Bulletin February 2023
by Bruce Billington
God As Father
Hi Everyone,
Happy New Year. May we all embrace everything God has for us as another year of blessing, challenges, trial and tribulations, and the overwhelming discovery of God’s never-ending faithfulness is upon us. A new year brings all these things to us and, as disciples of Christ we must remain in His will and calling in order to achieve His purposes in them all. It is all part of walking in the way of the Lord.
Matthew 3:3 – For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”
This is a significant part of what Jesus came to earth to bring us – the wisdom and understanding of walking in the way of the Lord. I have spoken before about New Year resolutions (which I never make) but it may be a good time to consider what it really means to walk in the Way of the Lord.
For most of us, reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is very challenging. I mean how do we really love our enemies, or not get angry, or not look at people or things without lust or covetousness? These are huge requirements that Scripture seems to place upon us. Often, we do get caught up in all of this and then try and make excuses or justify our actions in some way.
The problem here is that we tend to start from the wrong premise of what all of this is meant to be about. What Jesus has primarily called us into is a relationship with God as our Father. It begins with the way Jesus taught us how to pray. This epic, known as the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) starts with one of the most unused and underrated verses in Scripture.
Matthew 6:9 – “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Never before was anyone given the right to address God as Father (Abba). Yet Jesus calls us into the throne room with the Living God telling us to enter boldly as He is no longer just known as God (Yahweh) but wants us to call him our Father.
Until we see what Jesus saw in His relationship with the Father, we will consider such statements as “love your enemies” as just another requirement to gain God’s blessing. We will try and achieve it, stumble, and fail and feel shame, condemnation, or a failure in the eyes of God.
This is not the way it is intended to be in the New Covenant. We need to put on the robe of righteousness that Jesus gained for us, and enter into the loving presence of our Father who is longing to have fellowship with us. It is here that we embrace the same heart as Jesus has, who not only loved his friends, but also died for his enemies. Jesus didn’t come to give us a higher law so we could try harder.
He came to give us a new life that we could live higher.
This new life is called the Way of the Lord and is about a true and pure relationship with the Father where we bask in the fact that we are now sons and daughters of the Living God. Listen to what the apostle Paul says about this.
Romans 8:14–15 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
This year (2023), our focus is going to be on both knowing and walking with God the Father. Make this your starting point and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you deeper and deeper into this truth. It will produce a life in you that attempting to live by the Law, can never offer you.
May God bless us all on this journey.
Bruce Billington.