A Father's Love
Hi Friends,
It is a beautiful day in New Jersey. It is spring, and the flowers are blooming and the trees are budding. In the natural this is truly a beautiful time of the year. We look forward to summer and vacation time.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 That is God’s heart, that we would live a life of joy, and contentment, at peace with one another, and at peace with him. The abundant life is not a life dedicated to achieving every personal goal, and indulging every desire of the senses. Many believe the abundant life means to be free of worries and cares. Some believe the abundant life is found in achieving material success, and respect with regards to one’s peers. Some believe that the abundant life is enjoying good health in the retirement years. But God sees the purpose behind our lives quite differently. His values are not necessarily ours. “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8
What keeps us from understanding God’s ways? If we concern ourselves only with the world, and meeting its expectations, we will never be able to appreciate the Lord. If we do not spend time in the Word of God, or get to know him through prayer, we will fail to develop a true friendship and trust in him. We will remain immature in our faith, and never accomplish the plan he has for our lives, and most importantly, we may never really know him, or his ways.
I received this vision several days ago:
The Father and the Infant
The young man in the vision was tenderly holding his infant son. It was a precious moment, showing a father’s love for his child. It was a scene of comfort and love. God loves all his creation; he loves all people. We are his children, his friends and his brothers. He especially wants an intimate relationship with each of us. Often, he shows his love for us, so that we can learn to trust him, and show him our love and devotion. When we are loved by him, we can share that love with those around us.
The Lord values the home, and family relationships: fathers and mothers and their children.
“He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:6
“And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke 1:17
Just as John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord, in his day, the Lord wants us to partner with the Holy Spirit in prayer, to prepare his bride for his return.
He wants none to be lost. Jesus said, as he carried the cross on the road to Calvary, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” Luke 13:34
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1
The Lord holds out his arms to us. He longs to hold us next to himself. Do we run to him or do we push away? The Israelites, were like a yo-yo. When things were going well for them, they took matters into their own hands, and forgot about the Lord. They did whatever pleased them, caring nothing for the Lord’s will or for his statutes. You can hear the Lord’s frustration with them in these passages: “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations.” Isaiah 65:2
“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.” Matthew 13:15
There have always been people who show no respect for the Lord. They busy themselves with their own interests, and deny the Lord any of their precious time. Now, there seems to be a new climate in our nation, one of self. It is a climate that is lacking in love but promoting selfishness. The new world view, is about conformity. People who are independent are branded with labels meant to cause shame. The purpose is to instill the world view into the population and force them through peer pressure to conform.
Paul saw this same attitude among the people of his day, warning the Philippians, “For as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” Philippians 3:18-19
What was truly shameful 50 years ago, is now flaunted today as being “morally right.” This is a complete departure from Biblical truth, and truly shameful in the eyes of the Lord. We can see that our nation has embraced a secular, humanistic view. Before long, we may become a post Christian nation, where the majority of people do not believe that Jesus is the Lord’s Messiah, the one who was, who is, and who is to come. I believe that we are living in the last days. “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” Matthew 24:10-12
The love that grows cold is familial love. There seems to be a lack of love in family relationships, and a lack of commitment to the family. Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. And marriages in general are declining, with more couples cohabiting. Because of a lack of mutual trust, couples see their relationships as merely temporary.
Today, 40% of children born, are born out of wedlock, (Institute for Family Studies, December 18, 2017 by Robert Ver Bruggen) and only 9% marry because of pregnancy.
Children are bounced back and forth from one home to another, from father to mother and back again year in and year out. Aging parents are sent to nursing homes by their adult children. Young children are not with their mothers during the day, but sent to daycare facilities, and after school care, so that their mothers can work. Our society is broken because homes are broken. Teens are committing suicide because they have no one who loves them, who takes the time to listen to their concerns, and helps them. Our society no longer supports marriage, but tells people to do what they feel like doing. Children are raised by broken people, so they become broken themselves. It is a sad state of affairs, and what is devastating to home life affects the nation as a whole.
We see this next generation as being more detached. How many will return a “Good Morning,” or a “How are you?” with total silence and without eye contact? What has gone wrong? Why is our nation having so many social problems? Why are there so many health problems? What is happening to our society?
If we go back to the line above, I believe we will find the answer to these questions. “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:6
Yes, I believe that our nation is under a curse. Why? Because the hearts of the fathers are not towards their children. It has been going on for a while now. It is possible that this loss of love, and family bonding among a portion of our population has come as a result of our welfare system that rewards a single mom with more money than a married mom, or a mom with a man in the home. The welfare system did not support marriages in poorer families, so it became natural for men and women to remain uncommitted. Many men refuse to pay child support, and so force the mothers to work and leave their children for others to raise. Again, this robs children of their daily bread, and a stable loving home.
Some men, are just caught up in their own lives, with commitments to the job and outside activities. They fail to take the time to maintain a relationship with their sons and daughters.
A friend of mine, was divorced and never received child support. The courts would mandate payment, but after the man would show up and make one payment, he would disappear again. The courts and the police were either lacking in staff or were somewhat apathetic towards her cause, so her children, now adults were without a father’s love or support.
Another common scenario, involves greedy men who take advantage of women on welfare. These men, whether they are the fathers or boyfriends, stop by on the day that these single moms receive their welfare checks. They come to woo the money away from these women and their children. The fathers, and boyfriends do not contribute to the needs of the children, but instead rob them of their very sustenance.
Our society has now decayed to the point where many women do not want to raise their own children. I know of one example of a woman in the church, who would rather work than stay home with her four year old and new infant. She has a loving husband, who provides a good living, so she doesn’t need to work outside the home. He is a great nurturing father and attentive husband, and commutes a long distance to work everyday.
This young woman will say to her husband, “You feed them, I am getting ready for work. You pick them up, I want to go to the gym. You can get up and give them a bottle, I need my sleep. I am not cooking dinner, you can make it yourself. Get used to it -- I am not changing.”
Can you imagine, a child of four hearing his mom say, “You pick them up - I want to go to the gym!” His little heart must be crushed. He must feel unloved by his own mother.
I know another young woman with a little boy of 6 years old, who after a long day at school, and after school care, is picked up by his grandma, and taken to her house. He waits for his mom to come home. Yet, when she arrives, she eats a quick bite, and leaves her son, to go to the stable to spend time with her horse! Can you imagine the heartbreak of this little boy? His mom loves her horse more than him!
I know of another woman who met a man at her gym, and is now leaving her husband of 20 years. He is a sweet and devoted father and husband. He has worked hard in his own business, for his family, and now he is left with a broken heart. She is a demanding woman, wanting every dime and ounce of blood he has. Even now he is still willing to forgive.
These women want to leave their husbands for another man, or prefer a career to nurturing their own children. These women believe that they are entitled and that the world revolves around them. They are not helpmates to their spouses or to anyone for that matter. They are selfish, and insubordinate. They are like the women of Bashan. “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness: ‘The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks.” Amos 4:1-2
No wonder our land is hurting. This is the sin of rebellion. These men and women are rebelling against God and his authorities. “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, (witchcraft), and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” 1 Samuel 15:23
The sin of rebellion opens the door to demonic activity. It opens the door to pain, and sorrow. Our nation is experiencing the woes of drug and opioid addiction, abortion, sexual perversity, identity issues, human trafficking, corruption in the government, propaganda in the media, and crimes in all forms.
Our nation is truly suffering-- but there is an answer:
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Thank you Jesus! Yes, prayer! It is prayer! It is prayer that moves the heart of God to move the mountains in our lives. So - keep praying and we will see our nation turn around. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Matthew 11:5
Please pray for our nation. This is our home, we want everyone to feel loved and respected. We want everyone saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. We need revival and healing in our nation. We need healing right in our homes. Come Lord Jesus! Send your Holy Spirit!
When we, the church pray for revival, we pray God’s heart. Many of the messages that I have shared with you have been about the church not yet prepared for the Lord’s return. So we once more look at this scripture to understand: “And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke 1:17
The purpose of the father’s heart turning towards the children has to do with this: “to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Everything fits together, even the next message that God has given me to write. God wants his bride to be ready to meet him.
If you will share this important message with others, I would appreciate it. The Lord gives me visions for the church. We need to be willing to listen and respond to what he would have us do.
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May God bless you in all that your hands find to do!!!
