OUR LORD WHO LEADS US

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake." - Psalms 23 verse 1 - 3

The Lord our God is the Prince of Peace and His Kingdom is founded on righteousness.  It is from these two spiritual offices that He can lead us beside "still waters" and that He can lead us in "paths of righteousness". 

The Lord leads  those who know His voice by calling us by name and by ordering our steps so that we can arrive at the places that we are called to.

Amen.

OUR LORD IN WHOM WE HAVE OUR BEING

The Apostle Paul, when he was in Athens, was amazed by the multitude of idols the people of Athens had set up for themselves. 

As he went around preaching about Jesus, the people became curious about what he was saying and he was given an opportunity to stand  and give an explanation of his faith. Following, is the text of his speech where he described the shrine to the "unknown" god that the Athenians had set up as the groping of mankind towards the one  true God. This text is from from the book of Acts chapter 17 verse 22 - 31.

“Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

This  summation of the spiritual state of all the gentile people is an exceptional example of a proposition of multiple axiomatic truths.

"In Him we live and move and have our being" is the centerpiece of this proposition because it is from this understanding of mankind's extraction and dependence on the Most High God that we can derive the correct meaning and proper practice of 'humanness' and our desperate need for salvation.

Amen. 

OUR LORD DWELLS IN UNAPROACHABLE LIGHT

1 Timothy 6 verse 15 - 16 says, "He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Our Lord is the one and only sovereign God. He is the Most High and eternal God. He has absolute control over who can draw near to Him and when. His place of dwelling is beyond a veil of light that no human or spirit or any other creature can even approach. 

That the Lord is even knowable is strictly  a function of His allowance of a sliver of perception. Unless our God permitted it, there is no possible way we would have been able to gain knowledge of the God who made us.

 In Jesus, we have an exact representation of the Father whom we can see and experience. Some people  witnessed Jesus directly when He walked the land of Israel and their testimony informs the rest of us of their experience with God.

God is absolutely unapproachable but through His dear Son Jesus and His sacrifice of His life on the cross for us, we have access to the Father who is the Father of all spirits and who loves us.

Amen.

THE LORD'S BRIDE

The Lord's bride will be presented without spot or wrinkle. She will be the perfect wife as described in Proverbs 31 verse 10 - 31

A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

She rises while it is still night to provide food for her household and portions for her maidservants.

She appraises a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength and shows that her arms are strong.

She sees that her gain is good, and her lamp is not extinguished at night.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household, for they are all clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known at the city gate, where he sits among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants.

Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:

“Many daughters have done noble things, but you surpass them all!” 

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.

This exquisite description of a strong and industrious woman is a template for the nature and conduct of the bride of Christ. She is a blessing to her husband and to everyone around her. 

She attends to the business of her household with diligence and brings value to the lives of all in her sphere of influence.

She appraises a field and buys it. From her earnings,  she plants a vineyard.   

                     - Proverbs 31 verse 16.

This line alludes to the territorial nature of her interests. 

She considers areas where she can expand the kingdom of God and her advances in the spiritual territory are augmented by the acquisition of a vineyard which represents the body of Christ where the Lord is the vine and we are the branches. 

Her clothing is described as linen and purple colored which indicates that she is priestly and royalty.

The bride of Christ is an extraordinary corporate being who exemplifies the nature of the Lord and brings glory to Him all the days of her life.

Amen.

THE LORD IS OUR SHEPHERD

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures   

The Lord locates us in a place best for us.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul;

He finds a space of tranquility for us where He can work on restoring our minds from the ravages of sin.

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

The Lord cultivates righteousness in us so we can function effectively in His Kingdom.

Even though I walk through the valley of the  shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

He will never forsake us so we can follow him fearlessly and do exploits.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

God's Kingdom is ruled in the presence of His enemies and He able to set a feast before us in the presence of His enemies.

You have anointed my head with oil My cup overflows.

The Lord's Spirit stirs us and strengthens us to do the work of the Kingdom of God.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

Putting God's kingdom in our lives first qualifies us to be granted God's sponsorship.

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Serving God's Kingdom on earth continues into the heavens where His sons and daughters shall be with Him forever.

OUR LORD WHO KNOWS US

Our God is truly the Almighty God.  His Kingdom is ruled in the midst of His enemies  as described in  Psalm 110 verse 1 - 2  "A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord:  “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” 

One of the most illuminating aspects of His administrative strength is that He administrates His Kingdom on a person-by-person basis even while those He rules are embedded in a hostile  world that is controlled by His enemies and the enemies of His people. 

With this astounding administrative power, each person is individually known and planned for in the realm of God's Kingdom. As mentioned in Jeremiah 1 verse 5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 

The Kingdom of God is founded on righteousness and thus each member of this Kingdom is routed through a rigorous path of trials and tests  to get each human to a state where they exemplify the righteousness of Jesus. These paths are custom tailored for each  person and a great deal of attention is paid to the progress of each individual.

To effectively make decisions regarding each human being's destiny, a vast store of knowledge about each one must be known. That is why the book of Mathew tells us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

We are individually known by our Lord in heaven to a far greater degree than we generally believe.

Seek to take advantage of the humbling privilege we are offered of knowing Him back.

Amen.

OUR LORD OUR BELOVED FATHER

Our Lord, from whom all spirits spring, has given us the  gift of autonomy in which we can freely live and move and have our being. In this state, we are able to regulate or govern our attitudes and responses to the world around us. Among those attitudes and responses we operate on our own are our perceptions and reactions to God.

In our liberty, our choice to follow God is made by us and  as far as God is able to persuade us to follow Him, He does. He makes His case to us through our own experiences with nature and what other people say about Him and what we are able to derive from scriptural or cultural sources.

He can whisper in our hearts how we need Him and how desperately lost we are without Him.

Along the way, we may refuse to heed the pleading of God and eventually we won't even feel the pulls  on our hearts any more. 

On the other hand,  if we become aware of our own sinful ways and feel convicted of them,  we can reach a point in our lives where we are convinced that the salvation offered by God is the right way for us. If we choose this path, we are set on a course of getting to personally know our God and beloved Father  who made all things including us.

When we feel our hearts being pulled to follow God, we should respond positively  to that call.

Amen.

OUR GOD OF MERCY 

The Lord is good. He is patient and generous. He draws us to Himself even though we are stubborn and selfcentered.

The Lord died for us even while we were yet sinners. His longsuffering allows us a chance to change our minds and repent and turn to Him.

In His great mercy, He accepts us with great joy and celebrates us with shouts of gladness. He then gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit who enlivens or quickens us to live in the Spirit where we can participate in the kingdom of God.

Bless our wonderful Lord.

Amen.

ETERNAL MESSIAH

You are the great and eternal Messiah

You died for us and did ascend

From everlasting to everlasting 

Your Kingdom will never end (x 2 )(x 3)

  To our Saviour our voices we bring

   It is with grateful hearts we sing  ( x 3)

   

OUR LORD OF GREAT POWER

The Lord of heaven and earth is a mighty ruler. There is no part of existence that is not sustained by Him. 

His great power is displayed in the natural world from the vastness of the universe to the wonders of life on earth.

There is none like Him. As the scriptures say: 

‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,    - Jeremiah 32 verse 17.

Amen.

 THE LORD WHO HEALS US

Thank you Lord for your mercy and for your promise of healing over us for by your stripes we are healed.

Thank you Lord for your intervention on our behalf to heal us of our diseases and our infirmities. Thank you for restoring to us what the enemy has stolen. 

Bless Your holy name.

Amen.

 THE LORD IS OUR DELIVERER

In times of trouble, the Lord is able to save us and in times of catastrophe, our Lord is able to restore us.

Our Lord is watchful over His children and cares for us.

Praise His holy name.

Amen. 

OUR LORD KNOWS OUR NEEDS BEFORE WE ASK

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. -Mathew 6 verse 8

The Lord knows when every sparrow falls and our every hair on our heads are numbered.

With this exacting attention to detail, the Lord could not be unaware of what you need. 

If you put first the Kingdom of God, the Lord will add all other things to you based on His acute understanding of the things you need in your life.

Praise Him who provides for His people.

Amen

OUR LORD WATCHES OVER US

Our Lord is the Good Shepherd. He guides us and keeps watch over us. His Angels are encamped around us.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.

                                 - Psalm 34 verse 15

The Lord treasures the righteous and even their deaths are precious in His sight.

 O saints of God, bless and treasure the Lord for He is Good.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO ANSWERS PRAYER

In the book of 1 Samuel, the story of a woman named Hannah is told. She was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah. Peninnah, the other wife, had lots of children while Hannah, had none. 

Peninnah made it her business to taunt Hannah over this disparity and as this went on for many years, Hannah was driven to despair.

As tormented as she felt, Hannah maintained decorum and did not respond in kind to Peninnah. Instead, she prayed fervently to God at the temple. She poured out her heart to Him and when Eli, the High Priest of the temple heard her quiet lament, He prayed for her.

Hannah, before long, got pregnant and had  the long awaited  son whom she called Samuel. 

The Lord answers the prayers of His people. 

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO FORGIVES US

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. 

                       -  Lamentations 3 verse 22

The Lord is patient with His children and He forgives them as they forgive others who sin against them.  

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.   -   1 John 1 verse 9

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO SETS US FREE

I call upon the One who died upon the tree for me.

Who poured His blood and gave His life to make a way for me

It is You I call for

You I sing for

You paid to set me free

It is you I cry to

You I pray to

You who made me see

Great King of heaven, Mighty Saviour

The veil on earth did rend

You are the One eternal Father

Whose kingdom will not end.

OUR LORD WHO IS OUR EXAMPLE

The Lord Jesus lived among us is such a way that His life could be a perfect model for what our own lives could consist of.

Jesus's life demonstrated humility, servitude, friendship, loyalty, charity, morality, fear of God, graciousness, forgiveness, steadfastness, strength, patience, tenderheartedness, defence of the weak against the strong.

Jesus would minister to people making sure that they were tended to. He would heal them and encourage them. He placed other people above His own needs like rest and His own convenience.

Jesus served people first especially when they humbly asked Him for help. 

Jesus is our example. When interacting with people, we must put their needs above our own.

We must always interact with people in the spirit so as to be aware of opportunities of service that our God provides.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO TEACHES US

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.       -  Luke 24 verse 13

In this exquisite story about the Lord Jesus meeting with some followers after His resurrection, the two men are described as foolish because they had not been able to put together the words of scripture and the recent events they were lamenting about.

Jesus personally explained the purpose of the scriptures and how they referred to Him, the Messiah. Jesus taught them the mysteries hidden in plain sight for all eternity to bring these two men out of foolishness and into the understanding unto salvation.

Amen.

THE LORD OUR CONFIDANTE

The Lord listens to our cries and hears our sorrows. 

He concerns himself with our troubles and when we pour out our hearts to Him, He remembers  our frailties . As the scriptures say, Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.  - Psalm 62 verse 8

Amen.

 OUR LORD SHINES THE WAY

My Lord, you shine the way

By your righteousness and your life

We who sat in darkness saw a great light

   Halelluyah: Thy light has come

    Halelluyah: Thy will be done

Amen

OUR LORD IS A CONQUERER

The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

The LORD will stretch out Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies." 

                                - Psalm 110 verse 1 - 2

The Lord Jesus, gave up His life unto death and He was killed by the Roman authorities in the same way they would kill a violent criminal.

In such ignominious circumstances, even a keen observer could be excused for considering the whole mission of Jesus to be a massive defeat.

His loyal disciples went back to fishing  as they accessed that the cause they had recently given their lives to had abruptly ended.

What was not understood, was that the dismal failure of the promised kingdom of God was disguising a spectacular victory in the spiritual realm. 

Jesus, instead of defeat, amassed a gigantic reversal when He made a public spectacle of the powers of darkness as He conquered them in their own domain. He rose from the dead in a blinding light show bringing forth the people who He had released from darkness as first fruits of His resurection.

He was crowned as the victorious conquering monarch of heaven and earth where He was seated at the right hand of God. From this lofty throne, Jesus's strong authority was set over His kingdom in the midst of His enemies. In other words, He would successfully rule His kingdom even though it started out in the earthly terrain alongside the kingdom  of darkness that was hostile to it.

Jesus conquered death and hades and shone forth in victory. He, by His wonderful grace, made us inherit His victory which made us more than conquerors as defined in the great chapter 8 of the book of Romans verse 37.  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 

Amen.

THE LORD WHO DOES ALL THINGS WELL

They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”  - Mark 7 verse 37

Jesus, while ministering to the people, orchestrated the gatherings and the healings that occurred in a way that exuded goodness and competence.

When the Lord God made the universe and all that was in it, He saw that it was good.  At the primordial construction of creation, God did all things well. When Jesus was working in human form among people, His nature of doing all things well continued with him.

Our Lord does all things well.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO REJOICES OVER US

The Lord paid a high price for those who would voluntarily give their lives to Him.

For those of us who repent and turn to him with contrite hearts, He embraces us and meticulously works to extricate us from the entanglements of our sins. 

Each one that He has, He rejoices over with singing and shouts of joy.

The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.   -  Zephania 3 verse 17

Praise God who treasures those of His who trust in Him.

Amen.

THE LORD OUR JUDGE

The Lord our God has perfect knowledge and His judgements are fully informed and are fully just.

From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—when you, God, rose up to judge to save all the afflicted of the land.

                                  - Psalm 76 verse 8 - 9

Our God is the ultimate judge over all things over all time.

Praise and honor to His name forever.

Amen.

OUR LORD IS OUR REST

“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.”         - Mathew 11 verse 28 - 30

A gift that  the Lord gives us is the gift of rest. Whereas spirits can search to and fro seeking rest and not finding it, we who are children God are given inner rest so that we can be refreshed and revived.

We are granted rest for our spirits so that we can be renewed daily in our pursuit of our Lord and His kingdom.

Praise our God.

Amen.

 THE LORD'S  EVERLASTING ARMS

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

      Leaning, leaning,

      Safe and secure from all alarms;

      Leaning, leaning,

      Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

I have peace complete with my Lord so near,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

 THE LORD'S WONDERFUL NAME

I will praise the name of Him who died

Now lives forever

Jesus lives forever

He shines brighter than the sun

He shines forever

Jesus shines forever

Chorus:

We call upon His wonderful name; JESUS !

We call upon His mighty name; JESUS !

THE LORD OUR MAKER AND OUR FATHER

God is our maker in that He made the  bodies of our progenitor out of clay and He made the human soul. It was into this construction that God breathed that made Adam a living being.

Whereas God made us all in our corporeal and soulish selves, our spirits come from Him and He is thus the Father of our spirits.

As the bible says; Moreover,  we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!     - Hebrews 12 verse 9

Before we are born again, with our spirit selves dead in sin, we are not able to approach God as Father because we are only alive in body and soul which is the "made" part of us. We can only correctly call God, "our maker".

However, when we are born again, our spirits are made alive and now we are able to call God,  "Abba, Father".

As it says in scripture ; The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” - Romans 8 verse 15

We who are believers in Jesus are able to call our God, "Our maker and our Father".

How wonderful He is. 

Amen.

THE LORD OUR GOD DELIGHTS IN US

The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

                                -  Psalm 147 verse 11

The Lord sees all those who seek Him with humble hearts and those who are contrite before Him.

He is moved by their gestures and His favor is directed to them with tenderness. 

As His people grow in their knowledge and love for Him, He delights in them and takes pleasure in relating with them.

Let us seek God with sincere and grateful hearts for He delights in us.

Amen.

THE LORD IS OUR SHIELD 

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.  - Psalm 28 verse 7

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

                                  - Psalm 84 verse 11

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.       - Psalm 18 verse 2

Amen.