Archive for One with Our Father

Never Be Thirsty Again

2016-12-08 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 7:37-39

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39, NASB)

As our bodies thirst for water,
our spirits thirst for God.
We drink from other streams,
other wells,
other cisterns
but always go away unsatisfied.

God satisfies our spirit
with Himself.
We need never be thirsty again.
He becomes a spring of Living Water
always within us,
always fresh, and
always flowing.

God gives Himself freely to anyone who will
come,
ask, and
trust.

Father, Your Word to us is a
treasure of life and blessing.
And You have given us Your own Spirit to
make it a reality in our lives.
We frail, blind, and wayward creatures
can know and live the truth
as Christ lived the truth.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: In Your Spirit
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Look to Your Father

2016-11-17 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 6:26-40

We long for consistency in our lives,
especially in our relationship with our Father.
We sense moments of oneness with Him,
but soon our thoughts are pulled this way and that.

We long for Jesus’ relationship with His Father.
No matter how busy or pressured His life became,
He always seemed one with Him,
constantly focused on Him,
depending on Him,
open to Him.

Most of us fall far short of that relationship with our Father.
But as we look to Him more and more,
as simple prayer weaves itself
into the fabric of our moments,
we grow into Him.
The prayer that Jesus taught us becomes more and more
the constant cry of our hearts:

Our Father in heaven,
may Your name be glorified,
may Your Kingdom come,
may Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10, paraphrase)

Even when our conscious thoughts wander and
we seem to forget Him for a time,
our hearts remain focused on Him.
Increasingly we want only what He wants.
We love Him,
depend on Him, and
crave unbroken fellowship with Him.
This is the gracious Spirit of Christ,
putting down deeper roots in us,
growing and spreading in the garden of our hearts.

Father, Your purpose is to
bless me abundantly and
make me into the image of Christ,
with You as my true Father.
That is what I want as well.
Work Your will, whatever it is, and
help me trust You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: The Father’s Face
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Constantly, Completely Dependent

2016-10-27 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 5:44; 6:26-29

When I read about Jesus in the gospels, it seems that He always knew everything and could do absolutely anything. But then I listen to what He said about Himself:

“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does . . . By myself I can do nothing.” (John 5:19, 30, NIV)

“These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:24, NIV)

Jesus’ wisdom and power, His words and His actions, were not His own. He had emptied Himself (Philippians 2:5-7). He was completely, constantly dependent on You, Father, for everything He said and everything He did. He listened. He obeyed. His total dependence on You was His great strength and constant sufficiency. His power was made perfect in His weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Jesus was what He was by faith. His strength was not in His own abilities but in His relationship with You, Father. He trusted You. You were His only light, His only source of life, wisdom, power, peace, love, and holiness. Because He was empty of all else, You flowed through Him unhindered. He was constantly full of You.

Father, I cannot be capable, holy, wise, or loving any other way. You were the only source for Jesus. You are the only source for me. Jesus wants to share with me His relationship with You. Father, that is what I want as well.

When I feel a need, I want to eliminate it.
But my neediness is permanent and pervasive.
I can never eliminate it.
Instead, Lord, help me to rest in
my sufficiency in You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Each Moment by Faith
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Our Confidence

2016-10-13 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 5:19, 30; 13:20

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. 

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:19, 30, NASB)

“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 

“He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” (John 5:23; 13:20, NASB)

When Jesus faced hostility during His earthly ministry,
His confidence was always this:
He was simply representing the Father who sent Him.
He only said what the Father told Him to say, and
only did what the Father showed Him to do.
He was careful to speak and act
only in the Father’s authority.
Thus as people either
received Jesus or
rejected Him,
they were receiving or rejecting the Father.

As His disciples were about to face a hostile world
without Jesus’ physical presence,
He passed along this same truth to them.
Just as Jesus’ confidence in every situation had been
His trusting, obedient relationship with His Father,
so His disciples’ confidence would be
their relationship with Jesus.
That relationship would be their
adequacy for their mission.
As they said what Jesus gave them to say and
did what Jesus showed them to do,
they could face any opposition and any challenge
with bold confidence.
Their preparation for ministry was this:
their intimate binding to Jesus Christ and
their complete dependence on Him.

The same is true for each of us.
Our preparation for life and for service is
our trust in Jesus,
our obedience to Him,
our dependence on Him, and
our moment-by-moment relationship with Him.

As we go to make disciples of Jesus Christ, we go
in His sovereign authority and
in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
We go in the Spirit of Christ Himself,
with His Word and
for His glory.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Lord Jesus, Living Presence
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Needing the Father

2016-09-22 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 5:19-30

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing. 

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:19-20, 30, NASB)

Father, I want so many things.
I am always hungry and thirsty.

I need so many things.
I feel weak and vulnerable
and am constantly grasping for security.

But no human being was ever weaker than Your Son,
and He wanted only You.
He needed only You.
Your glory,
Your Kingdom,
Your will—
that is all He sought.

He was always sufficient,
always speaking Your Words,
always doing Your works,
always able,
always at peace.

Father, my Father,
help me to be as weak and as strong as He was.
Give me the Spirit of Christ.
Help me to want only You.

Father, Jesus was single-mindedly devoted to You.
You were His joy,
His wisdom,
His source, and
His focus.
Be the same to me, Father.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Father, Father
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Worshiping the Father

2016-09-01 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 4:16-24

“An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24, NASB)

To truly worship God, look to Jesus.
Watch Him,
listen to Him, and
worship as He worshiped.

God our Father is a Spirit.
The worship that pleases Him is
from our spirit to His.

Worshiping God does not depend on
ceremony or style.
The motions are irrelevant to Him.
He wants worship that is honest and unhypocritical,
with no gap between our words and our actions.
True worship rises from our hearts and our lives,
not just from our lips.

Worship God in spirit and in truth.
That is how Jesus worshiped His Father.
That is how He pleased His Father.

The purest prayer and the truest worship
are not expressed in words
but in being and doing.
They are expressed in the faithfulness of
God’s Spirit-filled people,
living from Him and through Him and to Him,
day after day,
age after age.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Father, Help Me Worship You
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

How Can We Describe It?

2016-08-11 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father 2 comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 3:8; 4:13-14; 7:37-39

How can we describe the life of Christ within us?
The Bible says it is
like breathing the breath of God,
like a river of life constantly flowing in us,
like a deep, inexpressible joy.

We know this:
as we trust Him,
His life grows within.
His Spirit joins with our spirit, and
we become more and more like Him.
He lives in us constantly and forever, and
we in Him.

Father, when we seek Your best gifts,
You gladly give them.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Living Christ
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Reborn

2016-07-14 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 3:1-21

Lord God, I cannot be who I want to be,
who I need to be,
by my own efforts.
No self-discipline,
no determination
can make me who I am not.
Only Your cleansing can make me clean.
Only Your holiness can make me holy.
Only Your life can make me Your child.
Only You can make me
like You,
sharing in You,
one with You.

Your life, Your breath, Your Spirit
is like the wind:
I can sense it, but I cannot
fully track it or
control it.
Your Spirit is Your life in motion.
He goes where You please.
He is who You are.

Lord, I see Him most fully and beautifully
in the life of the human Christ.
I watch as You and He, Father and Son, share
the same Spirit,
the same life,
the same power,
the same wisdom,
the same self-giving love.
As I see Jesus,
I long to be one with You
as He is one with You,
fully, constantly, forever.

Father, I am completely unworthy of You.
But since You deeply desire it,
come, be my Father
as fully as You were His Father.
Do this as it pleases You,
when it pleases You,
how it pleases You.
Blow as You will,
Wind of God,
Breath of God.
I will do the little that I can do and must do:
I will trust You. 

Father, this is what I want:
to live and breathe forever
in Your personal presence,
constantly,
completely,
unchangeably
one with You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Father, You See Our Need
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

The Creator’s Miracles

2016-06-16 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 2:1-11

Creation shows us how
powerful, wise, and loving God is.
But often we see His magnificent works and
dismiss them as the products of
chance or
natural processes, or
we simply take them for granted.

Jesus came to show us what the Creator God is really like,
face-to-face.
That’s why He performed the Creator’s miracles
up-close and personal,
no stage,
no curtains,
no fancy lighting.
Nothing between Him and us.
He let us stand right in front of Him as, on a small scale,
He did what our Creator does every day:
He turned water into wine.
He produced a lot of food from a very little.
He stilled storms.
He healed diseases.

The Son showed us how marvelous and amazing
our Creator Father really is!

Father, You are high and holy,
transcendent and unseen,
great beyond all imagination.
Yet in Jesus Christ we see You as a
real, touchable, walking, smiling, speaking human being.
How amazing You are!
How can we help but love You and want to be like You!

Listen and sing:
Hymn: See the Father Walk among Us
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Rejoice in Jesus Christ!

2016-05-19 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 15:11

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11, NASB)

Jesus has just painted a beautiful picture of our life in Him.
We are like a branch connected to the Vine.
We are fruitful as we remain in Him.
Our prayers are answered as we remain in Him.

Why has He told us all this?
What was on His heart?

Jesus longs for us to share the joy He finds in His Father, in
loving His Father,
trusting His Father, and
obeying His Father.
He wants us to know His joy, and
He wants our joy to be full!

How is joy different than happiness?
Normally we connect happiness
with temporary circumstances.
We are happy because
we are on vacation, or
our relationships are going smoothly, or
our health is good, or
we feel financially comfortable.

But we are joyful because of what doesn’t change:
Who Jesus is,
Who He is to us every day,
our relationship with Him, and
our future in Him.

Jesus wants us to rejoice because of
what is always ours in Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Joy in Christ
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

« Older Entries   Recent Entries »