I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
A father can be a tremendous blessing in life. Studies have shown that the presence or absence of a father in a child's life is the largest factor in predicting whether a child will graduate from school, attend university, become involved in crime or drugs, or get pregnant before age 18.
A father can also be a tremendous blessing for spiritual life. When the father is first to profess faith in Jesus Christ, the family will follow him 93 percent of the time.
No wonder God wants to relate to people as their Father.
God identifies Himself as "Father" not because He is trying to act like a human father. Human fathers are imperfect. God identifies Himself as "Father" because He is perfect, holy, and does for people what a perfect, holy, Father does. He loves, protects, provides, listens, comforts, leads, serves, helps, and rescues.
God's greatest act of love was sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross to pay for the sins of all people. Whoever professes faith in Jesus Christ and receives Him as their Lord and Savior becomes a child of God - - and He becomes their Father.
It is not the biological act of procreation nor is it the legal title "father" that makes a person a father. It is what a father does that makes him a father. God behaves as our Father. He loves people through His Son, Jesus Christ, and He treats people as His children.
THE PRAYER: Dear God, as our Father You showed Your unmistakable love for us by giving Your Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf. Then, through the gift of faith, You count us among Your children. Thank You for this unspeakable gift. Amen.
Biography of Author:
A 1993 graduate of Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri, Kevin Wendt today serves Concordia Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Previously, he has served congregations in Rochester, Minnesota; Macomb, Michigan; and St. Louis. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children: Amanda, Andrew, and Aaron.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 13-15 1 Corinthians 9
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"