And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. (John 8:29 NASB)
And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. (Exodus 33:14-15 NASB)

I really believe that there is something in each one of us that desires to know the Father's presence. We may not always recognise it but we are all created in his image and made to have relationship with him. We were made to enjoy unity with him. In Genesis, in the garden, there was a longing in the heart of mankind to be with God. That longing, although ruined through the fall, was not totally lost. 

How ever far people go from God there is still a desire in their heart to know him. People may look in the wrong place but, nonetheless, the longing is there. 

Through Jesus. it has been possible for this ruined, broken relationship to be restored. The longing in the heart of every person to know God can be turned to search in the right direction. Our heart can be satisfied as we discover the depth of Father's presence with us. 

Moses longed for the presence of God. He did not want to start his journey on his own so first of all he asks for someone to come alongside him and help him. God goes beyond his expectations and rather than giving him a companion, he promises Moses the reality of his presence. God himself will go with him. You can feel the relief in Moses' response "if you don't go with me, then we aren't going anywhere".

What about us? His presence is always with us as he has promised to never leave us. He is always with us but do we recognise his presence? Are we like Moses? Longing for the Father's presence? Are we like Jesus who knew that his Father was always with him?

I'm pausing the Weekly Signposts over the summer and they'll resume in September. In the meantime if you're interested in reading a good book then check out my Author Page on Amazon. Or you may want to look at the teaching series I did with Barry Adams - Opening Our Heart to Father. 

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:1-2,12-12 NIV)

Over the last few months the internet has been a lifeline to many people and organisations. It has enabled us to communicate with one another when "normal" communication has not been possible. It has facilitated something which is valuable to us all. 

However, communication cannot replace community. 

God is a Father. He is our Father and he wants us to live as a family where we care for one another and where we touch one another's lives at a heart level. Zoom has been useful to us but it does create the impression of us all being in our separate little boxes. We must not allow this to become the 'new normal'; if we do, we shall lose out on one of the most important human needs, the need for community. 

Today, I want to draw you back to what is really important. That we set our heart (not mind) on things above. That we remember our life is hidden in Christ, in the Father. That we make love our greatest aim so, like Jesus, we live in and are clothed in love. That we break down the walls of our box and remember we are a family. 

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. (John 3:27 NIV)

These words are said by John the Baptist about Jesus. It is clear that he recognises Jesus as receiving something unique from Heaven. In fact, the word 'give' is used 76 times in John's gospel and it mainly refers to the things the Father has given to Jesus. 

This verse is also an encouragement for us. What have we been given from Heaven? What are the unique things that the Father is giving to us? I believe this is another interpretation of the Lord's prayer where Jesus says "your Kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven". What little bit of Heaven is the Father giving you to bring to earth today?

The other important word I want to draw out of this verse is 'receive'. A man can only receive what is given from Heaven. It doesn't say 'a man can only do what is given from Heaven'. We can do a lot of things but do we receive them?

There is a big difference between receiving and doing. One is a gift, the other self-generated. One is done through the strength and ability of another, the other is done in our own strength. One is fruitful, the other can be performance. 

Receiving is taking ownership of a gift that comes from another. We receive a gift that was birthed in the Father's heart and as we receive it, we take it into our own heart. It becomes part of us. When we receive a gift from Heaven it will bring fruit and joy.

And so today, I encourage you to ask; "what have I been given from Heaven?"

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19 NIV)

These are very familiar verses and, whilst familiar, it is easy to miss what they are really saying. And so, I'd like to take a few moments to remind us of the depth of truth and revelation these few sentences contain. 

First of all, and Paul emphasises this, God is revealed as being the glorious Father. This God whom we love and worship is our Glorious Father, just as he is the Father of Jesus. That emphasis is not accidental, it is a deliberate reminder for us of who God really is, he is our Father. 

Then we read of a gift. A gift we are given. A gift given by the Father. He gives us the very thing we need to enable us to see who he is. We are given a spirit of wisdom and revelation which allows us to change our perception of who God is. Wisdom is often personified in the person of Jesus and revelation comes to us by and through the Holy Spirit. Here we have the other members of the Trinity helping us to see that God is our real Father. 

Paul's prayer is that we would come to know the Father and then get to know him better. A growing revelation and experience of who the Father is and who he wants to be to us. This revelation leads to the eyes of our heart being opened so we see him and so we also see who we really are. We come into a greater understanding of who we have been called to be (sons and daughters) and as we live in sonship so we discover the inheritance the Father has given us in Christ.

In fact, this all originates in the heart of the Father. At the start of the chapter we read why God wants us to see who he is and who we are:
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The Father has blessed us with with every spiritual blessing. 
The Father chose us before the creation of the world. 
The Father gives us the full rights of sonship. 
The Father made it possible for our sins to be forgiven through Jesus.
The Father made known to us the mystery of his will. 
Through Jesus, the Father gives us an inheritance. 

It's no wonder he wants us to know who he is when there's so much he wants to give us! 

SUMMER SALE:
If you're looking for some good reading over the summer then some good news. I've reduced all of my books on Amazon by up to 20%. To visit my author store click here.

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord - the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. 
"So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land." (Jeremiah 31:13,17 NIV)

The eternal love of the Father not only restores us and brings us home but it is also a comforting love. 

When we live without comfort it's a very barren place. Our heart is empty as it feels like everything we had has run out. As we are comforted the emptiness we feel is transformed. Our mourning is turned into gladness, our sorrow into joy. Strength and energy begin to return to our heart. 

Without comfort there is hopelessness. In coming to our Father and letting his eternal love comfort us, we discover that our future has hope. Not only hope for us but for our descendants as well. A fruitful life is restored. He has good plans for us (Jer 29:11). 

The covenant of eternal love reinforces and restates the relationship we have with the Father. 

I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:33) or as we read in the New Testament:

I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. (2 Cor 6:18)

SUMMER SALE:
If you're looking for some good reading over the summer then some good news. I've reduced all of my books on Amazon by up to 20%. To visit my author store click here.

See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labour; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son. (Jeremiah 31:8-9 NIV)

We are loved with an everlasting love and last week we saw how that love restores and brings fruitfulness. Today we see how this extravagant love brings us home. 

The love of the Father goes to the ends of the earth in order to seek us out, gather us and bring us back to the loving embrace of the Father. There is nowhere we can hide. The Father wants a family and he does everything to bring us into that family, in order that we can know we are his sons and daughters. Home is very important; it is the place of belonging, identity and security. It is the place where we can be ourselves, letting go of any pretence and just being. 

Everyone is welcome. There are no exclusions - all may come. The poor and needy are especially welcome and if we're honest, that's all of us. To pretend otherwise is simply us hiding behind our veneer of pride and self-sufficiency. 

Home is beside streams of living water which always speak to us of life. When we come home into the embrace of the Father we find life and, as Jesus said, it's life in all its fullness. 

I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful. Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit. (Jeremiah 31:4-5 NIV)

Last week I introduced the eternal love of the Father. Today I want to start looking at what this love can do in our heart. 

Firstly, it rebuilds the broken ruins. If that's you, then please take heart. It's not all hopeless. The Father's kindness toward you will draw you to him and he will (not might, or may do - but WILL) rebuild and restore the broken parts of your heart. 

However hard or painful it might be, can I encourage you to come to him in your brokenness and let him redeem what you feel has been lost. 

Secondly, his love restores. Where there has been sorrow or sadness there will be joy and celebration. His joy coming and filling your heart so that, out of this restoration, there will be fruitfulness. 

Often it's not easy to come. As we come to the place of letting go we experience the eternal love of the Father doing a deep work in us. 

Why not take a few moments to receive more of this everlasting, eternal love. The substance of love being poured into your heart. (If you have a few moments here is a soaking video which may be of help).

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3 NIV)

God is love! From all of eternity before Genesis, right through world history and on into all of eternity beyond Revelation - God is LOVE. 

It is the fullness of that eternal love which is constantly being poured into our heart by the Holy Spirit. It is not a small segment of love, representing the minute segment of time for which we are alive. It is the completeness of eternal love, which is the Father, who makes his home in our heart. 

It is his unfailing kindness (an attribute of love) that draws us toward him. It's not the product of our behaviour, our actions or anything we feel we do for him; it's his kindness towards us, expressed in Jesus. Our reconciliation to him is initiated by him, from his heart of love and his desire for relationship with us. 

May I encourage you to take a few moments to receive more of this everlasting, eternal love. The substance of love being poured into your heart. (If you have a few moments here is a soaking video which may be of help). 

Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Cor 12:31 NIV)
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13 NIV)

There are many gifts which have been given to the church. All of them are necessary and, I believe, vital for us to receive and continue to desire. In fact, we desperately need them in a greater measure. 

As good as they are, Paul is keen, even insistent, that we pursue a greater gift. The gift of love. The most excellent way. The best choice we can make. 

As he writes about the gifts, Paul pauses to stress the importance of love. It is upon love that everything else is built. Without the foundation of love, all the gifts in the world will come across as a clanging cymbal - an unholy noise!

The gifts, though important and necessary, are only temporary. One day we won't need them, we will be complete. Not only complete but fully known, in love. As encouraged by Paul, let us make love our greatest aim. Let's pursue the greatest gift of being loved by our Heavenly Father and then letting that love change this world. 

"The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty." (Psalm 37:18-19 NIV)

Last week my encouragement to you was that our Heavenly Father 'knows'. He knows what we are going through, he cares and that gives us hope. 

Psalm 37 is one I read often as it is a reminder to us of our Father's provision and protection. When evil seems to prosper we have the eternal assurance that he is our helper and deliverer. We have a secure future as we rest in him and trust him. Such is our hope that we can have the confidence to be a giver rather than a borrower. We can be generous to others rather than living in fear. Fear will always cripple us, trusting our Father sets us free from that fear and leads us into life. 

Why do we have this hope? Because we are under the Lord's care. For us, that is a place of abundant security and safety, it is the source of our provision, we are held close to him as a shepherd carries a lamb. It means we have found home. 

As I read these two verses, I feel the peace that is conveyed from that sense of belonging. The security of knowing our Father is in control, that he cares for us, he provides for us and that, as we rest in him, he will be our salvation. What a good Father!