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The High Priest and the Forgiven The High Priest The Forgiven The Blood of Christ The Living Bread The Dwelling Place of God The Distractions Living Confidently as the Forgiven  The High Priest But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. Hebrews 9:11 To best understand why Jesus had to die in order for us to have access to eternal forgiveness and life, we need to take a close look at the role of a high priest. If you start in Genesis and journey through the first five books in the Bible, 1you will soon come to realize the system of sacrifice and atonement that was put into place. One aspect of this pre-Jesus life was that of the high priest. One responsibility they had was to conduct the service on the Day of Atonement. The Tabernacle was built according to God’s instructions, and included a place called the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies, where God Himself dwelled. There were certain feasts and certain elements around and in the Tabernacle that defined sacrifices and worship to God. God laid everything out and the book of Hebrews brings back to mind the role and responsibility of the priests. A high priest was selected by man, was to follow his job description and was the only one who could enter the Holy of Holies. One day per year, Atonement Day, he would do the necessary acts to offer atonement for himself and all the people. This included a system of cleansings and sacrifices. As sacrifices of animals were made, the blood served as an outward sanctification. The high priests on Atonement Day is also summarized in Hebrews 9:7. Sacrificial blood was necessary for the forgiveness of sins. When the high priest concluded his time in the Holy of Holies, he would step out to a group of people waiting for him to come out and declare that God accepted the sacrifice, and that they were forgiven. Whew. They were good for another year, until they would do this all over again the next year. Why do we call Jesus our High Priest? One of the main purposes of the high priest was to perform the sacrifices and offer the blood – to go before God on behalf of the people. Jesus fulfilled this whole system of gifts and sacrifices. Let’s take just a moment now to be reminded again in Hebrews 8, 9 and 10, that the earthly tabernacle was “a copy”, “a shadow” of what is found in heaven. So, let’s compare all of this… The high priest must offer sacrificial blood......... Jesus, the unblemished lamb, was killed and offered His own blood The high priest entered the Holy of Holies on behalf of himself and the people.......Jesus entered the place of God, offering to meet God on behalf of the people Himself The high priest returned symbolizing God accepted the offering and granted forgiveness ...... Jesus returned (was resurrected) symbolizing new life found in God’s forgiveness of sins The high priest needed to perform this year after year ......Jesus sacrificed once and for all – He was enough We can be reassured that our sins are forgiven because Jesus, our High Priest, has done what was needed. He went before God, with a holy sacrifice of Himself, which was completely accepted, giving us freedom from our sins – once and for all! Because He lives, we can live! Become familiar with this concept. Dig into the Old Testament and the book of Hebrews to get a clear picture of forgiveness before and after Jesus. Ask God to reveal to you the meaning of Jesus, your High Priest.
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Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  Living as a Child of God But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22 Living as a child of the Conns means certain things. It means opening up the pantry doors and seeing dented cans and taped cereal boxes because this mama saves money shopping at the Bent and Dent stores. It means limiting the total number of living things in the house to 6 humans and 1 four-legged creature – nothing more. It means most Friday evenings home-made pizza is served. It means you better be respectful, have good manners and keep your head on straight. It means don’t disturb your mama after 9pm. At school it means teachers look at you and say, “Oh you must be a Conn – you look just like your siblings.” I could go on, but I’ll stop here, and recognize that some of our Conn children aren’t always satisfied with being a child of the Conns. One day, our youngest randomly declared, “Mom, I want to go live with the Coils!” After the initial blow, I could actually come up with many reasons a child would want to move in with such wonderful folks. However, when I asked him why, his answer surprised me, “Because they have donkeys and I love donkeys!” So there you have it! Life is good at the Coils – they have donkeys! Living as a child of God does look a certain way. (I am so thankful our Heavenly Father functions much better after 9pm than I do. He is ready and available 24/7.) When you look through scripture, you can quickly conclude how our Father would have His kids behave. You will read phrases such as these in terms of what NOT to be: get rid of sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, malice, slander and filthy language; don’t lie, or be angry… And then there is the list of the ways to behave: be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, bear with one another, forgive one another, love, be unified, be wise… The fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control should overflow in our lives. There are definitely guidelines posted throughout the Word. We are told how to strive to live. Will we be perfect at it? Not yet, but we are to do our best in this life on earth. Will we mess up? Yep. But our Father waits for us to seek forgiveness and move forward. When we made the commitment to follow Jesus, our “childhood” should look different. People should be able to tell we belong to Christ. They should be able to observe us and say, “Oh! I can tell who you belong to – You resemble your Father. I recognize you –– you must be part of the Family of God – Oh, I can see it – You are a child of God.” And THAT is what we are! Maybe you’ve strayed from your Father. Read Luke 15:11-32 – the Prodigal Son – and know that when you choose to come home, your Father will run towards you with open arms. He will throw a party for you. Imagine someone you love so much – a parent, child, friend. Maybe they have withdrawn from you, and their choices have come in the way of your relationship. You long for what you had before. What if, one day, they show up at your door step and seek forgiveness. You embrace them, invite them in, and spend time catching back up, so thankful that this loved one of yours came back. While at times we might allow our human reservations to get in the way, and our human attempt to forgive fails. Or we automatically go to the past and remind them of the bad choices, and we keep things at arms length. But the father, portraying God, in the prodigal son story, reflects how our Father awaits for us, His kids, to run back to Him. It shows that He will not make you feel guilty for what you’ve done; He will not constantly bring up your bad choices; He will not keep you at arms length; He will smother you in His love for you. No matter what bad choices you have stepped into, God longingly awaits for you to return to Him. Simply come. There is a place at the table for you. Soak in your existence in being a child of God, in being a part of the Family of God, unconditionally loved by your Father – a Father who has great compassion to share with you - and who is preparing a beautiful place for your homecoming! Commit to truly allowing your life to reflect living as a child of God. Ask your Father what behaviors you need to change. Let Him affirm other behaviors that please Him. Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  The Heavenly Home “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 We are just beginning the stage of life of our children heading out for college. While our youngest satisfied our completed family who now filled each chair around the dinner table, six years later, our oldest left one chair empty again as he headed off to college four hours away. Some days I sit back and imagine…I imagine the journey of one by one the kids stepping out into their next chapter of life. I try and wonder where they might end up, who they may marry, how many children they might have. Then I smile at the image I get of all of them bringing their families back home. I get excited at the thought of preparing food and beds for them to gather back together, back home - reminiscing, telling stories and having a wonderful time as a growing family. It may not go exactly as I imagine, but it also prompts me to wonder if maybe this is what God has in mind. As we have already explored, God brought us into this world. He breathed life into us. We exist because as I heard Pastor Bruxy Cavey put it, “He didn’t want to live in this universe without you.” Each one of us is here to be in relationship with each other, and with God, for eternity. He is our Father, we are His children. Currently His kids, physically speaking, aren’t residing in His neighborhood. But I’m pretty sure there’s a smile on His face when His children come home to the Heavenly home He has prepared. John 14:2 says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” As Christians, those who have surrendered our lives to Christ, those who have chosen to follow the Lord, we have hope. We are passing through this life on earth, this temporary dwelling place, knowing that eventually we will be moving to a place He is preparing for us. Speaking of moving, that is something our family has become accustomed to…From OH to VA to OH to PA to OH. Each move required a slightly larger truck than the move before. Each move included a larger number of children than the time before. In each of our moves we had to make arrangements on both ends of the move – where we are moving from and where we are moving to…Packing boxes, loading stuff…It’s a lot of work preparing for a move. So, when I consider the words of Jesus, “I am going there to prepare a place for you.” I am relieved! When my move from this world to heaven takes place, guess what, I don’t have to pack or unpack a thing! It will all be ready for me – no sense putting things in boxes, I can’t take them with me! I am sure our vision of our Heavenly home front differs from each other. I’ll never forget a dear precious friend who I greatly respected described how she was certain that there would be a room in heaven that was designated for hymns, and she knew that is where she would be hanging out. She has since been called home, and I imagine she is soaking it all in – in the room of hymns! Can we realize that this dwelling is temporary? We were created to be in relationship with our Father. God dwelled among the Israelites in the Holy of Holies. Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell in us. The day will come when we get to finally move back home and dwell amongst God in perfection, as it was intended to be. The table has been set. Your room is being prepared. He loves you so much and is looking forward to your homecoming. Take time and imagine and envision what your eternal home will be like with your Father. He is preparing a place just for you! Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  The Love that Endures For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. Psalm 117:12 I’m pretty sure our youngest child, Jesse, gets what it means to be loved unconditionally. I remember two conversations that reflect his security in our love for him. The first one went something like this…One day he was responding to a situation by fussing, and well, yes, I guess it would be called a fit. At one point I asked him, “Jesse, would you act and respond like this if you were in school?” “No,” he replied as if saying, “I would never do that in school.” To that I asked, “Well, then why do you choose to act like this at home?” His answer, once I let it soak in, made some sense, “Mom, you’re my family!” At first I thought that should make him want to be nicer to his family. But then, like I said, once I thought more about it, I think what he was saying was that because we are family, he can let it out, and he knows that at the end of the day, no matter what, we would still love him and be his family. Which led me to our second conversation. This one started by discussing the behavior of another child (not to judge but to observe and learn – you know, those teachable moments?) We talked about how they were responding probably wasn’t the best choice, and then talked about other possible ways they could have acted instead. Next came Jesse’s wisdom, as well as his way of bringing up a prior teachable moment we had. “Well mom, even though they are being bad, we should still love them. Remember, you told me that no matter what I did, even if I be really really bad, you would still love me. You told me you would love me no matter what!” Well there you have it. This is the type of unconditional love that God has for each one of us, each child, each member of His family. While this is true – I love Jesse no matter what – I found another opportunity to take it a bit deeper. We talked about how my love would never end, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t strive to make good decisions. Jesus loves us right where we are, right in the middle of our mess. He loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to stay in that mess, but offers us clean water to be washed in. His love offers us a way. A way to feel accepted. A way to confess and repent. A way to be comforted. God’s love for you and for me is unfailing. It will never fail. The description of God’s unfailing love is all over the book of Psalms. The kind of love that He has for us can be described in so many ways: sacrificial, enduring, unfailing, unending, wide and long and high and deep. It’s a love like no other! There is a promise tucked in Romans 8:35-39 that confidently describes the unending, inseparable love of God, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I used to have the mindset that in order to BE loved I had to do something first. That IF I do this or say that, or become this, THEN I can be loved and accepted. But that’s just not the way God works. He loves us. Period. He loved us first. We live in a world where the concept of love is so distorted, sometimes so much that it is so overwhelming to consider God’s pure, genuine, unconditional love. It is unfathomable; we feel unworthy. How do you bring yourself to receive the love God has for you? Fact is – He loves you – so the challenge is to find ways to receive His love. If you are struggling with feeling loved, read through the Psalms, look up passages that reveal the love of God, read and re-read the Romans 8:35-39 passage. Set aside time when you can be still and imagine Him loving on you. He is love. He loves to love! He loves you! Write down what you sense is the definition and characteristics of God’s love. Imagine what God would say in a love letter to you. Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  The Father of Compassion Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. II Corinthians 1:3-4 Whitney was about 3 years old when we were at a family reunion, enjoying the family and beautiful weather. Out of nowhere, her cry burst out as we discovered she stepped on and got stung by a bee. Tears ran down her sweet little cheeks while many tried to calm her down. She continually called out, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Her cousins wouldn’t do, not aunts or uncles, and, while this is hard to admit, mommy didn’t even make the cut. It wasn’t until her daddy swooped her up and comforted her that she began to settle down. He hugged her and let her know he was there and it would be ok. While this story could evoke jealousy in me, the mama, instead I will choose to chalk it up as a good analogy to use. We all go through pain, hurts and struggles. It’s inevitable. It’s not IF, it’s WHEN. It’s revealed over and over in His Word, that “God is full of compassion and comfort.” I love Paul’s description in II Corinthians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…” This brings great peace. But how do we feel His compassion and comfort? When we get stung in this life, who do we cry out to? Have we developed an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father to the point that we call out HIS NAME in our time of pain? Or do we turn to other sources? Where do we turn? Are there things we DO to try and ease our pain – eat chocolate, go shopping, draw back in seclusion? We have a Father who is ready for us to come running to Him. This passage goes on to say this in verse 4, “…so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Jesus understands sorrow, and He understands the source of comfort. “…He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’…He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. ‘Abba, Father,’”, Mark 14:33-36. Oh Father, I know you can make this better! And of course, the next line is, “…yet not my will but yours.” Ok, ready for this? Jesus was full of sorrow and deeply troubled about what He was about to face. He called out to His Father, the one He knows well. As much as He wanted to count on His disciples to be there with Him and pray, well, that didn’t turn out so well – they fell asleep! But His Father heard Him. Here’s the Heavenly comfort. Luke’s version of the sorrow in Gethsemane includes this, “An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him!” That is SO awesome! As Luke continues, I notice that His sorrow doesn’t end. It goes on to say, “And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly…” God gave Jesus what He needed when He needed it. If you are deeply distressed and overwhelmed with sorrow, know that your Father in heaven cares. As you cry Abba, Father, keep an eye out for what He will send from heaven to comfort you and strengthen you. How do we feel this comfort from our Heavenly Father? As we turn to Him in our troubles, maybe we experience a peace wash over us – or maybe you wake up in the morning and discover a new sense of strength to persevere. Perhaps the God of all comfort pours a picture of hope in your situation that maybe you haven’t seen before. Sometimes He nudges those who know what you are going through to physically give you a hug and words of encouragement. Have you turned your sorrow over to Him yet? The search for comfort can end as you run into His arms, offering you just what you need, when you need it! Voice your sorrows and pain to Him now. What comfort does He have for you? Is He nudging you to comfort another one of His children? Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  The Family of God Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 I love having one on one conversations with my kids. Having direct focus on each other, learning more about each other's day. But, I also love each night when our family gathers around the dinner table, when we all enjoy talking with each other. Someone shares a story from their day which leads to someone else's day, which reminds someone else of something else and so on and so on. Before we know it, we have sat around the table for an hour and half or more! Just enjoying each other's company, engaging in each other's lives and experiences - I love it! One evening I left our table at home and gathered together with another group of people. This group also gathered around a table. And when we prayed together, I just had to imagine God, our Father smiling - enjoying time around the table, enjoying sharing experiences and conversation with His children - together! Just as I was a joy-filled mother as my family gathered around our kitchen table, God must love it when His children gather together and include Him in on the conversation around the table! I'm sure He desires and loves those one on one times with His children too. He finds great joy in those intimate one on ones, but also loves when His family unites together in conversation with Him! There is lots we have to talk about - and He has much to say to us at the table. There are two perspectives I think we need to consider when we take a look at what the family of God looks like. First of all, we are brothers and sisters in our own congregations, families, neighborhoods. Those we can personally interact with and seek out to share with our struggles and joys. During my journey to Mongolia, one of the main perceptions I was moved by was the acknowledgement and recognition of beautiful brothers and sisters in Christ who are currently living on the other side of the world, but who I will get to spend eternity with in Heaven! The concept of the family of God for me became deeper as this reality set in. While I can’t regularly hang out with these brothers and sisters in person, our Father can nudge me to pray for them. We are not alone. As we experience difficult times, let’s be reminded that we don’t have to go through it alone. We have a family to help us! As we see our brothers and sisters struggle, let’s be an active part of their family and ask our Father how we can walk with them. The second perspective of the family of God is how to get along. Family dynamics. Ok, let’s get it out of the way. When a group of people gather together, there may be times when things don’t go smoothly. (Just for the record, I am not reflecting my own family nor my family-in-law”! Just speaking in general!) Obviously, from the beginning of time, well, at least after the forbidden bite of the apple, conflict in God’s kids was present. Different people who have different opinions who want to do different things in different ways. Paul addressed the Church, the family of God, on these topics. His letters are full of instruction on how to be, not divided, but to be unified. Finding unity in the family is important. Don’t we want our family to grow? This family is made up of humans, and so, naturally, we will be a bit dysfunctional and imperfect. But if this family consists of children of God, who have chosen to believe in Him and live in Him, there should be a common core in Christ, producing a unified voice that proclaims the Truths that God is about. My heart breaks when brothers and sisters are in conflict. When our voice is tainted, muted and divided. I don’t know about you, but I observe some families who, honestly, I would not want to be a part of. On the other hand, there are those I would love to join. I remember when Jay and I were first married and living in Virginia, there was a family we went to church with who we called, “The good family”. The dad was the “good dad”, the mom was the “good mom” and the kids were the “good kids”. You could observe the love and respect they had for one another. We wanted to join them. As we interact as a child of God, in the Family of God, may the relationships reflect God. As individuals who have not yet come to believe, observe our family, do we give them something they long to be a part of, or do we act in a way that leaves them saying, “Why would I want to be a part of that?” I pray with all my heart that we engage in the kind of words and actions as a brother and sister in Christ, that pleases our Heavenly Father, and that requires more seating at the table. As you commune in a one on one time with your Father, what is He saying to you? Voice to Him how you feel. Are there those in the family of God who our Father is putting on your heart? Are there those who you are in conflict with? Who is God nudging you to invite into the family? Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child of God The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  The Child of God “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” I John 3:1 A child of God. What does it mean to be a child of God? I would like to take us on a tour of scripture as we embrace who we are as a child of God. First, let’s see what the Word says about how we become a child of God. John 1:12-13 describes how we receive this right, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Paul writes about being a child of God in his letters to the churches. In Ephesians 1, he describes the blessing God gives us because He picked us. God chose you. He placed you to be adopted as His child! Now let’s go to I John3:1 where John makes this beautiful exclamation. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Now that’s a lot of love being poured out on His children! Speaking of love, I John 4 continues to give perspective of the type and the degree of love God has for us. God loved us first. No “which came first, the chicken or the egg” game here. He loved us first. Out of His love for us, we cannot only experience love, but we have the ability to love others. Sometimes we go through seasons of life where we are seeking our identity. We often will naturally identify someone by either who our family and ancestors are, or we might define ourselves as our occupation. Maybe there are labels we have settled into because of what others have identified us to be. During this time, as we dig into who God is, what Jesus has done for us, and who we truly are, I invite us to give something up. Not chocolate or pop, not Candy Crush or Facebook…I challenge us to give up all labels and all definitions of who we are that are NOT of God. Let’s step into a new and fresh identity as _(your name)_, a dearly beloved child of God. For that is who and what we are. As we set aside everything else, and stand tall in this new identity, all that we say and do and think will be changed – will be made new. Have you ever noticed how children just love when you address them as a “big boy” or a “big girl”? I remember clearly the stage that each of our children went through where they so wanted to do things by themselves. In a sense, they wanted to be independent when they weren't quite ready for the responsibility that came with that. The younger ones want to stay up as late as the older ones. They don’t want to be left out. We are a bit like this. As a child of God, we have some growing up to do. There are seasons of growth and steps that God leads us on as He teaches us. Times when He prepares us, and then we reach a point when He acknowledges we are ready to accomplish certain tasks with Him. On the other hand, I believe each of our children went through a stage of “talking like a baby”. They were old enough to know better, but they would fall into the trap of baby talk. I wonder how often we do that? As a child of God, we have a responsibility to grow and mature. In Ephesians 4:14 Paul challenges us that we need to be equipped and learn so that, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” May we, as His child, continue to receive the abundant amount of love our Father lavishes on us, and continue to grow and mature in our relationship with Him. Consider what areas of life you, God’s child, need to grow in. Write what God is teaching you about. What other labels or names do you need to give up? Describe what it would mean to look at yourself as a child of God. Identity Found in GodThe Father and His Child The Father The Child The Family of God The Father of Compassion The Love that Endures The Heavenly Home Living as a Child of God  The Father As I look back over the years from when my children were just babies to this very day, when they are 7, 15, 16 and 18, I realize a common occurrence. I can’t stop talking about them. At every school I taught, my students were aware of my kids. I would find a moment in my lesson where I could fit in the latest chuckle that came from one of them. My students knew my children because they knew me. Same went for my co-teachers. There was always a new milestone or some worthy story to share in the teachers’ lounge over lunch. The teachers knew my children because they knew me. No matter what job I have, or what season of life our family is in, I share about my kids. Currently, many know our youngest, Jesse, because I share about him on Facebook. I just can’t help talking about my children, who I love so much. Those who never have met Jesse will make comments as though they know him. They know him because they know me. I rarely go anywhere that the mention of my kids don’t come up. I was going to write two separate devotions on God the Father and God the Son. But as I dove into the Gospels to uncover Truths about our Heavenly Father, I discovered God the Father and Jesus the Son were too tightly connected to describe them individually. It became clear that as I sought to define and get to know God my Father, I would do that through the very words and life of Jesus, the Son. God the Father. Jesus made reference to His Father, to our Father, to THE Father over and over again throughout the Gospels. If you were to look up and read every time Jesus made mention of the Father, you soon sense the intimate relationship He has with His Father. He talks about His Father who is always at work, and how all He, the Son does, is done because it is what the Father does. There is so much that Jesus reveals about God the Father – too much to cram into a short devotional. Take a scroll through the book of John and note all the times Jesus talks about the Father. (Seriously, open your Bible up to John and take a look : ) It is so amazing! He can hardly get through a conversation without, at some point, bringing His Father into the discussion. You can just feel the love, the respect, the intimacy, the joy, the bond that exists between Jesus and His Father, God. It’s inspiring! Over and over He tells those around Him how much He knows His Father, and that through Him, we can get to Him. He reiterates this in John 14:6-7 when He says, “I am the way and the Truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” Let’s take a moment to consider what the image of God the Father means to us. Maybe it’s difficult for you to know God in such a way. Perhaps the earthly father figure you had wasn’t such a good experience. There is good news. Jesus came to restore and make new. No human father can live up to our Heavenly Father. Let’s take a look at the attributes Jesus tells us about our Father: John 5:20 The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does John 6:32 God the Father gives us the true bread from heaven (Jesus) The Father’s will is for us to believe in Jesus and spend eternity with them. John 8:26 – The Father is reliable; John 8:28 – The Father teaches; John 10:29 – The Father is greater than all; John 11:42 – The Father always hears us; Psalm 68:5 – He is the Father to the fatherless; Deuteronomy 32:6 – The Father gave life to us; 1 John 3:1 – The Father lavishes His love upon us...there are so many more descriptions of our Father. The Father that Jesus describes so dearly is the very one who is our Heavenly Father. Scripture tells us that He chose us, and adopts us into His family. He is a Father who is accessible. We can get to know Him intimately. Why? How? Well, we can know God, the Father when we get to know Jesus, His Son. Jesus was sent by the Father. He is “in the Father”. He was dwelling with the Father, so, of course He would know Him. So, in turn we can learn and know our Father when we learn from and know Jesus. We can read His words and learn abundantly through His life. But, the Son returned to heaven; He’s not here anymore. Oh… but the Father thought about that too. Jesus described in John 14:26 how our connection can remain strong to our Father. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 16:5-15 is such an amazing picture of the Trinity and the bond and relationship we can have with them! God our Father owns and knows all. All that the Father has, also belongs to Jesus. Since He is no longer on earth, the Spirit now takes from what Jesus has, and fills you in. All, and Jesus emphasizes ALL, that He is about, and ALL that the Holy Spirit is about is ALL That God the Father is about. 3 in 1! AND, we have access! Our Father doesn’t hide from us. He wants to be made known to us. He desires that we come to Him. He has made a way for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is ALL we need. Crawl upon His lap, listen, learn and soak in all the love He has for you! Write down what you sense God desires you to learn about who He is as your Father. Identity Found in GodThe Shepherd and the Sheep ~ The Shepherd ~ The Sheep ~ The Voice of the Shepherd ~ The Art of Listening ~ The Lost Sheep ~ The Path ~ Living as His Sheep  Living as His Sheep “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 Following Christ should be a sacred commitment we make daily. The word, “follow” intrigues me. The original word for follow in this verse is “akoloutheo” which means, “to be in the same way with - to accompany”, “to join one as a disciple”, “to follow one who proceeds”. This Greek word occurs over 90 times in the New Testament. Let’s consider more about this word, “follow”. As humans, don’t we innately follow someone or something? Would you say that we can each pinpoint something and/or someone we follow? Something or someone we accompany? I have often heard the phrase, “following the crowd”. In fact, we caution our children not to just follow the crowd. The word follow can have a connotation feel to it. To follow may seem like you are just tagging along. Following maybe when you are not invited. Following blindly when you don’t even know all about who or what you’re following. Following hoping to become accepted. There is so much in this world to follow, to be in the same way with. And then there are our selfish desires that we follow. Maybe we fall into following the American dream, and pride and greed get in the way. Maybe we find ourselves following our addictions and other sinful natures. There are so many self-satisfying things we can choose to follow. God’s word continually reminds us and challenges us to give these ways up. To deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him. Over and over again Jesus invites us to follow Him. I read that the Greek word for follow goes deeper in these contexts. It comes from a root word that means, “assistant” or “accompany”. So as we read Jesus asking people to follow Him, He’s not just asking for tag-alongs. He’s asking people to come close, to be with Him. Maybe He’s even asking for their assistance. When He asks to follow Him, He’s inviting people to lean in and learn, and listen to Him explain about how to do the Father’s work. He’s reminding us that He’s here with us. How do we live a life fully committed to being His sheep – to commit to live in His flock and follow the Shepherd? By denying ourselves – refusing to give or grant something we selfishly desire – daily. Dying to ourself and the worldly options. Surrendering and giving those up. Allow the Shepherd’s voice you are growing to know more and more to speak words of Truth and direction, giving you the desire and strength to follow Him – to lean in closely to Him and listen. You aren’t a dumb sheep. You are a priceless creation with capability and drive to be led and protected by the Good Shepherd who laid His life down for you. Be all in as a follower of Jesus! What or who are you following instead of following your Shepherd? What cultural crowds or selfish desires might God be asking you to step away from? Spend some time responding to God’s invitation to accompany Him, to lean in and learn from Him. Identity Found in GodThe Shepherd and the Sheep ~ The Shepherd ~ The Sheep ~ The Voice of the Shepherd ~ The Art of Listening ~ The Lost Sheep ~ The Path ~ Living as His Sheep  The Path You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 I confess. I have some control problems. I like having a say in the plan. I like to plan. I appreciate being in the loop of a plan and offering my two cents. This created a problem when my 40th birthday came around. Jay decided to gift me with 40 blessings during my birthday week. Some examples included taking me out to eat, chocolates, tucking the kids into bed, cooking dinner. These weren’t the ones that caused anxiety. As the blessings got to about #30, I learned that we were going to be dropping the four kids off at a friend’s house and then we were going to be going somewhere overnight. I was excited, but, um, as we headed out, I wondered if everything the kids might need actually got packed? I didn’t have a chance to make a list and check them off!?! But, it was out of my control. We dropped the kids off and Jay rushed us back in the car as we had to be somewhere at a certain time. I still had no idea where we were going. We finally reached our destination – Peek n Peak! He pulled up to the front doors and handed me card #31: “A trip to the spa”! Whoa! Wait! What!? I have never stepped foot inside such a place. I was a bundle of nerves! In the midst of my panic, he told me to hop out and head in – they would be expecting me. If I ever experienced a mixed pot of emotions, it was at that moment. Excited, yet afraid of this unknown. I even had a bit of an attitude wondering why he wouldn’t have run this by me first so I could prepare myself. I mean seriously! Instead, I went in cold turkey. I had no control! I stepped up to the counter, stated my name and she smiled and said, “Follow me.” My heart was thumping and my stomach was all twisted up! She gave me instructions (Even though some details were left unanswered in my mind – details of which I will not get into here…) She told me to wait in this glorified locker room type place, and someone would come in and get me. My mind began to swirl as I waited. What if the massage person was a guy? That would be awkward! What if I wasn’t able to lay still? What if I ended up in one of my uncontrollable giggle fits – I AM ticklish!? That would be so embarrassing! I waited, shaking with nerves. The lady came in and directed me to the massage room. I became situated and just as more “what if’s” tried to stir me up, I slowly realized it wasn’t so bad…in fact, I was feeling pretty relaxed…in fact it felt amazingly relaxing! She asked me to get up and I really didn’t want it to end. She led me to another room. While it was another unknown to me, I was beginning to trust that goodness awaited. Here, my face and hands and feet got the royal treatment! I was in heaven! By the end of the whole amazing package, I walked out calm, cool and collected! What an incredible experience. I almost ruined it because of my fear of the unknown and fear of losing control. You see, God has a path that He would love for us to join Him on. He has put things in place, but we have the choice. In John 10:4, Jesus reminds us that, “…He goes on ahead of them (His sheep), and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice.” I am always comforted by this image. As my Good Shepherd says, “Hey, it’s time to go – time to move on…” (which has happened to Jay and I frequently), I can be assured that He is going before me, checking things out, preparing the way. If only I could have rested in the thought that Jay had carefully thought through this spa experience, and the workers at the spa prepared the way for me. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to battle such anxiety, but rather step more confidently and positively. Jesus leads us on a path – paths of righteousness. There will be strange voices who try and steer us off the path. Remember His path is surrounded in goodness and peace. Even if it seems risky, unknown or scary, step with Him. He knows what lies ahead. Read Psalm 23 again, picturing the path our Shepherd leads us on. If you’re sensing His voice calling you to do something out of your comfort zone, you can do it, knowing He will lead you and go with you. A path He may be calling you to take may cause initial anxiety or fear, but if it’s truly Him calling you, you won’t want to miss it. Who knows what kind of peace and “massage” may be waiting. He is our Good Shepherd who leads us beside still waters and green pastures; who is with us, comforting us as we walk through the valleys. “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”. What a promise is found on the Shepherd’s path! I can’t wait to see what I get when I turn 50! Write about what anxieties might be keeping you from experiencing God’s peace. Are you sensing a path that God is asking you to join Him on? What is preventing you from taking that step? Pause and listen to His voice. Allow Him to reassure you that He has gone ahead and prepared the way. Commit to taking the path with Him. |
AuthorVicki Conn Archives
June 2017
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