I’ve seen pictures of my dad as a boy that look exactly the way I did at that age. People tell me that they recognize my son from behind because he walks just like me.
Yes, children have the nature of their parents built in, and they also learn to act like them. It’s the same for us as God’s children. We have our heavenly Father’s loving nature inside, and we can learn to act lovingly like Him. You can be just like your Dad!
Since we have God’s love, there are so many ways we can give and serve. So where to begin? Romans 12 has a simple list that shows us how to carry out that logical service to our heavenly Father, Who has poured forth His love into our hearts. Love is at the foundation of our actions.
(Sung to the tune of “Ode to Joy” by Ludwig van Beethoven)
Jesus Christ is our Passover,
Shed his blood and died for you.
Now in him we have forgiveness
By his stripes, our healing too.
Wash the debt of sin and sickness
Hurt and sorrow all away.
We rejoice for he is risen;
He’ll return for us someday!
As we eat the bread that’s broken
Like his body, bringing health;
As we drink the cup of his blood,
Saving grace beyond all wealth.
He has given from the Father
All we need to reign with Him.
Jesus Christ is our Passover,
Healing lord who conquered sin!
For more information on the forgiveness and healing we have through Jesus Christ as our Passover, please click here.
How wonderfully our God shows the challenges and victories in marriage as we read the Book of Genesis. We learn that Adam and Eve forgave one another, Noah and his wife faithfully obeyed God’s command to save life on the earth, Abraham and Sarah believed God’s promise to have a son in whom all nations would be blessed, and Isaac and Rebekah walked with God to help their son, Jacob, overcome the hateful attacks of his brother Esau.
During this time of year, many people think back on Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. They are reminded of his last supper and how he instituted “holy communion” as a memorial of what he would accomplish.
In Genesis Adam and Eve forgave one another, Noah and his wife faithfully obeyed God’s command to save life on the earth, and Abraham and Sarah believed God’s promise to have a son in whom all nations would be blessed. Here we will learn from another married couple, Isaac and Rebekah, and their walk with God when faced with challenging situations.
We all face hardship and failure in this life. But what really matters? Spiritually, we have Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). What the world may consider failure, is actually great victory!
We have seen how Jesus Christ stretched himself out in prayer and love. He studied the Old Testament to see that God wrought deliverance when His people seemed to be failures. He knew that his heavenly Father would give him the victory, despite the worldly opinions of men.
If Jesus Christ could be considered the greatest failure of all time from a worldly viewpoint, he had many examples in the Old Testament that also looked as if they had failed. When faced with doubt and confusion about his own success, Jesus Christ had an immense wealth of scriptures to keep his heart at ease with God’s true perspective.
When we were dating, and long before we were engaged, Sherry and I talked about having children. It was something we both wanted. We even picked out names for our future kids (I still remember a little list we made). Once we were married for a couple of years, we began to practically anticipate parenthood. But nothing happened. And yes, we knew how to make babies.