Welcome to The Son's Inheritance!
This blog consist of revelation, prophetic words and a lot of my personal journey. Please feel free to submit any stories, words, or revelation that you have that pertain to God's heart as a father and what it means to be his child. Ladies, please insert the word daughter anywhere you see the word son.
Feel free to share anything posted on this site and make sure to include a link back to the original post.
Blessings on your journey!
Monday, July 27, 2009
We must know the heart from which the blessings flow.
Luke 15:11-20
The Parable of the Lost Son
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father.
Another common title for the parable is “The Prodigal Son”. There are lessons about God's Fathering Heart that endlessly spill of the pages while reading this passage. One familiar lesson for me is that of desiring my inheritance before I am prepared to steward it well. The idea of a child asking for something that is normally transferred at the time of death is horrendous. Another way of saying I want my inheritance prematurely is “Father, I wish you were already gone.”
When it comes to actual inheritance from our earthly family or the inheritance we have as children of God, we often times miss the importance of the relationship. There are many instances in my own past that I have only seen relationships for what I could get out of them. The thought of giving love, appreciation, and blessing, can be so far removed from my mind when I am living with an orphan heart.
When I believe that I am entitled to my inheritance, I miss the sweetest part. The relationship is the true blessing in the inheritance. There is nothing inside of me that desires my father to be absent from my life and then one day receive a letter in the mail saying that I have inherited everything that he owned. The value of a father and his love is worth so much more than the things he can give or do for me.
During many tough years of my life I lived with an orphan heart. I didn't understand my earthly or Heavenly Father's heart for me. The desire to live according to my own plan and for everyone around me to support me emotionally was all I thought I needed to be happy. Year after year I found myself empty and wanting a relationship with my Fathers but I didn't know how to be a son. The journey of understanding what it is to be a son has been a long but rewarding road.
Three years ago I found myself in a mission (voluntarily) in Nashville, TN. I remember staring out a window overlooking the city with my mind fixed on a fresh revelation of Father God's love. I had been saved for a few years but I was still living with the heart of an orphan. I was now the son that stayed at home in the Luke 15 story. I had been with Father for a few years and I had no understanding of how to relate to him.
Shortly after the Nashville trip I moved to Kansas City and the Lord surrounded me with spiritual fathers. During my time there the revelation I received in Nashville started moving from my mind to my heart. The more I began to experience a healthy relationship with God, the more I was able to be a son to my earthly father. My understanding of sonship was formed a thousand miles away from my earthly father. I remember spending time with the Lord and calling my dad and sharing my experiences with him. Over an eighteen month period the Lord built a strong relationship between me and my earthly father. The healing that is still taking place all comes from peering into the relationship that Jesus has with Father God. Beholding the relationship of perfect communion between The Father and The Son is the only thing that has brought me to a place of security and love.
There is not a more liberating experience than giving and receiving love from our Father in heaven. In order to truly enjoy our inheritance, we must know the heart from which the blessings flow.
The Parable of the Lost Son
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father.
Another common title for the parable is “The Prodigal Son”. There are lessons about God's Fathering Heart that endlessly spill of the pages while reading this passage. One familiar lesson for me is that of desiring my inheritance before I am prepared to steward it well. The idea of a child asking for something that is normally transferred at the time of death is horrendous. Another way of saying I want my inheritance prematurely is “Father, I wish you were already gone.”
When it comes to actual inheritance from our earthly family or the inheritance we have as children of God, we often times miss the importance of the relationship. There are many instances in my own past that I have only seen relationships for what I could get out of them. The thought of giving love, appreciation, and blessing, can be so far removed from my mind when I am living with an orphan heart.
When I believe that I am entitled to my inheritance, I miss the sweetest part. The relationship is the true blessing in the inheritance. There is nothing inside of me that desires my father to be absent from my life and then one day receive a letter in the mail saying that I have inherited everything that he owned. The value of a father and his love is worth so much more than the things he can give or do for me.
During many tough years of my life I lived with an orphan heart. I didn't understand my earthly or Heavenly Father's heart for me. The desire to live according to my own plan and for everyone around me to support me emotionally was all I thought I needed to be happy. Year after year I found myself empty and wanting a relationship with my Fathers but I didn't know how to be a son. The journey of understanding what it is to be a son has been a long but rewarding road.
Three years ago I found myself in a mission (voluntarily) in Nashville, TN. I remember staring out a window overlooking the city with my mind fixed on a fresh revelation of Father God's love. I had been saved for a few years but I was still living with the heart of an orphan. I was now the son that stayed at home in the Luke 15 story. I had been with Father for a few years and I had no understanding of how to relate to him.
Shortly after the Nashville trip I moved to Kansas City and the Lord surrounded me with spiritual fathers. During my time there the revelation I received in Nashville started moving from my mind to my heart. The more I began to experience a healthy relationship with God, the more I was able to be a son to my earthly father. My understanding of sonship was formed a thousand miles away from my earthly father. I remember spending time with the Lord and calling my dad and sharing my experiences with him. Over an eighteen month period the Lord built a strong relationship between me and my earthly father. The healing that is still taking place all comes from peering into the relationship that Jesus has with Father God. Beholding the relationship of perfect communion between The Father and The Son is the only thing that has brought me to a place of security and love.
There is not a more liberating experience than giving and receiving love from our Father in heaven. In order to truly enjoy our inheritance, we must know the heart from which the blessings flow.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Next Generation of Fathers
The Battle for the Hearts of Fathers
To peer into the hearts of the next generation of fathers is a sobering experience. The battle for the hearts and minds of todays teenage boys is not for the faint hearted. There are evil forces that are ever present in the lives of our next generation of leaders. The power that the father of lies uses to distort truth in the minds of children is unfathomable.
After a week with 8 young men at youth camp, I have seen firsthand the affects of the destruction that comes from the lack of fathering. To see a young man only 16 living life without purpose or destiny is a foreshadowing of things to come. To look into his eyes and see no trust or security in who he is, paints a grim picture of his future. With more questions than answers he searches for significance and manhood in dry wells. Looking at the men around him he finds none with virtue or integrity. There is no wisdom available to him, no source of encouragement or strength. The apparent hopelessness is written on his face and displayed by his words. Surrounded by friends that are searching for the same answers, he continues to find himself frustrated and empty.
What kind of father will this young man become ? How will he avoid passing on the pain? Will he ever experience the embrace he so desperately needs ? How can he protect his heart and the heart of a bride ? What does he have to give to another?
There is Hope!
As I watched the revealing of truth to this young man, I was blown away by the instantaneous shifts in his heart. The smile that had only been used to hide pain, now reveals peace and hope for his future. The tears are sweet instead of bitter. As he fixed his gaze on the Fathering Heart Of God, his countenance changed in an instant. The tearing down of walls around his heart brought intimacy that had not even been imaginable. As he was embraced by the arms of men that care and love him, his broken heart began to heal. With every tear he cried, his ability to receive love increased. After years of beholding wounded men and father figures, he chose to shift his eyes to the one that knows him best. To be loved well and to return that love to the giver, released him into a future filled with adventure and hope. Life for this young man no longer appears dark and lonely. He now has confidence in his ability to have intimacy without shame. The release of the pain has made room for joy.
Who is this God that he would tend to the heart of one child? Who is this God that inclines his ear to those who mourn? Who is this God that embraces the weak? Who is this God that fashions a new heart in place of one that has been destroyed?
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, continue to love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sin.
No only does the Love of God cover our personal sins, His love also covers the multitude of sins committed against us. Love is the key to the doors of protection and self preservation. There is no other way to experience release from pain and hopelessness.
John 17: 24-26
24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
Take every opportunity to express the Love of Jesus to those around you. For the Saviour of the world desires us to experience the Love that His Father has for Him. The same love that God has for God, is our inheritance.
And where the Spirit of The Lord is, there is FREEDOM.
The battle ground of social injustice is fought on many fronts. The hearts of young men are a central focus in the fight to end all social justice issues.
To peer into the hearts of the next generation of fathers is a sobering experience. The battle for the hearts and minds of todays teenage boys is not for the faint hearted. There are evil forces that are ever present in the lives of our next generation of leaders. The power that the father of lies uses to distort truth in the minds of children is unfathomable.
After a week with 8 young men at youth camp, I have seen firsthand the affects of the destruction that comes from the lack of fathering. To see a young man only 16 living life without purpose or destiny is a foreshadowing of things to come. To look into his eyes and see no trust or security in who he is, paints a grim picture of his future. With more questions than answers he searches for significance and manhood in dry wells. Looking at the men around him he finds none with virtue or integrity. There is no wisdom available to him, no source of encouragement or strength. The apparent hopelessness is written on his face and displayed by his words. Surrounded by friends that are searching for the same answers, he continues to find himself frustrated and empty.
What kind of father will this young man become ? How will he avoid passing on the pain? Will he ever experience the embrace he so desperately needs ? How can he protect his heart and the heart of a bride ? What does he have to give to another?
There is Hope!
As I watched the revealing of truth to this young man, I was blown away by the instantaneous shifts in his heart. The smile that had only been used to hide pain, now reveals peace and hope for his future. The tears are sweet instead of bitter. As he fixed his gaze on the Fathering Heart Of God, his countenance changed in an instant. The tearing down of walls around his heart brought intimacy that had not even been imaginable. As he was embraced by the arms of men that care and love him, his broken heart began to heal. With every tear he cried, his ability to receive love increased. After years of beholding wounded men and father figures, he chose to shift his eyes to the one that knows him best. To be loved well and to return that love to the giver, released him into a future filled with adventure and hope. Life for this young man no longer appears dark and lonely. He now has confidence in his ability to have intimacy without shame. The release of the pain has made room for joy.
Who is this God that he would tend to the heart of one child? Who is this God that inclines his ear to those who mourn? Who is this God that embraces the weak? Who is this God that fashions a new heart in place of one that has been destroyed?
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, continue to love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sin.
No only does the Love of God cover our personal sins, His love also covers the multitude of sins committed against us. Love is the key to the doors of protection and self preservation. There is no other way to experience release from pain and hopelessness.
John 17: 24-26
24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
Take every opportunity to express the Love of Jesus to those around you. For the Saviour of the world desires us to experience the Love that His Father has for Him. The same love that God has for God, is our inheritance.
And where the Spirit of The Lord is, there is FREEDOM.
The battle ground of social injustice is fought on many fronts. The hearts of young men are a central focus in the fight to end all social justice issues.
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