Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Confidence”
Our Bible verse for today: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!” Romans 8:15 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “We can approach God with confidence.”
Author Philip Yancey frequently refers to himself as a “recovering fundamentalist”. It’s a reference to his childhood. Right on up through his High School years, Philip was raised in a very strict fundamentalist home and church. Therefore he grew-up knowing God as a stern taskmaster and disciplinarian. There were long lists of rules to follow, “church police” to monitor your behavior, and public discipline and shaming for when you violated the rules.
I find it hard to picture Philip in such a setting because all of the best-selling books he has written over the last four decades have been grace-based. They have included titles like “What’s So Amazing about Grace?”, and “The Jesus I Never Knew”, and “Where is God When It Hurts?” among many others. From Philip’s writings I have learned much about the grace of God, and the freedom we have to enter His presence with joy and thanksgiving and confidence, rather than in fear, trembling, and uncertainty.
This was a lesson the Apostle Paul learned too, and he too, like Philip Yancey, lived the rest of his life as a “recovering fundamentalist”. As a leading Pharisee Paul was one of those fundamentalists of his day. He was the stern taskmaster, the church police, and the disciplinarian. Paul’s God was a fearsome and righteous Judge who had to be approached with trembling and uncertainty.
But then Paul met Jesus and everything changed. Jesus introduced Paul to God the Father as He really is. Soon Paul came to know God as good and gracious and merciful, a loving heavenly Father. It wasn’t long before Paul the recovering fundamentalist was calling God “Abba” (which essentially means “Daddy”), and climbing into his lap. Jesus makes this possible.
In Hebrews 4:16 the writer urges us, “Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.”
You see, we don’t have to be afraid of God and we don’t need to doubt whether He welcomes us into His presence. Jesus and Paul both taught us to think of Him as “Abba, Daddy”, and then to approach Him with joy, thanksgiving, eagerness, confidence, and even boldness.
Thanks to Jesus we can always go to the Father with the confidence of knowing not only does He welcome us, but it brings Him great joy that we have come to Him.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 