Month: October 2023

³ They will be called OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the DISPLAY OF HIS SPLENDOUR. Isaiah 61

God is looking for a people through whom He will ‘Display His Splendour’, to the nations of this earth. The Word says we cannot serve two masters, but as we lay down our lives for God then He can and will use us in powerful ways.

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL. Matthew 6

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that IN EVERYTHING HE MIGHT HAVE THE SUPREMACY. Colossians 1

The opening of Isaiah 61 is sometimes referred to as Christ’s manifesto which He read to the people in the synagogue in Nazareth, Luke 4:18-19. He proclaimed to the listeners that the magnificent prophecy in Isaiah was fulfilled in Him. The Lord is still working to see those words and His Kingdom established today.

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to BIND UP THE BROKEN-HEARTED,
    to PROCLAIM FREEDOM FOR THE CAPTIVES
    and RELEASE FROM DARKNESS FOR THE PRISONERS,(The blind) 
² to proclaim the YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOUR (Luke 4 stops here)
    and the day of vengeance of our God, (on His enemies)
to COMFORT ALL WHO MOURN,
³     and PROVIDE FOR THOSE WHO GRIEVE IN ZION –
to bestow on them A CROWN OF BEAUTY
    instead of ashes,
the OIL OF JOY 
    instead of mourning,
and A GARMENT OF PRAISE
    instead of a spirit of despair.

There’s nothing negative or critical in these words, yet so often religion and ignorant people paint the Lord as an unjust tyrant. The tragedy is that so many believe it, but Christ came to bring us Good News.

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; GRACE AND TRUTH CAME THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. John 1

The next verse in Isaiah 61 tells us the “HIGH CALLING” GOD HAS FOR HIS PEOPLE IN THESE TIMES.

⁴ They will REBUILD THE ANCIENT RUINS
    and RESTORE THE PLACES LONG DEVASTATED;
they will RENEW THE RUINED CITIES
    that have been devastated for generations. Isaiah 61

REBUILD, RESTORE, RENEW all the places long devastated. God is the Creator, the devil is the destroyer. We need to align ourselves with God in these days for He will surely have His way, no matter how many obstacles are put in His way.

God bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

⁵ THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS:

No matter what this world, circumstances or the enemy tries to tell you, neither Shame nor Disgrace are the Portion of God’s Children.

⁴ “DO NOT BE AFRAID; YOU WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.
    DO NOT FEAR DISGRACE; YOU WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED.
YOU WILL FORGET THE SHAME OF YOUR YOUTH
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth. Isaiah 54

²⁶ You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
NEVER AGAIN WILL MY PEOPLE BE SHAMED.
²⁷ Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
NEVER AGAIN WILL MY PEOPLE BE SHAMED. Joel 2

HONOUR is the opposite of Shame and God wants His Children to be Blessed and Honoured, but Jesus taught that it’s not something we should try and grasp for ourselves.

¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, “Friend, move up to a better place.” Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests.¹¹ FOR ALL THOSE WHO EXALT THEMSELVES WILL BE HUMBLED (No Exceptions, sooner or later it will happen), AND THOSE WHO HUMBLE THEMSELVES WILL BE EXALTED.’ Luke 14 (Exaltation or Honour is part of the blessing God bestowed on Abraham, the father of all Believers, Galatians 3:13, 14)

Honour is the Portion of all God’s Children and sooner or later it will also appear as we continue to walk with the Lord. However Honour is something given, not taken in the flesh.

GLORY is also the opposite of Shame and we are called to reflect and reveal God’s Glory. The moon reflects the light of the sun.

⁶ God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ ⁷ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰ BUT GLORY, HONOUR, AND PEACE FOR EVERYONE WHO DOES GOOD: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favouritism. Romans 2

Start decreeing and declaring your identity as God’s Child. Reject and Refuse Shame, call forth Honour and Glory as Children of the King. Amen

God bless and keep you in these days. Immanuel

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    the justice of your cause/your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalm 37, David

Psalm 37 is a psalm of David, the man who endured so many trials right to the end of his life. He told Jonathan, son of Saul, that he was only a step away from death (1 Samuel 20:3), real pressure, but God brought him through it all. God gives us a significant promise in the verses above, our part is to commit our way and trust Him. He will then vindicate us before men. I believe I’ve already mentioned a word by Angela Meer, leader of Firehouse Ministries for this year on the Hebrew Calendar, let God be our vindication or justify us.

⁷ BE STILL before the Lord
    and WAIT PATIENTLY for him;
DO NOT FRET WHEN PEOPLE succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes. 

We must be prepared for a Time of Waiting, until God brings His purposes for us to fulfilment. We live in a Microwave Age, where people want everything to happen quickly so we won’t be inconvenienced, but God has own His timetable and it’s perfect. Besides we learn during the waiting and our character is reformed to be more like the Lord.

⁸ REFRAIN FROM ANGER AND TURN FROM WRATH;
    DO NOT FRET – it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Anger and wrath are identified as hindrances to the Lord’s will for our lives. We need God to help us overcome these character traits so that we can receive all He has for us. That’s also part of trusting Him to vindicate us, rather than rising up to defend ourselves.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ BUT THE MEEK WILL INHERIT THE LAND
    AND ENJOY PEACE AND PROSPERITY.

Another great promise of God’s goodness towards His Children if we’ll walk with Him and commit to His plan for our lives.

Our God is a Good God, worthy of our trust. He wants the best for us as we submit to His Call upon our lives.

May God bless and keep you today. Immanuel

SURELY HE HAS DONE GREAT THINGS!
²¹     DO NOT BE AFRAID, O LAND OF JUDAH;
    BE GLAD AND REJOICE.
SURELY THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS!
²²     Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
²³ Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
    both autumn and spring rains, as before.
²⁴ The threshing floors WILL BE FILLED WITH GRAIN;
    the vats WILL OVERFLOW WITH NEW WINE AND OIL. Joel 2 

I read Joel 2:21 last night and felt the Lord was encouraging and reassuring us that He is with us in difficult days. Joel prophesied the future outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people, so his word has impact far beyond his own time. These verses speak of a great time of RESTORATION, allow them to dwell in our spirits today. Don’t be afraid, be Glad and Rejoice, Surely the Lord has done Great Things. God is moving powerfully, let’s stay in Faith and trust Him for His best plans for His children in the times that lie ahead.

God bless and keep you today. Immanuel

 

³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and TO FINISH HIS WORK. John 4

²⁴ In a race everyone runs, but only one person gets first prize. SO RUN ‘YOUR RACE’ TO WIN. 1 Corinthians 9 The Living Bible 

John 4 was were Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar and asked her for a drink. He broke every protocol in the culture of that day, but He wanted to engage with this woman and through her, the community in which she lived. After the woman had left to go back and tell her people about the Lord, He spoke some significant words to His Disciples, those under discipline! Jesus told them that the thing which energised Him and gave Him life was was to do will of His Father AND TO FINISH HIS WORK. From the very beginning Jesus had the end in sight and was determined to Finish the Father’s work for His life.  (Thank God He did)

Paul taught a similar message in the first letter to the Corinthian Church. The Living Bible makes his word personal, ‘Run YOUR RACE to get the prize’. Nobody else can run our race for us, we’re uniquely called and equipped to do it. It would be easy during difficult times to give up and stop running our race but God who called us to run will give us the strength to finish. Like those who’ve gone before us we must run to the end of Our Race. No one said it would be easy but the rewards now and for all eternity are great.

God bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

^{11 “}Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. ¹² I WILL SHOW YOU COMPASSION SO THAT HE WILL SHOW YOU COMPASSION AND RESTORE YOU TO YOUR LAND.” Jeremiah 42

I was impacted by Jeremiah 42:12 in yesterday’s blog, even such a powerful enemy as the king of Babylon would have had to show the remnant compassion if God had done it. An intercessor gave me a word recently that, ‘I should encourage myself IN THE LORD during this season’. David did this after the kidnapping of their wives and children from Ziklag,

⁶ David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength IN THE LORD HIS GOD. 1 Samuel 30

David faced another dangerous situation, with his own family taken prisoner. (I should imagine Benjamin Netanyahu feels something very similar today after the Hamas attack and it’s very apparent how quickly even Israel’s media have turned against him.) Yet David, their leader, had to rise above the circumstances and seek God’s Guidance and Deliverance for them all.

⁸ and David enquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?’

‘Pursue them,’ he answered. ‘You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.’ 1 Samuel 30

David received God’s confirmation to go after the Amalekites and rescue the people and AS THEY PURSUED THEM GOD brought an Egyptian slave to guide them down to their enemy’s camp. 1 Samuel 30:16 God was with David and COMPLETELY REVERSED ALL THE ENEMY HAD DONE. The enemy struck during a moment of weakness but God turned it for good.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
    your vindication/the justice of YOUR CAUSE like the noonday sun. Psalm 37

In a recent prophetic word, Angela Meer, of Firehouse Ministries, said the Lord told her that, ‘His Children must leave our Vindication/Reputation to Him and not try to defend ourselves’. When we rise up to defend against attacks we can prevent God’s perfect will for ourselves and others.

He is with us and He is Faithful in all our situations. Immanuel

 

¹⁰ “If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.” Jeremiah 42

The remnant left in Judah came to seek wisdom and guidance from Jeremiah the prophet, concerning their future. They pledged to follow whatever the Lord would tell them through Jeremiah, so he sought the Lord on their behalf.

⁷ TEN DAYS LATER THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME to Jeremiah. ⁸ So he called (them) together … Jeremiah 42

God speaks and leads us at the time of His Choice, He is outside of and Lord over time. While our hearts wait before God we are changed in deeper ways than we realise. We learn Humility and Trust as we wait for God’s answer. Bill Johnson said he asks God many things and God answers him, but often he has to wait. As he keeps his heart open and expectant an answer eventually comes through his thoughts, other people or by circumstances. The prophet Jeremiah knew how to wait for God’s Word.

^{11 “}Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. ¹² I WILL SHOW YOU COMPASSION SO THAT HE WILL SHOW YOU COMPASSION AND RESTORE YOU TO YOUR LAND.”

The remnant were afraid of the powerful forces around them and God addressed those fears and reassured them of His care. You may have a ‘king of Babylon figure’, threatening you now but OUR GOD IS FAR ABOVE THEM! The enemy uses fear a lot to incite the Believers of all ages into making wrong decisions. God gave His Word, Stay in the Land where I placed you and I’ll be with you.

Many people are experiencing difficulties at the present and the enemy and our flesh want us to escape those pressures. I believe God is telling us to trust Him and He will bring us through, don’t look to this world for a way out. This world system has been dominated by the devil and his agents, but they are going to fail and soon. Truly, there’s nothing to go back to. God is faithful and He will bless and protect us as we keep faith with Him.

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

God wants to bless His people and He will do it. Hallelujah

 

 

God WHISPERS and God WINKS, encouragements for His children.

¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord wasnot in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (Whisper) 1 Kings 19

God doesn’t always speak dramatically, He doesn’t need to.

God had drawn Elijah aside after his victory over the prophets of Baal on Carmel. He had more assignments for him but he needed Elijah to be centred on His voice again and not on the screaming rants of Jezebel. God’s Voice may only come to us in a Whisper, when no distractions are present.

When I was a university student, a long time ago now, I recall two professors of engineering. The younger was the youngest head of department in the University and the other was extremely bright and perhaps a little bit eccentric. Some of the students were having a moan to the head that they couldn’t understand the other prof who was in the stratosphere much of the time. He gave them some candid advice, LISTEN TO THE FIRST FEW SENTENCES and after that don’t try to follow his arguments. THE ANSWER WAS CONCEALED IN THE FIRST WORDS, BUT YOU HAD TO LISTEN CLOSELY TO HEAR IT. Some of God’s children are finding it difficult to hear His voice today, too much speech and too many voices in this digital world. Tell God you’re sorry if you’ve missed His reply and humbly ask Him to repeat what He’s saying. Get still and listen to the Whisper!

⁹ During that night the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. ¹⁰ If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah ¹¹ and listen to what they are saying. Afterwards, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.’ Judges 7

When Gideon overheard the interpretation of an invader’s dream he was encouraged to surround the enemy camp with his 300 men and destroy them. God gave him the REASSURANCE that He was him and Israel.

A God Wink of the Father’s Love to us in the present time. Anne and I were praying and worshipping regarding a pressing matter in a room outside our house. A man arrived to read the electric meter and I decided on impulse to go out and asked him for the reading he’d taken. The reading was 77720! I had just proclaimed  Psalm 20 over our place and 777 represented triple completion. God heard and answered immediately, but we wouldn’t have seen the meter reader until we went outside to pray, a short time before. God is uniquely creative and speaks in multiple ways to us all. Open our eyes to see Lord.

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
    to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25

We are the Kings and Priests of God Most High.

God bless and keep you today. Immanuel, He is with us.

An interesting observation by Rabbi Curt Landy in light of recent events in southern Israel.

“Whenever they start murdering Jewish babies, The Deliverer is on the scene.”

When Pharaoh started killing Israel’s children, Moses was on the scene.

When Herod murdered the children in Judah the Messiah and Saviour of all the earth was on the scene.

Heaven will not ignore the same atrocities committed against the children of Abraham, the father of all who believe, today.