Day 4: The Trinity - Father

John 14: 7-11
If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

Jesus’ disciples were eager to see God the Father; to make sense of all they had been experiencing with Jesus. However, instead of describing His father to them, giving examples of His work in creation, or pointing to the many examples of God the Father in scripture, Jesus gives them a living example of the Father in Himself and declares that "anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!" Want to know what God is like, what His heart is, where He lands on matters of importance?  Look at Jesus. Know and follow Jesus and you will know and follow the Father. 
 
In his book “The Gift of Being Yourself,” David Benner describes gospel meditation as a means to build a relationship with Jesus:
“Gospel meditation provides an opportunity to enter specific moments in Jesus’ life and thereby share his experience… It involves allowing the Spirit of God to help you imaginatively enter an event in the life of Christ presented in the Gospels.”
 
With Benner’s words in mind, let’s take some time to know the Father more - through Jesus. Close your eyes for a moment and picture God the Father. What do you see? Do you imagine an angry omnipotent God waiting for just the right moment to strike you down? Do you imagine a helpful and loving grandfather figure who invites you to sit with him and relax? Do you have trouble conjuring an image of our holy and all powerful God? No doubt this exercise is shaped by your own life experience and walk of faith with the Lord. 
 
Now, allow yourself to reflect on passages like John 9 or Mark 10:17-22 and consider what your senses would be experiencing if you were there with Jesus and learning about the Father through Him. Keep your eyes on Jesus in the story and notice how He acts towards those He encounters and learn about the Father as you fix your eyes on Christ!
 
Prayer Prompts:
  1. Take time to ask the Holy Spirit if there are any thoughts, lies, opinions, actions in your life that don’t line up with the truth of God’s word and who Jesus declares himself to be. Confess and repent of the things He brings to mind. 
  2. Thank God and worship God for sending Jesus so that we could really see, know, and understand Him.  Ask God to reveal himself more through the life of Jesus! 
  3. Pray that God’s kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Pray that many hearts would surrender to Christ’s Lordship and that they too would know Him as their Heavenly Father. 
  4. Pray for the Stonecrest Community Church family and ask that God would give us all a greater desire to know and pursue Him more. Pray that your community (town, county, state) will acknowledge a deep need for Christ’s lordship. Pray for our nation to humble itself, pray, and seek God’s face (2 Chronicles 7:14). 

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