Hadn't thought of it this way before.....

A message I heard this weekend took the scripture from Matthew 6:9-13 and focused on only two words. The first two words. But Pastor Todd Clark also made a statement which made me stop and think a bit. He said...

"The way you view your dad on earth affects how you view your Father in heaven." Huh.

As I have shared before, my father died when I was young - I turned 8 years old later that year. I don't remember much about my dad, except that he was sick a lot. My step-father was abusive - not only to me, but also to my other sisters. My view of my real father who died, and my step father who abused me, are totally different.

Matthew 6:9-13
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."


Pastor Clark shared that we have five different types of fathers:

1. Absent (whether by death, divorce, job, hobbies, or was rarely around)

2. Abusive (physical, emotional, mental)

3. Passive (didn't do anything,didn't care about anything)

4. Performance (performance based - how good were you in anything you did)

5. Empowering (encourages, praises you, prays with you, believes in you)


Children view you and how you view God.

God is not a bigger version of your earthly father.

God is not a better version of your earthly father.

God is the perfect version of your earthly father!

ONLY our God is perfect.


God is not the REFLECTION of your earthly dad. He is the PERFECTION of our earthly dad. ~~ Andy Stanley


There are four types of Answered Prayers:

1. If the request is wrontg - God says "NO". He can do that. He is God.

2. If the timing is wrong - God says "SLOW". It feels worse than 'no'. This is like when you are looking for a job, or the timing is not right for something and God has something better than what you think you should have. Don't get impatient and take the first thing that comes along - only to find your day consumed by the job or it isn't what you wanted.

3. If you are wrong - God says "GROW". These are times you need to admit and confess to God. Unconfessed sins hinders God's answer to us.

4. If the reqeust is right, the timeing is right, and you are right - God says "GO". God loves to answer us and give us what we want when we ask Him.


What were your thoughts about Father's Day this year? All of us have a father, whether they were in our lives or not. And we all have a Heavenly Father who loves us beyond measure, who cares for us, and cares about us.

Hope your day was a good one - and today will be even better.

Blessings!