“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”  (Deut 31:6)

When I was growing up, I lived with many different families and was often moved along before I got to know them very well. One family was an exception; I stayed with them for a few months. They had a boy named “Jimmy” about my same age; we shared a room, and we soon felt like brothers. After I left, I did not hear from him for nearly forty years until he reached out to me on social media. It was immediately evident that we had led very different kinds of lives! I had become a pastor, and he had become an activist-atheist who daily filled his social media postings with horrible anti-God propaganda. I asked him how he had become an atheist, and he answered with all the typical heartfelt but baseless nonsense. I asked him about his parents, and he said they had gotten divorced. He said he continued to live with his father until his 16th birthday. Then his father got a new girlfriend who consumed his life. Soon after, his father took him to a big city, handed him some money, and said, “Don’t ever contact me; I never want to hear from you again!” His father had rejected and abandoned him. Each time I mentioned his father during our conversation, he bristled with anger and finally said, “Don't talk about my father anymore; I hate him!”

After hearing his story

I think I understand the reason Jimmy is an atheist; he has transferred his feelings of rejection, abandonment, and great emotional pain to God. I wish he would have allowed me to speak to him about God (he wouldn't), because I would have assured him that God loves him dearly and would never abandon him like his earthly father did. 

Therefore

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8 ESV)

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt. 23:12)

God cares about humility!

A theme that runs through the entire Bible is that God humbles the proud and exalts the humble.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

Humility is one character trait impossible to achieve by focusing on it; the only way to become humble is to look away from yourself and instead look to God and others. Fixing your eyes on him will keep you in proper perspective. When you are humbled in this way, God’s promise is to exalt you.

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:4)

Therefore

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:5-6)

“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,” (Eph. 4:2) 

“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

God’s forgiveness is a free gift because of Christ’s work on the cross (Matt. 26:28). But look at what he says in the verse above. He says we are to forgive, and then we will be forgiven. And the following passage is very clear.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6:14-15 ESV))

Why is this important?

Not being willing or able to forgive those who have sinned against us is a sign of unbelief. The fact is that anyone who chooses to withhold forgiveness has not been to the cross and has not allowed God to forgive them of their own sins.

Therefore

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark. 11:25 ESV)

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32  ESV) 

“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matt. 8:21-22 ESV)

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Rom. 6:6)

Jesus taught that whoever sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34). But the good news is that He took care of the problem when he took on our sin and the wrath of God for it on the cross; we are now set free from our sin because our old sinful self was crucified with him.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” (1 Peter 2:24)

Therefore

If you have put your faith in Christ, put away sin. You are dead to it. When temptation comes, resist. This is good news, so don’t allow the evil one to fool you into thinking you can’t help it.

“By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom. 6:2)

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:11 ESV)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) 

Everyone felt sorry there

Over the years, I’ve gone to local jails and state prisons to share Christ many times. I discovered early on that everyone incarcerated there felt sorry about something—either sorry for what they had done wrong to get them there or just sorry that they had been caught. The ones who felt sorry for what they had done were the ones who responded well to the gospel; they readily admitted their sin, repented, asked God for forgiveness, He forgave them, and their lives were forever transformed! On the other hand, the ones who were just sorry that they had gotten caught usually just blamed others for their problems; they were not repentant; they were not receptive to the gospel; they did not ask God for forgiveness, and their lives remained unchanged. 

There is something powerful about honesty before God!

Not only does honesty with God cause us to come into the light regarding our sin, God, our Father who loves us, wants to forgive us!

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Prov. 28:13)

Therefore

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” (Eph. 1:7)

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

Don’t get it wrong

Over the years, I have heard various Christians misquote the above verse. They simply say passionately, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you!” But that’s incorrect! You can resist all day long as passionately as you want, and still the devil will not flee from you! Why is that so? Because there is one very critical ingredient that must not be left out! The answer is in the very first part of the verse, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” That is what makes the rest of the verse work for you! It’s a simple, three-part formula: 1) Submit yourself to God; 2) Resist the devil. And 3) The devil flees from you!

Therefore

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:6

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph. 6:11)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”  (James 1:5)

Have you ever wished you knew more about life and had a better understanding of things? The great news is that you can become incredibly wise by just asking God to give you wisdom. He promised in the passage at the top of the page that he would not reproach or berate you just for asking. Remember that everything that can be known is already known by God, and He is willing to generously give wisdom to you if you ask Him for it in faith (James 1:6).

How to get it

Start by asking God boldly to give you wisdom. Then do the following wise things: study His Word, seek the wise counsel of other Christians whose lives seem worth imitating, and then work to live wisely; knowing what to do is knowledge—doing what you know is wisdom.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” (Prov. 19:20 ESV)

Therefore

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. (Prov. 3:13-18 ESV)

“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6)

I pondered over the title of this post for some time and almost didn’t go with it because this term, “Who’s your Daddy?” has taken on a life of its own with varying meanings. But, as a Christian, it’s a very important question to ask yourself, especially during any kind of crisis or emergency. This is because you have been adopted into God’s wonderful family! God is now your Heavenly Father (this is how Jesus taught you to approach Him when praying). You are His beloved child with all the rights that come with that privilege, and you can now approach Him boldly as you do your earthly father. Three times in the New Testament, Jesus and the Apostle Paul used the word “abba” when speaking to God. The word “abba” in modern Hebrew means “Daddy.”

Therefore

Throughout the day, when you remember how much God loves you deeply especially if any kind of situation happens where you need your Heavenly Father’s help and guidance, don’t despair, just remember, “Who’s your daddy?” and approach Him that way, boldly; He will respond to you in a wonderful and perfect way!

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15)

“He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”  (Eph. 1:5) 

Adoption is irrevocable!

Twice, Susan and I were blessed to be present when our son, John, and his wife, Ingrid, adopted children. John and Ingrid are foster care parents and have children coming and going from their home for many reasons. These two children had become a regular part of their family because they had been with them a long time; they had become dearly loved, and it seemed like they were already permanent. Finally, they officially adopted them and it was a beautiful moment each time. John, Ingrid, and the new family member stood before the judge, and he proclaimed it legal; the child received a brand-new birth certificate, too, with John and Ingrid listed as the parents. By the way, if you have witnessed an adoption in a court of law, you will hear the following question posed to the new parents, “Do you understand that adoption is an irrevocable act, and you cannot take it back?” That’s correct; even though it’s legally possible to disown a natural-born child, it’s absolutely impossible to disown an adopted one. They are forever permanent!

It is exactly the same way with God

Once God has adopted you into His family as his child, it is forever. He adopted you with all your shortcomings, quirks, and flaws even though He knew all about them before He adopted you. And He will continue to love you and help you mature and grow all the days of your life.

Therefore

“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” (Gal. 3:26)

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12)

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15)

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6)