A Portrait of the Heavenly Father

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. - Psalms 147:3-6

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Many years ago, as a teenager, in fact, I heard a wonderful sermon from Dr. Robert Ashcroft, the father of our present Attorney General of the United States.

Dr. Ashcroft's message was called "A Portrait of my Heavenly Father." He took a small picture from his billfold and told us it was his earthly father and then gave us a verbal picture of him. "Now," he continued, as he picked up the Bible, "let me give you a portrait of my Heavenly Father."

And for the next half an hour or so he described the wonders of God. He talked about God 's attributes, about His decrees, about His nature and character. And it was fascinating to me how few of those things that I knew at that time.

I have often wondered how many of today's Christian believers know much about their Heavenly Father. Let me give you a little test you can take: Get a watch with a second hand on it and then start talking about God. Use full sentences with subjects and verbs. Don't pad your monologue with a lot of "hallelujahs" and "amens" --you know, like preachers do.

And don't talk about what God has DONE for you but only who He IS. And no repeating yourself.

How long do you think you could talk easily about Him? You say, "Oh, probably an hour." The typical Christian believer has exhausted his knowledge about God in just a minute or two.

Do you know about God's immutability? Can you discuss His justice? Can you verbalize to some extent the depths of His mercy? Really, just how much DO you know about your Heavenly Father?

Now you may be asking, "Well, where do you get that information?" Your best source, of course, is the Bible. Study it. The more you know about God, the more you will love Him.

Dan Betzer, Byline Online

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The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. - Psalms 145:8


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