" Father..... In Heaven”

[Helen]

Our Father which is in Heaven....
This morning I woke up musing on the part of the line, in whats called -“ The Lords Prayer”
Usually other thoughts crowed in..but to day this one line rolled over and over. Then I thought…Have any of us really met God, or know Him?
From I child I “believed in God”, probably like thousands of other do.
In my early 20’s I longed for assurance that I would end up “in heaven” with God. I couldn’t see the point of living through life if it didn’t have a “happy ending”….so I became a searcher 'for God.'
I then heard a Pastor preach on Jesus being the way to God…(until then, I had thought that, that God was for grown up’s, and Jesus was for Sunday school children.) I wanted to be His.
That night was the night that my life changed…I stood outside by our gate…it was a full moon in August …I felt a mighty Presence fall on me..an awesome, powerful, presence, almost causing me to crumple..…and as I looked into the face of the great moon, I felt like I was looking right into the face of God Himself…it was that powerful.
(the Christian walk would be so much easier if the power, presence, and euphoria ....like walking on air, lasted to the grave.. but, in His wisdom, our life is "by faith, not feeling! sigh.. )

So my thought were, - ‘Did I meet the Father at all!?
It was Him that I always wanted..…OR, was I experiencing my first encounter in the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit and face to face with Jesus my Saviour!

I have often found myself saying to other christians, ones I find harsh, hard, and judgmental:-
"You need to get on your knees and ask God to reveal His heart to you….you may have learned the scriptures in side out, you may live a good godly life…but you have not ‘seen' the love of God or ‘seen' His Father heart... Your God is not my God.”
If I had a $ for every time I have said that, to hard, judgemental Christians….....
We know that Jesus said “ If you have seen Me you have seen the Father..” Maybe Jesus is the revealed ‘heart of the Father’…..
Maybe I am just splitting hairs with myself…because Jesus Christ is the whole revelation of the Father to us…Hebrews....just as the Holy Spirit reveals the Father and Son to us …in speaking to us, teaching us, anoints for service, and revealing the deeper things of God to us, as we dwell in His Presence and feel His anointing upon us.

I am not looking for yet another discussion on the trinity!
* But I was just wondering how others perceive their relationship with Father God. *
I have always felt Him close, right here with us..with no big gap between…yet in verses from the gospels..…Jesus seems to put the Father “up and away”…distant.
"Our Father which art in heaven."
"Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven"
" I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one."

The whole reason that God sent His Son to die for us and deliver us from darkness, is to reveal Himself to us..and be -
“God with us…Emanuel.” He closed the great gulf that was between us and Him. To me that is the beginning of the revelation of Fathers heart...

Good grief how long it turned out!!!...Sorry…..much too long…. ......yawn..! I confess I greatly dislike long posts...and usually just skip through them.

 

[Helen]

O how I love Him! How I adore Him!
My breath, my sunshine, my all in all!
The great Creator became my Saviour,
And all God’s fulness dwelleth in Him!!

.

 

[JPPT1974]

Amen in agreement By Grace!

 

[101G]

Usually other thoughts crowed in..but to day this one line rolled over and over. Then I thought…Have any of us really met God, or know Him?

"You need to get on your knees and ask God to reveal His heart to you….you may have learned the scriptures in side out, you may live a good godly life…but you have not ‘seen' the love of God or ‘seen' His Father heart... Your God is not my God.”

GINOLJC, to ByGrace. good post. may I share something with you. to know God is to Love God. I agree with you if someone is puffed up in the scriptures. but what if one knows the scriptures and are confident vs the person who don't know the scriptures. example, 1 Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things". we all grow, and sometimes one person faith might not be where someone else faith is at. when I had my first encounter with God, when I was around 7-10 years old, I knew about God but didn't Comprehend the encounter fully until I was an adult. but from that encounter I have grown from it, and learned from the encounter. but looking back, the Lord met me on my intellect, but I recognized his teaching on that level of understanding. so one might have the Spirit in them but yet non compliance, meaning acting contrary. but staying on topic, one learn of God in stages of Love. those who know must bear the with the one's who don't know.
be blessed.

 

[DPMartin]

bygrace



In no way didn’t Jesus ever imply that the Father was far away, many churches and theologies do, but Jesus never did:


Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.



Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.


Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.


the life your parents have or had is the life you've received when you were born into the world, by will of the flesh. the Life you receive when born of the Holy Spirit is the same situation, you receive the Life of Christ by will of the Spirit. and a Father child relationship that Jesus described, and showed how it is lived in the flesh, or Son of man if you will.

the Father is in Heaven just as Jesus says, but the liars are many that would have you believe that Heaven is somewhere else but where Jesus says it is. behold, the kingdom of God is within you. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the Presence of God, and the works as Jesus says verify, or are a testament to that fact, should the Father grant such in the name of His Beloved Son.

see, the real contest is that most want God to be where they are not, but the whole of Israel's relationship is about their God being where they are and They being with their God. King David was insistent about it, but is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

 

[Frank Lee]

Peace that passes all understanding. Let His peace rule in your heart above all understanding. Understanding is not crucial, not really necessary but peace is. Your experience is wonderful and it's not really necessary that you completely understand it. You are a creation of the master Potter and a created one can never comprehend the work of the master. Jesus the creator.

Imagine for just a moment if you will two cars. One of them a clunky old junker, rattling, smoking and noisily clanking down the highway at a very slow speed, erratically weaving back and forth. Another car appears far behind the antique and is a sleek new supercharged custom creation with every option known. A real masterpiece of design, engineering and craftsmanship. This powerful vehicle approaches and then tears past the old relic in a flash. In an instant they are not even in the same neighborhood and were never at all in the same league.

The old junker is called by the name understanding and the new sleek speedster is named peace.

Peace will pass understanding every time without trying.

Phi 4:6 — Phi 4:7 (NKJV)

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.


In younger years I spent much time in trying to understand how God could possibly deliver me and answer my prayers in some troublesome situation. As the consequence I gave away the blessed peace of the Prince of peace by pursuing the unobtainable and unnecessary understanding. By fretting I let the bird of peace which I held in my hands, escape and fly away while I ran to and fro in pursuit of the elusive and rarely captured bird of understanding. The understanding of a thing may come later if God so wills but the peace which is most precious of all, was available to me the whole time. I was fixed on the natural. The mind of natural fleshly man, the understanding, always wants to know the facts. How, why, when, who and what. The spirit man is content with the peace of God. An answer of peace from God is the guidance you're looking for.

Genesis 41:16 (NKJV)

So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
Learning that God's peace is to be treasured above all things shouldn't and likely won't take you too long to realize. Turmoil and inner conflict, stress and pressing wear out their visit instantly. With all of our strength we then seek that wonderful, indescribable peace of God that only He can supply. Men of the world seek the peace of God, though they don't know it, and do not find it. God in His infinite mercy grants a measure of peace to them for He is kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Psalms 34:14 (NKJV)
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

Just rest in the fact that He came and touched you. It's not necessary to understand all of it - we can't - but we can rest in Him like John. Lay our head on His bosom and let Him rock us in that big creaking rocking chair of His.

 

[prashanthd]

* But I was just wondering how others perceive their relationship with Father God. *

Psalm 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 

[Mungo]

I've almost finished reading an interesting book called The Forgotten Father by Tom Smail. He suggests that evangelicals have focussed too much on Jesus and the charismatics too much on the Holy Spirit, both at the expense of the Father.

He says:
"..the Father is the integrating factor within the Godhead and the gospel. It is his purpose for his whole creation that gives meaning to the coming of the Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit; so to speak, he is the catholic person within the Holy Trinity who gives context and unity to the work of the Son and the manifestations of the Spirit."

He points out that Jesus told us the pray to "Our Father" and the Spirit cries in our hearts "Abba! Father!" (Gal 4:6 & Rom 8:15-16)

It is the Father who created us and it is the Father we are wanting to return to, just as Jesus came from the Father and returned to him.

 

[Helen]

Interesting post Mungo..I hear what He is saying.
On the flip side, as they are One, one is all and all is one...some maybe it is a wash.
For myself, I find I am always chatting to the Father...but that's a habit I started very young..I talked to God, but was not aware of any Holy Spirit, and I thought Jesus was for Sunday School and children only. Why, I have no idea!! LOL

 

[Truth]

Interesting post Mungo..I hear what He is saying.
On the flip side, as they are One, one is all and all is one...some maybe it is a wash.
For myself, I find I am always chatting to the Father...but that's a habit I started very young..I talked to God, but was not aware of any Holy Spirit, and I thought Jesus was for Sunday School and children only. Why, I have no idea!! LOL

In Corinthians there is the scripture that says, Christ is the head of Man, Man is the head of woman, and GOD is the Head of Christ! Scripture also says that Christ sits at the right Hand of the Father, That through Christ we obtain access to the Father, for Christ is our High Priest, just as was done in the Temple Christ the High Priest says to the Father, this is one of Mine, no Blemish, then your sacrifice of prayer is laid on the Alter for a sweet aroma to God, presented before Him. there is nether Jew or Gentile, Just a Child of the Most High!