Some may wonder how we can call Someone we don’t see our Father. This devotional reading looks at how God can be called our Father and begins to see what that means.
Nuggets
- God is a Father because He is the Father of Jesus Christ.
- God is a Father because He provides for us.
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Devotions in the Commit to Grow Our Habits study
We start off our prayers by addressing God. While we may have trouble seeing Him as Sovereign God, we also sometimes have difficulties understanding Him as our Father.
God is sovereign. He is the Creator of the world. He is supreme. He is ruler and judge.
While God is great and mighty (Deut. 10:17; Job 36: 5), but He is also awesome (Deut. 10:17). His power and might give strength to us all.
But God is also called Father. He shows this in several different ways.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the study.
Baker’s sermon gave us the foundation for this devotion.
God as Father of Jesus
“… ‘Our Father Which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name’” (M. 6: 9 (NIV)
God is a Father because He is the Father of Jesus Christ.
God sired Jesus as His Son. “The angel answered [Mary], ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Lk. 1: 35 NIV).
That puts God in the first position on the Trinity. The Father must give life to the Son.
God is also our Father because He redeemed us through Christ. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet. 1: 18-19 NIV)
The whole point of God giving His Son life was to die on the cross to give us access to heaven. As the song says, Jesus couldn’t see heaven if we weren’t there. Think of how much They love us – God to give up His Son, Jesus to give up Himself.
What a Beautiful Name
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Keyboard: Chris Vieth
The wonderful thing is we can approach God. The Sovereign God is approachable because He is our Father. The Bible tells us this in several places.
- “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (I Cor. 8: 6 ESV).
- “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph. 4: 6 ESV).
- “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isa. 64: 8 ESV).
- “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?” (Mal. 2: 10 ESV).
- “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (Jas. 1: 17 ESV).
When we ABCD, we become a member of the family of God. He becomes, as Baker said, “the Author of our spiritual existence.” “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2: 10 NIV).
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
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Manton made an interesting point. Our prayers should be easier because we are coming from this common relation.
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Don’t get me wrong. We are sinful and not worthy of the grace God gives us.
But I think we need to focus more on being connected and similar. We should see ourselves as God sees us — perfected through the blood of Jesus.
Bottom line is that we have to recognize God as our Father and submit to His Will.
Let’s look at it a different way. God used being our Father as an example so we could completely understand what He is telling us.
God loves us like a father should love his children. In fact, He is a better example of how a father should love his children than any of the earthly fathers are.
Still, we do get so hung up on giving Him the control of our lives. We want to be the ones who call the shots.
But God is the one with true wisdom (Job 12: 16). He is true and just (Dan. 4: 37). He promises to take care of us if we listen and obey Him (Ex. 19: 5).
God understands us because “he is mighty in strength of understanding” (Job 36: 5 CBS). He knows our every need, want, and desire. He knows what is best for us, what will make us the happiest.
We can go to God the Father, ask Him things, and He will answer (Ps. 65: 5). Not only that, but He will protect us (Ps. 89: 19). Nothing is too difficult for Him (Jer. 32: 27). He works everything out so that His Will is done.
We also get hung up on thinking He is only a loving God. We twist that around to believe that we should be able to keep on sinning and Him still say, okay, here is the everything you have ever wanted. We want the rewards without paying the dues.
Job has it right, though: “Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? …” (Job 34: 33 CBS). It comes back to consequences. There will be consequences when we reject God’s Plan of Salvation.
We should get to know this God we call Father. That is what He wants — to build a relationship with us. What better being with whom to have a relationship than the Sovereign God?
God the Father Provides
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4: 19 ESV)
God is a Father because He provides for us.
God didn’t make us and leave us on our own. He didn’t even leave us when we disobeyed Him.
God provides for us — and not just bare minimum. He doesn’t limit it to easy provisions.
Look what Manton said. He wrote, “The Creator who made you out of-nothing can keep and preserve life when you have nothing.”
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Did you see that? Manton said that, even when we have nothing, God is still providing for us.
To me, that reads we aren’t entitled to things just because we call God our Father. We especially aren’t entitled to things just because we are breathing.
All the blessings we receive come from God. He blesses our obedience.
We aren’t talking about only the blessings we see in this life. God has blessings stored up for us in Heaven.
- “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6: 19-21 ESV)
- “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Lk. 12: 33-34 ESV).
- “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done” (Rev. 22: 12 ESV).
Why does God provide for us? We are His children when we accept His Son as our Savior.
God adopted us. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn. 1: 12 ESV)
Glossary
To access this provision, we have to come to God in prayer. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Mt. 7: 7-8 ESV).
Remember, we have to ask in God’s Will. This verses does not make God a gum ball machine, spitting out the gum ball just because we put in the quarter prayer.
No, that isn’t contradictory to what we are talking about. God wants to provide for us — what we need. He is more interested in our spiritual condition than our physical condition.
Stacey reminded us that “… God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves, nor gratify our whims.” No, we aren’t supposed to do things on our own, but we aren’t supposed to sit back and think He will do everything for us.
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God provides the food, clothing, job, support, etc. Remember what Paul said. “And my God will supply every need of yours …” (Phil. 4: 19 ESV).
Every need. As in all. As in every single need we could ever have.
But all means nothing if we haven’t asked Jesus to be our Savior and committed our lives to Sovereign God.
Making the Connections #1
God is a powerful Sovereign Being. He existed before the creation of this universe because He created it. He created — and therefore owns — everything we see, including us. He created and still controls a paradise in which we were to live.
But something horrible happened. Man decided they didn’t want to do what God asked. They decided they would exercise their free will and chose to disobey God.
So, in came disease, crime, and all the bad stuff that happens to us. Those are the consequences of sin. Sin is when we break God’s divine law.
The original sin committed by Adam and Eve splintered the relationship that humans had with God. Where previously people had physical contact with God, they no longer did.
However, God was not satisfied that that be the way of it forever and evermore. He devised the plan of salvation so the the relationship could be restored.
God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins. Jesus was the living sacrifice that restored our relationship with God.
While God wants to be our Heavenly Father, He does not force us to be His children. He allows us to freely decide whether we are going to put our faith in Him and ask Him to be Lord of our lives. Only when we do can that relationship be mended, and we reap the full benefits of being God’s children.
Making the Connections #2
Edwards told us several things about prayer.
- God sustains our relationships with Him. It isn’t about us and what we do or don’t do. It is about Him and Who He is.
- God is above us. His ways and thoughts are higher (Isa. 55: 8-9). His character is better than ours.
- God makes us into a family. When we ABCD, we become His children, making the Church one big family.
- That means we interact with God as His children. He is our loving Heavenly Father.
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Making the Connections #3
Yes, God is a spirit, but He is also a Person. Being a spirit means He is not human, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t a Person.
We just said God’s thoughts are higher than ours (Isa. 55: 8-9). That means He has thoughts. That means He has an intellect.
God has emotions. If you don’t think so, you forget how many times the Wilderness Wanderers got on His last nerve.
We talk most of God’s love for us. We talk also of His jealousy, anger, compassion, and kindness.
How Do We Apply This?
- Recognize God’s power and goodness.
- Be unified with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Submit control of our lives to God.
- Don’t rely on our understanding – accept that we won’t understand all.
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Our Father. You are truly all powerful. You alone are God. There is no other gods before you. You deserve our praise. Thank You for sending Your Son to be our Savior. Lord, forgive us when we don’t acknowledge You as Father. We try to be so independent but make a mess of things. Help us to put out trust and faith in you. Amen.
What do you think?
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