Father Heart of God 11-1-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You perfectly reveal the Father heart of God, for You and the Father are One, and You come to abide in my heart by Your Spirit (John 14:1-31). Come Holy Spirit, I pray. Cause my heart to be more like the heart of my Father; cause my mind to be more like the mind of Christ; cause my human spirit to more like Your Holy Spirit. … "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. The more I called them, the more they went from Me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in My arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them (Hosea 11:1-4). Father God, as You have loved Israel, so You love us all (Ephesians 2:11-22; Galatians 3:14). And as Israel has not always seen Your heart of love and Your hand of mercy as a perfect Father to a wayward child, neither have we. Yet You have been there all along, protecting us and healing us and fighting for us in ways we could not see. You have often loved us and led us through "cords of human kindness" when we didn't realize it was You who moved their human hearts to minister Your healing love even in the times we turned to idols instead of to You. And we often forget that a perfect Father "disciplines those whom He loves, and chastises every child whom He accepts" so that we will turn again to Your arms and Your ways with nothing separating us from Your love and grace (Hebrews 12:5-11). Even when we don't deserve it, You bend down to us and lift us to Your cheeks to hold us in Your arms and feed us Your Words of Truth and Life to our hungering souls. Yet as tender as You are with our hearts, You are just as stern with our sin. And though it breaks Your heart to see us suffer the consequences of our rebellion, You allow our suffering to surface our need for our Father's love and our Father's care. And there You are -- never leaving us and never forsaking us, always calling us to return to You (Hosea 11:10-11 and 14:1-3). This is the blessing of both "the kindness and the severity of God," as Your severity in the discipline of Your love leads us back into the arms of Your kindness (Romans 11:22). By Your grace, You help us renounce our pride and surrender our control to more fully trust Your unfailing love in every area of our lives. And in Your arms, we find the fullness of Your healing and restoration of our calling and destiny, for You are our God and we are Your people (Hosea 14:4-7). Thank You, Father -- for loving us when we fail to fully receive Your love, for bending down to us when we are not reaching up to You, for being faithful to us when we are not always faithful to You. You are the One who answers our prayers and satisfies our hearts, as Your Father's heart covers us "like an evergreen cypress" that restores us to faithfulness and obedience in the surrender of trusting love through the grace You freely give to the children of God (Hosea 14:8). "Those who are wise understand these things; those who are discerning know them" (v. 14:9). Lord, help me keep growing in wisdom and discernment of Your will and Your ways revealed in Your Father heart. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the area of western Kentucky or eastern Pennsylvania -- please come join me next week. I will be preaching a revival in Madisonville, Kentucky Sunday through Wednesday 11/5-8 and then an Aldersgate Regional Fellowship Retreat in Pennsylvania Friday through Sunday 11/10-12. Call Marilyn for details if you can come -- 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com . Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794