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^{9 ‘}So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?’ 1 Kings 3

Solomon had gone to Gibeon to offer sacrifices to the Lord, a thousand burnt offerings by a king and during the night God spoke to him in a dream. I imagine Solomon was surrounded by people during the day, but God came to him while he slept.

⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’

What a question for God to ask. No matter what Solomon asked for, God was able to give it to him and it’s the same for everyone today. God’s arm is not too short to save. Numbers 11:2

King Solomon began by thanking God for all His kindness to his father David and for bringing him, David’s son, to reign after him. This had been strongly contested by two of his brothers and no doubt Solomon would have died if they’d been successful. Solomon firstly acknowledged how much he and his late father owed God before he said anything. We could learn much from His example. God may want to speak to us as our Father before He gives what we’re asking of Him.

⁷ ‘Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I AM ONLY A LITTLE CHILD AND DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CARRY OUT MY DUTIES. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a DISCERNING HEART TO GOVERN YOUR PEOPLE AND TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?’ 

Solomon was aware of his duties as a young and inexperienced King and his request centred on his responsibilities for GOD’S PEOPLE. By asking for wisdom to administer justice to those under his rule, he gained much more. We all have responsibilities before God, whether it be for a business, a church or our family and we need God’s guidance and support in our own lives.

God blessed Solomon like few other people in history and His blessings overflowed to all the people of God under his care. God often uses one person to bring blessings to many others and indeed He still blesses those who are good to His Covenant people the Jews. The city of Belfast, N.Ireland, near where we live was a centre for industry started by Jewish businessmen in the 1800s. (The Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard.)

The proving ground for King Solomon’s new gift came in a very unusual way. A dispute between two prostitutes over the life of a baby boy was brought to the King to settle. RELIGION WOULD NEVER HAVE TOUCHED THIS but God chose the situation to confirm the gift of wisdom He’d bestowed upon Solomon and restored the infant to his mother.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:31 to seek God for the greater gifts, an invitation to all His children.
Also Remember, ‘the gifts and callings of God are without repentance (He never takes them back)’. Romans 11:24

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

⁹ The Lord detests the way of the wicked,
    BUT HE LOVES THOSE WHO PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS. Proverbs 15

WHAT WE BEHOLD WE BECOME! (The Late Neville Johnson)

I was talking to a young believer recently who was just a few weeks away from sitting his final school exams to hopefully gain a place in a prestigious college. His mother said he had even been studying on the journey in their car, he was so committed to achieving the grades he needed to move on with his career and the next phase of life. That’s the phase of life, he and many others are in at the present time, competing for the highest marks to get into the best colleges and universities. I certainly hope he is successful and though I only met him once, I’m praying that he gets his necessary grades.

The scripture above says that the Lord loves those WHO ‘PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS’. There is a danger for believers (of any Age) in just drifting along and going with the flow in the world around us. People who are studying must constantly fill their minds with the information on which they’re going to be tested. They can therefore become captivated by the knowledge and learning of this world! Many young people in other religions are trained to recite verses from their own writings over and over until they become ingrained in their minds. There is a battle for the minds of all people on the planet at this time and it is a crucial battle. Multitudes are in danger of perishing because their minds have been deeply infiltrated by a powerful enemy agenda.

¹³ ‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.‘ Matthew 7

I cannot recall where I read about a Christian studying for a secular degree, but they made a vow/promise to take time with the Lord at the beginning of every day before starting their study. Several days it was only a few minutes but they still gave some time and God honoured them for it. They put God first and though it wasn’t always easy they kept on doing that.

A stranger example I recall was a man studying in seminary to become a missionary, (May have been Fraser of Lisuland). He told a tutor that despite the heavy workload of his studies, that he too gave time to the Lord. He described it as, ‘putting first things first’. He became a successful missionary.

Many people cram for exams and pass the grades, but don’t carry on after they qualify. The race for the believer is a lifelong journey with the Lord.

Finally just this past week we read a post by a mother whose daughter had asked to visit a Gaming Trade Show, which turned out to be predominantly demonic. So much so that the mother felt nauseous just being there.  The enemy is targeting the minds of impressionable young people in a field where the Church is hugely underrepresented. I do believe that the Lord is on the move, but the Church has to undergo massive transformation to reach next generation. A well known prophet said the Lord had spoken to him and said not to fear the technology. God has allowed it so He can use it for His Glory.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. IF ANYONE (Invitation to All) hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me. Revelation 3:20

²⁰ But OUR CITIZENSHIP IS (Not will be) IN HEAVEN. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20

I was pondering Revelation 3:20 today and then I read the same reference in Paul’s words to the Philippian Church and saw they had some common trends.

Laodicea was the last of the seven churches the Lord addressed in John’s revelation and He kept His sternest words for them, BUT He still gave them an opportunity to listen to Him and repent. Truly we serve a patient and good God!

The Laodicean Church had a view of themselves that was totally at variance from how the Lord saw them, basically they valued the material things of this world more than the Lord. Yet they still tried to keep a foot in both camps and do enough to enjoy life here and at the same time avoid His judgement. Christ is still Lord of the Church, He is the Head and knows everything, including people’s hearts. The shocking thing was the magnitude of the difference between what they thought and their reality in the Lord’s sight.

¹⁷ You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Five major failings) ¹⁸ I counsel you TO BUY FROM ME gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see. Revelation 3

The Lord went on to tell the Laodicean Church that, ‘Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. SO BE EARNEST AND REPENT’.

The Lord expected change from their church and He told them that there would be times of discipline. He still expects the same willingness to receive His correction from believers in the present time. He extends this invitation to anyone, to come and share with them if they’ll open their hearts and listen to Him.

²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Christ offers fantastic promises to the churches and specifically to those who overcome the challenges of this world system, the flesh and the devil. May the Lord help us to love Him and live for Him during the short span of our lives on earth.

May the Lord bless and keep us today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

7 Elisha replied, “Hear the WORD OF THE LORD. THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Kings 7

We saw earlier this week that Elisha had DECLARED THE WORD OF THE LORD. There was no equivocation, no doubt in the WORD FROM THE LORD, in God’s mind it was already done. God’s Word may not always come through with such clarity, but when it does manifest we should take careful note. It’s not just what the Word declares but the authority behind what’s being spoken.

² The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”

“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!” 2 Kings 7

It was ironic, a whole city was to be set free from siege and famine, but life for the many would also bring death to the careless attendant of the king. This man looked at the situation with his natural eyes and didn’t believe the word of God’s deliverance and spoke out of turn.

³ What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? ⁴ Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:

Many such situations could easily occur at the present time when people in positions of influence contradict the word of the Lord, ‘to again set the captives free’. 

¹⁷ Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 2 Kings 7

It was the same king who had leant on the officer’s arm for support who ordered him to control the crowd in the gate of the city – where he died. There are times when people simply will not be controlled by those in authority e.g. the rejoicing at the end of World War 2. I believe that we will see such scenes repeated in the future when people rejoice in freedom from their misery. The God who decreed delivery for the city of Samaria has decreed freedom for the nations of this earth again and despite all opposition to the contrary, His decree will surely come to pass. We must be careful to embrace seismic shifts in society and not remain stuck in the past, truly ‘life and death are in the power of the tongue’.

May the Lord bless and keep us today. Immanuel, God is with us.

I awoke early this morning and after a brief moment I looked at the time, it was 03:03. I quite often get things in the spirit at specific times during the night hours. For example 03:33 from Jeremiah 33:3, ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty or unsearchable things you do not know’.

This time the repetition of the figure ‘3’, representing the Trinity or Godhead brought Saint Patrick’s famous Prayer to mind. (Famous in Ireland at least). The Saint’s Prayer is a prayer for protection from all attacks of the enemy. Patrick was aware of dark forces around him opposing his work for the Kingdom of God and so he bound himself to God. Following Covid and the world lockdown more believers are confessing scriptures, such as Psalm 91 and Ephesians 6, the armour of God, on a daily basis. Patrick’s prayer is from an ancient time but the principle of confessing scripture and declaring God’s protection is still relevant today.

I Bind Unto Myself (St. Patrick’s Breastplate)
Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. Deut. 11: 18

I BIND UNTO MYSELF TODAY
THE STRONG NAME OF THE TRINITY:
BY INVOCATION OF THE SAME,
THE THREE IN ONE AND ONE IN THREE.
I BIND THIS DAY TO ME FOR EVER
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation: His baptism in the Jordan river,
His death on the Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I BIND UNTO MYSELF TODAY!
I BIND UNTO MY MYSELF TODAY
The power of God to hold and lead: His eye to watch, his might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need;
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward; The Word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard!
I BIND UNTO MYSELF TODAY
The power of the great cherubim,
The sweet “well done” in judgment hour, The service of the seraphim;
Confessors’ faith, apostles’ word, Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls; All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I BIND UNTO MYSELF TODAY
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life-giving ray;
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks, The stable earth, the deep salt sea around the old eternal rocks. (Celtic Christians loved and saw God in nature)
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I BIND UNTO MYSELF TODAY,
THE STRONG NAME OF THE TRINITY:
BY INVOCATION OF THE SAME,
THE THREE IN ONE AND ONE IN THREE, OF WHOM ALL NATURE HATH CREATION, ETERNAL FATHER, SPIRIT, WORD:
PRAISE TO THE LORD OF MY SALVATION — SALVATION IS OF CHRIST THE LORD!

May the Lord bless and protect us today. Immanuel, God is with us.

³ Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, ‘Why stay here until we die? 2 Kings 7

Why does the Bible account of this great siege mention four men who were  outcasts, even in a time of war, in such detail? Surely the flight of the Aramean army would have been discovered the next morning, but we’re told about these men who decided that very night to go to the enemy camp because they had run out of options.

⁴ If we say, “We’ll go into the city”– the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.’

There’s a saying, which I’m paraphrasing, ‘God goes to the junkyard to find His choicest treasures’. God is the master creator, the master artist and He chooses to create His masterpieces using the most unlikely materials. God used these four leprous men to bring His message of deliverance to the people of Samaria.

⁵ At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, NO ONE WAS THERE, ⁶ for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, ‘Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!’ ⁷ So they got up and fled in the dusk and ABANDONED THEIR TENTS AND THEIR HORSES AND DONKEYS. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

As it was growing dark the four men walked into the enemy camp and found everything abandoned. The Lord had terrified the enemy into believing a huge army was coming to attack them and they fled leaving everything behind. Many times people are afraid of the devil and his minions, but they’re nothing when compared with the power of Almighty God.

⁸ The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

Were these hungry men perfect, no their own desires overcame them at the sight of food, drink and riches. However, eventually when their hunger was satisfied they began to think about the starving people inside the city.

⁹ Then they said to each other, ‘What we’re doing is not right. THIS IS A DAY OF GOOD NEWS AND WE’RE KEEPING IT TO OURSELVES. If we wait until daylight, (DAYLIGHT EXPOSES WHAT’S HIDDEN IN THE DARKNESS) punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.’

These were ordinary fallible men, but they caught on that this great deliverance wasn’t just for them but for all the starving and dying in the city. God will use the weakest of people to fulfil His purposes and to rescue those in need. The enemy fled leaving all behind for the hungry inhabitants of the city.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

²⁴ Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilised his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. ²⁵ There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long … 2 Kings 6

This foreign king had brought up his whole army and laid siege to the city of Samaria. The people were suffering greatly through starvation and lack. They had no means of escape and in a fit of angst the king of Israel swore he would kill Elisha, God’s prophet, that same day. The enemy hates prophets and the prophetic, because it enables people to look beyond their current situation and hear the word of God for the future. The prophetic should bring us hope!

³² Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. (THE ELDERS SAT WITH THE PROPHET IN TIME OF SEVERE DIFFICULTY) The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, ‘Don’t you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?’ ³³ While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.

The threat to Elisha was real and no doubt the king would have executed him if he’d been able to lay hands on him. However, at just the bleakest moment the Lord sent a word of deliverance through the prophet.

7 Elisha replied, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: about this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.’ 2 Kings 7:1

Hear the word of the Lord, the siege is about to be broken and there’ll be plenty to eat for everyone. They’d lived in lack for such a long time and the Lord was saying that food was going to be plentiful the very next day.

² The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, ‘Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?’

An officer of the king spoke, when he had no need to speak. He usurped the position of his master by denying the word of the Lord and it cost him his life. I am reminded of two incidents in scripture when people wrongly touched the things of God and paid for it dearly. The first was the twelve spies who went into the promised land, saw the goodness of the land, but refused to go in and take from the enemy. An entire generation died in the wilderness as a result. The second was Uzzah who touched the Ark of God when the oxen stumbled and the cart shook. He touched something sacred and it cost him his life.

People today have been under siege by wickedness for a long time and many have become desperate. God’s word has been coming again and again through prophetic voices to say that breakthrough is upon us. Those who look with the natural eye don’t see it and are prone to doubt what’s being spoken. Like the besieged in Samaria we may have suffered long and the situation seems impossible, but don’t disbelieve God’s word of deliverance. He broke the siege of Samaria in the night hours while people slept.

May the Lord bless and keep you secure in His promises. Immanuel, God is with us.

⁷ ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7

Three instructions that the Lord Himself spoke at the very beginning of His ministry to the people in the region of Galilee. Each instruction was accompanied by a corresponding promise, that an answer would be given. God’s children have liberty to remind Him of His promises. We serve a good God who wants to bless us.

¹² Now we can come fearlessly right into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome when we come with Christ and trust in him. Ephesians 3 TLB

We can and should come running into God’s presence today, Jesus has opened the way  for us. Don’t lose out by trying to resolve your own needs; like any loving parent, God wants to help us. Remember that your Father loves you. Amen

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

³ Nathan replied to the king, ‘Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.’ 2 Samuel 7

We saw yesterday after the death of Uzzah that God didn’t press David to bring the Ark of God up to Jerusalem. Instead he poured out blessings upon the household of Obed-Edom, so much so that the news of it reached the King. God drew David back on track by showering down blessings where the Ark of His Presence rested. When we also see the blessing of God resting on someone or something that may be an indication of the best way for us to take.

In the next chapter (7) we see King David unsettled because he’s living in his palace of cedar while the Ark of God’s Presence is in a tent. Many times wealth and affluence dull people to the priority of God and His Name, but not David! He wanted better for His and Israel’s God.

³ Nathan replied to the king, ‘Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.’ 2 Samuel 7

Nathan was King David’s personal prophet, his job was to give David God’s counsel for himself and the people of God. Most leaders today have personal advisors, but very few have associates who can bring them the Word of God. The Kings of Israel had access to prophets anointed of God to speak to them and help them rule wisely. However in this situation God stepped in directly and countermanded the prophet’s first advice.

⁴ But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

⁵ ‘Go and tell my servant David, “This is what the Lord says: are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 2 Samuel 7

God blessed David and his family line through the prophet Nathan, but though David’s intentions were pure and honourable he wasn’t to be the one to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Nathan encouraged David on the basis that God was with him, but God didn’t allow David to proceed with the task. God knows the end from the beginning and He may have someone else He has chosen to take things forward in the next phase of a work. David made extravagant preparations for the coming Temple but the responsibility for its building passed to his son Solomon. Every leader must eventually pass on the work to the next generation. David contributed much to the preparations but it was to be Solomon’s project, the work passed on.

A new generation is coming to this Earth who will build the Kingdom of God to another level, not seen before. David fought many battles and defeated the enemies of his people. He made the way for Solomon to begin to build in peace, something completely new for the worship of God on the earth. I believe that’s God’s plan for future days across this world.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I PRESS ON to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, ¹⁴ I PRESS ON towards the GOAL … Philippians 3

Are we PRESSING ON or are we stuck in the past (the Good Old Days – there used to be a TV show in UK by this name where the audience all wore clothes from days long gone. THEY APPEARED LIKE THEY WERE IN THE PAST)?

Both Paul and the Lord were fully committed to finishing their respective callings and I believe that this word is for the Body of Believers today. This word, ‘KEEP GOING FORWARD’, has come to me for some time.

The second shortest verse in the scriptures, also spoken by the Lord was, ‘Remember Lot’s wife!’ Luke 17:32 Jesus was warning how things would be before His return and this was His return, ‘Don’t Look Back’. In times of uncertainty people have a tendency to look back and remember only the good times. MEMORY IS FICKLE and we soon forget the hardships.

Israel were delivered by the Lord from, ‘the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt – SLAVERY’ Deuteronomy 4:20 yet when things didn’t go well for them in the wilderness they complained against Moses and the Lord.

⁴ The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. Numbers 11

The world has been passing through and still is, a time of great trauma. The Lord is once again delivering people from the hands of those too strong for them. In the midst of this process it is very important that we don’t start complaining and longing for the past. The Past is Gone, never to return! God has a better future for us, but we need to trust Him and keep Pressing Forward with Him, no matter how uncomfortable and uncertain things become. We serve a Good God who is able to keep us in these troubled times and bring us through victorious.

God bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.