Calling God “Father”
Calling God “Father”
Week 4, Day 4
When God revealed Himself to Abraham, the father of our faith, He revealed Himself as El Shaddai—God Almighty. So when Abraham prayed to God, and so did his son Isaac and his son Jacob, they all called God the Lord Almighty, our God Almighty.
When God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush, and Moses asked, “What is your name?” God said, “My name is Yahweh. It is by the name Yahweh that you and future generations to come will know Me.”
But you can imagine how startling and radical it must have seemed when Jesus was talking to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus said,
When God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush, and Moses asked, “What is your name?” God said, “My name is Yahweh. It is by the name Yahweh that you and future generations to come will know Me.”
But you can imagine how startling and radical it must have seemed when Jesus was talking to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus said,
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’
Father.
When God Almighty revealed Himself to you through His Son Jesus, He said, “This is what I want you to call Me: Father.”
God wants you to call Him Father because He loves you so much and you are His children. In 1 John 3:1 it says,
When God Almighty revealed Himself to you through His Son Jesus, He said, “This is what I want you to call Me: Father.”
God wants you to call Him Father because He loves you so much and you are His children. In 1 John 3:1 it says,
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
God says, “I want you to call Me Father because I love you and you are My children.”
Now there are some of you who, when you think of the word “father,” it doesn't bring up really good positive feelings for you. Maybe your earthly dad was difficult. Maybe he was cruel. Maybe he was strict. Maybe he was mean. Maybe he was harsh. Maybe he was even abusive. Maybe he was absent. So when you think of the word “father,” you don't think of good feelings.
But you don't need to compare your heavenly Father to your earthly father. Your earthly father may not have been a good example. What you need to do is renew your mind. You need to get into the Scriptures. You need to look at the Gospels and specifically study the person of Jesus. For Jesus said, “When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”
And as you study and look at the life and person of Jesus, your mind will be changed and be renewed, so that the day will come that when you cry out “Father,” you will feel the love that He has for you.
Now there are some of you who, when you think of the word “father,” it doesn't bring up really good positive feelings for you. Maybe your earthly dad was difficult. Maybe he was cruel. Maybe he was strict. Maybe he was mean. Maybe he was harsh. Maybe he was even abusive. Maybe he was absent. So when you think of the word “father,” you don't think of good feelings.
But you don't need to compare your heavenly Father to your earthly father. Your earthly father may not have been a good example. What you need to do is renew your mind. You need to get into the Scriptures. You need to look at the Gospels and specifically study the person of Jesus. For Jesus said, “When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”
And as you study and look at the life and person of Jesus, your mind will be changed and be renewed, so that the day will come that when you cry out “Father,” you will feel the love that He has for you.
APPLICATION:
The Almighty God wants you to call Him Father.
- Ask our Heavenly Father to move on the hearts of many in our church to join our prayer ministry so they can be part of Advancing the Kingdom through prayer.
- Pray that the Lord will raise up new connection group leaders so new groups can be started that will help disciple the precious people God is going to give us.
- Pray that for each member of our church family to discover where God has gifted them and to find a place of ministry where they can use that gift to advance His kingdom.
Posted in Advancing the Kingdom Daily Devotionals