OUR FATHER WHOSE LAW IS PERFECT

From Psalm 19

The law of the Lord is perfect, able to restore.

His decrees make the simple wise, His decrees are sure

The precepts of God give joy to the heart, They are always right

His commands are radiant, they fill our eyes with light

They are more precious than gold,  pure gold; they are so sweet to me, like honey for my soul

The fear of the Lord is pure, forever will endure

His judgements are right and just, they are ever fair

They are more precious than gold,  pure gold; they are so sweet to me, like honey for my soul

OUR LORD MADE HIS GLORY VISIBLE TO HIS PEOPLE 

Leviticus chapter 9 verses 3 - 4 says this;

Then say to the Israelites: Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the Lord, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.’”

This passage prescribes to the children of Israel to take a goat, a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering. They were also to take an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering along with a grain offering mixed with olive oil.

They were to do this because the Lord was going to appear to them that day.

Aaron and his sons and the children of Israel did as they were commanded by Moses by presenting the offerings and sacrificing them to the Lord as the law required.

When they completed the sacrifices, the Lord appeared to them as recorded in Leviticus chapter 9 verses 23 - 24;

Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE MESSAGE OF SALVATION IS REJECTED AT GREAT PERIL

In the book of Luke chapter 10 verse 14, the Lord Jesus, while sending 72 followers out to preach the good news of the Kingdom, said this;

But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

This verse is a sobering pronouncement on the fates of the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida.

For, as Luke chapter 10 verse 9 says;

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 

Tyre and Sidon, having had no miracles performed in their midst, did reject the message of the kingdom of God but the Lord Jesus said that if the miracles that had been performed in Chorazin and Bethsaida had been performed there, they would have humbly and profoundly repented and turned from their ways. 

In contrast, the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida, having had miracles performed within them, still ignored the message of the kingdom and this marked them for greater judgement than what was slated for Tyre and Sidon.

The severity of judgement for rejecting the 72 followers of Jesus is because the message of the kingdom, carried by the followers of Jesus, was a  message from the Lord Jesus and the message from the Lord was sent from God the Father and thus Luke chapter 10 verse 16 says;

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO LOOKS FOR SEEKERS OF TRUTH

A change was made to this essay to correct the identity of the "I" in the passage from 'The Lord' to 'Jeremiah'.

Red signifies removed text

Blue signifies added text

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The book of Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 4 captures the words of Jeremiah after searching Jerusalem for any who dealt honestly and sought truth and finding none.;

I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.

Here, the prophet Jeremiah records his response (the Lord's response) when the Lord told him to  search through Jerusalem seeking anyone who dealt honestly and sought truth but he found instead a people who swore falsely.

They had rejected correction and turned their faces to stone and refused to repent.

At first, as captured in our verse, it appeared that the people in the lower strata of the society were the ones who conducted themselves so poorly due to ignorance of the ways of God.

However, the next verse says this;

So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.”

But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds.

Jeremiah then (The Lord) went to the elite of the land who had the advantage of being educated  but instead, it was found that the leaders of the people had themselves also broken off the practice of adhering to moral principles and were living completely unrestrained by any requirements of God.

They told each other the lie that the Lord would do nothing and so remained confident that no harm would befall them.

It was for this deception that the judgement of the Lord was declared on them and the prophecy of a foreign nation being brought against them was documented in Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 15 that says;

People of Israel,” declares the Lord, “I am bringing a distant nation against you—an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand.

Amen.

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Corrected version below;

OUR FATHER QUESTIONS THE IDOL MAKERS

In Isaiah chapter 44 verse 10, the Lord asks this question of the idols being manufactured in the land;

Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?

The question asked here is what manner of person goes through the effort and expenditure of creating an idol which ultimately, is valueless?

Who goes about to  set the parameters of a deity and then casts an idol to accommodate the so-called god?

What material object of stone or wood could possibly have the properties corresponding to the requirements of a valid deity and maybe even more telling, what nature of deity would find suitable accomodation in an object  made by the hands of men?

The Lord describes the condition of those who  engaged in idol making in verse 20;

Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

The makers of idols have deluded hearts who don't even have the power to save themselves let alone imbue saving power on idols for others and furthermore, they won't even bring themselves to admit that they are engaged in deception.

The Lord is the only true God and seeking other gods among idols is a fruitless pursuit.

As it says in verse 6;

“This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GIVES HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER HIS PEOPLE

Psalm 91 verse 12 says this;

they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

This verse is well known because it was used by Satan for the second temptation of Jesus in Mathew chapter 4 verse 6 which says;

“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

The verse records the attempt to get Jesus to presumtuously draw on God's provision in order to validate His claims about Himself by deliberately falling off a high tower and having the angels of God catch Him in mid-air so that He could establish His credentials as being the Son of God to those who witnessed it.

Because there is a recorded promise made by the Father that He would give His angels responsibility for His Son's protection from physical injury, the temptation's cunning is that it disguises itself as a valid utilization of one of  God's written promises.

As well, this verse establishes the ability of angels to effectively reach from their spiritual realm into our corporeal realm to interact with it in a way that could stop a person's fall  by grabbing them with their hands. 

Also established in the verse is that the angels given charge over a person are paying rapt attention to that person at all times to prevent any harm from striking them.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY IS DECLARED BY THE HEAVENS

Psalm 19 verse 3 says this;

They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

The 'they' in this verse refers to the heavens and the skies which declare the glory of the Lord and proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day, they pour forth speech and night after night they reveal knowledge but, as our verse reveals, this transmission of information is not carried through the medium of words and not even the medium of sound.

Yet, the declaration of the glory of God and the proclamation of work of His hands, continue to go out to all the earth and to the ends of the world.

In silence, information is broadcast across the entire globe and those whose spirits are tuned into the frequency of the broadcasting signal, can pick up the messages and gain knowledge of the things of the heavens.

Diligently inclining our ear to the things of the heaven keeps us attuned to the laws, statutes, precepts, commands, fear and decrees of the Lord.

By these we are warned of our hidden faults we do not know of so that we can seek forgiveness. They also keep our willfull sins from ruling over us. We can then can keep clear of great transgression.

Amen.

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