Length: 3-minute read

A Father’s Day message for Heart of God Church youths

This is a letter I wrote on Father’s Day last year for Heart of God Church youths who no longer have their fathers with them at home.

Father’s Day can be difficult or at best meaningless for these young people. So every year, I write them a letter because I don’t want them to feel left out even as their friends celebrate Father’s Day with their families.

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I am writing this Father’s Day message to you on a Monday.
My Mondays are very special because it is reserved for my family.
But you are special. Of all the churches God would have led you to, He brought you to HOGC. So I thank God for the privilege to invest and impart to you.

My Bible is very precious to me. Because of my Bible, I can say – “from me and my generation onwards it is different.”
May this gift of a Bible shape your thinking and change your life.
I pray you will read it, live it and share it for the rest of your life.

My Bible has taught me 4 things:
1. Look back and thank God.
2. Look forward and trust God.
3. Look around and serve God.
4. Look up and seek God.

Look back and thank God.
Your past may be difficult and painful, but hey, you are still here.
The devil tried to knock you out.
People tried to knock you down.
But you are still here.
You survived.
You didn’t stay down.
My Bible says – “Having done all, stand!”  (If you don’t know where this verse is from, that’s why I am giving you this Bible.)
You are standing.
With Christ in your life, you have grown from victim to Victor.
So smile and thank God.

Look forward and trust God.
Your destiny is greater than your history
From you and your generation onwards, it will be different.
While you cannot change your past or your circumstances, you can change your future.

David says…
“Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.”

Isaiah says…
“You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

Your best days are ahead
Your future is amazing.

Look around and serve God.
Don’t wallow in self-pity.
Don’t look down and be self-absorbed.
Jesus taught us to look up and see the harvest.
As you look around at school, work, church and the world, you will discover that there are many people who are struggling like you or even worse off.
In fact, you are already living the dream of millions of people in the world.
If you don’t like your life, I can think of millions of people in Africa or the Middle East who will gladly trade their lives for yours.
My Bible taught me to look around…to see the needs and meet those needs.
Despite your wounds and disadvantages, you can serve God and make a difference.

Look up and seek God.
May my life inspire you to seek God.
May this Bible teach you to seek God.
God is my first choice, not my last resort.

People often ask me how long do I pray daily.
I would like to quote the great Smith Wigglesworth, who said “I don’t pray for more than one hour… but I also don’t go for more than one hour without prayer.”
This may not be literal because I am not praying while I am asleep, but you get the idea…
On mountain high and in valley low…always look up and seek God.

Love and Respect,
Pastor How
Father’s Day 2017