A friend gave me a beautifully wrapped present, about 4″x4″ square but quite heavy – for no reason! Excitedly, I opened it and then knew she could see the disappointment on my face, but I couldn’t help it; I almost was crying. Inside the gorgeous box was a dirty, ugly rock. I wished she had not given me anything than something like that. What must she think of our friendship?

She quickly tells me that she has verified that a diamond in the rough is inside and will train me and give me the tools to dig it out for myself. Really, if she wanted to give me a diamond, I’d rather not have to get it from that batch of coal! Of course, I couldn’t  tell her that.

I think this is the way it is with God sometimes when we are sick and ask for healing or for other types of prayer. We have no doubt that He can heal us: He is still the same as He was when the Old Testament prophets walked the earth and did miracles, the same as when Jesus walked the earth and the same as when John, Peter, Paul and the other disciples healed people. They prayed and God answered. HE HAS NOT CHANGED. So why doesn’t our Father who loves us so much heal us?

Perhaps at times He gives us what looks like a lump of coal and we need to do the work of discovering the diamond inside. Isaiah 45:3 states: I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Our Lord doesn’t tell us what kinds of treasures we will gain, but He will be faithful to provide them if we are faithful to dig, scrap and clean until we find that diamond. After that, God may bring us the healing we desire and crave. However, we do know that many of His faithful people are not healed here on earth. We do not understand this, but God also tells us that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Even though we don’t understand all about healing, it is still right for us to pray for it because Psalm 103:2-5 tells us: Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (emphasis mine). In the New Testament, we read James’ admonition to all Christians, Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16).

Certainly, we do not understand God’s ways of dealing with us, but when we do not get an answer to prayer, whether it’s for healing or something else, let us consider this little story of my friend who is God, the gift that looks like a lump of coal, and the diamond that’s the treasure our loving Father will give us when we continually seek Him. Whether or not our prayer is answered the way we desire, God always has our best interests in mind, so therefore, we can trust Him in all our circumstances.

I was reading the Bible this morning about Rahab, a prostitute who drastically changed her life by saving the lives of two spies when they came to check out Jericho before Israel conquered it. She understand that their God was far mightier than the gods her people served and knew they would be overcome. She asked the spies to save her family when they returned and then let them out a window with a scarlet cord so they could escape from the city. They promised anyone in her home would be spared as long as that scarlet cord was in the window. And so it was done (see Joshua 2). Jewish tradition says she went on to marry one of the spies, and we know she’s listed as the great-grandmother of King David (Matthew 1:5). Her name is even listed in what we think of as the “hall of fame of the faithful” in Hebrews 11:31.

As I pondered Rahab’s story, I thought how her life suddenly had been totally reversed – from prostitute to a protector of God’s people; what tremendous consequences that had not only for her and her family but then for the nation of Israel as a whole. It made me think of possibilities of change for me and for you also. We’re moral people and probably believers in Jesus Christ as our Savior; we consider ourselves ‘good people.’ But yes, we can change too. As I grow older, I keep finding myself telling God, “I want to live the rest of my life to honor you, however that looks.” Now that’s been a goal for many years, but I find it more important the longer I live. When our hair turns white, we know that whatever time we have left is vital if we’re going to make our lives count for eternity.

While I’m not ashamed of my past, I want my future to be even better, counting more for Jesus than ever before. I’m not content to simply relax in my recliner and let the days and years drift by. No, life must be meaningful and will be most so if what I do benefits God’s Kingdom rather than my own. Yes, I enjoy and am proud to be a good wife, mother and grandmother, but that’s not enough. I want my life to count to more than my own family when I’m gone. I want a spiritual legacy that invests in other people’s lives. While I’m not sure what all that entails and how it will come about, I want to be a part of the team that reaches into eternity and pulls down help for those who need comfort and peace. I want to share the love of God our Father and the Friend we have in Jesus with those who don’t know Him. How precious it is to know you are wrapped in God’s huge arms of love! Even on days when our world crumbles around us, we are still wrapped in Father’s loving arms. Even on days we act like a spoiled kid, they are still there when we least deserve them.  That’s the story the world needs to hear.

John 3:16-18 reminds us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Let’s look for ways we can spread this Good News to others and be an example of the love that Jesus came to bring to the whole world, if they would only accept Him. Let’s make our lives count for eternity, rather than just having “a good life” here on earth.

   A good character is the best tombstone. 

     Those who loved you and were helped by you

will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered.

Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

When was the last time someone surprised you with a word of encouragement or praise for a job well done? Perhaps a friend wrote a note simply telling you they appreciate you. Whatever happened, it brought a smile to your face and made you feel just a bit better, didn’t it? We all appreciate such thoughtfulness and it inspires us to do even better in our work or family.

Let’s take the opportunity to encourage others as much as we can. A good example was Barnabas, an encourager par excellence. We all remember how he traveled with Paul on the first missionary journey, but even before that he was well-known to fellow Christians. Many people had heard the Gospel in Antioch and believed in Jesus as their Savior, as it was preached by those who had fled the persecution in Jerusalem. Acts 11:22-24 tells us News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Later Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). Saul’s name had not yet been changed to Paul, the Greek form of the word.

Wouldn’t you like to be more like Barnabas? I certainly would! One of the spiritual gifts is encouragement, and Barnabas had it. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. . . if it is encouraging, let him encourage (Romans 12:6a, 8c). Perhaps we’d think, ‘Well, that’s not my spiritual gift, so I don’t need to encourage others.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone needs reassurance from time to time, and we may just be the person who can see that need and minister at a particular time. God can use anyone in any way He likes, so our biggest job is to simply be available for the way He wants us to serve daily.

I’ve heard people preaching the salvation message when they were simply talking in a small group of people; that did not mean God called them to be a pastor. He was only using an available person to speak to one who needed to hear. In the same way, God can use you and me to give a cheerful word to someone who may need it at that very minute. So, let’s simply being alert to the feelings of those around us wherever we are. See how God would use you in someone else’s life to bring a good word for the day to them! I pray blessings for each of you.

I hope you were (or are) blessed as I was to have loving Christian parents in your life. What a difference that makes! Both of them are in glory now, but their influence remains in my life and the lives of our children. But if we are a child of God – if we have received Jesus Christ as our Savior, believing His death on Calvary covered our sins and made us right with God – then we also have another Father, who is even more loving, compassionate and forgiving. We often think of God as simply God or maybe even as Father, but how often do we think of Him as ‘Daddy’?

Using three references, I want to look at Abba in the Bible; it is the word used for Daddy or Papa at that time. It is only used in the New Testament since Jesus was the first to use it in addressing God, the Father. Because of His substitutionary death for us, we are now given the privilege to use this special word in addressing the God of the Universe. Mark 14:35-36 is the first use of that special word: Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

A reference on these verses by IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament states: “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Papa,” a term of great intimacy and affectionate respect. It was normally the first word a child would utter, but adults could use it for their fathers as well, and students sometimes used it of their teachers. Perhaps because it implied such intimacy, Jewish people never used it of God (though they did call him a heavenly father) except in an occasional parable by a charismatic teacher.

Romans 8:13-15 gives us the next use of Abba: For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

From the same commentary, we read about these verses: Although only a few Roman Jews spoke Aramaic, Jesus’ special address for his Father as “Papa” had become a name for God in early Christian prayers (Gal 4:6), perhaps by Jesus’ design (Matt 6:9). Roman adoption — which could take place at any age — canceled all previous debts and relationships, defining the new son wholly in terms of his new relationship to his father, whose heir he thus became.

Galatians 4:6-7 says: Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Referring once more to that commentary about these verses, we read: Roman adoptions required a witness of the transaction: the Holy Spirit performs this function here. That the Spirit should testify is natural, because Judaism understood the Spirit especially as the one who inspired the prophets; the Spirit here inspires believers, speaking to them as he did to the prophets, to remind them of their calling as God’s children. (From IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament by Craig S. Keener Copyright © 1993 by Craig S. Keener. Published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.)

Now that we understand the special relationship that Abba means, are you ready to address Father God as your Papa or Daddy? He has been waiting for you to take that step. He intends each of His children to have such an intimate relationship with Him that we fully come for each of our needs and also for each of our thanksgivings and praises. Then we can approach Abba on behalf of other children of God as well.

What a special place! As much as we may respect and love our earthly fathers, so much more does our heavenly Father want to be our Abba, our Papa, our Daddy. Doesn’t it absolutely amaze you that the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of the universe and all else that is, implores you and me to call Him our Abba, our Papa, our Daddy? Will you give Him that opportunity?

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