“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying
to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of
Himself, unless it is something
He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the
Son also does in like manner.
For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him
all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so
that you will marvel.” John 5:19-20 (NASB)
Dear
family of friends,
Manhood, and
particularly fathers, have taken an image beating in the American culture over
the last 30 or more years. We have been made to look foolish, even stupid, on a
regular basis. Any TV program that is popular reminds many of that nightly.
And
honestly we have, in far too many cases, had it coming, for we have been out of
the picture. Men, even as making up half of the population, have basically lost
the role they were created to fulfill. They let it go, and now can’t seem to
get it back. I share this from my man’s perspective.
Some of
this action has been the result of what one Bible teacher in the 1970’s called
the “renegade male” – we abdicated our role as fathers and husbands,
concentrated far too much on our daily work, and let the family grow up without
the proper presence of the husbands and fathers on the scene. “Let the women do
it” has resulted in that – the women have done it. For that I am thankful for,
but we have surely missed the absent husbands and fathers.
Our
culture has thus extremely paid the price – men and women from my generation
missed the instruction and correction that fathers were to give. Without that
male model in their lives, our own children have now grown up, many with no
father influence in their lives at all. Maybe they see Dad now and then, but it
is as if they are just another man who they know little about, or receive any
love from at all, other than a material gift or two at a birthday or holiday
time.
In my
recent regular morning Scripture reading, I have been in the Gospel of John (Yochanan
was his Hebrew name, being a Jew.) The Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) has begun
to open my eyes, and my heart, to the many times Jesus (Yeshua) spoke of His
Father.
Jesus had
a special relationship with His Father. Of course, being they are One from all
eternity (which someday we will understand, once fully in their presence) there
is no separation or distance between the two.
And yet, Jesus
spoke, as quoted in John 5:19-20, that His earthly mission depended upon
further knowing, hearing, following and learning from His Father. And as Yeshua
did that, His Father clearly showed Him what to do, when to do it and how to do
it.
You know,
I want that relationship with my Father too. I long to be so close to knowing
God the Father, that I can walk more confidently and boldly in the tasks He has
given me to do. I want that same relationship that Jesus has with His Father,
Who now is also my Father in heaven.
God the
Father, the One who loves us so much that He gave us His Only Son, is committed
to restoring that relationship with us. We may not have received the love,
encouragement and ongoing nourishment from our human limited earthly father,
but we certainly can now from our Heavenly One.
I want to
get to know my Father more. I hope you do too.
Ahava to
my family of friends,
Steve
Martin
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Ahava Love Letter #83 “The
Father” ©2013 Steve Martin
Date: In the year of our Lord 2013
(11/01/13 Friday at 5:30 am in Charlotte, NC)
All previous editions of Ahava
Love Letter can be found on this Blog, and our newest website: Ahava Love Letters
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It has been said that one of our great purposes in life is to give birth to ourselves. We have to find the purpose for which God created us, and allow Him to give birth to it. Along the way, we must be very careful about what we allow to define us.
In recent months, the Lord has had me teach several times on David and Goliath. I've become intrigued with the fact that the name Goliath means "expose; reveal." When the impious Philistine giant came against the nation of Israel, the cowardice of Saul and the Israelites was exposed, while the courageous, warrior heart of David was revealed.
You don't have to let divorce, rejection, disappointment, disability, or any other impious giant define you. The power of the past to dominate your present and determine your future, is broken by the Blood of Christ.