Author: U1tt9i1d93

I have been reading in the book of James for the last few days and today I read James 4:7,8;

7 Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw or come near to God and He will draw near to you.

Submit, resist and draw near are all verbs, things we have TO DO.

What a great promise in verse 8, draw near to God and He will draw near to us. We can actually determine how near we will be to God! My guess is that like the ancient Israelites many of us would prefer to keep our distance and live our own lives.

In Genesis 2 & 3, we see God placed Adam in the garden to tend and care for it.
Genesis 3:8, Then(after the Fall) the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of day, and they hid from Him.
God prepared a place to meet with the man and it was in a beautiful garden in the east, in Eden.

I have read of people who’ve had experiences of Heaven and met with the Lord in a beautiful garden, actually His garden. There are also gardens of our own souls, sometimes not quite so lovely.

My question today, is the garden of our soul ready for a meeting with Jesus? Do we have a place in the physical where we can go to meet with Him, maybe a chair, maybe a room or prayer closet?

How about setting a goal to close the distance between Heaven and ourselves. We have the promise, draw near and He will draw near to us. Maybe in all the busyness and Christmas is coming, we need to make Him welcome to visit the garden of our souls.

God bless you today, may you know Him closer than ever before.

Proverbs 10:19 NIV,

When words are many sin is not absent,
but the one who holds their tongue is wise

The Message puts it succinctly,

The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.

A prophetic friend has taken this scripture to heart and is careful and measured in the use of their tongue. At times they are noticeably quiet in busy conversations when everyone else is jumping in to have their say.

Sometimes ill advised speaking can remove the presence of the Spirit in a group. I remember an occasion in a prayer time with just a few believers when I became exasperated by some things that had been spoken. Typically I no longer remember what was said, no longer important, but I do know that the presence or anointing was soon no longer present. Naturally, I felt sad at my part in interrupting the flow of the Spirit, particularly in a prayer time.

People who’s gifting involves using their mouths for God must be especially guarded in the use of their speaking.

Ecclesiastes 3 begins by saying, ‘that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven’.
In 3:7b it goes on to say, ‘a time to be silent and a time to speak’

May God give us the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent today, perhaps the balance should be like my friend, speak less and listen more.

May you be blessed and more measured in your speaking today and every day.

Continue reading “Give care and attention to the things of God in your life”

We need a certainty to our faith.

On Sunday Anne and I went to the seaside on N.Ireland’s north coast and parked the car on the beach/strand. The waves were large and beautiful and we later saw surfers in wetsuits for our cold seas, along different parts of the coast. Anne especially enjoys the sea, but was tired after a busy period with guests in our home and she’d been resisting a cold.

I noticed a young woman driving her car along the beach and later parked nearby. She had a sore back and her friend had a surgical boot fitted to her foot. Longed to go and ask her if we could pray for her back, but didn’t on this occasion.

James 1 is addressed to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations, no longer just Jewish believers living in Jerusalem. The church had moved out into the world, maybe for business reasons or from persecution, but they had moved into the wider Mediterranean area. So James, the half brother of Jesus, is speaking to these Jewish believers out in the Gentile, Roman world. A very different life situation from the confines of the religious life in Jerusalem.

James tells them, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all …… But when he asks he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, he is double-minded, unstable in all he does”.

The sea was magnificent on the northern coast but water is terribly unstable. James is telling us we need a certainty to our faith, then we’ll get the answers to our requests.

May you be built up and blessed in your faith today.

Creating an atmosphere, of praise and worship, around our lives.
What is the atmosphere around your life today?

On Saturday evening we were taken by friends to a performance of Belfast Community Gospel Choir, led by the irrepressible and very witty Marie Lacey. Straight from the off she worked hard at engaging with the audience and creating a joy filled atmosphere in the hall. ‘It is compulsory to enjoy yourselves tonight’. It turned out that the choir was ten years old that very night and some founder members were present. Ten years of singing together in many venues, including Harlem, NY.

Marie said they were well received in Harlem, with shouts of Glory, Hallelujah and Sing it Sister. She promptly divided the audience into three groups and each had to shout their chant when called upon, crowd participation.

One of the female soloists, Jackie, got a great round of applause for her singing. Marie related that Jackie had negative words spoken over and had never sung in public until she auditioned for the choir. She then lead the audience to cut off all negative words spoken over our own lives.

A firm instruction was given, NO NEGATIVE TALK during the interval!
Maybe that’s something we need to be aware of throughout our days, NO NEGATIVE TALK at all.

What a joy to be part of a large crowd of people in an atmosphere of praise.

I’m aware of meetings in N.Ireland and in Israel where angels were both seen and heard praising along with the people. Heaven is attracted when we engage in worship, it’s the same atmosphere. I believe the non stop worship in Bangor, County Down was aimed at keeping that doorway open between two realms.

Be blessed today and keep the praise switched on around you.

Yesterday I was sharing from Proverbs 3:5,6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths.

As the new Father’s Love Ministry we held our first conference on Friday 25 October in the Culloden Estate, east of Belfast. My wife wants to see all things done for the Lord in excellence, only the best is good enough for Him. So often in the church we have a ‘make do’ attitude, while the world enjoys the best. Our Father created all things for us, His children to enjoy.

Prior to the meetings we discovered that the original house had been bought by the Church of Ireland as a bishop’s palace around 1898 and was owned by the church for approximately 25 years. A private chapel had been sanctified within the building and there are still traces of the ecclesiastical history today.

A coat of arms or heraldic shield is carved on a stone and set high in the wall to the right hand side of the Hotel entrance. The French motto reads, ‘Foi est tout’,
Faith is Everything! This place had a history in the Spirit, a site of spiritual authority overlooking Belfast Lough, an entry point to the Land. We didn’t know about it but our Father did and I believe led us there.

I have heard it said that N.Ireland is the Bible Belt of the UK, a Christian heritage or deposit still remains in this land. It is the only part of the UK and Ireland that didn’t vote for abortion or same sex marriage.

Throughout the violence of the Troubles we became known as the place where Christians murdered one another, Catholics and Protestants. I believe in a coming move of God which will touch these islands again and that this has been strongly opposed because of the heritage of these lands.

The meetings in the Hotel tapped into a well that was already there, which we didn’t know anything about. God has a purpose for this Land today. It may not be the same as times past but the wells are there.

Please make a donation to the ministry, via Fathers Love Ministry webpage or the Ministry Facebook page. As I shared on Spreaker, not speaker, yesterday. Eccl 11:1,2 giving to the Lord is like Heaven’s insurance policy, protection in times of trouble.

Be blessed as another week ends and do consider investing in the Lord’s work.

God is no man’s debtor!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

I once memorised the third chapter of Proverbs, lots of good verses to write on the tablets of the heart and meditate upon in quiet moments. It is good to feed on His word, to direct the mind to something of the Spirit. Our minds today are so infiltrated with the incessant pictures and speech of the media

Verses 5 and 6 have stayed with me for a long time,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.

The verses say, ‘don’t trust your own understanding’. It’s so easy for us to do that, after all that’s the way the world around us functions.

We need to get into the habit of asking God to help us and indeed direct our steps in the situations of daily life. Turning to Him and asking for His intervention can give us much assurance that we are not facing life’s problems alone.

There were two trees in the Garden, the tree of knowledge and the tree of Life. Modern man seeks to function out of his own knowledge, independent of God, which is really pride based. We need to eat from the tree of Life, to have  that Life flowing in us and through every day.

Have a blessed day and may His hand make straight your paths today. May you be in the right place at the right time today.

Establish a Prayer Perimeter

One of the first duties of any country is to defend its national borders, protect its own people. In the days of the Cold War an intercessor saw their national border in Scandinavia guarded along its length by praying watchmen and the enemy wanted to encroach but could not. Similarly the border between North and South Korea has been guarded by much prayer from the church.

It’s easy to overlook the necessity of praying for protection for ourselves, our families, churches and national leaders.

The Lord’s Prayer says, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. This is a prayer for protection. Saint Patrick’s few surviving writings also proclaimed Christ around and within me, again a call for protection.

Russell Walden spoke on this subject during his recent visit, establishing a Prayer Perimeter. He referred to this Jewish year 5780, apparently one of glyphs/word pictures for the Hebrew number ‘8’ is a fence, a Perimeter. He felt the Lord was saying that in this season we needed to establish a Prayer Perimeter around our lives.

Like the Lord’s Prayer or those of the Celtic Church, it need not take long to pray and ask for protection today and every day.

Prevention is often better and easier than cure.

May you and your loved ones be blessed and fully protected by Heaven today.

Acts 10 was a seminal moment in the birthing of the New Testament Church,

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion….
2 He and all his family(runs in the family) were devout and God-fearing, he GAVE GENEROUSLY to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

Cornelius was devout AND gave of his wealth to others and this attracted a huge blessing of heaven. In a sense Cornelius paid for the blessing he and his family received in time and effort. He didn’t just receive money in return but he and his family and friends became the first non Jews to be filled with the Spirit. It was a new day, the Kingdom was no longer just for one people but now for all people!

Today it seems that the gift of speaking in tongues has become devalued. Maybe it’s a case of ‘familiarity breeding contempt’, many have been filled and can exercise the gift, but how many of us are doing it consistently?

Paul said, “I thank my God I speak in tongues MORE than you”. 1Cor 14:18
and “He who speaks in a tongue EDIFIES or builds up himself”. 1 Cor 14:4

I believe tongues is a gateway, an entry point, to the greater blessings of God.

Why not yield your tongue today and every day to the Spirit and enter into the things of the Spirit.

Be blessed as you connect directly with heaven through your speaking today.

Twice in the Gospels, Matt 21:3 and Luke 19:31 we’re told of Jesus entry into Jerusalem.

The Lord of all the earth, who came to save mankind, asked permission to use a colt to enter the city. He acknowledged another’s ownership in humility, even though He was fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy 9:9

’Say to the daughter of Zion,

See your king comes to you

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey’.

 

Jesus didn’t snatch or take, He asked knowing it would be given.

Does He require something from us today? It may seem like we don’t have very much to give but Jesus needed that colt on that day for His entry to the city of Jerusalem.

Our dear friend Kitty Walden, says, “It’ll be there when we need it”.

We recently experienced a financial miracle, money was owed for a conference we were running, but on the morning it was starting a friend contacted me to ask were the costs covered? Later that day he helped cover a sizeable portion of the amount owed. Earlier that same day my wife had opened her bible at Isaiah 59,

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

nor His ear too dull to hear.

The colt was there waiting for Jesus, but when He needed it

Your provision will be there when you need it, in His will!

Have a blessed day as you walk out His plan for your life today