Way to the Father's Heart

Joshua speaks to the house of Joseph – his two sons’ descendants – to take the country that is allocated to them. There are 2 specific instructions: Cut down the forest Drive out the Canaanites God was not making it easy for the people of Joseph. First, they need to cut down the forest & then wage war! He also adds that the people they fight are powerful (iron chariots) and strong. Yet, the command – and if we look at it differently – the promise it gives – ‘you shall drive them out’, though they seem more powerful than you. It requires faith and obedience to believe, to walk out & to do what the Lord says. A very interesting message here is – ‘you shall drive out the Canaanites’. As a promise, it seems the Lord has given the enemy into the hands of the children of Israel & they were enabled to go & conquer. As a command, it seems don’t just go to war with them and be satisfied in defeating them. Don’t keep them as slaves in some corner of their land. Don...

I've learnt something about love. Love does not cause us to be weak. It makes us strong. The perfect love of the Father God makes us strong. It brings us life, joy and strength. When we love others with that love, we are strengthened within ourselves. The Word of God says - I do not have a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Problems and disagreements may arise. People are not perfect. Not even that someone special in one's life. But love overlooks. Love conquers the imperfections. No love is not blind. But love is light. When one looks at another under the perfect light of love, all things fall into the perfect perspective. Wrongs are covered, forgiven, and forgotten. Love makes it easy to forgive. Love makes it easy to move on. Love makes everything clear. Decisions come easy, and one is confident that they did right. No matter how a situation turns out, when what we do is done is love, outcome is good. Father God blesses an action done out of lov...

It’s not easy? Granted. It’s not instant? Agreed. It’s impossible? Nope! The word of God helps us guard our mouth. The Holy Spirit reminds us. But, we do need to ask His help and depend on Him. Psalm 34 talks about the mouth in two verses. Ps. 34:13 states that one must keep the tongue from speaking evil and deceit. Well, that's the challenge! However, the key to this problem lies in the first verse of this Psalm. In Ps. 34:1 , the Psalmist says – ‘ I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. ’ It’s tiring to attempt to hold our tongue in our own strength. We have tried and failed. Times innumerable! It only serves to show us how incapable and inefficient we are without God’s help. James 4:7 states the same principle, the same key - ‘ So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. ” Submission to God is the key to resisting evil ; such that not us, but the devil flees. Jesus Ch...

Just another day! Or is it!? So, here was this woman, a Samaritan, who was having just another day. She came to the well to draw her everyday water. It may seem she just happened to meet Jesus who was resting there from being on a journey. He was on the way and she was on the way. That day her way crossed His – or He crossed her way with His own – ‘ needing to go through Samaria ’ [ John: 4-4 ]. Was it a chance, an accident? It looks like it, initially, but by the time Jesus is done there, [ J ohn 4:41-42 ], full-fledged plan of God was being revealed, executed, and put into action for many people and generations. Let’s look at the conversation that our Savior stopped to have with a Samaritan woman – a conversation that changed her life and through her, of many others in her village. Jesus initiates the conversation John 4: 7 : Jesus asked her for a drink. This, in itself, is wonderful. Jesus initiated the conversation. There are a few examples in the gosp...

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! He is our ever-present fortress! It is true that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had displayed great faith in the LORD in the king’s court. They had themselves embraced the sentence for them to be thrown into fire. Seven times hotter! They were bound and with their clothes and turbans, they were flung into the fire. Dan.3:22 states that the strongest men of the king’s army who bound and threw the trio were engulfed in flames and were killed, because the fire was seven times hotter, according to the king’s order. However, just two verses later, the king ‘jumped up’ ‘astounded’ that his captives were not only unbound, but were walking in the fire! The men of faith did not cease to keep their faith in the midst of fire, seven times hotter. Many of us proclaim our faith when things are going good, but just as many do not know how they will react when the actual time of displaying and walking in faith comes upon them. It is not uncommon tha...

John 6:15 When Jesus, knowing that they meant to come and seize Him that they might make Him king, withdrew again to the hillside by Himself alone. 16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea. 17 And they took a boat and were going across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and still Jesus had not [yet] come back to them. 18 Meanwhile, the sea was getting rough and rising high because of a great and violent wind that was blowing. 19 [However] when they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat. And they were afraid [terrified]. 20 But Jesus said to them, It is I; be not afraid! [I AM; stop being frightened!] John 6:15-20, Amplified Bible In John 5: 41 , Jesus says to the Jews that He sought not the fame among men. The Amplified Bible states: ‘I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame],’ In John 6:15 , He proves what He says. Father God had a plan, a purpose for Jesus; a cal...

Isa 53:5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Wounds are the result of violence against a living being. An injury, a hurt, an abrasion, a gash … they’re all wounds. Sometimes, the body is hurt, and sometimes, the heart. The pain, the agony, the discomfort; it’s a constant reminder that, yes, it’s still there. We may cover it up in layers of bandage, but when something hits the spot, we know it was still there. There are some of us out here with deep wounds of many kinds that we carry around every day; wounds in our hearts, souls, and spirits; wounds that we have learned to live with. A few months back, there was a time that I became lazy about clipping my toe nails. I’d painted them so, to me, they looked nice. However, when I wore sports shoes, they hurt me. I was going to the gym (almost) regularly then, so I was wearing those almost every day. Day aft...