A father’s hands are gentle,
A father’s hands are strong,
Guiding, helping, teaching,
Showing right from wrong.
The protection of a father’s hand
And the love that’s in their touch
Give the feeling of security
A child needs so much.
And although they may be rough from toil,
A child still understands
How much of life’s true beauty
Comes from a father’s hands.
~ Anonymous
“To feel his little hand in mine,
So clinging and so warm,
To know he thinks me strong enough
To keep him safe from harm:
To see his simple faith in all
That I say and do;
It sort o’ shames a fellow,
But it makes him better, too.
And I’m trying hard to be that man
He fancies me to be,
Because I have this chap at home
Who thinks the world of me.
I would not disappoint his trust
For anything on earth,
Nor let him know how little I
Just naturally am worth.
But after all, it’s easier
That brighter road to climb,
With the little hands behind me
To push me all the time.
And I reckon I’m a better man
Than what I used to be
Because I have this chap at home
Who thinks the world of me.”
~ Anonymous
When the pace seems slow
And few there be to care or know
That the world’s crept in the doors
And slackened every godly cause,
When folks no longer want to pray
And seek the Lord to know His way,
For sloth and ease have broken in
And robbed the church of the power to win,
Then do not let this crippling sin
Take hold of you and lock you in.
Buckle up as ne’er before,
Take hold of heaven and knock its door.
Smash every tendency to be
Like others around who cannot see.
When the tempting battle gets to boilin’
Treat the world as deadly poison!
No matter how many may be your foes,
They will never stand your knockout blows.
When all around are misbehaving,
Sound the trumpet with banners waving.
Though the world and devils around may scoff
Just lift your sword and write them off.
There’s no time for messing about,
Tell the lazy ones, “Stop being a lout!”
For there will be a sure reward
For those who diligently seek the Lord.
It’s true you see, the surest way to victory
Is always on the bended knee.
By COLIN CAMPBELL
Somehow a fellow can’t express
The feelings he has had,
While through the years he’s walked and talked
And laughed and played with Dad.
He cannot put in words the love,
The pride that wells within,
The admiration in his heart
Whene’er Dad looks at him.
Dad is the hero of his dreams,
This king upon the throne;
The pattern for that ideal life
Which he would make his own.
He knows that Dad well understands
The conflicts in his breast,
And shares the problems he must face
Though often unexpressed.
The pressure of his Dad’s strong hand,
The look deep in his eyes,
Speaks volumes to a fellow’s heart,
When cares of life arise.
And when he kneels with Dad in prayer
Before the throne of grace,
The glory of the unseen world
Illumines all the place.
How could a fellow go astray
Who with his Dad has stood,
Within the secret place of prayer—
Before a holy God!
And this my constant prayer shall be,
Until this life is done,
My conduct here shall honor him
Who proudly calls me, “son.”
~ Anonymous
Painting by Daniel Garhantz
Right from the beginning and down through the ages
God revealed Himself through prophets and sages,
But He waited until the fullness of time
To show the whole world what was most in His mind.
Though God is high and very great
And through His power the world has state,
Yet above all this He wanted rather
To show the whole world that he is a Father.
God sent His well-beloved Son
To reveal Himself in a world undone,
If you have ears to listen you will hear Him say
So much of His Father in a very proud way.
Father keeps every promise to me, His Son,
He will never fail one word, no not one,
His discipline strong has a purpose you see.
For righteous character to be formed in Me.
My Father’s a teacher, a Vinedresser too,
He hears me and tells me what I am to do,
My Father protects, never leaves me alone,
I’m so one with my Father, such unity I’ve known.
He’s my greatest companion and loves me so much
I want others to know of His special touch,
If you want to find my Father, don’t ask me, “Where,”
Just look at Me for His image I bear.
Let fathers throughout this world behold
That this is the pattern our lives to mold,
If we would sons and daughters raise
Let God the Father be our gaze.
For God ordained that father’s role
Should have a high and noble goal
To hold, show forth that special part
That shineth most from His own heart.
So now the world has much to find
What God has shown to all mankind,
True fatherhood will not just happen
Unless we follow close to His own pattern.
By COLIN CAMPBELL
A careful man I want to be—
A little fellow follows me.
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he’ll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whate’er he sees me do, he tries,
Like me he says he’s going to be,
The little chap who follows me.
He thinks that I’m so very fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see,
The little chap who follows me.
I must remember as I go,
Through summer’s sun and winters snow,
I’m building for the years to be—
The little chap who follows me.
~ Anonymous
Painting by Emily Elizabeth
There is a rock of much strength filled,
For upon this rock the nations build,
As granite cliffs rise strong and tall
The rock of fatherhood should never fall.
When fathers of wisdom, strong and bold,
Stand up for their families, God’s ways to hold,
Blessing will flow from heaven above
And fill those families with God’s great love.
But forces of darkness, cunning and sinister,
Much disturbed that fathers should minister
To the needs of their families, small or great,
Have unanimously decided, ‘Fatherhood – liquidate.’
The fight is on, hell’s in a storm,
Destroy this image to which man was born,
Get rid of fatherhood, whate’er the cost
And earth will suffer man’s greatest loss.
Make fathers small, make them a shrimp,
Turn them into a jellyfish wimp,
Alcohol, drugs, anything goes,
Even to bash his family with blows.
Make him too busy to take the family away
On a fine day’s outing or school holiday,
Better to hit golf balls around the green
Than take family away to a nice mountain stream.
“Adultery, adultery,” the devil cries.
This wrecks the family and fatherhood dies.
Let feminists rise and take his place
And this will give God a slap in the face!
Let’s change his appetites, make man a boar,
Who follows his lusts for a sleazy whore.
Oh yes, oh yes, if that’s not effectual,
We’ll turn him into a gay homosexual.
Yet ignorance, plain ignorance is the best tool
To destroy fatherhood and make man a fool.
For who will take time to study, excel,
To raise sons and daughters, God’s ways to tell.
Fathers arise, stand up and be counted,
Be a part of the army that God has mounted
To revive, restore, and bring back from the sand
The highest role God has given to man!
~ COLIN CAMPBELL
Painting: Art print by John D. Benson
Last night my little boy confessed to me
Some childish wrong;
And kneeling at my knee,
He prayed with tears—
“Dear God, make me a man
Like Daddy—wise and strong;
I know you can.”
Then while he slept
I knelt beside his bed,
Confessed my sins,
And prayed with low-bowed head.
“O God, make me a child
Like my child here—
Pure, guileless,
Trusting Thee with faith sincere.”
~ Andrew Gillies
In my last post, I wrote about the enormity of the emphasis placed on the blood of bulls, goats, and lambs in the Old Testament. The amount of blood that was shed every day, beginning with Adam and Eve who were clothed in animal’s skins (which involved the shedding of blood), all the way to the coming of Jesus Christ was an enormous price for God’s people.
In Genesis 4:26 we read of Adam and Eve having another son whom they called Seth. Seth’s first born was called Enos, “Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”
This is very significant because usually calling upon the name of the Lord involved building altars and sacrificing the life blood of lambs, bulls, and goats. All the blood that flowed from Old Testament altars cannot be estimated in price. It all pointed to the priceless value of the one supreme sacrifice whose atoning blood ended all the vast rivers of blood shed on Old Testament altars.
Matthew 26:26-28: “And as they were eating Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it. For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Mark 14:23: “And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.”
John 6:53-57: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they had to eat all the lamb, including the internals. These days the Jews only partake of the shank portion of the leg of the lamb.
However, we who believe in Christ, are to partake of His head (His mind and His vision), His hearing, His speech, His internals (bowels of mercies), His heart of love and compassion, His legs (to walk as He walked), and His hands to be our hands of welcome, love, embrace, and healing.
This is all because of Jesus’ shed blood.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
The blood of Jesus Christ was, without doubt, a very big emphasis in the Old Testament church.
Genesis 3:21: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Adam and Eve clothed themselves with fig leaves, but God shed the blood of an innocent animal to clothe them.
Exodus: 12:3, 13: “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house . . . and WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
Genesis 4:10: “And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance.
Hebrews 12:24: “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” The voice of Jesus’ blood speaks better things (mercy, forgiveness, salvation, deliverance, and healing) for all mankind.
When the children of Israel left Egypt, they had to take a lamb for every household. Every day in the life of the Old Testament church, there were two lambs killed, the morning and evening sacrifice (Exodus 29:38, 39).
For the dedication of Solomon’s temple, they killed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep (1 Kings 8:63).
At Josiah’s Passover, he gave of his own substance 30,000 lambs and goats and 3,000 cattle; his princes gave 2,600 lambs and goats and 300 bullocks; and the Levite leaders gave 5,000 lambs and goats and 500 bulls (2 Chronicles 35:7-9). Wow, that’s 38,700 in all!
It was not the slain animals that God was impressed with, but rather the innocent blood. The inestimable value of all the blood of millions of sacrifices beginning with Abel to the patriarchs, to the sacrifice of the firstborn animal, to the dedications of the temples, as well as all the daily free will offerings, all pointed to the one great final sacrifice of absolute inestimable worth—the precious blood of God’s own son, Jesus Christ. He is the only One who takes away the sins of the whole world.
All these sacrifices and their blood pleaded day by day and year by year (as on the Day of Atonement) for mercy, favor, and forgiveness for all the sins of Israel (God’s chosen people).
How much more should we, every day, sing and shout the praises of Jesus’ blood that was so very much more effective and precious to cleanse the darkest stains of our sinful nature and give to us eternal salvation, mercy, and forgiveness?
The amazing truth is this: it took just one perfect and sinless sacrifice to take away sin and fulfil the rivers of blood that flowed from all the Old Testament altars.
If your church does not exalt and praise the precious blood of Jesus, you and your family can be deceived to build a Cain altar of your own works.
Make praising the blood of Jesus a strong part of your family worship time.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
With the precious blood of Jesus sprinkled upon Heaven’s mercy seat, there is no limit to what our prayers can accomplish.
Even under the Old Covenant, which was sealed with the blood of bulls and goats there was still great mercy shown to God’s covenanted people as they humbled themselves, prayed, and turned from their wicked ways (1 Chronicles 7:14).
When they called upon God, pleading His divine mercy to flow from His mercy seat which was the seat of His throne in the earthly tabernacle and temple, God answered their prayers. Why? Because of the blood of bulls and goats abundantly sprinkled upon the mercy seat.
But now, because of the blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless, spotless, Lamb of God, whose blood is on Heaven’s mercy seat, HOW MUCH MORE greater and abundantly above all that we could ask or even think shall our payers be answered.
Men, we must teach our families this great truth. I believe with all my heart that there is absolutely no limit to the leverage we have obtained in and through the precious blood of Jesus. Through His blood we can receive from God all that we could possibly imagine.
Psalm 81:10 says: “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” This means that God calls His people to ask Him for BIG requests. In this psalm God reminds His people of His great miracles when He delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt.
To see His mighty power again, all they had to do now was to repent, walk in His ways, and stop worshipping false gods.
Verse 11 states: “But my people would not hearken to my voice.”
Verse 14 says: “I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.”
Verse 16 says: "He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”
This was all under the Old Covenant, sealed with the blood of bulls and goats.
HOW MUCH MORE shall the sinless, spotless blood of Jesus Christ prevail for us?
How wide do we open our mouths?
Teach your family the power of Jesus’ blood to receive answers beyond their wildest dreams.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
Hebrews 9:14: “How MUCH MORE shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
We should be eternally grateful for the blood of Christ to cleanse and purge our deepest conscience, no matter how greatly it has been defiled, stained, hardened, and contaminated by our actions or thoughts. It should never cease to amaze us. It is only through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all dead works that we can serve God with a clear and clean conscience.
All our service, to and for God, can only be acceptable to Him based on the blood of Jesus Christ. All our so called good works become dead works if we think they can save us and make us more acceptable to God. Perish the very thought!
The only good works that are acceptable to God are the good works based on the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. The power of His blood purifies our hearts from all the boasting and pride of all the works done through the energy of our self-life. It is only the blood of Jesus that makes our works acceptable to God.
Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
• It is not how much more good works we have done; it is rather HOW MUCH MORE POWER there is in the blood of Jesus.
• It is not how much more knowledge of the Bible we have; it is rather HOW MUCH MORE POWER that is in His blood.
• It is not how much more sacrifice we have made, even to the laying down of our lives; it is rather HOW MUCH MORE POWER that is in His blood.
• It is not how much more we have prayed; it is rather HOW MUCH MORE POWER there is in the blood of Christ.
• It is not how much more we have attended church; it is rather HOW MUCH MORE POWER there is in His blood.
• It is not how much more gifted we may be than others; it is rather HOW MUCH MORE POWER is in the blood of Jesus.
There is power, power, wonder-working power,
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
Hebrews 9:23: “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”
The mercy seat in the earthly tabernacle was made after the pattern of the heavenly one. Hebrews 8:5 tells us of the priests “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.”
The heavenly tabernacle, including the mercy seat, required purification, not with the blood of innocent animals, but with the precious blood of the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ.
If mercy flowed from the mercy seat on earth through the blood of animals for the temporary forgiveness of sin, how much more shall the blood on Heaven’s mercy seat obtain for us a FAR GREATER forgiveness and salvation? Through the mercy seat on earth the blessings flowed to protect, heal, prosper, and give victory over enemies. How much more from Heaven’s mercy seat? And we also have a stronger guarantee that our prayers will be heard and answered when we plead the precious blood of Jesus Christ rather than the blood of earthly bulls, goats, and lambs.
Why don’t we plead the blood more?
Hebrews 10: 4 states: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” They only provided a temporary band aid until the true sinless, Lamb of God was slain and His blood applied to Heaven’s mercy seat. Jesus’ precious blood is the only guarantee for our prayers to be heard.
In Hebrews 9:7 we read that the High Priest of Israel could only approach the earthly mercy seat once a year and He could only do this with the blood of animals. But now we can come boldly through the name of our heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, who by His own blood entered ONCE AND FOR ALL into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, “having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).
Men, we must teach our families this great truth so that our faith will be increased to see our prayers answered.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
Exodus 25:20: “And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.”
The doctrine of mercy is a major doctrine in God’s Word. All of God’s mercies, which are so enormous and great, flow directly from the mercy seat. The mercy seat is, without doubt, the greatest aspect of God’s throne.
We must never forget that all of God’s benefits and goodnesses towards us from the beginning of time have their source and foundations in the mercy seat of His throne.
The mercy seat reveals to us the greatness of our Heavenly Father’s heart.
However, the mercy seat would have absolutely no benefit to us if it were not for the blood of the innocent, pure Lamb of God sprinkled upon it.
Referring to the faces of the cherubims looking at one another as well as both looking towards the mercy seat, some commentators speculate that their faces would have a look of amazement, awe, and wonder. They saw the ark carrying the Ten Commandments which were righteous and holy, yet they condemned and judged us guilty and worthy of death because we were helpless to keep them perfectly.
If it were not for the blood-sprinkled mercy seat the cherubims’ faces would have appeared sad and grieved. However, the Scriptures say that their faces in unity were not actually looking at the judgmental law, but at the mercy seat which was sprinkled with innocent blood.
This is a picture of the righteous wrath of God being satisfied with the atoning blood of His innocent, sinless Son, resulting in His great heart of mercy flowing abundantly towards His fallen creation of mankind.
The truth is that God is more than satisfied with the blood of His Son. When we boldly approach the One who sits on Heaven’s mercy seat, we can plead the precious blood of Christ and know that God is totally appeased.
Hebrews 4:16 say: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
James 2:13: “Mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” Most other Bible versions translate it: “Mercy TRIUMPHS over judgment.”
The Douay-Rheims Bible says: “Mercy exalteth itself above judgment.”
The Darby Bible Translation says: “Mercy GLORIES over judgment.”
J. B. PHILLIPS: “Mercy SMILES in the face of judgment.”
We all agree that the law written on the tables of stone was righteous and good, and yet in another sense, it judged and condemned all who could not keep it. And who could keep it?
If it were not for the blood-sprinkled mercy seat we would be hopelessly lost and appointed to death.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The mercy seat, sprinkled with innocent blood, makes the ark of the covenant attractive to us. If it were not for the mercy seat, the ark of the covenant would be terrifying and fearful. We would be afraid to approach it.
Praise God, it is the blood-sprinkled mercy seat that attracts us and gladdens our hearts. It reveals to us that despite our hopeless state caused by our sins against His righteous laws, that we have a God who loves us and shows us amazing mercy. He shows us this incredible mercy in a righteous and just way because of the innocent blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, the innocent Lamb of God.
His blood has been sprinkled on Heaven’s mercy seat. Hebrews 9:22, 23: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood: and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”
I am so incredibly glad for Heaven’s blood-sprinkled mercy seat. I need His mercy so much. So do we all.
Furthermore, we are exhorted to come “BOLDLY unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
We are all living in a time of great need, not only for ourselves, but also on the behalf of so many others who are suffering, here and in persecuting countries. We must come to this mercy seat on behalf of all in the Houston area who are suffering the loss of almost everything they own.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
P.S. Bible translations that say: “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
ESV, BECK, BSB, GOODSPEED, HCSB, NEB, NET, NIV, NASB, NKJV, GW, WEYMOUTH, WEB, WILLIAMS. There may be more, but this is what I found.
(Read Exodus 25:10-22).
The Ark of the Covenant was never called the ark of mercy. However, we read about the mercy seat which was upon the ark of the testimony. God said to Moses in Exodus 25:22: “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
It is interesting that the words the “ark of the testimony” are only mentioned three times in this Exodus 24:10-22 regarding the most significant piece of furniture in the tabernacle, whereas “the mercy seat” is mentioned five times.
The “ark of the testimony” was a piece of furniture to protect the stone tablets containing the testimony (the ten commandments) written with the finger of God. Because the ark is called the “ark of the testimony” or the “ark of the covenant” the testimony must take preeminence. The law reveals the holy, righteousness of God in His works and nature, but it had no power to make men keep it.
The mercy seat was OVER the law in that it was positioned above the ark and in a sense helped to protect the testimony.
The law, because of man’s weakness, became our judge and condemned us. However, the mercy seat, covered by the innocent blood, became man’s salvation.
To be continued.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
AboveRubies
Email Nancy
PO Box 681687
Franklin, TN 37068-1687
Phone : 931-729-9861
Office Hrs 9am - 5pm, M - F, CTZ
