Sweet Hour of Prayer ∙

Sweet Hour of Prayer ∙

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. – Psalms 19:10

Psalms 141:2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

Revelation 5:8 Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints

Revelation 8:3-4

 3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

 4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

How many things in our lives are genuinely satisfying and delightful?

William Walford was blind. Called on to preach from time to time in a rural English church, he composed sermons in his head to deliver on Sundays. He memorized a considerable amount of the Bible, which he quoted verbatim in his sermons, and he prayed.

William Walford grasped something that few of us comprehend. He experienced something that few of us ever do. When we enter into the Father’s throne room, something incredible can happen and certainly did for William. As he practiced talking to the Father in prayer and spent time with Him, he experienced a gentle sweetness and contentment. Prayer itself became sweet. It had a delightful fragrance of the Father’s presence.

William Walford wrote of this experience in his hymn written in 1845, “Sweet Hour of Prayer.”

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief

And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! The joys I feel, the bliss I share,

Of those whose anxious spirits burn with strong desires for thy return!

With such, I hasten to the place where God my Savior, shows His face,

And gladly take my station there, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear.

To Him whose truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face, believe His Word and trust His grace,

I’ll cast on Him my every care and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Rather than having the vague hope of finding time to pray in our busy lives, we make a personal choice to set aside time to pray (Charles Stanley).

REFLECT & PRAY

The challenge for each of us is to spend quality time talking to the Father and experience the delightful sweetness and fragrance of His presence.

Father allow me to start slowly and then increase the quality time I spend with You in prayer. Now I know just minutes, but perhaps one day – hours.

INSIGHT

Psalms 19:10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Psalms 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

The Psalms highlight the great value of the Word of God. The Psalms speak of the unspeakable joy and delight of those who love the Father’s Word and take comfort and find nourishment from it.

Sweet prayer is of similar value and delight to those who enjoy and practice it. Sweet prayer can be compared to the worth of gold and the pleasure of honey.  Gold was the most precious material possession in the Ancient Near East. Sweet prayer is more valuable than gold. Honey was the sweetest substance known in the Ancient Near East. Sweet prayer is more delightful than honey.

Sweet prayer is more to be desired than gold, even fine gold, great wealth, and large quantities of material riches.

In the same way that David loved and delighted in the Word of God, William Walford delighted in sweet prayer. Why is this so? Because both bring us into a closer, more intimate relationship with our Father in heaven. What can be sweeter than sweet, loving proximity with the Father? He holds our hearts close to His. He desires that we draw near to Him.

1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

We do not see the Father or Lord Jesus Christ with our physical eyes. But we see them both with the eyes of our hearts. By faith, we see Them. In prayer, sweet prayer, we see Them and experience a glorious, inexpressible joy.

There are no words to describe inexpressible joy adequately. But when you’ve experienced it, you know exactly what it is. Sweet prayer is a conduit that leads the way to inexpressible joy.

But there’s more! Our Father in heaven is perfect in all regards. He lacks nothing. He is eternal, self-sufficient, unchanging, and infinite. However, as a person, the Father also has emotions and expresses them freely. He has chosen to be actively involved with His children and interact with them. He is well aware of what we do. The Father can be pleased or grieved by what His children do.

Psalms 141:2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

Revelation 5:8 Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Our prayers are like incense, a sweet aroma offered to and received by the Father. Could it be that our prayers are pleasant to the Father? When we enter into sweet prayer with Him, do we bring Him pleasure, joy, and satisfaction? 

The Father wants us to pray. The enemy does not want us to pray. He does all he can to hinder us. The enemy knows that we can accomplish more through our prayers than through our work. He would rather have us do anything else than pray (anonymous).

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© Dr. H 2022

Compassionate provision ∙

Compassionate provision ∙

They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat! Matthew 14:16

John 6:1-13

 1 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee.

 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.

 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.

 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”

 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.

 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)

 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward, he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”

 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

Lost was an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004, to May 23, 2010, over six seasons, with a total of 121 episodes. The show included elements of supernatural and science fiction. It follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial jet airliner flying between Sydney and Los Angeles. They are stranded on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean.

The survivors must work together to survive on this seemingly deserted tropical island. It left many of its viewers dumbfounded and scratching their heads. It was convoluted and had lots of twists and turns. But ultimately, it boiled down to a straightforward plot: it was about people who were lost searching for answers. Upon reflection, that is the background against which the Scriptures are set.

Wherever the Lord Jesus Christ went, large crowds of people thronged Him. As the God-man, His humanity was exactly the same as ours. He grew tired, hungry, weary, and needed alone time with the Father.

In this story, the Lord Jesus Christ retreated by boat to a lonely, desolate place on the sea of Galilee’s northeast shore. But the crowds figured out where He was going and walked quickly around the sea to arrive there first. Time passed, and this large crowd found themselves stranded in a desolate place late in the afternoon without food.

Matthew 14:14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them.

The plight of the multitude pierced the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated as “moved with compassion” or “had compassion” is splagchnizomai. The English word spleen comes from this word. Splagchnizomai literally means “to have one’s inner being (viscera) stirred.” It is a far stronger emotion than sympathy. It means to be deeply affected in one’s innermost being, particularly that area characterized by pity, empathy, or compassion. It could be translated as “His heart was filled with pity,” “His insides were stirred up,” or “He felt very sorry for them” (UBS).

The disciples were very human, just like us. Can you imagine how they might have felt? What an embarrassing quandary. They realized there was not enough food for such a multitude of people. Their thinking was totally earthbound. Their human resources were exhausted. That was all they relied upon, so the response was quite natural. They concluded that there was nothing that could be done. Rather than turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for help and depend upon Him, they asked him to send the crowd away.

But the Lord Jesus Christ had a more excellent and instructive way to handle the situation. He directed the disciples to feed the crowd themselves. They were dumbfounded. Humanly speaking, it was impossible. They had no food among themselves. They had no money to buy food. And even if they did, there was no local, kosher McDonald’s anywhere to be found.

But Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, showing a smidgen of faith and initiative, spoke up. He noticed that there was a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good would that be with this huge crowd? In all probability, he probably thought that such a small amount of food could barely feed the thirteen of them.

To provide for this multitude would take a miracle. That is precisely what the Lord Jesus Christ intended to do from the beginning. It was a teachable moment. But He wanted His disciples to realize that what is impossible with men, using purely human resources, is possible from the resourceful hands of the living God.

The Lord Jesus Christ prayed for the Father’s provision; He took the five loaves and two fishes and supersized them. Using the creative power of His hands, the Lord Jesus Christ multiplied the meager offering into a superabundance of food.

REFLECT & PRAY

Often, a quick self-inventory of our resources and abilities finds us wanting.

Father thank You that You are indeed the creator God and can do the impossible. We call it a miracle. But for You, it is quick, easy, simple handiwork. It is far better to trust in Your provision than to strive to be sufficient on our own.

INSIGHT

Initially, the disciple’s hands provided nothing. The hands of the Lord Jesus Christ multiplied, broke, and provided what was needed. Imagine for a moment a magician performing on stage. He whips off his hat and pulls out a rabbit – no big deal. Any magician can do that. But then he pulls out another, and another, and another ad infinitum. One after another, loaves and fish were instantaneously created and handed out in a similar fashion. But the supply never diminished.

Starting with practically nothing, the Lord Jesus Christ miraculously produced a great feast of bread and fish using only His own hands. It was not a magician’s trick!

Mark 6:41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves, and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and He divided up the two fish among them all.

The Lord Jesus Christ then used the hands of the disciples to do what they could do. The twelve disciples were first assigned to distribute the bountiful provision and later to gather together all of the leftovers into twelve empty baskets. Why twelve baskets? One for each apostle. I can picture each of the disciples toting a large, overflowing basket.  

This was intended as a literal “hands-on” object lesson regarding the compassion and miraculous power of the Father to provide for human needs. When the Lord Jesus Christ challenged the disciples to take care of it using their own resources, He wanted them to recognize their utter limitations and inadequacy. Only the Father has adequate resources.

The Lord Jesus Christ has given every child of the King the tremendous task of communicating His gospel message to others. He does not demand more from us than we have. But He does require all that we have.His message is simple and straightforward. “Come to me as you are; however, ill-equipped; bring to me what you have, however little, and I will use it greatly. Little is always much in the hands of Christ (Barclay).

The Father intended the story to teach faith and dependence upon Him. He provides steps of action to take to solve the everyday problems of life. It is pretty straightforward:

  1. Start where you are with what you have.
  2. Give what you have to the Lord Jesus Christ.
  3. Do what He asks.
  4. Conserve the results

Sadly, many of us reason that it is never the right place nor the right time for the Father to work. The Father has a totally different perspective.

Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

The Father responds to human need, failure, and suffering with love and compassion. The Father is always moved to shepherd us.

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© Dr. H 2022

I AM the LORD! ∙

I AM the LORD! ∙

They did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. – Exodus 6:9

Exodus 6:1-9

 1 Then the LORD told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”

 2 And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh – ‘the LORD.’”

 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai – “God Almighty” – but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.

 4 And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.

 5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.

 6 Therefore, say to the people of Israel: “I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.”

 9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.

Dr. Shane Lopez was a Senior Scientist at Gallup and one of the world’s leading researchers on hope. Dr. Shane taught that hope is contagious. Here are some of his observations. “The tiny ripple of hope you set in motion can change the path of someone’s life. Hope is created moment by moment through our deliberate choices. It happens when we use our thoughts and feelings to temper our aversion to loss and actively pursue what is possible. How we think about the future – how we hope – determines how well we live our lives.”

He believed that hope could be engendered by:

  • Modeling hope and treating others with the kind of love, compassion and kindness you want for yourself.
  • Caring enough to support others who are in need of help.
  • Becoming a Super-Empowered, Hopeful Individual who believes the future can be better than today, and you can make it happen, despite the obstacles in your way (psychologytoday.com).

“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me’” (Billy Graham).

“Depression begins with disappointment. When disappointment festers in our soul, it leads to discouragement” (Joyce Meyer).

“The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come” (James Whitcomb Riley).

When the Father promises to do something, the children of the King can rest assured and trust that it will be done. Frequently, before a promise from the Father can be realized it is preceded by a change in the status quo. The Father makes waves. He has a way of shaking things up. When he appeared at Sinai, the earth shook. In the future, He will shake both the earth and the heavens. His goal is to shake things until all of the things that can be removed, are removed (Hebrews 12:26-27).

In a similar fashion, to a much lesser degree, the Father also shakes His children. We do not desire to be shaken or rattled. His touch is often viewed as an unwelcome intrusion or disturbance. Often things often get worse before they get better. 

Upon returning from Mount Sinai, Moses goes to Pharaoh and asks him to let the children of Israel go. Pharaoh rebuffs him. Moses fails and his failure brings sadness and adds misery to his people. He blames himself and questions why the Lord asked him to do it in the first place. It is easy for most of us to identify with the failure of Moses. He starts with great enthusiasm and falls flat on his face. He complains and whines. He wonders if the Father made a mistake in choosing him. He seems so inadequate for his assignment. But that is exactly the point, Moses is adequate for the job. That is why the Father chose him to do the job.

But the gloom and doom of pessimism are often contagious. After 400 years of suffering and servitude making bricks for Pharaoh, what could be worse? Try making bricks without straw. The people were discouraged. They stopped listening to Moses and hoping in God. They did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency (Exodus 6:9).

The Hebrew word translated as broken, despondency, and discouragement is qotser. Qotser means shortness. When used in conjunction with the spirit, it has a sense of impatience and dejectedness. They were beaten down, and their spirits were broken and crushed. They were discouraged and exhausted. They had given up (UBS).

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.

“When we feel oppressed and our spirit groans, it is difficult for us to believe the good promises of God regarding our welfare” (Stanley). Instead of being long-suffering, they figured they had suffered long enough. They had had enough. All hope was lost.

REFLECT & PRAY

Physical suffering pains our bodies, but emotional suffering and discouragement bring leanness to our souls and ravages our hearts.

Father remind me again and again, and bring to my mind that no matter what my circumstances are or how gloomy and dire my situation seems to be, your answer always begins, “I am the LORD!”

INSIGHT

The irony is that initial failure lays the groundwork for ultimate success. Pessimism and doubt are the fertile soil in which promises are fulfilled.

Matthew 19:26 with God all things are possible.

The Scriptures are replete with examples of the Father doing the impossible after all hope is lost. But a few examples: the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the preserving of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, the miracle of the Red Sea, the angelic hosts guarding Elisha and Gehazi, and the greatest of all, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The problem has never been with the Father. The problem has always been with our discouragement and lack of faith. The Father wants us to know and believe that He is the answer to all of our problems and circumstances. Every aspect of our physical and emotional well-being and eternal salvation depends solely on His character and eternal attributes.

Why did the Father allow Moses to fail at the very beginning of his mission when he went to Pharaoh the first time? Perhaps, if Pharaoh had released the nation of Israel the first time Moses asked, Moses would have been given most of the credit. Instead, his attempt totally backfired. As a result, he had to shoulder all the blame.

The people were convinced that Moses was incapable of leading them to the Promised Land. Only the Father could bring them out of Egypt by His mighty hand (Exodus 32:11). The longer Moses and Pharaoh quarreled and wrangled over the release of Israel from bondage, the clearer it became.

The Father was teaching His people to put all of their trust in Him. In due time, they discovered that when all else failed, the one thing they could count on was the One who said, “I am the LORD” (Ryken and Hughes).

His answer is always the same, “I am the LORD!”

“Exodus is a God-centered book with a God-centered message that teaches us to have a God-centered life. Whatever problems we have, whatever difficulties we face, the most important thing is to know who God is. We are called to place our trust in the One who says, ‘I am the LORD.’ . . . When nothing seems to go right, and it is not certain how things will ever work out – even then he says, ‘I am the LORD’” (Ryken and Hughes).

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© Dr. H 2022

Soulhacker ∙

Soulhacker ∙

I have become all things to all men, so that I may, by all means, save some. – 1 Corinthians 9:22

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

 19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.

 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too, lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.

 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I, too, live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

 22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.

 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

Biohacker is a relatively new word in the English language. A biohacker seeks to find ways to extend their personal capacity and stretch their capabilities. They experiment with ways to optimize their body and intellectual abilities. Sometimes it involves major internal and external transformations. Biohacking comes under the general category of regenerative science or regenerative medicine. Regenerative science aims to biohack the body’s natural cellular function and up-regulate it. Biohackers come from all walks of life.

Perhaps one of the first biohackers was the apostle Paul. His human limitations were continually exceeded through the power of the Holy Spirit within. He was able to become whatever he needed to be to reach people with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was, in many ways, a soul or spirit chameleon. He was a soulhacker.

Paul was “all in” in serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Once he made that primary and ultimate decision, the rest was easy. He was willing to serve anyone and everyone, wherever Father took him. Although he had complete freedom, he chose to become a servant to others to win all he could for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19).

He was willing to become all things to all people. He was able to live without partiality, prejudice, or bias. He had that rare ability to get along with people. He adapted his method and content as needed for different groups. He found common ground and was able to meet people wherever they happened to be. Yet he never compromised his integrity, his convictions, or his doctrine. He never watered down the gospel nor the truth of the word of God.

Some people puzzle over his methodology; to the Jews, he became as a Jew; to those who are under the law, he became as under the law; to those who are without law, as without law; to the weak, I became weak. What exactly did he mean?

Many people overthink this. It is really quite simple. Paul identified with people. He adopted their appearance and customs when he was with them. As much as possible, he fitted in.

Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. But Timothy did not follow the Jewish faith and never became circumcised. By Jewish law, the child of a Gentile father and Jewish mother was considered Jewish. As such, Timothy being uncircumcised was offensive, if not insulting. To work among the Jews and assist Paul, he had to be acceptable to them; he needed to be circumcised (Acts 16:3).

A simple illustration much closer to home is dressing appropriately for the occasion and circumstance. If you are invited to a formal event, dress up. If you are going to a casual situation, dress down. It is a matter of simply fitting in. Of course, there needs to be a bit of shrewd wisdom here and knowing your own limits. For some, tongue piercing and colorful tattoos might be appropriate, but for others, not so much. Your demeanor, confidence, discernment, affability, and the Father’s wisdom and presence are the most remarkable thing about you.

REFLECT & PRAY

Choosing to be someone else’s spiritual servant for the sake of their eternal destiny is never easy, but when the Father asks this of you, it is the right thing to do.

Father I want to be all things to all people. Encourage me and strengthen me to be just that.

INSIGHT

He was not bound by man-made culture, customs, or tradition. Therefore, Paul was able to set aside his own rights and expectations and freely serve others. He adapted his approach to different groups . . . When he preached to Jews, he started with the Old Testament patriarchs; but when he preached to Gentiles, he began with the God of Creation. Paul did not have a “stock sermon” for all occasions (Wiersbe).

If Paul had a singular, overarching motto, it probably would have been, “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). But Paul’s motto for practically working this out may well have been, “I do all the things I have mentioned because I want the gospel to go forward …” or “I do all these things to help the Good News about Jesus to spread” (USB).

A good ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ builds bridges, not walls. “It is worth noting that our Lord followed the same approach. To the highborn Jew, Nicodemus, He talked about spiritual birth (John 3); but to the Samaritan woman, He spoke about living water (John 4). Jesus was flexible and adaptable, and Paul followed His example. Neither Jesus nor Paul had an inflexible ‘evangelistic formula’ used in every situation (Wiersbe). 

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© Dr. H 2022

Bad girl, bad boy ∙

Bad girl, bad boy ∙

He has made us accepted in the beloved. – Ephesians 1:6

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

How many of us grew up in dysfunctional families? One or both of our parents were over the top with harsh demands and judgmental attitudes. Over and over again, we were told, “bad girl,” “bad boy,”  “you will never get anything right,” or “you will never amount to anything.”

Others grew up in religious homes where they went to church regularly. The fear “of God” was drilled into them repeatedly. Charles Stanley remarks, “The church I grew up in could sum up much of its theology in one statement: ‘Thou shalt not . . .’”

What a terrible legacy to burden our lives with. Indeed, we are damaged and wounded. Some of us carry this all of our lives.

In both situations, two vitally critical fundamental truths are totally lacking – sound teaching on the Father’s love and acceptance.

Stanley reminisces about his life and remembers, “I do not recall hearing about the Father’s love or how to live the Christian life. What I learned was that a wrathful God would punish me if I did not follow all the rules. And there seemed to be rules for everything – including what I could read, what I could wear, and what I could do.”

“As a teenage boy, I spent a lot of time begging the Lord to forgive me for one foolish thing or another. And I carried around a constant weight of guilt and worry everywhere I went. I just could not seem to be good enough. In truth, the rules were a burden to me, and since I thought God made them, He was a burden too.”

Regrettably, this is too often the case. The Father God is entirely different than what many have been led to believe. Sin, guilt, and shame are entirely dealt with by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and His subsequent resurrection. We are totally accepted and forgiven. We rest in the loving arms of our Father God, secure and safe, and totally beloved. There is no reason to fear.

Our distorted self-image is simply that “distorted.” We have to replace it entirely! Wherever there is error and incorrect understanding, it must be replaced with the truth of Scripture. We must choose to believe what the Father says about us as His beloved children.

It is simply time to stop believing lies, half-truths, partial truths, and outright deceptions that are only intended to drive a wedge between our Father and us and make us ineffective in His service. We have to totally abandon the fiction and myth that because of what we have done, we will never be good enough to be truly accepted and loved.

It is as though we have been working in a coal mine all day and are completely covered from head to toe in coal dust. We need a good scrubbing and cleansing to get rid of all the grime and filth.

Our souls and spirits become polluted by half-truths at best and erroneous, false teaching and distortions at worst.

The problem is twofold. On the one hand, we have a totally false conception of what the Father is truly like. Part of our misunderstanding is derived from our fears and dreads. This is analogous to the proverbial monster that lurks under our bed in the dark of night. We think to ourselves, “if I just hide under the covers, I will be safe.” The rest comes from our learned deformed and misinformed self-concept and self-image. It may haunt us throughout our lives.

What is the Father’s solution for false information, misinformation, or disinformation? In a word, Truth. What has the Father provided for erroneous and deformed self-image? A total makeover and transformation from the inside out.

The Truth is that whatever we have done in our lives before our adoption is totally forgotten by the Father when we become His children. The Father, who knows everything all the time, has chosen to forget!

Let that sink in.

He took us as we were, sinful, in some cases utterly horrid, and adopted us into His Forever Family. The act of adoption expunged the record of grievances He had against us. We start with a completely clean slate. He totally and completely accepts us. He places into His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

REFLECT & PRAY

“We cannot make ourselves acceptable to God; but He, by His grace, makes us accepted in Christ” (Wiersbe).

Father I can hardly imagine the incredible truth that You love me, favor me and have completely accepted me just as I am. But You have. You, my dear Father, have a special place for me in Your heart. Nothing can ever take that away.

INSIGHT

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic nearly shut down planet Earth. The death toll may never be completely known. But the truth of Scripture always stands firm, unmovable against short-term, although exceedingly deadly, awful, life-altering circumstances.

When we think poorly of ourselves, we are in direct conflict with what the truth of Scripture says. The Father does not lie. What He says is always true. If there is a disagreement between what He says and what we believe, it is time to abandon our way of thinking and align with His.

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

It has never been about who we once were or what we once did. Instead, it is about who we are and where we are now. We are the adopted children of the King. Each of us has been placed into Christ in some mysterious and mystical fashion; we are united with Him. We are precious in our Father’s sight.

In fact, being in Christ, His beloved Son, we are also beloved to the Father.

Ephesians 1:4-8 

 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

This passage is so very rich. The heart of this passage is Ephesians 1:6. Seeing it in several translations provides a bit of insight.

NAS Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

ESV Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

NLT Ephesians 1:6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

KJV Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved.

NIV Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

The Greek word translated as freely bestowed, glorious grace he has poured out, freely given, and accepted is charitoo. The noun form of charitoo is charis. Charis means grace or unmerited favor. It is getting something we could never deserve.

“The apostle is speaking about the love or grace of God as shown in our redemption. He has predestined us to be adopted as his sons, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which grace he has exercised towards us in the remission of sins . . .. Therefore, here ‘he has freely given us means to accept, to treat with favor” (Hodge).

Simply stated, the Father has “graced us.” He has favored us and given us what we could never deserve, adoption into His Forever Family and total acceptance and love. The very idea is beyond the capability of our human comprehension.

Perhaps an analogy we can grasp would be going to a pound, finding a battered, mistreated, and abandoned puppy, and adopting it. Bringing it home and welcoming the pup as a beloved family member. The puppy did nothing to deserve it. But his life is forever changed.

He is part of a new family and is dearly loved and cherished.

And so are you!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 4-05-2