MY FATHER'S CHILD

My Father’s Child

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

John 14:9

READ JOHN 14:8–14

They looked down at the faded photograph, then up at me, then over at my father, then back at me, then back at my father. Their eyes were as wide as the proverbial saucers. “Dad, you look just like Papa when he was young!” My father and I grinned because this was something we’d known for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently that my children came to the same realization. While my father and I are different people, in a very real sense to see me is to see my father as a younger man: tall, lanky frame; full head of dark hair; prominent nose; and rather large ears. No, I am not my father, but I am most definitely my father’s son.

A follower of Jesus named Philip once asked, “Lord, show us the Father” (John 14:8). And while it wasn’t the first time Jesus had indicated as much, His response was still cause for pause: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (v. 9). Unlike the physical resemblances between my father and me, what Jesus says here is revolutionary: “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?” (v. 10). His very essence and character were the same as His Father’s.

In that moment Jesus was being straightforward with His beloved disciples and us: If you want to know what God is like, look at Me.

By John Blase

REFLECT & PRAY

Jesus, when things seem overwhelming, remind me that to see You is to see the Father. Help me keep my eyes fixed on You.

What are some of the characteristics of Jesus (and the Father) that resonate strongly with you, and why? How has He been molding your character?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Philip, recruited by Jesus Himself (John 1:43), was one of the very first disciples. In the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—Philip is always paired with Bartholomew (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). In John’s gospel, however, Bartholomew isn’t mentioned and Nathanael (who isn’t mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels) is listed instead. Many scholars believe that Bartholomew is probably the same person as Nathanael, whom Philip recruited (John 1:45-48).

In John 14:8-14, when the disciples are gathered in the upper room, Philip responds to a question from Thomas asked in verse 5. The fact that Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father indicates that, although one of the first disciples, Philip hadn’t really understood the heart and mission of Jesus—to make visible the unseen God (see 1:18). No wonder Jesus gave Philip a gentle rebuke for his misguided request; it had already been fulfilled during their many months together. Bill Crowder

SACRED GATHERING

Sacred Gathering

Rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

Leviticus 23:40

READ LEVITICUS 23:33–36, 39–44

It was 2016 and our group of friends reunited for a long weekend together on the shores of a beautiful lake. The days were spent playing in the water and sharing meals, but it was the evening conversations I treasured the most. As darkness fell, our hearts opened to one another with uncommon depth and vulnerability, sharing the pains of faltering marriages and the aftermath of trauma some of our children were enduring. Without glossing over the brokenness of our realities, we pointed one another to God and His faithfulness throughout such extreme difficulties. Those evenings are among the most sacred in my life.

I imagine those nights are similar to what God intended when He instructed His people to gather each year for the Festival of Tabernacles. This feast, like many others, required the Israelites to travel to Jerusalem. Once they arrived, God instructed His people to gather together in worship and to “do no regular work” for the duration of the feast—about a week! (Leviticus 23:35). The Festival of Tabernacles celebrated God’s provision and commemorated their time in the wilderness after leaving Egypt (vv. 42-43).

This gathering cemented the Israelites’ sense of identity as God’s people and proclaimed His goodness despite their collective and individual hardships. When we recall God’s provision and presence in our lives, we too are strengthened in faith.

By Kirsten Holmberg

REFLECT & PRAY

Father God, thank You for the people You’ve put in my life. Please help us to encourage one another.

Who can you gather with for worship and encouragement? How has your faith been strengthened in community with others?

Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Leviticus 23 outlines the eight festivals in the Jewish religious calendar (including the Sabbath day of rest mentioned in verse 3). God instituted each of these festivals for the benefit and enjoyment of His people. Consider how the Festival of Tabernacles (v. 34) would have looked as it unfolded. The people constructed shelters from branches and foliage and then lived in the rudimentary structures. Although a solemn occasion, the festival was essentially a campout; hence, a time of great joy. How like our infinitely creative God to implement fun into worship and holy remembrance! Tim Gustafson

GETTING TO KNOW GOD

YOU ARE BLESSED - 366 DEVOTIONS

GETTING TO KNOW GOD

God is continually drawing us to Himself in

everything we experience.

Gerard Hughes

When you look back at your life, can you find those God moments?  You know, those moments where you recognized that God was in the midst of what was going on, or that you felt His presence, or you know without a doubt that He would help you get through something.  You’ve probably had a lot of those moments because all your life, God has been there.  Whether you were able to notice Him or not, doesn’t change the fact that He has always know you and has walked with you since your birth.

You’re in the process while you visit planet Earth of getting to know God.  You’re becoming more aware of what He can do to shape your life and guide your thoughts and direction  You’re learning more all the time about what it means to be His daughter/son.

God uses everything He can to get your attention because He doesn’t want to miss one opportunity for you to get to know Him better.

By His power we live and move and exist.

Acts 17:28 NCV

Lord, thank You for knowing me so well.  Help me to be aware

of all the ways that I can get to know more of You.

Amen  

DAILY PRAYERS & BLESSINGS - JUNE 3

JUNE 3

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so

great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,

and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run

with patience the race that is set before us. 

Hebrews 12:1

Some days the race feels like a sprint, Lord, and on other days, a marathon.  I want to press on, but I need you to infuse my spirit with your strength and steadfastness.  I want to run and finish well.  Thank you for beginning the work of faith in my life and for promising not to stop working until my faith is complete.

A WALK IN THE WOODS

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

A WALK IN THE WOODS

READ:  Romans 6:11-14

Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you 

should obey it in its lusts.  Romans 6:12

A friend of mine wrote to me about certain “reservations” in his life-areas of secret sin that he reserved for himself and into which he frequently withdrew.  These “reservations” are like the large tracts of wilderness in my home state of Idaho.  It may sound exciting to wander around these untamed regions by oneself, but it’s dangerous.

Each journey into sin takes its toll.  We sacrifice our closeness with God, forfeiting His blessing (Psalm 24:1-5), and we lose our influence on others that comes from purity of mind and body (1 Timothy 4:12).

The wild areas in us may never be fully tamed, but we can set up perimeters that keep us from wandering into them.  One perimeter is to remember that we are dead to sin’s power (Romans 6:1-14).  We do not have to give in to it.

The second perimeter is to resist temptation when it first attracts us.  Initial temptation may not be strong, but if we entertain it, it will in time gain power and overwhelm us.

The third perimeter is accountability.  Find a person who will commit to ask you each week, “Have you ‘taken a hike in the wild’? Have you gone where you should not go?”

Impurity is ruinous, but if we long for holiness and ask God for help, He will give us victory.  Press on!     DHR

O Lord, help us to recognize

When we begin to compromise;

And give us strength to follow through

With what we now is right and true. -Sper

Beware-the more you look at temptation,

 the better it looks! 

SMILE! IT'S GOOD FOR YOU

YOU ARE BLESSED - 366 DEVOTIONS

SMILE IT’S GOOD FOR YOU

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness,

making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

Washington Irving

Have you ever sat by a fountain on a warm, sunny day?  You listen to the water as it sends its refreshing and cooling spray of water all around you.  You hear children laughing who try to put their hands in the spray, or see people enjoying a calm, quiet moment just for themselves.

Kindness is like that.  Kindness is the thing that makes people smile because it often comes unexpectedly.  It rushes from nowhere in the face of someone passing by, or in the brief words of encouragement from a total stranger.  It stops you in your tracks as you seek to take it in and hold on to the moment.  It’s your moment of sitting peacefully by the fountain.

May your kindness fall on others like a warming spray of joy, always bringing a cooling sense of hope and peace and charity.

A kind woman gets respect.

Proverbs 11:16 NCV

Lord, help me be ready at any moment

to share a smile and a bit of kindness.

Amen  

DAILY PRAYERS & BLESSINGS - JUNE 2

JUNE 2

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the

moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of

man, that thou visitest him?

Psalm 8:3-4

Lord, it’s so easy for us to get bogged down in the details of life on this earth.  But when we have the opportunity to gaze up at the stars on a clear night, it is easy to remember that there is so much more to your creation than our relatively insignificant lives.  You placed the stars and know them by name, Lord, and you know us by name too.  We are blessed to be even a tiny part of your magnificent creation!   That you also care so deeply for us is the best gift of all.