Part 2, Chapter 6:: God Is Our Father

Merry Christmas!!! --> Just had to ;)

Part 1: It is to our great benefit & joy to get to know our God! 

As we study who God is and what he does, we are equipped to deal with the big & small issues of life. Knowing God and acting in faith in light of those beliefs is key to a life that is pleasing to God. (Pg. 61)

So if we agree that it's important to get to know God, Part 2 will lead us to explore some of His attributes. Before we totally dive into that... How do you feel about the statement at the bottom of page 63? Yikes... Can't skip over that too quickly! Have you ever really considered this...

What do I mean by a "right view of God"? Well, many of us come to God with unbiblical notions of who he is and what he does. We've let our culture and upbringing, rather than the Bible itself, determine the character traits we attribute to God. 

So if you're like me... might need some serious, on-going thought & searching of yourself! It's hard, a shot to our pride, to admit that we might be wrong... that we might believe something that's false or distorted. 

Our Father...

So how might that reality -- that our unique circumstances affect what we believe -- be true in this specific way: viewing God as our father & ourselves as daughters of God? I've thought about this a lot the past several years and continue to wrestle with this stuff! 

What about your dad? Is your dad stingy? Is he always angry & disappointed in you? Is he just passive? So rigid? Does he protect you? Speak well of you? Build you up? Affirm you? Does he provide for you? Spend time with you? Just love you?

This isn't an opportunity to highlight & magnify everything your dad isn't/hasn't been for you & then throw yourself a pity-party, which does nothing positive or beneficial! But those things you that you can identify about your earthly father... do you impose those same attributes to God? What a crafty way for satan to keep us from knowing & experiencing the full benefits of being a child of God! All of those things you're longing for in a Father are already yours! They're yours! If you know Jesus, then whether you realize it and live it out or not, you have a Heavenly Father who is everything you could ever yearn for & more! 

Want some affirmation from God about who you really are?! Park it in Romans 8 for awhile!

Have some extra time today?! On the topic of adoption... I'll attach some blogs I follow & would recommend to you!! As you think about being adopted into the family of God, think of the parallels for these kids... they've received a new last name, everything about the trajectory of their lives has been altered! 

• The Lees... a family from Cornerstone who recently added 3 kids, to their previous family of 3! Jen was a mentor to me throughout college & LOVE reading what she's learning through the process of adoption. 
• The Scotts... Such a sweet family, also from Cornerstone, who adopted 2 little ones this year! 
• Katie Davis... not your average early-20s American girl -- the mother of 13 daughters. Something about her story tells me that she gets it; not completely, but I think she's headed in the right direction!