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Many of Jesus teachings to His disciples came through real life encounters.

Matt 15 begins with yet another encounter with the ‘Pharisees and teachers of the law’. Why do your disciples eat without washing their hands first? They break the tradition of the elders. How much of our lives are just traditional and how much are walking with and obeying the Lord?
Jesus in turn rebuked them for breaking God’s commands to keep men’s traditions. He spoke very directly to them and quoted Isaiah the prophet;

Isaiah 29:13
These people honour me with their lips(externally),
but their hearts are far from me(true internal condition).
They worship me in vain(so much wasted effort to conform);
their teachings are but rules taught by men(no value in God’s sight).

Jesus then had to teach his disciples the true meaning of being clean.

Matt 15:18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart and these make a person ‘unclean’. For out of the heart come evil thoughts….

What situations will we face today, this week or month and what is God saying to us through them? We need to ask the Lord for His perspectives on our own life encounters. I’m sure that He’ll have some things to say to us, especially if the same issues are being repeated in our experiences.

Jesus didn’t just teach His disciples in academic or abstract ways, He shared His life with them. Our lives are the arena that God is using to form His character in us for eternity!

May the Lord speak to us and teach us some deep lessons in our own lives as we go forward this year.

God bless you

Matthew 13, contains seven parables, and five of these appear to be unique to Matthew’s gospel. Only the parables of the Sower and the Weeds appear in Mark and Luke. My Sunday school definition of a parable was, an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning.

Jesus spoke in the open air, from a boat on the lake, no recordings, onetime only, get it or miss it. You’d better pay attention to those stories of His!

V10-12, The disciples challenged Him why He spoke to the people in parables? “The knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be GIVEN MORE and they will have an abundance”.

The stories weren’t immediately clear, the truth was hidden in them. Sometimes we need to uncover deeper meaning for ourselves and at other times we may need help. (I had a significant dream on the last Sunday of 2019 but needed help getting the correct interpretation, what God was saying to me).

Jesus spoke in parables to fulfill prophecy, Isaiah 6 and

Ps 78:2
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world

It’s amazing to think that these people were listening to things hidden since the creation of the world, but it wasn’t fully apparent.

God may have spoken something to us which is not immediately clear, but He will help us to find the message if we seek Him. There is a glory to searching out something which is NOT VISIBLE TO ALL.

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

Daniel called God, a revealer of mysteries.

May you have fun uncovering His mysteries for your life.

Matt 11:30, Yoke easy, burden light

We have friends, busy people, who often repeat this little phrase. It’s as if they are declaring God’s truth around and upon themselves! We can speak into and pray over the atmosphere around our lives. God has given us authority over the circumstances of our lives.

The full statement comes at the end of Matthew 11 where Jesus says;

Matt 11:25
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things(truths about the Kingdom) from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure”.

You don’t have to be super spiritual to come to God for His help and get understanding, in fact simple faith will allow you to receive more from Him.

In the last verses of chapter 11, Matthew alone of the four gospels gives Jesus’ invitation to a particular group of people;

Matt 11:28-30, Come to me(has to be the first step to get His help), ALL you who are weary and burdened(carrying things) and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Spend some time today and give your problems to Jesus, let Him take them for you, then you will experience yoke easy burden light for yourself. Don’t be tempted to take them up again, keep giving them over to Him.

Religion, depicted by the Pharisees earlier in this chapter, seeks to burden people with duties and traditions. Jesus wants you to have REST FOR YOUR SOULS, He wants to be our burden bearer.

God bless you, may you know His peace in your lives today.

A Review of some lessons from the Book of Ruth

Ruth 1:3-5, sometimes God has to bring things in our lives to death before we are ready to move on. Death of situations and relationships can mark new beginnings in our lives.

The voice of human reason can never take us to our destiny, it doesn’t know the way. Ruth(type of the Church) made a vow to follow Naomi(type of the Spirit), a Divine relationship;

Ruth 1:16, Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
Maybe we, like Ruth, need to rededicate our lives to follow Him no matter what challenges come in this New Year.

Ruth 2:8, Ruth worked in Boaz(type of the Lord) harvest field and He specifically told her to stay there! In the Lord’s harvest field, there is protection and provision. Working outside His field is risking harm to ourselves and others.
Ruth 2:16, He told the others ‘not to rebuke her’, He can do that for us today.

Ruth had two encounters with Boaz, one public in the harvest field, where she worked hard. The second lying alone at his feet throughout the night on the floor. Naomi told her to prepare for this meeting, wash and perfume, best clothes to be her most attractive. It was the latter that determined her destiny, as a bride. There is a place for work and service but the Lord is coming back for a bride.

The Book of Ruth is a picture in miniature of our walk with the Lord;
Begins with famine and death, includes a demanding journey and ends with harvest and new life.

May we find His harvest field and His destiny for us in this year of 2020.

In Romans 15:27 Paul states that if we share in spiritual blessings then we owe it to share our material blessings. We would very much appreciate a donation if you are being blessed by this ministry;

fathersloveministry.co.uk

Fathers Love Ministry is also available to seek prophetic words and provide prophetic counselling, with a prior donation, for people in this New Year. Please go to our website to explore the services available;

fathersloveministry.co.uk

A loving relationship(Naomi and Ruth) that leads to honour and a place in history.

Ruth’s second encounter with Boaz results in further blessing. He confirms her as a woman of noble character Ruth 4:11. Ruth spent the night waiting at his feet, a place of humility, 4:14 and Boaz gave her barley to take back to Naomi, another gift.

The outcome of that personal encounter with Boaz was another formal meeting at the town gate with the ten elders present(a minyan) to witness a transaction. Boaz acknowledges the right of an unidentified kinsman to buy the land from Naomi but although he declares his interest in the land, he won’t accept the relationship as any offspring may put ‘his estate’ at risk. This speaks to me of wanting the things of God, even spiritual things, but not relationship with God. Some biblical websites say the other kinsman is a picture of the Law.

The transaction is concluded with Boaz buying the land and acquiring Ruth, the foreigner, as his wife. Taking off the sandal, Ruth 4:8, symbolises giving up the right to walk on the land.

All this resulted from Ruth’s refusal to leave Naomi, to cling to her no matter what the personal cost. Naomi, a type of the Spirit and whose name means pleasant, guided Ruth throughout her journey and significantly in her new life in Bethlehem.

The book ends with Ruth, the Moabitess, becoming the mother of a son, Obed, the grandfather of King David, Ruth 4:22 and in the direct line of the Messiah!

I believe the Story of Ruth is a microcosm, a picture in miniature, of our own lives and walk with the Lord.
It begins with famine and death, an arduous journey and hard labour, but ends with harvest and life!

May God bless you as you walk with Him, adopted into His family and the certain promise of an eternal home.

Two encounters for Ruth with Boaz(type of the Lord). A public encounter in the harvest field and a private encounter on the threshing floor.

Yesterday we saw how Ruth was blessed by Boaz, offering her his protection and provision. Stay here with my servant girls, Ruth 2:8. Go and drink from the water jars, Ruth 2:9. Come here and have some bread, Ruth 2:14.

Boaz also told his men, ‘don’t rebuke her’, Ruth 2:16. God can tell people around you to be quiet and not to touch His loved ones. Maybe some of us need to claim this protection over our lives today, ask the Lord to shut mouths. God wants to bless us so we should ask Him for His favour today, and this New Year on our lives. Ask and it will be given you!

The first encounter was in the workplace during the hard work of harvest but the second was private and planned. Naomi said to Ruth, ‘should I not try to find a home(rest) for you’, Ruth 3:1.

Naomi told Ruth to prepare for this meeting! Wash and perfume yourself and put on your best clothes, Ruth 3:3. This was a meeting concerning Ruth’s Destiny and not to be taken lightly. Going to wait before the Lord and seek His Face for our futures also needs time and preparation. We need to clean up and wash off the dirt and dust of our day before rushing into His presence, planned waiting.

The first meeting was about working but the next one involved waiting, lying at His feet, Ruth 3:4. The first concerned what Ruth could do, her work, but the second was all about what the Lord would do for her and He of course was the more powerful.

Both working and waiting are necessary and have their place, but ultimately our work is limited. Ruth, under the guidance of Naomi(the Spirit), invited the Lord of the harvest to move on her behalf. She wanted to be His bride, ‘Spread the corner of your garment over me’, Ruth 3:9. To move from the place of service to the place of intimacy requires a complete change of pace and attitude. Western society today is not good at being still and waiting alone with the Lord, but that’s where Ruth’s Destiny was settled! We can be good workers but poor when it comes to waiting for Him.

May we take time this year to be still in His presence and to seek Him for what He will do in our lives.

God bless you and may you receive all He has for you this year and in the coming decade.

Ruth continued

The voice of reason will not take us to our destiny, it doesn’t know the way!
The voice of the heart or spirit will take us to our destiny if we walk by faith.

Naomi and Ruth arrived In Bethlehem(means house of bread) just as the barley harvest was beginning, around our month of April. This also meant that they made the long journey on foot from Moab before the hottest times of summer. The whole town was stirred because of them and the people talked about their coming, Ruth 1:19. Their arrival caused a stir, even during the busy time of harvest.

Naomi(a type of the Spirit) and Ruth(type of the Church) were called to walk together. Naomi leading the way and the younger Ruth carrying the burden through the dry land around the Dead Sea area.

Ruth immediately became involved in the harvest, picking up the leftovers. She started at the very bottom but found herself gleaning in the field of Boaz(kinsman redeemer, type of the Lord). Boaz told her not to go working in anyone else’s field as that could be risky, Ruth 2:8. We live in a hostile world and need to be careful that we are serving in the right place and at the right time. Boaz, the Lord, commanded his workers to look out for Ruth and allowed her to drink with his workers.

This is a beautiful picture of the Lord’s protection and care for a hard working church in the time of the harvest. We need to make sure however that the place where we’re serving is the Lord’s field for us, provision and protection are provided there. Many however go into other fields and put themselves and others at risk. Harvest is a totally demanding time, working to tight deadlines to save the crop. Working in a harvest requires all hands, absolutely everyone will be used and needed.

Ruth’s hard work was noticed and blessed, the Lord of the harvest left grain, the valuable part for her and Naomi to live on. The real blessing or future gain came not just in the work of her hands but in the guidance of Naomi. Once again, a beautiful picture of blessing on two levels, immediate physical needs met and a step into future destiny.

Be sure to ask the Lord for His field for your life today and know that His blessing will meet you there.

To be continued

Which voice will we follow into 2020, human reason or our own hearts?

RUTH Chapter 1
This chapter has a dramatic and maybe drastic beginning, three men died and three women were left alone. Sometimes God has to bring things in us and in our lives down to to death before He can get us onto His path for our lives. It wasn’t just one or two who died but all the men, there was nothing left. No hope of rebuilding anything. All was gone and that may be God’s place of new beginnings for us, when nothing of the old is left.

The three women, Naomi(means pleasant), Ruth and Orpah(both Moabites) had to decide what to do next. Naomi told the younger women to go back to their mother’s home, she could promise them nothing. Orpah eventually listened to the voice of reason and left, Ruth clung on to Naomi with a powerful pledge;

V16,17 Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go(wherever you go), and wherever you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God(total future commitment). Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried(for life). The old missionaries to Africa used to take their coffins along with them to the mission field, their commitment was for life.

Ruth followed a deeper call and like Abraham, the father of the faith, went out not knowing where she was going. Ruth’s destiny was now with Naomi, it didn’t make sense but she had bound herself inextricably to her Jewish mother in law, her people and their God.

Orpah followed reason and never saw Naomi again(Naomi/pleasant, a type of the Holy Spirit). Ruth followed her heart and we presume never saw her people or her home again. There is a cost to following the Lord, take note! He doesn’t usually ask us to give up everything at once but there will be sacrifices to be made. With the sacrifices comes freedom, a freeing of our lives from unnecessary things and relationships to go on with Him. Sometimes we have to have our hands emptied so that He can fill them again with the things of the Kingdom.

We may not be able to explain why we are taking a certain path, but then it’s only between us and and the Lord. No one else needs to know or understand.

May we, like Ruth, walk with our loving Heavenly Father in this coming year, embrace His ways and go forward boldly into all that He has for us.

God bless you.

A good idea but not a God idea, an initiative not of God.

In 1 Samuel 4 we read of the defeat of the Israelites by the Philistines. They had an idea V3, let US bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that it(or He) may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.

Israel decided to do something by their own understanding
that directly affected the honour of their God. Surely God would not allow the Philistines to conquer them again and capture the ark of His covenant, but God cannot be so easily manipulated. Man wants to do things his way and achieve his outcome without yielding to God and acknowledging His Lordship.

The result was a mighty shout in the camp, V5 When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel(the whole camp shouted as one) raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

How many initiatives, how many praise meetings today have their origins in the ‘Let US’ mentality. The mighty shout in the camp of Israel ultimately meant nothing, their enemy still defeated them(30,000 died). God did not feel obligated to fight for them! They were going to battle on their own initiative and they failed.

We cannot bend God to our will, we must go with Him. His will is always best, no glory for the flesh. In the story of Gideon the reason given for God so drastically reducing Israel’s army was so they would not claim the glory. If God is behind a work He must get all the glory. Jesus said when we have done everything we are still unworthy servants. Maybe that’s something we need to ask ourselves before embarking on a new course, who will get the honour and glory for this, us or God?

As we come towards the threshold of the New Year we need to make sure that the things we put our hands to are approved by Heaven. It won’t matter how great the shouts of men, God must be in it for anything of value to be achieved.

May you be blessed and be led of heaven in these important days approaching the New Year.

Who controls your centre?

1 Samuel 4:1 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel(national prophet).

The fourth chapter of 1 Samuel seemingly has a lot of bad things, things going wrong for Israel. But the chapter begins with, or chapter 3 ends with, Samuel in position as the nation’s prophet. Sometimes heaven’s perspective may be very different from our earthly one. God had His man at the centre of the nation’s worship.

In the game of chess the player who controls the central squares on the board usually wins the game. There can be a lot of movement around the board with pieces being won and lost but the central squares are dominant. God controlled the centre in Israel, the spiritual heart was now right. Though there was chaos around caused by their Philistine enemies He used even them to remove Eli’s family from the priesthood and strengthen Samuel’s position as leader.

Another principle of chess is that a player may sacrifice(religious implications) a piece for position. In order to get a winning position a player may choose to surrender a good piece. Jesus was heaven’s grand sacrifice for us! He surrendered Himself in order to secure the victory and God will eventually place everything under His feet. Remember this Christmas that God’s position and hence our position is the winning one. There may be tough things for us to go through but we are on the winning side.

Today ask God again to be in control, to govern, to reign and to rule at the centre of our lives. With Him at the centre we cannot loose.

God bless you this Christmas.