Guess What?

Psalm 147:11 “the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Psalm 149:4 “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.”

You have probably heard the words, “God loves you,” a few hundred times. But did you know that God likes you?! Not only does He like you, but He delights in you! I know, I know…I took me a while to believe too! But God really enjoys being around you! If we could wrap our minds around this amazing truth, being a disciple of Jesus would be so much easier!

It is hard to find the time to pray, or spend time in the scriptures, or fast, or…well you get the picture. It becomes even harder when we think that we are approaching a God with His arms crossed, foot tapping, and eyes glaring, because He knows how long it’s been since we were last with Him. But this is not the picture that Scripture gives us of God!
Romans 8:15 tells us that we were freed from fear, and released into being chosen by God. “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’”

You have been adopted by God! God choose you! When you approach God in prayer, you approach a daddy!* God is delighted that you would spend time with Him. He is focused on the moment, not on the past. He delights in who you are as His child, and is not intent on condemning the things that we have done. (See Romans 8:1) This doesn’t mean that God will never correct us, but it means that He is much more interested in spending time with us than He is in pointing out our every fault.

This week’s homework is easy. Just pray, “God, this week, show me how you see me.”

------------------------------------------------------------
* Our earthly fathers shape our image of our Heavenly Father. No matter how wonderful your father was, no father can ever give a complete picture of God’s fathering love for us. But many of us either have no father around who can exemplify God’s fatherly love, or we have fathers who make us fearful of a God as father. I think this is why Paul used the word Abba. Abba is the word that babies learn to call their fathers. It is the same as “Daddy!” This is a picture of an affectionate parent with a young child. If your image of Father God is a negative one, try adding this line to the homework, “God, show me what kind of a Father you are.”

For further reading: Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging by Brennen Manning.

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of a Memory

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, " This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. " In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, " This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me ." —1 Corinthians 11:23-25 Has it ever happened to you? You walk into a room and suddenly the sight, smell, or feel of that room transports you thousands of miles to your grandmother’s house? In an instant you are 10 again. It is so real that you could almost walk to the kitchen and grab a cookie. What you have just experienced is the power of a memory. Our brains catalog, not just the sequence of events, but the sounds, sights, smells, tastes and touches of those events and places as well. And every time we come into contact with those senses again, our brain, quick as lightni
Read more

Commission

"Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you." —1 Thessalonians 3:1 Each year, we at Faith participate in commissioning several mission teams. We declare that those who go out from us in mission are “Ambassadors” not only of God’s Kingdom, but also of the Faith family. When I tell friends and colleagues at other churches about our missions involvement, they are consistently astonished, both at the number of trips we take, and the number of participants on those trips. After participating in so many commissionings, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect this past Sunday as you commissioned the Guatemala trip. I have been looking forward to this trip for many months; but as you commissioned us, the trip became real. I felt a deep joy swell over me, both that I had the opportunity to go, and that the church, my church, was praying for me and sending me out. I don’t know that I will
Read more

Final Thoughts

For almost three years, you and I have lived the Faith life together. We have worshiped, served in mission, studied scripture, and lived life together. As Kristin and I prepare to embark on a new adventure (with a slightly larger family than when we came to you) we are thankful for the opportunities we have had at Faith. In my time at Faith I have written over 120 articles on various themes. Today I write my last article to you. Final thoughts are often the hardest to come by. There is an urge to cram every important thought into the single page, after all, I’ll never have another chance to speak to you in this way. I have wrestled in my own mind over what to say here. Ultimately, I chose what I believe is the most important. Worship is a matter of submission to God, of seeing His majesty, of recognizing our own frailty, and submitting to His will and way. Worship is not found in the emotion of a song, or the swing of a hammer, it is found in the heart that does those things out of
Read more