Father's Love

In February I was given the amazing opportunity to deliver a Simonette to the IHOP community on at one of our Friday night Encountering God Services. I spoke on the Father Heart of God. While I was working on and developing this message, it dawned on me that since my Father died in 2008, this message has been the single most reality that has brought such comfort to my heart. There have been ups and downs as is true whenever a loved one dies. In my low points when I have cried out because of the injustice of my Father’s sudden death, often all I could cry out was ‘Father God, Abba Father!’ The following is a summary of what I spoke on:
There is nothing that will empower our spirit like encountering the Father Heart of God. It creates a confidence in our spirit and an assurance before the troubles of the future; even in the midst of our failure, we have confidence. It gives us the resolve to go forward with all of our hearts, so that even when we fail and stumble in our weakness, we run to God instead of from God.
Jesus showed who the Father is with everything He did; at the end of His ministry Jesus said to His disciples:
If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. Phillip said to Him, “Lord show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:7-9).
Every time Jesus healed and delivered someone, every time He fed the multitudes and with every parable and teaching He gave; with everything that Jesus did He showed us the compassion and love of the Father. The Jewish mindset of the day was that God was Holy-creator, and very distant and deserving of reverent worship. Jesus revealed a new understanding of God as a loving and compassionate Father. It is because Jesus draws near to His Father that we have free access to the Father heart of God.
One of my favorite parables that Jesus tells about the Father heart of God is the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-24. My favorite part of this passage is when the son is on his way home with his prepared repentance speech; and even when he is a far way off the Father sees Him. This indicates that the Father was watching and waiting. This is just like our Father to be watching and waiting for the slightest turning toward Him. This story shows us that God delights in us while we are still recovering from our failure; He loves us even, in our immaturity. He does not require that we clean up and do right, but embraces and accepts us even in our weakness. When we mess up or get it wrong we can run into His arms. He has a plan for our life to be overcomers.
Amazingly our Father God not only wants relationship and loves us in our weakness, but He also loves us the same way He loves the uncreated perfect Son, Jesus. Jesus when He was praying to the Father just before He was betrayed and crucified: “And I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26).
When Jesus lived on this earth during His 3 ½ years of ministry, He would often slip away to pray. The disciples saw this and asked Jesus how to pray. Jesus gave them the Lord ’s Prayer that started by addressing God in a personal way as a Father.
Jesus gives us permission to address His Father as our Father. Jesus showed us who the Father is, and He died to atone for our sins so that we could have a person relationship with His Father. Jesus is our doorway to intimacy and communion with the Father.
Imagine the uncreated Godhead in perfect communion, perfect love between each other since before the foundations of the world. They decide to create man in their image and invite man into the personal communion into that uncreated perfect love. Man turns away tries to be his own god. God sends Himself to earth to become man and then to die for man’s sins; all because He desires us, He wants relationship communion in Love for all eternity.
Father God is not anxious about anything, He sees the end from the beginning and is totally at peace; every moment of every day, we are invited through prayer, worship and contemplation into this perfect communion that the Godhead shares. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God,” (Phil 4:6).

Time in the Word

Sometimes in our daily time with the Lord we can feel dry or disconnected. The following is a method that I have found that works well for me during these times 1: Pick a scripture that has meaning to me or that I have recently been studying. Sometimes I pick a scripture that I have heard recently in
a sermon. I love using this method with the Gospel stories. 2: Before I start I Pray for grace and insight while reading the scripture. 3: I than slowly and gently read and reread the Scripture. 4: When a word or phrase jumps out at me, I repeat that word or phrase, reflecting on
the thoughts, hopes, images and feeling that come. 5: Pray or sing the word or phrase. 6: Dialogue with Jesus my thoughts and feeling. 7: I will end by journaling how this scripture has impacted me. Lastly, with any method like this it is important to find ways to use it in your life and make it your own.

Beholding the Lord

‘..We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit,’ (2 Cor 3:18)

What we look at and think about greatly effects who we are. Jesus talks about this in Luke 11:33-34. He says that our eye is the lamp of our body; the eye here is not only our physical eye, but also to our mind and imagination. Essentially, Jesus is saying we become what we think about and what we look at. When we behold Jesus, which is to meditate on scripture, we participate in the process of going from Glory to Glory; which is the process of becoming more like Jesus.

Jesus is the word of God manifest to us:

“..God’s immense richness is concentrated and focused at this one spot, the humanity of Jesus Christ, so that here, in this single Person, ‘are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’, here ‘the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily’, here stands the Eternally Beloved ‘Son’, expressly indicated by the Father’s word: ‘Listen to him!’. .. “ Prayer by Hans Urs von Balthasar.

Past Worries

Have you ever noticed in life that there is always an issue we are working on or concerned about? Most often our reaction is to worry about these issues. Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 6; “….do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” I love Jesus because He is pointing us to something deeper; is not our lives more than these issues, worries, concerns or situations?! Often we allow these worries to draw us away from God when we should have never left His side to begin with. When we learn to stop worrying and learn to trust God; He can teach us peace in the midst of these circumstances. There are times when God is calling us to go through situations; during these times He builds more peace and steadfastness in our soul and spirit. Jesus wants us to learn how to have peace and confidence in His love and leadership no matter what the circumstances are. I think there are some keys to moving past issues and worries, such as having childlike faith, praying, thinking rightly which leads to a change in our perspective. A catalyst that often helps in all these areas is praising and giving thanks to Jesus.

Jesus said that we should have faith like a child. Matthew 18; Jesus said “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Children that are raised in a loving envirment do not normally weary about paying the bills or putting food on the table; they trust their parents to take care of them. Childlike faith is faith that relies on the Father to take care of all that concerns them. We need to continually have a fresh revelation of the Fathers love for us!

Paul in His letter to the Philippians said “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, (4:6-7)” I believe that we must have perspective from heaven and prayer allows us to do this. When issues arise we need to call out to Jesus and get His perspective, what He wants us to learn through the process and strategies for breakthrough

Paul also address what we think about in our minds. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things,” (phil 4:8). We must take captive every thought and think only on good and wholesome things. Ask Holy Spirit to help and reveal any thoughts that are not honoring to Him.

So many breakthroughs have come into my own life through Praising and thanking God for everything. Psalms 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” Paul says in Phil 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!” We should praise and thank God because He is worthy, and because He is loving. We receive fresh perspective, strength and peace when we let go of the worries and concerns that so often occupy out thoughts and weigh down our emotions zapping us of our energy and joy. I have never experienced a breakthrough from worrying but I have experienced breakthroughs from praising and giving thanks to Jesus. I believe that praise and worship can re-wire our brains and gives us extra grace to think rightly, have proper perspective and increase our ability to hear God.

Lastly we need to move from being ‘us’ or ‘I’ focus to Jesus focused. This is a journey that the Shulammite took in the Song of Solomon (Song). In the beginning of the book she is very focused on herself “I am black but lovely,” (1:5) and “My beloved is mine, and I am His,” (2:16). Even in Song 5:16 the Shulammite says “This is my beloved and this is my friend.” It is still about her. Yet towards the end of the book the Shulammite through the leadership of Jesus says, “I am my beloved’s and His desire is for me,” (Song 7:10). She has encountered the Bridegroom and is overwhelmed with His beauty and totally trust Him, so much that she knows she can focus on His glory and He will take care of her.

6 Weeks to Personal Preparedness; Week 6

Practice!

You should not wait for an actual event to happen to realize that you are missing something.

This is where the fun begins. Take a weekend and practice going without electricity or heat. Get all your gear out and use it, see how you like it. Have everyone one try and use only 1 gallon of water for one day and see how it goes. Try heating up your food on a BBQ or camper stove. The important thing is to practice and see if you have everything you need.

6 Weeks to Personal Preparedness; Week 5

Make a Plan based on the threats in your area.

1) If something happens were will everyone in your family meet. Best to have a primary and alternative location.

2) Identify an out of area contact: Your contact should live outside of your area. After a disaster, it can be easier to make a long distance call or to text someone than a local call. Family members should call the contact and tell him or her where they are. Everyone must know the contact’s name, address, and phone number

3) If your area is evacuated that know the routes, know were the shelters are.

4) Make home escape plans.

6 Weeks to Personal Preparedness; Week 4

Week 4

What to buy:

1) Buy the things that you identified on the list form week 3.

What to do:

1) Place the items from the list that you may need if you have to evacuate in your go bags.

2) Pack extra clothes and shoes in the go bags.