TargetPoint Volume 30 of 32
Todays Verse/Thought: Don't Run Away From Your Heavenly Dad
Romans 8:15-17 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ . . .
Life Implication:
ABBA. Such an intimate word, for in the Aramaic (Jesus' native language) Abba was like today's English word for DADDY.
It took me a number of years to be able to come to the place where I could have Abba or Daddy intimacy with my heavenly Father. I remember growing up with my dad. We did not have the kind of intimate relationship I would have liked. When he died in 1983 I recall the deep sadness I felt and sometimes still feel when I think of him.
I have come to realize that God's plan has always been for our EARTHLY FATHERS TO MODEL HIM. Oftentimes the GREATEST HINDRANCE for people to see their real heavenly Father stems from dysfunctional relationships with their earthly one.
In my case, the hole in my heart brought about by a less then perfect relationship with my dad was never filled UNTIL I DISCOVERED MY REAL DADDY, my heavenly Father. This discovery has so impacted my life that I now believe an intimate relationship with God is the ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT in life, the secret to everything.
Perhaps you can relate. A close friend of mine had a good Dad, but his Dad was never there for him. He traveled much of the time and when he was home, he ruled with an iron thumb, and literally, a buggy whip. My friend came to know his heavenly Father as his Daddy only after going through a three-year valley in his life. What he learned was invaluable, and something he would never trade, the fact that he could truly depend upon and trust totally his Heavenly Dad!
Life Application:
If you have struggled with understanding the fact that God can be your Heavenly Dad, the only answer is to GET CLOSE TO HIM. How do you do that? The answer is simply to SPEND TIME WITH HIM. The only way I know to do that is to spend time reading your Bible, praying, praising and worshipping Him every day. James 4:8 says, Come near to God and He will come near to you. Begin today to seek that intimacy with Father God, let Him become your Heavenly Daddy.
Tomorrow In TargetPoint:
The State of the Union