Are you fatherless??????

Good morning all! I went to a meeting last night in Knoxville and as people shared around the room I listened intently. I heard so many saying that their children were pretty much fatherless. The fathers of their children weren't around or didn't have time for their children. I have to say that it broke my heart. The reality of it is that the world is filled with this. As I drove home, I prayed that these children would find comfort somewhere. Then as I lay in bed, my mind was flooded with the thought "There are so many "Fatherless" people everywhere. Not just of an earthly father but, of a heavenly father also. That brings me to today's Bible verse. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it can show us.........

Bible Verse: Romans 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

You may be reading this and have never gone to church. And when I say you can have a heavenly father it sounds like a different language. So, what does it mean to be God’s child, to be able to legitimately call Him father? Here's the thing, too often Christianity is presented as a contract or a set of rules between a person and God: “Just sign here, here, and here, and all your sins will be forgiven and you can go to heaven when you die.” Man, it’s much more personal to God than that. He’s not a used car salesman selling something we need. He’s not looking for buyers. What He is looking for are children. He has given us the “Spirit of adoption.” He’s looking to fill His family with lost kids and adults by making them His kids.

Aside from Jesus, God has no biological children. Now, some of you may have grown up in the church nursery, but you were not born into God’s family just by being born. I know that some feel that they were raised up in church so they are good to go. I am sorry to tell you today that, that won't cut it. We have to be adopted to become a child of God. We have to accept Him as our Savior and once we were in the family, He gave us the right to call Him “daddy.” Is that something you can do today? Can you call Him "daddy"?

I am reading a great book by J.I. Packer "Knowing God". This is a bit from it that might help. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God. … Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption. (pp. 201—202). Have a great day and God bless.