OUR LORD WHO EXPECTS US TO RATIONALLY EVALUATE OUR ACTIONS

Isaiah chapter 44 verse 14 says this;

He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

The prophet Isaiah, writing the words of the Lord, records His assurances that He will save His people. He promised that he would pour out His Spirit on their offspring and blessings on their descendants.

However, the Lord mentioned that there were some people among them who were making idols out of wood and worshiping them.

The verse describes how the makers of idols would select a tree that had grown on its own in the forest or in some cases,  they would plant a pine tree and the rain fell on it and made it grow.

Once they had logged the tree, they used part of it for fuel to warm themselves and to cook food upon. With the rest of the log, they then carved an idol shaped like a human figure and they bowed down to worship the idol that they had just created.

The Lord asked this of the idol makers in verse 19;

No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel;  I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”.

The Lord expects us to stop and think about the things we are doing to make sure that they are rational and worthwhile.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO PROTECTED HIS SERVANT

One evening, Lot, Abraham's nephew, was sitting at the gates of the city of Sodom when two visitors arrived.

Lot, recognizing a certain quality in them, bowed before them and asked them to come to his house to refresh themselves and spend the night so that they could resume their journey the next day.

The visitors initially refused Lot's offer of hospitality saying that they would just spend the night in the town square but Lot must have known of the security hazards of his own city and he insisted very strongly that they stay with him. 

They ultimately relented and went with Lot to his house where he prepared a meal of bread without yeast for them as Genesis chapter 19 verse 3 reveals;

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

By serving his guests bread without yeast, Lot was illustrating that he was trying to prevent them from coming into contact with the contagion of the uncontrolled laciviousness in the city where innocent travellers were seen as prey to be exploited.

The whole city had become a lair for predators and Lot knew that the only place the visitors would be safe was in his own household.

Lot's efforts were valiant but when the whole town came to his house to drag away his guests, he was powerless to save them. The travellers had to deploy supernatural power of their own to fend off the attacks of the men of Sodom by temporarily blinding them.

The visitors were then able to fulfill their mission of taking Lot and his family out of Sodom when the judgement from heaven befell the city.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO HOLDS US TO OUR VOWS

The city of Jerusalem was in a precarious state. She was surrounded by the armies of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was planning to invade the city and burn it to the ground.

Zedekiah, the king of Judah, was given a word from the Lord by the prophet, Jeremiah, declaring that Nebuchadnezzar was going to successfully take the city and burn it down and that Zedekiah would himself be captured and brought face to face with Nebuchadnezzar before he was taken off to Babylon.

Zedekiah along with other leaders in the city had made a covenant to release their Hebrew slaves so that they could go where they wished. Jeremiah chapter 34 verse 9 says it this way;

Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.

However, after freeing their slaves, they changed their minds and re-enslaved the people they had just set free.

The Lord responded to the reversal in verse 18;

 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth

The violation of the covenant that the people of Judah had made before God regarding  the release of their slaves, brought down judgement upon judgement on them that amplified the misery of being successfully invaded by a foreign army.

Whereas prior to rescinding the freeing of their slaves, the king of Judah and the officials would have gone to Babylon and survived, now, they were condemned to be harshly treated by their conquerors and some would even die.

Such is the hazard of breaking formal covenants made before God.

May we always keep our vows.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WILL BE HIGHLY EXALTED

Isaiah chapter 33 verse 10 says this;

“Now will I arise,” says the Lord. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.

This prophecy is of the Messiah who returns in power and authority. His spiritual army causes people to flee and when He arises, nations scatter.

In the passage, the Lord declares that the time has come for Him to arise. The time has come for Him to be exalted and elevated.

Those who fear Him will have access to the treasures of His salvation, wisdom and knowledge as verse 6 says;

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

The ones who defy Him will be helpless before Him as their brave men cry and the envoys weep.

Our mighty God will have full authority over the nations of the earth. As verse 22 says;

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.

Let us bless the Lord who will reign in righteousness.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE REIGN BRINGS PEACE AND REST

Isaiah chapter 32 verse 1 says this;

Behold, a king will reign righteously, And officials will rule justly.

The hallmark of the reign of the Lord will be righteousness and his officials will be just in all their dealings.

They will be like shelter for the people against the storms and streams of water in a dry land.

Accurate perception anpob4dpd understanding will be widespread among the people because they are not deceived.

In this new atmosphere, Isaiah prophecies in verses 17 and 18 saying;

And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Then my people will live in a peaceful settlement, In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places;

Thus is result of the reign of our Lord.

Amen.

 OUR LORD IN WHOM WE MUST BELIEVE

Numbers chapter 14 verses 4 - 5 says this;

And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.

As the children of Israel approached Canaan from Egypt, the Lord instructed Moses to send twelve men, one from each tribe, to explore the land.

When the men returned, they showed the people the extraordinary agricultural produce that came from the territory and Caleb, one of the expedition members, exorted Israel to go and capture the land because they could easily do it.

However, the rest of the men in the expedition party reported to the people that the land was full of giants who saw them as grasshoppers and that they couldn't attack the inhabitants of the land because, they said, "they are stronger than we are.”

 It was in response to this negative report that the children of Israel began talking about finding a leader to take them back to Egypt. 

When Moses and Aaron heard what the children of Israel were saying, they immediately fell facedown to the ground in front of everyone assembled there.

They must have know how displeasing such attitudes were to the Lord and they instinctively fell to the ground to intercede on behalf of the people before the Lord struck them and maybe even to avoid being struck themselves.

The Lord was angry with the people and asked Moses why they treated Him with such contempt that they would not believe in Him even after all they had seen Him do for them.

The Lord wanted to wipe them out and start again with Moses but Moses interceded and pleaded with God to spare the people and he pointed out to God that if Egypt and the surrounding nations heard that the Lord had slaughtered His people, they would say that the Lord was unable to successfully bring His people through the wilderness inspite of His oath.

The Lord listened to Moses and He relented and forgave the people but promised that not a single person who murmured against Him would see the promised land. Thus the tribe of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years until every last one of the grumblers who was over twenty years old at the time of the expedition, died off.

The Lord sees unbelief in Him as insulting and  contemptuous of Him. Trust in the Lord.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHOSE PROMISE TO ISRAEL AND JUDAH WILL BE FULFILLED

Jeremiah chapter 33 verses 14 - 15 says this;

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

“‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote this Messianic passage fortelling the time when the Lord would fulfill the good promise that He made to the people of Israel and Judah.

From the line of David, the Lord would bring forth a righteous Branch who would do what was just and right in the land.

Verse 16 continues this way;

In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety . This is the name by which it  will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’

The prophetic word looked into the far future when the Branch from  David's line would be the  salvation  of Judah and the security of Jerusalem and who would eternally occupy the throne of David and would also eternally occupy the office of the Levitical priest standing before God continually.

Bless our Lord Jesus who first came as a suffering servant to save us and who now stands as our a righteous and eternal King and Priest and who will return to save Judah and secure Jerusalem.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD CANNOT BE BROKEN

Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 9 says this;

so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.

At the time, Jerusalem was surrounded and besieged by the Babylonian army and against this backdrop, Jeremiah the prophet was warning king Zedekiah that fighting against the Babylonians would not succeed.

 Because he was declaring that Babylon was going to defeat the kingdom of Judah and take the king back to Babylon as a captive, Jeremiah had been detained by the king of Judah in the palace guard courtyard and the king, in verse 3, asked him, “Why do you prophesy as you do?

Jeremiah explained to the king that the word of the Lord came to him and the subsequent events  confirmed that it was indeed the Lord speaking.

First, the Lord told Jeremiah that his cousin name Hanamel was going to offer him some land to  buy and that he should by it. Just as the Lord said, Hanamel dropped in to see Jeremiah and offered some land for him to buy and Jeremiah bought the land in the presence of all the elders.

Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would  return from being a worthless defeated land to being a desirable place to be and land and houses would become valuable again and thus the Lord had instructed Jeremiah to buy the land and to do so in a public way.

Jeremiah, continuing his explanation to the king, told him how he prayed to the Lord and recounted how much favor the Lord had granted the children of Israel including giving them the land of Judah. However, the Lord had made clear that they needed to obey his law and since they had not done so, the city was now surrounded by an invading army even as the Lord had said would happen.

The Lord told Jeremiah into buy land in a beseiged  Jerusalem when the land was almost  worthless and so Jeremiah was going to hang onto it because the Lord, in His goodness, was going to cause the children of Israel to return to the land that the Lord had given them.

Jeremiah chapter 32 verses 36 - 37 says it this way;

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

Thus Jeremiah explained to the king why he was prophesying as he was and in fact, all he said from the Lord came to pass.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR SHIELD AND OUR REWARD

Genesis chapter 15 verse 1 reads this way;

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Now Abraham, in the preceding chapter, had returned from a great rescue mission to retrieve his kinsman, Lot and his family, who had been kidnapped by a raiding army when it attacked and ransacked the cities of Sodom, where Lot lived,  and Gomorah.

After the successful counter-attack, Abraham and his army returned with all the goods and people who had been taken in the raid and the king of Sodom offered to give him all the wealth that he had regained from the raiders.

Abraham turned down the offer and Abraham declared that he had made a binding  covenant with his God not to take a single piece of the plunder from the raid lest the king of Sodom be able to claim that he had made Abraham rich.

Whereas the booty gained from the costly pursuit would have replenished Abraham's supplies and holdings, Abraham was steadfast in keeping his agreement with the Lord even though it left him in an economic and militarily vulnerable position.

When the dust settled, Abraham had a vision during which the Lord told Abraham not to be afraid because the Lord Himself would be his shield and his very great reward.

The Lord assured Abraham that even though he was in a weakened position, the Lord himself would be Abraham's  strength and defender as well as being his very great reward.

Bless the Lord who will shield and supply us  when we follow His lead and live by faith.

Amen. 

OUR FATHER WHO COUNSELS US TO INVEST IN ETERNAL THINGS

1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 9 - 10 says this;

I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

This passage is part of a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy to instruct him on how to be a watchful and faithful leader in the church.

Regarding how church members conducted themselves, Paul wanted Timothy the exhort the women to dress modestly and to avoid adorning themselves with elaborate hairstyles, jewelry and clothing but rather with good deeds.

To my eye, this exhortation is good advice for both men and women to follow but whereas this passage is often read as a doctrine of the virtue of plainness and modesty, it should instead be seen as a call to heed the words of the Lord Jesus found in Mathew chapter 6 verses 19 - 21 which read this way;

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The physical adornment mentioned in Paul's letter specifically references the high cost of hair styling, gold, pearls and expensive clothes. 

These costly items and treatments consume our treasure on earth and expends them on things that are temporal and which will ultimately be forgotten.

Jesus's counsel is to take money that would have been used on fasion expenditures and invest it in things like giving to the poor of which Proverbs chapter 19 verse 17 says, "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done." 

Such investments with the Lord can be laid up in heaven and it is good counsel to invest in that which is eternal rather than in that which is passing away.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WARNS US AGAINST FALLING PREY TO CORRUPTION ENTERING THE CHURCH

Jude chapter 1 verses 4 - 6 says this;

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

This passage in the book of Jude speaks of some people who covertly enter the churches and bring with them ungodliness, immorality and the denial of the deity and Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Whatever corruption such people bring to the church, Jude warns believers that following such people is a threat to the salvation that they gained through faith in Christ.

The first example offered by Jude was the story of the children of Israel who were delivered from Egypt and yet were destroyed in the wilderness because they did not believe. If believers are persuaded not to believe, they are in danger of suffering the loss of the inheritance that falls to them.

The second example is that of the angels who went beyond their authority and proper habitation and were thus imprisoned in eternal chains for their defiance. Here, Jude warns of the danger of traversing outside the boundaries and authorities granted to believers. If such behaviour invoked the condemnation of angels, certainly people will invite such condemnation on themselves if they are misled into straying outside their allowable jurisdictions.

The lesson that Jude is expositing is that we must guard our hearts against corruption that can be brought into the church by malevolent people to drag us into immorality, tresspassing and ultimately the loss of our faith in Christ.

As Mathew chapter 26 verse 41 says: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS FAITHFUL TO US AND TO WHOM WE MUST BE FAITHFUL

The book of Hosea chapter 1 verses 5 - 6 says this;

In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.

This passage continues with the narrative in the first chapter of Hosea where God is displeased with the northern kingdom of Israel for their unfaithfulness when they pursued other gods.

The Lord instructed the prophet Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman who would symbolize Israel's unfaithfulness to God. 

Hosea married a woman named Gomer and she bore him a son whom the Lord told Hosea to name Jezreel because the punishment against Israel would be the same punishment of being conquered that was brought against Jezreel.

Gomer then gave birth to a daughter who was to be named Lo-Ruhamah which means 'not loved' to symbolize the absence of the Lord's love for Israel such that they would not be forgiven for their unfaithfulness.

Hosea's wife gave birth to another son and he was to be named Lo-Ammi which means , 'Not My people'.

The naming of the sequence of children born to Gomer showed the  progression of detachment from the Lord that Israel underwent because of  unfaithfulness. 

(First: Jezreel the conquered city) They were going to be punished in the same way that Jezreel was.

(Second: Lo-Ruhamah meaning 'not loved') The Lord was going to withdraw his love from them and deny them the possibility of forgiveness.

(Third: Lo-Ammi meaning 'not my people) The Lord was going to disown Israel altogether.

As a result of going down this progression of steps unchecked, Israel ultimately disappeared from history leaving the southern kingdom of Judah to be the locus of the Lord's presence.

If God's people are unfaithful by pursuing other god's  and if they do not heed correction, they too can become dislocated from God.

Let us pray for grace.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO HEALS

Luke chapter 14 verses 3 - 5 reads this way;

Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law,“ Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”

Jesus had been invited for a meal at a Pharisee's house and He saw a man in front of Him with dropsy which is an abnormal swelling on the body.

The religious authorities of the day had established that the act of doing a miracle was work and as such, was unlawful to do on the Sabbath and thus, they were scrutinizing Jesus's actions to see if He would  contravene the law as they had interpreted it.

Jesus asked the pharisees and lawyers point blank if it were indeed lawful  or unlawful to miraculously heal a person on the Sabbath.

All of the scholars there were silent and so Jesus supernaturally healed the sick man and released him.

Jesus then turned back to those who were judging Him and asked them if they had not reserved a legality for themselves that allowed them to immediately perform the work of pulling and lifting if a child or an ox had fallen into a well on a Sabbath day.

Implied in the story is the absurdity of having, on one hand,  a law that allowed the immediate saving of  a child or an ox but on the other hand, a law that prevented the immediate healing of a person suffering from a debilitating ailment.

Bless the Lord who heals us no matter what standards the authorities enforce.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO DRAWS US TO HIMSELF

Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 14 reads this way;

I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the Lord.

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied of a time when the Lord would gather His people into His kingdom and great joy and celebration would commence. As Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 10 says;

“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his lflock like a shepherd.’

The ones the Lord has gathered together will be different because they will know the Lord individually and personally and not through proxies of God. Verse 34 in the same chapter reads;

No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

Bless the Lord who draws us to Himself and calls us all to know Him.

Amen.

OUR FATHER IS WORTHY OF PRAISE ( FROM PSALM 71 )

I will shout for joy O Lord  

When I sing Your praise

 I will tell of what You've done for me

All of my days

I will always hope in You

And praise You more and more

For though I've seen some bitter days

I've seen Your hand restore

You who've done great things for me

And blessed me with new life

Your power and Your righteousness

Reaches to the sky.

Amen.

MAY THE KING  (FROM PSALM 72)

LONG MAY OUR GREAT KING LIVE

MAY HIS NAME ENDURE

AS PROTECTOR OF THE WEAK

DEFENDER OF THE POOR

MAY HE RULE FROM SEA TO SEA

REIGN OVER ALL THE EARTH

MAY ALL THE KINGS BOW DOWN

THE NATIONS COME TO SERVE

BLESSED BE OUR MIGHTY GOD

KING OF KINGS, RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY

MAY ALL PEOPLE PRAISE THE LORD

THE WHOLE EARTH IS FILLED WITH HIS GLORY

Amen.

OUR LORD WHOSE GREAT DAY WILL BRING RUIN TO THE KINGDOM OF SPIRITUAL BABYLON

Isaiah chapter 13 verse 7 reads as follows;

Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear.

This verse captures a subtle detail among the events that are recorded in the 13th chapter of Isaiah.

As the war in the spiritual realm between spiritual Babylon and the kingdom of Zion intensifies, the fallout of this war will spill over into the natural realm. These terrifying events will become visible to the people on earth and they will be overwhelmed with fear and their hands will go limp and their hearts will melt.

When humans are suddenly exposed to occurrences  that exceed their sensory and processing capacity, they can go into a catatonic state where their limbs become inactive and they become unresponsive to the events that are unfolding around them.

Such will the day of the Lord be when God's spiritual army gathers to battle the kingdom of Babylon and bring her fraudulent claim over the earth to an end.

The earth will shake violently and the sun, moon and stars will not give their light. All of Babylon's structures and administrations will be laid waste and left as smouldering ruins.

Isaiah chapter 13 verse 20 says; "She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations;"

Babylon will fall and will never rise again. 

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO WILL PUT AN END TO THE OPPRESSIVE RULE OF THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS OVER THE EARTH

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 foretells of a day that an oppressive regime of darkness called Babylon, will have gained control over the whole earth and will have brought enslavement and destruction to the people.

 In due time, however, Babylon will be toppled by the Lord and the king of Babylon will fall.

All the oppressed people will be relieved of their harsh yokes when the king of Babylon is deposed and when all his power is destroyed.

The people will taunt the fallen regime when the ruling agents of the king of Babylon will also have had their power and authority stripped from them.

The whole world will be freed from under the foot of the oppressor by God and relief will be given to all the people of God.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO SENT US A DIVINE HELPER 

Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 14 says this;

The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me.

In the first chapter of the book of  Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel recorded one of the most profound visions ever witnessed.

In his vision, Ezekiel saw four winged beings each having four faces and four wings and each being beside a wheel within a wheel and lightning flashed between the four beings in a brilliant display of the  glory of God.

In chapter two, Ezekiel recorded the message that was given to him by the Son of God which foretold of the children of Israel going into captivity in a foreign land because of their rebellion against the Lord.

In this chapter, when Ezekiel saw the glory of God, he fell face down onto the ground. Spirit of God entered Ezekiel and helped him stand up while the Son of God spoke to him. 

In chapter three, the vision came to a close and Ezekiel was lifted up by the Spirit of God and taken back to the banks of the Kebar River and put back among the Israelites there. He was in anguish for seven days as the things that he saw in his vision distressed his mind.

After some days, Ezekiel saw the Lord's presence again and again he fell face down and the Spirit of God propped him up again so that he could listen to the Lord.

We see the Spirit of God, on multiple occasions,  upholding the Lord's servant when he had fallen and we see Spirit of God taking Ezekiel safely home after a terrifying encounter with spiritual beings.

The Spirit of God is the Divine Helper sent from God to help and support the Lord's servants.

Give thanks for the ministry of the wonderful counselor, the Spirit of God.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT DAY APPROACHES

Genesis chapter 3 verse 9 says this;

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

In the garden of Eden, shortly after Adam and Eve had listened to the serpent and had eaten  the forbidden  fruit, the Lord God came to visit them in the cool of the evening and they were missing from where He usually met them and so God called to Adam, "Where are you?"

Adam and Eve had hidden themselves from God because they had eaten the fruit that they were not supposed to eat. They, after eating the fruit, became aware of their nakedness and they hid themselves from the Lord and from that moment on, lost their unfettered access to God.

After being expelled from the garden, the lot of the human race was the struggle for survival but the whole time, the Lord was asking mankind, "Where are you?" to see if anyone could be found who would turn to Him to be  saved.

Most people, caught up in the distractions of life, forgot their God and did not look to Him to save them or protect them.

As Isaiah chapter 17 verse 11 says;

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.

Isaiah 53 verse 6 says also;

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,  each of us has turned to our own way;

However, the day approaches when all the work of redemption that the Lord has done through all the ages will culminate in the appearance of God in great glory.

Isaiah chapter 17 verse 7 says it this way;

In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

The God from whom we hid and who was hidden from our eyes will be seen and we will turn from our own ways and return to Him from whom we departed and who paid a so great a price to redeem us to Himself.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO CONFOUNDS THE WISE

Isaiah chapter 19 verse 11 says this;

The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh,  “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”?

This verse highlights one of the ways that the oppressive kingdom of Egypt is defeated by the Lord. 

Egypt, in this case, represents the kingdom of darkness that has been set up to oppress and enslave the people of God.

As the kingdom of darkness tries to gain the upper hand, the Lord sends to them a spirit of dizziness that confounds its advisors and counselors.

Even though these agents portray themselves as wise and knowledgable, they give nothing but senseless advise so that the whole kingdom is led astray.

Let us give thanks to God for confounding the wise so that darkness is unable to overcome light.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO GAVE US A SAVIOUR 

Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4 ( x 14 ) says this;

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,  stricken by him, and afflicted.

This profound messianic prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah foretold of the promised saviour who would arise in Israel.

This saviour would not present Himself as a triumphant King but rather, would be a suffering and tormented servant who would be subjected to pain and suffering. 

Even though He willingly took on this severe punishment for our sake to pay for our iniquity, he was thought to be stricken and afflicted by God.

Our great tragedy is that our God visited us and we did not recognize Him. Instead, we despised and rejected Him. Instead of honoring the one who came to save us, we held Him in low esteem and His time with us was one of sorrow.

But our Father in heaven promised our Lord that His suffering would bring a great harvest of righteousness. As Isaiah chapter 53 verse 11 says;

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Let us humbly give thanks to our God who paid so costly a price for our salvation and that we were granted the knowledge of Him who would justify us.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO WE PRAISE ( PSALM 106 )

BLESSED BE THE LORD THE GOD OF ISRAEL

FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING

ALL PEOPLE SAY AMEN

PRAISE THE LORD

PRAISE THE LORD

SAVE US O LORD OUR GOD

WE GIVE THANKS TO YOUR NAME

DRAW US ALL FROM AFAR

TO GLORY IN YOUR PRAISE

PRAISE THE LORD

PRAISE THE LORD

AMEN.

OUR FATHER WHO GIVES FAVOR TO THE HUMBLE

Isaiah chapter 66 verses 1 - 2 reads this way;

This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.

This passage starts with a presentation of the relationship between heaven and earth.

Heaven is the location of the administrational headquarters of Zion which is the name of the kingdom of God.

Whereas the Lord's throne is in heaven and He rules over His heavenly kingdom from there, He also rules the earthly portion of His kingdom from heaven as well. 

At present, God's earthly kingdom is distributed in and amongst the kingdom of darkness and as it says in Psalm 110 verse 2; The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

Next in this passage, the Lord asks the human race, if given that he has sovereighty over heaven and earth, what kind of provision could mankind supply for him.

The Lord asks why he would need anything from mankind when everything in existence was made by Him.

If mankind cannot offer God anything that He cannot get for Himself and if the Lord is the one who provides everything, He chooses to give favor to those who approach Him with a humble and contrite spirit and who fear His word.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO COUNSELS US TO AVOID JUDGING OTHERS 

Mathew chapter 7 verses 1 - 2 says this;

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 

This passage reads like an axiom that governs the symmetry of judgement.

Simply said, if we judge others harshly or unfairly, we ourselves will be judged in a way that is commensurate with our own standard of judgement.

Jesus, speaking to his disciples and the multitude of people who followed him as well as we in the future, counselled us not to judge other people so that we may avoid judgement ourselves.

He advised us to take the plank out of our own eye before we undertake to remove the speck of sawdust from our brother's eye.

Such is the nature of acting in judgement over other people: We ignore our own glaring sins while prescribing action against the tiny sins of others.

Let us eschew judgement and always extend mercy and love to others.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO FAVORS HIS SERVANTS

Isaiah chapter 65 verse 13 says this;

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; my servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

God's servants will have plenty to eat and drink and will be filled with joy while those who provoked God to His face, will remain hungry, thirsty and filled with shame. 

Whereas God implored the people to turn to Him, many continued with their practices of sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars and sitting among graves and keeping secret vigils.

They also carried out other occultic practices found in Isaiah 65 verse 11 that says; who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

The Lord will favour those who serve Him with peace, joy and plenty. They will draw near to God and He will draw near to them.  As Isaiah chapter 65  verse 24 says; Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE PROMISE SETS US FREE FROM SLAVERY TO THE LAW

Galatians chapter 4 verse 9 says this;

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, was concerned about them because they had reverted to observing special days and months and seasons.

There were people who had come among them who were influencing them towards a form of legalism that included adopting practices that were not part of the gospel that Paul had taught them.

Paul called these, "weak and miserable forces" and asked the Galatians if they wished to be enslaved all over again by them.

Paul clarified the matter by conscripting the two women from the household of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar into an analogy.

Hagar was the slave woman who had a son with Abraham by the initiation of the flesh.

Sarah, Abraham's wife, was the free woman who had a son born by the power of the Spirit.

Whereas Hagar's son, Ishmael, oppressed and persecuted Sarah's son, Isaac, Ishmael was the son of slavery and was ultimately to be turned away. Isaac, the son of the promise, on the other hand, was himself, free and the heir of the promise.

Paul encouraged the believers in Galatia and us in the present time to understand that we were freed from slavery to the law and now, having been born again into the promise, are children of the promise and also heirs of the promise.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDED FOR THE OUTREACH TO THE GENTILES

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians in the book of Galatians chapter 2 verse 9, says this;

James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

In this verse, Paul records the acceptance that he and his fellow servant to the gentiles, Barnabas, got from the esteemed pillars of the Church.

Apostle James, Apostle Peter and Apostle John had extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas  because they realized that they had been given a special grace to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

Having heard the message that Paul presented to them as the message he took to the Gentiles, they recognized that the same grace that was upon the Apostle Peter to take the good news to the nation of Israel, was also upon Paul to take the good news to the non-Israelites.

This accord facilitated the peaceful and unified effort of reaching lost people for the kingdom of God whether to the nation of Israel or to everyone else.

Bless the Lord who led the early church to recognize the necessity of reaching the Gentiles so that ultimately, we too could be reached for the kingdom of God.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO DOES NOT EXCLUDE ANYONE WHO LOVES HIM

Isaiah chapter 56 verses 3 - 4 says this;

Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”

And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”

For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—

This poignant passage continues on to reassure the foreigners and eunuchs in the land of Israel. Whereas they may have viewed themselves as being outside the main stream, the Lord addresses them and tells them that they are not excluded from His plans.

Th Lord tells the eunuchs who keep the Lord's Sabbaths and do what pleases Him that they are not to call themselves 'dry trees' because the Lord will give them an eternal memorial and a name that is better than sons and daughters.

The Lord then speaks to the foreigners who viewed themselves as outsiders and said that they had no destiny among God's people. The Lord speaks to these and says that they if they keep the Sabbaths and love the name of the Lord, He will bring them up to His holy mountain and fill them with joy and their sacrifices will be accepted because, as even Jesus quoted from Isaiah 56 verse 7, "my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO PROMISED A CROWN OF LIFE TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND WHO PERSERVERE

James chapter 1 verse 2 says this;

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

The apostle James, writing to the diaspora, exhorted them to regard the trials and difficulties they encountered as privileges that gave them the opportunity to persevere in faith which would ultimately make them mature and complete.

The struggles that they endured were agents of refinement that helped them to grow into strong believers and if they withstood their trials and loved the Lord, they would  receive the crown of life that was promised by Him.

Amen.