"...but you have received a 'spirit of adoption' as sons by which we cry out "Abba! Father!"
Romans 8:15b
The Hebrew word of 'Ab', or Aramaic 'Abba' means 'daddy' or 'papa'. This eventually came to mean 'dear father'. Three places in the New Testament, God the Father is referred to as 'Abba'. In Mark 14:36, when Jesus was pouring out His heart to the Father, sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, His cry was to "Abba, Father", or "Father, my Father". To put it even plainer as to the Hebrew and Aramaic interpretation, He was saying "Daddy, my very own Daddy".
In Romans 8:14, 15 it is telling us that the believer is a 'son' (or daughter) of God, and we can cry "Abba, Father". Then in Galatians 4:6 it says we have the Spirit of Jesus to confirm that we are sons and daughters, by crying out for us "Abba, Father".
How can we as mere mortals, have such a close association with God that we can call Him Father, or Daddy? We become God's children by placing our trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. God receives us into His family and our sins are forgiven. When our 'Daddy' looks at us, He sees us as a pure and forgiven child because of what Jesus did on Calvary.
Prayer: Father, my Father! I thank You for the gift of becoming Your child. I thank You for being my Father and providing all my needs. May I always glorify You and may others see me as Your child. I want to be a reflection of Your love and image, so that I can hear others say "she has her Father's eyes." I thank You in the precious name of Jesus. Amen
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Thursday, December 26, 2013
God's Indescribable Gift
"Thanks be to God for His Indescribable gift." II Corinthians 9:15
God's special gift to us is "indescribable", it is amazing, it is beyond our comprehension. This gift is Jesus, all wrapped up in love! Of Himself, Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water." (John 4:10)
Because of God's wonderful gift, we can have other gifts such as a 'gift of a relationship with God'. John 1:12 states that all who receive Him, (this gift) those who believe in His name, Hegives the right to be called the sons and daughters of God.
He also gives the 'gift of His Grace'. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by Grace you have been saved..." We have received the 'gift of Eternal Life', as according to Romans 6:23: "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
One reason I think of God's gift as being 'indescribable' and perhaps part of Paul's thinking in II Cor. 9:15, is that it is greater than we can grasp with our finite minds. Jesus was God, second person in the Trinity, totally God. Yet in order to become the propitiation for man's sin, He had to take on a human body. In doing so He had to become a human being. Now we have something beyond our imagination, something incredible, beyond words, indescribable. He was still God, just as though He had never been man; yet He was man as though He had never been God.
And He did this as a gift to each of us!
"For God so loved the world that He gave (this indescribable gift) His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
Friday, October 4, 2013
Praise to God
"Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6
Why should we praise God?
Psalm 63:3 answers this question: “Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you.” In II Samuel 22:4 is says “I call on the Lord, who is Worthy to be praised…” In Psalm 48:1 “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised…” Psalm 65:1 states it like it is: “…praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion…” From these verses we read that He is great, He is Worthy, He is an awesome God and it is His due.
By Praising God we will keep our focus on the Him; Praise is a way of helping us to obey God’s commands. You cannot refuse His commands, and praise Him at the same time. It just doesn’t work.
How are we to Praise God?
The answer to this question is found in Psalm 138:1 “I will praise thee with my whole heart….” Psalm 34:1 says that His Praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 63:3 states that we will praise Him with our lips. Psalm 103:33 states that we should ‘sing’ praises to God. We who are children of God should praise Him with our whole heart; we should praise him continually with our lips and with singing.
When should we praise God?
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, as this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We should praise Him in the midst of trials, and it will help us to see our trials as friends (James 1:2-4). Psalm 72:15 and 119:164 both say that we should praise Him “all day long.” Psalm 63: 4 states the “I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in your name.” In Psalm 84:4 we find that “they will be singing Your praises all the day”. Psalm 113:3 says that we should praise Him “from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” We never stop praising the Lord!
My Prayer: O Lord, I praise You that You are in control of my life. I praise You whatever befalls me. I accept and trust Your working in my life. I will praise You in everything and continually, for this is my “Sacrifice of Prayer.” Amen
Why should we praise God?
Psalm 63:3 answers this question: “Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise you.” In II Samuel 22:4 is says “I call on the Lord, who is Worthy to be praised…” In Psalm 48:1 “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised…” Psalm 65:1 states it like it is: “…praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion…” From these verses we read that He is great, He is Worthy, He is an awesome God and it is His due.
By Praising God we will keep our focus on the Him; Praise is a way of helping us to obey God’s commands. You cannot refuse His commands, and praise Him at the same time. It just doesn’t work.
How are we to Praise God?
The answer to this question is found in Psalm 138:1 “I will praise thee with my whole heart….” Psalm 34:1 says that His Praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 63:3 states that we will praise Him with our lips. Psalm 103:33 states that we should ‘sing’ praises to God. We who are children of God should praise Him with our whole heart; we should praise him continually with our lips and with singing.
When should we praise God?
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, as this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We should praise Him in the midst of trials, and it will help us to see our trials as friends (James 1:2-4). Psalm 72:15 and 119:164 both say that we should praise Him “all day long.” Psalm 63: 4 states the “I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in your name.” In Psalm 84:4 we find that “they will be singing Your praises all the day”. Psalm 113:3 says that we should praise Him “from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” We never stop praising the Lord!
My Prayer: O Lord, I praise You that You are in control of my life. I praise You whatever befalls me. I accept and trust Your working in my life. I will praise You in everything and continually, for this is my “Sacrifice of Prayer.” Amen
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Why Do We Have the Old Testament?
I have been asked what my favorite part of the Bible is. It is difficult to pick out a favorite section of the Bible. I have gone through the whole Bible, chapter by chapter, every day for the past several years, and each time I go through it again, I glean something new from the most unexpected areas. .
These past few weeks I have been reading I Chronicles. In I Chronicles we learn about David’s life, but there are many chapters listing genealogies, names of warriors, and musicians, and tabernacle workers and all listing whose sons they were. This can get very boring, but right in the middle of all the ‘sons of’ may be a gem. Chapter 4 is an example that shows lists of names, and suddenly 2 verses about a fellow named Jabez, whom the Lord blessed.
Then after plodding through more lists of names, and sons of so and so, in chapter 26: 5 it says: ‘Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him.” Then on it goes listing more names. I had to stop and think about this. At first I thought the person it was speaking of was this Peullethai, but as I reread it, and noticed the punctuation, I realized the one being blessed was in verse 4, Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom had been faithful to God in caring for the Ark when it had been dropped off back in 2 Samuel. Peullathai was one of Obed-edom’s sons, so was blessed, also, because his father had been faithful. This can be a lesson to us as parents. If we are faithful, our children will be blessed as well. Verse seven even mentions the grandchildren.
Elsewhere in this same book are words of David, sounding very much like a Psalm. Some examples are I Chron. 16: 8-10: O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name…Sing to Him, sing praises to Him…Glory in His Holy name.” And in verses 31-34 of chapter 16 we have all nature singing: “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice…Let the sea roar…let the fields rejoice. then shall the trees of the wood sing out for joy before the Lord…O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving kindness endure forever.”
All this from what I thought was the very ‘boring’ book of I Chronicles. I once read that you may look lightly upon a Scripture and see nothing; meditate upon it often; there you shall see a light, like the light of the sun. This must be what it means, as I have found that the more I read the Scriptures, the more nuggets I find.
Another thing I have found with the Old Testament, it shows us the most base of human nature. God’s chosen nation did despicable things, turning away from God time after time. And then the Old Testament ends nearly 400 years before Christ is born. It would almost seem as though God had turned away from man, was just washing His hands of the whole human race.
But, as the New Testament begins, a baby is born just as predicted in the Old Testament. And as it tells in Isaiah, the baby became the Passover Lamb, and instead of God washing His hands of mankind, His Son paid the price of all the sin handed down through all these generations, that man can be washed in the blood of that Lamb. What a picture of Grace the New Testament gives. And without the Old Testament, we may not see the clear picture of Grace.
These past few weeks I have been reading I Chronicles. In I Chronicles we learn about David’s life, but there are many chapters listing genealogies, names of warriors, and musicians, and tabernacle workers and all listing whose sons they were. This can get very boring, but right in the middle of all the ‘sons of’ may be a gem. Chapter 4 is an example that shows lists of names, and suddenly 2 verses about a fellow named Jabez, whom the Lord blessed.
Then after plodding through more lists of names, and sons of so and so, in chapter 26: 5 it says: ‘Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him.” Then on it goes listing more names. I had to stop and think about this. At first I thought the person it was speaking of was this Peullethai, but as I reread it, and noticed the punctuation, I realized the one being blessed was in verse 4, Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom had been faithful to God in caring for the Ark when it had been dropped off back in 2 Samuel. Peullathai was one of Obed-edom’s sons, so was blessed, also, because his father had been faithful. This can be a lesson to us as parents. If we are faithful, our children will be blessed as well. Verse seven even mentions the grandchildren.
Elsewhere in this same book are words of David, sounding very much like a Psalm. Some examples are I Chron. 16: 8-10: O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name…Sing to Him, sing praises to Him…Glory in His Holy name.” And in verses 31-34 of chapter 16 we have all nature singing: “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice…Let the sea roar…let the fields rejoice. then shall the trees of the wood sing out for joy before the Lord…O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving kindness endure forever.”
All this from what I thought was the very ‘boring’ book of I Chronicles. I once read that you may look lightly upon a Scripture and see nothing; meditate upon it often; there you shall see a light, like the light of the sun. This must be what it means, as I have found that the more I read the Scriptures, the more nuggets I find.
Another thing I have found with the Old Testament, it shows us the most base of human nature. God’s chosen nation did despicable things, turning away from God time after time. And then the Old Testament ends nearly 400 years before Christ is born. It would almost seem as though God had turned away from man, was just washing His hands of the whole human race.
But, as the New Testament begins, a baby is born just as predicted in the Old Testament. And as it tells in Isaiah, the baby became the Passover Lamb, and instead of God washing His hands of mankind, His Son paid the price of all the sin handed down through all these generations, that man can be washed in the blood of that Lamb. What a picture of Grace the New Testament gives. And without the Old Testament, we may not see the clear picture of Grace.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Jeremiah 3-3-3
Young people of today will not remember this, but when I was very young, telephone numbers had an exchange name, followed by the number. You are no doubt familiar with the song from the 1940’s entitled Pennsylvania 6-5000. This is a good example of what I am talking about. In small towns, one gave the phone number to a ‘telephone operator’ instead of dialing it. All this reminiscing is said in order to explain a quote we used to say about the Bible verse Jeremiah 33:3. We called this God’s telephone number; Jeremiah 3-3-3. Here’s why—it says “Call to me and I will answer you…” The Lord tells us to call on Him, and He promises to answer. He doesn’t say he will give us the answer we desire, every parent knows this is not wise; but He does promise to answer.
The previous verse, verse 2, states “Thus says the Lord Who made (the earth), the Lord Who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name.” Then he goes on to say “Call on me”. To me this is a Wow! The maker of heaven and earth is telling us to just “call” on Him, just pick up the phone, just connect to Him, and He will answer.
There are other promises in this first part of Jeremiah 33 that have grabbed at my heart. I realize the Lord was speaking to the Israelites, but I feel these verses are given to us to show what a gracious God we have. We, too, have angered and saddened our Lord. In verse 5 he says “…I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:” But then our gracious Lord says “Behold I will lay upon it health and healing, and I will cure them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.” Our Lord will ‘heal’ us from our sins; He will cure us and give us peace.
Verse 8 states “I will cleanse them from all the guilt and iniquity…and I will forgive all their guilt and iniquities by which they have sinned and rebelled against Me.” All we have to do is call upon Him and He will ‘forgive’.
Verse 11 sounds to me like our “Sacrifice of Praise”. “…the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord. Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good:”
Verses 15-17 talks about our Messiah, our Righteousness. Here are some excerpts…”at that time will I cause a righteous Branch (the Messiah) to grow up to David…” “The Lord is Our Righteousness (our Rightness, our Justice).”
To summarize the blessings I found in Jeremiah 33:1-17:
1. Just Call and God will answer
2. He will cure and give peace
3. He forgives our iniquities
4. We give our “Sacrifice of Praise”
5. The Messiah is our Righteousness
The previous verse, verse 2, states “Thus says the Lord Who made (the earth), the Lord Who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name.” Then he goes on to say “Call on me”. To me this is a Wow! The maker of heaven and earth is telling us to just “call” on Him, just pick up the phone, just connect to Him, and He will answer.
There are other promises in this first part of Jeremiah 33 that have grabbed at my heart. I realize the Lord was speaking to the Israelites, but I feel these verses are given to us to show what a gracious God we have. We, too, have angered and saddened our Lord. In verse 5 he says “…I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:” But then our gracious Lord says “Behold I will lay upon it health and healing, and I will cure them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.” Our Lord will ‘heal’ us from our sins; He will cure us and give us peace.
Verse 8 states “I will cleanse them from all the guilt and iniquity…and I will forgive all their guilt and iniquities by which they have sinned and rebelled against Me.” All we have to do is call upon Him and He will ‘forgive’.
Verse 11 sounds to me like our “Sacrifice of Praise”. “…the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord. Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good:”
Verses 15-17 talks about our Messiah, our Righteousness. Here are some excerpts…”at that time will I cause a righteous Branch (the Messiah) to grow up to David…” “The Lord is Our Righteousness (our Rightness, our Justice).”
To summarize the blessings I found in Jeremiah 33:1-17:
1. Just Call and God will answer
2. He will cure and give peace
3. He forgives our iniquities
4. We give our “Sacrifice of Praise”
5. The Messiah is our Righteousness
Saturday, April 13, 2013
My King is ....
“Behold a king shall reign in righteousness” (Isaiah 32:1).
For years the Jewish people longed for their coming ‘king’ to restore them as a nation to their freedom and former glory. This King would be their Messiah, and in thinking Jesus might be their Messiah, they called Him “Son of David”. They thought their messianic king, the righteous one to come from the line of David, was among them. He even rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a sign of both peace and humility.
They were right in all ways except the timing. At His 1st coming, He came as a sacrifice; but one day He will be revealed as the greatest of all kings. Then He will not come on a donkey, but it says in Rev. 19:11 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.” Then going to verse 16 it states: “on His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
The following is an article called “My King Is…” by Dr. S.M. Lockridge. When I read it I felt my excitement and praise build until at the end I was also shouting, “That’s my King! AMEN!” Read it and Praise our King!
“The Bible says my King is a seven-way king…He’s the King of the Jews; that’s a racial king…He’s the King of Israel; that’s a national King…He’s the King of Righteousness…He’s the King of the Ages…He’s the King of Heaven…He’s the King of Glory…He’s the King of kings, and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King. Well…I wonder, do you know Him?
David said, “The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He’s enduringly strong…He’s entirely sincere…He’s eternally steadfast…He’s immortally graceful…He’s imperially powerful…He’s impartially merciful…Do you know Him?
He’s the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s Son…He’s a sinner’s Savior…He’s the centerpiece of civilization…He stands in the solitude of Himself…He’s august…He’s unique…He’s unparalleled…He’s unprecedented…He’s the loftiest idea in literature…He’s the highest personality in philosophy…He’s the supreme problem in highest criticism…He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology…He’s the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion…He’s the miracle of the age…He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him…He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Savior…I wonder if you know Him today?
He supplies strength for the weak…He’s available for the tempted and the tried…He sympathizes and He saves…He strengthens and sustains…He guards and He guides…He heals the sick…He cleanses lepers…He forgives sinners…He discharges debtors...He delivers captives…He defends the feeble…He blesses the young…He serves the unfortunate…He regards the aged…He rewards the diligent…and He beautifies the meek…I wonder if you know Him?
Well, my King…is the King…He’s the key to knowledge…He’s the wellspring to wisdom…He’s the doorway of deliverance…He’s the pathway of peace…He’s the roadway of righteousness…He’s the highway of holiness…He’s the gateway of glory…Do you know Him?
Well…His office is manifold…His promise is sure…His light is matchless…His goodness is limitless…His mercy is everlasting…His love never changes…His word is enough…His grace is sufficient…His reign is righteous…and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s indescribable…He’s incomprehensible…He’s invincible…He’s irresistible.
Well, you can’t get Him out of your mind…You can’t get Him off of your hand…You can’t out live Him, and you can’t live without Him…The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him…Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him…The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree…Herod couldn’t kill Him…Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him. Yes!!! That’s my King, that’s my King!
Father…”Thine is the Kingdom…and the Power…and the Glory…Forever”…and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever…and ever…and when you get through with all the forevers, then…AMEN!..AMEN! “
Friday, March 29, 2013
The Agony and The Triumph
"And being in agony He was praying very fervently..." Luke 22:44
"But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death..." Acts 2:24
We can never know the 'agony' of Gethsemane. Oswald Chambers says "it is the agony of God and man in one, face to face with sin." Gethsemane was Satan's final onslaught against Christ as the 'Son of Man'. It was here and on the Cross God and sin clashed.
But that is not the end! The Cross was the 'triumph' of the 'Son of God' over sin, death and Satan. It is at the Cross we can say with Paul "I am crucified with Christ." It is at the Cross we can say "I live, yet not I but Christ lives within me." It is at the Cross we are humbled, knowing it is Christ's agony of Gethsemane and the Cross that is also His triumph for saving the human race. And now "He is seated at the right hand of the power of God." Luke 2:69
Prayer: Because of Your Agony, Lord Jesus, I can now enter in to the very presence of the Father. Thank you for the agony and the triumph of the Cross. You did it for me. Amen
"But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death..." Acts 2:24
We can never know the 'agony' of Gethsemane. Oswald Chambers says "it is the agony of God and man in one, face to face with sin." Gethsemane was Satan's final onslaught against Christ as the 'Son of Man'. It was here and on the Cross God and sin clashed.
But that is not the end! The Cross was the 'triumph' of the 'Son of God' over sin, death and Satan. It is at the Cross we can say with Paul "I am crucified with Christ." It is at the Cross we can say "I live, yet not I but Christ lives within me." It is at the Cross we are humbled, knowing it is Christ's agony of Gethsemane and the Cross that is also His triumph for saving the human race. And now "He is seated at the right hand of the power of God." Luke 2:69
Prayer: Because of Your Agony, Lord Jesus, I can now enter in to the very presence of the Father. Thank you for the agony and the triumph of the Cross. You did it for me. Amen
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