This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” Romans 8:15 (The Message)

It was the early 1990’s. A room full of teachers sat at long wooden tables in a dimly lit, stuffy room. Magazines lay in disorderly piles on the tables along with glue, several pair of scissors, and large sheets of blank white paper. The instructions were simple: cut out pictures illustrating your view of the character of God and paste the pictures onto the paper, forming a collage.

After a few moments of silence, the teachers – accustomed, of course, to totalitarian-induced obedience – began the project and within thirty minutes, several large posters were complete.

Although the project organizers suspected what might be the general direction of the participants’ choices, they were amazed at the volatility expressed. No cute baby pictures, no frothy clouds, no pastoral scenes. Instead, the formerly blank sheets had overlapping cut outs of atomic explosions, mutilated bodies, storm-ravaged houses, bloody slaughterhouse scenes.

These were people who had not yet heard of the “tender mercy of our God“. (Luke 1:78), or “the kindnesses of the Lord” (Psalm 63:7). They didn’t know that God longed to be known as a tender, loving “Abba,” or “Papa” as Eugene Peterson translates in the word  The Message.

What pictures would you have cut out of the magazines? In Abba’ Child, Brennan Manning writes that we who are Christians have the same relationship with God as Jesus had. “He invites and calls us to share the same intimate and liberating relationship”.

How magnetic our lives could be if we only reflected to the world God’s radical and tender love.

I sometimes forget that the all-wise, all-knowing God is also my “Papa“, a God who longs for me to develop an intimate relationship. Help me, God, to express my love for you and increasingly feel your love for me.

By Marilyn Ehle
used by permission

RELATED READING

• Thanks Papa
• Alphabet of the Father Heart of God
• Never Leave or Forsake You

The post Papa appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Some things just weren’t made to coexist.  Long-tailed cats and rocking chairs? Bulls in a china shop? Not a good idea. Blessings and bitterness? That mixture doesn’t go over well with God. Combine heavenly kindness with earthly ingratitude and expect a sour concoction. Perhaps you’ve sampled it. Gratitude doesn’t come naturally. Self-pity does. Bellyaches do. Grumbles and mumbles–no one has to remind us to offer them. Yet they don’t mix well with the kindness we’ve been given.

Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. 

To reflect on your blessings is to rehearse God’s accomplishments. To rehearse His accomplishments is to discover His heart. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. So practice gratitude!  As Ephesians 5:20 puts it,

“Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

By Max Lucado
From: You’ll Get Through This
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website  
https://maxlucado.com/about/

Further Reading

•  The Attitude of Gratitude  by John Grant

•  Attitude of Gratitude by Helen Lescheid

•  Salvation Explained

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Think of it…

You belong to a God who has no limitations.
He is able to do things for you,
be mighty in you, and bring blessings to you.
His provisions are endless,
His blessings are measureless,
and His generosity is boundless.

All that is in His heart (for you)
flows out in waves of love.
They are sent to touch you, to fill you, and to cover you.
You cannot contain them for they are
more than your mind can imagine,
more than your arms can embrace,
and more than your heart can hold.

“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 1:24-25

by Roy Lessin
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•   A Poem of Hope …”I feel the arms of God around me”

•  More than a Father

•  Salvation Explained

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Your Father’s Heart Longs for You

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” Zephaniah 3:17 

“The Lord Your God is in the midst of you, a mighty One, a Savior—who saves! He will rejoice over you with joy. He will rest in silent satisfaction… He will exult over you with singing” (Amplified).

Your Father’s heart longs for you. Be blessed as you receive His embrace. He loves you in the way you were created to be loved. He has come to overwhelm you with His love. He takes great delight in you. The prayer of Jesus was “Father, let them know deep inside that as You love Me, so You love them, they in Me and I in You” (John 17:21,26 paraphrased). God loves you as much as He loves His Son. His love for you is way beyond anything you can imagine.

Rest in His presence and let His peace quiet your mind. Let His love calm your heart. He is for you. God is mighty to save. He will fight your battles for you. He has said to you, “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.”
(2 Chronicles 20:17).

Your Father smiles at you today. God likes you — today, every day, every moment. Hear Him rejoicing over you with singing. Let His love be the foundation of your life. You are beloved in the complete finished work of Jesus. God delights in showing you His love.

Let go of the past, as you face the future with your Father. Be blessed with joy, peace, and rest in Him. Be blessed with refreshing and renewal in His presence, as you pursue the fulfillment that He has created for you. Be blessed as He gives you victory and rejoices over you.

By Sylvia Gunter
Used by Permission

From: www.thefathersbusiness.com

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