Month: January 2022

They asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away?’ Mark 16:3

Stones were placed as a covering and protection, but often they had to be moved to give access within.

29 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. ² There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. Genesis 29

Jacob arrived at his new home to a well surrounded by sheep, needing to be watered.

⁹ While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. Genesis 29

THE SHEEP HAD TO BE WATERED, THEY COULDN’T WATER THEMSELVES. There may be some reading this today who have a calling on their lives, evangelists, pastors, etc to help others get to the Water of Life. The sheep needed the help of the shepherds, they couldn’t survive without their care. THE SHEEP NEED YOU!

Another stone in the New Testament was the stone that covered Jesus’ tomb. The women who went there after the Sabbath wondered how they would get into the tomb.

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. Matthew 28

God had sent an angel to move the large stone and reveal the empty tomb. Christ had risen and people had to know that death couldn’t hold Him.

⁵ The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” Now I have told you.’ Matthew 28

Some stones can and should be moved by people, parts of the body with callings to help others. Other stones are too large for us to move, but the Lord will send His angels to help us and we should expect Heaven’s help in our times.

Fathersloveministry is a faith based ministry, please Donate on our webpage today and help support the Father’s work;

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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. 2 Corinthians 9:7

The Lord is no man’s debtor, Hallelujah.

God rewards those who give to Him, don’t miss out on your blessings, give to Him today.

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

The Lord bless and keep you today.

CHARACTER BEFORE CALLING!

First the Blessings for Jacob, then the building of Character.

The Bible records that Jacob was twice blessed by his father Isaac. The first time he stole the blessing of the elder brother, but then Isaac blessed him as he sent him off to his uncle Laban in Haran.

28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty BLESS YOU AND MAKE YOU FRUITFUL AND INCREASE YOUR NUMBERS UNTIL YOU BECOME A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLES. ⁴ May he give you and your descendants the BLESSING GIVEN TO ABRAHAM, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.’ Genesis 28

Isaac spoke two blessings over his departing son, may you be fruitful and become a community of peoples and may you take possession of this land. Eventually both came to pass, but what had to happen in Jacob’s life before the words were fulfilled?

Jacob immediately left the comforts of life far behind! The man ‘who stayed among the tents’ and was his mother’s favourite, had to face a huge change in his circumstances – he’d landed in God’s boot camp!

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep (on a stone pillow).

But God spoke to Jacob in a dream, as he started out on a completely different phase of life’s journey.

¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it  stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying (Renewing of Abraham’s Covenant).

The God of his fathers reassured him as he set out.

¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’

Jacob’s journey had begun, but it would be twenty long years before he was to return to Canaan, the land of Promise for him and his household.

You May have a calling on your life today but God may be more interested in making you into the person he needs you to be BEFORE YOUR CALL IS FULFILLED. Don’t be discouraged, He knows the way we take.

God bless and keep you today.

 

The Blessing of a Father, Isaac, was valuable and worth stealing, but it came at a cost. Genesis 27

Rebekah had sought God when she became pregnant, why the two babies in her were jostling (butting heads MSG) so much? God said they would be two nations and the elder would serve the younger. We find how this was to come about in Genesis 27. Old age had caught up with Isaac and he called Esau, his older son to go and get him some fresh game. To prepare the food and bring it to him so that he could bless Esau. The traditions of men (older son getting the father’s blessing) are not always the will of God!

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. … ⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that HE MAY BLESS YOU BEFORE HIS DEATH.” Genesis 27

So Rebekah conspired with her favourite son, Jacob, to steal his father’s blessing. But Jacob was worried that his father Isaac would recognise him and Curse him instead.

… and his mother made savoury food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave the savoury food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Rebekah planned well, using Esau’s clothes and putting hairy goat skin on Jacob’s hands and neck where his father could touch him.

²³ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

“Come near now and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

Our natural senses are not always a safe guide, we can be deceived, as Isaac was. At important times, such as today, we need to hear from God and ‘not lean on our own understanding’ Proverbs 3:5, 6

²⁸ Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.
²⁹ Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
BE MASTER OVER YOUR BROTHERS (the younger ruled),
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you (Abraham’s Blessing!”)

God’s plan and purpose would be fulfilled through Jacob and Esau, the son who grieved his parents by taking Hittite wives, would serve him.

Parents blessing is not so highly valued today, but those who gave life can bless our futures too, if we’re willing to ask them.

God bless and keep you today.

Favour in a Famine, God blessed Isaac because he obeyed.

26 Now there was a famine in the land – besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time – and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. ² The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘DO NOT GO DOWN TO EGYPT; LIVE IN THE LAND WHERE I TELL YOU TO LIVE. ³ STAY IN THIS LAND FOR A WHILE, AND I WILL BE WITH YOU AND WILL BLESS YOU. Genesis 26

For Isaac, everything depended on hearing and obeying God and living where God had said. God wanted Isaac in the land or territory He’d promised under oath to Abraham.

Did Isaac have struggles there? Most definitely. He feared for his life and told his wife Rebekah to pretend to be his sister, but Abimelek, king of Gerar, discovered the truth and was angry with Isaac. He gave an order forbidding anyone to harm Isaac or his wife.

¹² Then Isaac sowed IN THAT LAND, and reaped in the same year a HUNDREDFOLD; AND THE LORD BLESSED HIM. ¹³ The man BEGAN TO PROSPER, AND CONTINUED PROSPERING UNTIL HE BECAME VERY PROSPEROUS; ¹⁴ for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied (became jealous of) him. Genesis 26 NKJV 

Isaac prospered X3 (in the NKJV), God really blessed him.

The other herdsmen became jealous and claimed the Wells dug to water his flocks, more hassles and he had to move away from that immediate area – ISAAC WAS FLEXIBLE! (At times so must we be) But he obeyed God and stayed in Canaan, the land of his blessing.

God eventually gave Isaac peace in the land when Abimelek and his commanders came to make a formal treaty with him.

²⁸ But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, ²⁹ that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”

They ate together and the next morning took the oaths not to harm one another.

When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7

May the Lord, give us peace on every side.

Genesis 26, ends on a sad note because of the elder son Esau and is a warning for us as well;

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they were A GRIEF of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. 

God has placed us in this world and can bless us even in famine, but God never intended that we should Covenant with this world. God blessed Isaac because he was faithful to Him.

God bless and keep you today.

There is a jostling or struggling going on across this earth.

²² THE BABIES WERE JOSTLING EACH OTHER within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ SO SHE WENT TO ENQUIRE OF THE LORD. Genesis 25

Rebekah had become pregnant after Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. God’s hand was very much on their situation, directing them from the heavenly perspective.

²³ The Lord said to her,

God sets ‘High Stakes Tests’ to find out if we will obey or step back. We may not know what’s truly involved unless we go through with the test.

Sometimes seemingly insignificant things can have very important consequences, but we may be unaware of them.

Abraham was given a very severe test concerning Isaac.

² Then God said, ‘TAKE YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON, WHOM YOU LOVE (God knew exactly what He was asking, and also in our lives) – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will show you.’ Genesis 22

³ EARLY NEXT MORNING Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.

Neither the devil (did God really say?), nor Sarah his wife, nor well meaning individuals had any opportunity to talk Abraham out of obeying God’s command. Often when we hesitate doubt can come in and we miss the way even before we’ve begun. ‘He or she who hesitates is lost’.

⁵ He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and THEN WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU.’

How could Abraham have said this when he knew what God had commanded him? HE SPOKE IN FAITH, they were both going out and they would both come back.

Isaac saw the wood and the fire, but there was no lamb for the sacrifice.

⁸ Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.

Abraham answered his son’s question, still speaking in faith. He was also speaking Prophetically, because a long time into the future, God’s own son, Jesus, would be our Passover Lamb.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. HE BOUND HIS SON ISAAC and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

We too may feel ‘BOUND’ at times in our own lives, unable to get off the altar/or out of the situation we face. Our lives have taken us along a certain path and we have to go through with things. Paul ‘despaired of life itself’ because of the troubles they faced in Asia. 2 Corinthians 1:8

¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and TOOK THE KNIFE TO SLAY HIS SON. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’

‘Here I am,’ he replied.

¹² ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. NOW I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD, BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD from me your son, your only son.’

Those must been terrible moments for Abraham, but God saw the sincerity and trust of his heart.

¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and THROUGH YOUR OFFSPRING ALL NATIONS ON EARTH WILL BE BLESSED, because you have obeyed me.’

What a blessing to every nation/people and all because one man trusted his God. We’ll never know how many will be blessed when we put our trust in God and obey Him.

Fathersloveministry is a faith based ministry, please Donate on our webpage today and help support the Father’s work;

fathersloveministry.co.uk

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. 2 Corinthians 9:7

The Lord is no man’s debtor, Hallelujah.

God rewards those who give to Him, don’t miss out on your blessings, give to Him today.

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

The Lord bless and keep you today.

God may tolerate, even bless things from our past (Old life), but a time may come when He calls us to separate and leave them and that can be painful.

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah AS HE HAD SAID, and the Lord did for Sarah WHAT HE HAD PROMISED. (Genesis 18:10) ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Genesis 21

The miracle child, Isaac, was born to Abraham and Sarah, when they were well past the age of child bearing.

³ Abraham gave the name Isaac (Isaac means ‘he laughs’) to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 

RELIGION DOESN’T USUALLY APPROVE OR APPRECIATE LAUGHTER, SOLEMNITY AND SOBRIETY ARE FAR MORE EXPECTED. Sarah first laughed in disbelief, but then in joy at the goodness of her God.

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned ABRAHAM HELD A GREAT FEAST (More Laughter, no end to their Rejoicing). ⁹ But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, ¹⁰ and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ 

Sarah saw at once the rivalry between her own son Isaac and the mocking spirit of Ishmael. She demanded that Abraham get rid of the slave woman, Hagar, and her son, even though she had been responsible for his birth. That’s the counsel of the flesh, first one way and then another, doesn’t keep it’s word, inconsistent. But God had kept His word and now there was conflict.

¹¹ The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. ¹² But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. LISTEN TO WHATEVER SARAH TELLS YOU, BECAUSE IT IS THROUGH ISAAC THAT YOUR OFFSPRING WILL BE RECKONED. ¹³ I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’

Sarah may have spoken as a mother, protecting her son Isaac’s future interest and Abraham was upset but God said ‘Do it’. The natural and the spiritual sons, in this case, couldn’t co-exist! They had to separate, no matter how painful.

¹³ I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.

God was gracious to Abraham and Ishmael is recognised as the father of many of the Arab people today and the ancestor of Muhammad. Many people see Ishmael as an answer of the Flesh to Abraham’s quest for the promised son and a continued threat to miracle child Israel to this day.

We too need to recognise that God will only bless what is of Him, but not the initiatives of the Flesh. There is still a huge difference, between a Good Idea and A GOD IDEA! We need discernment and Abraham’s wife eventually got it right. For those who are married, Listening to our wives may be God’s wisdom, as it was for Abraham. In any event, He will make His will clear when we truly seek it.

God bless and keep you today.

Do we strive to keep our conscience clear before God, heeding the voice of our conscience? Someone said recently, THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEARING AND HEEDING (Obeying).

In Genesis 20 there is an interesting exchange between God and a foreign king, Abimelek.

20 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’ Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her (Abraham was powerless to stop it).  Genesis 20

Abraham lived his life as a foreigner among the people of Canaan, he was always a minority citizen.

³ But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, ‘You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.’

⁴ Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, ‘Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, “She is my sister,” and didn’t she also say, “He is my brother”? I Have DONE THIS WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE AND CLEAN HANDS.’ Genesis 20

Abimelek, protested his innocence to God, in the dream and basically said he’d been deceived by them.

⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I KNOW you did this with a clear conscience, and so I HAVE KEPT YOU FROM SINNING AGAINST ME. (All sin is ultimately against God). That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for HE IS A PROPHET, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.’

God agreed with Abimelek that his conscience was clear, but still told him he had to return Sarah or die. Sarah was to be the mother of Isaac, a patriarch of Israel. Abimelek didn’t know any of this, but he was at risk of moving contrary to God’s purpose for humanity.

Paul spoke a lot about keeping a CLEAR CONSCIENCE, HEEDING THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. However, he also said;

³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ MY CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE ME INNOCENT. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:4

Our conscience may be clear, like Abimelek, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t sinned without knowing it.

⁸ Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. …¹⁰ And Abimelek asked Abraham, ‘What was your reason for doing this?’

¹¹ Abraham replied, ‘I said to myself, “There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” Genesis 20

¹⁴ Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelek said, ‘My land is before you; live wherever you like.’

Abimelek also gave a thousand shekels of silver for any offence to Sarah and declared her totally vindicated. Abraham prayed for him and God healed all the women in his kingdom who’d become barren, judgement had already begun.

Listen to the voice of our conscience, it’s a protection for us!

May God bless and keep you today.

There are times whenever it’s right to sit and be still. Selah

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre WHILE HE WAS SITTING at the entrance to his tent (Personal Space) IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and BOWED LOW to the ground. Genesis 18

19 The two angels arrived at Sodom IN THE EVENING, and Lot WAS SITTING IN THE GATEWAY OF THE CITY (Public Space). When he saw them, he got up to meet them and BOWED DOWN with his face to the ground. ² ‘My lords,’ he said, ‘please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.’ Genesis 19

Abraham was in his tent, probably sheltering from the heat, when he looked up and saw three figures. The Lord and the two angels came to visit him while he was sitting in his tent. He wasn’t busy with the livestock or giving orders to his servants, he was sitting or resting, out of the heat when they came to him. The Lord gave Abraham and Sarah, a personal revelation about their future, they would have a son of their own and Sarah laughed. (His Name Isaac means laughter) So they were sitting together in their tent and the Lord met with them and spoke personally to them.

The chapter continues with the Lord revealing to Abraham His concerns about all that was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah.

²⁰ Then the Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.’ Genesis 18

The Lord came down to see first hand what was going on there before He judged.

Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was Sitting at the Gate of Sodom when the two angels arrived in the evening.  Like his uncle, he also ‘bowed down with his face to the ground’ as he spoke to them. Lot also offered hospitality to the two visitors, insisting they stayed in his house.

Lot sat in the entrance to the city and the visitors spoke with him there as the daylight began to fade. They told him that God was sending judgement on both cities, but they helped him and his family a chance to flee. The two betrothed son-in-laws laughed at Lot when he told them what had been decreed for their home cities and perished when judgement fell in them.

Both Abraham and Lot were sitting, being still, when the Lord came to speak with them. Abraham with his wife Sarah in the tent during the heat of day and Lot at the city gate, during evening time. Both offered hospitality to the strangers and were blessed through that.

13 ^1-2 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! MSG

Waiting Time is never lost Time, nor is the Good we do for others.

God bless and keep you today.

⁹ And LET US not grow weary of doing good, for IN DUE SEASON we will reap, if we do not give up. Gal. 6:9 ESV

I was given the above scripture for my birthday recently, an encouragement to persevere/keep going in serving the Lord. The verse begins ‘Let Us’, which caught my attention because I’ve been listening to a series of podcasts by Derek Prince entitled, ‘Twelve Steps to a good New Year’. All of the steps are taken from the letter to the Hebrews and begin with the phrase ‘Let Us’. Derek Prince said this phrase suggests making resolutions, like New Year Resolutions, and also it’s for the Body of Believers, ‘Us’ is plural. He also suggests memorising the steps to take them forward into the year ahead.

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A MAN REAPS WHAT HE SOWS. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh (Sinful Nature or Old Man) from the flesh will reap destruction; WHOEVER sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for AT THE PROPER TIME WE WILL REAP A HARVEST IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP. Galatians 6 NIV

Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, comes to these thoughts near the end of his letter to the Church in Galatia. He basically says that everyone is sowing their lives and substance into something and we’re all going to reap a harvest. (Harvest of our Life) The verses only give two options, sowing to the Flesh or to the Spirit and both will produce a harvest. Whatever we sow to the Spirit will produce a harvest for eternal life, with the Father and Son.

¹⁰ THEREFORE (because of what’s been said), as we have opportunity, LET US DO GOOD TO ALL PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY to those who belong to the FAMILY OF BELIEVERS. 

Paul told the Galatians to do good to others, especially fellow believers, that’s part of our sowing to produce a harvest. It’s what we do for others, not ourselves, that’s going to produce our own harvest!

In Luke 16, Jesus told the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, unique to Luke’s Gospel. The manager was accused of wasting his master’s possessions and was going to lose his job. He pondered what to do to provide for his future. While still in work he decided to call in those who owed his master money and had them reduce the amounts they owed. They would then welcome him when he was no longer working, because he’d saved them money. Jesus commended the manager because he’d planned ahead and made provision for his future.

⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16

Jesus told His listeners to sow now, so that they would be welcomed into ‘eternal dwellings’. The way we use our time, talents and possessions now, will determine our eternal future.

God bless and keep you in these days.