OUR FATHER WHO MADE A WAY FOR US TO HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE IF WE TURN TO HIM

John chapter 3 verse 14 says this;

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

The Lord Jesus, speaking to a teacher of Israel named Nicodemus, told him that the event of Moses lifting up the snake in the wilderness was a prefiguration of the Son of Man being lifted up in the same way.

The recounting of the earlier event described the children of Israel sinning while in the wilderness and they were judged and snakes entered their camp and bit people and made them sick. 

The Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and place it on a pole and then stand the pole up so that people in the camp could see it. Anyone who looked to the snake was healed of the snake bites and lived.

As the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, just as Moses lifted up the bronze snake and people who looked to the snake would be healed and not die, the Son of Man, who is described in Daniel chapter 10 verse 6 as having arms and legs like burnished bronze, would be lifted up on a cross and take on the sins of the world and anyone who looked to Him and believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.

Bless the Lord who underwent death on a cross to save us and give us eternal life.

Amen. 

Reference resource: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com

OUR FATHER WHO HOLDS ONLY THE GUILTY TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR SINS

Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 14 says this;

“But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:

This verse is a bridge between the descriptions of two people: A father and a son. 

The father sinned in aggriegeous ways while his son, having seen the evil things that the father was doing, nevertheless did not do such things.

Should the son suffer judgement for the sins of the father?

In this chapter, the Lord counters the cultural belief at the time that said; "The parents eat sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge". The meaning of this proverb was that the judgements for the unrighteousness of parents were visited on their children.

The Lord, in no uncertain terms, asserts in this chapter that the sins of each person are strictly upon their own head. Righteous fathers do not confer their righteousness on their unrighteous sons and unrighteous fathers do not confer their unrighteousness on their righteous sons.

This clear statement of principle set a  precedent for justice systems up to modern times not to hold family members of a criminal  responsible for infractions committed by that person.

Bless the Lord who wisdom brings justice and fairness.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO GAVE US THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

Ezekiel chapter 19 verse 4 says this;

The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit, They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

The princes of Israel, equated with lionesses in this chapter,  are the spiritual powers and rulers who govern the spiritual Israel and exert influence over the earthly Israel.

These rulers of Israel raised up the nation of Israel to be a powerful and assertive lion but the nations trapped him and led him with hooks into bondage in Egypt.

Seeing their plans wrecked by the enslavement of the one they hoped in, they raised another lion who was powerful and strong and who tore down strongholds  and devastated towns.

The nations also rose up against this lion and trapped Him in nets and this time, held him in bondage in Babylon where he could no longer be heard in the highlands of Israel.

The princes of Israel could not raise a lion to be an overwhelming power and when they tried, they lost their hope to the surrounding nations.

However, the Lion of the tribe of Judah arose by the power of God and conquered sin and death and brought the name of the God of Israel to the whole world.

He ascended into heaven and was given a throne above all thrones and made King of kings and Lord of lords.

The Lord Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is the true hope of the world.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO WILL BRING THE ULTIMATE VICTORY

Isaiah chapter 7 verse 50 says this;

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.

In this passage, the Prophet Isaiah wrote of the judgement that came against the enemies of the people of God.

Those waking in the gloom of darkness saw a great light.

In bringing His people's oppression to an end, their nation enlarged  and their joy increased. They celebrated like those bringing in the harvest and like conquering warriors dividing the plunder.

After the Lord's victory, the government will be on His shoulders and  as it says in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 7;

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. 

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO BRINGS JUDGEMENT BUT SPARES HIS CHILDREN WHO SERVE HIM

Ezekiel chapter 9 verse 11 says this;

Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”

Now the man in linen had been summoned into the spirit along with six other men where they were instructed to carry out tasks by the Lord.

The man in linen was instructed to place a mark on the forehead of all those in the Jerusalem who objected to the detestable things that were being done in the city.

The other men had deadly impliments which they were to use to kill those who conducted  detestable practices in Jerusalem.

The people of Jerusalem had done evil things and denied justice to the afflicted and this prompted heaven to bring  heavy judgement upon them.

Even though Ezekiel fell to ground and interceded for the people of Jerusalem, the judgement was still slated to be carried out.

The man in linen who had the writing kit at his side, returned and said that he had completed the task of marking those who would be spared the judgement of the Lord.

Thus the judgement of God continued on the city and it was at that time that the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and moved to the edge of the city where it stopped at the east gate of Jerusalem.

So evil were the deeds of the people of Jerusalem that a pitiless and deadly judgement was brought upon them and caused the glory of the Lord, which had been above the cherubim in the temple of the Lord, to depart.

A day of dread and grief and mourning.

Amen.

 OUR FATHER WHO FREES HIS PEOPLE FROM THE OPPRESSOR

Isaiah chapter 14 verses 3 - 5 says this;

On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!

The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,

This passage prophesies the reaction that the descendants of Jacob will have when the Lord destroys the power of their harsh oppressors.

They will marvel at how the king of Babylon, who was the author of their suffering and turmoil, was brought to an end and how the rod and scepter of the wicked, that delivered ceaseless blows on them, was broken.

The Lord had compassion on Jacob's descendants and chose them again  and He delivered them out of the hands of those who tormented them and sought to ruin them with relentless aggression.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY LEFT THE TEMPLE WHEN THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL PURSUED IDOLS

Ezekiel chapter 9 verse 3 says this;

Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side

This passage is a somber recounting of what was happening in Israel that caused a great judgement to come to Jerusalem and the glory of God to leave the temple.

In a vision, Ezekiel the prophet was shown the things that were being done in secret that provoked the judgement upon the city and the Lord's departure.

These are the things that the leaders of Jerusalem did: They erected idols to provoke God to jealousy. The seventy elders of Israel offered incense to idols and images of idols in the courts of the temple. The elders also had their personal idols that they worshipped.

The women of Jerusalem were mourning the idol of Tammuz at the north gate of the temple. 

As well, men in the inner courts had their backs towards the temple as they bowed towards the rising sun.

And further to all that, they filled the land with violence and wantonly killed people and filled the streets with blood.

The glory of the Lord rose away from the above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple.

This is the edge of the temple space where the next step is to exit the temple. The Lord, having seen all the things that elders of Israel were doing in secret, began a protocol of the departure of the glory of God from above the ark of the covenant in the most holy place in the temple.

The Lord then called to the man who had a writing implement at his side. The Lord instructed him to mark those in the city who recoiled at the detestable things being done in the city.

As judgement was prepared for the city, the man in linen went and marked each person who would be spared the destruction that the agents of judgement were going to bring to Jerusalem.

The glory of God moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped at the east gate on the way out of Jerusalem.

The glory of God then went out of the city and stopped above the mountain  east of the city of Jerusalem.

This was how a devastating season of judgement came to Jerusalem and the glory of God left the temple in Jerusalem and finally left the city altogether.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS MIGHTY IN POWER

Isaiah chapter 15 verses 3 - 4 says this;

In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.

Deshonis 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.

This passage describes the reactions of people when a mighty army overwhelms them and descends on them to destroy them. The outcry is so loud it can be heard from one city to the other and it causes their military to cry out and their hearts to faint.

Isaiah chapter 13 verses 3 - 4  says this;

I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—those who rejoice in my triumph.

Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together!

The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.

This passage describes what is happening on the other side of the conflagration. In this case, a mighty army of people who rejoice in the Lord's triumph is being mustered. They gather in fearsome formations and a sound of a great multitude rises.

So on one side, a great and fearless army of those who are follow the Lord arises and  on the other, the forces aligned with darkness tremble in fear as the trained and disciplined army descends on them.

Bless the Lord who is mighty in power.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO GIVES US ENCOURAGING  MENTORS  

1 Timothy chapter 1 verses 1 - 2 says this;

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 

To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

This introduction by the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy, is a tender greeting of a teacher to his beloved student.

Paul first asserted his own calling and validated it as one both given as a command by God and by Christ Jesus.

He then went on to describe his relationship with Timothy as a father/son bond in the faith. He had seen Timothy converted into the kingdom of God and  Paul had mentored him in the things of the Spirit.

Paul then blessed Timothy by asking for grace, mercy and peace on Timothy from God the Father and from Christ Jesus.

The letter itself continued on with grave issues of doctrine and Christian conduct but its beginning warmly greeted the young man who was being given heavy responsibilities in the body of Christ in keeping with his own calling in Christ Jesus.

For  what Timothy faced in dealing with the issues in the local churches, he needed  mercy, grace and peace from the Lord and his teacher's  blessing and encouragment would also help him to stand firm.

 Amen.

OUR FATHER WANTS US TO HAVE LOVE FOR OTHER PEOPLE AS HE DOES FOR US

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, having already exposited the nature and function of the inestimable gifts of the Spirit, said this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13;

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

Paul went on to say this in chapter 13 verse 1;

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

This 'most excellent way' that Paul wrote about to the  Corinthians was the way of love.

In fact, Paul expressly said that whatever great spiritual gifts a person was able to manifest such as speaking in the tongues of men or angels, without love, all those spiritual endeavors were worth nothing.

Paul compared the supernatural speaking in the languages of men and angels with the annoying clanging of gongs and cymbals if it was practiced with no love for other people. 

In the subsequent verses, the Apostle Paul said that great knowledge and understanding, without love, reduced a person to nothing and those who sacrificed themselves but had no love, gained nothing for their efforts.

Walking in the Spirit, to be of value, must be accompanied by the cultivation of the love of other people even as Jesus set the example for us so that, as it says 1 John chapter 4 verse 19,  we love because he first loved us. 

Faith is what initiates spiritual actions; hope is what sustains spiritual endurance; but seeing how love is what gives meaning and value to any spiritual practice, Paul's conclusion in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 13 is instructive;

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Amen.

OUR FATHER GIVES US THE POWER TO OVERCOME SIN

1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 2 says this;

And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 

The man to whom the Apostle Paul was referring, was one who was claiming to be a believer while at the same time, conducting an affair with his own father's wife.

The people in the church of Corinth had been tolerant of the man  but Paul was aghast and he excoriated the Corinthians for being proud of their tolerance towards the man's behaviour  while they should have gone into a state of mourning and cut ties with him instead.

Paul took pains to note that there was nothing wrong with believers associating with non-believers who sinned because otherwise, they would have to leave the world to avoid such contact but Paul pressed that believers should not associate with believers who brazenly and unrepentantly  commited egregious sins.

Bless our Lord who gives us the power to overcome sin for He Himself overcame the world

By Jesus' death and ressurection, we can, by faith, die in the flesh with Him and then rise with Him in the newness of life.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES GREAT MIRACLES 

John chapter 9 verses 13 -14, speaking of a miracle that Jesus performed to heal a man who was  born blind, says this;

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.

This passage captures the moment when the astonishing miracle of a man born blind being able to see came into contact with the religious establishment of the time.

When people who knew the man saw him able to see, they were stunned. They took him to the religious authorities to try make sense of what had happened. 

The religious leaders were split in their understanding of what the miracle meant  as described in John chapter 9 verse 16;

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

This conundrum of who Jesus was vexed the religious leaders because they did not believe in Him but at the same time, there was no easy explanation for the miracles and so some of the religious leaders were more cautious about criticizing Jesus because they did not want to be in direct conflict with God if Jesus was indeed sent by God.

An example of this is when a religious teacher named Nicodemus came to visit Jesus as recorded in John chapter 3 verse 2;

He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Again, the rationale being  brought up is that the miracles being witnessed are so astounding that they can only be accomplished by divine power  and thus any person who is able to perform such miracles must be doing so with the approval of God.

The obverse rationale however, was also brought against Jesus by the religious leaders where the fact that the miracles were done on a Sabbath day when no work of any kind could legally be done. They used this logic to try and besmirch Jesus but earlier in the chapter in verse 4, Jesus hauntingly said;

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

The Sabbath law strictly forbids anyone from doing work on that day but certain exceptions were made to account for urgent situations.

Prior to the confrontation with the religious leaders, Jesus had declared the urgency of the situation by saying that the window of opportunity to do God's work in the day was still open thus everything that could be done had to be done urgently because night was coming when no one could work. 

Thus the miracle was legally performed and the accusations against Jesus were baseless.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO HAS OVERCOME THE DRAGON

Revelation chapter 13 verses 1 - 3 says this;

The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. 

The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.

The vision that the Apostle John recorded in this passage is one of the most startling descriptions in the bible.

First, John describes a dragon standing by the sea then he evoques an image of Satan calling forth a beast out of the water.

The beast had ten horns with each horn having a crown.

Horns are generally taken to be symbols of strength or competence and so the beast had ten of these centers of power or special competence. Each horn had a crown which indicates that the strength of each horn was imbued with authority to function unfettered in the realm the beast was given to rule.

The beast is also described as having seven heads which can be understood to be seven beings who run the operations of the beast as a council. Each one of these beings had a name that was blasphemous against God and the whole structure of the beast was designed to be a challenge and an insult to God.

Satan then imbued this administrational entity with power, political rulership over the earth and great authority. This was the same authority he had promised to give Jesus in Luke chapter 4 verses 6 - 7 if Jesus had bowed and worshipped him. As a reminder, the passage reads this way;

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

As the passage continues, one of the members of the council of seven seemed to have the scarring of a fatal wound but somehow had miraculously survived as the wound was seen to be healed. 

The whole world was awestruck by the recovery of the beast and they turned to follow him and people become enamoured by the beast and readily accept his authority over them.

Bless the Lord who has overcome the dragon by the blood of the Lamb.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO LIGHTS THE WHOLE WORLD

Genesis chapter 1 verse 3 says this;

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Preceding this statement by God is the prologue of Genesis chapter 1 verses 1 - 2 that says; 

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

On the first day of creation, against this backdrop of a roiling, pitch-black, water world, God said, "Let there be light."

And there was light.

The dark and foreboding realm of earth suddenly became a bright blue planet bathed in the light that gleamed off the roaring waves that stirred the global ocean.

This first light that poured onto the primordial earth was not from the sun nor from any celestial body but was the light that came from Jesus who is the light of the world.

As John chapter 8 verse 12  says; 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Lord Jesus is the one of whom Isaiah, in chapter 6 verse 3 wrote;

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The light of the refulgent glory of the Lord Jesus that filled the whole earth in the beginning of the world will once again light up the earth as it says in the book of Ezekiel chapter 43 verse 2 ;

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

Bless the Lord whose glory lights up the whole world.

Amen.

OUR FATHER  WHOSE REST WE ENTER BY BELIEVING

Hebrews chapter 4 verses 9 - 11 says this;

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

When God finished making the heavens and the earth in six days, He rested on the seventh day from His labours.

When God called the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and into the rest of the promised land, they fell into disobedience and unbelief and it was then that the Lord swore regarding the children of Israel in Psalms 95 verse 11;

So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’

Thus the rest that the children of Israel were being offered but were unable to receive because of unbelief, is still available for God's people  if we sustain a believing heart.

If today we enter God's rest by believing and obeying, we rest from our labour even as God rested from His. We are therefore in a state where we no longer labour but rather we rest from those efforts for our salvation is freely given to us by believing in Jesus Christ.

As the writer of the book of Hebrews says, "Let us make every effort to enter that rest so that we do not perish by following the example of the children of  Israel in the wilderness of  disobedience and unbelief."

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO GIVES HIS PEOPLE RELIEF FROM THEIR SUFFERING

Isaiah chapter 4 verse 11 ( X ) says this;

Isaiah chapter 14 verses 11 -12 says this;

 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!

God's people will be under the oppression of Spiritual Babylon.

The Lord will come our rescue and on that day, God's people will take up a taunt  as it says in verse 4.

The king of Babylon will be crushed for his unrelenting harshness and repeated blows against God's people.

The Lord's people will rejoice at the suddenness and totality of the removal of Babylon and will take up a taunt against Him.

Bless the Lord who rescues us.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM

1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 15 says this;

If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, told them that the work that they do for the kingdom of God must be built on the true and sure foundation of Jesus Christ.

What is built on this foundation is then measured for quality. Whether the work one does is of gold, silver, gems, wood, hay or straw, these works will be tested by fire and the works that survive the test will be the basis for rewards. 

The works that are destroyed will be to the loss of the ones who did them though they themselves will be saved but only very narrowly.

In Mathew chapter 7 verses 22 - 23, Jesus Himself said that there will be many people who will come to Him on the day of the Lord expecting that the works they did in His name would be the basis for their reward but instead, the Lord will reject  them because He never knew them and because they practiced lawlessness. 

This seems to refer to the fact that the works that were done by them were burned up in the test of fire leaving them with no basis for entering the Lord's reward. The passage reads this way;

Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

People will be shocked when they realise that the things they had done in the name of the Lord were considered by Jesus to be acts of lawlessness because they were unauthorized by God and as such, there was no reward. Even though they were saved, they were made to depart from Jesus and they would stay separate from Jesus in eternity. 

This sobering point leads one to ask the question: How can a sincere believer do the work of the kingdom in such a way that it does not burn up in the test?

At least part of the answer to this question must be  in what is said in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 that reads this way;

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

The unequivocal statement, 'without faith, it is impossible to please God', hints that the people whose works were burned up were those who did not have faith because  they did not approach God to seek Him because they did not really believe that He existed nor did they believe that He was a rewarder of those who earnestly sought Him.

They went through the motions of doing things using the authority in Jesus' name to prophesy, cast out demons and do miracles which likely gained them attention and fame but they did so without earnestly seeking the Lord personally and thus they did not know the Lord nor did He know them.

We should seek the Lord earnestly and believe stridently in Him and do the things that He asks us to do believing that He is a rewarder of those who trust in Him and obey Him.

Our works that are done in faith at the Lord's  direction will endure the test of fire for they are initiated and sustained by Him.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO SCATTERS OUR OPPRESSORS

Isaiah chapter 51 verses 13  - 14 says this;

Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?

For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread.

In this passage, the Lord asks us why we live in constant terror of mere human beings who are but grass and yet we forget that our Almighty God is the one who spread out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth.

Do we not realise that our God's zeal and power supersede the feeble strength of those who seek to oppress us and even to destroy us?

The Lord asks us where the wrath of our enemy is because the Lord will surely undo the  efforts of the oppressor and those of us who have been imprisoned will be set free.  We will be sustained so that we do not die in the place of captivity nor will we lack food.

Bless the Lord who will scatter our oppressors.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOM WE MUST NOT PUT TO THE TEST

John chapter 7 verse 3 - 5 says this;

Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do.

No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

These verses record the words that Jesus' brothers spoke to Him when it was time to go to Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles.

They knew that He was performing amazing signs and wonders and they felt that He was wasting His time in Galilee and that He should take His abilities to the bigger audience of Judea. 

Their opinion was that if Jesus went to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles and unveiled His powers there, He would gain instant celebrity around the country and quickly become a prominent public figure.

This suggestion by Jesus' brothers sounds almost exactly like when Jesus was taken by Satan to a pinnacle of the temple and tempted to throw Himself down so that the angels who had been given charge over Him would have to hold Him up to stop him from striking a stone as recorded in Mathew chapter 4 verse 5 - 6.

This action, if done at the temple in broad daylight, would have been an astonishing miracle to witness and this would have captured the attention of the whole city and Jesus would have gained fame and acclaim in a very short time.

In both cases, using signs and wonders to get public attention without the authorization of the Father would have been a serious contravention of the Law because it would have put God the Father to the test.

In both cases, Jesus declined to heed the advice and only performed miracles when led by the Father to do so.

Bless the Lord whose perfect conduct qualified Him to die for the whole world and to save us from our sins.

Amen. 

 OUR FATHER WHO DEFENDS HIS PEOPLE

Obadiah chapter 1 verse 13 says this;

You should not march through the gates of my people  in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster.

This passage is an excerpt from a vision that the Lord gave prophet Obadiah concerning the judgement of the kingdom of Edom because of its violence against the people of God.

Edom was the kingdom that came from Jacob's twin brother, Esau and Edom had acted violently towards Israel and was being judged unto destruction. However, the prophecy invites us look beyond the earthly versions of these two kingdoms.

For example, verse 4 (speaking of Edom) says this;

Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

When Edom is described as soaring like an eagle and making a nest among the stars, we can see that the reference is to an Edom that is spiritual in nature. 

This spiritual Edom orchestrated violence  upon the kingdom of Israel which is itself a reference to the spiritual kingdom of Zion found in verse 17;

But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance.

The prideful violence of Edom against his brother Jacob is visited on his own head and Edom is ripped apart and destroyed forever.

The passage in verse 13 is an indictment against Edom for gloating over the destruction of Israel when things were going badly for her.

The Lord cautions Edom not to rejoice on the day of Judah's calamity and not to loot her treasure while she is struggling.

In this prophecy, even as Edom will act poorly towards Israel, calamities will be visited upon Edom and Edom will burn and be utterly destroyed.

Thus will Edom be judged for his cruelty upon his brother Israel.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO BRINGS DOWN THE GREAT KINGDOMS THAT PRIDEFULLY RISE ABOVE ALL OTHER KINGDOMS

The book of Ezekiel chapter 31 verses 3 - 9, records the words that the Lord told Ezekiel the prophet to say to Pharaoh (who stands-in for the spiritual king over the spiritual kingdom of Egypt that now undertakes to rule the earth and oppress God's people). The passage reads this way;

“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?

Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its top above the thick foliage.

The waters nourished it, deep springs made it grow tall; their streams flowed all around its base and sent their channels to all the trees of the field.

So it towered higher than all the trees of the field; its boughs increased and its branches grew long, spreading because of abundant waters.

All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs, all the animals of the wild gave birth under its branches; all the great nations lived in its shade.

It was majestic in beauty, with its spreading boughs, for its roots went down to abundant waters.

The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor could the junipers equal its boughs, nor could the plane trees compare with its branches—no tree in the garden of God could match its beauty.

I made it beautiful with abundant branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden in the garden of God.

Ezekiel the prophet was instructed by God to speak to the kings over spiritual Egypt that is to rise up and is now risen as a global power and oppressor of the people of God.

He was to speak to the kings of Egypt and tell them to consider the kingdom of Assyria which was once a great and beautiful tree that was more splendid than any other tree in the garden of  God. 

Yet, as this tree of the kingdom of Assyria rose higher than any other tree in the garden and was filled with pride because of its height,  the Lord rejected it and it was thus torn down by a ruthless foreign nation. It was brought low into the realm of the dead.

The word of the Lord in the prophecy then turned to Pharaoh, the ruler of the spiritual kingdom of Egypt that is  now ascending.

Even as the oppressive kingdom of Egypt has arisen in height and splendor over all the other trees in the garden of God, it too will be brought down and it will lie dead among the slain.

The Lord is mighty in power and will destroy the tree of the garden of God that presumes to rise higher than any other tree and glory proudly in its own height.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO LIBERATES HIS PEOPLE FROM THE OPPRESSOR.

Isaiah chapter 19 verses 3 - 4 says this;

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.

I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The Egyptians in this passage are stand-ins for a global oppressor of God's people. Having undertaken to gain total control over the affairs of all men, the Egyptians meet blistering opposition from the Lord as He rises to defend His people.

As the text reveals, the oppressors, shocked that their plans are disrupted and reversed, become disheartened.

They try to come to grips with the overwhelming supernatural conter-actions to their activities and  they resort to consulting idols and spirits of the dead using mediums and spiritists so as to receive insight into how to regain the upper hand in achieving their ambitions.

All the while, the organization  of darkness will descend into an internecine civil war and their resources will dry up leaving them scrambling to hold the operation together.

As their resolve falters, their organization will be given into the hands of a fierce and cruel  master who will assert control over their ranks using brutal retribution and intimidation tactics.  The oppressive power of Egypt will itself be placed under extreme oppression by its leaders and it will disintegrate under the pressure.

Bless our Lord who delivers us and counteracts those who try to crush us.

Amen.

FOREVER THE SAME

I ADORE YOU LORD

YOU ARE BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN

I ADORE YOU LORD

GOD ALMIGHTY HOLY ONE

I ADORE YOU LORD

EVERLASTING GREAT I AM (X 2)

YOU COMMAND THE THUNDER

YOU COMMAND THE RAIN

YOU COMMAND THE STORMS AND MAKE THEM STILL AGAIN

FOR YOUR'S IS THE GLORY

BRILLIANT AS A FLAME

YOUR'S IS THE POWER

THE POWER OF YOUR NAME

OUR FATHER WHO INVITES US INTO A COVENANT WITH HIM IF WE LISTEN TO HIM

Isaiah chapter 55 verses 1 - 3 says this;

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

This passage is a full-throated invitation by the Lord to those who are spiritually thirsty. He tells them that he will give sustenance to everyone who asks whether they have money or not.

At no charge, they can get wine and milk from the Lord so He asks them why they should spend hard-earned money on fake bread and on what does not satisfy?

The Lord exhorts people to listen to Him and they will experience rich and delightful food. He guarantees that if they listen to Him, they will live and He will make an eternal covenant with them of faithful love that was promised to David.

The passage in Isaiah sounds remarkably like this passage in Proverbs chapter 1 verses 20 - 23 that says this;

Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Here, the Spirit of God is crying in the street earnestly inviting people to listen to Him and guaranteeing that if they listen and heed His reproof,  He would pour His Spirit to them and make His words known to them.

Another passage that has the same feeling is the invitation of Jesus to the weary in Mathew chapter 11 verses 28 - 30 that says;

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Bless our Lord who patiently  calls out to us so that we may listen to Him and live.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO FORGIVES AND RESTORES THOSE WHO REPENT

Isaiah chapter 59 verses 3 - 5 says this;

For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 

No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity.

They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.

This passage is an indictment recorded by the prophet Isaiah against the children of Judah.

The first verse here is written to the people of Judah citing the evil they have done including murder, false witness, backbiting and murmuring.

The people of God are also accused of bearing false witness in court and employing fallacious arguments to make their cases. They utter lies and they conceive of trouble by cavorting with it and after a gestation period, give birth to evil.

For all  the evil that they do, the people of God know that they are desperate for salvation and they repent before the Lord for their wrong doing.

The Lord, in His mercy,  makes a covenant with them and restores them,  saying in verse 21;

 “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—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO RESERVES AN INHERITANCE FOR HIS PEOPLE

Joshua chapter 17 verses 7 - 9 says this;

The territory of Manasseh extended from Asher to Mikmethath east of Shechem. The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah.  (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) 

Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine. There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

Joseph was sold by his brothers to slave traders who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potifar, the captain of Pharaoh's personal security team.

Joseph was falsely accused of trying to assault Potifar's wife. Joseph was put in prison. While there,  he interpreted a dream for a prisoner who was Pharaoh's wine-pourer. 

When the interpretation proved accurate and the wine-pourer went back to his job, Joseph asked him to mention him to Pharaoh so he could get out of prison.

After two years, Pharaoh himself had a dream and he called all the wise men to interprete it. The wise men of Egypt could not interprete it but the wine-pourer remembered Joseph in prison and told Pharaoh about him. Joseph interpreted the dream to be a warning about an upcoming season of plenty followed by a season of famine.

Because of his insight, Pharaoh appointed Joseph to be the Prime Minister of Egypt and Joseph guided the country through the seasons of plenty and drought. Egypt became very strong because of the accurate interpretation of Pharaoh's dream.

Soon, Joseph reconciled with his brothers who had sold him as a slave and they, along with their father Jacob, came to Egypt to live because their own homeland was ravaged by drought.

They thrived in Egypt and their numbers grew with each of the brothers having many descendants. 

The Egyptians became concerned about the growing influence of the sons of Jacob in Egypt and they enslaved them and used them for their building projects.

Under the heavy yoke of Egyptian oppression for four centuries, the descendants of Jacob cried out to the God of their fathers  and He heard them and prepared Moses and sent him to Egypt to save his people but the Egyptians were not willing to set the slaves free.

The Lord demonstrated His power to the people of Egypt by striking them with plagues of various kinds and after ten severe plagues, they relented and released the children of Jacob and the Lord led them on a long journey back to the land that was promised to their ancestors.

When they arrived at the promised land, the territory was divided among the twelve tribes of the sons of Jacob.

Among those tribes, was of course, the tribe of Joseph. Joseph, who had been given a wife by Pharaoh, had two sons with her: Mannaseh and Ephraim.

An allocation of land was given to the descendants of Joseph and that portion was divided into two areas. One was for Ephraim and the other was for the descendants of Mannaseh.

The passage here is a description of a section of the border that encircled the area of land allotted to the descendants of Mannaseh, the son of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHOSE MIGHT CAN RUIN AN OPPRESSOR

Ezekiel 39 verse 19 says this;

At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.

This terrifying warning against Gog by the God of Israel is a summons to the carrion birds and wild animals to a feast of the fallen hoards who attacked His people.

The Lord, in His might, will bring upon Gog and Magog, the oppressor of God's people, utter destruction so that their weapons would would be left strewn around the landscape in huge quantities and their bodies would lie unburied all over the countryside.

As Ezekiel 39 verses 12 - 16 says, the clean up after the destruction of Gog would take seven months and even after that, a more thorough cleanup would be needed to finally cleanse the land of the dead.

Such will be fate of Gog and Magog when they assault the Lord's people to oppress them and destroy them.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO HEARS OUR PRAYERS  WHEN WE EARNESTLY SEEK HIM

Hezekiah, the king of Judah, received a letter from Sennacherib, the King of the Assyrians telling him that he shouSennacheribld not be deceived by the God of Israel because there was no one who was going to deliver Judah out of the hands of the Assyrian army.

In the letter, Sennacherib told Hezekiah the names of all the kingdoms that he had conquered and he pointed out that the gods of those kingdoms were not able to save their kingdoms from him.

Hezekiah was dismayed by the letter and he  tore his clothes in distress.

Preparing to inquire of the Lord about the situation the kingdom of Judah was in, Hezekiah put on sackcloth and went up to the temple and spread the letter he had recieved before the lord.

Then the pivotal verse of Isaiah chapter 37 verse 15  says this;

And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 

A verse that starts like this should immediately catch our attention.

Hezekiah, a man who was committed to the Lord with all his heart and had followed the Lord's instruction throughout his life, was about to pray to God and how such a man prays is likely to be very instructive. The prayer, recorded in verse 16 - 20, said this;

“Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.”

Hezekiah spread out the threatening letter before the Lord and he first acknowledged the supremacy of the Lord as the God over heaven and earth.

He then asked the Lord to look at the letter and see the words of ridicule that were used by Senacherib.

Hezekiah acknowledged that Sennacherib and the Assyrians were a formidable force who had laid waste other kingdoms and destroyed their gods.

Hezekiah highlighted the fact the gods of these other kingdoms were made of wood and stone by human hands and unable to deliver their kingdoms from Assyria and in fact were themselves thrown into fire by Sennacherib and destroyed and so Hezekiah presented an opportunity to the Lord.

Whereas Sennacherib was able to tear down other kingdoms who followed false gods who were powerless to save any one, Hezekiah asked the Lord to deliver them from Sennacherib and the whole world would know that the God of Judah was the only true God.

The Lord sent Isaiah the prophet to Hezekiah to inform him that because he had prayed to God regarding Sennacherib,  the Lord had marked the Assyrians for destruction.

When people arose the next morning, the Assyrian army of 185,000 soldiers had been completely destroyed and Sennacherib, aghast at what had befallen him, quietly withdrew and met his end at the hands of his own sons.

The God of the kingdom of Judah supersedes all earthly powers and has the might to crush any force that moves against His people.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO CAN DEFEND HIS PEOPLE AGAINST FORMIDABLE FOES

Isaiah chapter 36 verse 13 says this;

Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

Assyria had undertaken a military campaign against her neighbours and had successfully conquered them and now, having captured all the towns of Judah, was at Jerusalem to take control over Judah's capital city.

King Hezekiah had refused to capitulate to Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, so Sennacherib sent his field commander to try to talk Hezekiah into surrendering.

As the commander approached the city, Hezekiah sent out three emissaries to meet him.

The commander, speaking to the emissaries, was genuinely perplexed by the stance that Hezekiah was taking against Assyria. He could not see any resource that Hezekiah had that could possibly save him from the might of the Assyrian army.

He said to Judah's emmisaries that if Hezekiah was depending on Egypt, he should know that Egypt was an unreliable ally and would let him down like they had many others before.

The commander also asked, if Hezekiah was depending on the Lord their God to save them, was it not Hezekiah himself who took down all the high places and altars that belonged to him? How then could they call to the Lord and entreat Him to save them?

These statements were the first volley in the psychological war against the people of Jerusalem. Simply put, the commander told the people of Jerusalem these things: "Your ally is weak and will not come to help you" and "Your God has abandoned you for removing His altars and He will not save you".

The commander's understanding of what happened regarding the high places and altars in Israel under King Hezekiah was incorrect but his words would no doubt have had a disconcerting effect on those who did not know what Hezekiah's fight against the high places and altars in Israel was about.

The phychological assault being carried out in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem, continued:

The commander highlighted how pitiful the strength of Jerusalem was. He said, "Make a bargain with Assyria. We  will provide you with two thousand horses so that you can try to fight us together with your ally Egypt but even with our help, you could not even defeat our most junior officer".

The commander then changed tactics by  saying; "I am not attacking Jerusalem on my own volition. Your Lord is the one who commanded me to march against you and destroy your nation".

The emmisaries, sensing how much  these words were damaging the morale of the people of Jerusalem tried to persuade the commander to speak in Aramaic so that the Hebrew-speaking citizens could not understand what he was saying.

The commander refused and pressed further by addressing the people of Jerusalem who were sitting on the walls of the city listening to the conversation.

"Do not listen to your king Hezekiah for he is decieving you. Hezekiah cannot save you".

The commander then promised the people of Jerusalem that if they made peace with him and stopped resisting him, he would grant them the benefits described in Isaiah chapter 36 verse 16 - 17;

Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

This promise made by the commander of the Assyrian army sounds surprisingly like the promise made by Lord to the people of Israel in Micah chapter 4 verse 4 that goes like this;

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

This sounds like the scriptures that they were familiar with were being used against them to convince them that the Assyrian king had the same intention for them as their own God.

Finally, the commander held up the irresistable power of the Assyrian army as the reason to surrender. He told all the people who were listening that the gods of all the other nations whom the Assyrians had conquered were unable to help their people in the same way that the God of the people of Judah would be unable to help them against the Assyrians.

The people remained silent in response to this speech by the commander as Hezekiah had directed them.

Then the three emmisaries returned to report to Hezekiah with their clothes torn as a sign of their distress.

The Lord had been blasphemed by Assyria's field commander who was speaking on behalf of King Sennacherib and the Lord took a decision to fight on behalf of Judah and the Assyrian 185,000 man army was obliterated to a man overnight and Sennacherib escaped back to the city of Nineveh where he was ultimately killed by his own sons.

No matter  what words are spoken against us to discourage  and demoralize us,  we must remember the power of the Lord that supersedes any power assembled by kings and princes.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO REVIVES HIS TEMPLE 

Ezekiel the prophet had been in Babylon during the exile of Israel for about 14 years when he was lifted up in a spiritual vision and placed on a very high mountain where he could overlook a part of Israel that appeared like a city.

He was then taken down to the city where he encountered a man who looked like he was made of bronze and the man had a linen cord and a measuring rod and he started showing Ezekiel around and taking measurments of the buildings for Ezekiel to record.

Ezekiel chapter 40 verses 13 - 14 says this;

Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits from one parapet opening to the opposite one.  

He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway—sixty cubits. The measurement was up to the portico facing the courtyard.

This passage records two measurements of some details of the temple that are exerpted from a broader and very detailed description of the metrics of a great temple that Ezekiel saw in his vision.  

Ezekiel's encounter with the man of bronze appearance is described like this;

He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

The man led Ezekiel through the whole building complex carefully measuring the rooms and walls and courtyards of the temple and he also explained to Ezekiel what some of the spaces were for.

These measurements that were given to and recorded by Ezekiel in chapter 40 to chapter 48 of the book of Ezekiel, are detailed enough to be used to recreate refined architectural models of the temple.

This spiritual temple alludes to the existence future temple of the Lord that will occupy the place in Jerusalem where the original temple stood when the new Jerusalem descends from heaven to the earth.

It could also be a representation of the temple in each believer that is mentioned in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 that says ;

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

The spaces and functions of the temple of our bodies may represent the spiritual allocations that our bodies can contain and fulfill in service of the Spirit of God in each believer.

Bless the Lord whose glory fills His temple.

Amen.