365 Days of Praise
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Heavenly Father
“Please be good. It’s Father’s Day.”
The words rolled off Keith’s tongue years ago to our two young children as we hung suspended in a bucket high above the Magic Kingdom. Days earlier we had boarded a flight to Orlando, Florida. Everything from our happy face tee shirts to our hotel had been well thought out. Keith and I were giving Taylor and Lauren the vacation of their dreams. Had it not been for the heat and forty-five minute long lines for what seemed to be forty-five second rides, I think everyone would have been happy. However, human nature’s fussy side showed up even in the midst of Disney waffles and pictures taken with Mickey Mouse.
Somehow Keith’s plea seemed reasonable. “It’s Father’s Day.” In other words, the cards and presents our children had given Keith earlier that morning had been nice. However, the gift for which he yearned was behavior that showed they appreciated being in the Magic Kingdom.
Yesterday, Keith taught our adult class at church. Since it was Father’s Day, he emphasized our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Unlike children’s classes that often make Father’s Day cards for their earthly fathers, we closed the lesson by writing words of thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Father. It was a meaningful lesson. However, this morning as I woke, God reminded me that today is Father’s Day, too.
Lying in bed I pondered that reality. Keith had a right to expect love and behavior appropriate to the Magic Kingdom. Our Heavenly Father has a right to expect love and behavior appropriate to the Heavenly Kingdom. Unfortunately, I often forget the wonderful place to which my Heavenly Father has taken me. Colossians 1:13 reminds me, however. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”
This morning, my Heavenly Father pierced my heart with several truths.
1. Every day is Father’s Day.
2. Matthew 22:37, “to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind,” isn’t just a verse to memorize. I’m to live it from the time I rise until I go to sleep. The morning devotionals I give Him pale if I think and behave as an ungrateful child later in the day.
3. The war between my Father’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom is real. My Heavenly Father calls me to walk wisely; not according to the world, but rather according to His Kingdom. I must be more mindful of this and quick to stand against the enemy or I unwittingly revert to unredeemed patterns of thinking and acting.
4. My behavior is an expression of either my appreciation and love for my Heavenly Father or my callousness to the gift of His Kingdom.
“Please be good. It’s Father’s Day.”
I don’t know in what bucket you find yourself suspended today. However, if you’re a Christian, your Heavenly Father is in your bucket with you. May each of us show by our good behavior and the way we speak to one another that we love and appreciate Him for taking us to His Kingdom.
Love,
Debbie
How R U Doing at EXALTING God?
“Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.”
Hosea 11:7 jumped off the pages of my Bible this morning. Turning from the highlighted words on page 1388, I flipped to page 1387; thinking surely I’d highlighted more than just those words.
As assumed, the first part of the verse was also marked. Hosea 11:7’s black print beamed from beneath the yellow highlight. “So My people are bent on turning from Me.”
I’d love your thoughts. Are God’s people in America bent on turning from Him? Certainly there are a few who aren’t, just as there were in Hosea’s day. However, God made a general statement about the spiritual condition of the nation. Would He say the same thing about many of us today?
What does God explain is the opposite of being “bent on turning from Him”?
Is it calling on Him? No.
It’s exalting Him.
God wants us to exalt Him in our lives. Although exalting Him in worship at church is nice, I don’t think that’s what He’s talking about. I think God wants people to look at us and find Jesus.
What do you think?
Love you,
Debbie