A Fathers Day Bible Study
On Father’s Day in America, many seek to please and honor their earthly father by spending time with him. They may enjoy a special meal together or give him gifts. If they cannot get together with him in person, they may send cards, texts, emails, or talk with him by phone or video chat. As Christians, we should love our Heavenly Father even more than our earthly father. This post is a Bible study on how to please and honor your Heavenly Father.
Table of contents
Are you seeking to please and honor your Heavenly Father?
We all have a Father in Heaven as well an early one. Our Heavenly Father is the God who created us all in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). He gave us life and gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). He is merciful and showers good gifts on the unjust as well as the just (Matthew 5:45).
God gives even more to those who believe in Him, repent of their sin, and trust in His Son Jesus as their savior from sin. These enter into a special relationship with Him and are adopted into His spiritual family. They are born again spiritually, receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and have eternal life. For all these reasons and more, we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Are you a child of God? If you are, do you seek to please and honor your Heavenly Father? You might ask, “How can I do that?” The answer is in God’s Word. Have you read the Bible today? That’s always a great way to start.
The answer is in God’s Word
Sunday is “the Lord’s day.” Did you gather together with a group of God’s other children to worship Him and pray, sing His praise, and hear the preaching of His Word? Have you let your Heavenly Father speak to you through personal Bible study and private prayer? Have you thanked and praised your Heavenly Father for all He has done for you today?
You might be thinking, “I thought you were going to teach us how to please God.” In case the above has been an insufficient hint, let’s examine Proverbs 15: 8-9. These two verses contrast the wicked and the upright and how God feels about them.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
Proverbs 15:8
The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but He loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
Proverbs 15:9
• “An abomination” is something disgusting, detestable or abhorrent to God.
• “The way” refers to one’s routine, habitual behavior and lifestyle.
God hates the sinful lifestyles of the wicked, and despises their hypocrisy when they go through the motions of worshiping Him. “The way of the wicked” is so detestable to God that even their sacrifices and offerings are abhorrent to Him.
Follow After Righteousness
In contrast to His feelings toward the wicked, God loves those who “follow after righteousness.” This can be translated as those who “pursue righteousness.”
“Following after” or “pursuing” righteousness describes a habitual behavior. It is a lifestyle that actively seeks to do what is right. It describes the behavior of the upright who seek to please God by doing what is good and right in His sight. And the prayers of the righteous are “His delight.”
The prayers of the righteous are “His delight”
It should be noted that “pursuing” or “following after” righteousness does not indicate perfection. We are all sinners, so even the upright stumble and occasionally stray off the straight path of righteousness. But the upright quickly confess their sin, repent of their error, and return to the right way.
You might ask, “How do I pursue righteousness? How can I know the way?” When Thomas asked Jesus this question, Jesus replied, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). The way of righteousness is the way of Christ. We are to abide in Jesus and His love (John 15:4-12) by keeping His commandments and loving one another.
The way of righteousness is the way of Christ
We should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). We should be imitators of God and walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2). And for the truly committed, we should deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow after our Lord Jesus Christ everyday (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Mark 10:21, and Luke 9:23).
How to please your Heavenly Father
- Love your Heavenly Father with all your heart
- Love other people as yourself
- Spend time with with God, talking with Him in prayer
- Read God’s Word daily and meditate on it night and day (Psalm 1:1-2)
- Pursue righteousness and quickly confess your sin when you go astray
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