Romans 5:15-16-"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

Have you ever thought of God as your dad? I know we call him father God but have you ever called him daddy God? In our scripture verses for today that is exactly how Paul discribed our relationship with God. Paul says that we have received the Spirit of sonship and can now refer to our heavenly father as "Abba" which can be translated "Daddy."

When you think of the perfect dad what comes to mind? Kind, gentle, firm, caring, mentor, counselor, guide, provider and protector are some of the attributes I would use in my description of a perfect dad. You probably can think of some other attributes to descibe the perfect father. Whatever attributes and characteristic you use to describe a perfect dad it would not be things like: slave, task master, abusive, mean, angry or hurtful. The perfect dad is someone we respect and trust. It is someone who is looking out for our best interest. In a nutshell it is the God of the Bible.

On this Father's Day, lets begin to look at our Heavenly Father as the perfect Father. The true image of the perfect dad. Let's begin to take our eyes off our earthly father and focus on the father Paul says we now have in heaven. I know a lot of us had wonderful fathers who may not have been perfect but they did show us a wonderful picture of what a father should be. For some of us the picture is not so perfect. They were not able to show us an example of what a father should be. In fact, the picture they showed of a father was the exact opposite of the God we see in scripture.

Today and everyday lets focus on Romans 5:15-16 and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us a God and Father that we can be comfortable calling, Daddy. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to heal our hearts and minds of our imperfect fathers and show us a new and restored image of a father. For those of us with children and even grandchildren, lets allow the Lord to father us so we can father them. Lets allow the Word of God be our source in revealing our true Heavenly Father in order for us to be the image of Him to our families.

Prayer-Dear Daddy God. Today I bring to you all my imperfections and misguided images of what a Father is or should be. I ask you to renew my mind and heart to who you are as my Heavenly Father. Help me see you as you really are. The perfect dad who loves me unconditionally and desires the best for me. Walk with me each day as I walk in your purpose for my life. I thank you that I am your son and you are my father. In Jesus' Name, Amen!