The Path to the Father

 

 

 

 

The Path to the Father
 
 
Wendell, to restore the heart of a man, if I were giving the introduction, this is how I would begin.  If your dad was flawed or the best of dads, he was not God, your creator, who longs to have an intimate relationship with you. He longs for you to know Him as your Father.  Two quotes come to mind; one by a man who lived in the sixteenth century, whose name was Blaise Pascal
"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone."
 
The other is very much like it, and I do not doubt that Blaise took his thoughts from Psalm 46:10
 
“Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”

Update: I am writing on the book of Lamentations, Chapter 3, beginning at verse 25-28a, “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.   It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.   It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.  Let him sit alone in silence,”  
 
Your identity has everything to do with your search for a relationship with the Father.  If your identity is in anything but Jesus, you will not find His Father.  Being a Baptist is of little worth; having wealth is not the answer, or being a leader in your career, or in your Church, will not help you find the joy of knowing the Father; it begins with a first step, knowing that Jesus Christ is living in you.  The next step is spending time in a quiet room, getting to know God, and I’m excited about your journey.

 

I am only on page 61, but it has some good help, and the key is the heart of the man.  His desires and priorities are not something you can teach, and they pass; it will have to be what they long for.

 
Love the guys and pray that they awake, to desire to have a Father.
 
Ken Shuman sent this quote: It is great; I'm convinced that anger is the fruit, but fear is the root. To produce better fruit in our lives, we need to tend to the roots. Next time you get angry, stop and ask yourself what you are being threatened by."

More updates from today's sermon, in Matthew 20, a mother's request, and more than likely, her sons put her up to it.  They want to be the top dogs; many a man wants that in all areas of life.  But a man seeking a path to the Father wants what our Lord tells him in verses 25-28a, Jesus said You want to be a leader, become a servant.

Some great points Rusty Rice made: “Becoming a servant that a leader, not the guy that believes he should be first. “ He went on to say, “If you make yourself the center of your  world, it is going  to be a small world.”  And my last recall was this: “In God’s kingdom, the man who knows the Father is not at the top of the pyramid; he is at the bottom holding up the others, so that many have a relationship with the Father.”  It's great when a Rice can know such truth.

Your brother in Christ,

Bob