Month: December 2021

¹¹ ‘I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

¹⁴ ‘I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10

Jesus said twice in John 10, that He was the Good Shepherd and He ‘lays down His life for the sheep’.

The Jerusalem Post, 22 December 2021, published an article by Rosella Tercatin, about treasure salvaged from two ship wrecks in the ancient harbour of Caesarea. The ships were only at a depth of 4m/13feet, quite shallow. Hundreds of silver coins were found on the wrecks but a gold ring with a green gemstone was also found, dating from the third century AD. This ring has been called the ‘Good Shepherd’ ring because the gemstone bears an engraving of a shepherd boy carrying a sheep across his shoulders. Caesarea was near the home of Cornelius, the first non Jew to come to faith in the Lord. (Baptised by Peter, Acts 10) The ring was believed to be a symbol of a very early Christian Community in the area. It’s remarkable that this treasure has been recovered after seventeen centuries, just before the celebration of the Lord’s coming. It seems that the account of the ‘Good Shepherd’ lives on today, just as it did when John’s Gospel was written so long ago.

Happy Christmas to everyone from the ‘Father’s Love’.

God bless and keep you in these days.

We saw yesterday that Psalm 91, was a psalm of protection in times of pestilence and plague.

⁹ IF YOU SAY, ‘THE LORD IS MY REFUGE,’
    AND YOU MAKE THE ‘MOST HIGH’ YOUR DWELLING,
¹⁰ NO HARM WILL OVERTAKE YOU,
    NO DISASTER WILL COME NEAR YOUR TENT. Amen, Thank You Lord.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways; Psalm 91

Psalm 92, is a song for the Sabbath day and it begins with an encouragement to Praise;

¹ IT IS GOOD TO PRAISE THE LORD
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
² PROCLAIMING YOUR LOVE IN THE MORNING
    AND YOUR FAITHFULNESS AT NIGHT,
³ to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp. Psalm 92

The psalmist OPENS AND CLOSES HIS DAY WITH THE LORD. A good practice for believers in our day as well.

This psalm ends with a wonderful promise from God to sustain and bless His people into their older years, He’ll still care for us, unlike this world.

¹² The righteous will FLOURISH like a palm tree,
    they will GROW like a cedar of Lebanon;
¹³ PLANTED in the house of the Lord,
    they will FLOURISH in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They will STILL BEAR FRUIT IN OLD AGE,
    THEY WILL STAY FRESH AND GREEN,
¹⁵ PROCLAIMING, ‘THE LORD IS UPRIGHT;
    HE IS MY ROCK, AND THERE IS NO WICKEDNESS IN HIM.’ Psalm 92

All the verbs in these verses speak of Life and Productive Life, still bearing fruit, still flourishing. There is no need for believers to end our lives here as the world does; we are Children of God and His Life doesn’t diminish in us.

The psalm begins with Praise and Proclamation and continues through to the end. We serve a good God, so let’s  express our love to Him today and live in the His Blessings, rather than this world’s fear and gloom.

²⁷ ‘So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’ Numbers 6

The late Neville Johnson said the days would come when we would need TO LIVE IN/ DWELL/ABIDE IN Psalm 91. God had shown him what was coming on the earth.

We have also listened to Robin Bullock this week telling believers to hide themselves in the Lord and proclaiming and personalising this same scripture, Psalm 91.

³⁰ There is NO wisdom, NO insight, NO plan
    THAT CAN SUCCEED AGAINST THE LORD. 

³⁰ NO ONE, regardless of how shrewd or well-advised he is, CAN STAND AGAINST THE LORD.

³¹ Go ahead and prepare for the conflict, but victory comes from God. Proverbs 21 TLB

³⁰ There is NO wisdom, NO insight, NO plan
    THAT CAN SUCCEED AGAINST THE LORD. 

³⁰ NO ONE, regardless of how shrewd or well-advised he is, CAN STAND AGAINST THE LORD.

³¹ Go ahead and prepare for the conflict, but victory comes from God. Proverbs 21 TLB

Continue reading “30 There is NO wisdom, NO insight, NO plan THAT CAN SUCCEED AGAINST THE LORD. Proverbs 21:30”

Sometimes a presence is all that’s needed to keep good in and bad out.

The name Jehoiada means ‘knowledge of the Lord OR the Lord knows’. 2 Chronicles 24

It was a Prophetic Name, since he was the chief priest and he held true to God as long as he lived.

Jehoiada was the guardian of the boy king, Joash (means God has given) who came to the throne at age seven years.

² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord ALL THE YEARS OF JEHOIADA THE PRIEST. ³ Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. 2 Chronicles 24

You may be a pastor or perhaps a believer in a work setting with people around you every day. It may not seem like much is being accomplished, but your very presence may be holding back something far worse from entering a situation.

As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord. (Essential for believers today, daily worship and communion with our God)

¹⁵ Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died AT THE AGE OF A HUNDRED AND THIRTY. 2 Chronicles 24

God obviously blessed Jehoiada with a long life, but also knew the influence his life was having on the young King and the whole nation. Jehoiada at one hundred and thirty years of age would not have had the strength he did when a younger man. However, throughout his life Joash ‘did right in the eyes of the Lord’ and the sacrifices were offered to God in His Temple. HIS PRESENCE EVEN AS AN OLD MAN, ‘held the line’ and God was honoured in the nation.

¹³ ‘YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ ‘YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE OTHERS, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5

Jesus called people very early in His Ministry to be ‘Salt and Light’, that others would see and Glorify God. The Holy Spirit in us should cause others to see and know something is different about us. Jesus urged His listeners NOT TO LOSE THEIR SALTINESS, but to stand out for God and bring the presence of God into situations through their lives. God lives in His children and sooner or later His character will be revealed in us as we continue to walk with Him.

When Jehoiada left the scene of time, King Joash and the people fell into great sin. They stopped worshipping the One True God and fell into idol worship, like the nations around them. Man is created to worship something, let it be our loving, kind, God.

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁷ ‘So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’ Numbers 6

² Pharaoh said, ‘WHO IS THE LORD, THAT I SHOULD OBEY HIM AND LET ISRAEL GO? Exodus 5

The first recorded words that Pharaoh spoke after meeting Moses and Aaron, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?’ The king of Egypt had no intention of releasing Israel, the enslaved people of God. He totally refused to recognise any other claim on these people and immediately began to make their lives much harsher. The enemy can never get at God, but he can and does attack His children.

Moses and Aaron had first gone to the elders of Israel and Aaron had told them of God’s appearance to Moses and His Concern for them.

He also performed the signs before the people, ³¹ AND THEY BELIEVED. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped. Exodus 4

Israel were completely powerless before the superior strength of Egypt, but this time they accepted Moses’ testimony AND THEY WORSHIPPED GOD. Whatever effect slavery had on them and though they were weak, THEY STILL BELIEVED IN THE GOD OF THEIR FATHERS. Their Faith and Worship enabled God to act on their behalf and Pharaoh, a powerful world ruler would now face the God of Israel.

The battle for the release of Israel took some time but THE OUTCOME WAS NEVER IN DOUBT, despite all the obstacles the enemy sought to use to keep them captive.  God moved with ever increasing might until all the power of Egypt was destroyed.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials said to him, ‘How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realise (Pharaoh was determined to hold onto that which was destroying Him!) that EGYPT IS RUINED?’ Exodus 10

God didn’t only destroy the power of the enemy but allowed His people to plunder them.

²¹ ‘And I will make the Egyptians favourably disposed towards this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. ²² Every woman is to ask her neighbour and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.’ Exodus 3

GOD CAN DO AGAIN WHAT HE HAS DONE BEFORE TO THE ENEMIES OF HIS CHILDREN.

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²⁷ ‘So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’ Numbers 6

¹⁹ But BUT I KNOW THAT THE KING OF EGYPT WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS A MIGHTY HAND COMPELS HIM. ²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. Exodus 3

God was going TO PICK A FIGHT WITH PHARAOH AND ALL THE RULERS OF EGYPT. He prepared Moses by giving him supernatural power and appointed Aaron his helper.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I WILL HARDEN HIS HEART SO THAT HE WILL NOT LET THE PEOPLE GO. Exodus 4

God was not only going to pick a fight, He was going to punish Pharaoh and his whole power base for ill-treating Israel. When God takes something in hand, He completes it to the utmost.

²² Then say to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, ²³ and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so that he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.”’ Exodus 4

God made His intentions clear from the start, but Pharaoh and Egypt refused to back down, instead they ill-treated God’s people even more. So Israel had to go through harsh times as God increased the severity of His judgements on those abusing His people.

Kjell (pronounced like ‘shell’), from Sweden, whom I used to travel with, was given Prophetic Prayer Assignments by the Lord in many nations, which involved high level warfare in the spirit. At times he would have said and done things, ‘because he was on the Battlefield’. He had to take up a  position and not deviate from it, because God required it.

The next part of the account of Moses, before meeting Pharaoh, happened at a lodging place with his wife and son.

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,’ she said. ²⁶ So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said ‘bridegroom of blood’, referring to circumcision.)

God had entered into Covenant with Israel, confirmed by the sign of circumcision

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner – those who are not your offspring. Genesis 17

Moses had evidently not circumcised his son and God would have killed Moses if Zipporah had not intervened.

We are in a time today, when God and His people are on the Battlefield and the stakes are high. We are seeing something released in our day that affects the world. God is moving and we need to move with Him, we can’t afford to be out of step. Hard times may come for a while, but God will prevail and we must endure and trust Him in this season.

God bless and keep you in these days.

Therefore, there is NOW NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, Romans 8:1

We looked yesterday at the unusual timing of God’s Call on Moses – tending sheep in the desert and God said, ‘So Now, Go!’ I am sending you to Pharaoh to Deliver Israel. Exodus 3:10

Moses was unsure what to do and began to question God, but the account of Moses in Hebrews 11 is totally positive. Hebrews only speaks good of Moses, a hero of the Faith. GOD CONSTANTLY LOOKS FOR THE GOOD IN ALL OF US, we are His Children and His Creation.

There were three different phases in Moses’ life and there may be different phases and varying circumstances in our lives!

Moses, a Hebrew boy, was ‘pulled out or drawn out’ of the water and given to Pharaoh’s daughter.

²² Moses was EDUCATED IN ALL THE WISDOM OF THE EGYPTIANS (Worldly wisdom and learning) and was powerful in speech and action. (Moses had a natural boldness) Acts 7

(Acts 7 was Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin, before he was martyred.)

Moses spent the first phase of his life in the palace of Pharaoh, surrounded by all the pomp and power of Egypt.

²³ ‘When Moses was FORTY YEARS OLD, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. ²⁴ He saw one of them being ill-treated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defence and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. ²⁵ Moses thought that HIS OWN PEOPLE WOULD REALISE THAT GOD WAS USING HIM TO RESCUE THEM, BUT THEY DID NOT. Acts 7

At a certain stage in his life, at Forty Years, Moses stepped out to rescue his people but it wasn’t God’s Time. We may have things in our hearts that we long to do and they may be right for us, but God has a perfect time for them. We can’t force the issue, we have to wait God’s initiatives.

Moses had to flee Egypt to the desert of Midian and became a shepherd. What a contrast, what an adjustment! Very few people there and a very simple lifestyle – he must have thought he’d really blown his chances.

³⁰ ‘After FORTY YEARS HAD PASSED, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹ When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. Acts 7

Forty more years passed and Moses had a supernatural encounter at the burning bush. Moses was in the ‘backside of the desert’, but God knew where and how to find him. You may feel abandoned today but God knows exactly who and where you are! Don’t give up, if you’re alive in these days God still has a plan for you.

Moses was to spend the last forty years of his life being a father to a whole nation, literally several millions of people. His quiet days of tending sheep were over, this time he was watching over God’s flock – again what a contrast.

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. Exodus 18

Moses had to adapt again and change his whole life, but now he couldn’t do it all alone. Jethro gave him good advice for handling the next phase.

God bless and keep you in these days of change.

‘So NOW, GO’. Exodus 3:10a

That’s a very short statement by God to Moses, to Deliver the nation of Israel. Go Now Moses and do it!

Mose’s response, “Who am I that I should GO to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Moses understood the Call but he was overawed by the enormity of what God was asking him to do. So he questioned God, What If?

There’s an old saying, ‘If we can do something in our own strength, then it’s not from God’. A true Call from God will usually take us beyond our ability and therefore can appear daunting to us. It will require us to step out in Faith, exercise our Faith and that’s usually challenging for us.

¹² And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you (all of you) will worship God on this mountain.’ Exodus 3

God sought to reassure Moses, ‘I will be with you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt’. In God’s eyes it was already done, but Moses could only see the mountain, never mind worshiping there.

¹³ Moses said to God, ‘SUPPOSE I GO to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?’ Exodus 3

Moses was still asking questions and was unsure about going forward with this. Remember Moses had been tending sheep in the desert for years, all thought of Delivering Israel from Pharaoh had long since vanished. He was in the desert, minding the sheep and suddenly his whole future was being turned upside down by an encounter with the voice of God from a bush.

God replied to Moses’ question, how he should answer the Israelites.

¹⁶ ‘Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites – A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY.” (A big improvement from Egypt – the land of the slave master’s whip)

¹⁸ ‘The elders of Israel will listen to you. (God’s Promise that His people would receive Moses)

It’s interesting to read the account of Moses in Hebrews 11, the gallery of the Faith Heroes in the Bible – there is no mention of Moses’ uncertainty, only good things are spoken.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for THE SAKE OF CHRIST as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. Hebrews 11

Moses staggered at God’s Call on his life and showed much uncertainty, but God RECORDS ONLY THE GOOD ABOUT HIM. The same God calls each of us to come and be involved in His Plan for us and those around us. Take up His Call and you too will only be rewarded for the good that He’ll do through you.

God bless and keep you today.