“I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”
John 14: 6
12 “Look, I AM coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22: 12-13
Pastors Noreen & Henry Kevern
Father’s Day
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you,
so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the
Lord your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 5:17
I have always loved Father’s Day. It’s a day to thank God our Father, my Dad and my husband and now my son and sons in law. It has been over 10 years since my own Dad passed and not a day goes by that I do not still miss him. He was not a perfect man but I loved him and respected him because that is what GOD calls each of us to do. Respecting our parents is one of the big 10 Commandments that GOD has given us. The command comes after the commandments on how to love and honor GOD with our lives. We do not choose our fathers and not every father accepts his responsibility to be a father, just as not every women accepts her responsibility to be a mother. It is sad that in today’s society, becoming a mother has been turned into something that it was never meant to be. Becoming a parent is an awesome gift but so many people waste this gift. Our society runs amuck in the lies of the devil. The beauty of marriage has been destroyed and being faithful to your spouse is considered unnecessary. Throughout time, the devil has stolen from us the special gift of parenthood and marriage and created in our lives the obsession of sinning against GOD and all we were created to be. As Christians we have an opportunity to change things back to GOD’s way. But first we have to admit our sins of following the devil and his lies. We were created by our FATHER as 2 distinct beings, a male and a female, with different roles and responsibilities. As Christians, we are called to walk in the way of the LORD in all that we do and say. We cannot change Who or What GOD is, He is eternal and does not change. How He created us and what He created us for has not changed. We are here to learn to love Him and as parents, we are here to teach our children how to love Him. As parents and Christians, we need to stand up and do what GOD has called us to do and to follow Him in all of our ways. Today if you hear His voice hardened not your hearts and learn to stand firm in your faith in GOD and to walk in the way of the LORD.
I have always been comfortable with God the Father because of my Dad. He did all he needed to do for the family, worked hard and loved all of us. When we needed discipline he corrected us. That’s what a parent does. We do not sit around and let our children do things that are dangerous or immoral, and we care enough to say “no” to our children. I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters, but I remember so many times when it was just Dad and I. Daddy was a tall man about 6 foot and always seem to have a twinkle in his eyes, except of course when we did wrong, and sometimes he disciplined us more severely than he should have. His father was an Irish Catholic cop in New York and he disciplined my dad harshly and that was what my Dad knew. I never saw the harshness from my grandfather while he was with us, I only saw his love. While growing up, I thought they were two different types of men, but now I realize that they allowed their childhood to decide who and what they were. But no matter what condition we develop in as children, we get to ask GOD into our lives and to surrender to HIM and allow Him to change us to be exactly what He created us to be. We were always at church when I was a kid; he was in charge of the religious education and he always friendly with everyone. Sadly, too many people do not go to church any longer and so have allowed the devil to choke out of our lives what is required of us. We need church. We need marriage as GOD created us to be. We need to be as we were created to be and not impose on others the lies that the devil has been pushing. We are not our own, we were bought by the precious blood of JESUS CHRIST. That means that our bodies are GOD’s when we accept Him as our LORD and Savior. Both parents are needed, mothers and fathers. We need to put away all the sexual immorality and ask GOD to help us change. We need to stand up as fathers and mothers and follow what and who GOD is so that we can do His will in our lives. As men and women we have been commanded by GOD to be fruitful and multiply. GOD created us for this purpose. He created us male and female so that a man and a woman should leave their families and become one as husband and wife. GOD calls a marriage as being helpmates to each other. He calls us to love the other more than ourselves and to do good to one another. He calls us to love intentionally to choose to follow His love in the very relationship we have as males and females, as husbands and as wives, as fathers and as mothers. When we allow GOD into our lives we are to follow His SPIRIT and not our flesh.
My Dad taught me many things just as the FATHER teaches us many things. Because of how I was raised I choose to raise my children differently in some respect. I was not overzealous in how I spanked my children but I did not use paddles and belts. I tried to always affirm my children and not call them liars or degrade them. I choose to always tell them that I loved them and to teach them how the FATHER loves them. I also taught many of the lessons that my Dad taught me. He taught me that prejudice was wrong and standing up against it was right. Because of him, He taught me that church was important and to love GOD. My parents were married for over 65 years. And even though they often fought, they still loved each other and taught me that marriage is something that we have to work at all the time, just as our relationship with GOD has to be a daily thing. We have to learn, and we learn by becoming little children and allowing GOD to teach us. Fathers teach us really important things. Parents have different roles. A father’s role is to teach us what we need to do even if we do not feel like doing it. It is called RESPONSIBLITIY. A mother’s role is to teach and nurture a child. A mother is given the gift of growing a child in her womb and bringing that child up in the way of the LORD. A child needs both a father and a mother.
Let us look at GOD’s example for us. We call GOD FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT, or the TRINITY. GOD is not three different gods but One GOD with three different roles. The FATHER, as the One Who is above all. JESUS always called on the FATHER while He lived on earth. He taught us how to have a relationship with the FATHER, always going to Him in prayer and placing the FATHER before Himself. He lived His life on earth doing the FATHER’s will. In the Psalms the HOLY SPIRIT is often referred to as She and wisdom. In a way, the HOLY SPIRIT is the mother figure teaching us the wisdom of the FATHER. JESUS is the SON of GOD and so the TRINITY makes up the perfect family unit. And our relationship with GOD is referred to as a marriage. At the end of all things here on earth, we will as Christians we the bride of CHRIST having the perfect relationship that we are to have with GOD. It is a little different way of thinking about Who and What GOD is but it makes sense when we consider the words spoken in the first book of the Bible. GOD created them male and female, in the image of GOD He created them.
I feel really comfortable calling our Father “Abba” because my Daddy really was a good man. My Daddy did have flaws but that’s okay and I know that Abba does not and that Abba loves me unconditionally. My Dad didn’t frighten me with his discipline because I knew GOD was there with me or made me feel that a father was bad. He held me close when I was afraid and even as a teenager when I didn’t know what to do, I could still cry on his lap and he would hold me just as God has always done and still does for me.
My husband Henry is a good father as well. Our kids are all grown up now, but in reality, you never stop being a parent. We have 13 grandchildren now and they call him “Papa” and he loves being a grandfather as well. We brought our kids up with discipline and morals and God. Paul said in Hebrews 12:5-11: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they though best, but God disciplines us for our good, that we might share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained for it. We both grew up with fathers who were born before 1925 and so we were raised with what now people called old-fashioned kind of morals. Kids are given a free pass these days to do whatever they want. Most parents are afraid to give their kids a good old fashion spanking when they do something wrong. Kids are never going to know right from wrong and we can see how the world has changed since we were kids. I do not advocate beating a child, but a swift spanking on the rear end is enough to teach any child not to do something. I remember as a child I was trying to put my Easy Bake Oven pan-removing tool into the electrical plug and right as I got it into it, I felt the electricity going through my body. My Daddy was coming in from work right at that moment and he came flying at me and hit me away from it very quickly and saved my life. And when I was raising my kids, I counted to 3 and if they did not stop what they were doing, I would spank them. They learned to listen to me so that I did not get to 3 very often. But I wanted them to learn right from wrong. That’s the same reason that God disciplines us, so that we learn right from wrong.
Not every child is lucky enough to have a dad who is always there. There are far too many children who do not have both parents and there are some children whose parents abuse them with too much discipline or worse. Fathers and mothers are very important. They represent to their children God’s parental love. If a parent does not love or if they hurt their children they are not following God but the father of lies, the devil. God wants the best for us and that is why He created this earth. In the very beginning of creation when God created the earth, He brought forth both male and female, both being created in His image, two individuals that when they come together create children. Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in His Own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female, He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:26-28, 31) Marriage was ordained in the beginning. Then the Lord made a woman from the rib He had taken out of man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will be come one flesh. (Genesis 2:22-24)
Being a parent is not easy. Each child is an individual and has to be treated that way. But each child deserves love and should be considered a gift from GOD. It’s an awesome responsibility to live up to being a parent and following GOD. Dads are the just as necessary as moms for children. Our FATHER loves us and is always with us. We may not ‘feel’ His presence every moment, but He is always there and no matter what, GOD loves us. And that is what parenthood is about. Unconditional love for one’s child, just as the FATHER has unconditional love for us. GOD is always going to love you even if you don’t love Him or you don’t believe in Him. GOD’s love is so great that He became human so that He could take upon Himself the punishment of sin. And honoring your father and mother is a big deal to God. If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head. (Genesis 20:9) God wants us to honor Him and our fathers and mothers. Think of it, man and woman, were created on the 6th day, as the final creation that God made and all that God made was good. He created the heavens and the earth so that man and woman could subdue it and to create other men and women to populate the earth. Parenthood was the first command: He blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28) God became the first parent and in creating us, created both sides of His image, male and female.
Thank You GOD for being my ABBA! I love You above all! Thank you Daddy for being my daddy! I love you and miss you! Thank you Henry for being the daddy of our children! I love you! And thank you Henry, Eric, JD and Chris for being daddy to our grandchildren! We love you! To our children and grandchildren, don’t forget ABBA today and thank Him for His amazing love! Today if you do not know GOD as “Abba” it’s time for a change of view. Building your relationship with GOD should be the most important thing in your life. JESUS said “That the FATHER and I are One,” and that if we love JESUS, He and the FATHER will come and live in us and make His home in us. What a wonderful relationship to have, to have GOD living inside of us. We are free to choose to love GOD. GOD always love you.
I will proclaim the Name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God Who does no wrong, upright
and just is He.
They have acted corruptly toward Him; to their shame they are no longer His children, but a warped and crooked generation.
Is this the way you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not Your Father, Your Creator, Who made you and formed you?
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will explain to you.
Deuteronomy 32:3-7
