C H O F Ministry

Tag: Fitting In

  • CHOF Ministry’s Reflection-“Fitting In”

    CHOF Ministry Reflections template Fitting In
    Praise the Lord, and welcome back to:
    CHOF Ministry Morning Reflection.

    CHOF Sunday Morning Reflection is here to give our readers a brief observation about the CHOF Bible Fellowship Sunday Morning mini teaching,

    This Morning Our CHOF Bible Fellowship was called “Fitting In” and I spoke on how God’s love for us give us the feeling of fitting in. His love for us allows us to feel we have not just a place but a “special place.” He loves us just as much as parents love their child or children.

    All through the Bible we see our Heavenly Father’s love for us. the imagery found in Isaiah 44, gives us the image of God’s Fatherly love. So, we must believe and treat God with respect and love just as an obedient child honors their parent.

    We can see other examples in Scripture that tells us that God is our Father.

    In the Old Testament, God is called the Father of Israel, not on a personal basis but as a nation.

    In (Exodus 4:22), you’ll find that when God delivered the nation from slavery in Egypt, God declared that Israel is His “firstborn son.” In Deuteronomy 32:6 Moses reminded the Jews about to enter the Promised Land that Yahweh the Lord is their Father. In Jeremiah 31:9 God Himself said He is “Israel’s father.” Because of their sins, in Isaiah 5:13, Isaiah warned that the nation would go into exile. Then crying to Yahweh to restore them to the Promised Land, Isaiah 63:16 the Israelites said, “Surely you are still our Father!”

    Now, in the New Testament, you’ll find that the Christian faith is a love relationship understood in the most basic of all human relationships, “A Father and a Child.” John 1:12, says: “Those who believe in Jesus are called children of God.  And of course, we can’t forget about Luke 15:11-31, the parable of the prodigal son. This is a picture of our loving and forgiving heavenly Father welcoming His wayward children into His arms.

    Undeniably He’s “still our Father!!!” Beloved, if you haven’t surrendered your carnal behaviors, don’t you think it’s time to let them go and come home to your Father?

    Have a Blessed Sunday.

  • “Fitting In”

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    Our spiritual topic this morning is entitled: “Fitting In”,and this morning’s verse is Isaiah 44:2. This morning’s verse is coming out of the New Living Translation Bible and it reads this way: The Lord who made you and helps you says: “Do not be afraid . . . my chosen one.”

     
    I’d been out late the night before, just as I was every Saturday night hanging out with my Transformer buddies. I was Just twenty something years old, and I was running from God as fast as I could. But suddenly, strangely, I felt compelled to attend the church my grandfather once pastored and the church my family has attended for many decades. I put on a pair of casual slacks, a shirt and tie, and some very worn dressed shoes and drove across town.

    I don’t recall the sermon the pastor preached that day, but I can’t forget how delighted my mother was to see me. With her arm under my arm, she introduced me to everyone she saw, many of them I already knew, after all I grew up in the neighborhood. “This is my oldest son!!!” She proudly declared. Her joy became a picture of God’s love that has stuck with me all these decades.
     
    Beloved, the imagery of God as a loving Father occurs throughout the Bible. In Isaiah 44, the prophet interrupts a series of warnings to proclaim God’s message of family love. “Dear Israel, my chosen one,” he says in verses 2-3: “I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children,” Isaiah noted how the response of those descendants would demonstrate family pride. Verse 5 says: “Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord,’” he wrote. “Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands.”
     
    Disobedient Israel belonged to God, just as I belonged to my mother. Nothing I could do would ever make her lose her love for me. That Sunday I was given a glimpse of our heavenly Father’s love for us.
     
    Prayer:
    Dear Heavenly Father, we all come from families that are broken in one way or another. Thank You for loving us in that brokenness and for showing us what real love looks like.
     
    Beloved, God’s love for us offers us the sense of fitting in and an identity we all crave.
     
    CHOF Ministry is here to help you feed your spiritual cravings.
    Have a Blessed Sunday Everyone. 😀