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.

MORE TO FOLLOW . . . grace upon grace . . . .

At the end of the day, a weary child is cradled comfortably at the lap of his loving father.  The thrills and cares of the day spin off from his mind as he fights his heavy eyelids.  He runs his tender fingers at the face of his father, gathers himself together and draws his lips closer to his father’s right ear.  

    Then he smiles as he whispers almost inaudibly, his hands feeling the sturdy arms and shoulders of his father.  The father smiles and nods repeatedly, responding with that usual reassuring voice.  

    The child’s voice faded into silence as he drifts off to a peaceful sleep. He had his fill of today’s delights – but he has his cares and desires for tomorrow.  His sleep is undisturbed as he had confided everything in his heart to his father.

Compassion

Pastor Mark Jeske

If this were reality TV, here's how the story would continue. "But while he was still a long way off, his father's security guards spotted him and relayed the message. The father gave strict orders that his wastrel offspring was never to set foot on the family estate again, and if he tried, the dogs should be set on him."

Here's how the Bible describes the father, your Father: "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20).

There is hardly a more beautiful description in the entire Bible of grace, which is God's decision to love unlovable people because of Jesus' willing death on Calvary. Jesus wants you to know that you can always count on the Father's mercy, because it is not based on your performance.

Compassion means that the father felt his son's shame and pain. And get this: he didn't make his son crawl. The father ran to embrace his prodigal bonehead. Wouldn't you like to be in your heavenly Father's embrace right now?  

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).

Knowing God As Our Father

Written by Dr. Charles Stanley

     Happy Father’s Day! Read The Father’s Love Letter, a      “letter from God” artfully composed with verses from scripture.

“So he said, “When you pray, say, Father, Reveal who you are. Set the world right. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.” Luke 11:2-4

God has many names that reveal various facets of His character, such as Creator, King, and Shepherd. But there’s a name that meets one of our greatest human needs in a special way: Father. Each of us was born with a deep desire to be loved unconditionally – so many of our hurts and scars come from this desire never being fully met. What security and wholeness there is in knowing that we can call God “my Father”! Scripture tells us He is “a father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5) and that He will never leave us, even if our earthly parents abandon us. (Psalm 27:10)

Father's Day. Funny Story

Hey it's Don here and since the whole world is celebrating Father's day I would like to share to you a funny yet insightful story: 

David Elkind, a psychologist, tells the story of visiting his middle son's nursery school class, at the request of his teacher. She wanted him to observe a "problem child" in the class. 

While he was there, he caught a conversation between his son and some other boys. There conversation went like this. 

Child A: "My daddy is a doctor and he makes lots of money and we have a swimming pool." 

Child B: "My daddy is a lawyer and he flies to Washington and talks to the president." 

Child C: "My daddy owns a company and we have our own airplane." 

Then David Elkind's boy said, "My daddy is here!" And he proudly looked in his father's direction. 

Dads, your presence means more than anything else to your children - more than your money, more than your position at work, more than the toys you buy them. Your time means more to them than anything else, because it says, "I care." 
http://www.supremememorybook.com 

In Him, 
Don and Dawn

Father's Day Revenge

This father's day, get even for the kitchen appliance your husband gave you for mother's day.

http://www.cybersalt.org/funny-pictures/fathers-day-revenge

Fatherly Chat

A young woman brings home her fiancé to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother tells her father to find out about the young man.

The father invites the fiancé to his study for a chat. "So what are your plans?" the father asks the young man.

"I am a Bible college student." he replies.

"A Bible college student. Hmmm," the father says, "admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, as she's accustomed to?"

"I will study," the young man replies, "and God will provide for us."

"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?" asks the father.

The Father of Spirits

"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Hebrews 12:9)

Human parents transmit physical characteristics to their offspring, but our spiritual attributes come from God, for He is "the Father of spirits." Paul recognized that all men are "the offspring of God" (Acts 17:29), and that each man is still "the image and glory of God" (1 Corinthians 11:7).

Thus our spirit/soul nature, as distinct from our body of physical/mental flesh, has come from God, who created it and united it with our body, evidently at the moment of physical conception in the womb. It is obvious that the "image of God," man's spirit/soul nature, could not be transmitted genetically via the "genetic code" and the DNA molecules, for these are simply complex chemicals programmed to transmit only the physical and mental attributes of the ancestors to the children. 

Heart Problems: A Dad Shaped Hole

Written by H. Norman Wright

Not every girl gets to be Daddy’s little girl. Many are missing the father-daughter relationship that is so essential for any child to have. The following excerpt is from H. Norman Wright’s A Dad-Shaped Hole in My Heart. Dads, see for yourself and learn how to help heal that ‘dad-shaped hole’ in your daughter’s heart. Daughters or even sons, consider what Wright has to say about that hole in your heart.

I’d like to begin this first chapter with June’s story. In many ways her story mirrors the cry of countless daughters just like you, who struggle with the effects of a dad who wasn’t there for them. Year after year they cry: Daddy, where are you? Who are you?

Balancing Work and Family

Written by Greg Leith

I slipped into his room late one evening as I arrived home from work so that I could give him a goodnight snuggle and a kiss, only to find him wide awake. “Hey Dad, it’s Wednesday!” my 12-year-old said.“Tonight was our date night, Dad! You forgot!”

Somewhere between the deadlines and the meetings and the to-do list, I’d forgotten the most important responsibility in my life — my family. It had also been weeks since my wife and I had a date together. I knew things needed to change — and fast. I needed to focus on my family and let them know they were just as important as my work.

We set out to meet our work goals and somehow in the midst of it all, we forget that waiting at home is that young boy wanting to play catch, that teenage girl who needs to talk about boys, or that spouse that needs to be treated with all the attention we used to give when we were dating. Why does it happen? How does it happen? How can you prevent it from happening to you?

Happy Father's Day Ecard Send Free Personalized Father's Day Cards Online

http://www.crosscards.com/cards/holidays/fathers-day/happy-fathers-day-prov-22-6.html

Humor : Work Smarter, Not Harder

Back in Poland, in the shtetl, Rabbi Felder sees a young farmer struggling to reload a cart that had lost its load of hay.

"You look hot young man," said the rabbi. "Why don't you rest a moment and then I'll give you a hand?"

"No, thanks," said the young boy. "My father wouldn't like it."

"Don't be silly," the rabbi said. "Everyone is entitled to a break. Come, have a drink of water. Rest in the shade."

Again the young man protested. "Oh, no, rabbi. My father would be real mad!"

Losing his patience, the rabbi said, "Your father must be a real slave driver. Tell me where I can find him; I'll give him a piece of my mind!"

The young farmer replied, "He's right there under that pile of hay!"

http://www.aish.com/j/j/88138632.html

The Father Knows Best : Love

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.
1 John 3:1

Recommended Reading 1 John 1:1-3

Dads are imperfect people, and it only takes a single thoughtless mistake to create misfortune. On a recent Saturday night, for example, a man in New York pulled into a convenience store to buy a drink, leaving his car running. A thief jumped into the vehicle and took off, not realizing the owner's six-year-old son was asleep in the backseat. Thankfully the boy slept through the whole ordeal. He was safe and sound-and still asleep-when officials found him inside the abandoned vehicle a half-hour later. The thief wasn't caught, but the dad was charged with endangering the child.

Your Sexual Legacy

Fathers are ultimately responsible for their sons' sexual development. It takes more than one talk--it takes honesty, courage and positive role-modeling.

Your son looks to you as a model in every area of his life. Have you ever considered whether or not you are modeling healthy sexuality for him?

I have spent countless hours counseling men whose fathers' sexual role-modeling was either absent or, worse still, destructive. The absent role model never discusses sexuality with his son. He doesn't know what to say about it, so he says nothing and hopes for the best.

This Christian role model has to be honest with other adult men about any lust issues in his life. He responsibly blocks the Internet, and he monitors TV and media intake for himself and his family. He is emotionally connected to his son enough so that they can talk about sex. This father is a good, general role model for male sexuality.