"Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born" – Genesis 25.34 (CEV)

This verse says that Esau despised his birthright.  He regarded it as worthless, he regarded his present need greater than his future inheritance.  The birthright was his right to the blessing and inheritance of his father Isaac.  This birthright carried with it certain rights and privileges that only the firstborn son could enjoy, and Esau (the firstborn) squandered and sold his birthright to satisfy his present hunger.  Hebrews 12.16-17 tells us that later he tried to regain his birthright but although he tried he could not do it.  He sold the blessing for some temporal pleasure.  Learn the lesson from Esau today; don’t sell out on the Blessing for some passing temporal pleasure.  Don’t settle for less than God’s best for you, you have a right to the Blessing by reason of the new-birth.  You are an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ – what was promised to Jesus is promised to you because you are in Him.  Don’t think little of the benefits and rights of salvation.  Read again the few verses at the beginning of Psalm 103 and see just some of the benefits and blessings that are yours in Christ – forgiveness, healing, deliverance, manifestations of the favour of God, long life, satisfaction and renewed strength and vitality.  Grasp hold of them, put your faith to work and believe for them.  They are yours today, so begin to walk in the fullness of your birthright.

"My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." – Proverbs 4.20-23 (AV)

I believe these to be some of the wisest words in the Scriptures.  Here we are told to give complete attention to the Word of God and to hear what God is saying.  It is not enough to just read the Word and go away thinking you’ve done your ‘duty’ as far as the Word is concerned - we need to hear what God is saying.  Even then, the instruction is to keep what God has said before your eyes and in your heart.  These were not just the words of Solomon, we read similar words in the Law.  God's people were commanded to keep the Word in their hearts, to teach them to their children and talk about them when they went about their daily business, or stayed around the home (Deuteronomy 6.6-8).  Joshua was told to keep the Word of God in his mouth, to meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1.8).  God doesn't waste words to fill out a few extra lines in the text of Scripture.  He says what He means and means what He says.  We are told to give complete attention to His words for they are life to us and health to every part of our bodies.  God's word works in us life and health, give your full attention to them.

".... If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." – Isaiah 7.9 (AV)

Many of the excuses that people have for not receiving Jesus revolve around what they think they must give up.  Their excuses range from 'wanting to enjoy life first' and giving-up their lifestyle of partying, going out and drinking to, not being able to come to church because of other commitments such as work, football, fishing, family and many other such things.  Did you know that first and foremost, above all else, God requires you to believe and have faith in Him.  Nowhere in Scripture does it say that you have to give up certain things to come to Christ.  Now don't misunderstand or misquote what I'm saying – yes there are things that as Christians we should give up because they are not good for us nor befitting saints, but God deals with those once we have come to Him.  Yes for some that may be an instantaneous change, and others it may be a progression of change over a few weeks.  And then there are those Christians that fight God about ministry; they want to be in ministry but are not prepared to do what He is calling them to do.  All He expects of you is that you believe and trust Him, everything else will then fall into place.  The essence of today's verse is that you cannot be established unless you believe.  Being saved is not about giving up a lifestyle, it's about believing God, ministry is about believing God, not what you can or want to do.  Believing is the key to anything you want or need from God, you cannot be established in it unless you stand in faith and believe.  That word 'established' in the Hebrew has several meanings from being steadfast, fixed, firm, permanent and strong to its more proper interpretation which is to foster, train, support and build-up; which is what a parent would do with their child.  God wants to build you up, support you and foster you in the things that you need and want from Him, but unless you believe and put your trust in Him, you'll never get to that place.  The Old Testament patriarchs accomplished great things for God, but only because they were willing to trust and believe God - it was this unwavering faith that established them.

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" – Psalm 27.14 (AV)

Anyone who is familiar with my writings will know by now that there are certain themes and subjects that I like to teach and write about.  You will have heard me mention before that the word 'wait' does not necessarily mean to sit still and do nothing, that's how we have often translated these verses which tell us to 'wait on the Lord'.  A better understanding of the interpretation is that of a waiter in a restaurant.  He serves the tables, he is a minister, he ministers to the needs of the party seated at the table.  James Strong in his Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words gives us another definition.  He also says that to wait has the primitive understanding of being bound together by being twisted, such as strands of hemp are twisted together to form a strong unbreakable rope.  Waiting on God is not about doing nothing, it is however about ministering to God, being intimate with Him, being entwined together in unity.  The Bible says in Psalm 133 that where there is unity among the brethren, there the Lord commands the blessing; if that's the case with our earthly brothers, how much more our Heavenly Father.  When we wait on God like that, that's when He strengthens our hearts.  Look at David, the man who penned these words.  Even in this psalm he mentions how his enemies surrounded him, seeking to do him harm; but he found that by waiting on the Lord he was strengthened, he found the Lord to be the strength of his life.  Look at the opening words of this psalm - “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

"[Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit." – Jeremiah 17.7-8 (Amplified)

All these years one thing that has propelled me forward in whatever I do is the fact that there is absolutely nothing that faith in God cannot do.  Many years ago when I was baptised in water, the first thing I remember coming up out of the water, while I was still standing in the pool, was the voice of my grandmother.  I couldn't see her at the time but I knew her voice – and the words I heard her speaking were these words from Jeremiah, not as it reads here but from the King James Version.  I have come to love these words very much, and particularly from the Amplified Version, and that's why I have chosen to share these with you today.  “Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is”.  The man whose faith is in the Lord is a most blessed and prosperous man.  The man whose faith is in the Lord is likened unto a tree that is planted beside the river, which is always green and fruitful as it draws its life-source through its roots that tap into the waters from the river.  Even when there has been a lack of rainfall and there is a drought in the land, the tree continues to stay green and fruitful.  I started off saying that there is absolutely nothing that faith in God cannot accomplish or achieve.  Read through Hebrews 11 again and see what faith accomplished for the patriarchs and those mentioned in the Bible.  Faith in God will settle any anxious fears you may have had and bring you to the place where you are consistently fruitful.  Don't forget my friend, those whose faith is in the Lord is a most blessed person because there is nothing that faith in God cannot do.

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." – Isaiah 61.10 (AV)

What an exclamation! I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God.  The Christian that has learnt the secret of praise has a great weapon available to them. By now you will know that I like to get to the root meanings of the words of Scripture, and this statement 'greatly rejoice' means to rejoice exceedingly.  In Zechariah 9.9 we read the same two words “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion...”; the word translated as greatly here has the root meaning 'speedily or vehemently', as well as 'exceedingly, wholly, and diligently'.  I think this helps us understand what Isaiah was saying when he uttered those words, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord”.  We need to be diligent and consistent in our rejoicing; the Apostle Paul underlined this in Philippians 4.4 where he says, “rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice”.  We need to rejoice always, at all times and in every situation – that's diligence; but I believe we need to be quick to rejoice, it should come speedily from our hearts and on our lips, and it should be with a strong feeling that it is the right thing to do.  We are often so quick to complain, and justify it because we feel so strongly about some cause.  Now re-read the words of Isaiah in today's verse with those thoughts and allow the Spirit to give you further revelation.  Jerry Savelle once wrote a book called 'If Satan Can't Steal Your Joy..', in it he shares how satan won't be able to have your goods if he can't take your joy.  Joy is a weapon that can be used against the enemy.  If satan cannot take your joy, and you consistently rejoice, then you're well on the way to winning those battles today.

"(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." – Romans 4.17 (AV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; this is how the first book of the Bible starts.  The first chapter of Genesis then goes on to impart one of the greatest truths to us, it shows us how God created what we see and know.  He spoke words, not just any words but words that were charged with faith.  The Word of God has all the power in itself to bring the words to pass.  Think of a seed; even though it is so small, it contains all the necessary power to bring forth the plant or tree.  All it needs is the right soil type, light and water and that little seed will grow thousands, may be millions of times bigger than the original seed.  That’s how the word of God works, when you speak forth the word of God you ‘plant the seed’ and do it continually (giving it water and light) it will produce what it says.  That’s what God did, He called those things which had not yet appeared as though they already had.  That’s what Abraham did, it’s what the other great men and women of faith did - it’s the way of faith.  God spoke to Abram and told him he would be the ‘Father of many Nations’ many years before he even had one son.  Eventually God helped him out by changing his name to Abraham (literally Father of a multitude).  Now every time Abraham spoke his name, he was declaring what God had said to him: “I am Abraham (father of a multitude)”. Abraham had to learn the faith way, calling those things which be not as though they were.  “But isn’t that just lying to say something that is not?” you might ask - not where the Word of God is concerned.  If God says ‘by his stripes you are healed’ it doesn’t matter how sick your body may feel, if you choose to believe and speak the word that God says, you are agreeing with God, and God cannot lie and so therefore neither are you. If you continue to speak and believe those words then healing will manifest itself in your body.  It may not come overnight but it will surely come.  The seed doesn’t become a plant in a day, but if it is fed and watered it will surely become a plant.  Start believing the Word of God, let God’s words become your words, and begin to call some things into manifestation.

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour" – Judges 6.12 (AV)

Gideon was busy threshing wheat in the winepress when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said these amazing words, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour”.  Did Gideon mishear what God had just said – his focus was on the ‘the Lord is with you’.  If God is with us then why has all this happened was the main thrust of his response.  Does that sound familiar? Have you heard those same words recently?  The Angel of the Lord continued by telling him he was a mighty man of valour, not in his own strength but because the Lord was with him.  It mattered not that he was the least in his fathers house, or even that his clan was the weakest among the tribe; what mattered was that God was with Him.   I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking to someone right now, and someone needs to hear these words:  You are a mighty man (or woman) of valour because the Lord is with you.  You are mighty in God, victorious; the problems that rise against you are defeated, no weapon that is formed against you prospers.   Later we read that Gideon defeated the Midianites because he dared to follow God, he trusted God, he heard the voice of God speaking to him ‘the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour’ and he believed it.  Rise up today you mighty man of God, rise up you valiant woman of God and take your place as the victorious ones – the Lord is with you today.

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." – 1 Corinthians 1.27-29 (AV)

Yesterday we saw how the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and told him that he was a mighty man of valour.  I noted yesterday that it does not matter who we are, or what our status is, but rather that God is with us.  Paul picks up on a similar theme in the opening chapter of his first letter to the church at Corinth.  We read that God does not choose the wise, mighty or noble people of the earth through which to work.  He chooses people like Gideon, who were the least in his clan and family; He chooses people like me and you.  He chooses the foolish to confound the wise, the weak to confound the strong.  He chooses the despised of the earth and those who feel they are nothing to display his power and might through them.  This is so that He takes all the glory; if God chose the mighty, they would seek the glory for themselves by saying ‘it was my might and power that got the victory’.  It is worth noting here that Jesus chose twelve young men, the majority of which were untrained and uneducated according to the world’s standards, but through these men the world was turned upside down, as God displayed his power through them.  Are you a glory-seeker? If so, God will not be able to use you to the extent that He wants to.  God will choose those that give Him all the glory.  Look at Gideon, with just 300 men he defeated the innumerable army of the Midianites; God chose the weak, the foolish, the base and despised and wrought a great victory through them and He got all the glory.

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart" – Psalm 37.4 (Amplified)

The instruction found in this verse is to delight yourself in the Lord, that is to take great pleasure or have great satisfaction in the Lord.  Delight is not a temporal thing, it does not change from day to day; what gives you pleasure and satisfaction can be temporal, it can change.  What pleased you last week may not please you next week, what satisfied you last year may not satisfy you today.  But to take delight in something, particularly God, His Word, the things of the Kingdom should be constant.  There are several verses of Scripture which tell you take delight; Psalm 1.2 says that our delight should be in the Law of the Lord; Psalm 40.11 says that we should delight in doing His will.  About six times in Psalm 119 we are told to delight ourselves in the Word of God and in Isaiah 58.2 we read that we should delight in knowing His ways.  There are other Scriptures, and I would encourage you to do a word study on the subject.  When we make God our delight on a daily basis this verse promises that God will give us the desires and secret petitions of our heart.  I have heard some say that God puts desires in our heart as the interpretation of this verse: I’m not saying God doesn’t give us goodly desires, but here the word desires means the things we ask for, request, petition and demand.  I believe the correct interpretation is that God will grant us the desires, requests and prayers that we put to Him, if we delight ourselves in Him.  I believe that delight is an intimate thing; courting couples take delight in each other, they get great pleasure and satisfaction by just being together – isn’t that the same in our relationship with God.  Does God excite you and give you goosebumps?  Yes?, that’s delight.

"No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" – Mark 3.27 (NKJV)

Jesus had been accused, by the scribes, of casting out demons by the ruler of demons.  In His response to them, Jesus spoke in parables, He said:  How can satan cast out satan, he would be divided and not able to stand.  He said that families that were constantly fighting among themselves would not stand.  Then He began to teach an important aspect of prayer, again in parable form.  If you want to plunder or spoil a strong man’s belongings, you first must render the strong man helpless, by binding him up.  If you don’t tie him up then the strong man will overcome you, but if you bind him first he will not be able to overcome you and you can plunder all his goods.  A woman said to me only today, “Know your enemy”, the context of what she was saying had nothing to do with the devil, but it applies to him.  Amongst other things he is known as the strong man, he has strongholds – a strong hold over the lives of men and women, towns and cities, situations and circumstances.  If you want to break the stronghold, you must first bind the strong man, then you can pull down the stronghold.  How do you bind the enemy, well it’s not as simple as just saying ‘I bind you’ as many Christians do.  Binding is done with words, it is a declaration.  Have you heard the statement ‘to be bound by your word’ or ‘his word is his bond’.  Words are legally binding, they form contracts.  When you pray you bind the enemy by speaking words, God’s word.  You bind by declaring and decreeing what has already been declared and decreed.   In Matthew 16.19 Jesus told his disciples that whatever they bound on earth is bound in the heavenlies.  You can control the sphere of the enemy, the heavenlies, with your God’s Word on your lips.  “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” (Amplified).

"An evil person borrows and never pays back; a good person is generous and never stops giving." – Psalm 37.21 (CEV)

This verse makes a declaration that the righteous man is a giver.  The wicked man borrows with no intention of repaying what was borrowed, but a righteous man shows mercy and gives.  The Contemporary English Version says, “… a good person is generous and never stops giving”.  This teaches us the spirit of the righteous, they are givers, not just with finances, but they are generous in every area of their life.  They imitate God; He is a giver, it is not just something that God does it is who He is.  Look through the Scriptures and see that nature in operation.  One of the most famous and well known verses in the whole Bible underlines this very thing about Him.  “For God so loved the world that He gave..” (John 3.16). In the next verse of this Psalm it goes on to say that the blessed are inheritors of the land. A literal translation of this verse is that those blessed of Him are inheritors and possessors of the land.  The connection between these two verses is that because the righteous are generous givers, they are blessed by God and are inheritors of all things.  When you make giving your lifestyle you’ll also find that the style of your life will be inheriting and receiving all that God has for you.

"Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odour; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honour" – Ecclesiastes 10.1 (NKJV)

Jesus taught a very well known parable about two house builders; one of these was wise and the other foolish.  In the parable, the building that was founded on rock belonged to the wise builder.  But the foolish man erected his house on the sandy shore with no sure foundations.  Any builder would know that a house built without solid foundations is destined to crumble and fall.  This verse tells us that for a man who is respected for wisdom and honour, even a little foolishness is not befitting.  It is like getting flies in a perfume bottle; they die and decay and cause the sweet aroma of the perfume to become rancid.  The Bible speaks several times of the need to be careful of the little things that spoil.  Beware of the little foxes; beware of the flies in the perfume; so often it’s the silly little things that we say or do that can spoil our wisdom and honour.  In The Message translation the second verse goes on to say, “Wise thinking leads to right living; Stupid thinking leads to wrong living”.  If you want to live right, then watch out for the little things that spoil, don’t let those dead flies get into the perfume and spoil it.

"We love him, because he first loved us" – 1 John 4.19 (AV)

As I was growing up, I became very familiar with the hymns, songs and choruses we sang in church.  Many of these worship songs came out of the early years of the last century, that is the 1920’s and onwards. One of those songs went like this: “O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me”.  Of course the basis for this song is this verse in 1 John 4.19 where it states that we love Him, because He first loved us.  Thank God that He first loved us, where would we have been today if it were not for the love of God.  This is the central theme of the whole of the Bible and of Christendom – God loves us.   Just take one look at how man has treated God; he has laughed at Him, ridiculed Him and made Him the subject of jokes.  Man has rebelled and sinned against Him, rejected Him, hated Him and crucified Him (and that’s only just scratching the surface).  Yet despite the way He has been treated by man, God still loves him.  His is not a sloppy kind of love; His is agape love, unconditional love.  The old hymn writer put it like this, “There is no love like the love of Jesus, never to fade nor fall..”.  I want you to get a revelation of that love today – so spend some time just meditating on God’s love, its greatness, its power, its eternal nature.

"And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin" – Romans 14.23 (AV)

You may have noticed that there are many that oppose us that make a stand for faith.  They oppose the message of faith claiming it to be heretical teaching.  What does the Bible say on the subject?, well to start with we have Hebrews 11.  Do you honestly think that if faith was heresy that God would allow this chapter to be included in the Scripture, actually it says in this chapter ‘but without faith it is impossible to please Him’ (vs6), then the chapter goes on to commend the patriarchs for their faith and acts of faith.  Our verse today says ‘whatever is not of faith is sin’ – did you hear that?  Perhaps you had better read it again just to make sure, whatever is not of faith is sin – it is sinful not to have faith in God.  Paul was writing to the Roman Christians here because there were those that were being offended because of the actions of others, some were observing special days, others eating meats or drinking.  These acts were being performed by Gentile Christians, those that were not Jews.  The Jews had certain laws about such things which the Gentiles were not forced to keep.  It was about this area that was causing the offense.  What Paul was saying is that whatever they decided to do, they should do in faith. If they wanted to keep the holy days or eat meat they were to do it in faith.  If they declined to keep the holy days or eat meats then they also should do it in faith.  The worse sin was not whether or not they ate or drank or observed the day, it was not being in faith.  We are told in the Scripture that whatever we do we should do it as unto the Lord in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3.17) – or do it in faith.  The moment you get into the area of being double-minded in the matter saying ‘I don’t know whether I should do this’, you are in sin. 

"Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard." – Isaiah 58.8 (AV)

This is a familiar verse from the book of Isaiah which I have preached on several times but today I want to look at it slightly differently by taking it from a different translation.  Listen to how it reads from Youngs Literal Translation: “Then broken up as the dawn is thy light, And thy health in haste springeth up, Gone before thee hath thy righteousness, The honour of Jehovah doth gather thee”.   The word glory is translated as honour in Youngs and when taken together with the next verse (vs9) I believe we can draw this conclusion from these verses: Whatever we need and bring to God in our petitions we can have and God’s honour is there to back us up.  If we approach God in faith, and in accordance with His will, if we have satisfied what the Scriptures require of us then God is duty bound to keep His Word and answer us.  God’s honour is on the line to heal us, deliver us and answer our prayers.  If you know that the Scripture says if we lay hands on the sick they will recover and you do that in faith in the name of Jesus, God’s honour is on the line, and He has to heal. If you know that the Scripture says if you are sick and call for the elders of the church, and they anoint you with oil in Jesus name and pray the prayer of faith, then God has to raise you up and heal you - His honour is on the line.  He is a faithful, just and honourable God, who keeps His Word.  Meditate on those thoughts, meditate on the honour of God and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His word to you today.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Psalm 119.137-160

"But if it is by grace (His unmerited favour and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless]." – Romans 11.6 (Amplified)

We have often said that grace is defined as God’s love and favour.  Many people add the word undeserved to make it God’s undeserved love and favour, similar to what the Amplified version does.  This verse shows us that grace is not conditioned on works or anything else that you or I have done.  Grace is not merited, it is not earned, it comes purely out of the love of God.  The apostle argues that if grace was anything else it would not be grace; it would be counted as wages.  Have you heard the term ‘ex gratia’?  It is from the Latin and means ‘by favour or out of grace’, it is most commonly used in legal terms with reference to payments made.  I like a definition I found on the internet which states ex gratia is “a gift made without any obligation on the part of the giver or any return from the receiver” – that sounds good doesn’t it?  Grace is God’s favour given to man without any obligation on God’s part, that is He is not obliged to show His favour because of any merit on our part, nor is grace given with any expectation of a return from us.  Like His love, grace is unconditional.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Romans 11.1-36

"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth" – Psalm 34.1 (AV)

I like to think that David learned the secret of praise early on in his childhood while watching over his father’s flock of sheep, playing his instruments and writing his songs as he expressed praise to his God.  This is evident in the psalms, and Psalm 23 in particular.  Here in Psalm 34 he begins “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise is continually in my mouth”.  By this time in David’s life he had learned to keep on praising the Lord, even when circumstances were not good.  Why is that?  Praise is thanking God for all that He has done.  When we praise Him we remember that He has already brought us out of many things and circumstances and that strengthens and encourages us.  Praise focuses our faith on God and delivers us from fear.  Look at what he says in verse 4: “I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears”.  When David got to praising, God delivered him from every fear that warred against his faith, and that brought him the victory (vs19). Go ahead and praise Him today – it will focus your faith on Him and bring you the victory over the circumstances that are against you.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." – Psalm 37.23 (AV)

Have you ever been out walking or hiking (or even driving) and suddenly had a thought that the path or road is not familiar, you don’t recognise where you are, or have that feeling that you’re going the wrong way.  This happened to me just recently, I was out in the car driving and I knew I was on the right road, but didn’t recognise the surroundings, and for a brief moment the thought flashed through my mind that I was on the wrong road.  Well of course I wasn’t, it was just the landscape was different to how I remembered it.   This verse says that a good mans steps are ordered by the Lord.  God directs our paths, He knows the way that we should take.   The Holy Spirit is prompting me that there are people reading this today who are unsure of the path they are taking, it may even be you have never trod that path before but you can rest assured that the Lord has directed your steps.  The path may look unfamiliar to you, but walk it step by step in faith, keep looking to the Lord, He’ll uphold you.  Remember what it says in the early verses of this psalm (vs 5-7), commit your way to Him, trust in Him and rest in Him – He will bring it to pass. 

"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." – 1 Timothy 1.12 (NKJV)

Paul writes to Timothy, a young pastor and minister of the Gospel, and he says ‘I thank Jesus who has enabled me..’.  The enabling of God is the anointing of the Holy Spirit; the word literally means ‘to empower, to strengthen, make bold’, and that’s what the anointing does.  You may not know this, but I often struggle to communicate with people, I’m not fond of speaking on the telephone, I don’t get on well one to one and sometimes can find it extremely difficult to speak to my wife.  But I have no problem when the anointing of God comes upon me – it gives me an enabling to preach and teach, it empowers me for ministry.  I also thank God that He counts me faithful, putting me into the ministry – but I couldn’t do it without the anointing, His enabling.  You may think that you could never do something like preach, or sing, or go off to a foreign mission field.  Maybe God has even been speaking with you and you keep fighting it saying you can’t do it.  We mentioned yesterday about God directing our steps; when He leads and directs you where ministry is concerned, He’ll back you up with His anointing, His enabling – He’ll enable you to do all that He has called you to do.   Let me encourage you to step out in faith and go for it, He counts you faithful and will not let you down.

"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." – Jonah 1.3 (AV)

For the last couple of days we have been considering about the Lord’s leading and directing our steps.  Yesterday we said that when God leads He backs us up with His anointing and enabling.  In today’s verse we read of Jonah, he was a character like many of us.  God called Him and he wanted to run and flee from God's presence – all because he didn’t want to go to Ninevah.    It wasn’t about Jonah’s ability to go or preach, it wasn’t really that he didn’t want to go.  Jonah thought that the Ninevites deserved God’s judgement for their sinful and wicked ways, and he knew that God would be merciful to them and forgive them if they repented of their sin.  Oh brother, sister, don’t ever try and flee from the presence of God just because He is calling you to do something.  It is far better, and a whole lot easier, just to do what God is asking you to do.    Don’t make the same mistake that Jonah made; If you feel so weak and inadequate regarding the call of God, rather than run from God’s presence, throw yourself on to God and learn the lessons from Jonah and of the last few days.  Why not re-read those devotions and allow God to minister His strength and anointing into your life.  If you need help or prayer why don’t you write to us and we will be glad to pray with you.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Jonah 1.1- 4.11

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort." – 2 Corinthians 1.3 (AV)

In this verse the apostle Paul encourages the church at Corinth, and you and me, to give thanks and praise to God.  He says ‘blessed (praise, adoration and thanks) be to God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort’.  Today I want us to consider the phrase ‘the Father of mercies’.   He is a Father, one who takes on a paternal role over his children.  A good father sees to it that his children are taken care of and provides for their needs.  God assumes that role as our Father, and this verse says that He is Father of mercies.   Mercy is the opening up of the bowels of compassion to help those who are in need.  Not only is God taking care of our needs but He has adequate resources to meet every one.   It is understood by anyone asking for mercy that the person to whom he is beseeching has what is needed to satisfy the need.  God has all the resources necessary and opens up His bowels of compassion towards His children.   John writes ‘But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?’ (1 John 3.17).  The love of God always gives; that’s why John says how can the love of God be in those who refuse to give to help a brother in need.  God is love; God is a giver; God is our Father of mercies and He assumes the need of His children and cannot withhold from them what is needed.

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light." – Psalm 36.7-9 (NKJV)

Yesterday we saw how God is described as Father of mercies, and we saw how that is reflected in his dealings with man.  In this verse we read again of the Father/Child relationship that God has with His children.  The phrase ‘shadow of Your wings’ has its roots in the natural world; young birds take refuge and find safety under their mother’s wings.  When the psalmist reflected on how God took care of His children and met their needs, he sings out this note of praise ‘how precious is Your lovingkindness O God’  His mercy is precious, have you thought on that recently.  How precious is His love, How precious is His mercy, How precious is His dealings with you and I.   He abundantly satisfies His children, He meets all their needs – that’s precious, that’s our God, our Heavenly Father.

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets." – Amos 3.7 (Amplified)

I like this verse as it shows how much God thinks of us.  Have you heard people say, ‘you just never know what God is going to do’.  You’ve probably heard that more times than you can recall, you may have even used that phrase yourself.  This verse tells us that God doesn’t do anything without first telling His servants.  That’s how much God thinks of you, He lets you know what He is doing.  Who can know the mind of God? you can, if you have an ear to hear what God is saying to His servants, through His Spirit.  Revelation frequently says that ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’.   You know that the devil has no authority to act in your life; the only authority that he has, is what you surrender to him through your words.  The same goes for God, to some folk this may sound like strange teaching.  God has given man the dominion and authority in this earth and He cannot just override that.  He cannot just step into your situation and do something without your permission.  God may say that He is going to do something but He needs a man to take Him at His word and believe what he says, and prophesy it (or call it) into manifestation.  That’s what the prophet Ezekiel had to do in the valley of dry bones, He prophesied over the bones and called them to life.  Those dry bones needed to hear the Word of the Lord and they responded.  Who will let God work? Will you be that person? Are you hearing what God is saying? – then faith it, call it into existence until it is. 

"If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success." – Ecclesiastes 10.10 (NKJV)

About two weeks ago we dipped into this chapter, this book is a book of wisdom.  Wisdom teaches us about living right.  In our verse today we see the value of wisdom.  If you use an axe to chop wood; or knives in handicrafts or food preparation, you will know that having a blunt edge is not just hard work but can be dangerous.  The Scripture shows us here that more strength will be needed to do the job.  I recently did some decorating at our home and hung some wallpaper.  Several times during the job I had to change the blade on the knife as it became dull and began to tear the paper and make the job worse - keeping the blade new and sharp made the job easy.  I also am one given to cooking and preparing meals.  I have a set of chef’s knives, which are lovely to use but only when they are really sharp.  I have to continually sharpen the blades to keep them effective.  That’s the value of wisdom – it will bring us success.  Some years ago, I woke one morning to find that somebody had vandalised our car during the night.  They had spray painted blue paint up the side – I puzzled over this for some hours trying to find a way to get it off to avoid having to take it to a body shop for a re-spray.  I took the situation to the Lord and he gave me wisdom on the matter – He told me to use a non-abrasive bathroom cleaner.  When I got home that evening, I found the cleaner in the cupboard and took it out to the car.  The spray paint came off easily without damaging the body paint underneath.  Too often we ask for things that we think are the answer to a situation rather than seeking God for His wisdom.  Wisdom will bring you success.

"You brood of snakes!  How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say." – Matthew 12.34 (NLT)

Here is an important lesson from Jesus which we have seen and before and will see again in the coming months.  Look at the freshness of this translation, the New Living Translation.  It says 'whatever is in your heart determines what you say'.  I once heard an illustration from this verse, which I myself have repeated many times over the years.  If you were to take a sponge and drop it in some water, the sponge soaks up the water until it is filled.  When you squeeze the sponge it releases the water that is contained in it.  It does not matter what the liquid is inside the sponge, whatever it is will be released when squeezed.  If you fill the sponge with oil, the oil will come out; if it is paint then paint will come out.  Our hearts are exactly the same as that sponge - whatever is in them will determine what comes out of our mouths.  I came across a book some time ago about the last words and sayings of certain historic figures. Whilst it made an interesting read there is also something that is very saddening.  When the 'squeeze' comes, often when facing danger and life-threatening situations, many peoples words are words of blasphemy and cursing - that's because when they are squeezed what's in their heart determines what they say.   Is doubt and unbelief in your heart, if so, it will be evident by what you say when the pressure is on.  Anyone can say the right things when the going is easy and good - but what will come out of your mouth when you’re squeezed?  Determine today to put the right words in your heart, put God's Words in your heart.  Then when you are squeezed, what's in your heart - the Word of God - will come out of your mouth and victory over the situation will be assured.

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" – Hebrews 12.1 (NKJV)

In this verse we are told to lay aside every weight, every distraction, and every sin which can so easily trip us up, and to run our race with endurance.  Most people think that when you talk about endurance you are talking about suffering.  That's not so, endurance means 'patience, to abide, to hold up, be steadfast'.  Endurance is not knuckling under and putting up with whatever comes your way, but being steady, staying consistent and constant, that is being the same way at all times, doing what you know is right to do.  We can get great revelation and understanding on this by looking at how athletes run a race.  They strip off down to a vest and running shorts – they get rid of excess weight and they run a steady consistent race.  Today we would say that they were pacing themselves before the final sprint to the line.  That's how we are to run our race of faith – if we run erratically  we get weary before we finish the course and drop out; but if we run steadily we will have the energy for the final push to the finish line.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Hebrews 12.1-3

"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him" – Psalm 105.19 (NKJV)

Yesterday we saw that we need to run the race of faith with endurance.  I want to continue with this theme for just one more day, and look at one of the greatest trials of your faith.  The greatest trial of your faith is not the problem that you are facing, nor is it the devil.  The greatest trial of your faith is time.  How long have you got to be in faith?  The answer is until you get what you are believing for.  Many people quit and give up after a few weeks or months and start ranting about how faith doesn't work.  The verse in this Psalm is talking about Joseph.  He had received a word from God; it came in dreams when he was still a young man.   That word tested him time and again.  Was he prepared to keep standing and believing?  Yes he was, even when circumstances seemed to be taking him in the opposite direction, he still stood firm on the word of God.  Eventually that word came to pass in his life.  That's endurance, being prepared to stand and keep standing, and then stand some some more.   The Bible tells us that we will reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6.9), if we do not give up, and we do not quit.  Due season is always later than you want it to be, but it will come if you endure – stay steady, consistent and constant, doing what you know is right to do, that is believing the word of God above your circumstances and situations.

"Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" – Isaiah 12.3 (AV) 

We are told many times to rejoice, praise and give thanks to the Lord. Do you know why this is?  I believe that there is a connection between giving thanks and receiving.  Earlier this month I celebrated my birthday; on these types of occasions we receive gifts from our loved ones and friends.  Generally when we receive gifts we give thanks, we say ‘thank you’ to the one that is giving the gift.  Have you ever given a gift to someone? Did they respond with gratitude?  If so, how did that make you feel, good?  Have you ever given a gift that wasn’t received gratefully? Did that make you feel like not wanting to give them a gift again?  Thankful people are receivers time and again, and it’s the same with God, He likes to give and give to thankful people.  Joyfulness draws water from the wells of salvation – joyful people are receivers of the benefits of salvation.   We have said many times that salvation (soteria) is more than just the forgiveness of sin.  Salvation is clearly defined in Psalm 103.3-5 where a list of ‘benefits’ is mentioned.  Salvation is forgiveness of sin; healing of sickness and disease; preservation and deliverance from destruction.  It is knowing and experiencing the grace and lovingkindness of God; being satisfied with good things; and having your youth restored and renewed.  Joy draws all these from the bountiful wells of salvation.

"And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it." – 2 John 1.6 (AV)

Loving God is the greatest of the commandments, walking in love is the greatest thing we can do after loving God.  Love is the true hallmark of any Christian, there is an old song which says, 'They will know we are Christians by our love'.  Love sets us up above the rest, no wonder Paul could call this the most excellent way in 1 Corinthians 12.31.  What is love – it is keeping His commandments.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says ‘if you love Me you will keep My commandments.. if you keep My commandments you will abide in My love’  (John 14.15; John 15.10).  Love is doing what Jesus asks and commands.  In the marriage vows, which sadly many people now omit for something much less, the woman promises to ‘love and obey’ her husband.  Obedience is an act of love and love walks in obedience.  Some people have the idea that they can get others to obey them through punishment – that’s not love, but law and condemnation.   If you are somebody in authority, maybe a work supervisor, employer or even a pastor – it is easier to get people to do what you want out of love than you demanding they obey. You will not beat obedience out of them, that will just create resentment; you have to love it out of them.  Let love flow out to them today, and they will reciprocate that love and respond with their obedience and loyalty.

"I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants." – Ecclesiastes 10.7 (NKJV)

If you will allow me to to come to this chapter one final time you will see right here in the middle a verse which highlights an issue that many Christians have today.  Here the wise king states that he has seen servants riding on horseback while the prince walks beside.  The roles have been reversed from what they ought to be; the prince should be on horseback and the servant walking.  This is a picture of the church in these end times.  For some they have lost sight of their position.  My dear brother, sister, you have been made a priest and a king, you have been raised up and are seated with Christ in heavenly places.  Yet too often we let the devil ride the horse and we walk beside.  My dear friend you should be riding the horse - exercise your authority today and kick the devil off the horse and take your rightful position as a child of the Living God.  Let me suggest you read through the additional readings in Ephesians and see for yourself what your position ought to be as a born again believer.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Ephesians 1.15-23; Ephesians 2.1-7