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Tag: Father to the Fatherless

Blessed by not where you are but Who is with you

Genesis 25:11 records that after the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who dwelt by the well Laharoi – which means well of the Living One who sees me – named when Hagar, the Egyptian maid servant of Sarah, encountered the Lord whom she describes as the Lord who sees her in the midst of her despair. What is important to note is not where Isaac was, but who was with Isaac – it was God. It was not Abraham’s riches and all that Isaac had been given (which was everything Abraham had – Genesis 25:5) that is counted as blessings on Isaac, but it was God who blessed Isaac. This demonstrates that God is a Father to the fatherless, caretaker of orphans, whose unfailing love/mercy extends to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands (Exodus 20:6).

Abraham loved God, and God, though not obligated, true to his nature and word, returns the favor.

Points to ponder:
You may be in a point of despair in your life. You may be next to a well seeking waters of hope, but unless the Lord is with you, there shall be no blessings. It is not where you are that is as important, as much as Who is with you. Is God with you? He is the One and only true source of blessings. God wishes to be with you, but only if you let him. Is God with you?

Genesis 25:11 (KJV)
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

From sorrow to Joy

September 30, 1986: A lanky and frail in flesh but superbly strong in Spirit man was taken into an operating room in the Christian Medical College, Vellore, for a triple bypass open heart surgery. Even on his way to the operating room, he was recorded to have been cheerful as he was always. He was joking with the doctors telling them that they should not stitch him after the surgery but just sew a zip on him so that they could easily open him should there be a need to in the future, as he was taken to the surgery which nearly took six hours to complete. Following the surgery, the heart that was in his frail body failed. It was a heart that was dedicated to take the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Bondo tribe in Malkangiri, Orissa, as no one else had. It was the heart of the missionary, Dr. R.A.C. Paul. It was a heart that was a heart after God’s own heart. It was the heart of my earthly father, my ‘Appa’.

A few days later, when my brother Ragland Remo Paul and I came to learn of my father’s departure from this present world into the glorious one that is to come, I wailed and cried with deep sorrow in my heart, accepting little to no consolation from my mother, Dr. Iris. G.R. Paul or Dr. Jeyapaul Sitther and his family, the missionary friends who accompanied her. I missed my dad and I was sorrowful.

September 30, 1990: I, an young child was on my knees in the cold floor of the service hall in Public School in Sunabeda, Orissa as the lanky preacher, Dr. R. Stanley who founded Blessing Youth Mission (BYM) was giving a fiery message in which I remember, he was calling out a  checklist of sins. I also remember that I seemed to have a check mark, pretty much against every sin that was on that list. It weighed heavy in me and as I knelt down, tears were streaming from my eyes when I recognized that while I was still a sinner and an enemy of God, God sent His Only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself and died for me to pay the wages of my sins.  Preacher Stanley then proceeded to give the call to Salvation stating that all who put their trust in Jesus will not be ashamed and all who believe in Him [Jesus] will have  their mourning turned in joy for He shall turn their sorrows into joy. In response, I committed my life to the Lordship of Jesus accepting his Grace and Salvation, Trusting and Believing in Him. After trusting and placing my faith in Jesus by praying the prayer of repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14), I remember vividly that I felt elated and joyous when I learned that a byproduct of my confession in faith, snatched me from the clutches of eternal death, where I was heading otherwise. I had been adopted into the family of God, and the Creator God, who had made me had now remade me as a new creature who could address Him as ‘Abba’ father.

Not until late that evening while traveling back home to Malkangiri from Sunabeda, did it dawn on me that four years earlier, exactly to that day, I had lost my earthly father.

September 30, 1986 was a day of sorrow, robbing me of the joy of being a son to a father, as I had lost my wonderful earthly father, Dr. R.A.C. Paul.
September 30, 1990 was a day of joy, a joy that no man can take away from me, as I had gained the Wonderful heavenly Father, the Great I AM.

Today, many years later since that life changing day, I can confidently state that My God is indeed the Father to the fatherless.
He [Jesus] had turned my day of sorrows into a day of joy (literally).

Jeremiah 31:13 (KJV)
13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

John 16:20,22 (KJV)
20
Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

What kind of a father is Jesus?

We all celebrated father’s day 2010 yesterday and I thank God for having granted me the privilege of being an earthly father to Reuben Abishai Paul (RAP). As I reminisced about father’s day, I was reminded of my own biological father, Dr. R.A.C. Paul,  who on the 30th day of September, 1986 passed away from this ephemeral world to enter into an eternal kingdom. And as my heart wandered to wonder about why I was deprived of a father-son relationship, I was promptly reminded from the scripture that God is the father of the fatherless (Psalm 68:5). Jesus Christ addressed Almighty God as Holy Father (John 17:11) while affirming that He and the Father are One  (John 10:30).

But what kind of a father is Jesus/God?

He is a
Friend of the sinner (Matthew 11:19),
Alpha/the First (Revelation 1:8),
Teacher from God (John 3:2),
Holy (Mark 1:24),
Emmanuel/With us (Matthew 1:23) and a
Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4) on whom we can depend.

And to all who believe and receive Jesus, He gave them the power to be called the sons of God (John 1:12) and because we have received the Spirit of adoption, we can call God, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). Our relationship with God is that of a father-son relationship only because of our Spiritual Father, Jesus Christ; it is by adoption, and not by ancestry.

And as children of God, what kind of father’s do we need to be?
We need to be
1. the friends of those who are lost (who have not believed and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Father);
2. the first (alpha) to pass the baton of faith to our earthly children;
3. the teacher of the fear of the Lord;
4. holy as God the father is Holy;
5. always with and for our children and loved ones; and
6. the rock on which our children and loved ones can depend on.

John 1:12-13 (KJV)
12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Ephesians 6:4 (KJV)
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Footprints

Reuben_FootprintsThis Father’s day, as people were wishing each other, Happy Father’s day, my family and friends wished me the same and I wondered to myself. It has been more than two decades since my dad (earthly father), Dr. R.A.C. Paul, passed away. I was only nine years old then. I don’t have an earthly father to call and wish “Happy Father’s day” and as I wondered, I was pleased to realize that I do have  a father, a heavenly Father, THE FATHER, none other than God, Godself. God is the father of the fatherless and the defender of widows. I ended up wishing my heavenly father, “Happy Father’s day, God!”

Also, this year, my beloved son, Reuben (3 year old) gave me a footprint of his (click image) with the following words. He made this in his school for me. As I read the words, tears welled from my eyes as my heart elated in pride for such a wonderful son. As I reminisced on the meaning of the words, I could not help but realize that this should be exactly the words that we ought to be telling God, our Father.

“Walk a little slower Daddy,” said a child so small.
I am following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast, Sometimes they are hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy, For you are leading me.

Someday when I am all grown up, You are what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child, Who will want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right, And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower, Daddy, For I must follow you.

Point(s) to Ponder:

  1. If God is our Father, will he be able to proudly tell of us, “This is my beloved Son/Daughter, with whom I am well pleased”?
  2. God says, “I will teach you and instruct you in the way that you should go” (Psalm 32:8). The real question is – are we willing to follow his instructions and follow Him.
    Note, what the little child says – I MUST follow you. Can that be said of us, that We MUST (no other option) follow God, our Father?

Psalm 68:5 (KJV)
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

Psalm 32:8 (KJV)
8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

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