NEWSLETTER 2 – AUTUMN 2004

VERSE OF THE MONTH:

“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’.” Rom 8:15

WELCOME to our occasional newsletter.

SPIRIT OF SONSHIP

The verse of the month reflects our Father’s desire for relationship with us. First and foremost He has called us into a relationship; the thing that constantly amazes me is that this relationship is based on us being His sons and daughters. Nothing we do can earn that position, nothing we can build with our own hands can win this for us. We are totally dependent on His grace and His love for us. Nothing that I do or achieve will make me a better son – it is a completely free gift from a very generous Heavenly Father.

Our relationship with the Father is entirely dependent on Him having chosen us and called us to Himself. It is nothing to do with what we may do for Him.

The spirit of sonship causes us to cry ‘Abba Father’ – Daddy. God’s heart for us is that each of us should find Him in a personal way. His Fatherhood is active, ongoing and personal. He is not distant. He does not judge us by our performance but He is always ready to run out and welcome us back home.

Aren’t we fortunate to have a Father like this!

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF SELF EFFORT

Recently a good friend of mine was speaking in our church and she said something that has stayed with me over the last few weeks:

“Self effort leads to reluctance. Reluctance leads to legalism. Legalism leads to lip service and a relationship with no joy in it”.

She referred to this as the downward spiral of self effort. How true! Once our relationship with the Father is based on self effort we will get nowhere. We may manage to struggle on for a few weeks, months or even a few years but ultimately we will find that our own resources run out and we are desperate once again. Our self effort is our own performance and that does not impress God or get us anywhere with Him.

THE UPWARD SPIRAL OF GRACE

My friend went on to say the opposite to the downward spiral of self effort is the upward spiral of grace:

“The grace of God leads us into a relationship with Him which is a relationship of love leading to obedience and joy!”

How different! Instead of striving and struggling we can come into a relationship with our Father that leads us to finding our identity and enjoying Him.

This simple comparison has really struck me! How easy it is for us all to rely on our own self effort rather than relying on His love and His gift of grace.

My prayer is that we let go off the struggling and striving that we so easily fall into. Instead, that we learn to rest in His arms and enjoy His great love for us that draws us closer to His heart.

GOING DEEPER

A new section has been added to the website. ‘Going Deeper’ is a series of study notes that can either be used personally or as part of a group study. The aim is not to provide all the answers but to be a signpost to help you find the heart of the Father in a deeper way. Please feel free to look at the notes www.afathertoyou.com/goingdeeper. Alternatively you can print them off as a pdf document.

EVENTS

A number of events are included on our events page. James Jordan is in the UK during November and is speaking at a number of venues. Please contact the local organiser for more details. www.afathertoyou.com/signposts/events.html.

It may be a bit early to be thinking about the Festive season but one date to book in your diary is 2 nd-4 th December - Father’s Christmas Party! Jeff and Sylvia Scaldwell of Father’s House Europe are hosting Bill and Melinda Fish for this exciting conference. If you can’t make the whole conference you can turn up for individual sessions. Contact Jeff for more details jeffintheriver@aol.com.

May the arms of our Father continue to hold you and His presence surround you.

In His love.

Mark Gyde