OUR LORD WHO DIRECTS OUR STEPS

The Lord our God sees all things and knows all things. Having a counselor and an advisor who know every possible scenario we can face is truly a great advantage. If we trust in Jesus to be our saviour and then surrender our  lives to Him to be our Lord,  we are subscribing to His sovereign rulership over our lives. 

Even though we sense that we are making our own decisions pertaining to our lives, the Lord directs our steps.

As it says in Psalm 16 verse 9,   "A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps".

This concept is backed up by Proverbs 19 verse 21 - “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

He takes great pleasure is the moment-by-moment events in the lives of those who are subject to Him and though we sometimes stumble, He holds our hands and sets us on our feet.

This dynamic is described in Psalm 37 verse 23 - 24 - “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

In the book of Isaiah chapter 48 verse 17  the scriptures confirm again,  'This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you who directs you in the way you should go."'

Bless the Lord who teaches us and guides us.

Amen.

OUR LORD AS OUR FRIEND

John 15 verse15 -  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

In this passage, Jesus promotes His disciples from servants to friends. The proof of this friendship is that He made known to them all that He had from His Father. He brought them into the loop.

John 15 verse 13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Here, the Lord  defines the highest form of love as the act where a man lays down His life for His friends. This is in fact what Jesus was about to do when He surrendered Himself to be crucified. 

However, this sacrifice was for His friends that love was involved. Jesus was also going to the cross for people who were His enemies and who were calling for His death. This is well beyond  love and into the state of absolute obedience of Jesus  to His Father.

John 15 verse 14 - Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 

In this verse, Jesus conflates friendship with him as obedience to His commandments. This is the same obedience that He demonstrated toward His Father. To have friendship with Jesus, we must be ready to obey Him. 

James 2 verse 23 - And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

This verse in the book of  James describes friendship with God as being the effect  of faith in God that results in righteousness.

Proverbs 18 verse 24 - A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

This verse in the book of proverbs speaks of a type of friend that sticks closer than any brother. There are regular friends but there is a singular person who is a lifelong  friend who  outlasts our own brothers in His loyalty to us.

This friend is the Lord Jesus who died for us to redeem us and then sticks with us through thick and thin throughout our lives with Him.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO DRAWS US TO HIMSELF

The predicament facing the human race is that we are in a state of  falleness and heading toward eternal damnation. Even though we know we do things that are wicked and participate in shameful things, we don't know that our wicked deeds have conjoined us to a fate of  the horror of living under the rulership of the kingdom of  evil forever.

Each one of us would have gone through life trying to figure our why we felt lost and pointless and then only at the end, realise that our fate was to permanently remain in a kingdom of darkness that was hateful and hostile to us humans.

The only hope we had was that there was saviour somewhere who cared about us and was willing to undertake the unimaginable price to redeem us out of the kingdom of darkness to which we were eternally consigned.

It turns out that there was such a saviour. He, having paid the price of allowing himself to be scurged  and crucified in our place, now had the monumental task of persuading us to believe in what had been done for our sake. He would have to draw human beings to Himself so that we would reach the point where we could consider His offer of salvation. Otherwise, we humans,  being what we are, would instantly dismiss the notion.

As Jesus said in John 12 verse 31 - 32, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

Those who internally  feel drawn to Him, are brought to a fork in the road.  Here,  we can chose  either to believe in what is claimed He did for us or to reject the claim.

Rejecting the  claim is, essentially declaring that we want to be left to our own devices to figure our own way to save ourselves or, that we did not think we were in imminent danger to begin with.

On the other hand, believing in Him for what He had done for us becomes the passport out of the kingdom of darkness to which, hithertofore, we belonged as participating citizens. This passport of belief in this saviour becomes the entry visa into His kingdom of light where we are transformed into citizens of the kingdom of light.

If you are drawn to Jesus and find yourself at the fork in the road, chose the road that leads towards belief in Jesus for this path was paved at the high cost of the saviour's blood and death on a cross. This road leads to life and life everlasting.

The other road has had no price paid. It is a broad path upon which anyone  can freely  travel with no constraints or caution. It, however, though otherwise advertised, leads to certain destruction.

Choose life.

Amen.

OUR LORD BRINGS US OUT OF DARKNESS

Job was God's servant who was faithful to His Lord.

As part of his pilgrimage on earth, Job was appointed to go through a refiner's test that would publicly demonstrate his faithfulness to God.

Job endured extreme hardships where he suddenly  lost all his property, his status, his family and ultimately, his health.

As he sat in an ash heap scratching his painful skin disease with pieces of broken pottery,  Job almost  despaired. 

He sought to unravel the reason for his calamitous misfortune. In the depth of his sorrow, He concluded that his only hope was that in the end, He would see His God with his own eyes as he exclaims in this exquisite passage in Job 19 verse 25 -27, 

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,  

 And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.

Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God;

Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another.

 My heart faints within me!"

In the darkest moments of his life, Job was overwhelmed with the poinant assurance that  his Redeemer would stand on the earth and Job would see Him in person.

After this experience, the Lord restored light to Job's life after his season of darkness and Job rejoiced in His God and  lived till he was full of years.

The Lord brings us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO DELIGHTS IN US

The Lord our God delights in those who are His and whom He has saved.

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."   - Zephania 3 verse 17

He cherishes those who are child-like in trust and faith towards Him.

Amen

OUR LORD SHINES BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN

Following is part of Paul the Apostle's  account of his experience that he testified before King Aggrippa who was trying to decide what crime Paul was guilty of. 

Paul described the incident that occurred on the road to Damascus that changed the course of his life. 

"While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’"  - Acts 26 verse 12 - 14

Thus did Saul ( soon to be Paul ), experience an encounter with the Lord Jesus.

The salient section is the description of the appearance of Jesus as light from heaven which was brighter than the sun. 

The glory of God was made manifest as a brilliant light that out-shone the midday sun that resulted in the temporary blinding of Paul.

This blinding light is characteristic of the appearance of Jesus when he is not in a veiled state. Jesus most frequently appeared in a veiled state where he would easily be mistaken for an ordinary person. 

Examples of such appearances are when he appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb and she thought He was the gardener. Another event was when Jesus appeared to the two men on the road to Emaus where Jesus walked alongside the men for a while and they mistook Him for a random person.

In some cases however, Jesus appeared in blinding light and that was the life-changing event that Paul experienced.

The scriptures say, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

                         - Isaiah 60 verse 1 - 3

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO MADE ALL THINGS

By His wisdom and power, the great God of Israel created all things. Everything that is made was made by Him.  

In exquisite detail and balance, the Lord stretched out the universe to bring into existence the worlds and  raw materials which is the stuff that make up our very selves and the realms we occupy. 

This enterprise undertaken by God was to achieve a particular goal which centrally involved the gaining of people who freely loved Him and who voluntarily became His functionaries in all matters of His kingdom both great and small.

The way to love God freely is to hear His offer of salvation and to believe the news that Jesus died for us to redeem us from darkness. As the bible says, "those who are forgiven much, love much".

To believe the news and to recognize the sin from which we are being saved is to gain a hold of the love for the Lord who saved us. For this, there is no qualification. In what ever state we are, the Lord of heaven will grant forgiveness for sins if asked. 

The side effect of loving God is to gain a desire to serve Him but, to become a functionary of God requires a qualification process. 

 The qualifications are these:

- willingness to meet with the Lord in prayer

- willingness to obey His commands

These are the two progressions that we need to become effective as functionaries for the Lord.

We should endeavour to convert our love for God into action in His service.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO GIVES US REST

A gift that we hardly ever cherish for its incredible value is the gift of rest that the Lord gives us. 

This rest is given in two forms. In the first form, the rest is given for our minds and bodies in the form of peace and sleep.  As the scriptures say in Isaiah 14 verse 3, "And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved". In this example, the Lord is giving rest to His people who have endured physical and mental turmoil.  It should be said that this form of rest is itself a metaphor for the second form of rest.

In the second form, rest is given for our souls and our spirits. In the scriptures in Matthew 11 verse 28, Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." In this context, rest is for those burdened by guilt and weariness of the heaviness of sin and its demands. 

The rest being offered here is that which is paid for by the Lord Jesus that those who would believe in Him have their sins washed away and the peace that passes all understanding given to them. In this rest, our souls find rest and our spirits soar in the weightlessness.  

The Lord our God grants rest to our body, soul and  spirit to those who believe and are called according to His purposes.

Amen.

OUR LORD'S SCEPTER RULES FROM ZION

I will sing to Him

He who made all things

Who shines brighter, brighter than the sun

With the cherubim

I will worship Him

He whose scepter rules from Zion

OUR LORD IS THE ETERNAL MESSIAH (reprise)

You are the great and eternal Messiah

You died for us and did ascend

From everlasting to everlasting 

Your kingdom will never end. (X 3) (X 4)

   To our Saviour our voices we bring

   It is with grateful hearts we sing  (X 3)

 THE LORD OUR GOD WANTS US BACK

The Lord our God made us. He constructed the human being as a peculiar hybrid of spirit, soul and body.

We humans are an encapsulation writ small of the image and operation of the God of the universe. This awesome privilege gives us a high status in creation as stewards and trustees of the things of God but with that privilege  comes moral responsibility. 

Presently, humans have deviated from moral law and have set up outposts in the most wretched moral depravity imaginable. The most evil things conceivable are routine occurrences in the human story from extreme cruelty to vicious predatory behaviour.

Why are we like this? 

There was a time that the human race could have cleaved to God and paralleled His moral path by being subject to Him. Our progenitor Adam however, at a critical point of decision,  chose a path that availed the full spectrum of moral options to him. 

By choosing to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil, the human race decoupled from the life of God and drifted into independence from God where we could do as we pleased and where other parties other than our creator could have  influence over the life and  destiny of our entire species.

The Lord our God, having experienced us cutting ourselves loose from Him, nevertheless, undertook to save mankind from a fate of death that we had chosen for ourselves. 

God presented us an offer where we could decide if we wanted to return to union with Him or if we wanted to stay separate from Him and take our chances with the 'other' parties.

This option was presented to us through the death of our Lord Jesus on a cross where He paid the price for our rebellion. We could either accept the price that Jesus paid for us or we could reject it.

Those of us who feel convicted in our hearts and feel that rebellion against God is the wrong stance for the human race, have been given the opportunity to take up God's offer by  believing in the provision that God made of His Son's death on the cross and recanting our part in the rebellion.

By believing in the sacrifice Jesus made, we are opting back into union with God and recoupling our moral path to God's.

The invitation to opt in with God, though open,  is finite and expires either when we die or when a fixed number of people around the world accept the offer.

This is what we must do to accept the offer of God: 

We  must believe in Jesus's sacrificial death to redeem us.

We must then repent of our sins which are the hallmarks of our participation in the rebellion against God.   

Do these two things and begin the journey back to the Kingdom of God. 

He welcomes us with joy and open arms.

Amen.

THE LORD OUR SHIELD

Sometimes in our lives, calamities and afflictions take aim at us and send volleys of missiles straight at us. Sometimes it is grievous bodily injuries and illnesses. Other times it is financial reversals or family disasters.

In such cases, these attacks strike so suddenly all we can do is crouch behind the shield of protection that God provides and  wait for the assault to pass.

Our Lord is our shield and defender as described in Psalm 28 verse 7:

"The LORD is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped 

Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

Our Lord is watchful over us and is mighty to save. 

Praise and honor to His name.

Amen.

OUR LORD OUR HEALER

The Lord Jesus was reknown in the area of Judea and beyond for the healing miracles that He performed which touched the lives of people who were blind, deaf, mute, lame and people who had many other infirmities.

Wherever He traveled teaching the good news of the kingdom of God, miracles followed Him and changed the lives of those afflicted.

These miracles were among the signs that confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah Israel had been waiting for.

Jesus declared this when John the Baptist sent word to Jesus asking if He was the "Expected One" or if they should expect another.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

            - Mathew 11 verse 2 - 5

The sign of widespread and public healing was an important marker of the appearance of the Lord. 

The Lord gladly and willing heals those who ask Him. He paid the price for our healing because at the time of His crucifixion, Jesus underwent a brutal scurging and terrible injuries to His physical body. These injuries, having been inflicted on an innocent person,  purchased our healing for by His wounds you were healed. -  1 Peter 2 verse 24.

Give thanks to our Lord for His wonderful gift of healing He purchased for us.

Amen.

OUR LORD IS MINDFUL WE ARE BUT DUST

The Lord encourages His people along the path of righteousness and He does so, He remembers we are but dust. He remembers that we are but a vapour that can evaporate in a moment.

The Lord is patient with us and strengthens us to live the life of the spirit and serve in His Kingdom. 

His abundant grace gives us the time and space we need to gain footholds in the spirit.

Amen.

OUR LORD THE TEACHER

In the book of John , chapter 20 verse 15  - 16,  Mary Magdalene is described as being at the tomb where they had buried Jesus but as she looked, she could not find Him.

The narrative goes on to describe Her encounter with Jesus.  

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

When Mary Magdalene first encountered the resurrected Jesus, she did not recognize Him at first but when she did, her immediate reaction was to call Him "Teacher".

Similarly, when the men on the road to Emaus (a small town outside Jerusalem), encountered the resurrected Jesus as they walked, they did not recognize Him.  He simply started walking with then and He asked them what they were speaking about.  They told Him that they were discussing  the recent perplexing events of the death of the man they had hoped would redeem Israel.  Jesus, in response, expounded the scriptures to them explaining why the events that occurred had to unfold as they did. Later, after the encounter,  they spoke among themselves saying that His words caused their hearts to burn within them. 

Anyone who has had a great teacher in their lives will recognized this sensation of a burning heart when the teacher engages us.

During His ministry,  after His ressurection and before His ascension to heaven, the Lord Jesus spent a lot of time teaching His followers about  the kingdom of God. 

Even after He ascended into heaven Jesus sent the promised helper of whom He said, “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. "  - John 14 verse 25 - 26.

The Lord our God prioritized teaching to bring us into the knowledge of the things of God and we should prioritize learning to acquire knowledge so that it will not be said of us that God's people perish for lack of knowledge. 

The Lord is an awesome teacher and may our hearts burn as we learn from him.

Amen.

OUR LORD THE DELIVERER

When the children of Israel were in Egypt, they had absolutely no hope of escaping the bonds of slavery. 

The Egyptians held the power of life and death over them and in fact carried out programs of infanticide to keep the Israelite population under control.

The children of Israel, in their powerlessness and misery, called out to God to save them. 

 "During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God." 

                  - Exodus 2 verse 23.

The Lord heard their cry and began unfurling an elaborate plan to bring about the redemption of the children of Israel.

This entailed the preparation of Moses  and the direct action of God on the Egyptians to bring about the freeing of the slaves so they could leave and return to the land promised to them.

In our time, we find ourselves in the same predicament where we are in bondage to sin and suffer under the laws of sin and death.  We have no way to save ourselves but with contrite hearts, we cry out to God and He hears us and carries out the plan for deliverance that was gained for us through the death of Jesus our Lord  on the cross. As it says in the book of Romans chapter 2,

 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." - Romans 2 verse 2 - 4 

We are freed from the law of sin and death and brought into the marvelous light of freedom in the Spirit. 

Amen.

THE LORD IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

On the night leading up to Jesus' crucifixion, His disciples were asking Jesus about the things they did not understand about what their next steps should be. His disciples were concerned because Jesus was talking about leaving them. Thomas asked the following question in John 14 verse 5 and Jesus' reply in John 14 verse 6 - 7 with some phrases for the ages.

"Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

In this statement, Jesus encapsulated the great mystery of the ages in a succinct identification of God Almighty. 

The great God of Israel who had created the whole universe and all the living creatures in it, was this man who had just finished supper with them.

The eternal Lord of heaven and earth who had promised the patriarch  Abraham that He would make Him a great nation of  countless souls was this man who had just finished washing and drying  their feet to set an example of servanthood.

This man, humble to the natural eye, was in fact the staggeringly powerful absolute monarch by whom all existence came into being.

This moment of revelation came just before the Lord of heaven and earth, was about to give his life up unto death  on the cross to fulfill His solemn oath to Abraham to make Him a great nation. 

What Abraham did not know at the time, was that this great nation would be populated by the billions of people  from all over the earth who would be saved and adopted into the family of God by their faith in the Lord Jesus. 

The very same faith that Abraham had pioneered in His walk with God.

The same faith we have when we believe in the Lord Jesus and accept His power to save us by the blood He shed for us.

Amen.

OUR LORD IS RESPLENDENT IN GLORY AND LIGHT

The prophet Ezekiel, while by the banks of the Kebar River in Babylon, saw a vision of God.  He first described a wind swirling in the distance and then he saw an immense cloud approaching from which lightening flashed. A brilliant light shone around it while its center was like glowing metal. 

He then described four living creatures that had bodies like humans but had four faces and four wings. These astonishing beings moved to and fro with their wings rising and lowering. 

Ezekiel then described the Lord elevated above the living creatures as follows:

"Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking."

This vision of the Lord on the throne gives a vivid image of the Lord our God in His majestic array. His glory was so intense that Ezekiel fell face down at the sight of Him.

Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.  - Psalm 28 verse 10.

This is our God whom we worship and adore.

Amen.

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