Here are my teaching notes for Wheeler Homeless Mission tonight on this Father’s Day:

The one great yearning of the heart of God is to be a Father and this was His great and earnest desire since the beginning of time. God as a Father is one of the most amazing truths in the entire Bible as the whole purpose of God restoring the earth after the fall of Lucifer from heaven was to have children that He could cherish and be their Father. E.W. Kenyon, inThe Father and His Family, says:                           

What is the reason for the earth? …The heart of the great Creator God had a yearning, deep, mighty, eternal. It was the primordial passion for children. The Father heart of the Creator God longed for sons and daughters. The yearning passion took form and God planned a universe for His Man, and in the heart of that universe He purposed a Home…When love laid the foundations of this mighty universe, He planned, He purposed it all to be the Home of His Man. It was to be Man’s birthplace, Man’s Garden of Delight, Man’s university where he would learn to know his Father God…God’s heart yearned for children, craved for sons and daughters. He had angels to minister to Him as servants, but He wanted children…What a place that Man must hold in His heart, in his dream, in His Eternity!

Adam and Eve were formed, made, and created to live in the fullness of the presence of God and to worship Him. This is what God always wanted. This was God’s dream. God wanted to be with His children; He wanted to delight in them and treasure them; He wanted to be close to them; He wanted His children to delight in Him and come running with joy into His presence. He put Adam and Eve at the pinnacle of His creation and set them apart from all the birds, fish, cattle, and animals on the earth, for they were created in the image of God. Adam and Eve were designed to have a personal, vital, and living relationship with God as their Father.

Jesus Christ is the mediator that paid the price of Adam’s sin and reconciled back to the heart of the Father. John 14:6: ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. No one can have God has His father except thru Jesus Christ. He is the way back to the Father. Jesus also revealed or made known God as a Heavenly Father whom we can address in the most intimate terms as ABBA. He showed us the Fathers heart. He was the perfect illustration of the Father.

John 1:18: ¹⁸ No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (made him known).

The Jewish religious leaders sought to kill Jesus because he called God his father (John 5:18) The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God’.” (John 19:6-7). This was his crime against society was claiming God was His Father. The Devil intensely hated this about the ministry of Jesus and the message of the gospel. The Devil wants to step in that role as a spiritual father (John 8:44).

It is certainly true that God made the heavens and the earth. He is the Creator and Sustainer, and is worthy of our adoration and worship. Yet the Word reveals that the moment I accepted Jesus as my Lord, I became a member of the family of God. Thus the emphasis should be upon the fact that God is my Father. Our highest privilege and deepest need is to experience the holy God as our loving Father, to approach Him without fear and to be assured of His fatherly care and concern….But cannot this be said of every person, Christian or not? Emphatically no! The idea that all are children of God is not found in the Bible anywhere. The gift of sonship to God becomes ours not through being born, but through being born again in Christ (John 1:12-13).    God is the Father of all who believe in Christ in a special sense not shared by unbelievers. God is called their Father because they have a new standing before Him. When we believe in Christ as Savior, our estate is wonderfully changed from grim condemnation to privileged sonship. This new standing grants to all believers the legal right and spiritual privileges of divine sonship: “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Ro 8:17). God is the Father of believers also in the sense that He gives them new life through the new birth. 

If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God.

I John 3:1,2: See(Behold) what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

(Behold – KJV) (idete – verb = horao) means to discern clearly (physical or mental), and does not call for the reader to merely “see”, but also to have an actual perception of the object. God is saying with the word “Behold”: Stop everything else! Look at this! Think about it! Ponder its significance!

John calls upon his readers to contemplate the amazing reality of present membership in God’s family.

Think about it, mediate upon it, and let it consume your vision. See how great a love – Not just “love” but “great love”!. Beloved, have you ever asked Him to illumine this great truth in your mind and heart? What will happen to our thoughts, words and deeds when He answers affirmatively? Will not we “fall on our face” at having been shown to be unworthy benefactors of His ineffable, infinite, invaluable, never failing love? Will not this sense of His love poured out in our heart by His Spirit motivate us to live for Him rather than for ourselves?

Children of God is not simply a high-sounding name that we bear; it is a reality! We are God’s children! We do not expect the world to understand this thrilling relationship, because it does not even understand God. Only a person who knows God through Christ can fully appreciate what it means to be called a child of God.

Children: (teknon from tikto = to bring forth or bear children ) literally refers to those who are “born ones” and in the plural (tekna) refers to descendants, posterity or children, those viewed in relation to their parents or family. Here teknon is used to refer to those who have by grace through faith been born again from above (by the Spirit – John 3:5, 6, 7, 8, Ephesians 2:8, 9). It is a literal birth with God’s incorruptible seed, sealed with the holy spirit. (I Peter 1:23;Ephesians 1:14).

God’s emphasis in text: “And we are!” so we know this truth assuredly.

2 Corinthians 6:16ff: What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,” I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,¹⁸ and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” The fatherhood of God separates us from this sinful world.

Father is God’s family name which can be uttered with its full significance only by His children, those in the family having been born again by His Spirit. As John makes clear even though all men are made in the image of God, not all men are His children…He (Jesus) came to His own (Jews), and those who were His own did not receive (take into their possession, join themselves to) Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11, 12, 13)

Because God is our heavenly Father, we do not come to Him in fear and trembling, afraid that He will rebuff us or be indifferent. We do not come to God to appease Him as the pagans do to their deities. We come to a tender, loving, concerned, compassionate, accepting Father. A loving human father always accepts the advances of his children, even when they have been disobedient or ungrateful. How much more does our heavenly Father accept His children, regardless of what they have done or not done? Paul approaches the Father with boldness and confidence, knowing that He is more willing for His children to come to Him than they ever are of going to Him. He knows that God has been waiting all the while with a Father’s heart of love and anticipation.

Matthew 7:9-11:  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are 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!

“How much more!” is the standard of our Heavenly Father.

Galatians 4:1-4:  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Verse 8ff: During the time before you knew God, you were slaves to powers that are not gods at all. ⁹ But now, when you are just beginning to know the one True God—actually, He is showing how completely He knows you—how can you turn back to weak and worthless idols made by men, icons of these spiritual powers? Haven’t you endured enough bondage to these breathless idols?

Jesus Himself used Abba (Aramaic for “Father”) in addressing God, a use without parallel in the whole of Jewish literature. Abba was the word used by a young infant addressing his or her father. It was an everyday family word, which no one had ventured to use in addressing God. It would be like saying “daddy.” Jesus uses it quite naturally to address His heavenly Father in as childlike, trustful, and intimate a way as a little child to its father. And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36)

Abba is one of the great names of God. No other Name so completely reflects the reversal of the curse and the separation that resulted from Adam’s sin bringing separation to all Adam’s sons of disobedience (Eph 2:2, Eph 5:6). We can now openly address God as Abba, because of the finished work of His Son. Hallelujah! Abba is transliterated into English from the corresponding Aramaic word. Abba conveys a warm, intimate sense just as with our expression “Dear father.” Abba emphasizes the warm, intimate and very personal relationship which exists between the believer and God. In Abba filial tenderness, trust and love find their combined expression.

William Barclay…

There is a world of loveliness in this word Abba, which to our western ears is altogether hidden, unless we know the facts about it. Joachim Jeremias, in his book The Parables of Jesus, writes thus: “Jesus’ use of the word Abba in addressing God is unparalleled in the whole of Jewish literature. It was an everyday family word, which no one had ventured to use in addressing God. Jesus did. He spoke to His heavenly Father in as childlike, trustful, and intimate a way as a little child to its father.” Even when he did not fully understand, even when his one conviction was that God was urging him to a cross, he called Abba, as might a little child. Here indeed is trust, a trust which we must also have in that God whom Jesus taught us to know as Father.

Abba expresses the intimacy of the family relationship as one would expect from an unhesitating trust and dependence from a child who is wholly secure in the loving arms of their father. “Abba.” It is the word of the babe, when first in that dialect he knows the filial language, and reads the father’s soul in his eyes; the simplest articulation of language; the most trustful outburst of affection—”Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:12-20a: So, my brothers and sisters, you owe the flesh nothing! You do not need to live according to its ways, so abandon its oppressive regime. ¹³ For if your life is just about satisfying the impulses of your sinful nature, then prepare to die. But if you have invited the Spirit to destroy these selfish desires, you will experience life. ¹⁴ If the Spirit of God is leading you, then take comfort in knowing you are His children. ¹⁵ You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God’s own family. That’s why we call out to Him, “Abba! Father!” as we would address a loving daddy. ¹⁶ Through that prayer, God’s Spirit confirms in our spirits that we are His children. ¹⁷ If we are God’s children, that means we are His heirs along with the Anointed, set to inherit everything that is His. If we share His sufferings, we know that we will ultimately share in His glory.¹⁸ Now I’m sure of this: the sufferings we endure now are not even worth comparing to the glory that is coming and will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For all of creation is waiting, yearning for the time when the children of God will be revealed. ²⁰ You see, all of creation has collapsed into emptiness,

Spurgeon adds that “this sweet word Abba was chosen to show us that we are to be very natural with God, and not stilted and formal. We are to be very affectionate and come close to Him, and not merely say “Pater,” which is a cold Greek word (for father), but say “Abba,” which is a warm, natural, loving word, fit for one who is a little child with God, and feels the freedom to lie in His bosom and look up into His face and speak with holy boldness. Abba is but a babe’s lisping. Oh, how near we are to God when we can use such speech! How dear He is to us and dear we are to Him when we may address Him in this manner. (Abba) implies a fervent cry, not a flippant utterance nor mere words on our lips, but a cry that comes up from the depths of our soul. We cry after Him (Ps 57:2), our heart and our flesh cry out for God (Ps 34:17 Ps 119:145), for the living God (Ps 42:2, Ps 84:2), and this is the cry “Abba, Father, I must know Thee, I must taste Thy love, I must dwell under Thy wing (Ruth 2:12), I must behold Thy face (Ps 11:7, Ps 17:15), I must feel Thy great fatherly heart overflowing and filling my heart with peace (Rom 15:13). If an earthly father watches over his children with unceasing love and care, how much more does our heavenly Father? Abba, Father! He who can say this, hath uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can cry! There is heaven in the depth of Abba! Father! There is all that I need! All that I can ask! All that my necessities can demand! All that my wishes can desire! I have all in all to all eternity when I can say, “Abba! Father!”

Psalm 89:1,8,13-16,26: I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you? You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. ¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,⁶ who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

The Father is the Rock of our salvation, faithful with steadfast love, strong and mighty in His protection, filling us with joy as we make know His name.

The relationship Jesus Christ had with the Father is a model of the relationship we should have with the Father. He was ever conscious of his Father’s love and presence.–He lived in the present tense of his Father’s love, which was so real as to rob his life of all sense of loneliness (John 5:20; 8:29). He knew that his Father heard Him always, as his spirit rose in perpetual fellowship and communion, unhindered by the densest clouds of human unbelief (John 11:42). Yes, there was something deeper still in his habitual realization that the Father dwelt in Him; so that his words, and works, and influence, and plan of life were the perpetual working out of what his Father was working in (John 5:17;14:10). And why should not we live in a fellowship equally hallowed and close? It was his one desire that his relationship with his Father should be the model of our relationship with Himself (John 17:21, 22, 23). He was perpetually engaged in reading the open book of his Father’s will.–He had no will of his own to seek, no object of his own to serve (John 5:30). He had come, in his Father’s name, to do his Father’s will, and to glorify his Father’s name (John 5:30, 43;17:4). It was the passion of his being to do God’s work on God’s plan. And his eye was thus ever kept on the movement of the cloud of his Father’s unfolding purpose. The Father showed the Son what He was doing. And the Son, having seen it, translated it into the language of daily human life (John 5:20). But what a model for ourselves! He waited for the Father to show Him what next He would have Him do. The pattern of his life was gradually outspread before Him, as that of the tabernacle was unfolded before the great lawgiver, shut up with God. He seemed ever a learner in his Father’s workshop, making all things on the pattern shown Him from hour to hour. This made Him so still, so calm, unmoved by difficulty, unperturbed amid a hail of murderous stones (John 8:59;9:4). And it would bring rest, and unity, and power, into our own lives, if it were the one purpose of our being to discover and do only the good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Better do less that we may do more. Better stand still than run without being sent. Better withdraw oftener from the valley to the brow of the Transfiguration mount, than, by fussy activity, miss the radiant vision, and the bitter need which waits for us at the mountain foot.

Jesus said in John 6:57: “I live by the Father” This should be our cry of Christian living.

John 10:27-29:  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (What comfort to know that no fear, worry, person, circumstance or power can snatch us from our Father).

John 14:23: ²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

We are the home, the dwelling place of our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus.

John 16:31,32:  Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.

The Father will never abandon us or leave us alone.

John 17:23, 25, 26: I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ” O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Father loves us just as much as He loves Jesus. The Father’s love is to dwell in us. Jesus wants us to know intimately the name of God as Father.

Luke 2:49: And He said to them, How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it is necessary [as a duty] for Me ^[n]to be in My Father’s house and [occupied] about My Father’s business?

Matthew 6:24ff: There is no anxiety when we know and have faith is God as our Father. If he takes care of the birds and the flowers, He will take care of us.

Matthew 10:29-30: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”                  The Father knows every intimate detail of our lives and we are of great value to Him.

Heart of the Father with the prodigal son: Luke 15:1ff. The Father was looking for him to return and ran to meet son regardless of his past sins and rebellion. The Father celebrated with great fanfare for the return of his lost son. God even sings and dances over us:

Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. “Rejoice over you” – literally means “dance, skip, leap, and spin around in joy.” God dances with shouts of joy over us!

This is the Father’s love: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

The Heart of the Heavenly Father is seen in His name Yahweh. Everything that God is, is for the benefit of His children. Yahweh is the name that represents a personal invitation to partake fully in everything He is, to enjoy and experience the fullness of God in all His glorious and manifold characteristics. There is no limit and there is no boundary to what God can do in our lives. The ancient cultures had thousands of gods for every occasion, problem, and area of life. But the name Yahweh declares that God is the only one you ever need in every circumstance, every age, every season and every area of life. He is the all-sufficient One, our all in all and everything that is necessary for life and godliness is satisfied in Him. If God be for us who can be against us? Jeremiah 32:17 boldly proclaims that nothing is too hard for Yahweh. There is no mountain in life that Yahweh cannot move; there is no obstacle in life that Yahweh cannot overcome; and there is no need in life that Yahweh cannot abundantly provide. Yahweh is the solution, the answer, and the key to everything in life.

Yahweh means “He who will be; the ‘Coming One’ or ‘Becoming One.’ Yahweh is the “Coming One”, always ready to come to the rescue and deliver His children from any enemy, any problem, any oppression and any circumstance. He is ever ready to intercede with all His might and power when we call upon His name. He will come like lightening to fight all the battles of His beloved sons and daughters if we will only turn and cry out to Him. Yahweh is also the “Becoming One” God becomes whatever is lacking in our time of need. Do not get frustrated if you did not see the promise come to pass immediately for God is faithful to what He promises and it would come to pass in His time not theirs. God’s promise always come to pass without exception. We live in the instant generation wanting everything right now and that is why most Christians have a hard time waiting on God. We give up on our faith, we easily lose confidence in God and we began to doubt His promises because we become impatient with His timetable. We must learn to see with the eyes of faith for we know the flawless character of our God. His faithfulness is beyond human comprehension. His trustworthiness is beyond approach. His timing is always perfect. He is Yahweh, the Coming One, and when the time for the fulfillment of the promise arrives, He comes without delay.

Our pledge to the Father. We can minister to the heart of the Father.

Psalm 101:2-4: I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;³ I will not set before my eyes  anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.⁴ A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.

He is ravenous to consume you with His lovingkindness and tender mercies. You are His obsession. God wants you. He wants more of you. He wants all of you. He wants you now. God wants to teach you to hear His voice continually, use His strength constantly and experience His love fully. God wants you to know Him better and better as your Father.

The Promise of the Father: The gift of holy spirit:

Acts 1:4-8: ⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 2:38-41:And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Magnificent Blessings of the Father through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 1:2-6: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 2:12,13-16,18-22: Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.   ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Galatians 1:3-5: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Father is the God of all mercies and comfort who will never leave us in our time of need. He is the God of hope and grace.

2 Corinthians 1:3,4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Thessalonians 2:14-17:  To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.¹⁵ So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

James 1:27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (Don’t allow the world to stain your relationship with the Father).

I John 1:3: That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

The love of the world versus the love of the father.

I John 2:15-18a: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.¹⁸ Children, it is the last hour…

The Father’s comforting and uplifting promise to His children in Hebrews:

Hebrews 13:5-7 (Amplified): ⁵ Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor ^[c]give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (^[f]relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]⁶ So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?

God has tattooed us on the palms of His hands and promises He will never forget us and will always have compassion on us.

Isaiah 49:15, 16: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved (tattooed) you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 41:10,13: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

How deeply the Father knows and understand us:

Psalm 139 O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am; ² You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again.     Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking. ³ You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming,     and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know. ⁴ You know what I’m going to say long before I say it.     It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone. ⁵ You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me,     and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder. ⁶ It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out;

I Peter 5:7: Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

Never forget the awesome truth of God as our Heavenly Father. He is the perfect Father loving and caring for us in a way that is beyond human comprehension. Let us live in His bosom, crying Abba Father daily, understanding that the Father knows best. Let us have a deep rich fellowship with Him and tell others of the amazing invitation to them to be part of the family of God. This Father’s day let us also thank and praise our Heavenly father for being the perfect Daddy.