I like you! (Week 4, Day 2)

I love each of my kids dearly, but some days I have  to confess that I don't like them. This happens whenever I concentrate on their flaws or bad attitudes. Sometimes I wonder whether God feels the same way about me. In fact, a few weeks ago I outright asked Him, "Do you like me?"

·       Listen to His answer as you read Song of Solomon 4: 7, 9 and write about it below.

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            

God the Father sees us as holy, pure, and blameless because He has given us the righteousness of Christ. He not only loves us, but He actually likes us and wants to be with us. The Father enjoys us even in our weakness. He is not gritting His teeth and enduring us. A few weeks ago you read Luke 15:11-32, concentrating on our sense of belonging.

·       Read Luke 15:20-24 again, looking at how the Father feels about us while we are dirty with sin. Write your thoughts below.

                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                

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God rejoices while He walks with us on our path to recovery. Seeing our repentance and sincere desire to obey Him, He enjoys us even before we have victory in an area of failure in our lives.  This gives us the confidence to run to the Father, rather than away from Him when confronted with our weakness. 

I am with you! (Week 4, Day 1)

"Mama, will you help me find the potty?"

Did my youngest daughter really have trouble finding the bathroom in our own home? Of course not! She just did not want to be alone in a place she considered scary. Having someone with her made all the difference for Mercy.

In the same way, we want to know that God our Father is present during the scary times in our lives.

·       How did the awareness of God's presence make a difference for King David as recorded in Psalm 23:4 and Psalm 16:8?

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                 

·       God is always present. How did God show His presence in a more tangible way according to Matthew 1:23?

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  

·       What is the promise Jesus made before He ascended into heaven (Matthew 28:20b)?

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  

God's presence comforts us in the moments when we are scared and overwhelmed, but most of our lives are consumed with mundane chores. We do laundry, wipe snotty noses, prepare food – and tomorrow we get up and do it all over again. Knowing that God is with us, even in the mundane, enables us to see the daily work He has set before us as good, worthwhile and glorifying to Him. It can turn a chore into a worship experience.

·       Take five sticky notes and write "God is with me!" on them. Now post them in areas where they are most visible while you are doing your chores. Enjoy His presence today!

·       How did the awareness of God’s presence make a difference in your day? Write your observations or prayer below.

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The Blessing of Presence (Week 4 Intro)

"Making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Eph. 1:9-10)

God wants to be with us and make His presence known. Therefore hear God's blessings over you this week as He says, "I am with you! I like you! I want a relationship with you! I trust you with my deep thoughts! Your thoughts are important to me!"

I would do anything for you! (Week 3, Day 5)

Hanna, my 4-year-old, attempts to turn any creature into a pet. Today, stooping down protectively over a glass jar containing a ladybug, Hanna taught her 2-year-old sister, Mercy, how to take good care of her very own insect: "It needs to sleep now," she explained knowingly, covering the jar with a dish towel and cooing Brahms' lullaby.

The world abounds with pets in the eyes of my kids. Last Sunday my children decided that crawfish make perfect pets. Scooping them skillfully out of a local creek they gathered 23 of those wet, creeping, nipping crustaceans. Kate, our favorite neighbor girl, felt so lucky to get to take them all home. Unlike me, her amazing mom allows a multitude of pets.

Another fine pet is the cockroach, at least according to Hanna, who cried bitterly when I squished her potential pet during our last summer vacation. "I just wanted to love it and take care of it," she mourned.

What is it that gives kids such a strong desire to have animals of their own? Genesis 1:26 clues us in to Hanna's desires and feelings: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion... over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'"
Looking at Hanna helps me better understand what God is like because God created her in His image, after His likeness. One major way she reflects His image is by having dominion over every creeping thing. While I always associated dominion with domination, ruling over someone to the advantage of the ruler, Hanna's desire to make a cockroach feel loved and secure makes the true meaning of dominion come to life. This, in turn, reveals God's heart towards us.

In our sin, we are as unappealing to God as a cockroach, yet He chooses to stoop down to provide for and protect us. Unlike Hanna with her ladybug, He knows exactly what we need – to know Him, to walk with Him and to trust Him for our every need. This has only been made possible through His forgiveness of our sins by the sacrifice of His only son, Jesus. His level of provision goes beyond my ability to comprehend.

This fresh understanding of dominion through the eyes of a little girl gives me such comfort as it shows that God’s rule is to our benefit and that His love is completely unconditional. Therefore we can rejoice that "his dominion is an everlasting dominion" (Dan. 4:34).

·       Read  John 15:13, John 3:16 and write a prayer of thankfulness below:

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  

Good job, well done! (Week 3, Day 4)

In today's society, it is often believed that we need to redeem our vices by our virtues – if we just do enough good, it will cancel out the bad. But if our virtuous acts are seen as a means for nullifying sin and securing a place in heaven they are no longer virtues but acts of selfishness. Even if it is just praise we long for, the best of our deeds are no longer pure. If I am completely honest with myself, I know I am a glory hog.  And I don't think I am alone in this. What I mean is, I enjoy words of praise when others see my kind deeds. It feels good to receive recognition from people for an accomplishment.

·       What does Isaiah 64:6 tell us about the things we are proud of and would expect to be commended for?

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                

We have learned that our vices can only be redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ. The same holds true for our virtues. By imputing Christ's righteousness on us, God the Father looks at our good deeds as if they were done in complete selflessness, with no ulterior motives and not coupled with pride.

·       How did the Master perceive the servants' efforts in Matthew 25:21?

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                 

Hear you heavenly Father speak these words over you.

You are allowed to make mistakes (Week 3, Day 3)

Visiting state parks is a huge treat for my kids. There is so much to discover. The biggest attraction at one of the parks in our area is the huge number of frogs. Even my 3-year-old, Mercy, managed to catch several on our last outing. But she proudly held her treasures a bit too tightly. Big sister reported the tragedy to me. Desiring to comfort Mercy and teach her how to hold frogs more gently, I started walking towards my youngest girl. Sadly, when she saw me approaching, Mercy ran away with her hands covering her ears. At first I was puzzled to see her flee; then I realized that this is exactly how I respond to God when I feel the pangs of guilt. I run away from Him, my source of comfort, too ashamed about what I have done. Watching my daughter vividly portray a picture of my reaction to my Heavenly Father birthed a desire in me to learn to run to Him, not away from Him.

God the Father is neither harsh nor overbearing. Hear his heart toward you in the following Bible verse: "I led them with cords of kindness, with the band of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke of their jaw, and bent down to them and fed them.” (Hosea 11:4)

It would never enter a loving father's mind to explode in anger when his child makes a common mistake; neither would he harshly criticize his toddler for falling while learning to walk. He encourages him to get up and try again. In the same way, your Heavenly Father is cheering from the sidelines, speaking encouragement.

·       Look up John 3:17. What does it tell you about God the Father?

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                    

Knowing that the Father loves us in the midst of our failures prevents us from getting on the emotional rollercoaster of, "He loves me, He loves me not." We can run to Him, no matter what.

I do not hold anything against you! (Week 3, Day 2)

"I have shot Christians at their baptism. I have done a lot of things that I am ashamed to admit. I try to do a lot of good things, but I am just not sure whether they outweigh the bad." Mohammed, affectionately known by my family as Uncle Mogli, grew up in rural Egypt. Having suffered under the stigma of being a member of the only family in town who had been abandoned by their father, Mogli was easily lured into an Islamic terrorist group. Here he enjoyed the respect and camaraderie he had had longed for. But these glory days were short lived, as Mogli ended up being arrested and sent to prison, which gave him ample time to re-evaluate his life. Truly regretting his terrorist actions, Mohammed fled the country to start over. But the past would not let go of him. Sitting in our living room with my husband, J., Mogli began pouring out his heart. "How can I ever do enough good to still make it to heaven?" he lamented.

"You never will, and you don’t have to," J. explained. "Jesus did it instead of you. When He died on the cross, He took the punishment for all you have done. When you accept what Christ has done for you, God looks at you as if you had lived a perfect life. The Bible says, 'He remembers your sin no more' (Heb. 8:12). Through Christ we have forgiveness. You can receive His forgiveness today by confessing your sins and accepting that Jesus has paid the price for you. You can come before the Father without shame, knowing that when you confessed your sins, they were taken away. Whenever he looks on us He sees the righteousness of Christ.”                                                                 

"I love that Jesus!" Mohammed shouted.

I love that Jesus, too!

·       Read 1 John 1:8-9. What is God revealing to you?

                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                           

Would you like to know the Father's forgiveness? You can receive it today by praying, "Father, I know that I can never be good enough. I am a sinner and deserve Your wrath. Thank you for sending Jesus to die in my place. I accept His sacrifice for me, setting me free from the debt I owe and clothing me with His righteousness. Please be the Lord of my life."

·       Tell your small group leader or a friend if you have made this commitment.

Ideally the blessing of forgiveness and every other blessing would come both from our earthly father and from our Father in heaven, but some of us will never receive the desired blessing from our father. This is one of the deepest wounds a child can suffer. It is natural to feel anger and resentment for what should have been, but a heart that is hard toward an earthly father makes it nearly impossible to receive a blessing from God the Father. Forgiveness is the spiritual atmosphere He wants you to live in. Stewing in resentment means remaining in the paralyzing grip of shame and regret. "The choice to remain in unforgiveness is a choice by which we are separating ourselves from the merciful love of the Father. In doing so, we are choosing to remain orphans." (Abba's Heart by Neal Lozano, Baker Publishing Group, 2010, pg. 171)

·       Why is God asking you to forgive in Matthew 6:14-15? 

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        

Forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling, trusting in God to change our hearts. Continue to forgive until you are sincerely able to ask God to bless your father. It is possible. I know, because God is doing this in me.

·       Be specific when you speak out forgiveness. Rather than saying, "I forgive my father," say, "I forgive my father for his harshness" …or "I forgive my father for abandoning me," etc. This helps you release and forgive each offense. It might be helpful to do this in writing below:

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        

Having taken this step of forgiveness does not necessitate that you put yourself in a situation where further abuse is possible. Maintaining boundaries is important to prevent further abuse. Forgiving our Mothers and Fathers by Fields and Hubbard provides much helpful advice.