Luke 14 vs 1 - 6 (NKJV)

Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. ² And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”  ⁴ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. ⁵ Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

Through this story in the New Testament, we learn that we should esteem people better than things, systems, traditions. We must be motivated by love and care for people first.

Psalm 24: 3 – 5

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Who can come up to that place where God dwells?  Who can stand before God in the holy of Holies where He lives? My dear sisters, the Bible gives us answers to these questions in our key verses of scripture this week

The truth is that in each of us a deep desire as daughters of the King of kings, to come that place where He dwells and behold His amazing and unfathomable glory. Like Moses, our desire is to see His glory.

Genesis 26: 15 - 22 (NKJV)

Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” ¹⁷ Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. ¹⁹ Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarrelled with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. ²² And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Genesis 26: 26 - 28 (NKJV)

Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. ²⁷ And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” ²⁸ But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you,

My dear sister we can all learn from this Bible account of Isaac. In life and our walk with God, sometimes we will come into opposition from others for no good reason. We will have hindrances on the way to fulfilling our destiny. It will come from different sources. It could come from friends, family members, employers, work colleagues, business associates, etc. The key is to stay focused on God and where He is taking you and I to. The key is to not quarrel or get angry and become bitter. They key is to not seek and take revenge but to leave it in the hands of our Father in Heaven who says vengeance is His. Don’t fight back, let God fight for you. Be the bigger person and do what is right in God’s sight.

Proverbs 27: 17 (NKJV)

 ^“As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

1 Corinthians 15: 33 (NKJV)

“Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

Friendship is a great gift from God given to us to bless us.

It is however very important that we have the right friends and people in our lives. The kind of people that will encourage and propel us into God’s destiny for us. The kind of people who love us well enough to speak the truth into our lives. The kind of people that will push us into God’s purposes and plans for us.  Our best friends and associates must be people that love God and are following after His will for their lives. People who see the good and God potential in us and will do what they can do to turn that potential into concrete reality. There are some people that when you are in their company even just for a few minutes, cause you to want to seek and know God more. People who want you to excel. Those are the people you need to be around. They are iron sharpening you.

Jeremiah 31: 3 (NKJV)

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

The Lord is coming to you today to say dear daughter of mine, I have loved you with and everlasting love.

My dear sister God loves you and I so much. He loves us with an everlasting love. He loves us now and will keep loving us tomorrow, and for ever. Nothing can stop God from loving us.  My conviction is the same just as the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8: 38 – 39

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.