Tag: FathersLove

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Big Celebration

Yesterday was a BIG DAY to our five-year-old granddaughter. She graduated Kindergarten!

Because of where her birthday falls, she is younger than her classmates and some of the teachers were concerned that she may fall behind the others. (Her mother told me this yesterday.) However, she proved them wrong and her final report card revealed that she excelled in all her subjects except handwriting.

This was a time to celebrate.

Pappy, Dave, went with our youngest daughter to the ceremony. I waited at home with her younger sister and big brother went to his final day with his classmates. When she came through the backdoor her face was beaming. I heard about the songs they performed and other parts of the event. Pappy and I gave her flowers and she gave hugs and kisses, many times over. It was a celebration.

Now we all know that there will be much bigger milestones in her life and sad-to-say, we will miss some of them. But not this time. As I was thinking about this this morning I remembered an obscure verse in the Bible and I knew our heavenly Father had been smiling as we were celebrating.

“Don’t be discouraged or grow weak from fear! 17 The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.” Zephaniah 3:16-17 CEV

He celebrates and sings and refreshes us with His love. One version of this verse says “He rejoices over us with singing”.

The Lord celebrates us. He is invested in our lives and marks down our victories, even if it is on the scale of a kindergarten graduation.

He also plans a party when we least deserve it. Sometimes we wander off to explore the world and all those pastures that look greener on the other side. We do things we shouldn’t, our associations are less than stellar and we ignore our Father and His desires for us.

But when we come back with a sorrowful heart, He throws a party!

“But his father said to the servants, ‘Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. 24 This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:22-24 CEV

The love of our heavenly Father is so much greater than that of this father but we were given this story as an example. Our father is always waiting for us and is ready to celebrate our return.

Today is a day of celebration – what you think you have nothing worth celebrating? Remember this final verse.

“This day belongs to the Lord! Let’s celebrate and be glad today.” Psalm 118:24 CEV

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Family Time

Dave and I arrived at the racetrack yesterday afternoon. It’s one of those things we do twice a year with our oldest daughter and her husband. It’s family time!

We are so appreciative to have one on one time with each of our kids. I’m not saying it isn’t fun when we are together in a group but it’s harder to focus on individual, quality time. In fact, we are very blessed to be living close enough to each of our daughters that we have this kind of time to share. Just a week ago, we were able to spend the afternoon playing at the park with our youngest daughter’s family.

It used to be the mind set of some Christians that all they needed was to go to church on Sunday and they were good. Well, one day a week in a group setting is nice but I enjoy the one on one time with the Father.

“Know then that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He keeps His promise and shows His loving-kindness to those who love Him and keep His Laws, even to a thousand family groups in the future.” Deuteronomy 7:9 NLV

He wants to show us His loving-kindness – not only to us but to our families for a thousand generations. Amazingly, our heavenly Father is seeking time with us.

“Now all of us can go to the Father through Christ by way of the one Holy Spirit. 19 From now on you are not strangers and people who are not citizens. You are citizens together with those who belong to God. You belong in God’s family.” Ephesians 3:18-19 NLV

May I encourage you to carve out some time to hang out with the Father today. He desires the pleasure of your company!

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The Father’s Love

My heavenly Father is beyond description! His works are marvelous and His love is never ending!!

When I was younger, I loved to sing and spent countless hours practicing and memorizing song lyrics. My heart and my head were filled with this melody by John W. Peterson.

My Father is omnipotent
And that you can’t deny
A God of might and miracles
‘Tis written in the sky.

It took a miracle
To put the stars in place
It took a miracle
To hang the moon in space
But when He saved my soul
Cleansed and made me whole
It took a miracle
Of love and grace!

I see my Father’s presence all around me. It’s in the song of the birds, in the beauty of a sunset or a sunrise; it’s in the refreshing of the rain and the colors of the blooms. His love is wrapped in every smile and hug and His mercy is shown through every act of forgiveness.

I marvel that He cut the canyons and prepared the landscapes for my enjoyment. He knew I would love the panoramic vistas He set before me. He gave me the desert, the mountains and the oceans for my playground.

How I love that He chose me, He adopted me and gave me the priviledge to call him Papa Father.

“14 The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba, Father.” 16 And the Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:14-17 ERV

Thank you Papa for your amazing love. Thank you for adopting me. Thank you. Happy Father’s Day.

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A Few Good Men

A few good men – no, we’re not talking about the Marines.

Instead, I’m talking about godly men, husbands and fathers. Those who truly are willing to lay their lives down for their family and friends; those who sacrifice to provide for us and set an example for us to live by.

My husband and my father are and were both that type of man. My father was strict and believed in discipline, but he believed in laughter, fun and bear hugs. He loved me dearly and when my husband asked for permission to marry me, he said, “If you take her, you don’t bring her back.” He believed in working through problems and not giving up. His relationship with my Mom was living proof of that. My husband said my dad was the “manliest man he ever met”.

“Just as parents are kind to their children, the Lord is kind to all who worship him…17 The Lord is always kind to those who worship him, and he keeps his promises
to their descendants 18 who faithfully obey him.” Psalm 103:13,17 & 18 CEV

My husband is an example to me of God’s unconditional love. He has seen me at my worst, and he has never changed in his love for me. In fact, if you ask him – he can’t remember me at my worst. He has chosen to forget. He too is strict and believes in discipline but his children, sons & daughters, know that he is ready to support them at the drop of a hat. He tells them how very much he loves them and how proud he is of each of them. He’s honest and speaks his mind.

I see many examples of my heavenly Father’s love in each of these men and I am blessed that they are a vital part in my life. I love them both more than words can say.

“Parents, don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4 CEV

Dad has been in heaven for over seventeen years, but his love and his lessons are still a big part of my life. Dave and I will celebrate fifty years of marriage next April, I can’t imagine a better life’s partner.

I pray that you are blessed with this type of man today – give him the honor he is due.

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The Father’s Love

When our children were small, we were farming, night and day.  We had very little free time, so they spent a lot of time in the fields with us. One day we were walking across the hay fields and I saw our son following behind his dad. He was imitating Dave’s every step. He would stop and look at the fields each time Dave stopped. He took the same giant leap to cross the irrigation ditch that his dad did. That is a moment I will never forget.  

God wants us to be the same way with Him. He wants us to imitate Him.  He is our loving heavenly Father!

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG

 Life, in general, is constantly evolving. We are growing from infancy to the grave. We develop in our relationships and maturity. We have numerous jobs from youth to retirement.

 In God’s eyes we are in a multifaceted role as well. Our first position being that of unbeliever but after accepting Jesus as Savior, we take on the life of believers in Christ.

 As a follower of Christ, we have many callings. The Bible says we are sons, joint heirs, the righteousness of God, conquerors, overcomers, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit. These are only a few of our many facets. Through this teaching we will see from God’s Word the requirements and instructions that go with each one.

Let’s open our hearts to learn from the Lord as we go through the pages of this book.

“Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask you to open my spirit so that I may receive instructions from Your Word. Let me use what the Holy Spirit reveals to make my life conform to You in a greater way than it has up to this time. I desire to be an imitator of you as Jesus was. Amen.”

Our first relationship (facet) to develop is that as “sons”.

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law. 5 God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us his children.

6 Since you are now God’s children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything he promised his children.”  Galatians 4:4-7 ERV

We are children who have a very loving Father. This is a special family relationship. Originally, we were born with a sin nature and Jesus said that the devil was acting as our father and we lived in a kingdom of darkness.

 “You don’t understand the things I say, because you cannot accept my teaching. 44 Your father is the devil. You belong to him. You want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was always against the truth. There is no truth in him. He is like the lies he tells. Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.” John 8:43-44 ERV

Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was to give us a new heritage. We no longer have to belong to an evil father. The relationship with God that mankind had was lost in the Garden of Eden through Adam’s disobedience, was restored when Jesus came. God’s plan was to give us a new Father and a new family relationship.

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