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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.

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.