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Three Bible characters have come to mind recently.

Yesterday we looked at Job, many believe the oldest book of the Bible. Job in a sense was the focus of a spiritual tug of war. God praising His servant Job and Satan trying to prove that he wasn’t anyone special and given the right circumstances ‘he would curse God to his face’.

Despite all the trials he went through and his wife and friends denigrating him, Job held fast to his integrity and came through his trials with his faith in tact.

David, the shepherd from Bethlehem, the youngest son of Jesse, raised up to be the second king of Israel. He was a warrior, harpist and psalmist. Quite a ‘gift mix’ there for those who’ve read the earlier blog.

David was a mighty warrior and fought many battles for the Lord. ‘The Lord gave him victory wherever he went’. He wanted to build a house for the Lord, but God said no, through Nathan the prophet, his son Solomon would do it. God told David that He would establish his throne forever, through the Messiah.

David however fell after that blessing, when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah. The child born to Bathsheba died and David had to flee for his life from his own son Absalom. He was cursed and stoned as he left Jerusalem for good measure, but he didn’t harm Shimei, the man so incensed at him. Like Job, he was restored and lived out his life as king.

Saul, later Paul, a religious bigot who persecuted and helped murder believers in the early church. Yet his Damascus Road experience was surely one the pivotal points for the whole future of the Church. All he accomplished in his own time, with severe testing and the legacy of his New Testament writings. Paul endured much and ended his life in Rome, a martyr for the Gospel( he’d started persecuting believers and ended giving up his own life).

We are all facing trials in our own walks, hopefully not as severe as the people I’ve spoken about. They suffered but held onto their faith. God rewards those who endure, both on earth and in eternity. Paul said, “For our light affliction which is but for a moment, works for us(and in us) a FAR MORE EXCEEDING and eternal weight of glory”. 2 Cor 4:17

May God give us grace to endure and to keep going forward, in spite of all that we face. He loves us and cares for us deeply and wants us to complete our race.

God bless you and grace for your race today wherever you may be.

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Following on from yesterday’s blog, I felt there was a link with the story of Job. Such a lot happened to Job that he didn’t understand and wasn’t given any explanation until the end of the trial!

Job had much trouble in his life and the Bible narrative again relates a lot of events happening twice.

The angels appeared before God, Job 1:6, 2:1 and Satan came with them. God said twice, “Have you considered My servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil”.

Satan took everything Job had, including his whole family! Next, with God’s permission, he attacked Job’s body but Job remained faithful. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing(or in what he said)! Job 1:22, 2:10.

Our words always locate us!

A long dialogue follows, almost forty chapters with Job’s friends(where we get the phrase ‘Job’s comforters’ because they tried to blame him for everything). At times we’re much better off not sharing our situation with everyone, especially not blaming God to others. God can give us specific people to help, but the world really isn’t interested.

The book of Job ends with God Himself speaking to Job and his friends. God said twice to his ‘friends’, “I am angry with you because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as my servant Job has”. Job 42:7, 8. Job will pray for you and I will forgive you.

Job 42:10,12 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as before.

THE LORD BLESSED THE LATTER PART OF JOB’S LIFE MORE THAN THE FIRST.

May I suggest that we pray and proclaim the above verse over our lives today(insert your own name) and into the future. There will be tests and trials but God’s heart is to bless His people and it’s important to realise and hold on to that in the midst of our trials. We are born to be kings and to rule over our circumstances, not be ruled by them.

God bless you and keep you AND MAKE HIS FACE SHINE ON YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE. Amen

The main thing is not the main thing(so said a prophetic friend after a group activity).

The term ‘Ice breaker’ is something I haven’t heard for a long time, but it used to be much in vogue for meetings, especially meetings where people came together for the first time. It could be used at any time however, just to get people to mix and develop a group dynamic. Whatever task the group were given involved people doing something together, maybe competing with one another. They were given something to do, ‘the main thing’, but the real aim was to develop a closer unity in the group; cause people to gel (stick together).

I have always felt doing non religious tasks together as believers was very beneficial as you got to see something different about people, maybe as you worked together. Masks may come down and people talk more freely as they focus on something they’re doing, perhaps sharing at a deeper level. People we work alongside may well know us in a different way(other facets of our personality) from those in church.

The early church were one in heart and mind…they shared everything. Acts 4:32. They ministered together, as one body, but also lived together and shared their resources. God blessed and confirmed the ministry with miraculous signs but the powerful unity, oneness(no arguing nor bickering) in the body meant the Spirit could flow without hindrance. All the preaching and ministry were going on, ‘the main thing’, but they were a tightly knit unit, blessed by God.

The apostles performed  many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless,  more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. Acts 5:12-14

The deeper unity in the early church, often under religious persecution, will be needed again before the Lord’s return. The church in Iran(to mention just one country) is seeing dynamic growth but at great risk to the believers, often courageous women leading the way. May the Lord draw us into this unity again as His return approaches.

The unity will come by ‘being about our Father’s business’ rather than by organisation.

God bless you and keep you.

 

I began reading this morning in the second part of Acts 8, where Philip, the evangelist( a bringer of ‘good news’), was told by an angel(angelic visitation, direction from Heaven) to go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he met the Ethiopian eunuch, reading from Isaiah the prophet, but he needed someone to explain it to him(not just teaching, but how to come into a relationship with the Lord, hence God sent the evangelist to share the message of salvation – good choice). The eunuch came to the Lord and at his own request was water baptised.

Philip was known as Philip the evangelist, Acts 21:8, that was his calling. He also moved in the miraculous, to confirm the message he brought, Acts 8:6,7,13. He was what John Wimber would have called a ‘Power Evangelist’. In addition to this he baptised new believers in water, introduced them to Jesus and then immediately had them make a public declaration that they were done with the old life.

Philip had a ‘gift mix’ operating in his life as an evangelist, to make his ministry more effective. His four unmarried daughters in Acts 21:8 also prophesied. The Bible doesn’t say anything else about them, but ‘prophetic evangelism’ is a common ‘gift mix’ (People receive personal revelation and are much more open to the message about Jesus). My first spiritual father was a prophetic evangelist and saw many people accept Jesus. My second spiritual father was a prophetic intercessor, who received prophetic strategies to pull down strongholds on a global ministry. The Lord linked me with them to learn from them and establish spiritual foundations in my own life.

Maybe you’ve never thought about ‘gift mixes’ in your own life, but the Lord usually gives several main gifts to blend together and make us more potent in our callings. Christian friends or pastors can help identify what giftings they see in us, so vital for our fulfilment and effectiveness. This may be a key for some today, to identify the main spiritual  gifts in our current walk. I say current, because sometimes gifts will operate for a season and then the Lord moves us on to something different where we don’t need to use them.

Your gifts are your unique God given package to enable you to fulfill your destiny. There will be a joy and satisfaction, also an ease, when you’re functioning in them. Please seek to know what you’ve been given and to learn to flow in them.

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God bless and keep you and make His face shine on you.

 

 

Acts 7 tells the story of the stoning to death of Stephen the martyr and ‘on that day a great Persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem resulting in the scattering of the believers throughout Judea and Samaria’. The stoning to death of a powerful man of God and the scattering of the believers were meant to weaken or destroy the fledgling Church. It had the opposite affect, the Gospel was now preached powerfully in areas outside Jerusalem

Acts 8, Philip went to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there, with miraculous signs following.

The text continues with the mention of Simon the Sorcerer(wizard), who amazed people with his witchcraft. ‘But when they believed Philip as he preached…and they were baptised, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptised’.

Peter and John were then sent to the new believers in Samaria, where they prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit. It was likely a trek of fifty miles plus from Jerusalem to Samaria(going by my Bible maps), but these two chief apostles made the journey to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. The gift today has become somewhat commonplace , but these senior Church leaders sacrificed to ensure those new believers were filled with the Spirit. It’s still as important today for those who want to receive Him!

Simon wanted the gift of laying on of hands for this Baptism and was willing to pay for it(apparently the act of simony, paying for position and influence in the Church, is named after Simon). He’d had influence and standing as a sorcerer and thought he could carry it through with him into his new life. Peter answered, “May your money perish with you(remember what happened when he spoke thus to Ananias and Sapphira, also about money)… you’ve no part in this ministry. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord…. for I see that you are full of bitterness and ‘captive’ to sin”.

Peter and John travelled a long way to get the new believers filled with the Spirit, it’s still as necessary today.

Simon, despite believing and being baptised had wrong heart motives and heart condition. He’d been influential and wanted to keep his standing, now as a believer. How many believers today have serious issues in our own hearts and still want to minister and hold lead positions? Better by far to seek God regarding our own hearts than minister to others with mixed motives.

God bless you and keep you this day.

Obedience in the face of opposition?

The story of the Church continues in Acts 5:12 with miracles and deliverances. Then the religious establishment got jealous and had them arrested and put in the public jail. An angel of the Lord appeared that night and opened the prison for them to leave.

The Angel’s message to them (from heaven), “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life(I like this phrase, new life)”. Acts 5:20

Did Heaven not understand the trouble this would cause for them?

But at ‘daybreak’ they entered the temple courts, as they had been told and began to teach the people.

They went back straight away to telling the people about Jesus and proclaiming the Kingdom. Sure enough they were arrested again and taken back to the Sanhedrin where angry men chastised them.

Their answer is noteworthy, “We MUST OBEY God rather than men”!

The teacher Gamaliel, told the council to leave them alone, or they would find themselves fighting against God. They had the apostles beaten and released. They left, REJOICING THAT THEY HAD BEEN COUNTED WORTHY TO SUFFER DISGRACE FOR THE NAME. Heaven had asked them to go back again and tell the people about Jesus, in the face of religious opposition. The message of new life, was so important that they were willing to face public beating rather than stop proclaiming it.

An Indian prophet and believer, Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, has said on YouTube that in September 2020 there is to be a meeting of religious leaders with the current pope in the Netherlands. They will sign an agreement that all religions are basically one and all equally acceptable. The formation of a de facto one world religion may be on our doorstep.

Believers today may soon have to choose whether to obey God ( who loves us dearly) or men. We may also experience humiliation for the sake of the Name of our Lord. The reward is life eternal life with Him?

May God bless and strengthen us to hold fast to Him in the days ahead and even to suffer shame for Him.

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Better an honest heart before God than the praise of people.

We ended yesterday with the first mention of Barnabas ( which means Son of Encouragement), who sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the disciples feet. Luke 4:36, 37

Barnabas gave the full amount, he kept nothing back for himself. He set a standard, or maintained a standard, set by others, Luke 4:34

This story is sadly followed by the tale of Ananias and Sapphira, who also sold a piece of property but Ananias, with his wife’s full knowledge, she agreed, kept back a part of the money for himself. Peter confronted Ananias, ‘how is it that Satan (the source of the lie) has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

The moral of the story is, God hates hypocrisy. Pretending to be or do something we are not.

Ananias and his wife could have legitimately held back some of the money for themselves, but they wanted to appear( for many it’s all about appearance ) to be giving everything. Satan had caused them to tell the lie and believe it would not be found out! This all at a time when the Spirit of God was moving in such great power in the new Church of God.

Peter, the leader of the Church, had to confront and pass judgement on the couple, both instantly died. They’d given a portion to the apostles, made personal sacrifice, but because of the lie their gift was lost to them.

In today’s Spreaker post, we will be looking at David and Bathsheba, 2 Samuel 11. David was a great warrior for God and for Israel. He was victorious in battle, but lost the peace. He fell and then tried to cover it up, finally shedding innocent blood.

I believe that a mighty move of God is coming, but the closer we are to the power and presence of God, the less room for any kind of hypocrisy. Better to be honest and true before God, than pretend to give something for the praise of people.

May God bless you this day and give you an honest heart to serve Him.

Acts 4:32 gives us a snapshot into the heart of the new    church, the body of Christ, now birthed onto the earth.

‘All the believers were one in heart and mind(a true unity, deep trust in one another). No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had’.

‘With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. From time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money and put it at the apostles feet and it was distributed to anyone as they had need(apostles were only acting as channels for the provision’). Acts 4:33-35

‘Power and grace’ sandwiched between deep unity and sacrificial giving. The body helped one another so the Gospel, Good News, could be preached with great power. The body supported one another and provided for one another. Together they could and did impact the whole city of Jerusalem and beyond, great strength in unity(a true heart unity, not just organisational). The Lord is seeking for a body of people to pour Himself into today and the potential is unlimited. The same conditions will apply for the love of God to flow unhindered through His people in power.

The chapter ends with a particular individual being named and introduced to the New Testament story.

‘Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold the field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet’.

The life of Barnabas was marked by encouragement, which is a ‘Giving gift’; he encouraged others to fulfill their potential. Encouragement is always going away from us to others and Barnabas exemplified the gift. Another reason we need to be in ‘the Body’ is to receive encouragement when we are in need. Sometimes our walk can be so tough that we need people with this gift(the real gift) around us to lift us up again(not just platitudes) and get us back on the road for Christ.

Barnabas had the heart of a true giver, he gave of his wealth to support the Apostles in their work.

God needs a body here to serve Him, what’s He calling us to do today to bring in the Kingdom?

God bless you today, may you be a part of His living body this day.

 

I have been thinking of ‘heroes’ since yesterday, because of an item in the news. The Bible has it’s heroes, people of renown laid out for us to read and remember their exploits. David’s mighty warriors listed in 2 Sam 23 and the battles they fought and won against the enemies of the king and God’s people. In the New Testament, Hebrews 11, a whole chapter listing the heroes of the Faith, all names from the Old Testament. Once again all these people have been recorded to inspire us to serve and be victorious in our own day.

Local and national news here recorded the death of a footballer, Harry Gregg 87 years old, who played in goal for Manchester United and Northern Ireland. On the 6th February 1958, he was involved in the Munich air crash, when twenty three passengers died during takeoff. Despite warnings that the plane would explode, it was still burning, he went back inside and rescued a pregnant mother and her twenty month old daughter. He also carried out unconscious colleagues, one of whom was Bobby Charlton, later captain of England’s victorious World Cup team. In an emotional meeting years later with Vera Lukic(seriously injured mother) and Vesna, her adult daughter, he recounted hearing the baby cry and that’s what took him back into the burning plane wreckage. They drank a toast together and Harry said it should be to ‘life’, they’d survived the crash. Jewish people say L’Chaim, ‘to life’, when they toast one another. Harry Gregg lived a long life after the crash, though he risked his life to save some people unknown to him. It would have been easy to have walked away, but he went back.(He was known as the Hero of Munich).

In Rev 5 it’s recorded about the scroll in the hand of Almighty God, with seven seals that no one could open. John ‘wept and wept’ that no one could be found to open the scroll. V5  Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals”. Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne…. Jesus was much more than a hero, He is the Saviour for all mankind but He needed bravery to endure on earth that He might stand in Heaven. We too need courage to face our own trials here, and not to walk away, that we may stand there.

May you be blessed with L’Chaim(LIFE) to serve God this day.

 

 

 

Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, GO ahead and DO it, for the Lord is with you”. 2 Samuel 7:3

David was embarrassed that he was, ‘living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent’. So Nathan(the kings of Israel had their own prophets and took counsel from them) said to him go ahead and do what you have in mind. In some Bibles(NKJV, ESV) the words, ‘GO, DO’ follow directly upon one another, like a short command.

Maybe like David you’ve had something in mind to do for the Lord but you’re just not sure if you should proceed or maybe you think it’s beyond your reach? Nathan’s words were, ‘GO DO’ for the Lord is with you. You’re not going in your own strength, ‘God is with you’.

I remember reading some time ago in one of Kenneth Hagin’s books about his way of knowing God’s will in any given situation. He said that if he’d prayed about something and didn’t feel a check in his spirit then he would tend to go ahead with it. He relied on the Lord stopping him if the task wasn’t for him. His default position was to ‘GO DO’. We all have limitations but we have a mighty God.

‘Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear’. Isa 59:1

In David’s case V4, ‘That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying… tell David his son will build me a temple’.

The ironic thing was that because David had in mind to build a house for God, he himself received from God an everlasting house. A greater blessing, beyond even a king’s capability. He did however make preparations for the building of the Temple of the Lord.

We only have one life to give for the Lord, so please, no matter how small or how large something you’ve been thinking about may seem, GO DO it.

Emmanuel, God is with us!

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