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By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
“HEY DAD! LOOK WHAT I CAN DO? See, I can make this swing go REEEEAL high!” “Yeah Shug’, I see that,” came my father’s muffled voice from under the hood of our car. “See me now Dad? Dad see! My sisters can’t do this I bet. Dad, do you see me? Watch, I’ll do it again. Dad see?” “Yes, I see. Hey, has Mom seen you do that yet? Why don’t you show her too.” (Bless his patient heart!) As great of a father as I had, he was not a perfect man. And with older siblings, I felt like I had to constantly compete for his attention. I had to be the funniest, wittiest, most talented, or the most disobedient to gain the spotlight. (Of course, those were all lies from Satan!) Because of this misconception, I formed of a father figure, for a period of time I basically approached God in two different ways.Drive-through prayers: In case of an emergency I would place “my order” and speed away as fast as possible before he could tell me “NO!” or how displeased He was with me about something I did or didn’t do. Then I entered my confessional “camp out” phase.I would go before Him, pull up a chair, and proceed to go into great detail how I failed Him in so many areas, followed by my promise to make things right in the future. (I wonder if He feared this time as much as I did.) Of course, I would quickly end with a blurted out, “.. in the name of Jesus, Amen.” But then I began to receive a revelation of our Father’s love.I’m going to adlib a bit to try to explain what took place in my heart.I had just finished having another “conversation” with God where He couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but right after the customary “sign off” I was surprised to hear a soft voice inside ask, “What did you just say, Brenda?””Huh? Sir? Oh, I was just telling You that I was sorry for … wow, I like it when you call me by my name, that’s cool … anyway I was just saying that I was very sorry for not putting my cart up at the store.” “No, I mean that other thing you said.””Uhh, oh about how I apologize for falling asleep again reading the Bible and …”” No. What’s the very last thing you said to Me.””You mean, “in the name of Jesus?””Yes. And Brenda, I want you to know this. Because of Him … you had ME … at Amen.”That is when I quit coming before our Heavenly Father with my arms folded across my heart to protect it. But, it has occured to me that when I talk about God as a loving Father in my columns there are some people who did not have a good father, or even a father figure in their life at all. Even if you had a Dad who loved and supported you, they are not perfect, and always easy to relate to. Yet, we have a Heavenly Father who is always faithful, and keeps ALL of His promises. Numbers 23:19A Heavenly Father who is never angry with you, or disappointed in you. Romans 8:31, Jeremiah 31:3A Dad who is always willing to answer your prayers according to His word, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 1 Cor. 1:20 He is a Father who is patient with you and kind towards you. Psalm 100:5, Roman’s 2:4He always has time for you. Philipians 4:6-7A Father who is never too busy with more important things, in truth His thoughts are always about you and He will never leave you or abandon you. Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 139:17-18, Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5How about a Dad who is rich in mercy and grace. Psalm 145 8-18Who has supplied all of your needs according to His loving kindness. Psalm 51:1A Dad who didn’t just hang the moon, He created it. And the sun and the stars, the heavens and the earth. Gen. 1-14And how about a Father who will never remind you of your faults and failures. Psalm 103:12, 2 Cor. 5: 19-21Who’s very nature is love. 1John 4:16Since I can trust Him with my salvation through Christ Jesus, then I can trust His faithfulness to remain faithful to me even when I am not faithful to Him. 2 Tim. 2:13Now, I can come running boldly before Him with arms wide open, because of what Jesus did for me. Our relationship is no longer based on what I can do for Him.No matter how badly I mess up, or how stupid I feel over something I have said or done. God is not shocked or fallen off of His throne!!God does not love us for who we are, but in spite of who we are.The truth is ….For God so loved “Trump” For God so loved ‘Biden” For God so loved “Mother Teresa.” For God so loved “Hitler.” For God so loved, “Princess Diana.” For God so loved “your next door neighbor who trashes up his yard.” For God so loved “your boss.” For God so loved “your son-n-law.” For God so loved, “your mother in-law.” For God so loved, “the drunk driver who killed your wife and child.” For God so loved, “the Pope.” For God so loved, “your co-worker.” For God so loved, “your ex-wife.” For God so loved, “your ex-husband.” For God so loved, “the child molester.” For God so loved, “the gang members down the street.” For God so loved, “the homeless man” For God so loved, “the rich man”For God so loved, “your father and mother”For God so loved, “the human seed of life in a mother’s womb” For God so loved, ” ….. you.” ,,,,, that He gave His only begotten Son that WHO SO EVER believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16You know, as it turned out, with my Dad ( and Heavenly Father) all I had to be to gain their attention …. was me. And all I had to do to be reconciled to God and become His child was to believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for my sins and was resurrected. I received Him right then as my Lord and Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit. This was only the beginning of a beautiful friendship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three separate and all three One is now living inside me.(John 3:16; Hosea 11:12; Romans 10-10, 1 Cor. 1:9; Eph. 1:7; 2:4, 4:3; Psalms 73:23-24,103,139:17; 2 Cor. 1:20; Gal. 5:22; Heb. 13:5; Phil. 4:19; 1 John 4:8 NKJV) Readers: I would like to share two messages that really taught/touched my heart recently. They are teachings by Robert Morris called “The Person of Prayer” and “Are You Born Again.” You can Google “Robert Morris Sermons” (Gateway Church) and scroll his website to find them. Thank-you and I love you! Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com |
