Author: U1tt9i1d93

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things(not just a few things) will be given to you as well.

As I looked in an old Bible today I saw that a friend called Sven Uno had given me this verse of scripture in a Christmas Card on 16 December 1995, a long time ago now. I had travelled with him on a prayer team around Spain in 1991 and later met with him in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was a faithful brother with a wonderful servant’s heart, always looking for ways to help others. The other thing I remember was that he was a very skilful driver, picking his way in a large Chrysler people carrier full of intercessors through the heavy traffic in cities like Madrid, Seville and Barcelona. The driving in Spain was very different from Ireland, a lot more aggressive with drivers contesting every piece of ground.

So this friend, the skilful driver, sent me this verse, with a direction for my life. You see there can be a lot of contesting in the traffic of our lives, a lot of pushing and shoving going on and we can become caught up in it. Our hearts can be influenced by the spirit of those all around us and suddenly we’re in there, fighting for ‘our ground’. Sadly, this is especially true during Christmas time.

Jesus said, ‘seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God’ and the other things we need will follow. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into the race for things/possessions.

In a parallel reference to this section of Matthew in Luke 12:32-34, Jesus says, where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also. Our hearts will follow our treasure, there is a drawing power in what we value and prize.

May you be blessed today and may your heart seek security in the Father’s Love, the true way to receive all our needs.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AMERICA

O give thanks to the Lord,
All you His people,
O give thanks to the Lord for He is good.
Let us praise, let us thank,
Let us celebrate and dance,
O give thanks to the Lord for He is good.

Isaiah 63:7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
The deeds for which He is to be praised,
According to all the Lord has done for us
– yes, the many good things He has done for Israel,
According to His compassion and many kindnesses.

I once read a story about a missionary who had undergone a very difficult time in their service on the field for the Lord. They had tried everything but nothing had worked and so they were sitting in a mission station, getting ready to leave their field of service. Their eye fell upon a text on the wall of the station and a slogan which read, ‘have you tried PRAISE’? So they did just that, thanking Him for all His goodness and they cancelled their application to leave.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good!

Be blessed today as you turn your eyes to our wonderful Lord.

Daniel 5, Royal banquet leads to royal death and division of the kingdom.

At the beginning of Daniel, 2:28, God is called ‘the Revealer of Mysteries’ and the book of Daniel is full of mysteries. It appears that this is a major aspect of God which is demonstrated throughout Daniel and he was given a special gift to interpret these mysteries. We are told that it’s God alone who reveals mysteries, so we know where to go for our answers, whether direct from God or through someone like Daniel who is gifted to interpret them. God often speaks in ways that are not totally clear and require us to seek Him further for more revelation.

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

Treating the holy things as common, and using them to praise other gods leads to a swift and final judgement for Belshazzar.

Daniel wasn’t in the picture until the writing on the wall but he’s once again called to interpret the mystery of the message.

5:17 Daniel didn’t grasp for power even though he had a unique gift but agreed to explain the riddle.

His explanation of WHY the writing has appeared, beginning with God’s dealings with previous gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar. His authority was delegated authority 5:18,19. Delegated authority from God himself.

5:22,23 But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this, God’s disciplining of Nebuchadnezzar, instead you have set yourself up against the Lord of Heaven…. You did not honour the God holds in HIS HAND all your life and your ways

Mene, Mene(your days numbered, finished)
Tekel(weighed and found wanting)
Parsin(kingdom divided)

5:29 Daniel once more promoted to third in the land, God continued to raise him up in the alien Babylonian court system. We have a saying, ‘you can’t keep a good man/woman down’. Maybe we should say you can’t keep God’s good one down, those who know Him and His favour.

Does God want to share a mystery with you today? Does He have something unique to speak to you or show you? Daniel’s circumstances were difficult, living in exile under foreign rulers but he received things for his time and even our day.

May you be blessed and may God reveal some of His mysteries to you today.

Continue reading “Submit to God’s trials and we will love Him more”

In Daniel 1, we read about four children of exile from Jerusalem who were moved to positions of influence in the court of a foreign king.

Training period of three years, like studying for a university degree today. They remained kosher, wouldn’t eat the king’s food there. They sat their finals, interviewed by the king and were appointed to his service. Training was over and their working lives had begun.

I wonder how many of us today feel strangers in our own workplaces and other areas of our lives. We have the call and destiny of Heaven on our lives but ‘our place’ seems far removed from that.

V17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning . In addition, Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

God prepared and equipped these four exiles to function in the court of the king of Babylon, which symbolises the world system. Daniel was also given a supernatural gift, he could function in two realms and so can we today. We too have a connection and understanding in the realm of the Spirit.

It is important for us to know we are in the ‘right place’ today! It may or may not be the best paid area and it may seem to be totally at odds with our Kingdom calling but we need to be where we’re called to be. The exile of Judah to Babylon placed the people of God and His plan for mankind under the hand of a foreign king who had the power of life and death in his hands, but God kept them.

God is able to keep us where He’s placed, even in the heart of the enemy camp. Don’t be discouraged today, serve Him and His plans for your life will bear eternal fruit.

Be blessed as you walk out your calling today.

Lean harder upon the Lord, draw more upon Him

1Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
7 casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

I was talking to someone today about an old well that had once produced good, sweet water. The secret of a good well is that the water has to be continually drawn out of it so that the water is replaced and refreshed. In the Middle East water often means life, where you get water you get vegetation and life. An oasis of life, like the city of Jericho near the Jordan valley.

I believe that the Lord in a sense is the sweetest, freshest water we could ever find. But how much are we drawing from him in our daily lives? Many of us may be existing on stale water, not fresh water because we’re not drinking from the well of Life.

Some of us may think it’s too good to be true that we can cast ALL our anxieties or cares on him, but that’s what it says in this last chapter of 1 Peter. He really does care for us and want to help us. Don’t be a stranger to the well that you have such an invitation to drink from. Go to the well often and drink your fill!

Why exist on stale water, the more you drink the sweeter it will become to your taste.

May you press in today and get something fresh and refreshing to your soul.

Often it’s our failures that qualify us more than our abilities.

I’ve been reading Peter’s first letter to the scattered and often persecuted church. How much he had matured since the earlier days with Jesus, how his faith had developed. We have to grow into our calling, it takes time and much moulding by the Spirit before we can be useful to Him.

Only in Matthew, 14:22-33, do we learn that Peter alone left the safety of the boat to walk on the stormy sea of Galilee. Unfortunately at that time his faith didn’t take him all the way to where Jesus was waiting. Jesus chided him but at least he’d stepped out and probably learned a lesson that remained with him all his life.

Similarly in the pre crucifixion scene, Peter tried to stay with Jesus in His trial but once again fear overcame him. His strength failed him, but later when Jesus restored him, he confessed three times that he loved Jesus.

It was Peter who led the early church in the beginning of Acts(Paul in the latter section). He addressed the crowd at the day of Pentecost, later he went to the house of Cornelius and witnessed the outpouring of the Spirit and birth of the gentile church. The man who had some of the greatest failures was used in some of the mightiest moves in the early church.

Our mistakes don’t disqualify us from being used mightily by God, they can be the springboard to launch us into the greater works, provided we repent of our shortcomings and love the Lord.

I’d like to end with an exhortation from a famous Irish poet and writer, Seamus Heaney;

“Even if the last move did not succeed the INNER COMMAND says move again”.

Your dreams are not lost, the Lord still has a future and a hope for you. Be blessed as you step out again today.

 

 

Are you in a difficult place today?

1Samuel 21:10-13 That day David fled Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him(servants have their master’s ear!), isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands”?

David took these words to heart and was very much afraid(reality of his situation) of Achish king of Gath. So he feigned insanity in their presence(desperate measures)…

David was under such pressure from Saul that he fled right into the camp of his enemies and then realised what he’d done and where he was. He was afraid of Saul for his life and now ‘very much afraid’ of the Philistine king. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, comes to mind.

In the midst of it all, David wrote Psalm 34, I will extol the Lord at all times, His praise will always be on my lips.

Peter quotes from this Psalm in his first letter, 1Peter 3:10-12,
V12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are attentive to their prayer.

1 Sam 22:1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam…

Bottom line is, David lived his life in great danger and pressure. He suffered real fear and at times wondered if he was going to make it. God had a calling on his life and he has a calling for you if you know him. The process or the walk may be frightening and difficult but He is able to keep us and bring us through all of it into His blessing. Don’t give up, no matter how difficult your circumstances may be, God has a future hope for you! Keep going and He will bring you into His blessing for your life.

God bless and comfort you if you’re in a tough place today.

Know your identity and remind yourself who you belong to.

Peter reminds the scattered believers of their true identity.

1Peter 2:9-11
But you are a CHOSEN PEOPLE, a ROYAL priesthood, a HOLY nation, a PEOPLE BELONGING TO GOD, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light(praising God helps establish our true identity). Once you were not a people(no connection), but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.

I love the adjectives in these verses, CHOSEN, ROYAL, HOLY AND A PEOPLE BELONGING TO GOD twice.
Peter is speaking to a new church, a group which had never existed before in human history. A scattered people among the nations of their day. He’s telling them this is who they really are in God’s sight.

It is hard for a dispersed people to retain their identity when they’re living in another culture, assimilation is common. It’s much easier to go with the flow and blend into the society around us. Peter says don’t do that, don’t take that easy option,

2:11 Dear friends , I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.

We have a high calling, to live our lives as God’s people while here on earth.

Realise who we are in Christ today and live as His chosen ones, His people out of all the peoples on earth.

God bless you and help you to live out your lives for Him today and everyday.

 

1Peter 1:1,2
Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father …..

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

I started to read the first letter of Peter this morning and was struck by some things in the opening verses.

First of all, Peter was an apostle, a foundation layer, he was there at the very beginning. The opening to the letter states he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, very important in this day that Jesus is the heart and centre of any work. Peter spells it out clearly in the very first words of the epistle.

Then the letter sets out the people who it’s written for, people scattered in five different areas of the known world. The chosen of God were widely dispersed and yet Peter was able to address them by letter from Jerusalem. My thought was if it hadn’t been for these unknown believers so long ago then we wouldn’t be here today! They were the bedrock, the first generation of the church and because they overcame and held onto their faith we exist.

Peter addresses them as God’s elect, strangers in the world. We are strangers in this world, it’s not our place and we need to realise that and not live our lives as if it were. Peter states it again 2:11,
‘Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world…’

Finally, Peter wishes them abundant grace and peace. The things we most need to fulfill our calling and spread His church in our own time.

So, may you have abundant grace and peace today and every day.