The Father's Care

By Kenneth E. Hagin

John 17:23 says, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” I want you to notice particularly the expression “ . . .and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” There’s no truth so far-reaching as the blessed fact that our Father God cares for us. John 17:23 says God loves us even as He loves Jesus!

In the Old Testament, God was Jehovah, Elohim, and El Shaddai to Israel. The children of Israel did not know Him as Father. They did not know Him as a Lover. Under the Old Covenant, He didn’t indwell men; He dwelled only in the Holy of Holies. He dealt with the lawbreakers and the disobedient in awful judgment. They were commanded to love and obey Him, or suffer the consequences.

From The Eyes of God

Written by Rev. Daniel Forster

Are you feeling overwhelmed by guilt? Let’s work through it together.

“When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”  But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:6-7, ESV)

Have you heard the saying “perception is reality”? I used to believe that but praise God, He has taught me otherwise. All throughout the Bible we are taught that God does not see the same way that we do.

In 1 Samuel, the king Saul has lost the favor and spirit of the Lord our God because of his disobedience and his lack of repentance in his heart. God instructs Samuel the prophet to go to Bethlehem and seek a son of Jesse there. Samuel does not know his name. He has all of Jesse’s sons brought before him as the Lord directs him in which God will anoint as King of Israel. Today’s passage picks up the story when Samuel is looking on the sons of Jesse.

The Power of Love

Love never fails. —1 Corinthians 13:8

The power of love is what it achieves. Stephen demonstrated the immense power of love when he prayed for the people stoning him: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). This is what God wanted—this display of love.

Stephen, who almost certainly was Paul's role model, is one of the most outstanding people in the Bible. I cannot express how much I admire him. And then I examine his mastery of the Old Testament (Acts 7) and observe how he put his opponents in the succession of the disobedient in ancient history: "You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" (v. 51). Although no one was immediately converted, never had one spoken with such power.

The whole time he spoke, the pure love of God flowed through him and from him. The proof of this was his concern for them, not himself, when they were stoning him. He, therefore, fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." It was a virtual reenactment of Jesus' prayer on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

Why Do Christians Suffer?

by Joyce Meyer

As Christians, we like the thought of sharing in Christ's glory, but what about sharing in His suffering? Jesus took care of the death penalty once and for all so we don't ever have to worry about that again. But the Bible teaches that we must suffer times of trial if we are to share in the glory. Is it worth it? Read what Paul says in Romans 8:18: ...For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!

Acting Right When Things Are Wrong

Many of us think we suffer because of our circumstances. We believe that if our circumstances would change, we'd be able to act right. But God wants us to become so mature and stable that we act right even when none of our circumstances are good. There are different levels of faith, and most of the time we want to use our faith to get rid of a problem. But sometimes God's plan is for us to exercise a higher level of faith that will carry us through life's challenges. This requires even greater faith than being delivered from a situation.

Too often we marvel at the delivering power of God and overlook His keeping, strengthening and enabling power. Although there are many reasons why Christians suffer, I would like to address what I believe are eight of the most common reasons why there is suffering in our lives.

Free From the Curse

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3:13)

You know the story. Satan came to Adam's wife in the form of a serpent and deceived her into disobeying God. Adam, although he was not deceived, followed suit.

When Satan came into the Garden that day, he didn't have any power at all. He had to come in like a sneak, not even talking to Adam directly but talking to his wife.

Now Adam was standing there, and he should have kicked him out right then. But he didn't. Instead, he set aside the command God had given him and did what Satan told him to do instead...and when he did that, he made Satan his lord.

In bowing his knee to Satan, Adam gave Satan the authority that God had given man. He made Satan the illegitimate ruler of the earth. Immediately things changed. Through one man's trespass, death passed to all men (Rom. 5:12).

The earth and everything in it was suddenly cursed.