OUR FATHER WHO GIVES THE CROWN OF LIFE TO THOSE WHO PERSERVERE

James chapter 1 verse 11 says this;

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

In this verse, the apostle James, writing to advise believers who were in humble circumstances and believers who were in priviledged circumstances, tells them that those who were rich would fade away even while they continued conducting everyday business.

He tells the poor believers that they should take pride in their high position but he tells the rich that they should take pride in their humiliation because they will pass away like wild flowers.

James tells rich believers that their riches make  them vulnerable in the same way that wild flowers are vulnerable to the sun's heat. 

While the sun causes the plants' blossoms to fall and their distinctive beauty to be destroyed, riches cause people's unique beauty to be destroyed and they fade away.

Having riches can often help people by-pass regular trials in life and  bypassing day-to-day trials causes people to miss the blessedness that comes from perservering through the tests as it says in James chapter 1 verse 12;

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

It is for this reason that James says, in James chapter 1 verses 2 - 4;

 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO WILL ESTABLISH THE BRIDE OF CHRIST IN RIGHTEOUSNESS

Isaiah 54 verses 13 - 14 says this;

All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.

In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear.

Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.

This passage captures five of the promises that the Lord makes to His bride in chapter 54.

The ones in this passage list as follows;

• He Himself will teach all her children
• He will give all her children great peace
• He will establish her in righteousness
• He remove tyranny from her
• He will remove fear and terror from her

The Lord is referencing a time when the bride is being encouraged to expand her capacity to shelter a lot more people as it says in verse 2;

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

All these people who will be pouring into the church are the bride's children who will be returning enmasse into her folds.

It is these returning people whom the Lord will teach directly and give great peace to.

As for the bride herself, righteousness will become her foundation.

The forces of darkness that had been tyrannical towards the bride and caused her to dwell in fear will be displaced and evicted from her domain. 

The Lord will imbue her with power such that those who attack her will capitulate to her as verse 15 says ;

If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;  whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR REFUGE

From Psalm 7

I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High

I take refuge in You my God who knows my heart and mind

Save and deliver me oh God my Shield from all those pursuing me

I will give thanks to You Lord for all things You do for me

Amen.

OUR FATHER WILL NOT GIVE HIS GLORY TO ANOTHER

Isaiah chapter 42 verse 8 says this;

“I am the Lord; that is my name!  I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

The Lord our God is categorical in this verse. 

He declares His identity by saying that His name  is YHWH which, in this form, is a transliteration of the Tetragrammaton  ( יְהֹוָ֖ה ).

He then says that He will not yield or give His glory to any other being and that He will not share His praise with carved idols.

He, the great I AM, the one who made all beings and things, all glory and honor and praise are His and He will let none other usurp His place at the pinnacle of all existence.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE SPLENDOR IS DISPLAYED IN ZION

Isaiah chapter 60 verses 4 - 6 says this;

“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. 

Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.

Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.

In this passage, Zion, the people of God, are told to lift their eyes and see that the whole world has turned towards them and seeking to gain their favour by bringing gifts to them. 

Zion will go from being an outcast in the world to being the center of the world's attention as wealth from the sea, riches from the nations, camels from Midian  and from Sheba, gold and incense are brought before Her

The Lord planted a shoot that blossomed to display the Lord's splendor when each citizen of Zion is given great authority as Isaiah chapter 60 verse 22 says;

The least of you will become a thousand the smallest a mighty nation.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO FORGIVES THE REPENTANT

Isaiah chapter 59 verses 12 - 13 says this;

For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord,  turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.

This passage represents a sincere confession of wrong-doing by God's people.

They tell the Lord of their many sins and how they rebelled against Him and stirred others to revolt against Him as well as how they traded in deception.

They reveal that the consequences of their deeds have caught up with them and now righteousness and justice cannot be found in their midst. There is no stable platform for truth among them and honesty cannot exist.

In their society, any attempt to avoid evil is punished as verse 15 says;

 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The conditions in this degraded culture have deteriorated so far that the judgement of the Lord lines up against the people.

However, the people who repent are spared by the arrival of the redeemer as verse 20 says;

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.

Those who humbly acknowledge their iniquities are given an eternal covenant with the Lord. Verse 21 says it this way;

 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—fromq as this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO PROTECTS HIS PEOPLE 

Isaiah 47 verses 3 - 4, speaking of the Babylonian kingdom,  says this;

Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered.

I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.

This passage reveals the fierce anger the Lord had against Babylon because of their arrogant harshness they metted out to the Lord's people.

The Lord had been angry with his children and handed them over to the Babylonians for judgment but the Babylonians went too far and acted cruelly towards God's people.

Isaiah chapter 47 verses 6 - 7 records it this way;

I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance;

I gave them into your hand,  and you showed them no mercy.

Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.

You said, ‘I am forever—the eternal queen!’ But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen.

This passage reveals that even those tasked by the Lord to bring judgment on His people must use caution and due care so that they do not function without mercy and without restraint towards those over whom they have been given  power.

This overreach on the part of the Babylonians would  bring down such judgment upon them that even their sorcerers, astrologers and star gazers would not be able to ward off the calamities and catastrophes that would visit them.

The Lord judges those who act unjustly and cruelly towards others while pridefully believing that their exalted stations and security are eternal.

Amen.

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