Me and My God

2013 by David T. Peckham. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/14/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6277-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6275-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6276-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013910714

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CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

SECTION ONE: God My Father

CHAPTER

1.   The Fatherhood of God

2.   The Introduction of Jesus’ Father to His Disciples.

3.   Intimacy with our Heavenly Father

4.   The Father revealed in John’s writings

SECTION TWO: Contemplations on Spritual Adoption

An Introduction to Spiritual Adoption

CONTEMPLATION

1.   What is a Christian?

2.   The Fatherhood of God

3.   The Love of God

4.   The Love of God, continued

5.   The Grace of God

6.   The Spirit of God

7.   Intimacy

8.   Discipline

9.   Discipline continued

10.   Cloudy Days

11.   All Things

12.   Joint Heirs

13.   Fullness of Time

14.   Identification

15.   Responsibilities and Obligations

16.   Our Bodies Also

17.   Our Brother’s Prayers

18.   The Garments of Salvation

19.   Nourishment

20.   Motivation

21.   Confirmation

22.   Conclusion

SECTION THREE: This My Son

Preface

Introduction

CHAPTER

1.   A Prodigal’s Testimony

2.   Journey to a Far Country

3.   He Joined Himself to a Citizen of that Country

4.   I Will Arise and go to My Father

5.   His Father Saw Him

6.   Bring Out the Best Robe

7.   Let Us Eat and Be Merry

8.   Three Stories in One

9.   What do these Things Mean?

10.   What’s so Attractive about Sin?

11.   Secure in His Hand

12.   From Strength to Strength

Other Books by David T. Peckham

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my Grandma, Beatrice Lilly Ray. She lived next door to my home, and I spent as much time with her as I did in my own home. She was a godly woman who set an example for her eldest grandson to follow. Her favorite scripture was Psalm 23, and were the last words she heard in this life. She died as one of her daughters was reading it to her. Her favorite hymn was:

"O Love, that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee;

I give Thee back the life I owe,

That in Thine ocean depths, its flow

May richer fuller be.

O Light, that followest all my way,

I yield my flickering torch to Thee;

My heart restores its borrowed ray,

That in Thy sunshine’s blaze, its day

May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy, that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross, that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from Thee;

I lay in dust life’s glory dead,

And from the ground, there blossoms red,

Life that shall endless be.

George Matheson, 1842-1906.

Thank you, Grandma for your influence in my life.

PREFACE

T he motive behind the writing of this book is threefold: Section One, The Fatherhood of God, is because of my burning desire to get to know my heavenly Father in a more personal way. When I pray, I always address my prayers to Him, yet, of the Trinity, my Elohim, I know less of Him than I do of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I want to change that.

In Section Two, I want to share in this format, the thoughts on our Spiritual Adoption into the family of God. These thoughts were first shared with those who receive my internet ministry called ‘Thoughts From The Word,’ a weekly distribution of meditations now in its 14th year. The reality that I have not only been ‘Born Again’ by the grace of God, but also ‘adopted’ as a son into His family, is most precious to me, and is the reason I can call Him ‘Abba, Father’.

Section Three This My Son, is the story of my restitution to God after twenty-three years of prodigal living. The longsuffering and faithfulness of God is evidenced in no clearer way than in the manner in which the father welcomed home his prodigal son. I first wrote about my experience in my first book entitled ‘This My Son’ published in 2004, but is now out of print.

By incorporating these three subjects under one heading is fulfilling a need in my life. I do not wish to leave the impression I have no more to learn or my relationship with God has piqued. Neither do I wish to leave the impression that to know God is merely an academic exercise—it is not. To love Him is to know Him, and to know Him is to love Him.

I would like to quote from the preface to J.I Packer’s wonderful book Knowing God for it expresses closely my feelings in the writing of this book.

"The conviction behind this book is that ignorance of God—ignorance both of His ways and of the practice of communion with Him—lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today." And, I might add, lies at the root of this author’s spiritual weakness today.

My prayer is, that in some way, these thoughts will be blessed by God to the growth and strengthening of those who read them.

Our journey with God through this life should be one of growth, spiritual growth, and by growing, we get to know our God more intimately, until that day when we shall see Him face to face:

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known 1 Corinthians 13:12.

David T. Peckham, June, 2013.

INTRODUCTION

A fter many months of writing this book, it became clear that something was not right. I studied and researched the subject matter I want to discuss and have been much blessed by it, yet that nagging feeling of walking down the wrong path pervaded my thinking. I was sure of the subject matter and confident of what I wanted to share, so why this negative feeling?

A man with whom I had become acquainted, a fellow believer, with whom I had met several times for fellowship over lunch, phoned me. This was not unusual, although I heard something in his voice that caused me concern. He belonged to a fellowship of believers with whom I had had no previous experience, and I knew there were some issues wherein we differed. On several occasions he had brought some friends to meet me, and we enjoyed fellowship together. However, on this particular phone call he told me several things: 1) When we were together I did most of the talking; 2) the only person I spoke about was myself; 3) the reason he and his friends visited me was to find out what I believed. To say these accusations took my breath away is to put it mildly.

Since the Lord restored me into fellowship with Himself in November, 1999 after 23 years of being angry with Him, and wanting nothing to do with Him or His followers, all I have wanted to do is tell others what an unbelievable thing God has done for me. This is what I live for—God’s love, mercy, grace and faithfulness to me still today, fourteen years later, is the most amazing miracle I could ever experience. This testimony I have shared in the section This My Son.

I have thought about what this man told me in the light of the burden that is on my heart—to share my testimony with anyone who will listen. God has richly blessed my testimony in venues throughout the world both in writing and speaking. There are so many men and women whose first love for God has dissipated, and who believe they have strayed so far from Him that He will never take them back. My burden is to tell them this is a direct lie from Satan, the enemy of their souls.

The question I have is, How can I (there I go again) share my testimony without using the word I"? I had nothing to with my restoration to my Savior because I wanted nothing to do with Him. It was ALL HIM—His love, His mercy, His grace, His faithfulness, His longsuffering, His forgiveness, His loving embrace that welcomed this prodigal son home. I have no greater desire that in all things He may have the preeminence. My testimony is for His glory, as I and others praise Him for His wonderful work in my heart and life.

When I first visited the Faroe Islands in 1962, a series of weeklong Bible Schools were initiated, and our motto was Ikki eg men Christus! Not I but Christ! When my brother quoted this scripture in criticizing the way I always speak of yourself—it was like a dagger in my heart. Perhaps he is correct, I thought, even though it was never my intention. I have concluded, after much prayer and thought, that he was incorrect in His assessment.

So, what was the nagging feeling that I was feeling in my writing of this book? It is quite simple really, I was dealing with doctrine rather that real life issues. There is nothing wrong with studying and writing about doctrine, but that is not why I originally wrote This My Son. My error was in omitting what these doctrines mean to me—I was leaving out the I factor. This My Son was originally published as a stand alone book in 2004 as a testimony to God’s faithfulness to one who did not deserve it. Since then, the two major doctrines the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart are The Fatherhood of God and The adoption of sons into the family of God. These are very personal doctrines to me, and I revel in them because they are a major part of my testimony.

In this book I have sought to expand on my testimony of God’s faithfulness by sharing what these two aspects of my relationship with God means. I realize and praise God, that my story is not unique, in that every true believer is a recipient of the same love and faithfulness of our God. It is unique, however, in that God has dealt with me as an individual, and that makes it very personal. If, in my enthusiasm to share my story, I have offended some and caused them to think that all I want to do is speak of myself, I apologize. God knows my heart, and that my intent is to encourage others to return home and experience that loving embrace of our heavenly Father, while God receives the glory due His precious name. Never be slow to share what God has done for you—it is your legacy.

"Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you" Luke 8:39.

"He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see . . . one thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see" John 9:15, 25.

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul Psalm 66:16.

SECTION ONE

GOD MY FATHER

"G od has not in vain taken upon Him the name of a Father; He fills it up to the full. It is a name of indulgence, a name of hope, a name of provision, a name of protection. It argues the mitigation of punishment; a little is enough from a father, therefore, in all temptations, it should teach us by prayer to fly under the wings of our heavenly Father and to expect from Him all that a father should do for his child, as provision, protection, indulgence, yea, and seasonable corrections also (which are as necessary for us as our daily bread), and when we die we may expect our inheritance, because He is our Father" Richard Sibbes, 1577-1635.

CHAPTER ONE

The Fatherhood of God

"The Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God" John 16:27.

"God represents Himself as Father to encourage us to pray. Father speaks of love and condescension. The name Jehovah is majestic; the name Father shows mercy. Our Father is the only wise God, and knows the best way to bring about what is best for us. Earthly parents do not always know how to advise their children, but God always knows what is best for us, and how to best comfort us.

He keeps His medicine ready for our fainting (2 Cor. 7:6). He knows when affliction is best, and when it is best to give a bitter potion (1 Peter 1:6). The Father knows how to make evil things work for good to His children (Rom. 8:28), and He can make a sovereign antidote for poison.

Our Father is love (1 John 4:16). The love of a parent is but a pebble compared to God’s love for His children. He gives them the cream of His love: electing, and saving love (Zeph. 3:17). There is no Father like God for love. You cannot love your own soul so entirely as He loves you.

He gives us unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8): the hidden manna, the tree of life, and rivers of joy. His treasuries cannot be exhausted: gates of pearls, and pleasures without end. His riches are given, but never exhausted. Our Father is the best Father; He gives to His children more than any Father could ever bestow.

God numbers His children among His jewels. He writes their name in the book of life and will never blot them out (Rev. 3:5). He is not ashamed to be called our God (Heb. 11:16). Christ writes upon us the name of God (Rev. 3:12). What an honour and dignity is this! We have the blessings of God’s love and favour, and He is the proper object of our delight, and every true child of God says as Peter, Lord, you know that I love you (John 21:16). Thomas Watson, The Lord’s Prayer.

T his section is the result of some study concerning a subject that has been heavy on my heart since my restoration to God in November, 1999. Even before my rebellious period, I felt my understanding of my heavenly Father sadly lacking. I had gone through periods when nothing else mattered but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. While this is true, and not to be diminished in any way, my concentration was to the virtual exclusion of Christ’s Father. My thinking, if you can call it that, was that Jesus came of His own accord and was not sent by His Father, and that He alone ruled the universe with no participation of the Father or the Holy Spirit. Of course, I knew the Father had sent Jesus because I read it in the Bible, but my thinking process seemed to ignore it. The Father was less important than the Son because it was Jesus who died for me—I knew Him best.

I also went through a period of time when everything centered on the Holy Spirit, so I began attending churches that, by all external manifestations, thought the same. Now I must be careful not to follow the same pattern with the Father. Nothing has brought the importance of the Trinity more to my heart than the thoughts God gave me when sharing my current testimony through the porthole of Luke 15. There Jesus used the analogies of a shepherd, a widow, and a father—each parable speaks of the work and ministry of the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Father, in that order. I have shared these considerations in the section This My Son.

It is interesting to note in this parable consisting of three stories, the one representing Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is first, followed by that of the Holy Spirit, the cleaning widow, and finally, that of the Father, whose welcome of His returning prodigal son is so pivotal in my personal testimony.

While the Fatherhood of God is the axle upon which all New Testament doctrine turns, Jesus is the Person of the Trinity I find easier to identify with because He is a man. He, like me, cried, got tired, was sad, happy, and had friends. He knew what it was like to be misunderstood, even hated. I see Him walking, eating, and getting angry. In other words, I can identify with Him on a human level.

I can identify with God as my heavenly Father because of my relationship with my earthly father. I loved and respected my earthly father. When I was a child he loved me, protected me, provided for me, guided me by instruction and example, and taught me the difference between right and wrong. These are a few of the things I expect to find in my heavenly Father, and am not disappointed. This is a starting point of my relationship with Him. I say a starting point, because, in my heavenly Father, there is so much more.

All that God is and does for His children can be summed up in the name Abraham ascribed to God—Jehovah-Jireh—"The LORD will provide" Genesis 22:14.

Everything that makes the New Testament more relevant than the Old, and which makes a difference between Christianity and Judaism, is summed up in the Fatherhood of God. Father is the relationship by which I know God. My heavenly Father is also the Father of Jesus, my Savior, and this makes Jesus my Brother. I, therefore, have a very special and personal relationship with both God the Father, and God the Son.

If it were not for God the Father, Jesus would not be known to mankind as the Apostle, the Sent One:

"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle (apostolos, one who is sent) and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him" Hebrews 3:1-2.

The core of the gospel message is John 3:16-17:

"For God (the Father) so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send (apostello) His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

The church today, to a great extent, is still influenced by the medieval concept with its paintings, sculptures, and preaching. The Persons of the Trinity, portrayed in stained glass windows, were developed primarily from the writings of Dante and his presentation of paradise and purgatory.

The closest we come to picturing a spirit is probably a ghost (Holy Ghost), and very few attempts have been made to paint the Holy Spirit, apart from a dove or flame of fire, descriptions that are found in the Bible. The Father, however, is presented as a severe, contemplating old man, who has been taken by surprise at the fall of mankind. He is pictured cupping His chin in His hands, seemingly bewildered and perplexed as to what to do next. This is not how the scriptures present the Father.

I agree, the Old Testament presents God as severe, and with no tolerance for those who violate His law. With the wishy-washy understanding of God as nothing but love, therefore tolerating man’s rebellion and sin against Him (a thought so frequently taught and accepted in today’s diluted gospel), it is of little wonder that the God of the Old Testament is rejected with such statements as This is not the God I know, and A God of love would never condemn and destroy those He supposedly called His own.

Who are we to judge God? Rather than accepting the Father and, for that matter the Son and Holy Spirit, as portrayed in the Bible, we judge the Judge of the whole earth based on our fallen and sinful principles and concepts.

To concentrate on Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit, is not wrong, unless it is to the exclusion of God the Father. Denominations, sects and cults, begin when one person, or a group of persons, decide one particular doctrine should be emphasized above all others. Many are named after that particular doctrine, i.e. Baptist, Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, etc.

As the Godhead is one in three and three in one, so should we seek to understand the doctrines of each equally, for, if our understanding of the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit is lacking, our knowledge of each Person and their particular work is left wanting, and is therefore unbalanced. The very title applied to God in the first statement of Scripture "In the beginning God (elohim, plural of the word ‘el) teaches that God consists of three persons: Let us make man in our image Genesis 1:26; Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil Genesis 3:22; Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language Gen.11:7. John confirms in clear language this marvelous truth: For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one" 1 John 5:7-8.

Obviously, before we can have sons we must have a father, and fathers come in all shapes and sizes, with as many varying personalities; good fathers and bad fathers, some are loved and some hated, some we love to go home and visit, while others are left behind as their children grow into adulthood, and leave home at the earliest possible moment with no intention of ever returning. I thank God constantly for my father and mother who were of the good kind, and whom I loved dearly.

I remember with joy the words of my father when he said to me, I am very proud of you. I therefore have an advantage, I believe, over those who have never enjoyed a close relationship with their father, for I can readily understand some of the qualities of a good father in my heavenly Father. Not that my heavenly Father reflects the attributes of my earthly father, but vice versa; he was a born again believer. When God says, I love you with an everlasting love, I have some basis upon which to understand what He means.

On the other hand, those whose relationship with their earthly father is strained or almost non-existent, take great comfort in the fact that their heavenly Father provides with abundance those elements of a good father that is/was missing from their earthly relationship.

So, the Fatherhood of God to His children is, or should be, a matter of great significance to them. Unfortunately, this filial relationship between God and His children is often relegated to the repetition of the Lord’s Prayer on Sunday mornings. The issue is not so much that the relationship with their earthly father was bad, but that the understanding of their heavenly Father is lacking.

The only way of really getting to know a person is not only to read about them, or read their autobiography, but to spend time with them.

I have described the anger I had with God in Section Three of this book. That anger lasted for twenty-three years. Then, just before going to bed one evening in early November, 1999, a verse of Scripture came into my mind. I thought that particular verse seemed strange. It was Isaiah 6:1: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. I read no further. I couldn’t. I began to cry. My body shook as my crying turned to sobbing. "Oh, God, this is what I need. This is what I must have in my life. I need to see You."

Obviously, I knew I could never actually see God in this lifetime, and, as time passed, the real meaning of my prayer became a reality; my heart was crying out with the same desire as Paul when he said, That I may know Him (Philippians 3:10), only for me it was more specifically God the Father. This may sound sacrilegious to some, but please try to understand from where I was coming.

Throughout my Christian walk from age 14 to 27, all my studies and preaching had to do with Jesus Christ, much to the exclusion of the Father Himself. I prayed to Jesus, sang about Jesus, studied about Jesus, and preached about Jesus, yet it was against the Father I was angry, and blamed Him for everything that had gone drastically wrong. I was not upset with Jesus, because, as I often sang as a child, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong. After all, the Father was the father, so He got all the blame.

God used these words from Isaiah 6:1 like a sledge hammer. I saw myself as a large stone—hard, stubborn and unbreakable, but after three days and nights of hammering on the stone, I lay crushed before the powerful hand of God. Yes, He could have accomplished His plan for me in one moment; I believe now that He swung His hammer on me for three days so I would never again forget His mighty work in my heart:

"Is not My word like a fire? says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Jeremiah 23:29.

As sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit within us instills the desire to get to know Him better; to understand His principles, His attributes and His purpose. There is no limit to the desire of God’s children, for with each insight the desire is strengthened and the child’s capacity is deepened. God’s revelation of Himself can be likened to a slide show, where He does not move on to the next picture until we grasp a level of understanding of the current one.

During His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29), Jesus referred to His Father 17 times—My Father once, our Father once, and your Father 15 times. The concept of God as Father is not new with the teachings of Christ, but His relationship with individual believers is. The Old Testament presents God as the Father of Israel: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son Hosea 11:1; see also Jeremiah 31:19.

Of the many prayers recorded in the Old Testament, never is Jehovah addressed as Father, yet, when His disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He commenced with Our Father. When David and the prophets spoke of God as their Father it was always within the context of His people as a nation, or in prophesy concerning Jesus, cp. Psalm 89:26-29; Isa 63:16; 64:8-9; Jeremiah 3:19-20. What a surprise this must have been to the disciples of Jesus, especially when He aligned Himself with your Father and "My Father" Matthew 7:21.

The name by which God was known throughout the Old Testament was Jehovah, ‘Yahweh,’ which emphasized the holiness of God. Holiness does not only speak of God’s purity and righteousness, but of His separation from sin and everything associated with it. The word means the Existing One or I am that I am (Exodus 3:14), with no intimation of a close personal relationship. While He was their King and Sovereign, Master and Lord, there was always the thought of separation, just as there is in countries today where the king or queen is kept separate from their citizens.

The residence of Queen Elizabeth is a huge stone building surrounded by a heavy metal fence, and guarded at all times by soldiers both inside and outside the gate. This is not unlike the President of the United States, or the leader of any country. Imagine the surprise and confusion among His disciples when, on one of the hills surrounding Galilee, Jesus introduced the concept of God as their personal heavenly Father, one whom they can readily approach without fear.

One of the first things the Holy Spirit has taught me in my quest to know the Father is the reality that this is exactly who He is—my Father. The relationship I have with Him is a personal one; He is my Father. Somehow it is different to say He is our Father when, for instance, I repeat the Lord’s Prayer, which I did every Sunday morning in church. I can get lost in the our, but not in the my. It is like attending a church with a large congregation where one is scarcely known—I can get lost in the crowd and never be held accountable for my walk with the Lord. That is how I feel with the words our Father, I can remain distant in the numbers, while still acknowledging God as my Father who is in heaven; how different when I see Him and acknowledge Him as my Father.

God has established a personal relationship with me as an individual. This is the same relationship all born again believers have with the Father, yet they are all individual and personal. I have met several people who deny God because, God would never want to have a personal relationship with me. They believe in a god who created the heavens and earth, but then released it to follow its own course. Such a god would not be interested in a personal relationship with something He created. How sad; this is exactly the purpose of God.

CHAPTER TWO

The Introduction of

Jesus’ Father to His Disciples.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" Matthew 5:16.

T he very first matter on the mind of Jesus when He introduced this new concept to His disciples was that His Father would be glorified. Once again this is personal: "Let your light  . . . see your good works  . . . glorify your Father." Because of our personal relationship with the Father, He can be glorified by our good behavior; in fact, it is our duty to live lives whereby He can be glorified. Elsewhere in the New Testament the word " glorify " is also translated " honor and magnify " (John 8:54; Romans 11:13).

What does it mean to "glorify" our heavenly Father? Glorify is one of those words we so often read without understanding. The word ‘doxazoy’ means to ‘honor or to bring honor to’, while other versions use the word ‘magnify’. The Greek word also strongly carries the meaning of ‘praise’. Many churches sing the Doxology in their worship service every Sunday, which is a wonderful act of praise, as long as it does not become a matter of habit with over familiarity:

"Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost"

Thomas Ken, 1674.

These words are actually the final verse of a fairly long hymn: Awake my soul, and with the sun thy daily stage of duty run, and have become the most sung words in Christendom.

References to people glorifying God, or giving praise, include those in Luke 5:25 ff., where the man who was paralyzed was healed by Jesus:

"Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today!’"

Another miracle, this time performed by Peter and John for the man born lame, caused a crowd of people to question them as to how this was done. Peter’s answer included the statement:

"The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go" Acts 3:13.

The following day the rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem and asked the apostles, By what power or by what name have you done this? After a closed door session to discuss what action they should take against them, they concluded it was in their best interest not to punish them so they let them go. They were afraid to punish the apostles because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done Acts 4:21. In that miracle, God was glorified by the people and Jesus was glorified by His Father. It might accurately have been translated "the people praised God" and God honored His Son.

It is the law of Christ that we bear one another’s burdens, and in our obedience of this law we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Galatians 4:6; Romans 15:6.

"If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen" 1 Peter 4:11.

God is glorified by our good works.

God is glorified not only by our expressions of praise, but by the way we conduct ourselves, using Jesus as our prime example. Obedience to His Word and leading will always bring glory to His name: When God and His glory are made our end, we shall find a silent likeness pass in upon us; the beauty of God will by degrees, enter upon our soul Stephen Charnock, 1628-1680.

Some things we are asked to do simply go against our human nature:

"Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" Matthew 5:44-45.

Prove to yourself and others that you are a son of your Father in heaven by imitating Christ. Holy Spirit, You know how much I want to know my heavenly Father and His will for me, but why did You put this in scripture? This is not so easy; I would rather criticize than pray for them, let alone forgive them. Here Jesus uses the matter of praying for those who persecute you; do not discriminate in your prayers. It is easy for me to pray for those with whom I enjoy a pleasant relationship, but that proves nothing. To sincerely pray for those who despise you, or have done you wrong in some manner, is a sign that you truly are a child of God. Is this not the example Jesus set? Jesus prayed for those who nailed Him to a cross, and for those who stood and watched while deriding Him: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do Luke 23:34.

I must confess I have never been spitefully used or persecuted because I am a Christian. I have been laughed at, ridiculed, been pelted with rotten tomatoes, but I really cannot justify calling that persecution. I find it difficult to sincerely pray for those who disagree with me, or charge me with speaking too much about myself.

The old saying, ‘Like father, like son’, although not taken from scripture, certainly applies to the believer who seeks to have others see Jesus Christ in them, in their words and works. Surely, one of our greatest desires must be to be like Jesus, to be as much like Him during this lifetime as we will