OUR FATHER WHO MADE A WAY FOR FOREIGN NATIONS TO BE SAVED

In the book of Isaiah chapter 56 verse 7, the Lord, speaking of the foreigners who:

•  Bind themselves to the Lord
•  Minister to him
•  Love the name of the Lord
•  Serve the Lord
•  Keep the Sabbath pure
•  And adhere to His covenant,

says this;

these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

In this verse, the gentiles  or foreigners who pursued the things of God were promised access to the Lord's holy mountain and the gift of joy in His house of prayer.

The offerings and sacrifices they made would be registered and accepted  on the altar of God because, the Lord said, His house would be called a house of prayer for all nations.

In fact, this is the verse that the Lord Jesus referenced when He chased the money changers out of the temple because in the context of the verse, the temple was to be sustained in reverence for it was a house of prayer to which all people on earth could come but it was instead,  being maintained as a trading floor for speculative currency buying and selling which turned the holy temple of God into a den of thieves.

When Jesus chased out the money changers from the temple, He was clearing it in preparation for the nations who were going to be inducted into the family of God when they believed on the Lord Jesus and the sacrifice of His life on a cross to pay for the sins of the world.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO LOVES US 

The book of Isaiah chapter 55 verse 3 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.

The Lord, in kindness, invites people to come to Him for He provides water to the thirsty and food for the hungry.

To those who come to Him, He counsels them to incline their spiritual ear toward Him so that they may hear Him and in hearing, their soul may live.

The Lord will make an eternal covenant with those who hear Him and it will be a covenant of the Lord's faithful and steadfast love that was promised to King David.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO IS THE ONLY GOD

The book of Isaiah chapter 44 verse 9 says this;

All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.

The Lord, speaking to His people, cautions them against the making and affirming of idols.

The Lord, in Isaiah chapter 44 verse 6 asserts to His people that He is the only God;

I am the first and I am the last;  apart from me there is no God.

If the Lord is the supreme God, why should His people indulge in the work of idol makers? 

Mere humans build idols out of stone and wood and then claim that their creations are worthy to be bowed down to and worshipped yet even the Lord, with vast expances of knowledge, knows of no other god beside Himself saying in Isaiah chapter 44 verse 8;

You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT A MESSENGER AHEAD OF HIS SON

In the book of Matthew chapter 11 verse 9, the Lord Jesus, speaking to the crowd about John the Baptist and what had drawn them to listen to him, asked and answered this question;

Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 

The question posed to the crowd about John the Baptist was what had attracted the people out to the wilderness to hear him?

They had not been drawn by a reed swaying in the wind because no one would have ventured into the harsh environment to listen to the opinions of a man that changed direction with the wind.

They had not gone out seeking a person with political power dressed in the fine clothing of kings and governors. If that is what they had been looking for, they would not have gone to the desert to find him but rather to the palaces in the urban centers of power.

Jesus asked, so if not these things, what compelled the people into the treacherous terrain to listen John? 

Jesus identifies the reason: a prophet. 

The gravity of a prophet speaking the words of God in the desert was the only power that could pull people out of their comfort zones into the discomfort of the wilderness.

The Lord Jesus said that John was such a prophet and that he was even more than a prophet because it was him of whom it was written, in the book of Malachi chapter 3 verse 1;

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’

This verse contains the words of the Father speaking to the Son about the one who would be sent to herald the sudden arrival of the Lord at His temple.

Amen.

OUR FATHER FROM WHOM OUR HELP COMES

From Psalm 79

Help us, God our Savior

Take away our shame

Forgive us and deliver us

For the glory of Your name

Then we who are Your people

Will glory in Your grace

From generation to generation

We will proclaim Your praise.

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OUR FATHER WHO SAVED US

From Psalm 44 

We have heard it for ourselves

The bible tells us so

What You did to save us Lord

In days long ago

Not by our strength nor our deeds

Nor by what we could say

But by Your right hand, the light of Your face

By Your love  we were  saved 

OUR FATHER WHO RESPONDS TO THE DISTRESS OF HIS PEOPLE

Psalm18 verse 13 says this;

The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

Psalm 18 verse 30 says this;

As for God, his way is perfect:  The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

The Psalmist describes God's response when His own call out to Him in distress.

God moves under the guise of weather events, with lightening, wind, hail and cloud cover as his instruments. His thunder resounds from heaven.

All the Lord's ways are perfect and His word is flawless. Those who call upon His name and run to Him for refuge are shielded by Him.

As Psalm 18 verse 31 says;

For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT IS FEARSOME

Isaiah chapter 33 verses 11 - 12 says this;

You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.

The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”

The prophet Isaiah describes the Lord God of Israel arising in judgement over the whole earth.

A strange pronouncement is made over the people where they will conceive chaff and give birth to straw and that their own breath will be a fire that will consume them.

This passage is mirrored in Mathew chapter 3 verses 11 - 12, in the words of John the Baptist, which say;

 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

The one of whom John speaks is Jesus and He is the one who will gather His wheat into the barn and the chaff, who are people produced by the work of His enemies to contaminate the wheat crop, are burned to ashes in an unquenchable fire.

Mathew chapter 12 verse 37, capturing words that the Lord Jesus spoke the religious leaders of His time, says this;

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

This appears to mirror the phrase that reads "your breath is a fire that consumes you".

Fearsome is the day of the Lord's judgement.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE DAY OF JUDGMENT APPROACHES

The book of Joel chapter 3 verse 9 says this;

Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors!

Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

This verse is an instruction from the Lord to His prophets to move among the nations and announce to His people to prepare for war and to stir up the warriors to move close the enemy and strike them.

Remembering that the Lord will be ruling his people while they are embedded in the midst of His enemies, this instruction is to go out among the nations to reach those who are the Lord's people and rouse them into a posture of combat.

With urgency, the people are strengthened, they are told to turn their implements of peacetime into weapons of war.

The day of judgement approaches rapidly with millions in the valley of decision as Joel chapter 3 verse 14 says;

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO COUNSELS DISCRETION

Isaiah chapter 39 verse 4 says this;

The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

King Hezekiah had been sick for a while but had eventually convalensed and a prince from Babylon sent some envoys with letters and a gift over his recovery.

Reciprocating to what he thought was a kind gesture, Hezekiah took the Babylonian envoys on a tour of his palace, the treasure house, the storehouses and the armories of Israel.

Isaiah the prophet heard of the visitors and went to the king and asked him what the men had said and where they had come from.

Hezekiah replied that they had come from Babylon to which Isaiah asked, "What did they see in your palace?"

Hezekiah answered that the guests had seen everything in his palace as well as all the treasures.

Isaiah the prophet then delivered the bad news telling king Hezekiah that there was a day coming where everything he had shown the Babylonian envoys would be carried off to Babylon along with the people of Israel some of whom would be Hezekiah's own descendants.

This was the terrible eventuallity that resulted from king Hezekiah's disclosure of Israel's treasures and resources.

When entrusted with the hidden matters of a kingdom, we must diligently restrain ourselves so as not to reveal them to a rival or antagonist even if they seem well meaning.

Amen. 

OUR FATHER WHO FORMED US AND CHOSE US

Isaiah chapter 44 verses 1 - 2 says this;

“But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.

This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you:

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,  Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

In this passage, Isaiah the prophet addresses the people of Israel as Jacob which the name of their forefather and these were the people whom the Lord had chosen.

Jacob himself can be understood to represent the believer because he was the offspring of God's promise to Abraham who was Isaac.

The words spoken to Jacob can thus be read to be addressed to us believers in Christ for we were chosen and then were born again into the promise.

The Lord promised that He will help us and that we should not be afraid for even when we are parched, the Lord will pour living water on us and it will flow out of us like rivers to supply and replenish all our people with life.

As Isaiah chapter 44 verses 3 - 4 says;

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO REIGNS IN GLORY

From Psalm 97

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;

 Let the distant shores rejoice

Fire goes before Him

Lightning lights up the world

The heavens proclaim His righteousness

All the people see Your glory

You are exalted far above all gods

All the people see Your glory

Righteous and just is Your throne

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OUR FATHER WHO MADE HIS SALVATION KNOWN

From Psalm 98

Burst into jubilant song before Him

Shout for joy all the earth

Make exuberant music for Him

Remember His marvelous works

He has made His salvation known

So let the great oceans roar

Righteousness to the nations shown

The whole world rejoice in the Lord

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OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDED FOR OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

The book of Galatians chapter 3 verses1 - 5 says this;

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 

The Apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Galatia, is aghast at their reversion to the tenets of the law as the code by which they live. 

He asks, "Who has bewitched you?" For the believers to exchange the belief that they had in the gospel for the works of the Law, Paul declared that it must have been spell that had been cast upon them.

Paul presses the point by asking them if it was by their performing the works of the law that  they had received the Spirit.

He incredulously asks them if what they started in the Spirit, they would now complete in the flesh. Were the miracles that had have been done in their midst been inspired by the works of the law?

The Apostle was grieved by the absurdity that the Galatians had embraced. They had started in their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and knew that He had been crucified but yet now they had jettisoned that faith in the one who was crucified to fulfil all the law in favor of keeping the letter of the law as their religious practice.

They had discarded their faith in Jesus's power to make them righteous to undertake the fulfillment of the law that merely condemned them.

Have mercy on us.

 

OUR FATHER WHO GIVES COUNSEL TO HIS PEOPLE IN THE FACE OF DISASTER

The book of Joel chapter 1 verses 7 - 9 says this;

It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.

Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord.

The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord.

An invasion of locusts into the land brings catastrophic ruin as described by the prophet Joel. Wave after wave of locusts arrive to destroy the Lord's territory. The Lord calls them an invading nation with a massive army whose fangs are like those of lions.

The Lord's vines are ruined and His fig trees are stripped down to bare wood.

The Lord counsels His people to mourn bitterly because there is no more opportunity to bring grain and drink offerings to the Lord's house. The priests who serve the Lord are not exempt from mourning.

All the people of the Lord's land, in the face of total destruction, are given a prescription of:

• Dressing in sackcloth
• Fasting
• Solemn assemblies
• Calling elders and all to the Lord's house
• Crying to the Lord

The invasion of locusts swarming into the land is reminiscent of the locusts described in the book of  Revelation chapter 9 verses 7 - 8 which says this;

 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.

Notwithstanding their similar appearance, the distinction between the locust swarm of Joel and the locust swarm of Revelation is that in Joel, they are destroying the Lord's land while in Revelation, they are bringing agony to the people who are not servants of God.

This army, whose king is named Abaddon or Apollyon, is a bringer of destruction according to the will of the Lord whether to His own house or to those who serve darkness.

As Joel chapter 1 verse 15 says, 

Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER COUNSELS CONTROL OF OUR WORDS

Mathew chapter 14 verse 9 says this;

The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 

This verse describes the moment when king Herod, having publically promised his step-daughter anything she wished, was informed that she wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

King Herod found himself in a political quandary.  He had imprisoned John the Baptist but had dared not kill him because the people believed John was a prophet from God but now, he had boastfully declared that he would grant anything his stepdaughter wished and she asked for John to be killed.

Herod could not retract his promise.

His hand had been forced by his own words and he had to order that John the Baptist be executed even though it was a politically dangerous action to take.

As James chapter 3 verses 4 - 6 says;

Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Lord have mercy on us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 8.

The author of the book of Hebrews concludes with a benediction in chapter 13 verses 20 - 21 that reads this way;

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The astonishing doctrinal point revealed in this request to God to bless those who would read his letter, is that the Lord Jesus, our great shepherd, was Himself brought back from the dead by the Father through the blood of the eternal covenant that the Lord Jesus Himself shed.

Further to that, the writer asks God the Father to equip those to whom he writes with all the necessary tools by which they could do His will and he also asks God to do the work in them to reveal in them what is pleasing to God through the Lord Jesus. 

The writer then adds some notes in verses 22 and 23 saying this;

Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.

I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

As a postscript, the author entreats his readers to patiently hear out his exhortation to them because even though it is a fairly lengthy and densely written work,  it is a brief  treatment of an otherwise very voluminous subject.

He then mentions that his brother Timothy had been released from prison and that if he arrived soon, they would both come to see the people to whom the letter was addressed.

By calling Timothy a brother, we could conclude that the author of the book was not Paul of Tarsus as is traditionally believed but rather was a student of Paul's who had inherited Paul's mantel of doctrinal exposition and was a peer of Timothy.

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 7.

The book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 19 says this;

I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

The writer of Hebrews, after asking the recipients of his letter for prayers to uphold him to be able to continue with a clear conscience and be honorable in every area of his life, asks them, even more pressingly, to pray that he be restored or returned to them soon. 

The urgency of this request points to some circumstance where he was far away from those to whom he wrote and that he had been unable to be with them. 

Also indicated is the fact that he strongly wished to be among them but he knew that he needed the power of the prayers of the saints to change the situation so that he could overcome the hindrances and be restored to them quickly.

This request models the practice of asking for prayers from other believers when we are faced with challenges and need to have obstacles removed from our path.

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 6.

The book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 18 says this;

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

The author of Hebrews, reaching the end of his letter, asks those to whom he is writing, to pray for him and his ministry team.

He tells them that he and his team are sure that their consciences are clear and they want to live honorably in every way.

The prayer request is for help in maintaining sincerity and a clean conscience and also the wisdom to be honorable in all the areas of their lives.

To sustain our lives in this way , supporting prayers of the saints  are needed so that the servants of the Lord are not tripped up.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 5.

Hebrews chapter 13 verses 15 - 17 continues this way;

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Keeping in mind that the Lord Jesus, by shedding His blood and suffering so greatly, qualified us for the eternal city, we are encouraged to continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise which the writer describes as the natural outflow of lips that publically identify with Jesus.

As for our conduct in our communities, we are reminded to do good and share what we have with other people because such sacrifices please God who Himself laid out so great a sacrifice for us.

As well, we are counseled to submit to the authority of the leaders the Lord places over us. They, by virtue of their callings, are accountable to the Lord for those they have been given charge over. Being in submission to them makes their responsibility over us a joy and not a tiresome burden. 

The writer, understatedly, makes it clear that being a burden to those who will held to account for us, would be of no advantage or benefit to us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 4.

Hebrews chapter 13 verses 11 - 14 continues with these words;

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 

And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.

 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

This passage mentions the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle where the blood of animals was taken for a sin offering as defined in the old covenant but the writer brings our attention to the fact that the bodies of the animals from where the blood came, were taken outside the camp gate where they were burned.

He then draws the comparison between the bodies of the animals being burned outside the camp and the way that the Lord Jesus suffered on the cross outside the city of Jerusalem. This suffering in His body was the means provided by which people who trust in Him are made holy through His blood.

We are then exhorted to leave the city and be with Jesus outside the gate to share in His suffering and the disgrace which He bore. 

Whatever disgrace we bear in the city here, we must keep in mind that it is not an enduring city and our eyes are on the eternal city to which we go.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 3.

Proceeding with Hebrews chapter 13, we take up verses 8 - 10 which read this way;

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. 

We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

The author of Hebrews teaches us that the eternal Lord Jesus is forever the same. That the power that He had in the past is the same power that He has now and the same power that He will have for all eternity.

The Lord is therefore able to save, protect and sustain all those who are His through all time and in every place.

We are then advised not to get caught up in weird doctrines and theologies.

An example is given where the correct teaching was supposed to be that our hearts were strengthened by grace but it was going around that hearts could be strengthened by eating ceremonial foods from the altar in the earthly tabernacle which the writer says offer no advantage or benefit to those who ate these foods.

We are then shown a mystery where we, believers in Jesus, have a spiritual altar to which we have access and to which even those with the privilege of eating at the earthly altar have no right.

The case that the writer is making here is that those who have access to the high altar are strengthened and have no need of anything from the earthly altar and so teachings that lead us to seek such foods are strange and unprofitable.

Amen. 

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO Part 2.

Continuing with Hebrews chapter 13 verses 5 - 7, we read this;

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 

The writer of Hebrews instructs us to expell the love of money from our lives.

He gives scriptural support for this position. 

First, he lays out Deutronomy chapter 31 verse 6 which says “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

This reference reminds us not to build security in our lives based on the accumulation of money because God's faithfulness is our security guaranteed by His promise to never abandon us.

Second, Psalm 18 verse 6 says, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"

This verse speaks to the advantage of having God in our corner. Loving money for the protection and stability that it offers us is pointless when the Lord is with us. Money can acquire security systems and influence but even those can be thwarted by mortals. However, who can thwart the God of heaven and earth.

We are also encouraged to consider the lives of the leaders who brought the gospel to us and see how their way of life brought them outcomes of honor and   praiseworthiness because of their faith in God rather than in money.

If the Lord preserved them while they had little or nothing, He is eternally capable and He can certainly preserve us now.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES US THE WAY WE SHOULD GO

The book of Hebrews chapter 13 verses 1 - 4 says this;

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 

As the author of Hebrews begins his concluding chapter, he touches on a few items to exort his audience.

He instructs  us to continue loving one another as brothers and sisters such that  we treat each other as members of our own family.

He reminds us to always welcome and show hospitality to all strangers and he gives some added incentive to do so by mentioning that of  the strangers we are gracious towards, some may prove to be angels as others have experienced.

We are encouraged to remember those in prison and those being mistreated by identifying with their imprisonment and their suffering as though we ourselves were undergoing the same conditions.

The institution of marriage is brought up as one to honor and we are to refrain from polluting it for the judgement of God shall be on those whose conduct is contrary to the purity of marriage.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO DISCIPLINES US part 2

Continuing with the book of Hebrews chapter 12, verses 6 - 7 say this;

because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

This passage in Hebrews starts with a reference to the book of Proverbs chapter 3 verse 12 which says;

because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in (NIV).

This proverb reveals that the Lord takes deliberate steps to discipline those He delights in as a means of training his children in the way they should go.

The passage also reveals that there is no one whom the Lord has accepted as a son who is exempt from the Lord's chastening.

The writer of Hebrews advises us to endure any hardship as the discipline of the Lord and to remember that it is evidence to us that the Lord has enfolded us into His family as children who are under the guidance of their Father.

 Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO DISCIPLINES US

The  book of Hebrews chapter 12 verses 13 - 14 says this;

 “and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

The context here is that the author of Hebrews is instructing believers to understand hardship in their lives as discipline from the Lord. It is explained that any earthy father disciplines his son and so likewise, the Lord disciplines any son He accepts and loves.

With this in mind, believers are exorted to make level paths for their feet so that the lame may not be disabled but rather healed.

This means that under the discipline of God, the believers will have their weaknesses strengthened and  their injuries healed and straighted so that they will be able to walk in the path they should go.

As Psalm 32 verse 8 says;

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

As well, believers are encouraged to live in peace with everyone even while under the discipline of the Lord and we are to grow in holiness because holiness is the currency by which men can see God and if we never grow into holiness, we will never see the Lord.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GIVES US RIGHTS IN HIS KINGDOM BUT PERMITS US TO FORFEIT THOSE RIGHTS FOR ADDED PARTICIPATION IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 11 says this;

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 

The apostle Paul, writing to the people at Corinth among whom he had laboured to plant spiritual seeds, asks them if in all the ways he had served them, it was too much to expect some material support from them.

Paul asserts (with strong reasons) that he did in fact have the right to expect material support from those he ministered to as he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 12;

If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

In this verse, Paul continues by inverting his case and telling the Corinthians that even though he could have rightly obligated them to financially support him, he declined to do so so that his own requirements would not be  the reason why the gospel's spread was hindered.

Paul put up with the difficulties of having a full-time job while meeting the demands of a full-time ministry in order to support himself and thus have no burden to place on the people of Corinth.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS PLEASED BY FAITH

Hebrews chapter 11 verses 3 - 4 says this;

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 

This passage expounds on the nature of faith by recalling the events of the creation of the universe that was initiated by God's command and the seen world materialized out of what was not visible.

This is the baseline for what the writer of Hebrews spoke of;

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Here, we are shown that faith is parallel to the act of bringing what is seen out of what is not seen.

If we recall that  "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." as recorded in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6, we then understand that Abel, in diligently seeking God, brought a better offering than his brother Cain did and it pleased the Lord because Abel believed that God existed and that His efforts were not futile but would be rewarded even though there was no visible manifestation of the one to whom he brought the offering.

When Abel's faith caused his sacrifice to be accepted by God, his brother Cain, who did not believe in the invisible God, rose up and killed Abel. When Cain was questioned later about Abel, he claimed that he did not know which clarifies that he did not believe in the invisible God because if he did, he would have known that his actions against Abel would not have gone unseen.

Abel's faith, an eternal substance, substantiated him out of the invisible realm so that he could speak even when dead.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHO MADE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 says this;

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

This verse unequivically  attributes to God the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Not only does does this reveal the Lord's power and skill  as creator of the heavens and the earth, it also establishes that the Lord owns the earth and everything in it.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO CREATED THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING IN IT

Isaiah chapter 45 verse 9 says this;

“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,    those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say,  ‘The potter has no hands’?

This verse pinpoints a particular kind of people who presume to question the creator in His creative studio about what He has made. 

To illustrate the absurdity of the scenario, the Lord uses a metaphor of a potter in his potter's studio having to listen to broken pieces of pottery that litter the studio floor yelling up to him to second-guess his endeavors and to accuse the potter of having no hands.

Whereas potters never have to endure criticism from broken pieces of their own work, the Lord God, who made all things that are, has people  whom He has made, quarrelling with Him, and voicing their disrespect for Him and even doubting His role in their existences.

To those, the Lord, in Isaiah chapter 45 verse 12, declares His Bona Fides.

It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens;  I marshaled their starry hosts.

The vastness of space and the intricacy of the earth and all its inhabitants are His work. The workmanship involved is beyond any human being's comprehension or even conception and certainly beyond any human being's stature to critique.

Amen.

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