OUR FATHER WHO REIGNS IN GLORY
From Psalm 97
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
Let the distant shores rejoice
Fire goes before Him
Lightning lights up the world
The heavens proclaim His righteousness
All the people see Your glory
You are exalted far above all gods
All the people see Your glory
Righteous and just is Your throne
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OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDED FOR OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
The book of Galatians chapter 3 verses1 - 5 says this;
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
The Apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Galatia, is aghast at their reversion to the tenets of the law as the code by which they live.
He asks, "Who has bewitched you?" For the believers to exchange the belief that they had in the gospel for the works of the Law, Paul declared that it must have been spell that had been cast upon them.
Paul presses the point by asking them if it was by their performing the works of the law that they had received the Spirit.
He incredulously asks them if what they started in the Spirit, they would now complete in the flesh. Were the miracles that had have been done in their midst been inspired by the works of the law?
The Apostle was grieved by the absurdity that the Galatians had embraced. They had started in their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and knew that He had been crucified but yet now they had jettisoned that faith in the one who was crucified to fulfil all the law in favor of keeping the letter of the law as their religious practice.
They had discarded their faith in Jesus's power to make them righteous to undertake the fulfillment of the law that merely condemned them.
Have mercy on us.
OUR FATHER WHO GIVES COUNSEL TO HIS PEOPLE IN THE FACE OF DISASTER
The book of Joel chapter 1 verses 7 - 9 says this;
It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.
Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord.
An invasion of locusts into the land brings catastrophic ruin as described by the prophet Joel. Wave after wave of locusts arrive to destroy the Lord's territory. The Lord calls them an invading nation with a massive army whose fangs are like those of lions.
The Lord's vines are ruined and His fig trees are stripped down to bare wood.
The Lord counsels His people to mourn bitterly because there is no more opportunity to bring grain and drink offerings to the Lord's house. The priests who serve the Lord are not exempt from mourning.
All the people of the Lord's land, in the face of total destruction, are given a prescription of:
The invasion of locusts swarming into the land is reminiscent of the locusts described in the book of Revelation chapter 9 verses 7 - 8 which says this;
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.
Notwithstanding their similar appearance, the distinction between the locust swarm of Joel and the locust swarm of Revelation is that in Joel, they are destroying the Lord's land while in Revelation, they are bringing agony to the people who are not servants of God.
This army, whose king is named Abaddon or Apollyon, is a bringer of destruction according to the will of the Lord whether to His own house or to those who serve darkness.
As Joel chapter 1 verse 15 says,
Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
Amen.
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OUR FATHER COUNSELS CONTROL OF OUR WORDS
Mathew chapter 14 verse 9 says this;
The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted
This verse describes the moment when king Herod, having publically promised his step-daughter anything she wished, was informed that she wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
King Herod found himself in a political quandary. He had imprisoned John the Baptist but had dared not kill him because the people believed John was a prophet from God but now, he had boastfully declared that he would grant anything his stepdaughter wished and she asked for John to be killed.
Herod could not retract his promise.
His hand had been forced by his own words and he had to order that John the Baptist be executed even though it was a politically dangerous action to take.
As James chapter 3 verses 4 - 6 says;
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Lord have mercy on us.
Amen.
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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 8.
The author of the book of Hebrews concludes with a benediction in chapter 13 verses 20 - 21 that reads this way;
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The astonishing doctrinal point revealed in this request to God to bless those who would read his letter, is that the Lord Jesus, our great shepherd, was Himself brought back from the dead by the Father through the blood of the eternal covenant that the Lord Jesus Himself shed.
Further to that, the writer asks God the Father to equip those to whom he writes with all the necessary tools by which they could do His will and he also asks God to do the work in them to reveal in them what is pleasing to God through the Lord Jesus.
The writer then adds some notes in verses 22 and 23 saying this;
Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
As a postscript, the author entreats his readers to patiently hear out his exhortation to them because even though it is a fairly lengthy and densely written work, it is a brief treatment of an otherwise very voluminous subject.
He then mentions that his brother Timothy had been released from prison and that if he arrived soon, they would both come to see the people to whom the letter was addressed.
By calling Timothy a brother, we could conclude that the author of the book was not Paul of Tarsus as is traditionally believed but rather was a student of Paul's who had inherited Paul's mantel of doctrinal exposition and was a peer of Timothy.
Amen
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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 7.
The book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 19 says this;
I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
The writer of Hebrews, after asking the recipients of his letter for prayers to uphold him to be able to continue with a clear conscience and be honorable in every area of his life, asks them, even more pressingly, to pray that he be restored or returned to them soon.
The urgency of this request points to some circumstance where he was far away from those to whom he wrote and that he had been unable to be with them.
Also indicated is the fact that he strongly wished to be among them but he knew that he needed the power of the prayers of the saints to change the situation so that he could overcome the hindrances and be restored to them quickly.
This request models the practice of asking for prayers from other believers when we are faced with challenges and need to have obstacles removed from our path.
Amen
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