Archive for One with Our Father

Jesus: Your Ultimate Choice

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

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 14:6

Jesus is the way to the Father,
the truth about the Father,
the life of the Father.

He is your creator,
your designer,
your source,
your Savior,
your highest destiny, and
your ultimate goal.
He is all your loving, all-wise Father wants you to be, and
all that your best self longs for you to be.

If you ignore His claims on you,
you consign yourself to
frustration and
meaninglessness.
The future you are choosing is
eternal separation from all that is good.

If you respond to Him in
even the simplest of childlike trust, He will
patiently,
daily,
unfailingly
grow you to Himself and
grow you to your Father.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: See All That Human Can Be
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Father and Son

2016-05-01 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father, Uncategorized No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 14 – 17 

Father, I was attracted to Your Son Jesus
because of You.
I sensed in Him something more than myself,
something more than I could ever be on my own.
I sensed You in Him,
the Almighty God,
the absolute,
the transcendent,
the pure,
the impossibly holy.
Yet Your purity was now human,
seeable,
touchable, and
relatable.
I saw “human” and “holy” joined
in one Person.
I was drawn to
love Him and
trust Him
because I saw You
in Him.

Now, I find Him drawing me back to You.
Through Him I am learning to know You.
Through Him I am brought into Your holy presence.
I am finding Him to be
the way to You,
the truth about You,
the life that flows from You.
In Him I hear all Your heart wishes to say to us.
In Him I begin to see all You are doing for us.
In Him I share Your Father-Son relationship:
I receive a Father’s deep love for His holy Son.
I return a Son’s worshiping love for His pure and perfect Father.

In Your Son I breathe
Your Spirit,
the same Spirit that made Your Son so beautiful.
In Him I breathe
Your wisdom,
Your holiness,
Your love.
In Christ,
through Your Spirit,
I breathe the peace and perfect union of
Father and Son.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Father and Son
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I Will Raise Him Up

2016-04-21 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 6:35-58

Jesus had just fed the five thousand. The crowd followed Him with determination, hoping for more free food, wanting to make Him their king. He repeatedly urged them not to seek physical bread that would satisfy only the body and only for a few hours. He implored them to seek Himself instead, the True Bread. He would satisfy all their desires forever.

Notice how Jesus repeatedly pushed them to raise their sights above the here and now:

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” 

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” 

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:39-40, 44, 54, NASB)

Notice that eternal life is His personal promise: “I Myself will raise him up” (John 6:40, NASB). This everlasting life is the collaboration of Father and Son. It is the Father’s will and the Father’s work, accomplished through the Son. Thus Jesus hammers home the assurance that endless life is absolutely certain for all who simply trust Him. No hungering, no thirsting, no dying, ever. The Father and the Son, the Almighty Creator and His sovereign Word, guarantee it.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: We Shall Rise in Jesus Christ!
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Shepherd

2016-04-08 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 10:1-38

“He who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. . . .  For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father. 

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 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. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:2-4, 9-10, 14-15, 17-18, 27-30, NASB)

Father, the deep knowing that binds You to the Son
now binds me to Him.
And as I am bound to Him,
I am bound to You as well.

He calls me personally,
by my own name, and
I recognize His voice.
I am learning to follow no voice but His.
For when He speaks, I hear You, Father:
Your love,
Your wisdom,
Your tender, faithful, constant care for me.

Your Son leads me through every day –
me, Father,
through everything that comes.

He protects me with Himself.
He places His own body
between me and any approaching harm.
He, the Good Shepherd, the Almighty God, is
the Gate,
the Door,
my impenetrable Shield,
my impregnable Fortress.
I need not fear
need,
temptation,
sickness, or
even death.
Everything that touches me comes through Him,
and through You, Father.

Because I am in His hands,
I am in Yours.
You and I are beginning to share
the same knowing,
the same peace,
the same deep love
that You share with the Son.

Complete us, Father.
Complete us in Jesus Christ.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Good Shepherd
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Jesus’ Last Words

2016-03-24 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 19:28-30

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34, NIV)

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43, NIV)

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”
(John 19:26-27, NIV)

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, NIV)

“I am thirsty.” (John 19:28, NIV)

“It is finished.” (John 19:30, NIV)

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46, NIV)

Imagine that you are Jesus on the day of your death. Look around. Who do you see?

  • the religious leaders, proud, self-righteous, angry, blind to their own murderous jealousy
  • Judas, a close friend whose heart had wandered and who turned you in for a few pieces of silver
  • the disciples, who lived with you for three years then fearfully deserted you in your time of trouble
  • Pilate, who knew the truth but was too weak to act on it
  • Herod, who held your life in his hands but was only concerned with his own entertainment
  • sadistic soldiers, to whom you were cruel sport
  • a thief dying next to you, taunting You in an effort to save himself
  • the crowd of people looking up at you, a mixture of gloaters, mindless mob, and curiosity seekers

In short, you’re surrounded by humanity. To them, you’re a criminal, a blasphemer, a financial opportunity, a pawn, a scapegoat, a fool, a buffoon. Your pain is their afternoon’s amusement. You’ve given yourself for these people, and they’re crushing you with their indifference, injustice, torture, humiliation, and the most agonizing death they can devise.

Every fiber of your being is screaming in pain and begging for relief. You are in your final moments. What is on your mind?

Most people being crucified would have filled their last hours with angry curses and bitterness. Read Jesus’ final words. Listen as He speaks them. What is on His heart during these moments?

Forgiveness for those killing Him and for the repentant thief. Pain never overwhelmed the love in His heart.

Care for those He loved. Mary must have longed for a word from her son, and Jesus didn’t disappoint her. Even as He died, He provided for her and bestowed a great honor on John.

Abandonment. Jesus’ deepest sorrow was feeling cut off from His Father. But how did He express it? He prayed, using words from Psalm 22. Read the psalm. It’s a moving expression of desperate complaint and ultimate trust. Even when separated from His Father, Jesus turned to Him and trusted Him.

His thirst. Having cared for others, He cried out in His own need, again fulfilling Psalm 22 (v. 15). The drink apparently gave Him strength for His final words.

Triumph. To the very end, Jesus’ thoughts were of His Father and His mission. His final words were a cry of victory. “It is completed! Father, I lay My life in Your hands!”

Father, when I die, when I am losing everything I am and everything I hold, will I be looking to You, reaching for the completion of Your work, loving those around me, trusting my life into Your hands? Lord, may it be so.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Last Words
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Witnessing Even in Death

2016-03-10 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 18 – 19

Even as the Father was allowing His Son to be cruelly tortured and murdered, even as the Son was experiencing a deep sense of abandonment by the Father, each was lifting up testimonies to the other.

The Father was testifying to Jesus as His own chosen, only-begotten, dearly-loved Son, all the while events seemed to proclaim the opposite. And the Father brought these testimonies from highly-unexpected sources.

  • When the arrest party arrived to seize Jesus, He spoke up and asked, “Whom do you seek?” When they answered, “Jesus the Nazarene,” Jesus identified Himself with the words, “I am.” This would be the usual way of saying, “I am he” or “I am the one you are seeking”. But when Jesus thus spoke the divine name, “I am,” even His enemies reacted to Him in instinctive humility, backing up and prostrating themselves before Him on the ground (John 18:4-8, NASB).
  • After a brief interview, Pilate realized that Jesus was an innocent man and looked for a way to release Him. Then when the Jews specifically accused Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God, Pilate was even more afraid (John 18:38; 19:7-8). He seemed to sense that this righteous Man was who He claimed to be.
  • The sign Pilate had hung on the cross correctly identified Jesus for who He was: “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.” Pilate refused to change the sign, even when pressured by the Jewish leaders (John 19:19-22, NASB).
  • One of the criminals executed with Jesus knew who He was. He defended Jesus to the other criminal, then asked, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” Jesus recognized his genuine faith and responded, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43, NASB).
  • While the Son was on the cross, the Father Creator sent darkness over the land from noon through 3:00 p.m. The veil of the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:44-45).
  • The Roman centurion, who supervised Jesus’ execution and saw everything that happened, “became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54, NASB).

Even while engulfed by physical, mental, and spiritual agony, even as He surrendered His life to death, the Son stayed focused on His Father. He was intent on testifying to His Father’s loving control, even as events seemed to shout the triumph of evil.

Jesus’ words on the cross show that thoughts of His Father filled His heart, even as He died. Notice particularly John 19:28, 30:

Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. (NASB) 

In death as in life, Jesus’ first concern was to fulfill His Father’s will. Specifically, He was intent on fulfilling scriptural prophecies about His death. Why? Because the fulfillment of prophecy showed that the Father was still in full control of all that was happening, even as Satan seemed to be having his way. All was happening as the Father had announced centuries before.

Scripture testifies to divine control, even in Jesus’ dying act. Throughout the gospel account of the arrest and trial of Jesus, He remained passive, allowing Himself to be “handed over” (the meaning of the Greek word) from one party to another:

  • Judas handed Jesus over to the Jewish authorities (Matthew 26:46, 48).
  • The Jews handed Him over to Pilate (Matthew 27:2).
  • Pilate handed Him over to be crucified (Matthew 27:26).

But Jesus had already told His disciples, “I lay down My life . . . No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:17-18, NASB). True to His word, Jesus’ final act on the cross was to “hand over” His Spirit to the Father (John 19:30). He died by His own decision, not as a helpless victim, but as Lord of Life, in full control.

In death as in life, the Son glorified the Father, and the Father glorified the Son.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: His Hour Has Come
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Only to Your Glory

2016-02-28 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 12:1-33

Father, pour me out as a fragrance,
completely,
irrecoverably.

Plant me as a seed,
dead to myself and my own future,
alive only to grow into Your greater purpose.
Otherwise, I remain
small,
single, and
alone.

From me and my dying
gain fruit,
gain glory for Yourself.
O Father, this world so needs to see Your glory!
We need to see the light of all You are.
We need to fully grasp
Your greatness,
Your goodness, and
Your constant, personal presence.
With Jesus, may Your glory be
my constant focus and
my deepest desire.

From this point on, help me to think of myself
only in You,
only as part of You and
all You are doing.
May thoughts of my success and my glory be
dead,
buried, and
gone forever.

With Jesus, Father,
now and forever
may I think and speak and be only
in You,
from You,
through You, and
to You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Make My Life a Holy Fragrance
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Deliver Us from All Evil

2016-02-25 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 13:18-30

When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” (John 13:21, NASB)

Judas was one of the chosen twelve,
with a special relationship with Jesus.
Yet he became one of the
most heinous traitors of our entire race.
He met a horrific end.

To us, he is a reminder to keep looking to God.
Don’t let your heart and mind wander into
bitterness or preoccupation with lesser things.

Above all else,
guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)

That is why Jesus teaches us to daily ask the Father,
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13, NIV)

Without God’s grace, sin is
a debt we cannot pay and
a trap we cannot avoid.
We are opposed and surrounded by
spiritual forces much stronger than us.
We are weak, and
our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NIV)

But the one who is in you is greater than
the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4, NIV)
Deliverance is always ours
as we trust our Heavenly Father who is
always able,
always with us, and
always in us.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Keep Us from All Evil
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The Son’s Focus

2016-02-11 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 12:23-32

Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. 

“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” (John 12:23-28, 31-32, NASB)

Jesus knew His time had come. He was about to be deserted by His closest friends, mocked and humiliated by His enemies, tortured by soldiers for their amusement, condemned to death by His own people, engulfed in separation from His Father with whom He had enjoyed an eternity of intimate fellowship, and executed by the most brutal method known.

Facing all this, what thoughts filled His mind and heart?

  • He was eagerly anticipating His return to His Father (John 13:1, 3). That was the goal ahead, the true destination toward which He pressed. That was the subject of His conversation with Moses and Elijah at His transfiguration (Luke 9:30-31). That was, at least in part, “the joy set before Him” that made all His sacrifice worthwhile (Hebrews 12:2, NASB).
  • His focus, His concern, His deepest prayer were not His personal comfort, but that His Father would glorify Himself through all that was about to happen (John 12:23-28; 17:1-5).
  • Looking ahead to these events, He didn’t see His own defeat. He saw all the powers of evil judged, condemned, and driven out of this world forever. He saw Himself high and lifted up, and our entire race streaming to Him for salvation (John 12:31-32).

As He faced His hour of trial, He savored the joy of returning to His beloved Father. He longed for the Father to be glorified. He saw the fulfillment of the Father’s purposes.

Facing immense difficulties, His joy, His desire, His focus was His Father.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Glorify Your Name
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Following the Father

2016-01-28 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 8:12; Luke 4

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12, NASB)

Father, I say I want to follow You,
but how easily I am distracted by my own desires.
If I get my eyes off You,
I begin following my agenda,
not Yours.

Because Jesus maintained
His close and constant relationship with You,
He followed You into the harsh wilderness,
conquered temptation, and
was empowered by Your Spirit (Luke 4:1-14).

He obediently spoke the unpopular truth in His hometown (Luke 4:14-30).

He confronted a demon in Capernaum and banished him (Luke 4:31-35).

He spoke with Your authority and wielded Your power over evil (Luke 4:36-37).

He healed all the sick brought to Him (Luke 4:38-41).

Though His schedule was demanding, He rose early to pray (Luke 4:42).

He knew when to ignore popular pressure and move on (Luke 4:42-44).

Father, that’s what I need:
Your enabling for my weakness;
Your wisdom for my ignorance.
Father, give me the Spirit of Christ!

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Spirit, Come
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