Month: November 2024

² he enquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines?’

The Lord answered him, ‘Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’ 1 Samuel 23

David had a heart to deliver the people of Keilah from the invading Philistine army, but his own forces were small and king Saul was an ever present danger. He sought the Lord on the matter and received permission to go and attack the invading enemy, but his men were afraid. David didn’t just ignore the voices of his men, but went back a second time to enquire of the Lord. Leaders who don’t listen to the voices of those around them may be headed for trouble. David had to be sure that he was hearing from God before he embarked on this mission.

³ But David’s men said to him, ‘Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!’

⁴ Once again David enquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, ‘Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.’ 1 Samuel 23

David was wise to listen to those around him who would be following him into battle, but he heard the Lord telling him twice to proceed. Sometimes it’s wise to heed the advice of others but our first loyalty must always be to the Lord and not with the majority. We don’t know if there was further discussion between David and his men but in the end they obeyed the Lord and set out to rescue their fellow countrymen.

⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.

God fulfilled His Promise to David and his men. He rewarded their courage and the enemies were the ones who lost both their livestock and soldiers.

OBEYING THE LEADING OF GOD MAY REQUIRE A STEP OF FAITH, BUT GOD WILL NEVER FAIL THOSE WHO TRULY SEEK TO SERVE HIM.

Keilah was also the place where the sole surviving member of the priests of Nob joined David.

⁶ (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

David and his men had stepped out and won a physical battle, but now we’re told that God sent a young priest to join them and he brought the ephod to them. They could now enquire enquire of the the Lord for their next steps. Fighting God’s battles in the physical CAN RESULT IN BLESSINGS IN THE SPIRITUAL FOR HIS CHILDREN!

Despite the victory to their mutual enemies, David was immediately under threat again from Saul and desperately needed God’s guidance for himself and his men. There may be seasons in life when the battles seem relentless, but so long as we continue to seek God’s direction we can know His deliverance.

What a mighty god we serve
Angels bow before Him
Heaven and earth adore Him
What a mighty God we serve.

Jahovah Shiloh my Peace
Jahovah signanu my righteousness. By Hezekiah Walker

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

 

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight (or will Direct your paths). Proverbs 3

I heard an interesting quote recently along these lines, ‘God never gives us a straight line where He’s taking us’. I think that’s important for several reasons. The Bible says we walk BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT (2 Corinthians 5:7) but our flesh struggles at every turn to wrestle control from the leading of the Spirit. The scripture from Proverbs tells us to submit to God and not follow the leading of our own understanding.

Joseph is a prime example of a life crafted by the Spirit of God and where he had no say in what was happening to him. Thrown into a pit by his own brothers, sold into slavery and then falsely accused and imprisoned. How much worse could things get for Joseph, yet God’s perfect plan was unfolding step by step for him. He had no option but to walk it out and eventually God used him to save his father Jacob and deliver the whole family.

⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6

Derek Prince said that some of the most important events in his life had been completely unplanned and unexpected by him. He said that, ‘he emigrated to the United States by accident’. He, his first wife Lydia and adopted African daughter had been living in Canada for a time and he’d been offered a position in a church in America. The border guards told him that the stay he was requesting was too long for a visit and so they actually helped him to fill in the forms on the spot and emigrate. He said in retrospect it proved to be one of the most important decisions of his life. God had orchestrated the whole thing and the very clever Cambridge University Fellow didn’t know a thing about it.

‘God never gives us a straight line where He’s taking us’.

Speaking from my own experience, after my first wife was taken to heaven, I decided to visit my sister in South Africa. During my last week there, she gave me a couple of books to read about a lady called Joan Hunter from Texas, who has a miracle ministry and saw many wonderful healings. When I returned home I decided to see if she ever visited Ireland and discovered that she was soon to visit. I called the lady who was hosting her on the trip and Anne eventually became my wife! God is Good, but He doesn’t lead us in straight lines to where He’s taking us. I had to go all the way to South Africa to make the connection with the lady who would become my future wife.

The scripture from Proverbs 3 makes an important point, we can’t trust our own understanding and at the same time, be led by the Spirit.

Dallas Willard said that, ‘the biggest threat to God’s Kingdom in our lives is our own kingdom’.

It’s far better to be humble and uncertain before God, than to be self assured and controlling our own destiny. This world is full of self assured people who are not aligned with God’s will for their lives.

³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6

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

 

⁸ Is that why you have all conspired AGAINST ME? No one TELLS ME when MY SON MAKES A COVENANT with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned ABOUT ME OR TELLS ME that my son has incited my servant to LIE IN WAIT FOR ME, as he does today.’ 1 Samuel 22

It’s interesting to listen to the words of King Saul, a ruler gone wrong, no longer walking with the God of Israel. In this single verse he uses the word, ‘ME’, five times and also blames his own son Jonathan of betrayal. He’s the ruler of Israel, but he’s only concerned about himself and not any longer about the people under him.

⁹ But Doeg the Edomite, WHO WAS STANDING WITH SAUL’S OFFICIALS, (He wasn’t an official, but the head shepherd), said, ‘I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub at Nob. ¹⁰ Ahimelek enquired of the Lordfor him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.’

Doeg, a lesser servant, gave Saul information about the priest of the Lord at Nob and Saul responded by ordering Ahimelek and his whole family to be brought before him. Saul then ordered that they be put to death, but his own officials refused to obey him. They had MORE FEAR OF THE LORD than Saul.

¹⁷ Then the king ordered the guards at his side: ‘Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.’

But the king’s officials were UNWILLING TO RAISE A HAND TO STRIKE THE PRIESTS of the Lord. 1 Samuel 22

Self-centred leaders lose their Fear of the Lord, they only think of themselves and their own position. How many secular and religious leaders today have the same characteristics exhibited by Saul, totally self-absorbed and without any evident Fear of God. Saul used those around him for his own ends, he had no thought of helping anyone but himself.

²⁰ But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. ²¹ He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord.

Ahitub was the only member of the priestly family to escape and he fled to David who admitted that it was Ahimelek’s help for him that had incensed Saul to kill the priests and then slaughter the whole town of Nob. David was grieved that his presence was responsible for so many deaths and told Ahitub to stay with him and he would protect him. David had a true heart for the people, as does the Lord, but a leader who had lost all Fear of God cares nothing for them. David was very much the underdog in this situation, but God was with David.

When Duncan Campbell, the minister who was to lead the Hebridean Revival arrived on the island he was asked by elderly intercessors where he stood with God. His answer was unassuming, but he said, ‘that at least he feared God’. That single confession allowed God to touch whole communities in a measure seldom seen in modern times.

Today, more than ever, we must be sure that those we follow Fear the Lord.

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

¹⁹ … When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard (banner) against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives]. Isaiah 59 Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC

19 … The Spirit of LORD JEHOVAH will humiliate him. Isaiah 59 Peshitta Bible

19 for the enemie shall come like a flood: but the Spirit of the Lord shall chase him away. Isaiah 59 Geneva Bible

I was thinking this morning of the sequence of a couple of significant events which happened recently in the nation of Ireland, a country which the Lord used mightily in keeping the Gospel alive in Europe and probably the world. On Thursday, 24 October 2024, a Hate Speech Bill was passed in the Dail (Irish Parliament) and signed into Law by the President on 29 October 2024. Ireland is not alone in the passing of such legislation, which enshrined multi gender culture in the law of the land. (Derek Prince said gender was a grammatical term and sex was physiological. He further said that language was being incorrectly used to cover up and mislead people.)

On the following Saturday, immediately after the passing of the bill, thousands of Believers held a March for Jesus, in Dublin City. I’m certain that this was the Spirit of God stirring the hearts of the Church in the capital to proclaim the Name of the Lord in the heart of the nation of Ireland. These events may well be repeated in many different countries as restrictions on freedom are imposed under new legislation. I heard someone say recently, ‘when freedom is gone, there is only slavery!’. The stakes are increasing, but God’s Spirit will raise up the Banner of the Lord in many places and the Church is going to have to take a public stand for the Lord and His Kingdom. This confrontation is centred in the realm of the spirit and the Church are the only people who can oppose what is happening in that realm. We mustn’t lose heart, the Lord is with His people and He will ‘Triumph’, no matter the strength of the opposition. Hallelujah

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

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

 

22 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. ² ALL THOSE WHO WERE IN DISTRESS OR IN DEBT OR DISCONTENTED GATHERED ROUND HIM, and he became their commander. 1 Samuel 22

In English David attracted the three ‘Ds’, those who were in Distress, Debt or Discontented. A ragtag force of four hundred, a very unimpressive group, yet they were beginning of something much larger and more powerful, whom the Lord would use to take back the nation. We see further on in this chapter that Saul would promise wealth and power to those who would do his bidding to seek and destroy David.

I see a lot of parallels in this account with the situation in the world today. Many dissatisfied people are in just the position of those who swore allegiance to David, while others have been persuaded to follow the obvious route to gain  wealth and power for themselves. They’ve sold themselves to powerful rulers like Saul, who were determined to hold onto control and oppose God’s choice, David.

⁷ He said to them, ‘Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 1 Samuel 22

Saul’s sole reason for existence was to destroy David and he promised wealth and power now for those who would follow him and oppose God’s plans. He didn’t even trust his own son Jonathan, his recognised heir, who stayed faithful to him to the end, at the cost of his own life.

⁸ Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.’ 1 Samuel 22

On the physical level there was a very strong force, the king, pursuing and harassing a much smaller and weaker group, within his own people. However, the true might in any situation always lies with the unseen hand of God. Many today may have chosen to follow those who seemed to hold the reins of economic and governmental power, for personal gain. However, Saul couldn’t sustain his rule, he fell badly and so did those around him. True authority doesn’t lie with those in high office in this world realm, but God’s kingdom rules over all. I can think of no better words, than the ones Jesus taught His disciples;

⁹ ‘This, then, is how you should pray:

 

21 David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, ‘Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?’ 1 Samuel 21

DAVID WAS LOOKING FOR A PLACE, A SAFE PLACE, TO GET AWAY FROM SAUL. We have all been PLACED on this earth in a certain time and location, much in our lives has already been determined for us. David seemed to be continually drawn to men and places who worshipped the God of Israel. (He’d previously gone to Samuel at Ramah and then they went together to Naioth 1 Samuel 19:18) David and his men got some food and he took back Goliath’s sword, but he had to move on. We too may receive help and support at certain stages on our life’s journey from people who treat us kindly, but they may only be temporary stops along the way. We mustn’t allow ourselves to stop short of God’s destiny for us, because the going becomes easier for a time!

¹⁰ That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:

¹² David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. (The Philistine King) 1 Samuel 21

The next PLACE which David fled to was the land of the Philistines, but things became too complicated for him there, he feigned insanity and fled their land. David must have been very desperate to get respite from Saul to try and escape by going over to his enemies.

22 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. ² All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered round him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. 1 Samuel 22

David found a PLACE to stay for a time and now people were drawn to him, to live with him and follow him. God can draw people around us in the right time, His time. David was no longer alone on his journey, now others were dependent on him. He became their commander, leading a small army, which in time would grow to become the army of the nation of Israel.

There are Places to stay, they may be long or short and others may come to travel with us, but we must keep looking to the Lord for the next PLACE He has for us. It’s very important that we keep moving on with the Lord, because it’s only in His appointed PLACE, and with His appointed people, that we will ever find true peace and fulfilment. David lived for a time in the cave of Adullam, but God gave him rest there, for a time.

GOD HAS A PLACE FOR EVERYONE, MAY WE FIND OUR PLACE AND KNOW MUCH PEACE AND BLESSINGS IN IT. AMEN

May the Lord bless and keep us today. Immanuel, God is with us.

¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which WE DRAW (COME) NEAR TO GOD. Hebrews 7

Christ has opened the way for us to COME NEAR TO GOD, in a way which those living under Law could never accomplish, but we must make the decision to do it. I have listened to a teaching by the late Dallas Willard (YouTube – Dallas Willard, A Call to Silence) recently, where he was speaking to a ladies group and encouraging them of the need to set aside extended periods of time to be still before the Lord. He said that as we wait in God’s presence we begin to take on or absorb the character and nature of God, but IT WILL TAKE TIME. Dallas Willard said that we could then carry the Presence of God with us wherever we went! He suggested that the Christian Life, SHOULD BE MORE ABOUT BEING (Carrying God’s Presence, or another expression, Glory Carriers) than Doing. Westerners tend to come from very Action oriented cultures, but people should be able to recognise something different about us, without constantly striving to be agents of change. The scriptures instruct us to be, ‘Salt and Light’, BOTH OF WHICH ARE SILENT. People may be more deeply impacted by who we truly are, than what we try to say or do do.

Two further scriptures reiterating God’s Promise to bless those who continue to seek Him.

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ AND YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME, WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. ¹⁴ I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU, Jeremiah 29 

⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW TO YOU. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4

What a Promise to the Church today. May we make sure to take hold of it. Hallelujah

Congratulations to Donald Trump on his reelection as president of the United States of America. May God help him to rule wisely and well for the people of that great nation.

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

⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. CONSIDER THE OUTCOME (NOT Just Words!) OF THEIR WAY OF LIFE AND IMITATE THEIR FAITH. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13

⁶ SHE (Immoral woman) GIVES NO THOUGHT TO THE WAY OF LIFE;
    her paths are crooked, but she does not know it. Proverbs 5

A GOOD EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW AND A BAD EXAMPLE TO AVOID.

There are many people today who give NO THOUGHT TO THE WAY OF LIFE AND ARE WALKING ON WHAT THE BIBLE CALLS THE BROAD ROAD.

¹³ ‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7

God always offers people a Choice, even when we rebel against Him and His Kingdom rule. I believe that America has been offered a Choice today in their election, between two contrasting futures and the outcome of their decision may well have global implications. Then again, we must also wait and see if election is a fair one, but the truth must come out.

⁸ “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I AM SETTING BEFORE YOU THE WAY OF LIFE AND THE WAY OF DEATH.’ Jeremiah 21

Many prophets are citing the Book of Daniel as being very apt for the present times in which we live. But King Belshazzar mocked the God of Israel by taking the goblets from His Temple and using them to drink to idols. It cost him his life and brought about the ruination of the whole Babylonian system. Will this be repeated again in our day?

²² ‘But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Daniel 5

God sent His people into exile because of their disobedience and those people never saw the land of Israel again. However, the Jews survive to this day, but Babylon was destroyed never to rise again as a physical presence on the earth. The system has existed in the governments and economies of this world, but God is moving now to end it’s influence upon mankind.

The final words of Joshua to Israel come to mind on this auspicious day,

¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, THEN CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES THIS DAY whom you will serve, whether thegods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.’ Joshua 24

Only two choices are available to us, let’s choose the Way of Life.

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

 

¹¹ We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are SLOW TO LEARN. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Hebrews 11

We want to look at the Word, ‘SLOW’ today, both in positive and negative terms. I’ve quoted the verses above because I read them earlier this morning. We needn’t get stuck on them because one of the following verses tells us that it’s possible to get understanding as we apply ourselves.

¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who BY CONSTANT USE HAVE TRAINED THEMSELVES TO DISTINGUISH GOOD FROM EVIL. Hebrews 5

God is SLOW in many ways when He’s dealing with the people on the earth and  HIS SLOWNESS IS AN EXPRESSION OF HIS MERCY!

¹⁵ But you, O LORD, ARE A COMPASSIONATE AND GRACIOUS GOD,
    SLOW TO ANGER, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86

and again in Psalm 103,

Finally Psalm 145

I realise that the verses in the above psalms may be repetitive but sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves of the nature of the God we serve, so different to the people and ways of the world we live in. This same character and nature of the Lord are supposed to be forming in us, His Children! (Joel 2:13 and Jonah 4:3 also speak of God’s compassion and reluctance to send calamity on any.)

Perhaps in the interests of balance we should add one scripture from Nahum 1,

³ THE LORD IS SLOW TO ANGER BUT GREAT IN POWER;
    THE LORD WILL NOT LEAVE THE GUILTY UNPUNISHED.

What ways do the scriptures speak to us as believers regarding SLOWNESS?

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and HOW SLOW TO BELIEVE all that the prophets have spoken! Luke 24:24

Jesus was exasperated at times with the disciples unbelief, God wants and needs us to trust Him, so He can move on our behalf!

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be QUICK TO LISTEN, SLOW TO SPEAK AND SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY, ²⁰ for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness life that God desires. James 1 

James tells us we should be quick to do one thing, ‘Listen’, but SLOW to do two things, ‘Speak and Become Angry’. God can give us grace not to overreact, stay calm and treat others as God treats us.

⁹ THE LORD IS NOT SLOW in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. INSTEAD HE IS PATIENT WITH YOU, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3

God is a PATIENT God (the old translation was long suffering). God give us grace to be merciful in the difficult situations we face in our lives. Help us to be more like Jesus and not wound others by harsh words or actions today.

The Lord bless and keep you. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

 

 

⁶ So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. 1 Samuel 21

Religion will often seek to put obstacles or conditions in our path to stop us freely enjoying God’s blessings!

Jesus quoted this verse to the Pharisees, recorded in the first three Gospels, whenever they criticised His disciples for satisfying their hunger by eating a few grains of corn as they walked through the fields on the Sabbath. It seemed that the Pharisees were always on the lookout for people who might break the Law. They set themselves up as enforcers of the Law, but the coming of Jesus spelt the end of the whole Law based system. Many people today still think that if they, ‘live a good life’, God will accept them, but they’re wrong. There’s only person who lived a perfectly good life and it’s Christ’s sacrifice which is available to everyone as the only way to the Father!

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14

⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him,  “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the[real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Performance based religion will never be acceptable to the Father, He made the way for everyone to come to Him. Christ is THE DOOR to the Father in Heaven.

⁶  … the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and REPLACED BY HOT BREAD ON THE DAY IT WAS TAKEN AWAY. 1 Samuel 21

We shouldn’t be content to live on yesterday’s bread, God has fresh bread for us each day. The Temple in the Old Testament was a shadow of what was in Heaven and what Jesus brought to the world. God desires fellowship with His children even here in time on earth and we should seek a fresh relationship with Him in our daily lives. Fresh bread is so much more appealing and satisfying than living on yesterday’s bread.

²² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁷ So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6, AMP

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