Knowing God - Our Father Gives Grace and Peace

Philem 3

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father ......

God is our Father, if we have received Christ and become children of God.  We are told over and over again that our Father gives peace.  It is from having Him as our Father that we have the peace we need.  Take a moment and read how many times our God wrote this to understand the fact that He really wants us to know this:

1 Tim 1:2  Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father

2 Thess 1:2… Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father…

1 Thess 1:1Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,…

Col 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father…

Phil 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father…

Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father,…

2 Cor 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father,…

1 Cor 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,…

Rom 1:7Grace to you and peace from God our Father…

It is from the favor, or grace, we have with God as our Father that we have the peace and lack of restlessness we might tend to move towards.  Enjoy God as your Father today knowing that, the favor and peace we so need comes from Him!

Knowing God - He Will Hold Your Right Hand

Isa 41:13

 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

The Lord understands that we face things that make us afraid.  When the Lord tells us that we are not to fear, He doesn’t mean that we aren’t allowed to experience fear in response to something.  The Lord is letting us know that the fear is not to determine our decisions or keep us back from what He is asking us to do in response to the fearful situation.  Here, the Lord is letting us know that He will hold our right hand.  The right hand often represents authority and decisions.  It represents the choices and direction we will take.  He wants to hold our right hand and give us the help we need to not be led by fear in a fearful situation.  He wants to order our steps and He wants to be what we sense present stronger than that which has elicited fear within us.  Our Lord knows our frame.  We will fear, but when that fear comes we must consciously yield our instinct to His leading and trust Him to lead us.  Our fearful condition makes us vulnerable to the enemy’s suggestions.  Remember, when you are afraid, the Lord your God will hold your right hand and He will help you.

Proverbs - God Has Raised Us

Proverbs 29:21

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child

shall have him become his son at the length.

The Lord delicately brings us up as his servants from our youth and we end up falling in love with Him.  Many of us used to think of the Lord as a hard driving master but He ever so delicately revealed His love and sacrifice that we might know Him as our Father.  As we cooperate with His parenting we will be better established as His children and less prone to see Him as a driving Master.  Remember all He has taught you and how his training has been delicate and kind, always motivated by love and consistent with His holiness and graciousness.

Knowing God - He is MY Father

Jer 3:4

Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me,

My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

The Lord asks His people will they, from now on, cry unto Him.  Will they not call Him their personal father and their guide in their youth?  The Lord is reminding us that we need a Father at all ages.  He wants us to call Him “MY Father”.  The Lord wants us to remember how He guided us when we were young.  Because He is our Father and has been our guide, we need to cry unto Him as a Father and as our guide.  We can take the time today to address Him in this way and watch ourselves rest as His children.  As we tell Him how He has guided us when we were young, we can be confident that He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  The same God who guided us in the past, is the same God who will guide us today.  He is my father and the guide of my youth