From the Pulpit ................................................................Pages

Owner/Publisher: Rob Wood

2Corinthians 6:18 says, "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty."

This makes me think of my father. Does this scripture make you think of your father? What does Father's Day mean to you? Or better yet, what does the word Father mean to you? To me, it meant a time to give back to my Dad, to show him how much I loved him. He had helped shape me into the man I have become. I remember him teaching me how to ride a bike. He held the bike, then he told me to lean on the barn with one hand until I could find the right combination of balance, which wasn't easy for me; I didn't have good balance as a kid. But after a few times around the barn and a few slivers in my hand, I found the right balance so that I could start riding without help. He would always find a beat up bike, bring it home and fix it up and make it look brand new, and to me that was a brand new bike. They lasted longer than new bikes; he was good at fixing them up.

I also have memories of watching many hockey, football and baseball games on TV with my Dad. To me, that is the way a father should be with their children, loving and caring. For me, the word Father means memories of guidance, provision and love. On the other hand, I know that not everyone has a good father; that is a truly sad thing. Fathers are to take care of us, teach us and be a blessing to the family. Some people experience disappointment with their Fathers, or maybe a father who worked hard to provide was never present in their children's lives. A father should never provoke any of their children. Ephesians 6:4 says, "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." My brother, sisters and I were blessed that way.

A father in the United States had a daughter named Katherine; she had cerebral palsy. She now is 19 years old, but has been in a wheel chair all her life. Her dad, Barry Dean, is a Grammy nominated songwriter for A list country artists, which includes Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, and Martina McBride. Because of his concerns about tipping her wheelchair over, (a common thing where as many as 30,000 people end up going to the hospital every year,) he decided to do something about it.

A few years ago, he started working on a wheelchair with his brother Jered, who is also an engineer. He realized that no one else was working on this problem in any meaningful way, so he started working on a solution for his daughter Katherine.

Working on the wheelchair started out as a hobby of sorts, as they started hacking on Katherine's wheelchair to help her out, and when they were done with her chair, she would have technology to help her. He then developed a functioning prototype that wouldn't let her run into things or drive off steps where she could get hurt. By doing this, it would allow her to go into the backyard by herself.

But unfortunately,

Our Father!

Our Father who is in Heaven loves all of His Children

there wasn't any technology out there for such a wheelchair. So the brothers decided to start a company to bring their invention to the public.

The hardware and software platform mounts onto the wheelchair and it uses sensor fusion technologies to allow the chair to see its environment and it avoids collisions and prevents dangerous drop offs. It also provides unprecedented stability, security and even connects to the cloud. The best thing about this invention is that it can be attached to any wheelchair so you don't have to buy a new chair!

Now that is true love from a father to his daughter. It's all about taking care of those that you love... a father's love for his children. Just like how our Father in Heaven takes care of us, His children. 1 John 4:9-10 says, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

God has many names including The "I AM" and others in the Old Testament, and one is rare, and that one is God as Father, and the Bible talks about God being our Father 250 times.

One of the most powerful Trinitarian and worshipful texts in Scripture is from Ephesians 1:3-14. It says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."

Here Paul tells us of an exalted view of how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit work together in our salvation. Paul said, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (verse 3). In His love for us, the Father, as the gracious Designer, "predestined us for adoption as His children" (verse 5) through His beloved Son Jesus Christ in whom "we have redemption through His blood, and the forgiveness of sins" (verse 7). When we are made sons and daughters in Christ, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, "who is a deposit guaranteeing us of our inheritance (verse 14).

Each one of the Godhead does the job of securing and

activating the believer's salvation. Each of them are powerful and moves closer to the climax of God's saving purpose for the world. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit act in harmony with clear roles in our salvation. The overview is amazing, it will leave us breathless.

Here are some scriptures on the title of Father, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," (Ephesians 1:3). "the glorious Father," (Ephesians 1:17). The "one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all and in all," (Ephesians 4:6). James also describes God as "the Father of light" (James 1:17). 1) Fathers provide - They find joy in giving to their children; the role of fatherhood is to provide. Jesus also used this reality to tell us of the goodness of God when He said in Matthew 7:11, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" 2) Fathers correct - Children don't usually like to be disciplined, but it strengthens us and gives us security knowing that Dad loves them enough to correct their bad behavior. Good parents reflect the fatherhood of God when they administer the short-term pain of discipline to shape their child's character. Hebrews 12:6 says, "For when the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 3) Fathers love - As a parent, you've probably received a little taste of how God feels and how much He loves us as "Our Father in Heaven." When parents gaze into the eyes of a new born baby, they know that, no matter what, they will love that baby. That is how much God loves us, and how He feels about us. 1 John 3:1 says, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should

Our Father!

be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."

God the Father, at one point, was angry with Moses, as Moses had sinned and because of that, he wasn't allowed to enter the promised land. Moses kept asking God if he could just step on the inside of the land, bugging for the same thing all day long. God became angry and said, "Enough!", just like a father would, if their child kept nagging.

Deuteronomy 3:26 says, "But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me: 'Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter."

It was roughly 1,600 years after Moses' death that he was on the Mount of Transfiguration, and he appeared with Elijah and Jesus. Matthew 17:3 says, "And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him."

After all those years, Moses was finally allowed to set foot in the promised land. That shows you how much of a loving God our Father is!

WOOD Ministries

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wood.ministries.2020@gmail.com Writer: Lynne Wood

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