My prayer, my heart cry. My honest desire and hope. All of YOU in me, Jesus.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

Like a force moving the entirety of my being. Studying, meditating, musing on Your Word is my delight. And it keeps flowing; from one truth to another, from one revelation to another. Like an unending fountain it keeps pouring until my soul says ‘yes, it’s enough for now’.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

I can’t get enough of it; when fully immersed in it, everything else fades. It keeps pouring, flowing like a river with tributaries merging and merging and merging, joining one truth to another, one revelation to another. My heart gets merry, my heart sings, my hands keep writing until I can write no more. Your Word, my delight.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

Your truth; my hope and anchor. As sure as You are, as faithful as You are, the foundation of my faith, the substance of my believe, the rock of my life, the confidence of my believe, the assurance of glory and unfailing goodness. My life, my defence, my shield, my hope. Protecting, providing, preserving, …..Your Word.

Your Word is like fire in my bones.

Your revelations; like lights, shining so brightly into hearts. Lighting paths; leading the way. Refreshing and comforting; bringing peace to hearts as the wonders of Your works, the magnificence and magnitude of Your glorious wisdom unfolds.

Your Word; like fire in my bones. I cannot get enough of it. It is sweetness and joy to my heart. I am lost without Your Word.

Thank You Lord for your Word!

I don’t know how reading this makes you feel, but for me I am reassured that every stage of my life, every day of my life and every moment of my life are continually before God. I have absolutely nothing to worry about. I will not sit on the motion-less rocking chair of worry. If I trust God and walk with Him, like the good Father that He is, He will keep me away from destruction, He will preserve, protect and provide for me.

If you are ever in doubt of what makes the list of Acts of God, John 10:10 would help you…
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

We are to love all people; lovers, users, haters, persecutors, cursers, etc with the love of God. We are to bless them, do good to them, and pray for them (Matthew 5:43‭-‬48). Responding with love where love seems underserved is one way we grow and mature in love (agape).

All of Your peace. All of the healing You bought for me. All of Your manifest provision and abundance, to accomplish the job You have entrusted to my care. That Your people may know You Jesus. And that they may know the Father. That they may appreciate the dept of Your great love with which You loved them. That they may find hope, love and peace in You. All of You Jesus. Until my job is done.

The Epistles constitute letters written to the early Churches in different locations. As Christians, these letters are directed at us as well. From these letters we learn about our identity, rights and privileges in Christ, etc. So Christians are to live on the new testament (especially the epistles).

As true as that is, we cannot deny that we still learn a lot of lessons from the old testament. Most practices of the old testament may be obsolete but the principles remain timeless and still applies to us today.

Second Kings 8:1-13 is an interesting old testament scripture. It is a really long portion of scripture but it made an interesting and insightful read to me …..

“And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord : “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord , over Israel. You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord , at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. ’ ” And he opened the door and fled. Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “ Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.” And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.” So he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord : “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ” Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!” “
II Kings 9:1‭-‬13 NKJV

There is just so much being said about anointing in this passage..

Through the Bible we find 3 groups of persons who were anointed in a similar way as Jehu; Priests, Prophets and Kings.

Some of the applications of the term ‘anointing/anointed‘ in the Bible include; for consecrating a place, a vessel, a body before burial, or as a tradition following a wash.

The process of becoming anointed as narrated for Jehu is quite different from how Jesus was anointed. For one, there was no physical pouring of oil on Jesus’s head by any prophet. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost by God Himself…..

“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38 NKJV

This was a special form of anointing different from what upheld in the old testament. However, despite the obvious differences in the method of the anointing of Jesus and Jehu, we see similarities in the events that follow someone’s anointing…

Jehu was as much God’s choice for His people at the time he was anointed as Jesus was. So although Jehu received the pouring of oil on the head by a prophet (while Jesus did not), Jehu was first chosen by God.

There is just so much we can glean from Jehu’s story. When God anoints you….

1. He Separates you.

2. He promotes and honors you.

3 He puts you over a territory with a specific assignment.

4. He gives you authority and power.

5. He gives you influence

6. He defends you.

“Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” “
Psalms 105:15 NKJV

7. He sets you up for celebration.

Well then, who is qualified to receive these privileges? Anyone who is anointed by God!

As Christians we receive the same anointing as Jesus did when we become baptized by the Holy Spirit.

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
II Corinthians 1:21‭-‬22 NKJV

Have you located your territory? Are you wielding your authority and exercising your power? Are you assured of the special protection available to those chosen of God?

The purpose of the anointing is to make power available for good works to be done. Don’t waste it..

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 KJV

When God anoints you, you have power to witness for Christ.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” I John 5:4.

Faith is central to experiencing Victorious Christian Living, however, faith doesn’t work alone.

A living, perfect and unwavering faith is one anchored by hope and perfected by love (James 2:14-16, Colossians 1:27).

Enjoy victory everyday and everywhere; mix your faith with love and anchor it on the Christian hope (Christ in you).

Kings reign and rule through words. Their decrees become established and they govern their domains through them. Kings give commands and processes are immediately set in place for actualization of such commands. Kings rule through words.

A shepherd is someone who tends and rears sheep. A shepherd caters for the sheep. A shepherd has a responsibility to guide, protect and provide for the sheep. So in a sense, the shepherd watches over the sheep and the sheep is fully dependent on the shepherd.

There is therefore a strong bond that exists between a shepherd and a sheep. The shepherd loves the sheep and expresses this love in the level of care given to the sheep and in return, the sheep trusts and relies on the shepherd.

Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd, which He quickly contrasts with a Hireling (a hired hand, who is not the owner of the sheep). From the way Jesus sees it, a shepherd is considered ‘Good‘ when he can go to any length (including losing his own life) to care for the sheep (John 10:11)

We don’t need any other Shepherd dying for us, Jesus already did.

Below I share Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 from the Easy-To-Read version. I pray that it is a reminder to us all, that Jesus is truly committed to caring for us. As you read this Psalm today, consider and assume the position and confidence of its writer….

The Lord is our Shepherd; He watches over and caters for us……..

The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need. He gives me green pastures to lie in.

He leads me by calm pools of water. He restores my strength.

He leads me on right paths to show that he is good.

Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me. Your rod and staff comfort me.

You prepared a meal for me in front of my enemies. You welcomed me as an honored guest. My cup is full and spilling over.

Your goodness and mercy will be with me all my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house a long, long time.