My Child …

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect Father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my Son, Jesus. John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my Son, Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15: 7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad, Almighty God

excerpt from “Freedom Tools” by Andy Reese

We have been praying for our son-in-law for over 11 years now.  Even though the doctors have told him that this time it is 4th stage cancer, by God’s grace, we still believe. 

At first, I told the Lord, “I tried to believe with all my heart, but evidently, You must have another agenda.”  But, when I requested prayer for him in our Life Group meeting, our leader read Mark 9:23 & 24…..”If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Around two years ago, as the church was singing, “You are the HOPE, living in us, You are the God, in whom we trust………Lord, we believe”, I just claimed those statements on behalf of our son-in-law’s situation, believing God to deliver him once and for all from cancer.  Time and again we would sing those words, “……so, remember Your children, remember Your people, remember Your promise, oh God…..” and I would think of the HOPE we have in Christ and His healing power.

Over a year ago, a Pastor preached a message about “the HOPE of the not yet…..the constant HOPE, the constant reality of what is on its way.”  He read I Peter 1:3 & 4, where it states that we have……”a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ……”  What a boost it gave to my faith….a living HOPE….one that is alive and present, now!

6 Months ago, he had another bout with cancer, this time 4th stage.  However, during this whole ordeal, God’s peace, God’s power, and God’s promise keeps us all going….keeps us believing.  Anytime, I read God’s Word now, the word HOPE sort of pops off the pages into my heart.  I read in Psalm 119:49 & 50 …..”Remember Your Word to your servant, for you have given me HOPE.  My comfort in my suffering is this:  Your promise preserves my life.”  What a boost!  What comfort it gave to my heart! 

Then the Lord gave me Psalm 33:18-22……”But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose HOPE is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.  We wait in HOPE for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  May Your unfailing love rest upon us O Lord, even as we put our HOPE in You.”

Then lastly, this past Thursday night, we visited a funeral home, where a dear saint of God lay, her Bible in her hand, with the pages turned to I Peter 1:3 & 4 … the same scriptures Pastor used over a year ago, which speak of the living HOPE we have by the resurrection of Christ!  Wow, a message from God with the fingers of a passing saint, pointing to the scriptures He has for us!  We’ve gone full circle now, and are standing still in God’s Waiting Room, waiting with HOPE.

We don’t know what the future holds, but we know the One who holds the future, and day by day are learning to trust Him more and more! 

I was riding in the country the other day and noticed all of these sheep, about 20 of them all of a sudden start walking in the same direction and almost getting in single file to walk as if they were following someone or maybe even a familiar voice. I thought of the story in the book of John when Jesus says in 10:27, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and they follow Me”.

I don’t know what you think of being compared to sheep when you see them in the field, but I know what Jesus thinks, especially when He compares them to goats and I hope He considers me a sheep. He tells us in Matthew 25 why it is important to be considered a sheep.   

The Giving Tree is one of those opportunities to please our Lord and Savior and be like sheep. We are giving to those in need and it is like giving to Jesus. There are a few ways you can help the people we have identified in need during this time of year.

• Take an ornament from the tree and include them in your gift buying this year
     
• Look for other people in need from your circles of life, whether it be your neighborhood, work, places of business you frequent, etc and bless them this Christmas
   
• See if there is a need to help work the tree after one of the weekend services or experience the blessing of delivering one or more of these gifts and be the hands and feet of Christ for them this holiday season.

Bless you as you follow his voice proving once again that you are one of His!