Our Heavenly Daddy

Living as a friend of God is so peaceful and satisfying (John 15:15). No matter what our lot in life, we are fulfilled, because the God of the universe loves us (John 3:16, 15:14). We are God's adopted children and He loves us so much that He did not spare His only begotten Son, but freely gave Him as the perfect sacrifice for our sins (Romans 8:32). We are co-heirs with Christ of the entire Kingdom of God.

If we strive each day to obtain the things of this world for our self and our family, we waste our time. A fire or an act of nature could destroy everything we worked so hard to attain. We were born with no earthly goods and we will die without them too. However, we can never lose Godliness and contentment, which are our two greatest assets for living a fulfilled life (1 Timothy 6:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

God accepts us just the way we are and He has a perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:9-10). All condemnation and shame come from Satan's lies (Romans 8:1, 34). God will convict us of sin or discipline us when we stray from the straight and narrow path; but this is to protect us from the ravages of sin and the separation from His holiness, which sin causes (Matt 7:13-14; Romans chapters 5-8).

A daily quiet time with God allows us to immerse our spirit and soul in His Word. His promises comfort us, His prophecies inform us and His dealings in the lives of Biblical Saints encourage us. God's Words give us wisdom for living and fortitude to face life's trials. Godly contentment prevents life's stresses from killing us. Our Heavenly Daddy wants to pour His love, joy and peace over us like a waterfall.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You that we do not have to earn Your love or keep a list of do's and don'ts in order to please You. Give us a fresh filling of Your Spirit each day, so we can walk in Your Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). Draw us ever closer to Your loving heart and remind us to be still, so that we can experience You as our protective and generous Heavenly Daddy (Psalm 46:10). We give You praise, glory and honor for the multitude of blessings You pour out on us each and every day.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus willingly gave His life, so that we can be the friends and adopted children of our Heavenly Daddy. - Galatians 3:26

Yoke Fellows

In our former unsaved life, this world’s system drove us into a frantic pace. We lived for the week-end and filled our free time as full as our work day. Nothing really satisfied us, and we tried many avenues of adventure and recreation in order to find that activity, which would bring us contentment. We even tried God, but were turned off by some church members or the tragedy in this world.

Then, one day someone presented to us the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that it pierced like an arrow right into our heart. We knew without a doubt that the vacuum in our life could only be satisfied with a personal, intimate relationship with the God of the universe who created us in the first place. We see that complete surrender is the only key to a God-honoring, productive and fulfilling life.

We seek out the fellowship of other Believers. We no longer demand our own way, but we submit to God’s will and consult His plans for each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6). This would be impossible, except for the fact that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. We are grafted onto the Vine of Christ and God is the vine dresser.

Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us, because it is easy and light (Matthew 11:30). When we hook up with Christ in His yoke and move in tandem with Him, our day is more successful and we are more fulfilled. If we get out from under His yoke, or if we pull Him in our direction, we only end up frustrating our self and getting out of God’s will for us. As a yoke fellow with Jesus we have His peace and joy.

Prayer:

Father God, Your love for humanity knows no bounds; and yet, people fail to see Your heart. They read Your Word and see only Your justice and interpret that as malevolence. They think you are supposed to act according to human standards of love, permissiveness would be a better word. However, Your love is righteous and always just. Open the eyes of the unbelievers to see their need for Your love and protection.

Thought for the Day:

Freedom comes with surrender to the love of Christ resident within us.