The Character of Abba Father’s Heart

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“He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…” Mathew 18:2-3

A good friend of mine was sharing about his 3 year old, Andrew. He said one of the greatest things about coming home from work is the greeting he receives from his son at the door. When Andrew sees his dad at the end of day he is full of hugs, his face lights up with joy, and he talks non-stop as he runs to the arms of his daddy. Andrew wants to go wherever his daddy goes and do whatever daddy does. For Andrew daddy is everything, his world is complete when daddy comes home.

It with great excitement that I begin this new blog series, The Character of Abba Father’s Heart. This subject is the passion and vision of Oceans Ministries. I also believe it to be the #1 passion on the heart of Jesus, he desires to demonstrate to a spiritually-orphaned world what His Abba (Daddy) Father is like. That is why Jesus makes that outlandish declaration in the verse above, to get into the Father’s Kingdom you need to “become like little children.” Little children who, like Andrew, totally trust and find absolute delight in being with their daddy. Jesus during his life on earth continually revealed what this child and Abba Father relationship is to look like, and his greatest desire is that we experience that same relationship with the Father for eternity. Read Jesus’ prayer in John 17.

My heartfelt prayer for this series is that you will become like little Andrew, whose world is complete when Daddy comes home. I earnestly hope that the heart of Abba Father will be revealed to you and you will be able to trust Him completely as a 3 year old fully trusts in the love of his daddy. For many, because of a poor father image or the outright lies of Satan about the character of Father God, this subject can be painful. Our first view of God is seen through our earthly father and if that relationship was strained or nonexistent the tendency is to run away from any concept of God being Father, or to be terrified of having a relationship with Him.

Yet, as said earlier, the goal and mission of Jesus was to reveal to you exactly who God the Father is. Ultimately, this is the most important relationship you will ever have and will fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8). So I challenge you to join in and discover the “Daddy” that your soul has been created to know.

My prayer this week comes in the form of a song sent to me by my daughter it is called “Good, Good Father” by The Housefires. What a great theme song as this blog series begins!

Good, Good Father

Shouting Shoes – Journey Deeper

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“I’m going to shout about that…!” Received this quote from an email yesterday. This person is facing some spiritual Jericho’s and decided to put on their “shouting shoes” and praise God for His past faithfulness as well as the victories to come. Yes!!! This is where the journey of faith should lead us. Put on your “shouting shoes” and declare the praises of our Father God and all the victories that belong to us in His Jesus.

What is the Jericho you are facing today? Family problems, a difficult person at work, uncertainty about the future, health issues, an addiction, intense spiritual warfare, etc?

Try this, shout out the name of Jesus as loud as you can. Now, this works fine when you are home alone or driving by yourself, but if the shouting could cause someone to have a heart attack you may need to shout in your soul. It really doesn’t matter where or how you shout, but do take a moment to declare Jesus as the crucified, risen, reigning King of kings who has defeated the grave, sin, and our enemy Satan.

When you shout His praise or sing it around your Jericho, you put on the Gospel shoes and cause the gates of hell to crumble and your enemy to flee in fear of the great name of Jesus. Read Matthew 16: 16-18. His Kingdom grows in you and around you as you continuously shout out His praise in faith. Psalm 22:3 says, “God is enthroned (or inhabits) the praises (shouts) of His people.” God the Father will move in your heart and mind to break through strongholds as you shout His praise.

So on the count of 3 shout the name of Jesus, declaring His victory over your situation  1,2, 3 ………………! Remember how importance it is to share God’s victories in your life with others, just like the email encouraged me in my faith!

New Blog Series:

Next week Tuesday a new blogs series The Character of Abba Father’s HEART will begin. I am excited to share this with you as this is at the heart of vision of Oceans Ministries. So appreciate your prayers for Oceans Ministries as God continues to open doors to make His Great Name known around the world.

 

A Journey of Faith – Shouting Shoes

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Back in December my daughter Anna needed new basketball shoes and we ended up purchasing Nike Kobe, named after the well known Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant. What a great marketing technique to get people to buy the same footwear as Kobe, inspiring players to think and hope that maybe, just maybe, wearing his shoes will help them play like him! Unfortunately Anna still can’t slam dunk a basketball, but the cost was worth it since her Achilles tendon is healing and she has been able to return to the court.

In our faith journey, we are given the Father’s shoes and our goal is to imitate His son Jesus. Jesus removed his sandals for us and gave up his life by dying on the cross so that we can stand in victory. He conquered our strongholds and gives us spiritual strength to go on. Last week we read that Joshua was commanded to take off His shoes in submission to the Commander of the Lord’s army (Jesus) and die to himself, so that he could ultimately follow the Father’s plan.

The Father’s shoes certainly don’t match those of our culture in style, color or in our idea of what we consider footwear necessary to win. Notice God’s plan for victory:

“I have delivered Jericho into your hands…. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priest blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout, then the wall of the city will collapse…” (Joshua 6:2-5)

These marching orders are the same for us today. The Father has already “delivered” your Jericho into your hands. Your Commander of the Lord’s Army secured your victory at the Cross. Put on His shoes and follow in His steps around the spiritual strongholds in your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the True Priest, and know the Holy Spirit dwells not just with you like the Ark of the Covenant, but in you.

Can you hear the greatest victory shout trumpeted out for the entire world to hear, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Satan and the strong holds of our sin have been overcome by the Cross forever. There is just one more thing you are commanded to do, shout praise to your God in faith for your victory and watch the walls of your Jericho come tumbling down!

Taking off your Shoes – Journey Deeper

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What was the greatest victory ever won without shoes? If you guessed Jesus’ death on the cross give yourself a thumbs up. Like Joshua before him, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will for His life and was crucified without shoes. A powerful symbol for us today about how to gain victory in our daily battles.

Jesus overcame–Satan, our sin, the demonic strongholds of the world–through surrender. When it appeared like He was doing nothing by dying a meaningless death, He was transforming everything. Jesus shares that our journey of faith starts with daily dying as well: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” (Luke 9:23).

Before we can truly “follow” we must surrender our shoes and join Jesus in a death to self, to become nothing to gain everything, Jesus in us.

Join me in a prayer of taking off:

Dear Father today I take off my shoes, dying to my will and surrendering to yours. I give you my plans tainted with my pride and seek to listen to your heart for me. Lord help me to empty my self of all the distractions, fears for security, self-preservation, and worldly longings, so that I can be filled with the life of King Jesus. Father help me to understand that what the world calls “a waste of time,” you see as the most important component of my life, kneeling before your presence. I praise you that as I’m again crucified with Christ this day you have already gone before and guaranteed the victory, Amen!

A Journey of Faith – Taking off your Shoes

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“Take off your shoes!” If you were a player in a game and your coach said that to you, wouldn’t you think it was a crazy request? How could you be expected to play well without shoes? Yet, in Joshua 5:15, God commands Joshua to do just that. Why? Because this is where true faith wins the victory over the enemy.

Here are 3 reasons why I think it important for Joshua, and for each of us, to remove our spiritual shoes once in a while:

1) It is God’s battle and not ours: In vs. 13 Joshua was looking at Jericho and probably saying to himself, “How on earth can an untrained army, with no real weapons, take on one of the strongest walled cities in the region?” Just then God showed up in the form of the “commander of the Lord’s army,” (many think this is the pre-incarnate Jesus).

Notice when Joshua asks “whose side are you on?” The “Commander” with the drawn sword says “neither.” Meaning He was not there to take sides but to take over.

2) God wants you to know His presence and provision is all you need to overcome the enemy. The victory wouldn’t come through great feats of men with all the right weapons, rather the enemy would be defeated by the living presence of God and His heavenly army.

3) Victory starts with reverent submission to the will of the true Savior. When Joshua realized he was in the presence of God “he fell face to the ground” and asked, “What message does my Lord have for His servant?” (vs. 14)

God’s response was “take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did, (vs.15), he took off his sandals AND victory was won. It was won before it happened. It was won with the act of full surrender to the will of God.

Lately, I find myself spending too much time focusing on my Jericho. AND, with that I become just a little bit anxious at the over-sized walls and its laughing enemies that taunt my weakness. How this story brings me back to the truth that it has nothing to do with my shoes. In fact, He wants me to take them off and behold the Holy One declaring that the battle belongs to Him; His presence and provision are all I need. I surrender to His plan for victory.

Will you join me this week in taking off your shoes and looking away from your Jericho, so that you can fix your eyes on the True Commander and Chief, Jesus Christ. (Hebrew 12:2) It is through this act of true faith that our victory over the enemy can be won.