Month: March 2021

Tests and Trials may lead on to greater Things. Daniel 4:36

Daniel chapter 4 ends with a prayer that cost a great king, Nebuchadnezzar, seven years of his life and kingship!

It all began with a Dream(1) that troubled the king. Daniel(2), whose name means God(El) is my judge, was brought to tell the king it’s meaning. Daniel was greatly perplexed by the dream, but eventually told the Babylonian King that it was a Decree(3) from heaven about his future, unless he repented;

27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.’

However, twelve months later, while on the roof of his palace, the king made a boastful Declaration(4) and ‘while the words were still on his lips a voice from heaven spoke the Decree over him’. Nebuchadnezzar was ‘was Driven(5) away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the Dew(6) of heaven’ until seven times/years had passed. At that time ‘he raised his eyes to heaven and praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified Him who lives forever’.

His Dominion(now there’s a word for today after the election) is an eternal Dominion(7);
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He Does(8) as he pleases
with the powers of heaven(NB, NOT JUST EARTH)
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: ‘What have you done?’

That prayer cost the ruler of one of the greatest kingdoms on earth seven years of his life – a powerful lesson in humility. Maybe some of the trials we’ve gone through aren’t as tough as we thought?

His sanity and his kingdom were restored to him AND HE BECAME EVEN GREATER THAN BEFORE. Once he’d learnt true humility God knew He could trust him and blessed him.

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he Does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

God’s authority is being challenged today on many fronts but this pagan king said, ‘everything He Does is right and all His ways are just’. A man who paid such a high price as Nebuchadnezzar, may have something worth listening to today.

God bless and keep you all.

Biblical Prayers, can be a rich source of blessing and encouragement.

Hannah’s Prayer in 1 Samuel 2, a dramatic change from Taunting and Torment to Thanksgiving! The Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, 1 Samuel 1:5 until she promised to give her only son to His service for all of his life – so Samuel was born. Elijah told the widow of Zarephath to make him a small cake of bread first, though she had little flour left; sometimes God insists we give His portion up front. Foolish in the natural, but then He honours our faith and blesses us with more.

The opening verses of Hannah’s prayer worshipping God;

My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.

2 There is NO ONE HOLY LIKE THE LORD;
there is NO ONE BESIDES YOU;
there is NO ROCK LIKE OUR GOD.

3 Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

The enemy may be targeting the very area of our lives where God is seeking to produce His greatest blessing! Peninnah mocked Hannah’s childlessness but Hannah got her breakthrough, so don’t give up.

4 The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

God had reversed the situations of the weak, hungry and barren. He had come to their rescue; will He repeat this again in our day?

6 The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and makes them inherit a throne of honour.

One of the first Bible verses I ever read was 1 Chronicles 21:12, very similar to verse 7 and verse 8 also has wonderful promises from God. We can REMIND God of them, just as David and Asaph did in the psalms.

For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
‘It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
‘He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Hannah’s prayer ends still exalting and praising God for His goodness and faithfulness. She has relied on Him and He’s blessed her. We may have to go through trials for a time but GOD IS FAITHFUL AND HIS WAYS ARE SURE.

God bless and keep you today.

 

If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:19 AMP

Nicodemus (Greek, Nike, ‘victor’ + Demos, ‘people’; thus means victory of the or over people) was an interesting character in John’s Gospel. He’s only mentioned three times in this one Book, but all are directly related to Jesus.

2 He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’ John 3

Nicodemus, the Pharisee, came to visit Jesus at night, hidden by darkness and it would have been very dark! My mother lived in the city, Belfast, before she married and came to live on a small farm in the Irish countryside. She told about standing at the top of a hill on the road where she lived and not a single light was visible. We may not appreciate how dark the nights were when Jesus walked in Israel, but Nicodemus came in darkness to speak with Him.

Nicodemus, unlike many Pharisees, acknowledged that Jesus had come from God. He saw the miracles and believed, but the religious establishment of that day were bound by the Law and refused to accept he was the Messiah (the ones who had the greatest head knowledge, didn’t see who was standing before them). Jesus sought to lift the conversation to a higher plane, telling Nicodemus that all had to be, ‘born again’ to see the Kingdom of God. He implied the manner of His death, ‘so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life’. God works in the lives of believers today to free us from earthly attachments and turn our attention towards His realm.

Nicodemus next tried to defend Jesus before His arrest and trial before the fixed religious court. John 7:50

The last time we read of Nicodemus was after the Lord’s death John 19:39 Joseph of Arimathea asked for the Lord’s body and together they honoured Jesus’ body in death as it certainly wasn’t in life. Both the Religious and the secular (Roman) authorities condemned Jesus but God gave Him life. The disciples and other followers never touched Jesus’ body in death, but they did after His resurrection. Joseph and Nicodemus (the Pharisee), secret believers laid the Lord’s body to rest. The man who’d spoken with Jesus in the dark of night came back with spices and linen to take care of His body. I wonder if they knew it wasn’t the end, but a new beginning?

As we approach Easter and celebrate the Lord’s death and victorious resurrection, we should remember that our own lives here are passing and we’re destined to live eternally in another realm, our true home. Paul’s quote in 1 Corinthians 15 emphasises that our faith is not just for this time or realm but it will take us to be with the Lord always.

God bless and keep you today.

20 … ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’
21 DO NOT BE OVERCOME by evil, BUT OVERCOME evil with good.

Retaliation, or trying to get even is not the answer for the believers who have been wronged – leave it with the Lord and keep leaving it there until it’s done.

Romans 12:21 ends the section(verses 9-21) we looked at two days ago entitled ‘Love in action’. WE must either Overcome or be overcome, there’s no other alternative.

But mark this: There will be terrible times (Fierce times, like the Gaderene Demoniac Matthew 8:28) in the last days. 2 Timothy 3:1 There follows a list of 18 character flaws, begins with SELF and ends with Self. ‘People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness(religious) but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them’.

The word OvercomeS with the ‘S’ has two references in 1 John 5:4, 5 and seven in Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21 the seven Churches. All these references are at the end of the Word so we will likely face situations in our days, that call for us to be overcomers. Don’t be disheartened, the Lord Himself promised great rewards for all who endure and overcome.

Revelation 2:7 Whoever overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Rev 2:11 Whoever overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Rev 2:18 Whoever overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name on it.

Rev 2:26 Whoever overcomes and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations!

Rev 3:5 Whoever overcomes will walk with Me dressed in white. I will never blot their name from the book of Life, but will acknowledge them before My Father and His angels.

Rev 3:12 Whoever overcomes I will make a Pillar in the Temple of My God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the Name of My God …and the New Jerusalem.

Rev 3:21 Whoever overcomes I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

There’s a magnificent destiny ahead for those who endure and overcome now!

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7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Please support the work of the Father’s Love.

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God bless and keep you today.

Do you know that you were Chosen by the Lord Himself?

16 You did not choose me, but I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: love each other. John 15

A well known BBC Radio host was interviewing the late Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and he asked her a question about Christianity. Something along the lines of ‘What she thought was the essence of the Christian Faith?’ She gave a single word answer(unusual for any politician), Choice! Her answer completely stymied him. He thought she’d say something like Love and he would attack her for not caring for people. We all make Choices in our lives and ultimately they decide our destiny, but thank God, He also Chose and rescued many of us from dangerous paths.

27 But God CHOSE the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God CHOSE the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God CHOSE the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, …31 Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ 1 Corinthians 1

When we look at sports teams today, they pay huge sums of money for the best players. They’ll go to extreme lengths and offer many perks to get the people with the talent on their team. Today they’re called ‘Elite Athletes’. God thankfully is not looking for the elite people to join Him, instead He’s chosen the ordinary people like us. That was the start of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, God chose the weak, not the elite, because He would get the glory.

Moses was raised in the palace as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but had to spend forty years in the desert to unlearn all he knew. Paul the apostle, studied under the rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem, but also spent three years in the desert. ‘He counted all things garbage that he might know Christ’. Philippians 3:8 We too may need to give up some things in order for the Lord’s plans to be fulfilled in our own lives.  

Many are called but few are Chosen. Matthew 22:14, parable of the wedding banquet.

We’ve been CHOSEN AND APPOINTED FOR A PURPOSE that goes all the way into eternity. What a privilege, let’s honour the Lord and pursue His calling on our lives.

God bless and keep you today.

It’s easy to talk about ‘Love’ but here’s what it means in practice. Romans 12:9-21 NIV

Love in action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position (willing to do menial work). Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

It’s often helpful to read other versions of the Word, sometimes it speaks more directly to us, next the Living Bible (paraphrase).

9 Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. 13 When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.

14 If someone mistreats you because you are a Christian, don’t curse him; pray that God will bless him. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Work happily together. Don’t try to act big. Don’t try to get into the good graces of important people, but enjoy the company of ordinary folks. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil for evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honest clear through. 18 Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible.

19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands(implied). 20 Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you. 21 Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:9-21 TLB

Life in the Body of Christ would be so much better, if we His people, lived out our lives the way His word says.

God bless and keep you today.

Our ‘God Cares For’ the ONE, the individual (Christians are not clones, not so in other man made religions, nor in any ‘religion’. Religion cannot tolerate individuals! Jesus does).

At end of Luke 18 on the way into Jericho, Jesus stopped and called for the blind man, likely Bartimaeus. Jesus then restored his sight. At the beginning of Luke 19, on the way out of Jericho, Jesus stopped again, to speak to Zacchaeus. The account of Zacchaeus is only found in Luke’s Gospel.

Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector was wealthy and probably despised. He was also short and had to plan how he could see Jesus. Jesus was passing, ONE Time, ONE Chance only to see Him. We as believers today need to realise that when the Lord is coming our way, we too must go to Him. We mustn’t be so arrogant as to think we can go when it suits us. In fact the Lord may well speak to us when it’s not convenient, to see if we’ll heed Him. The account of Zacchaeus climbing the fig tree to get to the Lord has a lesson for us – there was an urgency for him to see Jesus.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus by name, picked him out from the crowd by his name. ‘Come down immediately, I have to stay at your house tonight’. Zacchaeus had Jesus as his house guest for ONE Night only, he would never have this opportunity again, and of course he accepted.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’

The people in Jericho had followed Jesus and seen what He’d been doing, but judged him by their own standards. They were quick to condemn Him for going to Zacchaeus’ house, but Jesus wasn’t bound by their views of right and wrong. He stepped outside the culture of His day and stayed with Zacchaeus, the tax collector. God doesn’t see people as we do, respectable people may have no place for God in their lives! We also, should be willing to offend and be offended for Jesus Name.

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’

Zacchaeus had his eyes opened too and decided to change his way of life. He gave away a lot of his wealth right there, before Jesus. His heart had changed since his ONE Meeting with the Lord and Jesus acknowledged him.

9 Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’

Jesus reached out to ONE man who was lost and opened his understanding to turn to God. Zacchaeus had struggled to get to Jesus and his efforts were rewarded, now he was a son.

God bless and keep you as His much loved child today.

The last blessing for the Shunammite was an economic restoration. 2 Kings 8:1-6

Is God getting ready to do this for His Church today? Before God’s people left Egypt they gave Israel all their wealth, may there be a great wealth transfer to the people of God today. Don’t despise wealth, in the right hands it can be a great blessing.

8 And GOD IS ABLE to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in ABUNDANCE, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in ABUNDANCE for every good work and charitable donation]. 2 Corinthians 9:8 AMPC

Derek and Ruth Prince used to proclaim this scripture daily, though not from the Amplified version, perhaps NKJV over the ministry. WE have to extend the Authority of God and God’s word over our situations, the enemy doesn’t want to give it up. WE must speak out God’s word over our lives and rule and reign with Christ.

Elisha told the Shunammite to go away with her family and stay wherever they could, because God had decreed a famine in the land for seven years. The woman and her family were spared the worst of the hardship and possibly even death, but she had to leave her inheritance for a long time. They lived among the Philistines, the enemy of Israel.

3 At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, ‘Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.’ 5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.

She obeyed the time frame Elisha gave her and returned to the Land of her own people after seven years.

God’s Timing is Perfect Timing!

She arrived before the king just as Elisha’s servant Gehazi was telling him how Elisha had restored her son back to life. The king asked her about it and she told him, first hand, what God had done. It was ironic and probably prophetic that Elisha had offered to speak with the king on her behalf. Sometimes we know things in our spirits that we can’t know in our minds. So the king and his court knew the story of the Shunammite and her son. All this from feeding a prophet of God and his servant and then providing a room for him on the roof of her house. What we sincerely give to God will return to us many fold.

6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.

Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, ‘Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.’

This woman had a kind heart and God restored everything to her, even the income from her land. May the Lord fully restore ALL that He has for us today and may we walk in the ABUNDANCE OF HEAVEN.

 

Is God Calling Today to bless faithful servants or to give some back what the enemy has stolen?

Elisha wasn’t a great conversationalist if we take the Biblical account in 2 Kings 4;

V12 CALL the Shunammite (to repay her kindness), V15 CALL her (she’ll give birth to a son), V36 CALL the Shunammite (give her back her son).

Some people have been serving for a long time, blessing others in His Body without looking for reward, but is God saying I’ve seen your dedication and sacrifice? Giving isn’t always about money, the Shunammite looked for a way to meet the needs of God’s servant and bless him. So is God Calling some faithful and much loved servants to recognise and repay them for their kindness in the Body?

This woman had helped provide for Elisha and been faithful to meet his needs for a long time, from the first meal, then the room on the roof, finally the birth of a son. She’d been a dedicated servant to the man of God and her service had been recognised. We often have a tendency to keep on doing what we’ve been used to doing, but A DAY CAME WHEN ELISHA SAID, WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR YOU?

When her son died the Shunammite set off to find the man of God, she PURSUED him with a desperate need. This time Elisha didn’t know what had happened, ‘Leave her alone. She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why’. Elisha could see her anguish but didn’t know the cause, he started in the natural but didn’t end there. The National prophet of Israel didn’t know straight away what her problem was but he talked with her and heard about her son, the ONLY ONE SHE’D TOLD.

30 But the child’s mother said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So he got up and followed her.

She’d found Elisha and she wasn’t going to let him go until she was sure her son was alive again. Elisha had to go to the boy himself and minister to him in that upper room. He had to begin in the natural, but moved into the miraculous, the boy was restored to his mother. The restoration took a lot more personal input from the prophet than the original declaration that she would nurse a son within a year.

God is good, He sees our service and looks to reward those who are faithful to Him. The Shunammite sought Elisha for her son, she held on and God restored her blessing. God longs to bless His children and show His Love toward us.

Please Donate today on our Webpage;

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7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Please support the work of the Father’s Love.

We are also available to provide personal words of encouragement for those who need them and online counselling. Please contact us on our webpage. A donation is normally required for this service.

God god bless and keep you today.

Don’t give up on your blessing from God, He is mighty to save!

The Shunammite woman who could hardly believe for the birth of a son, did believe for his resurrection. 2 Kings 4

The miracle son she’d longed for, suddenly became ill.

19 He said to his father, ‘My head! My head!’

His father told a servant, ‘Carry him to his mother.’ 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and ‘laid him on the bed of the man of God’, then SHUT THE DOOR and went out.

She ‘laid her son on the bed of the man of God’, that was the closest she could get to God at that moment. We read in 2 Kings 13:21 about the body thrown into Elisha’s tomb, that came to life and stood up. (Shock for the burial party!)

The woman hadn’t given up, then she went out and SHUT THE DOOR. No one knew the child was there, so no mourning could begin, she’d shut the door to it and wouldn’t permit it. Some of us may be in a position today where we need to shut the door and GO FORWARD looking to God alone. Some may need to shut the door to other distractions so that the plans and purposes of God may become manifest in our hearts and lives.

Ask God today are their some things that He wants us to shut the door on in our lives.

The Shunammite didn’t TALK TO ANYONE, such a temptation to talk to people and tell them what’s happened but sometimes, for our faith we must not do that. We shouldn’t give the enemy glory when something untoward occurs. This courageous woman had shut the door on her son and refused to speak, even to her husband V23, about the situation.

The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

Finally she WENT IN HASTE to find Elisha, for she still believed for a miracle – that her child would live. She didn’t accept that what God had given should be taken from her, she wouldn’t give up. Both the Shunammite and then Gehazi travelled as quickly as they could, but Gehazi said, ‘the boy has not awakened’. She wouldn’t let Elisha go and he came to that room on the roof that had been made for him and in the place she’d made for the prophet, there God gave her son back. We never know how God will use the things we put into His hands, even simple, everyday things can become a mighty blessing.

The Shunammite in her dire emergency, SHUT THE DOOR V 21, TOLD NO ONE V23 AND WENT IN HASTE TO FIND GOD V 24. Her son was restored, dare to believe God for your own miracle today.

‘“‘The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace.’” Numbers 6:24-26