OUR LORD WHO INTERVENES ON OUR BEHALF

Joel chapter 1 verse 14 says this;

Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

In the face of a devastating famine that was beginning to torment the land, the Lord counseled His people to ameliorate the upcoming harsh conditions by declaring a holy fast, calling a sacred assembly,  gathering all the elders and the people to the house of the Lord and then crying out to the Lord.

Sincerely and humbly asking for His intervention can cause Him to have mercy and bring His power to bear in the  protection of His people.

As the nation started to feel the effects of food shortages, the Lord, in Joel chapter 2 rises to the defence of His people with a mighty army mustered for war.

The forces of darkness that had gained control over the systems of this world, attempted to use  that control to gain power over all the people of the earth.

It is at this point that the army of God heard the command of the Lord and the forces of darkness were torn apart under the unrelenting and disciplined attacks by the kingdom of righteousness.

Bless the Lord who intervenes on our behalf.

Amen.

 OUR LORD WHO RESTORES US

Joel chapter 1 verse 12 says this;

The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—all the trees of the field—are dried up.

Surely the people’s joy  is withered away.

This chapter speaks of the destruction that is inexorably descending on Israel because they did not guard the land against invaders.

Ruin rushed into the land with tragic and regrettable results. Food shortages were the most marked effects of the dissolution of the nation of Israel.

Verse 12 of Joel chapter 1 describes the final stages of this national decay.

The fruit trees of the land which were the nation's  spiritual and nutritional mainstays, dried up and with them, the joy of the people from the house of the Lord withered away.

The nation was left despondent and the only hope they had was to humbly  cry out to the Lord for reprieve.

Bless the Lord who restores us when we humble ourselves and pray.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO JUDGES CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Amos chapter 1 verse 13 says this;

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not relent. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders,

The book of  Amos chapter 1 lists 5 atrocities for which  the Lord would not relent in his judgement. Of the five, the atrocities that the spiritual kingdom of Ammon demanded and committed were particularly egregious.

In order for this kingdom to expand its spiritual borders, they used a campaign of terror where they sought the pregnant women of the land and cut them open to kill the children and their mothers in the most cruel way imaginable to gain cultic power.

For using this tactic of intimidation, the Lord judged the spiritual kingdom of Ammon with utter destruction and the king and officials of Ammon went into exile without reprieve.

The pursuits of cruelty against other human beings and especially crimes against children  will invite inescapable judgement from the Lord.

Amen.

 OUR LORD WHO RELENTS WHEN THE HUMBLE REPENT

Joel chapter 2 verse 13 says this;

Rend your heart and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

This excerpt from Joel chapter 2 offers mankind a means of persuading the Lord to relent from his anger.

Instead of carrying out an outward show of remorse and repentance, the recommendation is to have sincere inner remorse for wrongdoing where people weep and mourn for their sins.

The wrath of God is terrible to experience but Joel promises that even at the lateness of the hour, people can still return to God.

Amen.

 OUR LORD WHO SETS US FREE

Genesis chapter 9 verse 4 says this;

“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

This instruction given to Noah after the flood is a qualifier on the allowance that God gave mankind to eat animal meat. Human beings were allowed to eat meat but the meat  they ate could not contain blood. 

This instruction, given in the time of Noah, well before the formal dietary laws were instituted by the prophet Moses, was one of the very few laws adopted by the early Christian's.

The book of Acts chapter 15 speaks of early Christian leaders grappling with which laws the gentiles needed to adopt when they became Christians.

Verse 29 says;

You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

Here, we see the apostles settling on a few restrictions that they believed were necessary to live a Christian life. Of all the laws that could be replicated from any part of the old testament, this law from Noah's time was on the very short list  of items.

Bless our Lord who makes known to us deep mysteries.

Amen.

 OUR LORD WHO IS GATHERING HIS MIGHTY ARMY

Joel chapter 3 verse 10 says this;

Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”

This exhortation for God's people to go onto a war footing directs everyone to use their economic resources to get ready for war.

This verse also contains the well-known scriptural reference to the 'weak' saying that they are strong.

In this amassing army of God, the weakest conscript will be as strong as David as it says in Zachariah chapter 12 verse 8;

On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

Bless the Lord who is gathering His army in the spiritual realm to battle in the heavenlies.

Amen.

 OUR LORD WHO SUMMONS HIS ARMY

Joel chapter 3 verse 9 reads this way;

Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war!

Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

This verse is a command by the Lord to proclaim the call to all His spiritual people around the world  to prepare for war.

The verse then commands that the warriors be roused. The verse then commands that fighting men draw near and attack.

In quick succession, five  commands are issued by the Lord.

This dynamic communication stirs up the people whom God has prepared for war to quickly step up in the spirit and enter the arena of battle.

Bless the Lord who commands His people.

Amen.