God the Father Loves Me! We know that the Father loves us for he said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness" (Gen 1:26). We humans alone are created in His own image! We are like him, as a child is born in the likeness of his parents. In Genesis 2 we see how the Father provided for us in so many ways; a mate, work to do, the beauty of nature around us, the wonders of the universe. We are special to the Father because all other things he created were spoken of as "good"; only man was called "very good!" We are set apart from all other things because we are thinking, feeling, willing, praying, moral persons. We love because God loves. We think because God thinks. We seek meaning and purpose in our lives because God is the meaning and purpose of life. We make moral decisions because God is holy and righteous and has set the standards for life. We chose and will as God does. We are like Him; we are born of Him; we desire to know and love Him, for we know that He loves us. He loves us for ourselves, not for what we do or don't do. How do we know?
Well, praise God that He would ask us to call Him Abba, Father, and that He would call us His sons, for indeed we really are. "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15),"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." ." (Gal 4:6) We especially know the love of God our Father by personal experience in these five ways. Learn and Listen for a Father's touch in these verses from scripture! Let your Father God speak to your heart.
Many have said that the Image or Type of God as a "Shepherd" is in the OT equilalent to what the word "Father" is in the NT. If this is true then read the 23rd Psalm again and know that not only Jesus the Good Shepherd is speaking to you, but also your Father.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols." (Ezekiel 36:25)
...A righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. (Psalm 112:6-8)
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:5-6)
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24)
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath... it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure...
(Hebrews 6:17-19)
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)
The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand." (Isaiah 14:24).
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Psalm 23
1
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
There are so many times that we see evidence how our Father has provided for us. Not only in spiritual things but in very simple, mundane and practical ways. God is our Provider! A good father provides for his children. He will not allow them to go without the things they need, and many times he surprises them, for He "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."
God can furnish a table in the wilderness. His compassions fail not! They are new every morning!
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
Unknown to us most of the time, God has protected us from physical and spiritual harm. That accident you almost had, that illness that didn't become worse, that person He sent into your life, that discipline He gave you that only in retrospect saved you from further pain and distress. Our Father is our Protector.
Psalm 3 says, O Lord, I have so many enemies;
so many are against me.
2 So many are saying,
“God will never rescue him!”
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
4 I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy mountain.
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved."
Our Father speeks to us continually. His voice can be heard in the wisdom of His counsel to us, if only we could hear Him. "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord!" (Jer 22:29).
"Speek Lord, for thy servant heareth!"
"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD."
[8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
[9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
[10] For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
[11] So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Each and every day we are alive because our Father wills the sun to shine, the rivers to flow, the grass to grow, the land to produce the things we need. "This is the Lord's doing, it is marvellous in our eyes,"
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
"Underneath are the everlasting wings" (Deut 33:27)
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1Peter 5:7).
"Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." (John 16:23).
Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
Finally, I know that the Father loves me, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son; that whosoever blelievs in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Adapted from Leonard Griffith and J. Sidlow Baxter by Bill Consiglio  e go to the gospels to find the real Jesus. We do not go to the
scholars, the academicians, the intellectuals; especially those who come to the
gospels without the Spirit of Christ having been born in their hearts. For to
come to the gospels without the Holy Spirit is like making bread without yeast;
it is like marrying without love; it is entering a darkened room without any
source of light. Look at the real Jesus of the gospels. Look with your heart of
faith and your experience of Jesus as he has touched your own life. Let us look
with the eyes of his Spirit. By all means, let us bring scholarship and learning
to our search for the real Jesus, but not the learning and scholarship unaided
by the light of the Spirit of God. ho do we see when we come to
the gospels in faith? We see Jesus engaged in four basic ministries which reveal an extra-ordinary, supernatural and divine Person.
e can almost imagine the
evolution which the disciples experienced as they grew in their relationship to
Jesus. For there is the secret of knowing the real Jesus. It is the same for us
as it was for them. Our growth in closeness and intimacy to him comes from
spending much time with him; listening, looking and watching him, receiving and
giving to him. When we speak to him and he to us, this alone brings his love and
the truth of who he really is into the light. And there's the difference between
the secular scholar's approach to Jesus and the man of faith. Ask the secular
scholar to just once, get upon his knees and speak to Jesus, just once, and his
scholarly work will become a window to truth and light! Ask him to suspend his
studies of Jesus and spend 15 minutes in prayer to Him, and all becomes new. His
disciples went through many changes in their view of Jesus.  t first they may have said that God sent Jesus
, but that explanation did not cover the facts. Then they said,
God is with him . That went deeper, yet as their experience
of him progressed, even that seemed inadequate. Finally we catch the reverent
accents of a new conviction God came in him . He not only
teaches the truth about God ; he is the truth about God, God made visible and
brought within human experience. These days it has become fashionable to revise
our image of God. According to some religious scholars, modern astronomy and
space travel compel us to reject the image of God as a supreme, supernatural
Being who exists in outer space, separate and distinct from the world which he
has made. Yet even this little coterie of avant-garde theologians insist that,
wherever God may be found, he has still revealed himself in Jesus. If love be
the ultimate meaning of the universe, then Christ, who gave himself perfectly in
love, is still the authentic and perfect image of God. he
Russian novelist Turgenev described how once there came to him in a kind of
vision a swift and wonderful insight into the nature of Jesus. He saw himself a
youth, almost a boy, in a low-pitched wooden church. The slim wax candles
gleamed, spots of red, before the old pictures of the saints. There stood before
him many people, all fair-haired peasant heads. From time to time they began
swaying, falling, rising again, like the ripe ears of wheat when the wind in
summer passes over them. All at once a man came up from behind and stood beside
the Russian boy. He did not turn around, but he felt certain that the man was
Christ. Emotion, curiosity, and awe over-mastered him. Finally he made an effort
and looked at his neighbour. A face like everyone's, a face like all men's
faces. What sort of Christ is this?'' he thought, "such an ordinary, ordinary
man. It cannot be.''
 ut it can be, and it is. The Christ
who makes himself known through Sacrament and Scripture, who encounters us in
the fellowship of the Church and in the secret place of prayer, the Christ who
still represents to us the image of the eternal God, is not some remote,
supernatural Deity shrouded in the mystery of heaven. He is the same Jesus, the
same ordinary, ordinary man who ate the bread and drank the cup of our human
experience here upon earth. He is God in our idiom, a God whom we can
understand, because he understands us and comes close beside us in all the
common ways of life, so that we can reach out and touch him and know him as our
Friend.  econdly, we see the Jesus of the Gospels as
the man of infinite love and compassion . There is no coherent
picture of Jesus in the New Testament. Each of the Gospel writers, like an
artist, interprets Christ in his own way, painting, as it were, a portrait. Each
brings into bold relief the features of this Divine personality that seem to him
most important. Matthew puts a great deal of his own intentions and motives into
his portrait of Jesus as the Messiah long-awaited by Israel. Mark's Jesus is the
most factual and actual telling. It is the first, seemingly quickly written
factual account of the Savior. Luke is the devotional telling of Christ. It is
full of prayers and personal applications to our lives. John's Jesus is the most
mystical, allegorical, symbolic, and spiritual portrait. Yet from all the New
Testament portraits of Jesus one feature shines most prominently; it is his
compassion. Never did any man care so deeply for people, identify himself with
them so closely and involve himself so completely in their lives. We read that
when he saw the multitude "he had compassion on them''. A crowd invariably
produced that effect upon Jesus. When he looked at people's faces, sometimes
emotionless, hard and even hostile, his X-ray vision probed deeply into the
secret agonies and anxieties of their souls; his great, loving heart went out to
them in sympathy and compassion. His love for others is God's love for all men
and women.  is miracles expressed this compassion. At the very
outset of his ministry he rejected the temptation to be a mere miracle-monger.
He who possessed the power of God deliberately avoided making displays of
supernatural power ; he did so because he knew that through they might dazzle
people, miracles would not convince people, not convert them, not bring them
into the Kingdom of God. Yet, because he possessed the power of God, he made
that power the instrument of his compassion. It was only right that, having come
to make men whole, he should heal their sick bodies as well as their sick souls
; that, having offered the Bread of life for their spiritual hunger, he should
satisfy their physical hunger as well ; and that, having come to save men from
evil, he should save them from disease and death and all the manifestations of
evil's power. hatever Jesus
did for people-whether to restore their sight or cleanse them from leprosy or
bring their dead back to life-he did because he loved them and had compassion on
them. One of the most impressive statues of Christ ever sculptured is that by
Thorvaldsen, which stands today behind the altar of the Protestant Cathedral in
Copenhagen, Denmark. He worked on it for many months, and at last surveyed the
finished product with satisfaction-a Christ with strong arms outstretched,
raised high in gesturing command, and the fine shaped head thrown back in
triumph. "This is he,'' the artist said, the powerful, majestic Christ.''
Thorvaldsen closed the door of his studio for several days so that the clay
might set. When he returned and opened the door, he stared in horror and
disbelief. There had been a storm. Dampness had invaded the studio and altered
the statue. No longer were the arms outstretched ; now they fell low. The
moisture had caused the once-proud head to bend. The great physique had drooped.
Gone was the triumph of Thorvaldsen's Christ ; he looked defeated now. For a
long time the artist had no heart for work, but finally he went with a friend to
his studio again to see if somehow he might repair the damage and recapture the
likeness of the strong Man of Galilee. They stopped and gazed in awe at the
statue. Bathed in light, the lowered arms no longer depicted defeat; instead
they reached out with the compassion of God, sympathetic arms encircling the
sorrowing and needy. The head no longer seemed to droop ; rather it bowed low
with contrite countenance as if to say, "I understand your travail.'' horvaldsen knew that what had
happened was surely an act of God. Some greater Power had breathed meaning into
the artist's ruined statue, so that it was no longer a majestic Christ or a
defeated Christ, but the Christ of the Gospels. This was the compassionate
Savior, the same Jesus who stretched out hands of pity to sorrowing, suffering
humanity, the same Jesus who, because his living presence fills the world, comes
now to the sick as Healer, to the bereaved as Comforter, to the hard-pressed as
Helper, to the lonely as Companion and Friend .
O Lord Jesus, without having seenYou, we love You, and though we do not now see You, we believe in You.We praise You that when You burst the bonds of death, when You appeared to Your disciples, the same Friend, the same Companion, the same Master Whomthey knew in the days of Your flesh. You make the whole world the temple of Your living presence and every human experience a sacred meeting place with You. Grant that we who confess You Jesus as our Lord and Saviour may know the blessedness of Your friendship. Come be close to us in life. Let us feel the touch of Your Living Spirit in us and hear tbe whisper of Your voice. Be so real to us that we know also the truth of your words when You said, "Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.'' For Your own name's sake we pray. Amen. ++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++ See this excellent study of the REAL JESUS |
n a prison in the Southern United
States there is an inmate who has already served twenty years of a
life-sentence. He is a commercial artist who has painted hundreds of portraits
of Jesus, all with this strikingly unique feature - they all show Jesus with a
beaming smile. His paintings have gone all over the 'world. He gives them away,
and at present there is a waiting list of nine thousand people. This man's
conversion to Christianity came after he had been in prison for seven years. One
night he fell to his knees in prayer after months of depression and the striong
desire to kill himself. He had heard the chaplain speak about the compassion of
Jesus. He said, "That night I levelled with the Lord for four solid hours of
prayer-talk. I prodded every niche and corner of my brain. I routed out
long-forgotten mistakes and misdeeds. But suddenly I found myself challenging
the Lord. I dared God to give me a chance to do something worthy. I didn't ask
him for any particular assignment. I left that up to him . . .'' The convict
goes on to say, "that night I had a dream. The details are long forgotten,
except for one brief glimpse of a robed, bearded figure who smiled kindly at me,
then turned. It was a simple dream, not a mystic vision.'' The dream filled this
convicted artist with a strong desire to paint that smile, and since then he has
gone on painting Christ smiling, and the Christian world has praised his work.
Recently this man wrote, "I don't know what's going to happen to me, but I
believe the Lord is merciful to convicts who level with him. He sure gave us a
break on Calvary. '' 
ourth, and lastly, we see the Jesus of the Gospels as
the man who claimed men's allegiance. Never had the disciples known such
a magnetic leader. He met them mending their fishing nets by the Sea of Galilee
and said, "Follow me !'' and they dropped their nets and folllowed him. Even
when he set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, though they lagged behind
on the road, knowing that a certain death awaited him there, yet they could not
desert him, because his irresistible leadership drew them on. This man commanded
the utmost in human loyalty. 
et anyone refuse to give it, let
him hold something back, as the rich young ruller held back his wealth, as
others made the excuse of obligations to business and family, and Jesus simply
excluded them as potential followers. When Christ claimed a man he claimed him
completely. 
hrist upon his throne, whose living presence fills the world, is
the same Jesus who became flesh and dwelt in Galilee and Judea long ago. All
that he was to the people then, so he can be tome and you now-Revealer of God,
Compassionate Saviour, the Forgiveness of our sins, our Lord and Master, the one
we would follow wholeheartedly. All of this he can be to us if we open our
hearts to receive him in faith, if we surrender our lives to him in loving
obedience.
It was the time after Christ’s resurrection before his ascension or return to the Father. He is preparing his disciples for the reality that he is about to leave them. He knows that this is going to cause them great sorrow and anxiety.
So He says to them, "I tell you the truth: It is for your good (it is expedient) that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you".
Christ was speaking of the Third Person in the Trinity, Whom we call the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the least understood, least acknowledged, and least recognized Person of the Trinity Godhead. Christians are woefully ignorant and neglectful of God's Spirit. A great spiritual author says, "The great loss in so many Christian lives, and the powerlessness, dullness, dormant, lifeless state of the Church is this neglect of the Holy Spirit’s Presence and activity".
I want to share some Facts about the Holy Spirit:
- The First important Fact is this: Wherever one Person of the Holy Trinity is; so are all Three.
When we speak about the work of Creation by the Father, we know that creation was also the work of the Son and Spirit. When we speak about our Redemption by Christ the Son, we assume the involvement of the Father and the Spirit. Likewise, the work of Sanctification by the HS, means that the Father and Son are vitally active as well.
The unity of the Trinity in every work demands the cooperation of all three Persons of the Trinity. Less obvious in the OT, but very evident and clear in the NT is this principle.
Wherever one Person of the Holy Trinity is; so are all three. Our God is a Trinity of Persons who act in Unity.
This cooperative unity is the reason that, when speaking of the HS, we can properly say at one and the same time, that the HS is the Spirit of God the Father, or the Spirit of Christ, the Spiritual Presence of Jesus among us. Jesus makes it clear that in sending or releasing the HS, He, Jesus will be with us. That’s why He says,
"The Holy Spirit is Another Comforter; another manifestation of His Presence among us in a different but real way." Wherever one Person of the Holy Trinity is; so are all three. Wherever the Holy Spirit is; so is Jesus.
This is also the reason why the HS could not be released into the world until Christ ascended or returned to the Father. Jesus was so filled and full exclusively with the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit could not be released to us until Christ gave up his earthly body.
Do you need a spiritual renewal? Do you need a refreshing experience of the Real God? We all do from time to time.We all need a revival of our spiritual lives from time to time. This is a good time as ever. As you have come this far (Congratulations! Alleluia! Praise God!) let's top off your great work with a focus on your relationship to God.
I want to introduce you to the notion of renewal and revival by asking you which spiritual state, of Four, are you in. Are you currently in the best state of Fervent-faithful-filial fellowship with God? Or, are you Floating, Failing or Floundering? 
You can call it the "Blessing of the Holy Spirit", being "Filled with the
Spirit","Baptism in the Holy Spirit". Whatever you call it, it's a spiritual state in which you are fervently and closely intimate with God. It is a victorious spiritual state free of sin which enhances and facilitates and excellerates resolution and change because it is the state where the Holy Spirit can be most effective as a Surgeon, Counselor, Comforter, Advocate and Healer. It is a state where you will sense that Christ, your high priest, is your Intercessor and Mediator at the throne of God. A state where you hear the Voice of God frequently in your spirit!
Staying Fervent is not always possible. It slips away into Floating. Floating is a spiritual state easy to slide into. You may have had Faithful Fervent Fellowship with God for a time, but then you begin to take God for granted. You begin to neglect the Word or rush through the Word. You especially either stop praying or pray without heart.
Are you in a Failing State? If you are, you are doing a great deal more slipping, sliding and compromising with sin. You're letting yourself rationalize about visual and lustful indulgence. You are masturbating indiscriminately, perhaps compulsively. Compulsive masturbation is the usual doorway to all other sexual indulgence. Unless you get control over masturbation, you will find yourself inevitably defeated and indulgent in other impure ways.
If you are floundering, you are as close to being the kind of person you were before you were saved. You are acting out sexually without restraint almost indiscriminately; you’ve lost self-control; you’re starting to have regular falls into sin. You've stopped using the strategies in learnings 2 through 5. You’re backslidden and living like a pagan. Spiritually, emotionally, sexually you are becoming increasingly out-of-control. More specifically, you have lost control of the five doorways or gates to sexual sin, (eyes, ears, hands, feet, mind). When you are in a state of Floundering, the doorways or gates to sexual immorality are unguarded and unrestrained.
If you begin to move with God's Spirit and experience that Spirit-to-spirit encounter with God which draws you into deeper communion and communication; let it continue to happen.
Let Him lead you! If you begin to sense a change inside of renewal and spiritual rebuilding, it will usually make you want to do something else. It means he is leading you. If he is leading you by his Spirit then you will most likely make some resolve to spend some daily time with God in prayer and His Word. That's all that is needed to begin the spiritual restoration you need. God will do the rest! May we suggest the following passages as a starter which may aid your spiritual rebuilding: Luke 10:21-28, 30-37; Colossians 3:1-17; 2 Corinthians 4:1-15.
Pillar 1. By Personal, private Prayer
Pillar 2. By Bible reading, study and reflection
Pillar 3. By Worshipping together
Pillar 5. Through Ministry to the family of God
Pillar 6. Through Service of witness, evangelizing, love and compassion to the unsaved people of the world.