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.

What Is Aliyah?

IFCJ

In its simplest sense, aliyah is when a Jewish person immigrates to Israel – but this is part of a larger movement, the return of the Jewish people from exile around the world back to the land promised to them by God.

The term is derived from a Hebrew word meaning “to go up” or “to ascend,” referring to the journey to a land with exalted meaning for the Jewish people – the land of their spiritual ancestors.

For many Jews living outside Israel, making aliyah is a lifelong dream with deep spiritual motivation. As Rabbi Eckstein writes in his book How Firm a Foundation:

Your Salvation Is Secure

“Lead me not into temptation; I can find the way myself.” —Church marquee

“Forbidden fruit creates many jams.” —Church marquee

Hundreds of years ago, one of the great church fathers, Martin Luther, patterned his whole day around ensuring that he didn’t sin. He was terrified that if he sinned, he would lose his salvation. Every evening he’d wrack his brain, trying to remember if he did something, said something, or thought something sinful.

Have you ever done that? It’s pretty miserable just to think about, isn’t it? If you believe that by sinning you can lose your salvation, tons of questions come up. How many sins do you have to commit to get booted out of the family? Or is it qualitative? Is there a “badness scale” of sin on which we can rate ourselves? Where is murder? Rape? Suicide? Adultery? Child abuse? Lust? Stealing? What about laziness or procrastination? How do we know if something is really a sin or not?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PRAY FOR BLESSING?

Sheila

I’m on Twitter. I love Twitter. I can send out little soundbites about my day, complain about aches and pains or the weather, or make little jokes, and get instant feedback. It’s fun!

And I have a lot of followers, and I follow quite a few. Yesterday this Tweet came across the board from a certified Life Coach. She said:

Start by blessing yourself. “May I be safe, may I be happy, may I be healthy, may I live with ease.”

I thought this was interesting. I’m speaking at a retreat as you read this (I actually wrote this post and scheduled it to appear today), and I’m speaking exactly AGAINST all of those things.

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.

A Brush With DEATH In The Mountains

A mountaineer’s true account of survival

It is a close encounter not only with nature but with the God of nature Himself.

Elwin Deo Arroyo 

The hut we’re in shook violently as the howling wind blew hard against it. Although the creaking noise was very annoying, I fell deaf to it. I could do nothing more but slump my body on the floor in utter tiredness.  The coldness of the dark night could render anyone helpless in its temptation to deep slumber.  Even as I closed my eyes to float away into oblivion, sights and picture of the day’s experience still overwhelmed my thoughts.

As I looked blankly at the flickering flame of the kerosene lamp struggling to stay alit against the tease of the wind, I reflected on how my companions, Allan, a fellow student and Jonas, a professional, and I fought hard to stay alive.  The three of us have found shelter at a shanty owned by a widow and her children who warmly welcomed us when we pleaded for help early afternoon.

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: "Go to sleep . . . ."

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. It is enough that his father knows! It is enough that he is in the arms of his father. It is enough that those strong hands embrace his fragile and weary body. The child believes that his father’s love will find a way to satisfy tomorrow’s needs. 

As Father, God is moved by love to provide for all of the needs of His children. 

At times, fatherly love may find it necessary to withhold some material blessings. But the  hand that withholds is also the same hand attached to the heart that loves. That is all we need to know. 

One of the most beautiful Bible passages is that section of the Sermon in the Mount where Jesus speaks movingly to His disciples about the tender care of His Father for all His children. 

“Take no thought for your life,” He says, “ what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they? … 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.  And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  

Therefore take not thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? …Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

“Your Father!”  What a tender, reassuring touch these words give. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” 

Our heavenly Father does know our every want, desires and needs.  He is abundantly able and willing to provide. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). 

There is no need in our life, however great or small, that God does not know and which He will not fill if it were necessary for our temporal and eternal happiness. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

How can I be sure that each succeeding day will find a sufficient measure of His grace and goodness to see me and my loved ones through?  John speaks of the heavenly glory of Jesus: “Of His fullness have all we received – and grace for grace” (John 1:16).  Literally, “grace upon grace.”  

Christ’s goodness pours in upon us as the waves of the sea. As one wave comes crashing to shore, there is always another wave close behind. As the next wave comes frothing in, there is another wave closely following, and another … and another. Christ’s capacity and willingness to provide are like the unending waves of the sea …unlimited, inexhaustible - and eternal. 

A well-to-do man died and left instructions to his wife to give a big portion of his wealth to a poor pastor who had ministered to the family throughout the years. The widow thought it would be best to turn the money over to the pastor in regular installments.  So she mailed him a check for P5,000.00 as a start. Inside the envelop she placed a slip of paper upon which was written: “More to follow.” 

Every two weeks, without fail, the elderly pastor would receive a check with the identical message: “MORE TO FOLLOW.”

“More to follow!”  That is Christ’s unbreakable pledge to all that believe in Him.  The blessings that we receive today are but a pledge for those that we shall receive tomorrow;

And those we receive tomorrow will bear the same pledge of heaven: “MORE TO FOLLOW.” 

”… His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

(based on a old devotional from grampaewie's archives)