House of Hope Online

June 21, 2026

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Happy Father’s Day to all the dads today.  May the Lord bless you with a joyful day, knowing that your fatherhood is a calling that gives you something in common with your Heavenly Father.  You are called to love unconditionally.

But Father’s Day is not a happy day for everyone.  Some suffer from a strained relationship with their father.  For some, divorce has come in to disrupt the relationship.  For others, a rebellious spirit may have caused the divide.

In my case, I am blessed to have children and grandchildren who honor me on this day, but Father’s Day was not always easy for me.  Those who know me well know my dad died due alcoholism when I was two years old, and while my older brother Nick stepped in as my surrogate dad, I always felt this orphan spirit that the devil wanted to use to oppress me.

Our family’s story of poverty was a painful one for many – it was their worst nightmare and their fear showed when they encountered us and tried to sympathize.  While they didn’t mean to, their fear of my fate convinced me that I was disadvantaged because my father had died.

Until one Father’s Day…at Liberty Church in Birmingham, AL.  I responded to an altar call for the fatherless.  The presence of God was palpable at the altar.  I wept in the presence of my Heavenly Father.  The prayer partner I had that morning was an elder of the church, a very compassionate gentleman.  He just hugged me as I wept.  He never said a word.  He told us later that he knew God was doing a work in me, and he didn’t want to interrupt it.

In one of the most powerful interactions I have ever had with the Holy Spirit, God the Father spoke into my spirit that I was secretly harboring resentment against my earthly dad because he had died so young.  The Lord had me forgive my father posthumously.  For the first time I felt the presence and the fatherly love of my earthly father.  That was a new feeling for me – fatherly love.  It was a tremendous meeting – just the three of us – Holy Spirit, my dad, and me.  All three of us were fathers, but I was just learning what fatherly love was.  While I felt the love of my dad for the first time, the love of our Heavenly Father was just overwhelming.

The Holy Spirit told me that my unforgiveness served as a wedge between me and Father God.  I was denying myself fatherly love because Jesus cannot co-exist with unforgiveness.  Jesus’ life is all about forgiveness.  God told me He wanted to be my Father all this time, but I refused to allow it.  I was stuck in my orphan spirit because of unforgiveness.

This was quite a powerful and unburdening word for me.  I never realized that I had resentment in my heart toward my father.  I felt something lift from my chest.  After the service, I just wanted to hug my children and be the best father I could be.  I just wanted to love them so much because I had just learned what fatherly love felt like, and more importantly, I had just learned what God’s agape love felt like.

Children of God through Jesus

Some people think everyone is a child of God, but that’s not true.  While we are all created by God, only those who accept Jesus in their hearts have the right to become children of God.

John 1:

 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name,

Becoming a child of God is a right that we attain when we receive Jesus and believe in His name.  When we are led by the Spirit of God, we become children of God.

Romans 8:

 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

 17 ¶ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] in order that we may also be glorified with [Him.]

That Sunday at Liberty Church, I was led by the Spirit of God, and He cast off me that orphan spirit leading to fear again.  Verse 16 played out for me.  The Holy Spirit bore witness with my spirit that I am a child of God, and a fellow heir with Jesus.  There is nothing to fear when you are a fellow heir with Jesus.

Honor Your Father

In Exodus 20:12, the Fifth Commandment instructs us to honor our fathers and mothers.  It promises long life in the land the Lord God gives us.  Jesus honored His Father and gave us reason to do the same.

John 10:

 27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

 29 “My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand.

 30 “I and the Father are one.”

There is no greater father than our Heavenly Father.  He called us by the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus in our hearts, and He will not allow us to be snatched out of His hand.  He has promised the Rapture, the day when He sends His Son to bring His bride, the Church, to the Father’s House.

Praise Your Heavenly Father

James 1:

 17 Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.

Politicians work in shifting shadows.  Earthly fathers can vary from day to day, inconsistently applying discipline.  But with Father God, there is no variation or shifting shadow.  He is consistently in love with us, and His discipline reflects His love.

Psalms 68:

 4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up [a song] for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.

 5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

Our Heavenly Father is a Father to the fatherless.  He taught me that, one on one, in Birmingham, AL. 

Psalms 22:

 3 Yet Thou art holy, O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

His holy habitation rests upon the praise of His people.  So, praise Him and He will manifest as a Father to you, as He did for me.

Encouragement for Fathers

I pray these scriptures will encourage fathers and the children of all fathers.

Proverbs 22:

 6 ¶ Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

The investment of time you make in your children is the highest return on investment you will ever receive.  Keep training them up in the word of the Lord, and when they grow older, they will not depart from it.

Proverbs 20:

 7 ¶ A righteous man who walks in his integrity–How blessed are his sons after him.

Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody would know if you did wrong.  God says if we walk in integrity, our children will be blessed by it.

Proverbs 23:

 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.

Children can cause their father to greatly rejoice by walking in righteousness, and in the wisdom of God’s word.

Psalms 127:

 3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD; The fruit of the womb is a reward.

 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.

 5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They shall not be ashamed, When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Proverbs 17:

 6 ¶ Grandchildren are the crown of old men, And the glory of sons is their fathers.

Praise God for the crown of grandchildren and the glory of our children!

Let us pray.

Father God, we praise Your name, and we thank You that You are the Father of Lights, from whom comes every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift.  Jesus, thank You for giving us the right to become children of God.  Holy Spirit, thank You for the spirit of adoption by which we cry Abba Father!  And thank You for bearing witness that we are the children of God.  Thank You, Lord, for being Father to the fatherless and for inhabiting our praises that we might know Your presence and feel Your agape love.  Help us to honor our fathers and to raise our children in the ways of the Lord.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.

If anyone has not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ in their heart, and desires to do so, please repeat this prayer after me:

Father God, I repent of my sin and ask for forgiveness today.  I confess and declare with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with all my heart that You raised Him from the dead for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus, please come into my heart and change me.  Send the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me in wisdom and to enable me to overcome temptation from this day forth.  Thank You for my salvation.  I look forward to the day of the Rapture when I can be with You forever.  Amen.