Daily Grace At Jesus` Feet

January 23, 2010

Father to the Fatherless!

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling - Psalm 68:5

David describes our God as a dear Father who is the sustainer of lives. God is portrayed as a gracious, compassionate, Father with full of love and mercy. God is a Father to the Fatherless and is described as a protector of lives, provider of needs, and sustainer of every individual. Everyone who has Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior has a great heavenly Father who will guide till the end. We read in John 1:12, to all who received Jesus Christ and believed in Him, were given the right to be called children of God. Earthly fathers will leave this world one day, but heavenly Father will stay with us and lead us till we leave this world and even beyond in eternity. When earthly father knew how to well treat and lead his child, how much more heavenly Father longs to extend His grace upon His children. Earthly fathers love to talk to their children and love for them to grow and lead their lives in Godly ways. Same way, our heavenly Father longs to have our relationship with Him; He wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him and wants us to get His counsel and talk to Him every day. If you are living with your earthly father or fatherless, our God is your Father. God led and treated David through out his life as his father. HE loved David as His own beloved son, HE admonished David when he sinned, He led David through the wilderness, and He guided David and gave him council during his tenure as a king. We have the same God as our Father through Jesus Christ. Do you know how much He love to talk to you and walk with you and desires to be at the center of your life? Do you know what great plans He has for you to bless you and make you a blessing to so many? All you need to do is take time to talk to Him and hear Him! He will make your crooked path straight. If you do not have an earthly father, take heart in this heavenly Father who alone is the Father to the fatherless. He places lonely in families and gives them the joy and peace (Psalm 68:6).

Before Christ came in to our lives (before we repented for our sins and accepted, Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior), we were slaves to the law. As a master, the law made us feel bad because the demands of the law is so high that we were unable to perfectly perform according to the expected standards of the law. When we follow one thing, we failed in another. That is why we were chained by guilt in us (Galatians 4:1-7). But when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, He redeemed us or justified (forgave) us from the demands of the law by satisfying the demands of the law (through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, His only Son) on our behalf. He took our punishment (that we rightly deserve) on Himself and gave us His very own righteousness and set us free from guilt and condemnation. Once, a man came to a pastor and asked a question, "What should I do to be saved?” The pastor patiently reply, you do not need to "do" anything, because Christ did that 2000 years before in Calvary and paid the price for you sins; simply confess your sins and believe in Jesus Christ, you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10).  Not only God justified us, He made us sons and daughters. God brings us into His family. He takes away the status of us as orphans and calls as adopted children. As His children, He provides us with a new status and a privilege. We now can approach Him as a Father and not as a Judge as previously we might have done. Above all, I can call Him “Abba, Father” or “Dear Father.” He provides for me everything I need and now I have a great opportunity to have an intimate relationship with a heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. He is now my “Emmanuel,” always with me and watches over my life. To top all of these great blessings and also because, I am not a slave but His son, now I have an inheritance, since He made me a co-heir with His elder Son, Jesus Christ. This inheritance is a life with a loving and gracious Father and His family from now and beyond this life through eternity. HE also sent the Spirit of Jesus Christ into my heart and as a great companion to comfort me when I am discouraged, and counsel me when I am in crossroads of making life decision. This Holy Spirit helps me to keep my life in check and enable me to glorify my God through my Christ-dependent living. Though I am Sinless through Jesus Christ, I am not sinless but sin less. Because of my sinful nature, I commit sins in my thought and though I grieve my heart-room mate, Holy Spirit as He sees me right away what I think and I do, He urges me to cry out to “Abba Father” confess and repent and not repeat again (1 John 1: 8-10) and help me to go back on track in my Christian life.

What a great Father I have through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Do you?

Once, a seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Tennessee.  On a particular day as they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma," they answered.

"Great to have you here in Tennessee" the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary," he replied.  "Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you."

And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple and started telling a story.  "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, who's your daddy? "Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.

"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'

"The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, "Who's your daddy'. This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy..."'Wait a minute! he said, "I know who you are, I see the family resemblance now... You are a child of God." With that he patted the boy on his shoulder, and said, "Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it." With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, "I'm a Child of God." The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?" The waitress grinned and said, "Of course, everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"