Heart of Father and Son!
Fathers beget sons! The Bible is a Father/Son book. From Adam begetting Cain and Abel, to Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was thought to be the father of Jesus! But as the narration goes on, it makes clear Joseph goes back to Adam, who was the son of God. Another words, God created Adam, who was created in the image of God. But Jesus, came not only as a man, born of a woman, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, through the power of God, keeping her virginity intact! Another words, Jesus was 100% man in the flesh, and 100% Emmanuel: GOD with us!
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2.
After Adam begat many sons and grandsons, finally Noah and his sons were born. But by that time, all the men of that time were so wicked and evil, even God was finished with them. But Noah, found grace in the eyes of the Lord! But after the flood, Noah gets drunk and curses one of his sons…. What was the issue all along, was brought onto the ark…broken men! Ugh! The whole thing is recorded in Genesis 9:18….10! Ugh!
Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Joseph
Then God engages Abraham and his sons down the line. However Godly these men were, they were less than ideal. That being said, we admire things about them, that we can learn from them. The lesson we can best learn, God calls broken men into relationship with Him. God loves us and wants us to be in relationship with Him. Ultimately, God calls Abraham the Friend of God! It doesn’t get better than that in relationships! Amazingly, we see the strengths of these fathers in their devotion to worshipping the LORD, is passed on and caught by their sons. However, in the same way, the ominous reality is, so are their faults and weaknesses.
JESUS desires to call us Friends! (John 15) What an amazing heartwarming-cool-of-the-day relationship He desires with us? Jesus comes demonstrating what it is to be in Warm heart felt relationship with His Father! This is what Jesus demonstrates to us, that we can also have that some ABBA/Son relationship with our true Father in heaven.
On Emmaus Road later, as Jesus walked with two of His disciples unrecognized, they said of Jesus later as they had walked and talked with Him, “Did not our hearts burn within us!” They were captivated talking the Wonders of God! Walking with the resurrected Christ, in a cool-of-the-day relationship, warming the heart!
David, also, a man after GOD’s Heart, wrote many heart-felt Psalm out of his heart for God, and God’s Heart for David. As we read them, our own hearts are engaged and weep, laugh, rejoice at the amazing beauty of the expressions of the Heart of God for us!
Elijah-Elisha… My Father… Prophetic Pictures! However, amazing these men’s hearts were for God, they heard, spoke, moved in power with God, and were like fathers in their voice for the nation of Israel. Elijah and Elisha also had a similar and familiar like, father and son relationship. JESUS had this same relationship with 12 men. Same and greater yet!
Malachi ends with stern warning, unless God cause the hearts of men to return to God as their True Father, a curse remains. JESUS came demonstrating in every way possible in word and deeds, signs, wonders, miracles, the Presence of JESUS is the Presence of ABBA in every way!
It is the broken, contrite, humble, who saw and heard Jesus, and received Him! The ones who were poor, blind, naked, who could see, hear and touch Jesus in faith, were healed! God alone has the power to forgive sins and heal the multitudes of sickness, and the broken hearted. Isaiah 61.
When chatting with men, there are a few men, who disagree with me and respond, that their father was a good man! “My father loved me!” But look closer, I ask: tell me some stories of you and your father! They will begin the defense of their father as good telling me stories of what he said… he would do… but didn’t at the end of the day, under closer analysis! But my father was a good man…but!
Amazing, in every culture, with very few exceptions, men tell me their father never said: “I love you!” I know they loved me, but never said it! Hummm! What the soul needs is “I love you-son; You are my son, I am proud of you-son; I am pleased with you-son!”
After faltering around, I ask, tell me something bad about your father, however hard. Once we start to share the pain…it becomes like a river…! This is an area of conversation I want to be the loser! But as I listen, they share their pain of disappointment, fear and shame!
The curse! We look to men for examples! There are no perfect examples. Even leaders of all kinds, prop themselves up as the ideal example! And when they fall, great is the crash! The carnage is too great! Why? Because they put themselves up as the ideal example, the model! How arrogant! Like idols, we are all made the same, from the same dirt! We have hands and feet and can only work as men can! Jesus alone is the ideal man to strive to pattern our lives. Malachi 4.
In the Bible, we use men as examples, but in truth we can use them for one example or another, but not across the board. Even Moses, David, whoever you use, we can find fault with them is different areas of their lives. That is what is so amazing about the Bible, it tells the truth. Pointing to Jesus-The Truth! John 14.
The bane of the day, is leaders using themselves as the example of manhood, and not the one and ONLY MAN who was perfect in every way: JESUS! All Men are flawed at best! All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God! Romans 3:23. How much more humbling, knowing we are flawed, saying, JESUS alone is the One to See, Hear and Follow!
Imagine, JESUS, and the individual just caught in the act of adultery, being brought to Him? What is Jesus response? He doesn’t “look” at her, but turns His eyes down. He, in a true act of love toward her, does not humiliate her further! Sound familiar for you?
When you came to JESUS, full of filth, dirty, shaking at your own shameful capacity for sin, and fall in brokenness before God; waiting for the tongue lashing, kicks, abuse, belittling, and mocking, and wait… for the other foot to come down as the “last time!”
And you wait… and suddenly, in the fear and trembling, you hear God say to you, “My son, I love you!” You are crushed in His amazing mercy, grace, love and you run at Him! Can God be this good? You didn’t know God this way! Can it be true? God is good and His merciful kindness endures forever! Amazing Grace!
In Malachi 4, the last verses in the Old Testament, ends with these startling words;
2But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; And you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves… 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 6And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
JESUS will come; like the Sun! He comes with healing in His wings. JESUS came doing amazing miracles of healing, signs, wonders, manifesting the Love of God, His Father!
Elijah-John the Baptist, that last great Old Testament prophet, came introducing JESUS! He came to bring us back to loving relationship with a loving Father. JESUS came demonstrating in every way the heart of ABBA for His Sons and Daughters. With message of repentance and returning to Him; the Kingdom of God is here!
If we do not return, we are already under the curse! JESUS came to deliver us from the curse of sin and broken relationships with ABBA!
Imagine Romans 8, in the Bible, is about the earth groaning for the restorations of the Sons of God! Until we are restored into ABBA/Son relationship, we abide under the shadow of death, fear, evil that continues to steal, kill, and destroy all parts of our lives, hopes, dreams, and displacing them with fear, shame, guilt, disappointments and rubble. It is like sands of life and time, sifting through our fingers.
Luke 15 an amazing picture of restoration, for us as sons to ABBA; Stop! Look up! Come to your senses! ABBA is now waiting-He has always been waiting! Look up-SEE JESUS! Listen-His voice says: “Come!”
ABBA is not like our natural fathers, nor leaders of men or religion, who see with natural eyes! God’s ways and thoughts are not like ours! He is much better than we can ask or think!
Isaiah 55; What amazing love; forgiveness; restoration! So amazing, how ABBA is seen running to His prodigal son, and same love toward His contemptuous religious son. To both He goes out to seek and to save, He goes! If we do not respond, we abide under the curse of brokenness of our own making! This is us, broken, at our best! We cannot clean ourselves up enough for Him! We have to come as we are, and it is JESUS CHRIST who cleans us up! It is His Goodness that leads us into repentance. Isaiah 53.
It is this, His loving-kindness, the world needs! Come! JESUS stands at the door knocking, waiting for us! Answer Him: “Come in!”
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8.
Prayer: “Jesus Come! Come Save; Deliver; Change me! Give me Your Holy Spirit!”
“Come to Me: My Beloved Son!”
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