Observation:
The thing to always remember is this…if I never sense the feeling of being disciplined and rebuked by the Father then I will never experience His love either. Those he loves he also disciplines and rebukes. Rebuke and discipline are the keys to opening the door of our heart for Christ to come back in. Rebuke and discipline are the knocks on the door as a prelude to our response of letting Christ back in to heal us from our fallen state.

Application:
If I always want to experience the Father’s love then I need to keep a responsive heart to his rebuke and discipline.

Prayer:
Father help me to always have an open door on my heart for you to enter as you please.

Observation:
There is so much about this book that we simply can’t understand but a few principles ring really clear…
People who worship the wrong leader will suffer torment and a lack of rest. These people bear his mark or brand. The thief comes to steal kill and destroy. Their lives have a destructive tone to them.

Application:
I must keep God as the focus of my worship, I must joyfully obey his commandments and always remain faithful to my Saviour Jesus. Then I must lead my people to do the same.

Prayer:
Lord help me to shepherd the people under my care so that they are spared being left behind in a mess.

Observation: This verse tells us so much about where we came from, where we are going and why we are on this planet. Just think about this:

1. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you – try & get your head around that one! Somehow we had relationship with God before we existed in this world! Before we had the physical form of this body, we already had some other form in the heavenlies. I wonder if those that feel like they have a previous life memory are actually catching reflections of their relationship with God before being formed into this world?

2. Before you were born I set you apart – think about that. Before you enter this world God already has a plan and purpose for your life and he has set you apart for it. There is something that only you can do, something that God has you on the planet for!

3. I appointed you as a Prophet to the Nations – wow, not only has he set us apart for his plan & purpose for us. He has appointed us to this task like Frodo in Lord of the Rings. There is something only you can do. God who knew you & had relationship with you before he formed you has set you apart for this task. He has appointed you for it. It is the reason you are alive and exist, and it is a crystal mission not some nebulous wishy washy thing. Very clear & very concise! Jeremiah was appointed as a prophet to the nations!

Application: This verse of scripture should cause us to assess everything about how we approach life, how we parent, how we work out our calling and destiny so that we leave this earth knowing we accomplished what he sent us here for. All the answers to life’s purpose, plan & destiny are found in our relationship with Him who dwells within us. We should spend time with the Father to work out what is going on within not from without. Parents study your child to discover what they created to do. The answer is found within. Stop putting a whole lot of options in from without that will only bring confusion. Just work out what is being outworked from within! God already has it all there ready to be unwrapped!

Prayer: Father help me to remember that all people have their destiny & purpose in this life within. Give me wisdom to know how to help them discover and unwrap it so they fulfill what you put them on this planet to accomplish. Outwork this in me so I can help outwork it in others! Amen

Every minute of every day SOME PART of the social infrastructure of the Internet is DOWN effecting our ability of reach & touch millions of people! ” TRUE” – However!!
Every minute of every day MOST PARTS of the social infrastructure of the Internet is UP effecting our ability to reach and touch hundreds of millions of people! ” TRUE”

I guess potential still remains for those with eyes to see it! Opportunity & Victory are still hidden and concealed within difficulty and challenge only the wise will see it and engage!

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Observation:
What is it that caused Jesus to stand out from the crowd?
JOY
Jesus was anointed with the oil of joy. Now for Jesus to be anointed with joy it means that someone had to anoint him because in their culture you couldn’t anoint yourself. His joy came from God and it was his joy that made him stand out from the crowd it set him above his companions. Jesus is our model, which means joy is what will cause us to stand out from the crowd also. A joy that is given by the Father. It’s supernatural. Our world badly needs to see joy in operation over and over and in a person’s life. Life for many is drudgery under the tyranny of sin trapped in darkness.

It is interesting to note the conditions that Jesus fulfilled to receive this anointing of joy from the Father.
1. He Loved Righteousness,
2. He Hated Wickedness,

Many followers of Christ miss it today not because of their failure to love righteousness, but because of the failure to take serious our tendency to flirt with wickedness. We tolerate things, sinful practices, in our life that shouldn’t be there and the we wonder why there is no joy in our life?

Loving Righteousness + Hating Wickedness = receiving the Anointing with Joy from the Father!!

Application: I need to start getting really serious about any thing, action or thought that leads me to accept, condone or turn a blind eye to sin. I have to start to hate wickedness that infiltrates my life and others. Even the sin of unbelief is wickedness that we often tolerate or make excuses for! No more, I want to see the circuit completed and the current of joy flowing in my life continually as that is what will make me stand out from the crowd as a faithful witness of Christ!

My Prayer: Father help me to recognize quickly when I am starting to tolerate wickedness in any way shape or form. Give me a heart that is quick to repent, turn away and pursue after righteousness. Anoint me with the oil of Joy I pray. AMEN

Observation: The scriptures are not an end in themselves, they are just a guide that keeps leading us towards Jesus the author and perfecter of life. When we make them the final destination we then become Pharisaical in needing to defend them. We actually step out from under the spirit of the law “grace” and back under the letter of law “judgement” which kills. Make no mistake this book is a sharp two edged sword and it can either be deployed for good or evil depending on who is wielding it.

Application: I must as 2 Timothy 2:15 says be very careful to rightly divide the Word of Truth otherwise I may unwittingly use that which God is showing me for good for evil by controlling and manipulating others. If it becomes all about the scriptures then through us it could become a harsh letter that kills unless so I must always allow the scriptures to lead me to the saviour and healer so I accurately discern what he wants to say or convey!

Prayer: Father help me to always follow the rainbow to the pot of Gold. Teach me to allow the scriptures to lead me directly to the saviour every time so that I am known as a man of God whom brings spirit and life from the Word of God where-ever he goes!

Observation: I am amazed at just how big our God is, and how all encompassing His love and power are. Think about it for a moment.
God:
Upheld us since our conception,
Carried us since our birth,
Even in old age and gray hairs he sustains us,
He made us and will carry us,
He will sustain us and rescue us,

Who would not want to know a God like that? And yet people everyday snub there noses at Him as He patiently holds their life and souls in His hand. Our God waits hoping one day all humanity will finally acknowledge His desire for relationship with them.

Application: I must remind myself that my God is in control of every aspect of my life. It is He who will carry, rescue and sustain me all the days of my life. I simply need to keep my focus always on Him and Him alone!

My Prayer: Father please help me to not get concerned with the demands and opinions of people in this world. Let me always relax in the knowledge that you are in control and you will see me through everything to the right decision and conclusion.

Peter is setting out for us here the kind of relationship we should have with one another. He says be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Never repay evil for evil or insult for insult, but repay such wrong with blessing! How hard is that to do? How hard is it not react when we feel we are being wronged and attacked?

Our ability to bless in the face of evil and insult is a sign that we are growing up in our faith. It is also interesting that Peter uses the term harmony – which means it has nothing to do with us thinking, acting and being exactly the same. It’s possible for human beings to live harmony with each other. Peter then tells us that those who live like this will experience the blessing of being able to love life and see good days.

It saddens me today the amount of people who have a lot of stuff but their love for life has all but gone. On the outside they have everything but on the inside they have nothing and they are nearly always angry with most of the world around them. They have lost the inheritance of being able to love life and see good days.

I think verse eight sums it up nicely for us as Christ followers. It says to this you “were called” so that you may inherit a blessing. Did you get that? Our future blessing is tied directly to our ability to live in harmony with one another!! I must do everything through the power of Christ in me to make sure I live life in harmony with others. If I can do this I am fulfilling my calling and I will inherit a blessing. A blessing that will allow me to love life and see good days.

How will I do it? Verse ten says that I do it by keeping my tongue from evil and my lips from deceitful speech, turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it!

My Prayer: Father help me to live out this scripture in my life. Teach me to live in harmony with others and then instruct me how to model it for people that they too may fulfill their calling and receive their full blessing in this life. Lord teach me your ways that I may walk in them! Amen

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