy Spirit) will tell about Me when He comes. I will send Him to you from the Father. He is the Spirit of Truth and comes from the Father. ” John 15:26 NLV

So, the question comes. How do we live long and prosper? We humble ourselves, trusting God’s wisdom more than we do our own, and let Him direct our steps.

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Adoption Complete

I know that not everyone had a loving relationship with their father like I did. Yesterday’s blog was a tribute to good fathers and I pray that you know that experience.

However, some have grown up in homes where there was no father. Bad health may have stolen him or perhaps he was absent because of divorce or even drugs, alcohol and/or imprisonment. Those conditions could leave you bitter, lonely or confused, not knowing a father’s love.

I have good news for you today!

There is One who loves you and chosen you to be His very own. He will never abandon you and His love is unconditional, yes, I said unconditional.

“God knew from the beginning who would put their trust in Him. So He chose them and made them to be like His Son. Christ was first and all those who belong to God are His brothers. 30 He called to Himself also those He chose. Those He called, He made right with Himself. Then He shared His shining-greatness with those He made right with Himself.” Romans 8:29-30 NLV

We were chosen to share in the blessings and inheritance of the Father, just like Jesus. We have been adopted.

“the Holy Spirit makes us His sons, and we can call to Him, “My Father.” 16 For the Holy Spirit speaks to us and tells our spirit that we are children of God. 17 If we are children of God, we will receive everything He has promised us. We will share with Christ all the things God has given to Him. But we must share His suffering if we are to share His shining-greatness.” Romans 8:16-17 NLV

Our adoption was planned before the world began. It is a gift the Father offers to each of us freely, all we have to do to be a part of His wonderful family is accept the gift.

“God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God’s own adopted children. 6 God treated us with undeserved grace because of the Son he dearly loves, and so we should praise God.” Ephesians 1:5-6 CEV

Yesterday I encouraged all of us to take time to write a letter or make a call to our earthly fathers who have helped shape our lives. But today I want to make that same encouragement to those who have no one on this earth to reach out too. Make that call or write that card to your Heavenly Father. Thank Him for the relationship that He has purposed to have with you.

Enjoy today as a part of your inheritance.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death. 4 Now we wait to receive the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be ruined or be destroyed or lose their beauty.” I Peter 1:3-4 ERV

Praising God today for His amazing love and our adoption that is complete in Him!

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Celebrating Love

I know that not everyone had the same experience growing up that I did. I had a loving father who was away a great deal of the time but when he was home, he made sure to share life with us. He was tired and had so much to catch up on, but he also carved out time to take us hunting, fishing and even bowling.

That’s one of the things I appreciate so much about Dave also. When the kids were little, he worked hundred-hour weeks. When you work in the agricultural industry that’s what you do. But he always made sure he was home for a few hours each evening before the kids went to bed, there was time to read them a story or get down on the floor to play.

This weekend is Father’s Day and the men in our lives deserve to be celebrated.

I have a hard time with sitcoms, movies and even the talk shows making fathers out to be incompetent buffoons or weak, unintelligent members of society.

We should be grateful for the men in our families who sacrificed so that we could have a better way of life than they did. Fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, uncles and even coaches and teachers who showed us a father’s love – tender hearted, kind, forgiving, filled with compassion!

Every good and perfect gift comes from our heavenly Father. Now our earthly fathers may not be perfect but they are “good gifts”.

My heavenly Father is the one who gave my earthly father those characteristics. He was strict – wanting me to behave a certain way – teaching me right from wrong and his heart was always filled with compassion for me.

We don’t always see what our father, heavenly or earthly, is doing while we are in the midst of a situation, but we know our father and we know his motives and intentions are based on his love for us and we can trust him.

” Children, you belong to the Lord, and you do the right thing when you obey your parents. The first commandment with a promise says, 2  “Obey your father and your mother, 3 and you will have a long and happy life.” Ephesians 6:1-3 CEV

Even when we manage to get “a far off” he’s there waiting for us to come home. He watches and waits; He doesn’t come to “Drag” us back but when we return, He rejoices. I guess the best gift we could give either our earthly or our heavenly father is to come home today and let him shower us with his love.

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:18-24 NIV

Let’s celebrate those men who have been loving fathers or the ones who have filled that role when a father was absent. They are men who deserve celebration!

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Praying Grandparents

This may seem like a natural occurrence, but I want to draw attention to it anyway.

I grew up with a praying grandmother. Each morning she started her day with prayer. I have no idea how long she spent, sitting there on her couch, apron tied around her waist, Bible in her lap and head bowed in prayer.

I know that after my grandfather died, I would walk over to her house from elementary school for lunch and when I would come in the back door many times she would still be there, on the couch praying.

Grama had five children, 26+ grandchildren (some of them were step-grandchildren), plus the children and grandchildren of her second husband. She had a lot to pray for. As we, the grandchildren, married and had children of our own her list got longer. She was committed to praying for us each day.

I remember how lost I felt a few days after my grandmother’s death. I asked the Lord, “Who’s praying for us now”? Even now, I think about it and tears fill my eyes and I get a lump in my throat.

I’ve been reading the history of the kings of Israel and Judah in the book of II Chronicles. A striking comment is made about each of the kings.

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah. He was king for 55 years in Jerusalem. 2 Manasseh did what the Lord said was wrong. He followed the terrible and sinful ways of the nations that the Lord had forced out of the land before the Israelites.” II Chronicles 33:1-2 ERV

“ Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. 2 He lived in a way that pleased the Lord, always doing what was right, as his ancestor David had done. Josiah never changed this way of life. 3 When Josiah was in his eighth year as king, he began to follow the God worshiped by David his ancestor. He was still young when he began to obey God.” II Chronicles 34:1-3 ERV

This is just a sample of how the entire book reads. Manasseh did what the Lord said was wrong. Josiah, his son, lived in a way that pleased the Lord. What made the difference between father and son? I don’t know but it says Josiah lived as his ancestor King David did and he never changed this way of life.

Josiah was only eight when he became king, but he must have heard stories of his wonderful, many-generations-back, grandfather. Theirs was a spoken and written history, no pictures like we have now, and I imagine that someone told him about a young man who killed a giant, ruled Israel and served the Lord God. He certainly didn’t see it modeled by his father.

“I remember your true faith. That kind of faith first belonged to your grandmother Lois and to your mother Eunice. I know you now have that same faith.” II Timothy 1:5 ERV

Paul wrote those words to Timothy, his son in the faith.

Dave and I are blessed with seven grandchildren and one great granddaughter. It is my prayer that they love the Lord and grow in a constant and abiding relationship with Him. A relationship that their grandchildren will want to emulate.

Grandparents, the greatest gift we can give our grandchildren is living a life of prayer!

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Under the Circumstances

Too many times people become overwhelmed by the circumstances that surround them. I remember once I taught a ladies Bible Study on “Are You Under the Circumstances or A World Overcomer?”

This was a six week study so suffice it to say that I won’t be doing the full teaching here…

The enemy tries to get us to focus on the circumstances. Daniel had to face lions, David went up against a giant, Peter was in a small boat on a stormy sea, Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, bitten by a poisonous snake, stoned and imprisoned.

However, I continually find myself going back to these verses and principles, putting myself in remembrance of what God says my life should be. The Father wants us to look up, above the circumstances, to His promises, power and peace.

“I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” John 16:33 ERV

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” I John 4:4 NKJV

“Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 5 No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.” I John 5:4-5 CEV

So when you are feeling overwhelmed or under the circumstances do what King David said.

“God, hear my cry for help. Listen to my prayer. 2 From a faraway land I call to you for help. I feel so weak and helpless! Carry me to a high rock where no one can reach me. 3 You are my place of safety, a strong tower that protects me from my enemies.” Psalm 61:1-3 ERV

I can almost hear someone say, “that’s fine and good for you but my lifestyle isn’t close to God. He probably doesn’t want anything to do with me and wouldn’t help me if I asked.”

Let me remind you of a young man who felt that way about his father. He had squandered his money – lived with prostitutes, gamblers and didn’t care about anyone but himself. Then when he got to the bottom, he thought he would try to go home and work as a hired hand.

The Father had other plans. He saw his son coming from a long way, ran to him, hugged and kissed him and restored him to right standing. And so, He WILL do it for you too.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the world instead overcome it in Jesus!

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Breaking the Bank

Last month Dave and I made two expenditures we had been saving for. These weren’t part of the regular monthly budget. No, they were items we had to plan for and save for. Maybe you don’t live on a budget, but we always have.

Each month we have dollars allotted for the different categories: food, clothing, home, electric, internet, phone, tithe, savings, allowance, taxes, insurance. To stay within budget for groceries I look over the ads and find the sales. I do the same when we need a new pair of shoes or other clothes.

We know the Lord expects us to be good stewards of the money He blesses us with and so we try to spend wisely. However, there is one event that we are allowing ourselves the right to be extravagant. It’s our 50th wedding anniversary trip to Greece in September. Oh, we’ve set a budget for the trip, but it is a substantial one. This is a once in a lifetime experience.

This morning I was reminded of another budget blowing expenditure that I have been involved in. It is my relationship with the Lord. He is the One who blew the budget and I am the one who is the recipient of His grace.

“God paid a high price for you, so don’t be slaves to anyone else.” I Corinthians 7:23 ERV

Have you ever stopped to consider how deeply the Father loves us? We are invaluable to Him.

“God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. He hid it again and was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned and bought the field. 45 Also, God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 One day he found a very fine pearl. He went and sold everything he had to buy it.” Matthew 13:44-46 ERV

The earth is the field, God the Father is the man, we are the treasure and Jesus is the price that was paid!

What is it that would cause you to sell all you have – your home, jewelry, cars, boat, horses, RV? What would make you cash in the CD’s and empty the savings account? What would be valuable enough to have you sell all to buy one treasure?

We are that treasure! God gave His only begotten Son to purchase us!

No words can convey what I am feeling in my heart this morning as I focus on the depth of God’s love for me.

“And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” Ephesians 3:18-19 ERV

“Nothing is more precious than your loving kindness. All people can find protection close to you.” Psalm 36:7 ERV

Father, I will take my words from the Psalms, nothing is more precious than your lovingkindness. Thank you for loving us enough to break the bank!

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Moving Forward

Yesterday afternoon I checked in with a friend to find out how their travels had been. You see, they came by yesterday morning before they left on their trip and we asked how far they had planned to go on the first day, they said “we’ll stop in Albuquerque”.

Well, they made it. She said that there destination is still 650 miles away and they would be breaking that portion into two days. Sounded like a wise decision, no point in wearing yourself out the first few days.

Move forward, step by step or mile by mile.

Why do we get discouraged, frustrated or exhausted as we make forward progress in life? Often times, we set unreasonable goals and burn out before we reach them.

Dave and I used to travel a lot. We would drive from Montana to Arizona, it was an 1100 mile trip and we’d drive it in two days. Almost 700 miles the first and a little over 400 the second. Why not? Afterall, if we didn’t push that hard we were “burning daylight”.

Now that we are older and wiser, we take our time and we arrive in a better frame of mind, having rested along the way.

“Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.

5 Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 7 to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 8 If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:3-8 ERV

We have been given a spiritual road map which leads to our victory in Christ. Our first stop is where we come to understand that God has given us everything we need, great and precious gifts, for living successfully in this world.

Because these blessings put us on the right path, our next stop lands us in a place where our faith grows. As we travel a little farther, we increase in goodness and then knowledge. We now have knowledge that God has given us all we need, we stop to gain self-control and patience. We head out from patience, knowing we can trust God with our circumstances, arriving at a place of deep devotion to God.

Our devotion to the Father takes us to a place of kindness towards those around us and that kindness brings us to our destination of love.

As we move forward on the road map that God has designed for us, we will arrive successfully at our destination of being Christ-like in our words and actions.

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Time Away

We just returned home after being gone for 5 days. What a good trip!

The last couple of days we were back on the mountain. For two years we had been camp hosts at Rainbow Campground on Big Lake in the Arizona White Mountains. This year we made a tough decision and were not able to return.

We miss the serenity of mountain life and the dear friends we have there. Everything we do is dependent upon God’s times and seasons.

“Everything on earth
has its own time
    and its own season.
2 There is a time
for birth and death,
    planting and reaping,
3 for killing and healing,
    destroying and building,
4 for crying and laughing,
    weeping and dancing,
5 for throwing stones
and gathering stones,
    embracing and parting.
6 There is a time
for finding and losing,
    keeping and giving,
7 for tearing and sewing,
    listening and speaking.
8 There is also a time
for love and hate,
    for war and peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 CEV

The embracing and parting are hard. We spent time with some friends we have known for many years and also with some who we only been acquainted with for a few years. It was a time of refreshing and catching up. There were tears and laughter, promises to meet again and always – always – an expression of gratitude for the Lord bringing our lives together.

What a joy it is to know that the Lord cares about our associations and friendships.

“Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends.” I Samuel 18:3 CEV

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives. 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:23-24 NLT

Last night after we returned home Dave and I began to call out names of so many who have been a part of our lives and we know how truly rich we are in the area of relationships.

I am truly grateful for each of you who read this blog. I feel the Lord has blessed me in such a tremendous way, being able to share with you my walk with the Lord and to encourage you in your walk with Him as well.

Thank you for being faithful readers and precious friends, some we know and some we have yet to meet.

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How Soon We Forget

It’s good to reminisce. It brings special memories to the forefront of our minds. Some things we should never forget. God’s faithfulness comes to the top of my list.

The wonderful things the Lord has done for us in the past sometimes get lost in our memory when we focus on the problems of the present. It’s a form of spiritual amnesia.

The Israelites had lived in slavery to the Egyptians for four hundred years. The Lord sent Moses to lead them from captivity. The power of God was seen in the ten plagues that fell on the land of Egypt. Finally, Pharoah let God’s people go.

But it didn’t take long for him to reconsider his decision.

“When the Israelites saw the king coming with his army, they were frightened and begged the Lord for help. 11 They also complained to Moses, ‘Wasn’t there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? 12 While we were there, didn’t we tell you to leave us alone? We’d rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!’

13 But Moses answered, ‘Don’t be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the Lord save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t have to do a thing.’” Exodus 14:10-14 CEV

They forgot that God was defending and protecting them but thank God, He didn’t. He told Moses to keep moving forward. Then Moses was to stretch out his rod and the Red Sea would part so they could walk across on dry ground. And the rest is history. This miracle was something Moses would remind them of for the next forty years.

For a number of years, I worked in an animal hospital. Each year we would see the same dogs for porcupine quill removal. The first year I assisted with the quill removal I was amazed at how the dog’s chest, mouth, and muzzle was filled with quills. Some cases were so severe that we would have to sedate the dog to get them all. Then Doc said an interesting thing, “we’ll see this dog back again next year for the same thing”, and sure enough we did. You see there was a partial memory loss, amnesia. The dogs remembered the porcupine but forgot the horrible experience of the quills.

Pharaoh quickly forgot the pain of the plagues and only saw that his work force of slaves was fleeing. The Israelites forgot their 400 years of slavery and God’s deliverance and could only see the trouble of the pursuing Egyptians.

But, Moses remembered GOD! Today I encourage you to remember God.

“God gave his Law to Jacob’s descendants, the people of Israel. And he told our ancestors to teach their children, 6 so that each new generation would know his Law and tell it to the next. 7 Then they would trust God and obey his teachings, without forgetting anything God had done.” Psalm 78:5-7 CEV

Let’s not forget those big and small things God has done for us in the past. They are the foundation of faith we stand on for our present and our future.

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