OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD TESTS THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF OUR HEARTS

Psalm chapter 17 verse 3 ( Amplified version ) says this;

You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night;

You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me]; I intend that my mouth will not transgress.

This verse is reflected in the book of Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 which says ( NASB 1995 version);

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Just before the Lord Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was praying and He revealed in His prayers that He had been subjected to an audit of His thoughts and intentions by the Father and that this test had yielded no faults.

The Lord Jesus, under the extreme pressure of fatigue and on-coming danger, had remained pure in heart and His motives and intentions were beyond reproach.

The Word of God Himself was tried under the exacting standards of God such that the boundary ( or interface ) between His soul and spirit was pierced and pried open like joints are pried apart  by tearing tendons and marrow is revealed by breaking open the bones. His every thought and intention was isolated and judged and He was shown to be absolutely perfect.

It was during this prayer that the soldiers who were searching for the Lord Jesus arrived at the garden and arrested Him.

The holy lamb of God went with His captors to face trial before the courts of men. Here, He was found guilty of making Himself out to be God and was sentenced to death.

The Lord Jesus was God and as such was not guilty of falsly claiming to be God and thus was perfectly innocent of the crime He was sentenced to death for.

The Lord Jesus knew He would be cleared in the final judgement as the last verse ( verse 15 )  of psalm 17  records;

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO WRAPS HIMSELF WITH LIGHT

From Psalm 104;

Oh my God You're clothed in splendor

Oh my Lord You're wrapped in light

Flames of fire are Your servants

When You speak, oceans take flight

May Your glory endure forever

I will praise You all my life

_________

Oh God, You wrap Yourself in light

You're clothed with splendor and might

You make the clouds Your chariot

Flames of fire your servants

Your messengers are the winds

Yes they become Your wings

May the glory of the Lord endure forever

May the Lord rejoice in His works

I will sing to the Lord all my life

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live

May my meditation be pleasing to You

As I rejoice in You.

10

Psalm 104 (NIV)

1 Lord my God, you are very great;

    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;

    he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3     and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

He makes the clouds his chariot

    and rides on the wings of the wind.

4 He makes winds his messengers,[a]

    flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations;

    it can never be moved.

6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;

    the waters stood above the mountains.

7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,

    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8 they flowed over the mountains,

    they went down into the valleys,

    to the place you assigned for them.

9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;

    never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;

    it flows between the mountains.

11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;

    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;

    they sing among the branches.

13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;

    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,

    and plants for people to cultivate—

    bringing forth food from the earth:

15 wine that gladdens human hearts,

    oil to make their faces shine,

    and bread that sustains their hearts.

16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,

    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 There the birds make their nests;

    the stork has its home in the junipers.

18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;

    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,

    and the sun knows when to go down.

20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,

    and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21 The lions roar for their prey

    and seek their food from God.

22 The sun rises, and they steal away;

    they return and lie down in their dens.

23 Then people go out to their work,

    to their labor until evening.

24 How many are your works, Lord!

    In wisdom you made them all;

    the earth is full of your creatures.

25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,

    teeming with creatures beyond number—

    living things both large and small.

26 There the ships go to and fro,

    and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27 All creatures look to you

    to give them their food at the proper time.

28 When you give it to them,

    they gather it up;

when you open your hand,

    they are satisfied with good things.

29 When you hide your face,

    they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

    they die and return to the dust.

30 When you send your Spirit,

    they are created,

    and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

    may the Lord rejoice in his works—

32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,

    who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;

    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,

    as I rejoice in the Lord.

35 But may sinners vanish from the earth

    and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.[b]

OUR FATHER WHOM WE JOYFULLY WORSHIP

Psalm 100 verse 2 ( in the NIV ) says this;

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

This verse exhorts all the people on earth to serve and worship the Lord their God with gladness and joyful songs.

It is good and appropriate to approach the Lord with music and songs,  laughter and happiness for He is our God and creator and we are His people.

Our posture as we draw near to Him should be a posture of gratitude and praise for He is is good and loving and faithful forever.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHOM WE ENTREAT FOR REDEMTION

Psalm 79 89 verse 17 5 says this;

You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

This verse, excerpted from a corporate prayer of the children of Israel written by the Psalmist Asaph, laments the grief that has come upon them as a result of the judgement of God that had befallen them.

They suffer reproach from their enemies and their security is breached when their defence walls are ruined and foreigners are able to intrude into their territory with impunity.

They cry out to God to once again show favour to them as verse 19 says;

Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Amen.

7

OUR FATHER WHO WILL NEVER LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US

The book of Isaiah chapter 49 verse 15 says this;

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

This verse speaks of the bride of Christ being being promised that she will be restored by the Lord after she is seemingly abandr oned by God and decimated.

She had said to herself in verse 14;

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”

But the Lord replied that even as a mother would not forget her own child whom she had given birth to, He too would never forget his bride.

The Lord accentuates the metaphor of the bond between a mother and child by pointing out that there are in fact some cases where a mother would forget her own child but He would never forget Zion.

The Lord then said in verse 16;

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

In saying this, the Lord eternally committed Himself to Zion.

Amen.

9

OUR FATHER WHOSE WRATH BRINGS JUDGEMENT UPON HIS OWN PEOPLE

Psalms 79 verse 11 says this;

May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.

The psalmist, this case Asaph, was considering the devastation that had befallen Jerusalem as judgement for their evil deeds.

Their sins brought ruin to them as the descendants of Israel were slain and left unattended around the the streets of the city.

The people Jerusalem lamented to the Lord to have mercy on them and save them them from the assault of the neighbouring kingdoms. 

As Psalm 79 verses 8  - 9 say;

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. 

Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins

As they cried to the Lord in their desperation, they pointed out that some of His people were suffering as prisoners being held by the invaders and even worse, some of the captured people were condemned to die.

They pleaded with God to intervene by His strong arm to preserve those who were earmarked to die by the enemy.

At the late hour is when they called upon the Lord to shield them from destruction and they invoked the condition of the captured among them to press the Lord to take action in their favour.

4

OUR FATHER WHO UPHOLDS ULTIMATE JUSTICE

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verse 9 - 10;

The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones—all those who were kings over the nations.

They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”

This astonishing passage describes a scene that will unfold in the abode of the dead when the anti-christ is uprooted and cast down.

News of the dethronement of the man of lawlessness will cause the netherworld to move into position to meet him as he descends into their place. The spirits of the departed people will be awoken to greet him when he arrives.

The former leaders of the world, still sitting on their dilapitated thrones in the gloom, will stand to catch a glimpse of the one who led them into darkness.

Upon seeing him, they will ponder the fact that this man, who dominated them and caused them to tremble with fear and who overthrew the cities of the earth, was now brought to nothing and was as weak as they were.

The one who aspired to the highest throne for himself, sunk to the lowest chambers for he had destroyed the land he had claimed and killed the people over whom he ruled.

 3

OUR FATHER WHO IS RADIANT WITH LIGHT

From Psalm 76

O great God of heaven

Before You who can stand?

Your dwelling place is Zion

You are renowned in all the land

And You are radiant with light

Radiant with light

More majestic than the mountains

You are so radiant with light

2 

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT CAN BE TRIGGERED WHEN EVIL IN A LOCALLITY CROSSES A THRESHOLD

Verse 9 in the book of Ezekiel chapter 22 in the Amplified vpersion, says this;

In you are men who slander for the purpose of shedding blood, and in your presence they have eaten [food offered to idols] at the mountain shrines; in your midst they have committed acts of lewdness. 

The city of Jerusalem, having deteriorated morally and was engaged in every manner of evil so as to be seen as a city of ill-repute.

The deeds that were done in Jerusalem had attracted the judgement of capture and so the prophetic voice of Ezekiel was stirred up by the Lord to declare to the people that they had maxxed out their allowance and that judgement was now inevitable.

These are the deeds that invited the calamity of judgement upon Jerusalem;

• Murder on the streets of the city
• The making of idols
• Political assassinations
• Contempt for parents
• Oppresion of foreigners
• Oppresion of widows and orphans
• Contempt for the holy things of God
• Violations of the Sabbath
• Slander with intent to murder
• Eating food offered at demonic shrines
• Sexual lewdness like adultery and incest
• Bribery to instigate murder
• Usery and the exploitation of the poor
• Extortion of neighbours
• Abandonment of God

These are the evils that had proliferated in the city of Jerusalem and when the city accumulated them to a certain density, judgement protocols were initiated by the Lord and her destruction was imminent.

Amen.

21

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT BEGINS AMONG HIS OWN PEOPLE

The book of Ezekiel chapter 21 verses 10  - 11 says this;

“‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!

“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.

“‘The sword is appointed to be olished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.

Chapter 21 of the book of Ezekiel captures the words of the Lord declaring judgement over Israel and warning of the arrival of the Babylonians to conquer them.

This particular passage speaks of the sword that is prepared for use against Israel which is a metaphor representing authorization of the use of military force to override the sovereign authority of Israel.

The carrier of the sword in this case is Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar and they were positioned to engulf the kingdom of Israel and to bring about the utter dissolution of the society because they had rejected the ordinances of God, profaned the Lord's Sabbaths and had persisted in their pursuit of idols.

Thus the sword was sharpened and polished to bring about judgement and the people of God were defeated by their enemies.

20

OUR FATHER WHO CREATED ALL THINGS AND IS WORTHY OF GLORY AND HONOR FOREVER

The book of Revelation chapter 4 verse 11 says this;

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

The Apostle John, having been summoned into heaven in the spirit, found himself in the midst of an extraordinary scene where a person whose appearance was like that of Jasper and ruby, sat upon a heavenly throne. An arch of emerald spanned over the throne and peals of thunder and flashes of lightening emanated from it.

Before the throne were seven brightly burning lampstands which are the sevenfold Spirits of God. As well, a transparent sea of glass was also in front of the throne.

Close around the throne were four remarkable six - winged living creatures that were covered with eyes on all sides. One was like a lion, the other like a bull. Yet another one was like a human and the fourth was like an eagle.

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones on which 24 elders sat and these were dressed in white attire and wore gold crowns.

The four creatures continually said these words out of Revelation chapter 4 verse 8;

“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

Each time the four creatures spoke these words, the 24 elders would fall prostrate before the throne to worship the One who was upon it and they laid down their crowns before Him who sat on the throne and said;

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

These words declared the absolute supremacy of the eternal Lord Jesus  and the centrality of His will in the creation of everything that exists.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO MAKES LIVING WATER AVAILABLE TO US

The book of John chapter 4 verses 9 - 10 says this;

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

The Lord Jesus and His disciples, travelling back to Gallilee from Judea, had to pass through Samaria and they came to the water well near the town of Sychar called Jacob's well.

The travellers came up to the well and as Jesus  stopped to rest, disciples went off to the town to buy food.

Presently, a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water for herself and Jesus, against custom, asked her for a drink of water.

The woman, surprised by the request, brought up the cultural norms of the area citing the tradition that forbid the Jews  from associating with Samaritans and they were not even supposed to interact casually with each other.

Jesus responded to her objection by saying this;

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

This response identified a hithertofore unknown commodity named 'living water'.

This water has these properties:

• It can be requested by people
• It is given to people by Jesus
• It permanently negates thirst (eternally)
• It becomes a spring in those who drink it
• It bubbles up continually in them
• It is the essence of eternal life

This bubbling spring within those to whom Jesus gives eternal life is what makes them able to eat all diets whether clean or unclean and by extension, associate with any type of people whether cultural norms forbid it or not.

The book of Leviticus chapter 11 lists the various types of clean and unclean animals and practices like touching dead animals but in verse 36, it is mentioned that a spring or a cistern of water cannot be contaminated by any types of unclean thing.

A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 

It is therefore made clear why those to whom the Lord Jesus has given eternal life are exempt from the rules of contact with ceremonially unclean things.

They are themselves springs that continuosly bubble with living water and thus cannot be contaminated.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER JUDGES THOSE WHO RETAIN THEIR IDOLS

The book of Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 4 says this;

“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors

This verse, captures an excerpt of the Lord speaking to the prophet Ezekiel where the Lord asks Ezekiel whether he would judge the elders of Israel who had come to his house to inquire of the Lord.

The Lord then told Ezekiel to confront the elders of Israel with the practices that were done by their ancestors that they too were engaging in.

They had been looking upon the vile images of idols and desecrating the Sabbaths of the Lord. They had burned incense to idols  and had  sacrificed their children in fire to their idols.

The Lord had held up His hand as he swore a covenant with the people of Israel to bring them out of slavery and into a good land and yet they retained their practices of idol worship and thus the Lord refused to be inquired of by the elders.

As Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 31 says;

When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.

5

OUR FATHER WHO MAKES ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND ARE CALLED ACCORING TO HIS PURPOSES

The book of 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.

This verse gives some insight into what happened to Joseph the son of Jacob when he was sold by his brothers into slave traders who took him  to Egypt.

Behind the scenes, the spiritual kingdoms detected that Joseph was destined to a great role in the kingdom of Israel. 

Because these surrounding kingdoms did not want Israel to gain strength over them, they orchestrated a plot that filled Joseph's brothers with hatred for Joseph and they threw him in a pit. As they were deciding what to do to him, some traders happened to pass by and they struck on the idea of selling him instead of killing him outright.

The traders bound Joseph with ankle shackles and dragged him to Egypt.

This verse shows us how the spiritual kingdoms manipulate human beings  to perform their will and alter the courses of nations.

Even though Joseph was enslaved, his great destiny played out as intended by God and to the benefit of the nation of Israel and ultimately the whole world.

This brings to mind the scripture in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 that says; 

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Amen

10

OUR FATHER WHO HIDES US IN THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS

This song is taken from Psalm 17 which is one of the prayers that the Lord Jesus prayed while agonizing at the Garden of Gethsemene before being arrested.

HEAR ME LORD TURN YOUR EAR TO ME AND HEAR MY PRAYER 

SHOW ME LORD THE WONDERS OF YOUR LOVE AND FAITHFUL CARE - (x2)  (x1)

KEEP ME AS THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE 

AND HIDE ME IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS - (x1)  - (X2)

1

OUR FATHER 

Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verses 4 - 5 says this;

Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.

This passage contrasts the conditions of the living and the dead.

It starts with the axiom that as long as we are alive, we can have hope.

The spiritual implication is that when we are alive, we can change the equations that determine how our spiritual condition will end up once we die.

When we are alive, we are conscious of our mortality and as such, we can continue following the will of God which results in the storage of treasures in heaven. 

Once we die however, our spiritual fates are locked in and our eternal lives will be shaped by what we did when we were alive.

If we do things that continue to bless people even after we are gone, these can acrue to our spiritual standing but with time, even these  dwindle and cease when our names are eventually  forgotten by the living.

Let us lead our lives with intentional awareness of the eternal life we will enter into for which the Lord Jesus Christ paid so great a price to qualify us for.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO SECURED OUR REDEMTION BY HIS OWN STRENGTH

The book of Isaiah chapter 63 verses 4- 5 says this;

It was for me the day of vengeance;  the year for me to redeem had come.

I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.

In this passage, the Lord moves in anger and to redeem His people.

He looked to see if there were any who could help Him but there were none who could give Him support.

The Lord undertook our salvation single handedly. 

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO WILL GATHER ALL HIS PEOPLE TO HIMSELF

The book Isaiah chapter 49 verse 11 says this;

I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.

This verse, referencing the time that is to come when God draws in all His people from every corner of the earth, speaks of preparing the roads and highways that will be needed in order for the myriad of His people to come to the fullness of Zion.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES REBELLION

The book if Ezekiel chapter 12 verse 13 says this;

I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. 

The prince in Jerusalem  was under judgement to be taken captive and go to Babylon.

He and the others in Israel were to suffer this fate because they were rebellious and the refused to see and refused to hear.

And thus the judgement of exile came upon them.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WARNS THOSE WHO PRACTICED BLOODSHED OF IMPENDING JUDGEMENT

Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 9 says this;

I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.

In a vision seen by Ezekiel the prophet, the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem were devising their strategies in the face of foreign invasion and had decided that because their had recently built their houses in the city, they would entrench themselves therein and be, as it were, the meat in the pot.

Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 3 says it this way;

They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’ 

Ezekiel was instructed by the Lord to prophecy against these leaders to inform them that their plan to remain in the city would fail and instead, would be driven out of Jerusalem and that they would meet their punishment  at the hands of foreigners at the borders of Israel.

Because they had not followed the law of God and they had caused bloodshed in the land, they would denied the option to fortify themselves in the city of Jerusalem and they would be cast into open country and there, they would meet what they feared most: the sword of judgement.

1

OUR FATHER WHO IS AWESOME

Psalm chapter 1 verse 4 says this;

Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

This verse advises God's people to live in the fear and reverrence of the Lord. We are not to sin in view of the glory of our God that must not bring to shame.

The verse continues to counsel us to practice introspection when we repose on our beds.

In silence, we should examine our own hearts and consider our position in light of the awesome glory of the Lord.

As Psalm 46 verse 10 says;

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Amen.

5

OUR FATHER WHOSE REIGN WILL BRING TRUE PEACE ON EARTH

The book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 7 says this;

The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together,  and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

This verse, part of a passage that speaks of the Messiah's second arrival on earth to save the remnant of his people and establish His reign on the earth, illustrates the effect that His reign will  have on the natural world.

It discusses how the animal kingdom will be altered so that it no longer operates on the tooth-and-claw (prey and predator) principle but rather on a model of coexistence and cooperation.

The devourers of the realm are rendered harmless and this can be extended to be an illustration of how the devourers of the spiritual realm will being neutralized as threats.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHO KEEPS MEMORIALS

The book of Hebrews chapter 9 verse 4, discussing the things that were inside the most holy place of the temple, says this;

 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 

There were two primary items in the sacred space behind the second curtain. These were the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.

The ark of the covenant which was like a chest and it contained a number of sacred articles; the golden jar of manna from the time the children of Israel survived in the wilderness on angel's food provided daily by God.

The ark also contained the rod of Aaron (Israel's first high priest) which was a branch from an almond tree, which, though dried up, grew new leaves, grew flowers and even had almonds ready..

The last inventoried items were the two stone tablets that the Lord had instructed the ten commandments be written on back on Mount Sinai.

These articles are a witness  to the history of the Lord's miraculous walk with Israel.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHO LIFTS US WHEN WE FALL

Psalm chapter 13 verse 4 says this;

and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

After suffering a defeat and succumbing to attacks that came against him, the psalmist cries out to the Lord to help.

He is full of sorrow and regret and he asks the Lord not to give up on him.

The psalmists reasons with the Lord that if he completely falls away and dies, the enemy of his soul would have the opportunity to exult over the fact that he fell.

In the end, he puts his trust in the unfailing love of God and the gratitude for the salvation that the Lord has provided evokes songs of praise. As Psalm 13 verses 5 - 6 says, 

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Amen.

6

OUR FATHER WHO MARKS A REMNANT FOR PRESERVATION

The book of Ezekiel chapter 9 verse 4, recording the words of the Lord directed at a man who came from heaven with a writing impliment at his side,  says this;

and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

The man from heaven had been summoned with a loud voice to report to the temple in Jerusalem.

He was given the instruction to go to every part of the city and use the writing tool  to mark the foreheads of the people who were grieved by the things being done there.

This mark on their foreheads excluded them from the judgement of death that was coming to the city.

Six other men were summoned with weapons to bring judgement on the whole of Jerusalem but if they came across a person who had been marked on the forehead, they were to spare that person.

When the prophet Ezekiel lamented to the Lord about the judgement that was falling upon the people who were already but a remnant of the people of Israel, the Lord told Ezekiel that the judgement was brought upon the people because they had cultivated injustice and bloodshed.

The few of those in the city who were aghast over the injustice and bloodshed were the ones left as a remnant of a remnant.

6

OUR FATHER WHO SENDS US PROPHETS TO WARN US OF WHERE OUR CONDUCT WILL TAKE US

The book of Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 11 says this;

Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

This verse is the instruction that the Lord gave to the prophet Ezekiel to speak to the children of Israel and to warn them about their rebellion.

The Lord commanded Ezekiel to speak  to the people the word of the Lord whether they listened or not.

This the almost the  same admonition that Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2 which says;

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO STRENGTHENS US

The book of Isaiah chapter 59 verse 10 says this;

Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes.

At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.

This verse is part of a description by the prophet Isaiah of our desperate human condition without God.

Without the light of the Lord, we are like sightless people groping our way through life trying to feel our way along any solid structure to  find an opening.

Even when there is bright illumination in the middle of the day, we remain unseeing and stagger as though we were in darkness.  

Our spiritual senses are inoperative and we are unable percieve the spiritual realities that we are immersed in.

It is also in this context that we are weak and helpless in the arena of the spirit where were are almost powerless against influences from the spiritual realm.

It is only  through our regeneration through Jesus Christ who redeemed us that we gain sensory awareness of the things of the spirit and we get stronger by the Lord who, as the book of Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 says;

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO UPHOLDS US AS WE MOVE FROM DEATH TO LIFE

The book of Ezra chapter 4 verses 9 - 10 says this;

9 - Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

10 -  and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.

These verses are the introduction portion of a letter that Rahum and Shimshai wrote to Arterxerxes, king of Persia.

Rahum and Shimshai were administrative officers overseeing the Samarian and areas west of the Euphrates river that were regions of the Persian conquests.

At the time of the letter, Jerusalem was being rebuilt  under the authorization of Cyrus king of Persia.

Rahum and Shimshai were concerned that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would create a problem because of the history of sedition and  rebellion against rulers.

They felt that once Jerusalem was completed, the people therein would cease paying tribute and establish a platform for resistance.

In their letter to king Arterxerxes, they urged him to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Artaxeres concurred which them and issued an order to have the construction efforts stopped.

The rebuilding of Jerusalem was thus halted until the time of the reign of the king Darius of Persia.

When we are saved, our souls and minds need to be rebuilt but sometimes, letters are drawn up by the enemies of our souls to delay the reconstruction project in our lives citing our history of rebellion.

We then find ourselves stalled in the process and unable to gain traction in the furtherance of our Christian walk.

It was only until the prophets Haggai and Zacharaiah gave word to start work again that the reconstruction of Jerusalem resumed under the leaders Zerrubabel and Joshua.

The question of the legitimacy of the rebuilding project arose again among the Persian administrators of that region and they approached the leaders of the project to ask them under whose authority they were undertaking the project.

As the work continued, a letter was sent to King Darius of Persia to get verification that the rebuilding of Jerusalem was lawful.

The letter refferenced the original decree issued by King Cyrus that released men and resources to return to Israel to rebuild the temple.

When we find our reconstruction project held up by spiritual resistance, we can wait upon the Lord to hear a word that galvanizes us to resume our rebuilding process. We can get this from prophetic voices in our midst and upon getting our impetus to continue pressing forward, we can reference the original authorization of our salvation that set us free and gave us the resources to rebuild our souls through the finished works of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY IS DECLARED BY THE HEAVENS 

Psalm 19 verse 3 (Amplified version) says this;

There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars]; Their voice is not heard.

In describing how the heavens continuously declare the glory of the Lord and how the skies proclaim the works of God's hands, this verse states that the broadcasts of such knowledge are silent and occur without audible words.

This counterintuitively silent mode of the transmission of knowledge from the heavens to the earth suggests the existence of a discreet spiritual channel that is spiritually discerned and spiritually decoded.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO FREELY OFFERS A COVENANT TO THOSE WHO WOULD BELIEVE

The book of Isaiah chapter 55 verses 3 - 4 says this;

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.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.

This passage, written to those who would believe in the promise of salvation of the Lord, advises them to incline their ear towards God to hear the message of life.

The message is of an eternal covenant that the Lord makes with those who put their  trust in Him and the covenant is through the promise made to king David whose throne was going to be established as the throne for the One to come as ruler and commander.

Those marshalled under the covenant of the  kingship of the promised One will be endowed with the splendor of their God and the whole world will be blessed through them.

As Isaiah chapter 55 verse 5 says;

Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”

There is a limited time during which the covenant may be joined and there are conditions to fulfill in order to join the covenant as spelled out in Isaiah chapter 55 verses  6 - 7;

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Amen.

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