A Father to the Fatherless

“Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds— his name is the LORD— and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” (Psalm 68:4-5 NIV)

When  I think about the greatness of God, His sovereignty and might, I just marvel. The God of this Universe, the Creator of heaven and earth is called "a father to the fatherless". In the past two years, I have learned so much about what a father should be, not from my earthly father, but from my Heavenly Father.

Growing up, I didn't really think about the fact that I didn't have a dad. In fact, it was only when I reached about 16, that I gave any thought to being fatherless. It was at that age that I had to deal with the fact that my earthly father cared nothing about me, that he hadn't even wanted me to be born. I had no concept of what a father should be. The word meant nothing to me.

It was only when I gave my life to Christ, that the role of a father became clear in my mind. It took me a lot of trial and error, but God patiently taught me His character. In Psalm 68:4-5, God is called a Father to the Fatherless. All throughout the New Testament, Jesus refers to God as His Father and He teaches us to do the same. Even though, your earthly father may not have been present in your life or may not have been the father he should have been, God longs to be a Father to you.

He will guide you in the way that you should go and He will love you with an UNFAILING love. He will protect you and provide for you. He longs for you to cry out "Abba, Father", to accept His gift of salvation and to trust in the love that prompted Him to carry that cross to Calvary and to bear the pain of those nails in His hands and feet so that He could redeem us and adopt us as His own.

Discipleship (Pursuing Righteousness)

What is discipleship? I guess this can only be explained by first defining the term 'disciple'. John sums up this definition in one sentence. He says "whoever claims to live in Christ, should live their lives as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6 NLT) This is exactly what a disciple of Jesus Christ is: someone who lives as He did. Literally, a disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ.

Discipleship
Put simply, discipleship is the process of becoming like Christ. It involves three definitive and deliberate actions. We have to:

• Commit
• Follow
• Multiply

1. Commit-make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. The journey of becoming like Christ cannot be started unless we accept His free gift of salvation. In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless he is born again. Here Jesus refers to spiritual life. In order to enter the Kingdom of God we must be given new spiritual life and the only way to do this is through Jesus Christ. You can look at this as a prerequisite for discipleship: a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. As a result of this commitment, we are filled with the Spirit of God and the journey of becoming like Christ can begin.
2. Follow- When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He enables us to live lives of holiness and righteousness. In essence, he gives us the power to become like Jesus. Note that the word "follow" is an action word. It speaks of vigorously and deliberately chasing after God and persistently striving to become like Christ. Following God means consistently OBEYING His Word. James 1:25 says "but the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in all he does. Isn't that great? Obedience and blessing go hand in hand.
3. Multiply- Last but by no means least: multiply. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matt. 28:16-20) Most of us know the Great Commission. Jesus Himself gave this command to His disciples. Discipleship also includes making disciples of others. God wants to draw others unto Himself. He wants every single person on this earth to hear the good news of His salvation and it is our mandate to take that good news to the whole world. 

The last sentence of that passage is such an encouragement to me. Jesus says "I am with always, to the very end of the age". Discipleship is not a lonely journey. No, we have the King of kings and Lord of Lords, not only with us but in us. Jesus abides in us believers by His Spirit and we have everything we need to be His disciples. So remember: commit, follow and mulitiply.