Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name Matthew 6: 9 ESV

     Last August I lost my second dad. I say my second dad because he was more than just my father in law. We became close over the years and had many long conversations about life and day to day events. I lost my first dad when I was twenty years old. He and I were best friends, and he has never been forgotten by me. Both men were influential in my life, and I have been so blessed to have the joy of experiencing them both. When my second dad died, I wrote the following tribute to them.

     My Two Dads…… Some men are fortunate to have one dad in life, but I’ve been blessed to have had two. I lost my first dad when I was twenty years old. He was my very best friend, and I still miss him to this day. He and I would talk long hours into the night, and we discussed many things. I could tell my dad anything … mistakes and failure I’d made, dreams and hopes I had, and he loved me even in my mistakes and encouraged me in my dreams. He was the best. I still love him so much that at times my heart secretly still hurts. Yesterday, I lost my second dad. My second dad came into my life when I married my wonderful wife Mary. Over the years I stopped referring to him as my father- in- law; I just called him “dad” and would introduce him as the same. He would say when introducing me: “This is my son- in- law, but I think of him as a son….” I was blessed. He was a man of great compassion for his family until he breathed his last breath. I learned many things from him over the years for which I am blessed and thankful . One evening he and I were talking and I told him I wish he could have met my dad. He paid me the greatest compliment he could have ever given me. He said, “I have met your dad because I met you.” Well, now I have had the influence of two dads that will forever be with me. If any one would ever say to me in the future, “You remind me of your dad,” I would have to reply, “Which one?” This hurt reminds me of when I lost my first dad, and it is a hurt that is felt more than seen. However, there is a part of me that smiles inside because my two dad’s have finally met. I love and miss them both but one day….. :o) We will all be together again because…. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

   In actuality, I have three dads. Three because I have been adopted by the Heavenly Father that recognizes me as his adopted son/child. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father! Romans 8:15 ESV …… And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,”Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:6-7 ESV There is strong meaning in calling Him “Abba Father.” It was the name by which Jesus addressed him in the moment of intense emotional agony in the garden before Calvary. (Mark14:36) While I want Christians to understand their personal relationship with God the the Father, I want to remind them that we should also view God the Father in reverence and respect. When Jesus’s disciples ask him to teach them to pray, which is talking to God, Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:

“OUR FATHER” Oh how sweet to be able to address God as our Father. He who created the universe wants me to recognize myself as one of His children. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God; 1 John 3:1

“IN HEAVEN” The place where God is going to bring all His children that we might worship Him forever. This was made possible by his sacrificial love and the giving of Jesus, His only Son, to die for our sins and take God’s wrath that was meant for us. Jesus spoke of this promise, “In my Fathers house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3 ESV

“HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME” Luke 11:2 ESV This means we recognize the preciousness of the name of God. We have been commanded not to take His name in vain. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Exodus 20:7 ESV In fact, if you study all the names the Bible uses in a descriptive nature of God, you will know how important his name, GOD, really is. It is almost indescribable, but God uses the meaning of these names by which he is described to help us to understand who He is. May we begin to comprehend this and sing out as the Psalmist did in Psalm 8:1 “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Happy Fathers Day, to my Heavenly Father who loves me beyond measure.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David