62. Understanding Our loving Father John 8:27

Religious people in Jesus’ day found the concept of the Fatherhood of God hard to grasp. Lord, King and judge they could understand, but not Father. Their Old testament Scriptures barely spoke half a dozen times of God as Father, whereas the New Testament mentions it hundreds of times, especially through the speech and lips of Jesus Himself. We read in Matthew 11:27, “No one knows the Father except The Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Interesting isn’t it that Christ makes that choice, and not The Father; Why? A thought worth pondering. The truth is, until Jesus revealed the Father, God remained a mystery to them. And many of us still don’t comprehend His Fatherhood and the rich blessings we have in Him. Father God’s all inclusive name, incorporates everything you will ever need and discloses exactly how He feels about you and me. He exemplifies every trait of the best father imaginable. Whatever a loving father would do for a needy child, Our heavenly Father will do for us – and then some.! Once we recognise God as our Father, our fears dissolve as we start to realise that all our requirements will be met. In Luke 12:32 Jesus said, “It gives the Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.” Now, just stop for a moment and think about that statement. You can’t comprehend it can you? Neither can I, but, that’s our amazing Father God!!! It makes God happy to give you and me the resources of His Kingdom. Why? Because He loves us as much as He loves His Son Jesus, in John 17:23 Jesus prayed, “You would know with confidence that your Heavenly Father loves you in the same way He has loved me.” So treat God as your Father and start acting as His child and enjoy the benefits of family membership. To see God as your loving Father may not come easily if you carry the scars of an unhappy childhood. The unmet needs in your childhood could be a lack of affection, security, nurturing, comfort, or even material requirements. All these can make it hard to believe that God will provide for your needs now. So what can we do about this? First you have to recognise that your father-image of a father is flawed and in no way fits your heavenly Father. Even the best father in the world is a flawed, blurred carbon copy of your heavenly Father. God wants you to see Him as a caring, sensitive, generous, dependable Father. That’s why Jesus taught us to call Him “Our Father” not just Almighty God and Lord. Another reason is that Like a good father, God has anticipated your every need and has provided for it (see Matthew 6:25-34). Just as good parents understand the individual characteristics of each of their children, your Heavenly Father knows your unique requirements, thoughts and feelings. (Psalm `103:13-14) tells us”The Lord is kind to those who honour Him. He knows what we are made of”. His care for each of us is tailor-made to fit our individual, specific, needs and limitations. Just as a good earthly father accepts and fulfils his responsibilities and obligations to provide for his children, your Heavenly Father holds Himself responsible for meeting your needs and mine, and He wants us to act accordingly, by trusting Him. In other words each of our roles is to act as the child of a trustworthy, generous, permanently loving Father. When reading Scripture, understanding the Fatherhood of God is very important; sometimes He may even come across harsh and severe. Thinking that way may cause you to by-pass His many attributes. If you don’t comprehend who our Heavenly Father truly is and how much He loves you?, How much He has done and will do for you? You will never understand Scripture. Because it was out of His great love for us, that He sacrificed His only son Jesus to die on a cross for our sins (wrong doings) and For no other reason. Take these words personally. Deep down inside many of us tend to think, “It wasn’t just for me, but for everyone.” No! No! No! If you were the only person on earth to be saved from Hell, He would have gone through it all just for You. Yes,, He gave us the 10 Commandments, (the law) which when followed perfectly would take us safely through life to spend eternity in Heaven with Him and our loved ones, who have gone there ahead of us. Now, He knew we couldn’t keep those Commandments, our human nature is far too weak to do this on our own, so He sent His Holy Spirit along with His gifts, guidance and protection to those of us who are humble enough to ask for it, Jesus said “ If you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him for it,” Never think You are unworthy or not good enough to turn to God, Read the Old Testament and see how many times His chosen people (The Jews) turned away, broke the law, and brought on themselves war, disease, famine and plagues. Yet He was and still is always ready to forgive, always ready to take us back and show His love by renewing our relationship with Him, and again sending His Holy Spirit to help, guide protect and lead us, to Jesus who is the only Truth, Life and Way which leads to Our Heavenly Father’s Home, and the place He has prepared for us. Thank you for reading my thoughts on “Understanding Our Father’s Love.” Develop a Father / Child relationship with Him, and feel extra special. Because you are,!!. HE thinks you’re worth it. Do you? God Bless Phaline.

61. Dealing With Gossip Nehemiah 6:6.

The only way to avoid criticism is to say nothing, do nothing and be nothing. Know this; When you attempt anything of value or significance, people are going to talk about you. However, I have found, if what I am doing is for The Lord and through His direction there is nothing to fear, because if it is from The Lord it will bare fruit, and if it’s not it will soon die down. ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ And most importantly,, God is always looking for a humble heart and willing spirit. Nehemiah’s enemies tried to stop him from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem by using gossip and innuendo. In Nehemiah 6:6-7, we read “It is reported among the Nations” - “Geshem says it is true…” “moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem.” Notice no source was given of the accusations against Nehemiah ‘It is reported’. Always be prepared when someone comes to you and says something like...I heard… or somebody said...or the word on the street is… Never receive a criticism from someone who is bringing it on behalf of someone else, someone they won’t name or someone who won’t say it to your face. Not even slander could keep Nehemiah from the work he was doing. Note how he responded ”I sent him this reply. Nothing of what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up.” In other words he said to them; I don’t care what you think, I’m going to keep building this wall until the job is done. And that must be our attitude too. If God has called you or me to do a particular job, just do it regardless. Your true friends will trust you enough to know you are obeying God, and won’t need an explanation and your enemies wouldn’t believe you even if you held them at gunpoint. Stay focused and trust God to get the job done. James gives us a Scripture which we need to keep in mind, He says in 1:26 “Those who do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves and their religion is worthless.” When someone gossips about you, think this way...People tend to accuse in others what they excuse in themselves. Don’t allow them to project their fears, feelings and problems on to you. Hold your own and stand your ground. Lady Astor a British Parliamentarian was a constant thorn in the side of Winston Churchill and was always criticising him. One day the two got into a heated argument, and she said, “Winston, I don’t like your politics, and I don’t like your moustache, and if I were your wife I would poison your coffee”. To which the Statesman replied, “Madam I see no earthly reason why you should ever come in contact with either, my politics or my moustache and if I were your husband I’d drink the coffee!!!. Jesus’ critics accused Him of being demon-possessed, Paul’s critics called him a madman a fool and a babbler. So we cannot expect different treatment from the same crowd. We ourselves need to guard against Gossip. It is so easy to do, we can all find an excuse or reason to do it. It seems to be part of human nature to put ourselves higher than the person we are discussing. This is one of Satan’s hidden tools; but like all he does, he just prods our pride and tells us we would never do what our victim is doing. But you know what? The reason we recognise that problem so readily in others is, because it currently is, or has been a problem in our own lives too. So we need to think carefully before we speak. I once had a lovely teacher who always told us, “if you can’t say something nice about someone, say nothing at all,” because “Out of the mouth the heart speaks’ So zip it! Pure mouth, pure heart, that is how we are judged, by both God and man. Thank you for reading my thoughts on “Gossip” God help and Bless us all. Phaline

60. Standing On God’s Word. Jeremiah 1:12.

If you consider yourself to be one of God’s children, you will know in your heart that He is your father and, like any loving parent, will do whatever it takes to keep you close to Him and out of trouble. In fact, that is exactly what He did The only thing He could do to achieve our eternal happiness with Him, was to send His Son to pay the debt that we (mankind) had incurred and now it’s up to us to accept or reject that payment. Prior to sending His Son (Jesus), God sent dozens of prophets to tell us how, why, when and where, this Incarnation (Christ’s coming to earth) would take place. But many refused to believe those prophets; and with growing pride and arrogance, people rejected God and His Word. But even then Our loving God continued to pursue us. Yes He sent His only begotten Son who, when He was on earth gave us the answer to every situation we may encounter, He physically showed us the way to God and the eternal home He has created for us. God said In Jeremiah 1:12, “I am ready to perform my Word” And David tells us “When you are facing danger (Psalm 91:2-16) ‘This I declare about The Lord. He ALONE is my refuge, my place of safety...my God, I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings, His faithful promises are your armour and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in the darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at Midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you…IF you make The Lord your Refuge, IF you make the most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; No plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to take care of you wherever you go. They will hold you up...so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone… The Lord says I WILL rescue those who love me… I WILL protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I WILL answer; I WILL be with them in trouble. I WILL rescue and honour them. I WILL reward them with a long life and give them my Salvation”. Note the phrase at the top “This I declare about The Lord.” When you speak God’s Word over your life, You release the power contained in it. That’s the reason we need to know God’s word, and His promises, keep them in the front of your mind, so you can call on them at a moments notice, because sometimes that’s all the time one has to bring God right into a situation. So stand firmly on God’s Word today and expect Him to honour His Word by your faith in it. In Psalm 119:50 the psalmist says, “Your promise revives me, it comforts in all my troubles.” When we are in pain, sometimes God lifts us out of it, other times He carries us through it and makes us stronger by proving His love and faithfulness to us. He never ignores our prayers. He either relieves or carries us through, either way we can be sure He is doing what is best for us at that particular time. So, If you are in pain today, read these promises from God’s Word and stand on them. “Your promise revives me and comforts me through ALL my troubles (Psalm 119:50). “Let your unfailing love comfort me, just as You promised me your servant. Surround me with Your tender mercies so I may live” (Psalm 119:76-77). “Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh Save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble” (Psalm 25:16-18). “The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted, He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many struggles but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous, not one of them will be broken” (Psalm 34:17-20). And from Jeremiah 17:14 we read, “Heal me Lord, and I shall be healed”. Notice God’s promises revive and comfort us in our troubles. Your Bible is a prescription from the Great Physician Himself, and the label on the bottle reads: “Take as often as needed for pain”. SOME SUGGESTIONS. (1) Recent Studies confirm that today over half the population of the western world are battling weight problems from eating too much. If you are one of these, here is the good news; God can help you win this battle, often it’s not about what you are eating, it’s about what’s eating you. Often we overeat to find comfort and relief from stress and anxiety, but that’s a short-term fix, so it doesn’t work. The Psalmist went directly to the root of the problem in Psalm 119:23-24, “Search me and know my heart: test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you. And lead me along the path of everlasting life”. God can relieve those anxious thoughts within you. The Holy Spirit is the greatest Therapist in the world. When you surrender and ask Him to take up residence within you, you discover that one of the fruit of The Spirit is … “self control” (Galatians 5:22-23). He can give you the power to control your appetite, and start living your life by the Scriptures. Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Can I suggest, make this your prayer today, ”Oh Lord if You heal me, I will be truly healed; If You save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for You alone” (Jeremiah 17:14). Now watch your life change. (2) When you violate your marriage vows; You violate God’s Word, brake your spouse’s heart, embarrass the cause of Christ, live with the fear of exposure, and trade short term-pleasure for long-term-pain. So before you get involved, seek God’s help and stand on His Word. Give honour to marriage and remain faithful to one another. In Hebrews 13:4 Paul says, “God will surely judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery. And in Colossians 3:5, “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires”. And in Romans 13:13-14 we read; “Don’t participate in promiscuity and immoral living, instead, clothe yourselves with the presence of The Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 tells us, “To run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does… Don’t you realise that the body is the temple of The Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body”. Your temptations are no different to what others experience. And God is faithful He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. He will always show you a way out. So if you are toying with the idea of having an affair, or you are already in one, or you are trying to get out of one: Stand on the Word of God today and believe Him for victory. When someone you love has broken your heart and betrayed your trust, you are in a vulnerable place. At this point the enemy will get you to do four things that will derail you spiritually and rob you of God’s blessings. He will get you to: (1). Isolate yourself, alienate and avoid others. (2). Lose your sense of trust, and suspect the motives of everyone you meet. (3). Cause a root of bitterness to spring up that will impact your family, friends and circle of influence. (4). Make you want to strike back and get even. Don’t do it! Instead stand on God’s Word. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the broken hearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Has someone done you wrong? Forgive them – and keep on forgiving them until you are free in your own mind. It’s a hard daily walk that sometimes feels like three steps forward and two steps back. But if you keep your eyes on Jesus you will get there. This will be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done, but, when you get through, you will be a strong member of the body of Christ, who can be of tremendous help to others and rewarded with the biggest gift you’ve ever had; a deep relationship with Almighty God and His Son that few people achieve. (3) When death takes someone you love, Satan will try to torment you with remorseful thoughts of what you did or didn’t do for your loved one. Don’t listen to him! In Revelation 12:10, the Bible calls him “the Accuser.” Instead, rejoice that your loved one was in right standing with you and The Lord, and that you will be reunited in Heaven for all eternity. Give yourself permission to grieve and when that’s over, Stand on God’s Word. Believe it and take to heart what Jesus Himself said. This is recorded for us in John’s gospel (chapter 14:1-3), “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” And Paul writes in Philippians 1:23, “To depart and … be with Christ… is better by far.” So lean on these words of Scripture and you will find comfort. Thank you for reading how to Comprehend, Use, and Stand on God’s Word. Most of what I have written comes from my own experience, I sincerely hope it helps. I pray His Love and Blessings on us all. Phaline.