Philippians 2: 13-15
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.
When God's Holy Spirit is living in our spirits, then He will do the work in our thinking processes and feelings to both want to do God's will and also give us the ability to do whatever it is.
Do everything without arguing or complaining, so that no one can criticize you.
Don't do anything with an attitude that someone else can find fault with.
Live clean, innocent lives as children of God,
We can live a clean life, even if we're not innocent; but we can be pure (I've heard the term, "secondary virginity"), modeling our Parent as His children.
shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Twisted and perverted people live in the darkness of this World, where God's light needs to shine. We are the bright lights He wants to use to expose all the wickedness in our midst, showing those who are caught up in this bondage the much better way of living, the way God has outlined for us in His Word. Only His ways will bring to us the freedom, peace and joy of the Lord He wants for all of us.
It is up to us to show them God's way of living, to draw them and lead them back to God. The more winsome we can be in our right living, the more attractive we show our Lord to be, in His great love for all of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Is Your Strength Too Small?
Proverbs 24:10
If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.
So what are we to do? James tells us:
James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
So what is this "joy" that we are to have when we face trouble? It can only be the "joy of the Lord" that He gives us that transcends all circumstances. It is the Joy of the Lord that gives us strength. This strength carries us through whatever trial we are facing, and enables us to avail ourselves of the help He provides to get through it, instead of succumbing to it. That's how our endurance grows, and our characters become more like Jesus' perfect character; we are to become more like Jesus, and this is one way we do that.
This is not easy--nothing worth having is easy. But we don't have to do it on our own. On our own we fail every time. But when we lean on Jesus, when we get into His yoke with Him, He pulls with us and the load seems light. That's how we face each problem in life successfully.
God wants us to be successful in life, overcoming all the trials, troubles and sorrows this World throws at us. That's why He invites us to walk with Him, think the way He thinks, and live our lives according to His ways. Then He will intervene and intercede for us, successfully growing our characters little by little, day by day.
May each of us determine in our own hearts to seek His ways, obey His rules, and love Him more each day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.
So what are we to do? James tells us:
James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
So what is this "joy" that we are to have when we face trouble? It can only be the "joy of the Lord" that He gives us that transcends all circumstances. It is the Joy of the Lord that gives us strength. This strength carries us through whatever trial we are facing, and enables us to avail ourselves of the help He provides to get through it, instead of succumbing to it. That's how our endurance grows, and our characters become more like Jesus' perfect character; we are to become more like Jesus, and this is one way we do that.
This is not easy--nothing worth having is easy. But we don't have to do it on our own. On our own we fail every time. But when we lean on Jesus, when we get into His yoke with Him, He pulls with us and the load seems light. That's how we face each problem in life successfully.
God wants us to be successful in life, overcoming all the trials, troubles and sorrows this World throws at us. That's why He invites us to walk with Him, think the way He thinks, and live our lives according to His ways. Then He will intervene and intercede for us, successfully growing our characters little by little, day by day.
May each of us determine in our own hearts to seek His ways, obey His rules, and love Him more each day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, April 28, 2017
James, The Lord's Brother
Paul writes in Galatians 1:19 that The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord's brother.
Yet, James says of himself, in James 1:1, This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
James grew up as the younger brother of Jesus, the first son of Joseph and Mary. We know there were three other brothers, Joseph (also called Joses), Simon, and Judas (Jude). They also had sisters, we don't know how many, but they are "all His sisters." (See Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3. The Greek is very precise; if they were His cousins a different word would have been used here.)
Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him before His death and Resurrection. At one point during His public ministry, they concluded that He must be "out of His mind" and went to take Him home. I deal with this event on my April 6, 2017 blog entry, "Jesus' Brothers And Sisters And Mother."
But then on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, the angel at the tomb told the women to go tell His disciples to keep the appointment He made with them in Galilee. Then when Jesus meets them on the way, He tells them to also tell His brothers to go to the meeting, too. Evidently they did, because James became the Church Leader (Pastor) in Jerusalem and wrote his epistle, and Judas gave us his letter, the Epistle of Jude.
Can you imagine having a big Brother who never did anything wrong? You would get in trouble for things, but He never did. How frustrating! No wonder they thought He was losing His mind when He started to teach the crowds that He was God's Son, and did outrageous stuff called miracles!
But then, seeing Him alive in Galilee after He was publicly Crucified to death only days earlier, convinced them that Jesus really was Who He said He was all along. They realized that He died in their place, as their personal sacrifice recorded in Leviticus chapter one, the perfect Lamb of God Whose Blood doesn't just cover, but takes away sins. Eyewitness proof is what they had, and they gave us their witness, so that we can believe and fully put our trust in Him, too.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Yet, James says of himself, in James 1:1, This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
James grew up as the younger brother of Jesus, the first son of Joseph and Mary. We know there were three other brothers, Joseph (also called Joses), Simon, and Judas (Jude). They also had sisters, we don't know how many, but they are "all His sisters." (See Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3. The Greek is very precise; if they were His cousins a different word would have been used here.)
Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him before His death and Resurrection. At one point during His public ministry, they concluded that He must be "out of His mind" and went to take Him home. I deal with this event on my April 6, 2017 blog entry, "Jesus' Brothers And Sisters And Mother."
But then on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, the angel at the tomb told the women to go tell His disciples to keep the appointment He made with them in Galilee. Then when Jesus meets them on the way, He tells them to also tell His brothers to go to the meeting, too. Evidently they did, because James became the Church Leader (Pastor) in Jerusalem and wrote his epistle, and Judas gave us his letter, the Epistle of Jude.
Can you imagine having a big Brother who never did anything wrong? You would get in trouble for things, but He never did. How frustrating! No wonder they thought He was losing His mind when He started to teach the crowds that He was God's Son, and did outrageous stuff called miracles!
But then, seeing Him alive in Galilee after He was publicly Crucified to death only days earlier, convinced them that Jesus really was Who He said He was all along. They realized that He died in their place, as their personal sacrifice recorded in Leviticus chapter one, the perfect Lamb of God Whose Blood doesn't just cover, but takes away sins. Eyewitness proof is what they had, and they gave us their witness, so that we can believe and fully put our trust in Him, too.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, April 27, 2017
How To Live Our Lives
Colossians 3: 9-17 (Paraphrased)
You have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, Who created this new nature within you.
... Since God chose you to be the holy people whom He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love.
Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. It's the "special sauce" that coats and flavors all the other attributes.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. Let's all just get along with each other.
And always be thankful.
Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words, not the world's words, to teach and counsel each other.
Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, wwjd (what would Jesus do?), all the while giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
This is the Christian life-style that we all are to seek to model in our daily lives.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
You have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, Who created this new nature within you.
... Since God chose you to be the holy people whom He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love.
Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. It's the "special sauce" that coats and flavors all the other attributes.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. Let's all just get along with each other.
And always be thankful.
Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words, not the world's words, to teach and counsel each other.
Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, wwjd (what would Jesus do?), all the while giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
This is the Christian life-style that we all are to seek to model in our daily lives.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
May You Experience The Love Of Christ
Ephesians 3: 16-21
I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or (even) think (of).
Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
This is my prayer. May it be so in me and in all of us who are Your church, dear Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or (even) think (of).
Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
This is my prayer. May it be so in me and in all of us who are Your church, dear Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Godless, Foolish Discussions
II Timothy 2: 16
Avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead to more ungodliness.
Several decades ago when I was a young Christian I was confronted with some ideas that cast doubt on the veracity of Scripture, that maybe our modern translations have missed some points in our early human story that change how we see all that has happened since then.
After considering these concepts, I decided to trust God that He knows what He's doing and has given us everything we need to know to live our lives in Truth and righteousness (II Timothy 3:16-17), and that I didn't need these extra-Biblical stories to draw me away from God's revealed Truth in the Bible.
Since then, I've been granted to be able to attend a Bible College and learn how to study the Bible honestly, to understand it the way God intends. And He has been faithful to lead me into some wonderful understandings of His workings in this World, in History (His Story), and in my own life. Hence this blog. (Thank you for reading it, I hope it helps you, too.)
So I will continue to study in God's Holy Scripture, and try to avoid those "godless, foolish discussions" by relying on "All Scripture" that is "God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that" I "can be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
And you too, dear Reader, don't take my word for anything! I could be in error on some point; check out what I say, and if you have a question, I welcome your comments and will consider your view, and try to answer whatever difference you have in your understanding of what God is saying to us. May we "reason together."
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead to more ungodliness.
Several decades ago when I was a young Christian I was confronted with some ideas that cast doubt on the veracity of Scripture, that maybe our modern translations have missed some points in our early human story that change how we see all that has happened since then.
After considering these concepts, I decided to trust God that He knows what He's doing and has given us everything we need to know to live our lives in Truth and righteousness (II Timothy 3:16-17), and that I didn't need these extra-Biblical stories to draw me away from God's revealed Truth in the Bible.
Since then, I've been granted to be able to attend a Bible College and learn how to study the Bible honestly, to understand it the way God intends. And He has been faithful to lead me into some wonderful understandings of His workings in this World, in History (His Story), and in my own life. Hence this blog. (Thank you for reading it, I hope it helps you, too.)
So I will continue to study in God's Holy Scripture, and try to avoid those "godless, foolish discussions" by relying on "All Scripture" that is "God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that" I "can be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
And you too, dear Reader, don't take my word for anything! I could be in error on some point; check out what I say, and if you have a question, I welcome your comments and will consider your view, and try to answer whatever difference you have in your understanding of what God is saying to us. May we "reason together."
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 24, 2017
The Righteous And Sinners
Luke 5: 27-32
And the Pharisees and their Scribes began grumbling at His disciples saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax-gatherers and sinners?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
These religious leaders thought they were righteous, but all they had was self-righteousness, and they had a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Whenever they would come to the place where they could admit their sins, confess them and turn from them (repent), then they could be saved, too.
We all need to realize we are sinners before we can know we need a Savior. For there is none who is righteous in their flesh; we are all led astray by the sin-nature we inherited from Adam. So we all need saving.
Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we are all "by nature (not actions) creatures of wrath," we are all born into this family of Mankind inheriting the DNA of our fathers (through Adam) and our mothers (through Eve). But the sin-part of that DNA was given to Adam to pass on, not Eve. (That's why Mary could bear Jesus without sin, because He didn't have a human father.)
Eve was deceived, she thought it would be a good thing to not have to bother God with all her choices, she could decide for herself. But then she "gave to her husband with her" and he ate in full realization of disobeying God, a willful sin. That's when what he ate was digested, and "damaged" his genes. (Read Genesis 3:1-7, see how Satan first places doubt in Eve's mind, v. 1, then lies outright to her, v. 4.)
Satan tempts us with the same deception: we're smart, we know how to make our own decisions, don't tell us what to do! That's prideful, and worldly thinking. Yes, we're intelligent, we can think through a lot of things for ourselves. But God's thoughts are not our thoughts. We need to direct our thinking processes along God's lines, as He reveals to us in His Word, and depend on His Holy Spirit of Truth that lives in us to guide us. Even when it may not make perfect sense to us. If we think on it enough, submitting ourselves to His ways, then He will make known to us how "reasonable" it really is ("Come let us reason together" Isaiah 1:18).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And the Pharisees and their Scribes began grumbling at His disciples saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax-gatherers and sinners?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
These religious leaders thought they were righteous, but all they had was self-righteousness, and they had a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Whenever they would come to the place where they could admit their sins, confess them and turn from them (repent), then they could be saved, too.
We all need to realize we are sinners before we can know we need a Savior. For there is none who is righteous in their flesh; we are all led astray by the sin-nature we inherited from Adam. So we all need saving.
Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we are all "by nature (not actions) creatures of wrath," we are all born into this family of Mankind inheriting the DNA of our fathers (through Adam) and our mothers (through Eve). But the sin-part of that DNA was given to Adam to pass on, not Eve. (That's why Mary could bear Jesus without sin, because He didn't have a human father.)
Eve was deceived, she thought it would be a good thing to not have to bother God with all her choices, she could decide for herself. But then she "gave to her husband with her" and he ate in full realization of disobeying God, a willful sin. That's when what he ate was digested, and "damaged" his genes. (Read Genesis 3:1-7, see how Satan first places doubt in Eve's mind, v. 1, then lies outright to her, v. 4.)
Satan tempts us with the same deception: we're smart, we know how to make our own decisions, don't tell us what to do! That's prideful, and worldly thinking. Yes, we're intelligent, we can think through a lot of things for ourselves. But God's thoughts are not our thoughts. We need to direct our thinking processes along God's lines, as He reveals to us in His Word, and depend on His Holy Spirit of Truth that lives in us to guide us. Even when it may not make perfect sense to us. If we think on it enough, submitting ourselves to His ways, then He will make known to us how "reasonable" it really is ("Come let us reason together" Isaiah 1:18).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, April 23, 2017
We Will Not Conceal, But Tell
Psalm 78: 1-4
Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth to a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
This is a long Psalm: 72 verses, recounting all the miracles God did for Israel. We are to tell our children and grandchildren all these Bible stories as though they really, actually happened, because they did. If they don't seem to be reasonable, natural things, it's because they're not--they're miracles.
God is the Maker of this World, and He is the One Who designed it; so He can decide to "bend" it if He chooses to do so, without upsetting the "normal" course of events. God is the One Who put order (Truth) into His creation. He is Truth, our standard for what Truth is. As such, He would never put any "myth" into His Word as though it happened if it didn't.
And we will not conceal them or leave anything out of what we've learned, even the dark sayings of old. So our Bible is a true and complete record of all that God wants us to know.
So we are to teach our children and grandchildren these stories, to show Who God is, how He sees us and loved us, and is capable of doing anything He wants. He is a good God, and He wants only the best for His beloved, us, granting us grace and mercy.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth to a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
This is a long Psalm: 72 verses, recounting all the miracles God did for Israel. We are to tell our children and grandchildren all these Bible stories as though they really, actually happened, because they did. If they don't seem to be reasonable, natural things, it's because they're not--they're miracles.
God is the Maker of this World, and He is the One Who designed it; so He can decide to "bend" it if He chooses to do so, without upsetting the "normal" course of events. God is the One Who put order (Truth) into His creation. He is Truth, our standard for what Truth is. As such, He would never put any "myth" into His Word as though it happened if it didn't.
And we will not conceal them or leave anything out of what we've learned, even the dark sayings of old. So our Bible is a true and complete record of all that God wants us to know.
So we are to teach our children and grandchildren these stories, to show Who God is, how He sees us and loved us, and is capable of doing anything He wants. He is a good God, and He wants only the best for His beloved, us, granting us grace and mercy.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Deceptive Food
Isaiah 55: 2
Why do you spend your money on food that does not nourish you? Why are you paying for food that does you no good? Listen to Me, and you will eat what is good; you will enjoy the finest food.
So much of America's diet is not even food, but chemicals! All the artificial ingredients in it do not nourish us, but only "spike" the pleasure centers of our brains, so we will be deceived into thinking it tastes good. We are getting fat as we starve.
God made this Earth for us, and He put in it everything we need for good health and prosperity. One-ingredient foods, like a meat or a potato or a carrot, are real food. Food that will nourish our bodies, feed our brains, and give us energy. When it is processed, and other stuff is added to it; when all the nourishment is removed, then replaced artificially; it becomes merely deceptive dainties.
It is said, you are what you eat. That is because our bodies use what we consume to repair our cells, and when we eat what is not food, then these artificial chemicals work their way into our make-up; resulting in our bodies attacking themselves with auto-immune diseases.
When Daniel was brought to Babylon and chosen to be prepared for the king's court and service, he recognized that the king's food was not healthy, so he requested only vegetables and water. Then after the time of testing, because he had gone through this "cleanse," he looked much healthier than the others, because he was. (see Daniel chapter 1.) This is a good example given us to learn from.
I search for natural, organic, unprocessed foods, and prepare my own meals at home. I know that these foods that God has provided from this Earth He designed for us will give me good, dense nourishment without extra calories. And it has enabled me to enjoy exceptional physical health.
Praise God for providing for us everything we need, in this Earth and in His Son. God loves us and wants the best for us, so He sent His best to meet our most urgent need, the Spiritual. That is Real Life (see John 6:63).
When we seek God and His righteousness first, then all these Earthly things will also be given to us (Matthew 6:63). God will not withhold any good thing from His own children.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Why do you spend your money on food that does not nourish you? Why are you paying for food that does you no good? Listen to Me, and you will eat what is good; you will enjoy the finest food.
So much of America's diet is not even food, but chemicals! All the artificial ingredients in it do not nourish us, but only "spike" the pleasure centers of our brains, so we will be deceived into thinking it tastes good. We are getting fat as we starve.
God made this Earth for us, and He put in it everything we need for good health and prosperity. One-ingredient foods, like a meat or a potato or a carrot, are real food. Food that will nourish our bodies, feed our brains, and give us energy. When it is processed, and other stuff is added to it; when all the nourishment is removed, then replaced artificially; it becomes merely deceptive dainties.
It is said, you are what you eat. That is because our bodies use what we consume to repair our cells, and when we eat what is not food, then these artificial chemicals work their way into our make-up; resulting in our bodies attacking themselves with auto-immune diseases.
When Daniel was brought to Babylon and chosen to be prepared for the king's court and service, he recognized that the king's food was not healthy, so he requested only vegetables and water. Then after the time of testing, because he had gone through this "cleanse," he looked much healthier than the others, because he was. (see Daniel chapter 1.) This is a good example given us to learn from.
I search for natural, organic, unprocessed foods, and prepare my own meals at home. I know that these foods that God has provided from this Earth He designed for us will give me good, dense nourishment without extra calories. And it has enabled me to enjoy exceptional physical health.
Praise God for providing for us everything we need, in this Earth and in His Son. God loves us and wants the best for us, so He sent His best to meet our most urgent need, the Spiritual. That is Real Life (see John 6:63).
When we seek God and His righteousness first, then all these Earthly things will also be given to us (Matthew 6:63). God will not withhold any good thing from His own children.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, April 21, 2017
God's Reputation
Isaiah 48:11
I will rescue you for My sake--yes, for My own sake! I will not let My reputation be tarnished, and I will not share My glory with idols!
The World looks at our Nation and they think they see a Christian nation, but they are pointing out all our rebellion as Christianity, which blasphemes God.
Just as Israel was a chosen nation before God, but strayed far from His ways, worshiping all the idols of their neighbors instead of God; so America, a nation founded on Biblical principles, has also wandered very far from Godly ways.
O my dear, glorious Father in Heaven, I pray for this Nation that is known as Yours, but no longer acknowledges You. Father, do not let these other nations disparage Your reputation in the World! Do not allow any of the idols we have set up to honor and adore share any of Your glory!
Please raise up Asa's in our halls of power to tear down all the heathen altars, shrines and idols! Continue to wake up Your Church to recognize these sins, and strengthen us against these abominations, to put away all the secret idols we have set up in our hearts; to live our lives openly in Your righteousness.
Let America be again that "shining city on a hill" to show Your glory to the World, before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I will rescue you for My sake--yes, for My own sake! I will not let My reputation be tarnished, and I will not share My glory with idols!
The World looks at our Nation and they think they see a Christian nation, but they are pointing out all our rebellion as Christianity, which blasphemes God.
Just as Israel was a chosen nation before God, but strayed far from His ways, worshiping all the idols of their neighbors instead of God; so America, a nation founded on Biblical principles, has also wandered very far from Godly ways.
O my dear, glorious Father in Heaven, I pray for this Nation that is known as Yours, but no longer acknowledges You. Father, do not let these other nations disparage Your reputation in the World! Do not allow any of the idols we have set up to honor and adore share any of Your glory!
Please raise up Asa's in our halls of power to tear down all the heathen altars, shrines and idols! Continue to wake up Your Church to recognize these sins, and strengthen us against these abominations, to put away all the secret idols we have set up in our hearts; to live our lives openly in Your righteousness.
Let America be again that "shining city on a hill" to show Your glory to the World, before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, April 20, 2017
The Lessons From The Past
Isaiah 42: 23
Who will hear these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
It is said that the past repeats itself. This is because we do not listen to the lessons from the past. We think that if we go this way, then it will go well for us. But God says that there is a way that seems right to us, but its end is destruction, death (Proverbs 16:25). That is why history repeats--we keep doing the same things expecting a different outcome! This is insanity! If we would only look at our own history with inquiring eyes to learn those lessons, then we would finally turn to God to find out His ways.
When we can learn God's ways for us, then we will be able to do the things He wants for us; we will learn how to interact with our fellow human beings and use this Earth for our benefit, and we will all be better off for it.
But we naturally want to figure things out for ourselves, we're smart, we can make our own decisions. So we close our eyes to history and repeat the same policies that have failed in the past. Many may do this, thinking that they will benefit from others' loss, which is using people. People are to be loved, things are to be used. If we love the things of this World, then we will use people to get more of them. This is evil, will not satisfy, and is detrimental to our human family.
We need to pray that God will teach us His ways, and that He would grant that His people would rule over us, according to the good and beneficial ways God has told us in His Word. We need to live our own personal lives, and seek to live our corporate and community and political lives together according to His ways. Then we will do the things that will fulfill our own desires (Psalm 37:4), and further along God's great Plan of the Ages for all of us in this era He has placed us in. We each have a small role to play, a simple thread to add to His great Tapestry of Time. Our threads could be dark, even black, or they could be a bright color, or even silver or gold! It is our choice to go God's way or our own way, determining what our "color" will be in that final Big Picture.
God's magnificent glory and perfect justice will be on display for all eternity. I want for all of us to be part of the glory side of forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Who will hear these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
It is said that the past repeats itself. This is because we do not listen to the lessons from the past. We think that if we go this way, then it will go well for us. But God says that there is a way that seems right to us, but its end is destruction, death (Proverbs 16:25). That is why history repeats--we keep doing the same things expecting a different outcome! This is insanity! If we would only look at our own history with inquiring eyes to learn those lessons, then we would finally turn to God to find out His ways.
When we can learn God's ways for us, then we will be able to do the things He wants for us; we will learn how to interact with our fellow human beings and use this Earth for our benefit, and we will all be better off for it.
But we naturally want to figure things out for ourselves, we're smart, we can make our own decisions. So we close our eyes to history and repeat the same policies that have failed in the past. Many may do this, thinking that they will benefit from others' loss, which is using people. People are to be loved, things are to be used. If we love the things of this World, then we will use people to get more of them. This is evil, will not satisfy, and is detrimental to our human family.
We need to pray that God will teach us His ways, and that He would grant that His people would rule over us, according to the good and beneficial ways God has told us in His Word. We need to live our own personal lives, and seek to live our corporate and community and political lives together according to His ways. Then we will do the things that will fulfill our own desires (Psalm 37:4), and further along God's great Plan of the Ages for all of us in this era He has placed us in. We each have a small role to play, a simple thread to add to His great Tapestry of Time. Our threads could be dark, even black, or they could be a bright color, or even silver or gold! It is our choice to go God's way or our own way, determining what our "color" will be in that final Big Picture.
God's magnificent glory and perfect justice will be on display for all eternity. I want for all of us to be part of the glory side of forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Ground Is Level
Galatians 4:28-31
And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the Promise, just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the Law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? "Get rid if the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman's son." So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
I am friends with a couple from the USA who have been living in Israel for several decades as missionaries to the Jews.
I am also acquainted with a missionary who is gathering some of the children of the slave woman into God's church in Jerusalem.
Both of these groups of people are in desperate need of Jesus' saving grace, as all the rest of us are. For there is no more distinction between Jew and Arab, Israeli and gentile, civilized and barbarian, slave and free. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross--God has counted us all as sinners. So His Blood can cleanse each one of us, if we just humble ourselves before Him admitting we deserve death, and let Jesus take our place on the Cross to pay our debt for us. That is why He was born into our World, so He could take us to His Heaven.
We are to pray for all kinds of people: rich and poor, near and far, friends and enemies. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But not all know that Jesus came to save them, they've never been told. So we need to pray that God would send laborers into these fields that are already white for harvesting. People all over the world, including the Middle East, are turning to God Who loves them, away from the idols and gods of this World that have enslaved them. They just need to hear. But how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless someone is sent?
Pray, pray, pray! God hears the prayers of His beloved children, and if you are praying, God may even send you!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the Promise, just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the Law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? "Get rid if the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman's son." So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
I am friends with a couple from the USA who have been living in Israel for several decades as missionaries to the Jews.
Both of these groups of people are in desperate need of Jesus' saving grace, as all the rest of us are. For there is no more distinction between Jew and Arab, Israeli and gentile, civilized and barbarian, slave and free. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross--God has counted us all as sinners. So His Blood can cleanse each one of us, if we just humble ourselves before Him admitting we deserve death, and let Jesus take our place on the Cross to pay our debt for us. That is why He was born into our World, so He could take us to His Heaven.
We are to pray for all kinds of people: rich and poor, near and far, friends and enemies. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But not all know that Jesus came to save them, they've never been told. So we need to pray that God would send laborers into these fields that are already white for harvesting. People all over the world, including the Middle East, are turning to God Who loves them, away from the idols and gods of this World that have enslaved them. They just need to hear. But how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless someone is sent?
Pray, pray, pray! God hears the prayers of His beloved children, and if you are praying, God may even send you!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
All The Credit He Deserves
Isaiah 45: 22-24
Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the Earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn, My mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before Me every knee will bow; by Me every tongue will swear. They will say of Me, "In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength."
Romans 14: 10-12
... For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "As surely as I live," says the Lord, "every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God." So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Philippians 2: 9-11
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Revelation 5: 12-13
In a loud voice they sang, "Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
Then I heard every creature in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!"
When Jesus explained to Cleopas and his companion what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), I'm sure He connected all the dots for them to see the Big Picture, and their "hearts burned" within them.
Because from the first chapter of Genesis to the final chapter in Revelation, the whole story is the story of the Lord God of the Old Testament, revealed as Jesus the Christ in the New Testament; the Creator, the Lawgiver, the Benefactor, the Finisher of everything He began. He is the One Who has dealt with Mankind from the very beginning, and He will be the One Who will even all the odds, reveal all the mysteries, solve all the problems, heal all the wounds and sorrows, and wrap everything up neatly into a New Heaven and New Earth.
And every creature that has ever been created, everywhere, will give Him all the credit He deserves.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the Earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn, My mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before Me every knee will bow; by Me every tongue will swear. They will say of Me, "In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength."
Romans 14: 10-12
... For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "As surely as I live," says the Lord, "every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God." So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Philippians 2: 9-11
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Revelation 5: 12-13
In a loud voice they sang, "Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
Then I heard every creature in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!"
When Jesus explained to Cleopas and his companion what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), I'm sure He connected all the dots for them to see the Big Picture, and their "hearts burned" within them.
Because from the first chapter of Genesis to the final chapter in Revelation, the whole story is the story of the Lord God of the Old Testament, revealed as Jesus the Christ in the New Testament; the Creator, the Lawgiver, the Benefactor, the Finisher of everything He began. He is the One Who has dealt with Mankind from the very beginning, and He will be the One Who will even all the odds, reveal all the mysteries, solve all the problems, heal all the wounds and sorrows, and wrap everything up neatly into a New Heaven and New Earth.
And every creature that has ever been created, everywhere, will give Him all the credit He deserves.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 17, 2017
He Makes Us Able
Isaiah 40: 27-31
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say that God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of all the Earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
How can we ever say that God does not see what is happening in our lives, or that He doesn't care what happens to us? How could He not see? How could He ever not care? He is the Everlasting, Omnipotent, Wise, Compassionate Creator and Controller of this whole Universe! He is the One Who imagines us, we are His imagination! If He were not thinking of us, we would not exist!
It is His Plan that is being carried out; His will that desires to grant forgiveness, and will punish the wicked who reject His goodness and beauty. It is His strength and His wisdom that enables us to do the things that carry out His Plan, and that gives Him pleasure!
And God will receive all the credit for all He has planned out and achieved, all the honor and glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say that God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of all the Earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
How can we ever say that God does not see what is happening in our lives, or that He doesn't care what happens to us? How could He not see? How could He ever not care? He is the Everlasting, Omnipotent, Wise, Compassionate Creator and Controller of this whole Universe! He is the One Who imagines us, we are His imagination! If He were not thinking of us, we would not exist!
It is His Plan that is being carried out; His will that desires to grant forgiveness, and will punish the wicked who reject His goodness and beauty. It is His strength and His wisdom that enables us to do the things that carry out His Plan, and that gives Him pleasure!
And God will receive all the credit for all He has planned out and achieved, all the honor and glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Resurrection Day
John 20: 8b-9
... And he saw and believed--for until then they still had not understood the Scriptures that said that Jesus must rise from the dead.
When John saw the wrappings that had been wound around Jesus' body, that's when he finally understood that Jesus had not been stolen away, for the wrappings were still there; He hadn't revived, or the wrappings would have been unwound; they were lying there still intact, still wound up as around a body, but empty of the body! Physical evidence of the actual Resurrection! And John saw the evidence, he believed and knew that Jesus was Resurrected, and he understood the Scriptures that foretold that the Christ must rise from the dead! First-hand, eye-witness testimony--so I can believe, too.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... And he saw and believed--for until then they still had not understood the Scriptures that said that Jesus must rise from the dead.
When John saw the wrappings that had been wound around Jesus' body, that's when he finally understood that Jesus had not been stolen away, for the wrappings were still there; He hadn't revived, or the wrappings would have been unwound; they were lying there still intact, still wound up as around a body, but empty of the body! Physical evidence of the actual Resurrection! And John saw the evidence, he believed and knew that Jesus was Resurrected, and he understood the Scriptures that foretold that the Christ must rise from the dead! First-hand, eye-witness testimony--so I can believe, too.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, April 15, 2017
What Was Jesus Doing?
Ephesians 4: 8-9
What was Jesus doing while His body laid in the tomb, dead? Paul tells us in his letter to the saints in Ephesus:
This is why it says, "When He ascended on high He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men." What does "He ascended" mean except that He descended to the depths of the Earth?
Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18 here, and telling us that on His way to Heaven, Jesus went into the Realm of the Dead, Sheol, and gathered all the Old Testament saints who were in the Paradise side, that He called "Abraham's Bosom." They were there because until Jesus shed His blood, their sins could only be covered by the blood of the animals God told them to sacrifice; only God's own Blood Jesus sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could actually take away sins. Covered sins are still there, but only taken-away sins are gone. This is what is needed to qualify to dwell in the Presence of God in Heaven.
Colossians 2:15 tells us that having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.
So Jesus went down into Paradise to gather all His saints there, and paraded them in a show of victory in the sight of all the demons and rebels who were in the Hell side of Sheol, as He led them into Heaven.
Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament laws, starting with the first, most fundamental sacrifice, the personal one, that Leviticus begins with. It must be first, because without it we do not have a chance of ever getting close to God or learning His ways.
The individual would bring the animal to the priest and lay his hand on its head putting his sins on the animal, then the priest would sacrifice the lamb on the altar, dying instead of the person. Then he would splash the lamb's blood on the sides of the altar to cover the sins, and the person could then be forgiven and have a relationship with God. But he still went to Sheol when he died. Until Jesus died.
In the same way, we each need to figuratively lay our hand on the head of the Lamb of God, letting Him take our sins upon Himself, taking our death for us, His blood splashing the sides of His altar, the Cross to wash away our sins.
If our sins have not been washed away by Jesus dying in our place, then when we die we'll still go to Sheol; but the Paradise side was taken to Heaven, so there's only the other side there now.
If you've not been able to let Jesus take your place in death, then I would advise you to pray and ask God to give you His gift of saving faith.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
What was Jesus doing while His body laid in the tomb, dead? Paul tells us in his letter to the saints in Ephesus:
This is why it says, "When He ascended on high He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men." What does "He ascended" mean except that He descended to the depths of the Earth?
Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18 here, and telling us that on His way to Heaven, Jesus went into the Realm of the Dead, Sheol, and gathered all the Old Testament saints who were in the Paradise side, that He called "Abraham's Bosom." They were there because until Jesus shed His blood, their sins could only be covered by the blood of the animals God told them to sacrifice; only God's own Blood Jesus sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could actually take away sins. Covered sins are still there, but only taken-away sins are gone. This is what is needed to qualify to dwell in the Presence of God in Heaven.
Colossians 2:15 tells us that having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.
So Jesus went down into Paradise to gather all His saints there, and paraded them in a show of victory in the sight of all the demons and rebels who were in the Hell side of Sheol, as He led them into Heaven.
Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament laws, starting with the first, most fundamental sacrifice, the personal one, that Leviticus begins with. It must be first, because without it we do not have a chance of ever getting close to God or learning His ways.
The individual would bring the animal to the priest and lay his hand on its head putting his sins on the animal, then the priest would sacrifice the lamb on the altar, dying instead of the person. Then he would splash the lamb's blood on the sides of the altar to cover the sins, and the person could then be forgiven and have a relationship with God. But he still went to Sheol when he died. Until Jesus died.
In the same way, we each need to figuratively lay our hand on the head of the Lamb of God, letting Him take our sins upon Himself, taking our death for us, His blood splashing the sides of His altar, the Cross to wash away our sins.
If our sins have not been washed away by Jesus dying in our place, then when we die we'll still go to Sheol; but the Paradise side was taken to Heaven, so there's only the other side there now.
If you've not been able to let Jesus take your place in death, then I would advise you to pray and ask God to give you His gift of saving faith.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, April 14, 2017
Good Friday in Isaiah
Isaiah 53
(V. 3-5) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Jesus was not a handsome man among men, He was ordinary-looking.
Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
When Jesus died, He paid our debt of human death, with all its sorrows and griefs and regrets, but until we see Him with eyes of faith, it looks like God is against Him.
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.
Jesus had no charges against Him, the criminal charges are against each one of us. We have transgressed, and He paid the consequences for our sins.
(V. 7, 10) He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet he opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not his mouth.
Jesus is the Lamb of God set aside for Sacrifice (the Greek is very specific). Sheep don't bleat when sheared, and Jesus did not answer the false accusations lodged against Him.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief: when you shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his Hand.
It was the Triune God's Plan before He created any of this Universe that the Son would be the One to come to us in our humility to pay our debt, so that we would be able to be with Him in His glory. It's the only way we can. That is the joy that enabled Jesus to endure the Cross (see John 17:24).
(V. 12b) He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The "sin-nature of the many" all those who have been born with the sin-part of Adam's DNA that we all inherit; and "made intercession for the transgressors," all of us who have deliberately made wrong choices in defiance of God's rules.
Jesus didn't leave anyone out from ability to be saved, from the innocent babies to the most hardened criminal. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross.
Today, Good Friday, is the day we remember the Passion of the Christ. The day mankind executed God, the worst day in the history of the World, we call Good, because what man intends for evil, God intends for good; and the most evil of all God uses for the unimaginable best for each of us. All written down in detail hundreds of years before it happened.
Today's Friday, but Sunday's coming!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(V. 3-5) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Jesus was not a handsome man among men, He was ordinary-looking.
Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
When Jesus died, He paid our debt of human death, with all its sorrows and griefs and regrets, but until we see Him with eyes of faith, it looks like God is against Him.
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.
Jesus had no charges against Him, the criminal charges are against each one of us. We have transgressed, and He paid the consequences for our sins.
(V. 7, 10) He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet he opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not his mouth.
Jesus is the Lamb of God set aside for Sacrifice (the Greek is very specific). Sheep don't bleat when sheared, and Jesus did not answer the false accusations lodged against Him.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief: when you shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his Hand.
It was the Triune God's Plan before He created any of this Universe that the Son would be the One to come to us in our humility to pay our debt, so that we would be able to be with Him in His glory. It's the only way we can. That is the joy that enabled Jesus to endure the Cross (see John 17:24).
(V. 12b) He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The "sin-nature of the many" all those who have been born with the sin-part of Adam's DNA that we all inherit; and "made intercession for the transgressors," all of us who have deliberately made wrong choices in defiance of God's rules.
Jesus didn't leave anyone out from ability to be saved, from the innocent babies to the most hardened criminal. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross.
Today, Good Friday, is the day we remember the Passion of the Christ. The day mankind executed God, the worst day in the history of the World, we call Good, because what man intends for evil, God intends for good; and the most evil of all God uses for the unimaginable best for each of us. All written down in detail hundreds of years before it happened.
Today's Friday, but Sunday's coming!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, April 13, 2017
God Cares For The Animals, Too
Isaiah 34: 16-17
Search the Book of the Lord, and see what He will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true. He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to these creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation.
O my Father, You are so good, such a good God to us all, including the animal kingdom. You will make sure that no species of animal will become extinct that is needed on this Earth for its ecology. You have promised that, "Not one of these birds and animals will be missing (extinct), and none will lack a mate (endangered)." You, Father, have even determined and set aside the land area that is suitable for each species, that they will be able to flourish, as well as the remnants of the peoples all over the Earth who will survive.
Father, You will send Your Son, our King and Lord, to restore all things and establish His thousand-year rule. It will be this Earth's "Golden Age," before the final end of this order of being.
You are such a good God to everything You have made!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Search the Book of the Lord, and see what He will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true. He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to these creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation.
O my Father, You are so good, such a good God to us all, including the animal kingdom. You will make sure that no species of animal will become extinct that is needed on this Earth for its ecology. You have promised that, "Not one of these birds and animals will be missing (extinct), and none will lack a mate (endangered)." You, Father, have even determined and set aside the land area that is suitable for each species, that they will be able to flourish, as well as the remnants of the peoples all over the Earth who will survive.
Father, You will send Your Son, our King and Lord, to restore all things and establish His thousand-year rule. It will be this Earth's "Golden Age," before the final end of this order of being.
You are such a good God to everything You have made!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Morning By Morning
Isaiah 50: 4-5
The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I do not rebel or turn away.
Isaiah was used mightily by God because he had a right attitude before God. O that we who are His would learn to hear His voice speaking to us quietly in our spirits, or by dreams or visions, or by the reading of His Word. May we listen intently to what He says to us in order to obey and follow completely.
Let the mind that was in Christ Jesus ("Not My will, but Yours!") be in each of us. May He awaken us morning by morning to open our understanding to His will for us. May He grant us His wisdom in how we speak to one another, with His law of kindness under our tongue, that our words will be gracious, kind, sweet, and Truthful. May His integrity rule over our lives binding all its parts into one whole. May He help us to continually listen to our Father's words, and strengthen us to follow Him faithfully, not rebelling or turning away regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Then we will know the way in which we are to walk, the path He has planned for each of us before the World began; that we each will accomplish our parts in His great Plan of the Ages and rule with Him in His Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I do not rebel or turn away.
Isaiah was used mightily by God because he had a right attitude before God. O that we who are His would learn to hear His voice speaking to us quietly in our spirits, or by dreams or visions, or by the reading of His Word. May we listen intently to what He says to us in order to obey and follow completely.
Let the mind that was in Christ Jesus ("Not My will, but Yours!") be in each of us. May He awaken us morning by morning to open our understanding to His will for us. May He grant us His wisdom in how we speak to one another, with His law of kindness under our tongue, that our words will be gracious, kind, sweet, and Truthful. May His integrity rule over our lives binding all its parts into one whole. May He help us to continually listen to our Father's words, and strengthen us to follow Him faithfully, not rebelling or turning away regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Then we will know the way in which we are to walk, the path He has planned for each of us before the World began; that we each will accomplish our parts in His great Plan of the Ages and rule with Him in His Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Only A Remnant Is Left
Isaiah 24: 3-6, 13-16a
The Earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken. The Earth mourns and dries up, and the crops waste away and wither. Even the greatest people on Earth suffer for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God's instructions, violated His laws, and broken His everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the Earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.
Throughout the Earth the story is the same--only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest. But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the West praise the Lord's majesty. In Eastern lands they give glory to the Lord. In the lands beyond the Sea, they praise the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. We hear songs of praise from the ends of the Earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
Isaiah has been shown some of what will happen when Jesus returns. (See also what Daniel says, and Zechariah, and John in Revelation, and all the other Scriptures).
When we put all these descriptions together, connecting the dots to see more of the Big Picture, then we can understand better how God will righteously judge the very Earth itself, as well as it's inhabitants who have rejected Him and His ways. Only those who have turned to Him, and accepted His gifts of Grace and Mercy in the Saving Faith He gives to save and redeem us through what His Lamb of God has already accomplished on the Cross will survive to reign with Him.
Then those who are left will shout and sing, His praises will ring out over the whole Earth, out to the farthest reaches of the Universe!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken. The Earth mourns and dries up, and the crops waste away and wither. Even the greatest people on Earth suffer for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God's instructions, violated His laws, and broken His everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the Earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.
Throughout the Earth the story is the same--only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest. But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the West praise the Lord's majesty. In Eastern lands they give glory to the Lord. In the lands beyond the Sea, they praise the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. We hear songs of praise from the ends of the Earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
Isaiah has been shown some of what will happen when Jesus returns. (See also what Daniel says, and Zechariah, and John in Revelation, and all the other Scriptures).
When we put all these descriptions together, connecting the dots to see more of the Big Picture, then we can understand better how God will righteously judge the very Earth itself, as well as it's inhabitants who have rejected Him and His ways. Only those who have turned to Him, and accepted His gifts of Grace and Mercy in the Saving Faith He gives to save and redeem us through what His Lamb of God has already accomplished on the Cross will survive to reign with Him.
Then those who are left will shout and sing, His praises will ring out over the whole Earth, out to the farthest reaches of the Universe!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 10, 2017
A Smooth-Skinned People?
Isaiah 18: 2, 7
Go, swift messengers! Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers. ... At that Time (that Day He returns) the Lord of Heaven's Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven's Armies dwells (where He is ruling on His Throne).
Isaiah has directed these words to Ethiopia, but who actually is this tall, smooth-skinned nation, an "aggressive nation of strange speech"? (NIV) If we look at the world map of today, there are nations that did not exist in Isaiah's day, so it may not actually refer to the Ethiopa we know today.
When we look at Nations today that are: divided by rivers; populated by a tall, smooth-skinned people; who are feared world-wide for their political, military and financial power, and speak a language much different from Hebrew; I only see one modern Nation that fits this description.
If the Lord should come within our lifetime (which I fully expect He may), then today's map could tell us who this Nation is. Should the Lord tarry until the map changes again, then it could be some other Nation at that time. But I think we need to be aware of the times in which we are living, and be prepared to follow our Lord in whatever He has planned for each of us.
God's ways are not our ways, and when He says to, "Come out of her, my people, that you not participate in her sins, and you do not receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4), we must be able to listen to and obey His quiet voice in our spirit, and not just do what seems reasonable to us.
O my Father, strengthen me to be able to do all the things You planned before time for me to accomplish. Help me to grow: spiritually strong in Your wisdom and knowledge of You; in my mind and emotions, to think clearly and love others unconditionally with Your love; physically fit to go where You send me and do the work set before me to do; that my attitudes be those of my Lord Christ Jesus, my words gracious and compassionate; my life an offering to You, Father, to use as You will; that Your Kingdom may come and Your will be done on this Earth, in this World, even as it is now done in Heaven.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Go, swift messengers! Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers. ... At that Time (that Day He returns) the Lord of Heaven's Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven's Armies dwells (where He is ruling on His Throne).
Isaiah has directed these words to Ethiopia, but who actually is this tall, smooth-skinned nation, an "aggressive nation of strange speech"? (NIV) If we look at the world map of today, there are nations that did not exist in Isaiah's day, so it may not actually refer to the Ethiopa we know today.
When we look at Nations today that are: divided by rivers; populated by a tall, smooth-skinned people; who are feared world-wide for their political, military and financial power, and speak a language much different from Hebrew; I only see one modern Nation that fits this description.
If the Lord should come within our lifetime (which I fully expect He may), then today's map could tell us who this Nation is. Should the Lord tarry until the map changes again, then it could be some other Nation at that time. But I think we need to be aware of the times in which we are living, and be prepared to follow our Lord in whatever He has planned for each of us.
God's ways are not our ways, and when He says to, "Come out of her, my people, that you not participate in her sins, and you do not receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4), we must be able to listen to and obey His quiet voice in our spirit, and not just do what seems reasonable to us.
O my Father, strengthen me to be able to do all the things You planned before time for me to accomplish. Help me to grow: spiritually strong in Your wisdom and knowledge of You; in my mind and emotions, to think clearly and love others unconditionally with Your love; physically fit to go where You send me and do the work set before me to do; that my attitudes be those of my Lord Christ Jesus, my words gracious and compassionate; my life an offering to You, Father, to use as You will; that Your Kingdom may come and Your will be done on this Earth, in this World, even as it is now done in Heaven.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, April 9, 2017
The Silver Cord And The Golden Bowl
Ecclesiastes 12: 6-7
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For the dust will return to the earth and the spirit will return to God Who gave it.
David was an old man when he penned these words. Old age usually brings with it a wearing down of the body and the diminishing of the bodily functions: The light of the sun, moon and stars will look dim to our eyes (v. 2), our legs will lose the strength to stand and run (v. 3), the teeth will not be able to chew well (v. 4a), the eyes will see only dimly (v. 4b) and the ears will hear muffled (v. 4c). Our bodies will eventually wear out, no matter what we do to to nourish it and take care of it (v. 5).
May we each consider our end years and days, and look to see what we can do now, today, before we may be subject to all this limiting of what we will be able to do then. Let us use what remaining years we have to do our best with all our strength to serve our God, relying on Him more and more as the days progress; because only in His strength can we do all that He has planned for us to accomplish for the furtherance of His Kingdom, and that's the only thing that will count in the end. And He will receive all the credit, all the glory for what He has done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For the dust will return to the earth and the spirit will return to God Who gave it.
David was an old man when he penned these words. Old age usually brings with it a wearing down of the body and the diminishing of the bodily functions: The light of the sun, moon and stars will look dim to our eyes (v. 2), our legs will lose the strength to stand and run (v. 3), the teeth will not be able to chew well (v. 4a), the eyes will see only dimly (v. 4b) and the ears will hear muffled (v. 4c). Our bodies will eventually wear out, no matter what we do to to nourish it and take care of it (v. 5).
May we each consider our end years and days, and look to see what we can do now, today, before we may be subject to all this limiting of what we will be able to do then. Let us use what remaining years we have to do our best with all our strength to serve our God, relying on Him more and more as the days progress; because only in His strength can we do all that He has planned for us to accomplish for the furtherance of His Kingdom, and that's the only thing that will count in the end. And He will receive all the credit, all the glory for what He has done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Blessings Before The End
II Kings 22: 1-2; 23: 3
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
He renewed the covenant in the Lord's presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws and decrees with all his heart and soul. ... And all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
Josiah was the king, the leader of his nation. And he led his people back to worshiping the Lord God. The people followed their king in returning to God's Truth.
Josiah cleansed Judea of all the shrines, altars, totems, shrine prostitute houses, pagan shrine buildings, all the articles used in pagan worship, all the mediums and psychics and even all the household gods. The people all cooperated with this cleaning out of all these things, because they knew that God has no rivals, all these other gods are nothing. And God caused the whole nation to prosper.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
He renewed the covenant in the Lord's presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws and decrees with all his heart and soul. ... And all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
Josiah was the king, the leader of his nation. And he led his people back to worshiping the Lord God. The people followed their king in returning to God's Truth.
Josiah cleansed Judea of all the shrines, altars, totems, shrine prostitute houses, pagan shrine buildings, all the articles used in pagan worship, all the mediums and psychics and even all the household gods. The people all cooperated with this cleaning out of all these things, because they knew that God has no rivals, all these other gods are nothing. And God caused the whole nation to prosper.
May God bless our nation with a godly leader who will lead us all back into God's righteous ways: to cleanse us of all these same things, represented by the pornography; the child abuse; the detestable practices of those who have perverted God's good gifts and promote their perversions from high places; the unjust judges and the unrighteous lawmakers; the employers who defraud us all in their unnatural products, and their support and promotion of lawlessness; and all the idolatrous worldly-wise and powerful people who practice, support and promote the murder of our most precious innocents, and those who let the guilty go unpunished.
As God allowed Josiah to bring Judah back to Right Living before she was dragged off to Babylon in captivity; so let Him grant us that same reprieve to enjoy His blessings again before our end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, April 7, 2017
All You Need Is Jesus
John 3: 16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
I've heard that John three-sixteen is the most quoted passage of literature in the history of Mankind. I can't verify that, but I don't doubt it, either.
This one verse gives us the centerpiece of God's love for each of us. True love is a decision to want the very best for the one loved no matter what it costs us. And God is our Maker, and He loves what He made. He is our standard for what love is, and He gave us His most precious--His only Son. I'm sure it pained the Father as much as it pained the Son to die that horrendous death. That's how much He loves us.
God is holy. He cannot have any kind of sin living with Him, marring His glory. The sacrifices He gave His people in The Law could never take away their sins, just cover them; they were to teach us that sin requires death, and the sacrificed animal died instead of the person. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice. His Blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could do more than just cover sins, it could actually wash them away completely!
God's own Blood has unlimited worth to pay off every debt and all debt of sin and sins. When Jesus died our human death, and His Blood poured down the sides of the Cross, He fulfilled all the Old Testament sacrifices, starting with the first--the individual one that Leviticus chapter one begins with. He also was the corporate sacrifice, for the Nation, and even more, enough for the whole World. He also purchased the whole Universe.
When Mankind sinned, God placed a curse not only on this Earth, but the whole Universe this globe is a part of. When Jesus makes "everything new" He will re-make, re-format the whole thing, to remove that curse of death, decay and running down (the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy). That's the culmination of God's Plan of the Ages, to make everything pristine, with no pain, no sorrow, no more tears--perfect. (See "the last chapter" or two!)
But to get there, to be a part of that New Creation, we also must start at the beginning, the most fundamental first step. You and I must realize that you and I deserve death, and that Jesus took our death in our place on that Cross, paying each individual debt, personally. I did that, and when you also come to God, admitting your guilt and culpability, and let Jesus die for you; then God will forgive you, wash away all your sins, and give you a New Life, His own Holy Spirit, to live in your dead spirit making it alive. Then you will be changed, never again the same as you were before your encounter with this Saving Grace.
When God showed me Jesus hanging there on His Cross, I knew that I deserved it, not Him, and that He did that for me. That's how much God loved me, and my heart broke, knowing how I had been living against what I knew to be His ways. But He loved me anyway, and I gave control of my life to Him that day, since I didn't know why He made my life, He knew. So He's been directing my days every day since, more than 46 years so far. And I never did return to those seductive ways, I found so much better in Him.
God doesn't want anybody to be lost, but not everybody wants to come to Him. So if you find that you just don't think you're "that bad" to deserve that death, then I suggest you pray and ask God for Saving Faith to believe Him. He loves you more than you can imagine, and He wants you to live with Him in His glory forever.
All you need is Jesus!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
I've heard that John three-sixteen is the most quoted passage of literature in the history of Mankind. I can't verify that, but I don't doubt it, either.
This one verse gives us the centerpiece of God's love for each of us. True love is a decision to want the very best for the one loved no matter what it costs us. And God is our Maker, and He loves what He made. He is our standard for what love is, and He gave us His most precious--His only Son. I'm sure it pained the Father as much as it pained the Son to die that horrendous death. That's how much He loves us.
God is holy. He cannot have any kind of sin living with Him, marring His glory. The sacrifices He gave His people in The Law could never take away their sins, just cover them; they were to teach us that sin requires death, and the sacrificed animal died instead of the person. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice. His Blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could do more than just cover sins, it could actually wash them away completely!
God's own Blood has unlimited worth to pay off every debt and all debt of sin and sins. When Jesus died our human death, and His Blood poured down the sides of the Cross, He fulfilled all the Old Testament sacrifices, starting with the first--the individual one that Leviticus chapter one begins with. He also was the corporate sacrifice, for the Nation, and even more, enough for the whole World. He also purchased the whole Universe.
When Mankind sinned, God placed a curse not only on this Earth, but the whole Universe this globe is a part of. When Jesus makes "everything new" He will re-make, re-format the whole thing, to remove that curse of death, decay and running down (the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy). That's the culmination of God's Plan of the Ages, to make everything pristine, with no pain, no sorrow, no more tears--perfect. (See "the last chapter" or two!)
But to get there, to be a part of that New Creation, we also must start at the beginning, the most fundamental first step. You and I must realize that you and I deserve death, and that Jesus took our death in our place on that Cross, paying each individual debt, personally. I did that, and when you also come to God, admitting your guilt and culpability, and let Jesus die for you; then God will forgive you, wash away all your sins, and give you a New Life, His own Holy Spirit, to live in your dead spirit making it alive. Then you will be changed, never again the same as you were before your encounter with this Saving Grace.
When God showed me Jesus hanging there on His Cross, I knew that I deserved it, not Him, and that He did that for me. That's how much God loved me, and my heart broke, knowing how I had been living against what I knew to be His ways. But He loved me anyway, and I gave control of my life to Him that day, since I didn't know why He made my life, He knew. So He's been directing my days every day since, more than 46 years so far. And I never did return to those seductive ways, I found so much better in Him.
God doesn't want anybody to be lost, but not everybody wants to come to Him. So if you find that you just don't think you're "that bad" to deserve that death, then I suggest you pray and ask God for Saving Faith to believe Him. He loves you more than you can imagine, and He wants you to live with Him in His glory forever.
All you need is Jesus!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Jesus' Brothers And Sisters And Mother
Mark 3: 21, 31-35
When His family heard about this (miracles, parables, etc.) they went to take charge of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and brothers?" He asked them. Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother."
Jesus' brothers didn't believe in Him until after His Resurrection. So when they heard all the fantastic stories about what He was doing and saying, they figured that they were responsible to "save Him from Himself" and take Him home to take care of Him. They even convinced their mom Mary.
I'm sure Jesus went outside to talk to them, and reminded Mary of His supernatural conception and birth events, which she had "pondered in her heart" and merely forgotten about in the years of every-day living. So they went home without Him, and He continued His ministry.
O my Father, may I never forget the love You lavished on me that day You saved me, and remained with me every day since.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
When His family heard about this (miracles, parables, etc.) they went to take charge of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and brothers?" He asked them. Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother."
Jesus' brothers didn't believe in Him until after His Resurrection. So when they heard all the fantastic stories about what He was doing and saying, they figured that they were responsible to "save Him from Himself" and take Him home to take care of Him. They even convinced their mom Mary.
I'm sure Jesus went outside to talk to them, and reminded Mary of His supernatural conception and birth events, which she had "pondered in her heart" and merely forgotten about in the years of every-day living. So they went home without Him, and He continued His ministry.
O my Father, may I never forget the love You lavished on me that day You saved me, and remained with me every day since.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Seek First
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When we only seek the things of this World, we may accumulate some, but they will not satisfy. When we seek God's face and His ways, according to His Word, then we will gain not only eternal rewards but also some measure of Earthly prosperity.
This is the verse I quoted that sent my new husband storming out of the house and I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. But that was also the night that God called my husband into sonship with Himself. He was saved that night.
Praise God for helping me to have the strength and fortitude so early in my own walk with God to bear up under the pressure of God's leaning on him to draw him to Himself.
Thank You, Father, for knowing me, and drawing my husband, too. And thank You for the 30 years we had together, and that we both will spend Eternity together with You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When we only seek the things of this World, we may accumulate some, but they will not satisfy. When we seek God's face and His ways, according to His Word, then we will gain not only eternal rewards but also some measure of Earthly prosperity.
This is the verse I quoted that sent my new husband storming out of the house and I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. But that was also the night that God called my husband into sonship with Himself. He was saved that night.
Praise God for helping me to have the strength and fortitude so early in my own walk with God to bear up under the pressure of God's leaning on him to draw him to Himself.
Thank You, Father, for knowing me, and drawing my husband, too. And thank You for the 30 years we had together, and that we both will spend Eternity together with You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
To Be Seen Or Not?
Matthew 5:16; 6:1-4
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Be careful to not practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward in Heaven. ...
These seem to be conflicting verses: are we to let people see our good works or not?
I think that if letting others see will bring glory to God, then that is good. But if it will only bring honor to ourselves, then that's the only reward we will receive.
So we need to be very careful and discerning how the hearers will perceive our good works. I won't contribute to the cause if my name will go on a brick, or a plaque, or some list. But if my gift can be anonymous or quietly given to help someone in need or to support a missionary or some other venue that will bring glory to God, not me, then I can feel free to contribute. And God will reward me in Heaven.
And I need to apply this principle with whatever I do.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Be careful to not practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward in Heaven. ...
These seem to be conflicting verses: are we to let people see our good works or not?
I think that if letting others see will bring glory to God, then that is good. But if it will only bring honor to ourselves, then that's the only reward we will receive.
So we need to be very careful and discerning how the hearers will perceive our good works. I won't contribute to the cause if my name will go on a brick, or a plaque, or some list. But if my gift can be anonymous or quietly given to help someone in need or to support a missionary or some other venue that will bring glory to God, not me, then I can feel free to contribute. And God will reward me in Heaven.
And I need to apply this principle with whatever I do.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 3, 2017
The Big Picture
Luke 24: 27, 32, 45
On the Road to Emmaus, Cleopas and his companion [Mary, his wife, who was with His mother at the foot of the Cross? (John 19:25)] don't recognize Jesus as, And beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them all the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the Road while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
God has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us and give us understanding of what He is saying to us in the Scriptures. It's His Spirit in us showing us a right understanding of this cryptic Book.
To the World it seems to be written in code, that is hard to understand. But to us who have His Spirit, it all makes perfect sense. The whole Old Testament is about Jesus, the Lord God of the Patriarchs. The whole New Testament is also about Jesus, fulfilling everything that was written about Him in the Old Testament.
All the dots do connect, and the more dots we can connect, the broader and clearer the picture is of God's Great Plan of the Ages.
O my Father, I pray that You would continue to open my mind to an ever greater understanding how all Your Word fits together, to connect all the dots, to see and comprehend that Big Picture of all You are doing!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
On the Road to Emmaus, Cleopas and his companion [Mary, his wife, who was with His mother at the foot of the Cross? (John 19:25)] don't recognize Jesus as, And beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them all the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the Road while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
God has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us and give us understanding of what He is saying to us in the Scriptures. It's His Spirit in us showing us a right understanding of this cryptic Book.
To the World it seems to be written in code, that is hard to understand. But to us who have His Spirit, it all makes perfect sense. The whole Old Testament is about Jesus, the Lord God of the Patriarchs. The whole New Testament is also about Jesus, fulfilling everything that was written about Him in the Old Testament.
All the dots do connect, and the more dots we can connect, the broader and clearer the picture is of God's Great Plan of the Ages.
O my Father, I pray that You would continue to open my mind to an ever greater understanding how all Your Word fits together, to connect all the dots, to see and comprehend that Big Picture of all You are doing!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Blameless
I Thessalonians 5: 23-24
God, Who calls me, is faithful, His peace will make me holy in every way, and keep my whole spirit and soul and body blameless until that Day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Jesus took the death I earned on the Cross as my personal Sacrifice (see Leviticus, chapter 1), His blood, splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross, not only covered but washed away all my sins and the sinfulness of my human nature before I was even born, but was applied to my account on that day that God showed me Jesus on His Cross, and I knew He took my place there.
That is how He made peace between me and God, and that is when I heard His call. The Blood of Jesus is God's own Blood, and it has endless value to pay the debts of all sin and sins, and He purchased the whole Universe. That gives Him the authority to be our Savior; but also our Judge, if we don't accept His payment on our behalf. His gift of Salvation and Redemption is offered freely to every person, but only those who want to come to Him will be saved; all the rest will face their own righteous judgment at His court.
O my Father, I praise You and thank You for Your goodness and Your gentleness and Your care for me. I thank You for Your good plans for my life, and Your wisdom and care in having it play out in my life. I thank You that Your plans are so much better than mine.
Help me, Father, strengthen me in Your righteousness and holiness to accept Your way of interrupting my plans, and help me to not hold it against those You use for this furtherance of Your care for me. Erase my irritation with the realization that these interruptions are from You, not them, to accomplish Your will for me. And may You receive all the credit, all the glory for what You are doing each day in my life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
God, Who calls me, is faithful, His peace will make me holy in every way, and keep my whole spirit and soul and body blameless until that Day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Jesus took the death I earned on the Cross as my personal Sacrifice (see Leviticus, chapter 1), His blood, splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross, not only covered but washed away all my sins and the sinfulness of my human nature before I was even born, but was applied to my account on that day that God showed me Jesus on His Cross, and I knew He took my place there.
That is how He made peace between me and God, and that is when I heard His call. The Blood of Jesus is God's own Blood, and it has endless value to pay the debts of all sin and sins, and He purchased the whole Universe. That gives Him the authority to be our Savior; but also our Judge, if we don't accept His payment on our behalf. His gift of Salvation and Redemption is offered freely to every person, but only those who want to come to Him will be saved; all the rest will face their own righteous judgment at His court.
O my Father, I praise You and thank You for Your goodness and Your gentleness and Your care for me. I thank You for Your good plans for my life, and Your wisdom and care in having it play out in my life. I thank You that Your plans are so much better than mine.
Help me, Father, strengthen me in Your righteousness and holiness to accept Your way of interrupting my plans, and help me to not hold it against those You use for this furtherance of Your care for me. Erase my irritation with the realization that these interruptions are from You, not them, to accomplish Your will for me. And may You receive all the credit, all the glory for what You are doing each day in my life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, April 1, 2017
God's Strength In Our Weakness
II Corinthians 12: 9-10
"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." ... For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had asked God three times to take away the "messenger of Satan" that caused some kind of physical infirmity, and God's answer told him that he needed this reminder to keep pride at bay for the magnitude of the revelations God had given him.
So his response was that he would rather boast of his weaknesses rather than his strengths, so that God's strength would empower him.
O my Father, thank you for showing me how weak I am. Whenever I think that I have a little strength in myself, Father, show me then that I am weak. Only then will I reach out to You for Your strength. Only when I can be strong in Your strength will I be able to succeed in that that You have placed before me to do. Even in the little day-to-day things, especially in the daily things, I need Your strength and faithfulness, for I have none in myself.
Thank you, Father, for giving me enough time to do everything You want me to do. Help me to not be anxious thinking I haven't enough time, or to be lazy thinking I have plenty of time. I have enough time; help me not to waste even a moment, and give my mind clarity and my hands diligence to accomplish this day my part in Your great Plan of the Ages.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." ... For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had asked God three times to take away the "messenger of Satan" that caused some kind of physical infirmity, and God's answer told him that he needed this reminder to keep pride at bay for the magnitude of the revelations God had given him.
So his response was that he would rather boast of his weaknesses rather than his strengths, so that God's strength would empower him.
O my Father, thank you for showing me how weak I am. Whenever I think that I have a little strength in myself, Father, show me then that I am weak. Only then will I reach out to You for Your strength. Only when I can be strong in Your strength will I be able to succeed in that that You have placed before me to do. Even in the little day-to-day things, especially in the daily things, I need Your strength and faithfulness, for I have none in myself.
Thank you, Father, for giving me enough time to do everything You want me to do. Help me to not be anxious thinking I haven't enough time, or to be lazy thinking I have plenty of time. I have enough time; help me not to waste even a moment, and give my mind clarity and my hands diligence to accomplish this day my part in Your great Plan of the Ages.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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