in the third day of this week-long series taking time every day to stir up our affections for

god today we're going to look at all it means for him to be our father out of all of the metaphors

used for our relationship with this eternal transcendent God,

the concept of him being a father today has been most meaningful.

May he draw us closer as he reveals what a good father he is to us.

Welcome to the First 15 podcast. Our scripture for today comes from 1 John 3 verse 1.

Scripture says,

see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.

And so we are.

As a follower of Jesus, you have been brought into the family of God.

Take a moment to let that truth sink in.

Think about what it means to have God, the creator of the universe,

the embodiment of perfect love as your father.

So often, we lose sight of the fact that God is our father and view him through perspectives not aligned with Scripture.

We view God through lenses the world and unfortunate experiences have given us,

rather than a revelation of him as a good father,

given to us by the revolutionary teaching of Jesus.

In Matthew 7, verses 9 through 11, Jesus teaches us, which one of you, if his son asks him for bread,

will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more

will your father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him?

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