He Loves Us Anyway

Good Morning!! Jesus knows each of us personally. Before the world began, God had a plan for our release from hand-me-downs. We are more than a number on a computer screen or just another name in a counselor's appointment book. Jesus knows who we are, and He knows our family tree, and it's drama. Yes, Jesus knows everything about us. Everything. And He loves us unconditionally!
 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.—John 8:36 (NIV)

He loves you so much that He suffered and died on a cross so you and I can have freedom from every sin, every fear, every habit that weighs us down. If you will turn and trust Him, Jesus will set you free to live an abundant life. And when He sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Our past does not have to control our future. God has made a way,...as He always does.

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Lord, Thank you for loving me so much that you died for me. Please forgive my sins and set me free from every negative influence in my life that prevents me from serving you fully and finding the abundant life you have provided. In Jesus' name. Amen.

"Nothing tell other that we're  Christian like; our giving and forgiving."

Free To Choose Better

Good Morning!! God's Word offers hope to sons and daughters who have been handed down dysfunctional pain. First, God is fair. He "judges each man's work impartially." Children raised by an abusive or neglectful father often have an incorrect view of God, imagining Him to be like their earthly father. The good news is our heavenly Father is perfect and fair. However, God's impartiality does not take away our personal responsibility. Although genetic inheritance and social surroundings may influence us,...they do not eliminate our responsibility to God.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.—1 Peter 1:17 (NIV)

We have the freedom, and responsibility, to make our own choices. We are not locked into our earthly father's way of life,...even if we have been raised by a dysfunctional or abusive earthly father. No matter what our background, God has given us a choice. Will you continue that dysfunctional pattern in your life? Or will you choose to break out of that futile lifestyle and build your life on the foundation of God's love and righteousness?

"Choose today whom you will serve....But for me and my family, we will serve the Lord"
 Joshua 24:15 NLT.

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Father, we thank You that You are perfect and fair. And we thank You that You have given us the privilege, and responsibility, to choose how we will live. We choose to follow You. Help us serve You faithfully,...and make wiser choices day by day. Amen.

"Nothing tell other that we're  Christian like; our giving and forgiving."

None Can Compare, To Our Heavenly Father

Good Morning!! Very often our picture of God, our heavenly Father, is shaped by the behavior of our earthly father. A godly father will influence his children to trust in a loving heavenly Father. But many children have grown into adulthood with a distorted view of God our Father, because they didn't know or couldn't trust their earthly father. To some people, the word father brings to mind a father who was abusive, neglectful, or not there when they needed him most. They are struggling with a "father vacuum",...a wall between them and their earthly father and a distorted view of a heavenly Father they cannot accept.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.—1 John 3:1 (NIV)

What was your father like? A study of the names of God is a good place to begin if you want a better understanding of a father,...and to pave the way to viewing our heavenly Father as One who loves us and will always be there for us. A Father of great love, compassion, and mercy. One who will never leave you nor forsake you. A Father waiting for you with open arms. One of His names that brings assurance and should be practiced by all fathers is being present—Jehovah-shammah, "The Lord Is There" (Ezekiel 48:35).

No father can compare with our Heavenly Father,...because no earthly father is perfect.

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Father, thank You for Your love, forgiveness, and faithfulness. Help us to grow in faith as we better understand Your holiness and goodness and love. We thank You that You will never leave us nor forsake use. We thank You that You care about everything that concerns us and walk with us through the good times and the bad. In Jesus' name. Amen.

"Nothing tell other that we're  Christian like; our giving and forgiving."

Sins Of The Fathers,...And Mothers

Good Morning!! Parents hand down possessions to their children. Antiques, rings, the family Bible, and property. Through their influence, they also hand down character traits, beliefs, habits, behaviors,...some good, and others not so good. Some can result in pain, dysfunction, and aimlessness. Whenever a family member has a life-controlling problem, the entire family is affected. These negative behaviors can continue to be handed down from generation to generation if the chain is not broken.

Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.—Numbers 14:18b (NIV)

Children grow into adulthood carrying baggage they picked up during childhood. Dysfunctional behaviors and belief systems children learned from their parents, often affect their adult relationships. The good news is that the grip of dysfunctional hand-me-downs can be broken. This week we'll look at words of hope from God's Word for sons and daughters who have been handed down dysfunctional pain.

A lot of attention is given to alcoholism and drugs running in families, other dependencies and behaviors often have the same devastating  results. Negative attitudes and unproductive lifestyles can also pass from generation to generation.

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Father, we thank You that no matter what negative influences have affected our lives until now, there is hope in Jesus,...and in the promises of the Bible. Amen.

"Nothing tell other that we're  Christian like; our giving and forgiving."

No One Saves Themselves

Good Morning!! Self-help,...Self-improvement,...Self-serving. Seeking to serve self is like an infection that spreads and affects our relationships, marriages, families, as well as our business dealings. It seems harmless enough, and it's often presented in a manner that sounds almost needed. It affects our relationship with God and with others as well as ourselves.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.—Mark 10:45 (NIV)

We want our relationships to work, we want to feel peace and contentment in our lives. But we won't find it in seeking more pleasure for ourselves, or seeking to find ourselves. The peace and contentment we so desperately seek, can be found only in seeking to please and serve God first, and in giving and serving others above ourselves. A philosophy that contradicts modern day thinking, but a true one none the less.

It's never just about us.

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It's only in the center of God's will, and in His service that Christians find their heart's desire.

"If you follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it will be anything but boring,
...you simply can't be in the will of God, and be bored at the same time."

Stick With God's Plan

Good Morning!! God has a plan for each of our lives,...a good plan. He wants us to trust in him and his love and to lean into his plans for us. As we make our plans and set our goals day to day, year to year, we need to submit our plans and our desires to him. We need to come to the point where we can follow Jesus' example and honestly say, "we want your will to be done,...not ours."
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."—Matthew 26:39 (NIV)

So much of the time, God's plan is different from ours,...but it's always better. He has the "big picture." He knows how all things will work together for the ultimate good. God loves us unconditionally. We just have to be willing to return His love,...by saying, "Father, we want Your will to be done, not ours."...and mean it.

See what He has done for the lesser creatures,...could He do any less for His children?

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Father God, help us not to ever let selfishness or arrogance keep us from submitting to Your plan for our lives. We know You love us, and want what's best for our loved ones, and us. Help us give our desires to You,...and trust You completely. In Jesus' name. Amen.

"If you follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it will be anything but boring,
...you simply can't be in the will of God, and be bored at the same time."

Get Back Up Again

Good Morning!! You know, things never seemed to go right for God's people when they go into Egypt,...and Abraham was no exception. Things didn't go well for him in Egypt either. But he couldn't blame it on the cruelty of an enslaving Pharaoh. Abraham's problem was self-inflicted. And unfortunately, his Egyptian sojourn shows that Abraham did not always exercise his faith in God. He tried to solve this problem on his own. Afraid that he would be killed, he told his wife Sarah to lie and say that she was his sister.

 

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.—Genesis 12:10 (NIV)

 

But the plan backfired, and Sarah was rescued only by God's intervention. Things eventually turned out O.K., but only by the grace of God. It's ironic, that the "Father of the faithful" here shows his lack of faith. I love that the Bible never idealizes its heroes. They are shown as human,...and like us, every one of them stumbled at some times.

 

 When your faith falters, the key is to get back up and follow the Lord again.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you, for being faithful,...especially when we are not.

"If you follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it will be anything but boring,
...you simply can't be in the will of God, and be bored at the same time."