Happy Heavenly Father's Day, Lord!

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Posted by Stephanie Griffin, June 12, 2024

With the ladies of Touching Hearts, I recently read an amazing book called, The Attributes of God by A.W. Tozer. It reset my all-too-small views of my Heavenly Father, and helped me realize I will never humanly comprehend the magnificence of Him in this life. However, it helped me find the pathway to rediscover the heart of my Father.  

To search deeper, I took a week away in the mountains to continue the study of God’s attributes. As the world around me grew quiet, I leaned in. For some reason, I was apprehensive. I was pretty sure it was the enemy’s lies telling me I wasn’t good enough, pure enough, anything “enough”. As I cast these words off with scripture, God met me in my frailty, and my confidence in Him grew.  

If I believed He was the Perfect Father, why didn’t I always follow in this trust walk with Him? 

Well, I think it’s because I get distracted. I put other “little” gods in front of Him, or I allow myself to get overly busy, and this is when I become self-dependent again. However, as I rediscovered Him and His perfectness, I began to experience God’s love as it engulfed me. I began to trust Him more. Ephesians 3:18-21 tells us when we trust Him more, we will yearn for Him more. Yes, God is contagious! 

It reminded me of my grandson, Cade. Recently, he began to walk. But, as Cade started this new journey, he would wobbly teeter toward his father and look questionably for some sign that he would succeed. Each time Cade walked, he grew in confidence with himself and his father. He grew in that trust and adoration because his father caught him every time he almost fell. 

God tells us in Psalm 100:5, "The LORD is good; His love is eternal, and His faithfulness lasts forever." So, what is my heavenly Father’s track record? It’s perfect. In Colossians 2:6, “Just as you trusted God to save you, trust Him for each day’s problems.” In other words, live in vital union with God.

The more we trust, the more we learn to love God and His Sovereignty. In that trust walk, my self-reliance diminished. I am willing to pray, “Lord, I would rather not see it work at all than to have it work because of what I did.”  

There is a song by Tenth Avenue North, called “Control”. The lyrics are:

God, you don’t need me but somehow you want me,

Oh, how you love me and somehow that frees me, 

to open my hands up and give you control

To take my hands off of my life in the way it should go.

But, sometimes my faith feels thin

Like the night will never end.

Oh, will you catch every tear,

Or will you just leave me here?

I have this hope in the depth of my soul.

In the flood or the fire You are with me and you won’t let go.

Oh you want me, somehow you want me.

The King of Heaven wants me,

So this world has lost its grip on me.

I’ll be by your side wherever you fall

In the dead of the night whenever you call

And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you.

God’s hands are holding you

Here in my side whenever you fall

In the dead of night whenever you call

Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you

My hands are holding you 

God, You don’t need me but somehow you want me

Oh how you love me somehow it frees me 

To open my hands and give you control

I give you control!

What assurance WILL WE have if we walk toward our Father? 

You might have had a nearly wonderful earthly father, or maybe he was far from that. Either way, you do have a perfect Heavenly Father. We can all accept His adoption! We can know our Heavenly Father loves us because He sent His only Son for you and me. (John 3:16) He is a perfect, loving Father who calls us His masterpiece. Ephesians 2:10  says, “My life continues to change when I stop looking at salvation as a hoop to jump through and instead realize it is an adoption to accept. God says to us, “Oh, my daughter, what a sweet gift I’ve given you. Give yourself grace to take what I have freely given.”

Happy Father’s Day, Lord! You truly deserve all the Glory!

Welcome Stephanie Griffin, our Deeper Still Guest Writer this week. Stephanie is one of the editors of our blog and is an active part of Touching Hearts. She has a servant’s heart and shares her many gifts with others. What a blessing to hear from her heart this week.

To The Seventh Generation

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Posted by Karen Kinnaird, June 5, 2024

The tunnel was pitch black. The water rushing over my legs was ice cold. Our team of four crouched through the narrow space while holding the flashlights of our cell phones above our heads to give some light in the darkness. The water tunnel, two feet wide and 5-6 feet high, showed ancient pick marks surrounded by green algae. I was grateful for my water shoes since the surface of the passageway was smooth, but quite uneven. The echo of the rushing water and people’s voices reverberated off the stone walls. I was overwhelmed thinking of the 2700 years of history in this remarkable 1,750-foot carved, snaking bedrock channel. The tunnel was originally excavated by two teams, one starting at each end of the tunnel and then meeting in the middle. Where are we?

The Siloam Tunnel in eastern Jerusalem in the ancient City of David. It was dug during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah so he could fortify the city against the invading Assyrian armies without compromising its main water source. Today, it is considered an extraordinary feat of engineering. A miracle!

I’ve always admired Hezekiah. The book of 2 Kings describes him as a very good king; a reformer. He destroyed idols and pagan temples. He trusted and obeyed God and was very prosperous. The Bible says there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, both before and after him. But...he wasn’t perfect.   

At one point in Hezekiah’s reign, he became deathly sick, and the prophet Isaiah warned him to put his affairs in order. Hezekiah begged for healing and God gave him 15 more years to live and a miraculous sign to prove it. Meanwhile, the son of the King of the idolatrous Babylon, heard about this and sent messengers with a get-well card and a gift, inquiring about the miracle. Pridefully, Hezekiah gave these messengers a private behind-the-scenes tour of his palace, armory, treasury, and storehouses showing them everything in his palace and Kingdom. What was he thinking?

When the prophet Isaiah learned about this, he in essence, said to Hezekiah, “You've been tricked, and the condition of your heart revealed. A day will come when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon. Worse yet, some of your own descendants will be taken away and will be servants in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Hezekiah responds with relief that the consequences of his actions would not happen until after this death.

Hezekiah’s pride, selfishness, and lack of foresight in his present affected future generations to come.

How often do we make hasty decisions without considering the long-term effects on us, those around us and those to come? 

It could be a job or schedule change, an out-of-town move, a marriage, a change in church membership, a decision impacting health and illness, the choice to share our faith, and the list goes on and on. 

I recently learned about the Iroquois Indians’ seventh-generation principle. This dictates that decisions that are made today should be fair and meet the needs of seven generations into the future. How wise!

The Life Application Bible states: “The past affects our decisions and actions today, and these, in turn, affect the future. There are lessons to learn and errors to avoid repeating. Part of the success of your past will be measured by what you do with it now and how well you use it to prepare for the future.”

We don’t have to walk blindly through dark, narrow tunnels. Neither should we make hasty, short-sighted decisions. If we slow down, seek God through His word and prayer, and live humbly, He will light the way. He gives sure-footed wisdom, and the foresight needed so our actions and decisions today leave a positive and godly legacy for generations to come.

Karen Kinnaird brings the vast experience of having served as a ministry wife for nearly 38 years. Her husband has served as a church planter, senior pastor, state denominational leader, agency specialist at NAMB, and Associational Missionary Strategist. Karen currently serves as the Executive Assistant for Forgiving Forward, a ministry dedicated to helping people experience the freedom of the Gospel through the power of forgiveness. Karen and Jimmy, also known as Gigi and Poppy, have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

Jesus - What A Powerful Name It Is

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Posted by Pat Elsberry, May 29, 2024

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, NLT)

A few weeks ago, as I picked up my phone, memories from that day popped up on the screen. As I began to scroll through them, it took me back to that day a few years ago when I received a lesson in how powerful the name of Jesus truly is. 

While working remotely from home, I was on a conference call when I felt prompted to get up and walk to the front of our house. When I looked out the window, I noticed that one of our neighbors, who lived about four houses away, had a small grass fire burning by the front of his mailbox. Although I thought this was unusual, he had done some burning a few days before, and I assumed he was starting again. I walked back to the other side of the house and continued with my conference call, but moments later, I felt compelled to get back up again and look out front. When I did, I saw the fire engulfed our neighbor's front yard. After calling 911, I stood and watched the fire jump over the driveway to the next person's front yard. I remember praying a straightforward, short prayer as I paced in front of our home, "Father, please place a hedge of protection over our homes in Jesus' mighty name." 

It wasn't like I stood there pondering what I should pray for at this time. I just know that this scripture came from within, and as I later realized, this simple prayer was from Job 1:10 when Satan, talking about Job, tells God, "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? I especially love the Living Bible version: "You have always protected him and his home and his property from all harm." 

It's so important to hide the word of God in our hearts so we may call upon it when needed.

The word of God and the name of Jesus, the name above all names, are mighty and powerful tools.

When all was said and done, the fire had jumped over four driveways and stopped at our next-door neighbor's home. Upon surveying the damage that evening, I immediately noticed that the fire had literally burned up to the walkway but had stopped at the hedges surrounding the circumference of each home. There, indeed, was a hedge of protection around our neighborhood that day. 

For, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13

Pat Elsberry is an author, speaker, blogger, and a passionate advocate for parents dealing with grief after the loss of a child. Pat created multiple social media groups focused on providing hope to others who are walking the same path, including her blog, Hope During Loss. Pat facilitates an in-person grief share for women who have experienced child loss, and is also a moderator for Team Sharing, a nationwide peer-led support group for parents who have lost children to substance use disorder. Pat is the author of Beautifully Broken: Finding Hope During Loss, and will soon release her first devotional, Comforted by God. Pat and her husband, Fred live outside Atlanta and have a blended family of 7 children and 5 grandchildren. Her favorite things include traveling, cooking, gardening, dark chocolate, and worship music. You can find Pat on her blog, www.hopeduringloss.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @HopeDuringLoss.