Month: January 2023

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because OUR SALVATION IS NEARER NOW THAN WHEN WE FIRST BELIEVED. ¹² THE NIGHT IS NEARLY OVER; THE DAY IS ALMOST HERE. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Romans 13

¹¹ Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ]. ¹² The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ’s return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light. Romans 13 AMP

^11-14 BUT MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON’T GET SO ABSORBED AND EXHAUSTED IN TAKING CARE OF ALL YOUR DAY-TO-DAY OBLIGATIONS THAT YOU LOSE TRACK OF THE TIME AND DOZE OFF, OBLIVIOUS TO GOD. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, Romans 13 MSG

Having quoted these verses in Romans 13 above let me say that I personally don’t believe we’re at the End of the Age/Time but I do believe we’ve entered the Age of the Kingdom. The Time when the Kingdom of God is going to be manifested on earth as never before. I like the quotation from the Message MSG;

BUT MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON’T GET SO ABSORBED AND EXHAUSTED IN TAKING CARE OF ALL YOUR DAY-TO-DAY OBLIGATIONS THAT YOU LOSE TRACK OF THE TIME AND DOZE OFF, OBLIVIOUS TO GOD.

We are in a crucial time in the history of mankind, with huge changes occurring on the world scene and in our own societies. We mustn’t forget God is on the move, bringing forth His purposes in the midst of it all, while the enemy seeks to block and hinder every good intention of God towards humanity.

The Message version warns against becoming so absorbed in our earthly situation that we lose track of heavenly realities. We have to live our lives here on earth doing the best we can, but we’re only journeying through life here. Everything we see is temporary, it’s the unseen realm of the spirit that’s permanent. Fulfil our obligations here, but remember it is God’s purpose that will prevail.

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

 

⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and ISAAC WAS COMFORTED after his mother’s death. Genesis 24

Genesis 23 begins with the account of the death of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, at Hebron. We are told that Abraham grieved for Sarah and he then purchased a field with a cave from the Hittites to bury Sarah (Jacob was also later buried there).

Genesis 24 opens with the elderly Abraham ordering his chief servant (a type of the Holy Spirit) to go to back to his own people and get a wife for Isaac, his son. Isaac means ‘laughter’. At the end of this whole process, which was certainly directed by the Lord, we’re told of Rebekah becoming Isaac’s wife. The last phrase in the chapter tells us ISAAC WAS COMFORTED by Rebekah after his mother’s death. The Word of God records the son whose name means ‘laughter’ was Comforted after his mother’s death. This healing of Issac’s wound was noteworthy.

There are some seventy references to the word ‘Comfort’ in the Bible. OUR GOD IS ATTENTIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL as well as the affairs of the nations.

23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. Psalm 23

David’s famous 23rd psalm begins with God’s goodness as a faithful shepherd of His sheep.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME.

Verse 4 speaks of God’s correction (Rod) and guidance (Staff), which are a Comfort to David in all his trials.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Some prophets have declared Psalm 23 as a scripture for this year of 2023, with verse 5 being a key verse. God is going to prepare a table for His people right before our enemies. It’s a short psalm and it may be good for us to repeat it often during this year and TO THANK GOD FOR HIS MANY BLESSINGS TO US.

May God bless and keep you today.

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³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6

THE LORD IS NO ONE’S DEBTOR, HALLELUJAH.

 

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER. Psalm 118

We began to look yesterday at Psalm 118, the psalm between the shortest book, Psalm 117 and the longest book, Psalm 119.

There were three triples, phrases repeated three times in the following verses;

² Let Israel/house of Aaron/those who fear Him SAY (Speak out!):
    “His love endures forever (X3).”

¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them off (X3).

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things (X3)”

We also saw that Psalm 118:8 is recognised by some as the central verse or The Heart of the whole Bible and it is the central theme of the Word of God.

⁸ IT IS BETTER TO TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD
    than to trust in men.
⁹ IT IS BETTER TO TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD
    than to trust in princes.

The next verses may speak of going up to the Temple of God in Jerusalem;

¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord
    through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I WILL GIVE YOU THANKS, FOR YOU ANSWERED ME;
    YOU HAVE BECOME MY SALVATION.

Then come prophetic verses about the Messiah quoted in three Gospels;

²² The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone/capstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE;
    LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.

The following verses continue with the call to God to save His people;

²⁵ O Lord, save us!
    O Lord, grant us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
    From the house of the Lord we bless you.

The psalm draws towards an end with the psalmist’s personal praise to ‘his God’;

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER. Psalm 118, author unknown 

The writer begins by declaring the goodness of God in the midst of difficulties. Problems confirm our existence here in this world. Of course no one wants them but they’re a part of life for a season.

² Let Israel say:
    “HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say:
    “HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.”
⁴ Let those who fear the Lord say:
    “HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.”

The psalmist doesn’t only acknowledge God’s Love, he tells us to SPEAK IT OUT AND DECLARE HIS LOVE! When we’re in desperate situations it’s good to declare God’s Love and remind ourselves He’s with us. Our Praise and Declarations are powerful weapons.

⁵ When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
    and he answered me and set me free.
⁶ The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?
⁷ The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
    I look in triumph on my enemies. 

Time and again the psalmist turns to the Lord and Declared God’s Deliverance over his situation.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in man.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes. 

I’ve written in this old Bible where someone said that Psalm 118:8 is the central verse of the Bible. I’m not sure if that’s absolutely correct, but it must be close to the centre. A remarkable coincidence or one of those God things, that the centre of God’s Word tells us to Trust in Him, not in man or even princes/rulers.

The next three verses, Psalm 118:10-12, tell of the psalmist, perhaps David, being surrounded by enemies. Yet in each verse he repeats, ‘in the Name of the Lord I cut them off’. He knew victory in adversary.

¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall,
    but the Lord helped me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.

His Hope was almost gone, but then God came to help him and he sang of God’s goodness.

¹⁵ SHOUTS OF JOY AND VICTORY
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“THE LORD’S RIGHT HAND has done mighty things!
¹⁶     THE LORD’S RIGHT HAND is lifted high;
    THE LORD’S RIGHT HAND has done mighty things!”

Another triple phrase, regarding the Lord’s Right Hand – His Strength. The prophet Isaiah also speaks of God’s Right Hand;

¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND. Isaiah 41:10

The psalmist and the mighty prophet Isaiah both understood that God’s powerful Right Hand was raised to help us, His people.

¹⁷ I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death. Psalm 118

Verse 17 is a good declaration for people attacked by sickness, speaking Life and rejecting death over our situation.

God bless and keep you today.

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. ¹³ And when they had entered, they went up into the UPPER ROOM where they were staying … Acts 1

At the beginning of this year I was seeking direction for where the next Spreaker, Not Speaker, broadcasts should be from and I felt to begin the New Year in the Book of Acts. I finished the first chapter last week and began Chapter 2 yesterday.

Acts is strategic Book, linking the Gospels and the Epistles and it’s generally accepted that it was written by Luke, the doctor. He was probably the only non Jewish writer of the God’s Word.

Jesus appeared to the believers for a period of forty days; ‘Forty’ symbolises a new era. It rained forty days and nights when Noah was in the Ark, then a new beginning. Matthew is the fortieth book and first New Testament/Covenant Book.

Jesus is recorded saying three things to his followers before He ascended;

Wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! The three plus years with ‘wasn’t going to cut it’.

It wasn’t for them to know the ‘times and dates’ the Father had set by His own authority. (How much time is wasted today trying to guess at things God hasn’t revealed?)

They/We are to be His witnesses right across the whole earth.

Jesus ascended to heaven and two men in white appeared to tell His disciples and us, that He would RETURN IN THE SAME WAY.

His followers then withdrew to the UPPER ROOM and sought God in prayer for the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Before the outpouring of the Spirit, Peter quoted David’s words in Psalm 109:8, prophesying a replacement for Judas. They selected Matthias as the new twelfth apostle. The scriptures had to be fulfilled and things set in Divine Order.

Yesterday I read the first section of Acts 2, the coming of the Spirit, first in that Upper Room and then in public in such a powerful way that crowds flocked and the Church in Jerusalem was born! They knew the power and reality of the Spirit in that Upper Room and then went public to Jews from many nations (international gathering) in Jerusalem.

Last night we were listening to Johnny Enlow on Elijahstreams, Episode 40. They’ve been spending time with the Lord at the start of the Year. He said the Lord had spoken to him of an ‘outrageous prophecy’ which is the reason for this blog today.

“The whole earth is going to become an Upper Room!”

Wherever people are looking for God, He is going to come down in power right across the earth.

Johnny said that the early Church had been under a ‘triple lockdown’. By the armed forces of Rome, Herod the local governor and the Religious hierarchy of the day. But as soon as the Spirit came everything changed, they were UNSTOPPABLE.

³⁸ And now I (Gamaliel) say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; ³⁹ but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.” Acts 5

We have entered a New Year and I believe a new era of the Spirit on the earth.

May we experience the joy of being part of it. Hallelujah

 

³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. ³⁵ As a result, THE DEEPEST THOUGHTS OF MANY HEARTS WILL BE REVEALED. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” Luke 2 NLT 

Jesus presence still uncovers and reveals the deepest thoughts of many hearts, to this day.

There are two events in Matthew 9 where people’s hearts were spontaneously revealed through being near to Jesus.

The chapter opens with the miraculous healing of a paralysed man.

 ² Some men brought to him a paralysed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus SAW THEIR FAITH, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law SAID TO THEMSELVES, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

Jesus addressed the unspoken thoughts of the legalists by rebuking them for judging Him. He called their thoughts towards Him evil.

⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “WHY DO YOU ENTERTAIN EVIL THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEARTS? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ Then the man got up and went home.

Further on in Matthew 9 we read of another miracle, this time involving a lone woman in a large, pressing crowd around Jesus. She too had private thoughts about her own situation and she was desperate for healing.

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹ SHE SAID TO HERSELF, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed (HER CONFESSION).” Matthew 9

She hadn’t told anyone what she was going to do, but in her heart she also had FAITH that touching Jesus cloak would end her suffering! Hallelujah

²² Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

Jesus honoured this woman’s FAITH, He recognised her good heart and told her to ‘Go in peace’. She didn’t ask anything, just  touched and believed.

SOMETIMES WHAT’S IN OUR HEARTS WILL TAKE US FURTHER THAN WHAT’S IN OUR MOUTHS!

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

 

THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, will reward you. Matthew 6:4, 6, 18

A little girl said, “It’s a sec’et (she couldn’t quite say secret)”. Young children like to have secrets with their friends, special things that others don’t know about; in this case even their mother!

Jesus began to teach the crowds and in the early chapters of Matthew’s Gospel and He warned them three times in chapter 6 not to ‘do things to be seen by men’.

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others TO BE SEEN BY THEM (Publicity seeking is a No-No) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Our motives must never be to draw attention to ourselves, but to seek God alone, away from the crowd. It must be a sec’et/secret between us and the Lord. Jesus repeated this phrase three times, firstly in regard to Giving to the needy (Big temptation to be acclaimed), in Prayer and in Fasting. He was adamant that these things must never be done for others to see or know.

¹² Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord?
    He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
¹³ He will spend his days in prosperity,
    and his descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them. (The SECRET of the Lord is with those who fear Him NKJV) Psalm 25

GOD HAS SECRETS which at times He wants to share. Remember the LORD shared with Abraham in Genesis 18 the reason He’d come to visit Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus took three of the disciples up to the mountain when He met the Father and was transfigured. Many times God may have SECRET THINGS He wants to share with us, but we have to be willing. LIKE THE LITTLE CHILDREN we have to be close enough to hear HIS WHISPERS.

Does God have SECRETS for your ears alone in 2023? It would be so good to seek Him in stillness and learn what He has for you. If He doesn’t answer right away don’t give up, He’s speaking all the time. Just be patient and continue to be open for His direction.

¹⁰ BE STILL, AND KNOW that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46

May God bless and keep you today.

Fathers Love Ministry welcomes your support today. Please donate at our website;

fathersloveministry.co.uk

We are available to seek personal words of encouragement and to counsel those who wish it online, contact us on our website above.

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6

THE LORD IS NO ONE’S DEBTOR, HALLELUJAH.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29

God was still speaking PROTECTION AND BLESSINGS on His people in the most trying of circumstances, (carried into captivity in Babylon) and HE’S WELL ABLE TO CARE FOR US TODAY!

Jeremiah chapters 28 & 29 contain four false prophets by name (Hananiah in Jerusalem 28:16, Ahab and Zedekiah in Babylon 29:21 and Shemaiah in Babylon 29:32)  who were ‘speaking lies’ to God’s people. God warned His people to stop listening to their lies (even encouraging them to lie 29:8) and ultimately removed all of them.

God sent a letter of encouragement through His true prophet Jeremiah still in Jerusalem. What did He say to His people in this letter, God’s mailbag to Israel.

⁴ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “BUILD HOUSES AND SETTLE DOWN; PLANT GARDENS and eat what they produce. ⁶ MARRY AND HAVE SONS AND DAUGHTERS; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. INCREASE IN NUMBER THERE; DO NOT DECREASE.

Practical instruction for living in the exile, DON’T GIVE UP, BUILD NEW LIVES THERE AND INCREASE (just as in Egypt).

⁷ Also, SEEK THE PEACE AND PROSPERITY of the city to which I have carried you into exile. PRAY TO THE LORD FOR IT, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile”. Really? Yes, then you too will prosper. The old saying, ‘don’t cut off your nose to spite your face’, comes to mind. Be very wary of having bad attitude (or just Attitude) in any situation in which we find ourselves. Especially when it’s not to our liking!

The next section is a warning against following false prophets and liars who tell us what ‘we want to hear’ but not what God is saying. DON’T LISTEN TO LIES, NO MATTER HOW APPEALING THEY SEEM. SEEK THE CONFIRMATION OF GOD’S SPIRIT IN EVERY SITUATION, He wants to speak to us and lead us.

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.

Finally, God gave Israel hope for the future, but they were still going to have to live out their lives in the present. He would restore them when it was His time and He will also bless us today when His purposes have been achieved. All His promises are ‘Yes and Amen’ in Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20

God bless and keep you today.

 

24 AFTER Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah WERE CARRIED INTO EXILE from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs PLACED IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. Jeremiah 24

Jeremiah was not carried off to Babylon, he remained in Judah, but all the officials, the skilled workers and the craftsmen were taken into exile. All the people who could be of value and service to the Babylonians were removed. (How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? Psalm 137:4 Even the worshippers were taken)

The two baskets were ‘in front of the Temple of God’, this was a judgement of God and it had already happened. Wickedness had gone too far and God had acted to redress the situation.

² One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

In God’s eyes the figs were either very good or very bad, THERE WAS NO IN-BETWEEN. God had a future and a purpose for the good figs! He wanted to work with them and bring restoration. (God is always looking for Himself in us! Apostle Warren Hunter)

The good figs RIPENED EARLY, God wants people who will walk with Him early in their lives! I have read many prophetic words at the beginning of this New Year about a coming younger generation who will serve God wholeheartedly in these days.

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁵ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, WHOM I SENT AWAY from this place to the land of the Babylonians.”

Jerusalem and Judah had become so corrupt that God decided to entirely remove the ‘good figs/people’ from them. He could work with them outside their land, where they were totally dependent on Him.

⁶ My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ I WILL GIVE THEM A HEART TO KNOW ME, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

God’s heart was only good towards those who truly wanted to serve and obey Him. He wanted the best for them, even when they were so far removed from His Destiny for them.

God made a separation between the people and there were only two types. Where He found ‘Good figs, a type of Israel’ He wanted to bless and draw them back to Himself. God won’t turn a blind eye to wickedness among His people, a great separation may soon be coming. Remember the baskets of figs sat in front of His Temple. Our own hearts must be towards God in this hour.

God bless and keep you today.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, … Titus 2

Live our lives in such a way that we can receive God’s greatest blessings. DON’T BLOCK OUR BLESSINGS IN 2023.

God spoke a message to the prophet Jeremiah, warning Israel to reform their lives so that He wouldn’t have to visit them with judgement. He didn’t just speak to Jeremiah, He sent him to the Potter’s House for a working example of the message he was to bring.

³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jeremiah 18

The vessel was marred but the potter simply put it back on his wheel and formed a new vessel ‘as seemed best to him’. Whatever marred the vessel we’re not told, but the new pot was shaped as he wanted it. The original design was forgotten and SOMETHING WAS COMING FROM HIS WHEEL NOW.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. ⁷ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, ⁸ and if that nation I warned REPENTS of its evil, THEN I WILL RELENT and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 

WHEN WE REPENT GOD WILL RELENT! Selah, pause and consider.

 ⁹ And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, ¹⁰ and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

God doesn’t just speak to Israel, it goes wider than that. God has blessed different nations down the ages (The empires mentioned in Daniel 2, also Great Britain and America) as He chose and they may not even have been aware of His goodness to them. God’s Sovereign Choice may not always make sense to us, but we should yield to His ways in our lives. He’s given us free will and He works with us today to bring out the best in us.

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.”

God’s Blessing for all in 2023.