From "Daddy" to "Dad"
Do you remember when you stopped calling your dad, "Daddy"? I do.
I was about 6 or 7 years old and I remember being outside with my dad. He began a conversation with our next door neighbor, which I interrupted by calling out "Daddy!" Up until then, I had always called my dad, "Daddy."
But when I called out, "Daddy!" he gave me a funny look and he and the neighbor just chuckled, like that was baby talk. I never called him "Daddy" again.
The Aramaic/Hebrew word "Abba" is the equivalent of our English "Daddy." But unlike our relationship with our earthly father, our heavenly Father will never chuckle at us for calling Him Daddy. That's because we will never outgrow our child-like dependence on Him.
Quite the opposite. The more we grow in our faith the more we will realize our total dependence on our heavenly Father. That's why God loves it when we call Him "Abba." That's who He is and who He will always be to us.
"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6).
Americans Can't Live Without Their Phones
According to the Pew Research Center, 90% of Americans own a phone:
- 67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating.
- 44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night.
- 29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without.”
Recent statistics also show that 70% of cell phone owners and 86% of smart phone owners have used their phones in one or more of the following ways in the past 30 days:
- Coordinate a meeting or get-together — 41%
- Solve an unexpected problem that they or someone else had encountered — 35%
- Decide whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant — 30%
- Find information to help settle an argument they were having — 27%
- Look up a score of a sporting event — 23%
- Get up-to-the-minute traffic or public transit information to find the fastest way to get somewhere — 20%
- Get help in an emergency situation — 19%
All this cell phone use equates to the average person checking their phone 150 times per day, this according to Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers's annual Internet Trends report.
A recent social media buzz point (author unknown) asked this probing question: What if we began to treat our Bibles the way we treat our cell phones?
What if we …
carried it with us everywhere?
turned back to get it if we forgot it?
checked it for messages throughout the day?
used it in case of an emergency?
spent an hour or more using it each day?
Indeed, what if we consulted the Bible instead of our phone …
The next time we wanted to coordinate a meeting?
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee” (Psalm 63:1, KJV). “…when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
The next time we needed to solve a problem?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
The next time you need direction?
“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
The next time you need to decide where you should or shouldn’t go?
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (Psalm 1:1).
The next time you need help to settle an argument?
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church” (Matthew 18:15-16, ESV). “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21, ESV).
The next time you need to find the most direct path to your destination?
“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
The next time you have an emergency?
“Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15).
Let’s make the Word of God “something we cannot imagine living without!”
The Vine
Have you ever walked into a factory? The noise is usually deafening. You have to wear ear plugs just to avoid bodily harm.
Can you imagine taking a nap near an assembly line? The sounds of air compressors, pistons and other loud machines would make it nearly impossible. It takes a lot of noise to produce a car.
On the contrary, have you ever walked into an orchard? The still, the calm, the birds singing all evoke a great sense of peace and tranquility.
Can you imagine stretching out under the shade of the vines and just resting? It doesn't take much noise to produce fruit.
When man produces what he produces, it is accompanied by an over abundance of noise, commotion and little rest. But not so with what God produces.
When Jesus told us He is the vine and we are the branches, He intended us to remember that He is the one doing all the work; He is the one producing the fruit through us.
What does the branch do besides act as a go between? It's the vine that does all the work! The branch bears fruit by remaining at rest in the vine. Likewise, you and I bear fruit by remaining at rest in Christ.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).