For All Who Are Oppressed

“The Lord works righteousness

    and justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

    his acts to the people of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

    nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

    nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame;

    he remembers that we are dust.” 

“But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,

    and his righteousness to children's children,

to those who keep his covenant

    and remember to do his commandments.” (Psalms 103:6-14,17-18 ESV)

Today in America is a day that many people celebrate their earthly fathers. The day is called “Father’s Day,” which comes around every year in the month of June (Mother’s Day is in the month of May). But not all of us who live on the earth had or have fathers who we want to celebrate. And so my heart goes out to all people who had abusive fathers like I did, who exhaled hate and anger and abuse rather than love and kindness and tenderness. 

So, on Father’s Day, when other people are celebrating their earthly fathers, I am celebrating my heavenly Father God, for he is the one who loved and cared for me and brought me up in his love and compassion and tenderness, and who introduced me to his only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on a cross nearly 2000 years ago, in order that he might free us from our slavery to sin and give us new lives in him to be lived for his glory and in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. And he fills our hearts with his love and joy and compassion, in caring about us and about our needs. And he gives us purpose and meaning to our lives, and value, and by faith in him we have a relationship with God the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, like we have with no other.

For me, He is the Dad that I can celebrate, and that I can go to and talk with and who will listen to what I want to share with him, and who will speak tenderly his words of comfort and/or instruction and guidance and direction into my life. He doesn’t treat me like I am a nothing, or as though I am just someone to stomp on or to sin against, but he treats me as though I have value to him, and so he shares with me his heart and he lets me share in his work, too, in sharing with others the truth of the gospel of our salvation.

But he is not a Father to everyone who merely professes his name or who calls Jesus their “Lord.” He is a Father to those who fear him (stated here in the passage 3 times). And to fear the Lord is to honor and to value him, to give him respect and obedience and admiration. It is to do what he says we are to do, and to not be hearers of his word only. And it is to take his promises and his warnings seriously, to believe him, and then to behave accordingly. For if sin is what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

But to have Jesus Christ as our Lord, and God the Father as our heavenly Dad, our lives must be surrendered to the Lord to do his will, and we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. And then we must seek his will and purpose for our lives, and then go where he sends us, and do as he says, and say whatever he gives us to say to whomever, in agreement with the Scriptures. For our lives now belong to him, and we are his possession to do his will and purpose for our lives.

For Jesus Christ did not give his life up for us on that cross merely to forgive us our sins and to promise us heaven when we die. And those things are conditional upon our obedience to his commands and us no longer walking in sin. But he died that we might die with him to sin and now live to him and to his righteousness, to do his will, as his children, and as his servants and messengers. For Jesus died so that our lives will now be changed and transformed away from living in sin to now living to please our heavenly Dad. So, embrace God as your Father, and now do as he says.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Beautiful Lamb

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

By Gary Miller

Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow, 

Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God. 

Sent from the Father’s love, 

Sent from the throne above, 

Sent to redeem us with His blood.

Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow, 

Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God. 

Behold the Lamb of God 

Suff’ring great pain for us, 

And by His wounds we all are healed.

Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow, 

Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God. 

Like sheep we’ve gone astray, 

Each turn to his own way, 

But Jesus will take our sins away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo7wA3gZIgI

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