OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THE VIOLENT 

Joel chapter 3 verse 19 says this;

But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

This verse contrasts the fate of the nations that committed  violence and murder on the people of Israel with the fate of Israel herself.

Whereas Israel is blessed abundantly and populated forever, the nations that plundered Israel are left  as desolate ruins and as uninhabited desert wastelands.

Israel will have rivers from the very temple of God flowing through the nation watering it plains and trees while the violent nations will be left arid and parched.

The price that these nations pay for shedding the  innocent blood of the people of God is the erasure of their destiny and termination of their inheritance.

Such is the judgement on those who were prepared to kill the innocent to gain economic and political advantage.

Bless the Lord who categorically prohibits the taking of innocent life and will inescapably  judge those who practice it.

Amen. 

OUR FATHER WHO ESTABLISHES JERUSALEM

Joel chapter 3 verse 17 says this;

“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

This verse describes the state of the kingdom of God after the judgement that is visited on the nations.

The people of God, having seen the actions of the Lord will understand that His kingdom is centered in Zion and that the Lord dwells there on His holy hill.

The city of Jerusalem will be the earthly locus of Zion and it will be sacred and will never again be invaded or defiled by foreigners.

The whole of the land of Israel will be abundantly blessed when Zion is established in Jerusalem and the Lord dwells in Zion.

Amen.

OUR FATHER KEEPS HIS PEOPLE SAFE FROM THE CALAMITY OF JUDGEMENT

Joel chapter 3 verse 16 says this;

The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble.

But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

The Lord's people are summoned as warriors in the spirit and He prepares them for the battle.

Meanwhile, the judgement of God falls on the enemies of God who sold children for money and alcohol and desecrated God's articles of ceremony  by looting them from the temple of God and taking them back to their mum, btemples.

Multitudes of people are in the valley of decision where they are waiting for judgement pertaining to their  lives. 

In this tense atmosphere, the Lord Jesus, from Zion, roars and thunders His commands to His army such that the heavens and the earth tremble at the terrifying sound and power of His voice.

In this place of judgement, the Lord remains the protector and shield of His people and they need not fear.

Bless the Lord who keeps his people from the calamity of judgement.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT POWER OVERWHELMS THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS

Isaiah chapter 15 verses 3 - 7, speaking of the destruction of the land of Moab, says this;

In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public square they all wail, prostrate with weeping. Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.

Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint. My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith,  weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim  they lament their destruction.

The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.

So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.

The cities of Moab are destroyed and their inhabitants become grieving refugees wandering through the inhospitable land.

The agricultural areas suffer drought so that rivers dry up and all vegetation is gone. 

The wealth they have stored up does not help them in this calamity and they carry it with them as they leave.

Such is the dreadful condition of Moab and the power behind Moab who was judged for his arrogance, his conceit, his rage and his deceptive boasting. 

Bless the Lord whose great power overwhelms the powers of darkness.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO ALLOWS SOME SITUATIONS TO OCCUR SO THAT WE CAN GROW IN FAITH

John chapter 11 verse 14 - 15 says this;

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

The Lord Jesus, speaking to his disciples while on the east side of the Jordan river, informed them that his friend and their friend Lazarus, from the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, was dead. To this statement He added that for their sake, He was glad that He was not there so that they would believe.

If Jesus had been at Lazarus' side before he died, Jesus would have healed him and prevented his death and thus His disciples would have missed an opportunity to see a man raised from the dead and to understand that Jesus was Himself the ressurection and the life.

As Jesus said to Martha in John 11 verse 25,  “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

Jesus wanted His disciples to witness the raising of a man from the dead so that their faith would grow and so He held back from going to Bethany so that Lazarus would be certainly dead by the time they arrived.

Famously, when Jesus arrived at the tomb, He called Lazarus by name and commanded him to come forth out of the grave. Lazarus, wrapped in linen grave clothes, came out.

Many people who were there and witnessed the raising of Lazarus from the dead were astonished and believed in Jesus. 

When the religious authorities of the time heard of this event, they realised that the Lord Jesus was eclipsing their religious position and from that time on, began plotting to kill Him.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO SENT US THE GOOD SHEPHERD

John chapter 10 verse 3 says this;

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

In this verse, Jesus, speaking of the good shepherd whom he identified as Himself, has the gate opened for him by the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper in this verse  is the Holy Spirit who is the seal and the link between Jesus the shepherd and his followers. The words of Jesus are transmitted to his people by the work of the Holy Spirit.

When the good shepherd speaks, the sheep listen to His voice. He knows each one of His followers personally and He calls them by their own name when He leads them out to pasture. 

Bless the Lord who is our good shepherd. As Psalm 23, written from the point of view of the sheep says; 

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS GLORIFIED WHEN WE DO HIS WORKS 

John chapter 9 verse 4 says this;

As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

This enigmatic statement was said by Jesus when He and his disciples came across a man who was blind from birth. The disciples asked Jesus whether the man was blind because of the sin of his parents or his own sin.

Jesus informed them that neither was the case but rather, the man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

To that end, Jesus then told them that they had a limited window of time within which to display of the works of Him who sent Jesus because night was coming when no one can work.

Jesus then healed the blind man so that he could see for the first time and God was glorified among the people who were amazed that a man born blind could now see.

Bless the Lord and may we do the works that glorify God while it is still day for night is coming when no one can work.

Amen.