To wait upon The Lord demonstrates patience; something in short supply nowadays it seems. We want to get where we are going fasterThe KJV Bible calls patience ‘long suffering’.

Isaiah says [40:13] “but those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength”. That renewal only comes through patiently waiting. Why you might ask does The Lord need us to wait; probably because He know what we are like - He knows the stuff we are made of and thus the surest way to get us to be the best.

Jesus never rushed things because He was constantly directed by Father God, who takes deliberate time with us, and we can only appreciate God’s point-of-view by a long discipline. The Army never gives a trainee an assault rifle until the trainee is fully prepared, so God does not ‘let us loose’ until we understand what He has placed in our hands, so to speak.

Many have wondered why, throughout the Gospels, the disciples seemed to miss what Jesus was saying. They were in training, and their mid-steps are ours also. Peter famously was always running ahead of himself. It was only when he learned to ‘wait upon the Lord’ that he was ready to fulfil what Jesus knew was his part; ‘upon this rock I will build My Church’.

When God brings a blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait. The blank space may come in order to teach you what sanctification means; or it may come after sanctification to teach you what service means. Never run before God's guidance. If there is the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt – don't. [Oswald Chambers “My Utmost For His Highest”]

Today we are reproducing a recent word from Ellel Ministries. We had felt to bring a meditation on giving thanks, but this seemed to express it so well, that it seemed the best thing to do was to pass it on ...

Jesus promised that He would send a helper, a ‘comforter’, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who would abide with us ... and will be in us!

‘Abide’ is an amazing word with an amazing number of synonyms. It describes a state of being with The Lord which none of these other words begin to express adequately. It is inclusive and intimate, and transcends time and place (see Strong’s definition below). It is an unconditionally unlimited way to live ... or abide.

One of the greatest of the Psalms, Psalm 91 is a favourite for many and beautifully and poetically captures what it means to ‘be one with Christ’.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, not of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
[Psalm91:1-6 NKJV]

Our Father gives and gives and gives selflessly and we are deeply comforted; but behind the words is the father’s heart, which gently reminds us that ‘abiding’ is not just about us. The focus of our abiding is Him; the selflessness is a two-presence relationship. Unless we concern ourselves fully on Him, we are not “he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High”

Abide is menō (μένω; a primary verb) and means to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): — abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), to remain.
Abide in reference to place: to sojourn, tarry, not to depart, to continue, to be present, to be held, kept, continually.
Abide in reference to time: to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure of persons, to survive, live.
Abide in reference to state or condition: to remain as one, not to become another or different, to wait for, await one

“Abide With Me” — Hayley Westenra

Philippians 3:10 NKJV — that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

The other day I mentioned how great it was to see some of our family and the grandchildren again after so many months, and the joy of meeting Zoe, the new baby, who is an absolute delight. (See Let Us Draw Near). If ever there was a reason to give thanks to The Lord, that was it, and such a wonderful answer to prayer.

The Psalms are full of exhortations to do just that, but not just when our prayers are answered. Delight yourself also in The Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. So it is not just performing a duty of prayer, but of taking a continuing joy in communicating with our heavenly Father, not only expressing our deepest desires to Him, but hearing from Him — expressing His love for us and feeding us with His way and His truth and filling us with His life. As with so many things in our relationship with Him, this rejoicing in Him brings His evergreen response to us to our attention which builds our delight in Him. An upward spiral of delight, springing from our trust in His hand upon us.

Such delight in Him is in more need in these dramatic times than ever before. There seems to be a growing realisation that the coronavirus Covid-19 is now part of our lives. It is not going away and can only be kept under control by a universal change in our past behaviour when in the company of others. We need the never-ceasing love and tender care of The Lord at all times. Only He will get us through the fiery trial of our faith. Take delight in Him today, for He delights in us.

The Nethinim sound like a people from the imagination of J R R Tolkien, but they were temple workers (some sources say slaves) assigned to the Levites and priests for service in the sanctuary. They seem to have been a low caste of person, but here in Nehemiah they are included with “the rest of the people”.

To understand this better, we need to see the context. The previous 27 verses give a list of over 80 names of priests, Levites and leaders (including Nehemiah), who sealed the covenant. This group of “high heid yins” were known as “The Great Synagogue”, which in time became the Sanhedrin.

The others “took a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law”. In this number were the Nethinim, who were the lowest level of ministry in the temple, despite — if the story is accurate — being descended from “the Kedeshot”, or sacred prostitutes.

They were given the honour of service in the temple as told in Joshua, at which time The Nethinim were known as Gibeonites, although this may be inaccurate. Nonetheless their role in the temple fits that of the duties given to the Gibeonites ...

This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” And the rulers said to them, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.”
[Joshua 9:20-21 NKJV]

All very interesting, but what, you might ask, can this show us? Simply this; that as a result of a promise, these people were saved and taken into the House of God to be servants with essential duties there. No matter what your background or sinful nature might be, The Lord always has a place for you in His house. That is His promise.

Incidentally, a meaning of “Nethinim” is “one given to God”.

I can honestly say that I am constantly amazed by things that the Bible says. This statement that by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God is incredible. Do I understand such a fantastic assertion?

Hebrews 11 is the great paean to faith, building to an incontrovertible testimony of the value and need for faith by relating some of the great examples of faithful men and women.

That expression the worlds were framed could be restated as eternity was made perfect by the word of God. Another way would be to say that God created all things in all times - that He is our All in All. That surely is our understanding.

For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.
[Psalm 95:3-5 NKJV]

Now I understand and can state unequivocally I know whom I have believed ...

We have redemption through His blood. Jesus gave His life for me; He died so that I might live. And not just I, but every 'I' who chooses Him, so that 'I' is no longer 'I', but only Him. “‘Tis no longer I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me”, in the words of the song.

Redemption is deliverance from sin, salvation and atonement for guilt; it is buying back something that was mis-sold in the first place and Jesus made that purchase by His death on the cross. We have been bought at a price. He makes that purchase today in a constant renewal and refreshing.

I remember being told of the ‘death to self’ message and thinking that it seemed like a total elimination of what I thought of as the essence of me — and thus becoming a non-person. But that is in no way what is meant; The Lord intends a completely new creation of the self we are, with the life of Christ working within. I am still me, but being ‘regenerated’; washed clean by the blood of the lamb. What He is doing is building holy character, burning off the dross to reveal the gold within. Gold tried in the fire.

We have been a bit out of sync the last three days as we have managed to travel to catch up with the grand-daughters for the first time in several months and to meet our newly-minted lamb, Zoe, born in early May.

So wonderful to be allowed to be near family once again. We hope and pray that the predictions of a resurgence of the virus prove wrong and that such visits can become a regular occurrence one again.

The Lord also wants us to draw near to Him with a true heart and full assurance of faith, and just as we have to be coronavirus-free to visit our natural family, He needs us to be washed with pure water, the pure water of His word, having been brought into the holiness of His presence by that new and living way — His blood.

The verses above, when read with the natural eye, appear strange, but when seen through the lens of The Holy Spirit, they are some of the most amazing words ever written. What a wonderful Saviour, friend and Comforter we have in Him.
“I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God ...”

When we read the Bible we do not always see how beautifully structured it is. Nowhere is this more easily ascertained than in the Psalms.

The Psalms are actually 5 books, each book in order corresponding to the first 5 books in the Bible, ‘The Pentateuch’. Psalm 119 comes from — for want of a better description — the Deuteronomy Book of Psalms.

It is in a form known as an acrostic. The verses are divided into 22 sections of 8 verses, each section representing the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in a section beginning with that letter.

The Psalm glorified God and His Word, concentrating on 8 words to do so. These are:

• His Law
• His Word dabar (God’s spoken or revealed word)
• His Judgements
• His Testimonies
• His Commandments
• His Statutes
• His Precepts
• His Word imrah (God’s promises)

Psalm 119 can be seen as 22 short prayers, each extolling His wonders and goodness. The first prayer is established by the first letter of the alphabet, Aleph; thus each line — in Hebrew, of course — begins with that letter.

The theme for this first letter’s verses has been described as QUICKENING BY THE WRITTEN WORD, and the lines follow this pattern ...

119:1. The way.
119:2. Condition. Happy. Third Person
119:3. They, upright.
119:4. Command.
——--
119:5. My ways.
119:6. Condition. Not ashamed. First Person.
119:7. I, upright.
119:8. Promise.

You can see that the second four lines brings the general expression of the first four lines and makes it personal.

And is this formality in presentation important and rewarding? I find it so, although it is not essential to knowing our loving and compassionate God. However, He is a God of order — He is nowhere to be found in chaos or confusion — and in such expression of order shown right throughout scripture, we have the pure uncluttered untainted dependable word of God, revealing much to us about His nature. You cannot trust chaos.

The words we read in Malachi’s well-known prophetic vision are addressed “To those who fear my name”. It highlights something which is often ignored by some; that Scripture is principally for those who already believe or are being drawn by The Lord — the Holy Spirit working in you is essential to understanding what He is saying to us. This has certainly been my experience.

The reading is from the last chapter of the Old Testament and is a wonderful prophetic bridge between Old and New. The first chapter in Matthew starts with a genealogy; the balancing anchor to that prophecy in the New.

Notice that we start with “all who do wickedly”; then move on to The Lord’s People and how “the sun of righteousness shall arise” in them/us. The third and concluding aspect is the outcome “you shall ...”. These verses provide, not only a link between Old and New Testaments, but describes the Third Testament — the one that is being written in our hearts. A new day is dawning; that day - which is now this day - is “the day that I do this”. It is here now.

“I had a dream”. These were the words of Martin Luther King that sparked a revolution and shook the world out of wrong-headed attitudes and prejudice against black people - but not just that, also our attitude to all people. People are people, regardless of race, creed or colour, and our Lord loves every one and desires that they come to know Him.

The idea of the dream is very much linked to the understanding of prophesy. Read anything of the story of Joseph in Genesis, or the book of Daniel and dreams feature as the story not merely a part of it.

In the 1960’s, the song featured below became a part of the protest movement when sung by Joan Baez. But here we see the wonderful Paul Robeson singing that same song in the 1940’s to Scottish miners. Incredible!

One thing it says to us in the Spirit is that The Lord is always working with us, inspiring, encouraging, uplifting. There is freedom from oppression by turning to Him. Prophecy allows us to see, (as in understand), the ways of The Lord. Our dreams inspire and motivate the changes they open to our hearts and minds. Let the Holy Spirit give you dreams to show you and uplift you to His inspiring way ahead.

In the five-fold ministry, prophets come second only to apostles. We should not turn aside from the prophetic ministry, which can reveal the heart of God.

Here are the words to the song sung by Paul Robeson:

What, for us, is “The Life” that Jesus promised? Many will say that it is something way into the future, a goal to be worked towards, but the reality is that “the life” is available now.

There is never a moment when He is not there for us. Believe it! Yes, He is life everlasting, but that begins now; it began yesterday and is there tomorrow and every tomorrow. Don’t let it slip away. Carpe diem, “seize the day”.

The Kingdom of God is not a far distant promise, it is a promise for today. Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” [Luke 17:20-21 NKJV]

If the Kingdom of God is within you, there is no waiting for it to appear — it is there already — and that is His life.

The way, the truth and the life; He is all of these things. His way is founded in the truth that is in Him and that is Him and together they produce the Holy Spirit life in us, life everlasting.

Jesus said that He was “the way, the truth and the life” and somehow this does not ring as true if you put “the truth” anywhere other than at the centre of that statement. Truth is the centre of Him, and He is our centre. Without the knowledge and belief in the truth of what He says, all falls away. But Jesus does more than speak truth; He IS truth.

People used to say that the camera cannot lie. Now - and especially so with digital technology and CGI - we know that manipulation of what we see is not only possible but commonplace. It becomes easier to believe the lie. How do we know that Jesus is “the truth”? The answer is because He said so.

Jesus said many incredible things, any one of which the rational man could argue with, yet cannot. Jesus persists. He does not try to convince us of anything He says, which is the most telling argument of all. He merely says “If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” [John 14:2b NKJV]

There is never an attempt to deceive - only ever unequivocable undeniable crystal-clear truth. He said it was so, and our relationship with Him confirms it.

“The Way” was the name first given to what was to become Christianity. In those early days it was thought to be a cult and would fade as so many of these things did. Today, Christianity can claim to be the world’s largest faith.

But size means nothing. Many are called but few are chosen (a meditation for another day perhaps). Jesus’ way has never been about the many who follow. In fact, by saying that no one comes to the Father except through Me, He is putting a limitation, a restriction on His followers. He is not going for admirers and sycophants for Himself; He is always pointing the way heavenwards to Father God. That is “The Way”.

Believing in Jesus is about the way ahead — about there being a way ahead, which of course, is hope.

But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you.
For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.
[Romans 15:23-24 NKJV]

Paul’s simple statement in his letter to Romans reveals the ‘every day’ in those words ‘hope’ and ‘way’. “I hope to see you ... to be helped on my way ... by you”. Such a lot in a few words. “I hope to see you; maybe you can help me on my way”. I have said as much in many a letter to family and friends - I’m sure we all have - and here is Jesus saying “I am the way”, and He will lead us to the Father who is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. [Psalm 46:1 NKJV]

To mark that this is the100th post on this weblog, we are considering the significance of ‘one hundred’ in this passage from 2 Kings 4.

This story is a foretaste of Jesus feeding the five thousand and other miracles of provision. The man comes from Baal Shalisha, which means “thrice great Lord”, bringing Elisha “bread of the first fruits”.

James tells us that of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. [James 1:18 NKJV]. What we are reading in 2 Kings is, I believe, an allusion to a company of believers whom Jesus described as His in John 17.

Here that “firstfruits company of believers” are described as “one hundred men”, who shall eat (be a part of) and have some left over (they will be filled to overflowing) according to the word of God (this is a filling in and by The Holy Spirit). Thus, “one hundred” speaks of those who become a part of God’s promise, His firstfruit harvest who are filled with His spirit.

So, just as Jesus fed thousands with 2 loaves and five fish, Elisha heeded the Lord’s promise to fill one hundred with twenty loaves of barley bread and newly ripened grain. We have that amazing assurance, that promise of His overflowing provision for us in every way, when we believe and follow Him.