The Love of the Father

Romans 8:38-39 - For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I spent the better part of the week at church at an annual Ministers Conference our church has each year. It's open to pastors from anywhere! This year pastors from New York, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Wisconsin, maybe more, joined us. It's a time of encouraging both for them, the Church and just us regular people!! 

Each year it is amazing. It was especially encouraging this year for me, more than you can know...others were also touched, encouraged and healed. I have had a difficult time, which is not uncommon, feeling the lack of the presence of God and less ability to hear from Him. Bible reading and prayer has been difficult. I have been questioning, seeking and pleading with God for "the old days" when He spoke so much  through His Word. Some might say dry spells shouldn't or can't happen. King David called out in Psalm 13, How long, O Lord, will you hide Your face from me? We can all go through these times, as several of the pastors admitted. 

We are entering a time when we are going to need strength and that strength needs to come from the Father. So we need to know first that His love is unconditional to those who have given their lives to Him and seek Him daily. 

One message after another this week, and even earlier for me, settled in my spirit. Three different pastors or evangelists spoke intertwined messages of God's love. I'm thankful for pastors who can confess dry spells or difficulties. It's through these times the love of God can come through...even if it has to be through someone who is sharing God's Word to His people. As God's people, as His children and the body of His church, we need to come together and encourage and stand behind and beside each other. 

I don't believe I ever thought God didn't love me but not sensing His presence was so hard it felt as though He didn't care anymore. Through this trial my faith has grown, as was expressed in another sermon...that little seed of faith that is all we need. When we feel hopeless in a situation we need to remember how God enters in: through walls, as He did when He confronted Thomas' doubt! He doesn't need a door to go through. He IS the Door! He has gone through more for us than we ever will. Can you comprehend this? It's hard to wrap one's head around this sometimes. He's such a great God.

Some comments are being made on Facebook about the conference. This is my favorite from a mom. It makes me realize again that we all need to come to this loving Father as a child. This Father will always be there when an earthly father could not...when earthly parents or spouses or anyone else could not. 

Yesterday evening was awesome... Was so thrilled that my twins and son got to sit in the service the whole time. Very good message of what I got to hear, had me tearing up in the nursery where I stayed with my granddaughter. ... My heart was overjoyed. At the end the Pastor started singing Jesus Loves Me and while I was in the nursery everything got quieter and my granddaughter stopped and paused to listen. That was awesome. [My husband] told me that our son was singing away to it. He even had his eyes closed singing! During one of the worship songs [one of our daughters] broke out crying. She told me she sensed the Lord. [My husband] said [our other daughter] broke out crying on one of the days I wasn't there and also was lifting her hands praising the Lord! And the crying has nothing to do with sadness! ... Brothers and sisters, you know! I love hearing that my kids can sense and know that the Lord is amongst them! [We] sensed His presence also during the meetings. God is Good! God just showed up! ️️️ We serve an Amazing God! 

Some might claim this was a hyped up emotion. It was not. I've heard over and over how the love of God, the love of His people and His presence is within our church. We are a worshipful bunch. We worship in Spirit and in Truth. One of the participating evangelists, now a good friend of our pastor, admitted that if he ever felt God was ending his ministry and if the Lord allowed, he would be quite happy to move to Milwaukee and sit under the teaching of our pastor. That is quite the compliment. It's why I keep saying I love my church. 

I can't begin to express the love of God! It is eternal, as was spoken last night. While God loves all mankind and wishes that none would perish, if we choose to reject God altogether and live without Him in our lives, a day will come when He has to reject us. That would be eternal life without God, without heaven. Our loving and following Him secures His love for us. It has to be that way. It has to. If we have chosen Him we are His children and this Father will not abandon His children, unless they abandon Him. Earthly fathers can't do this; nor can mothers or spouses or friends. Only God can love unconditionally. Sometimes that's the stumbling block that keeps us from our Heavenly Father. I know...been there...if a parent can find fault in a child, faults that never quit, how can we trust a Heavenly Father? Well, we can! We just can. 

One visiting evangelist preached a sermon about a month ago that I have listened to over and over every time I get in my car. Over and over!! Last night the message that ended the conference brought up the very same things, even some of the same scriptures about the love of God and His thoughts toward us, which are good. These pastors aren't in the same church or the same state. All I can say is hallelujah! It was confirmation and solidified my faith, love and security in Christ. This will be one of those milestones we have as a reminder of what He has done. We were reminded in another sermon to go back to those times.

Father God, thank You for all You do, all who You are for those who know and love You, and to those who will some day know You. 

Psalm 139:1-4,16-17 - O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!