Genesis 41
Vs. 51-52 And Joseph named the first-born Manasseh, "for," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble, and all my father's household."
And he named Ephraim, "For," he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."
So Joseph isn't just out of prison and still working for Potiphar, or even freed from slavery to go back home--he's now the ruler of all Egypt, with an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife. He's having a family and living the "good life" and never even thinks about the old life any more. And he's prospering, managing the food supply for the whole nation. What more could he want?
But God's plan for him is even bigger than all of this!
Even when our troubles seem to be over and life is sailing smoothly along, God still has more--just wait for the monkey wrench being thrown into the works!
Ephesians 3:20 tells us that what God has planned for us is more than we could ever think of or imagine in our puny little human brains! Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, and,
Philippians 4:19 says that, God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, not stingy, just enough, but over-abundantly, in His generosity.
And my setback today can only mean that God has something even better for me in the works. May I be patient in waiting for His timing in the doors He is closing and opening to me, trusting in His goodness and love for me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
The Story Of Joseph
Genesis 37, 39, & 40
Chapter 37
Joseph's brothers really resented that their father Jacob favored Joseph over them. So when he came to them far away from home, they decided to get rid of him. When Reuben heard this he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood (don't kill him). Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father (vs. 21-22).
Then they sat down to eat the lunch Joseph had brought them! While they ate, they noticed a caravan passing by, headed to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to these Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed (vs. 26-27). Judah (the first Jew) had a profit motive. So they sold him into slavery for twenty silver shekels, and got rid of him.
Only these two brothers, Reuben and Judah, seemed to have any regard for their brother, or for their father's care for him. But neither did these two betray the secret they all kept about Joseph. They didn't turn in their brothers, even to ease Jacob's agonizing mourning for the loss of his dear son.
Meanwhile, the traders sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard (v. 36).
Chapter 39
He's working for Potiphar, and everything he does for him makes a profit, and Potiphar recognizes that God is blessing him for Joseph's sake, so he promotes him. Now he's working in his master's house, and the wife takes notice of how handsome and well-built he is, and starts to rag on him every day to have an affair with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside (v. 11). Oh boy, this is a big red flag! She grabs him and tries to seduce him, but he gets away by "the skin of his teeth," leaving his robe clutched in her hot little hands. So she accused him of trying to rape her, and none of the other household servants that worked with Joseph, who had to have seen her coming on to him constantly, had the courage to speak up for him, possibly for fear of going to prison for insulting the wife.
So Potiphar, the captain of the guard, puts him into his prison, instead of executing him. Now Joseph is locked up, his situation has gone from bad to worse. But he hasn't given up on God. Now the warden notices how everything that Joseph does succeeds, and makes him a trustee, in charge of the other prisoners (vs. 21-23).
Chapter 40
Now it happened that Pharaoh's personal servants, his baker and his cupbearer, had offended their king and were in the prison with Joseph. One night they each had a dream, and they knew they meant something, but didn't know. Then Joseph told them that dream interpretations belonged to God, and got them to tell him their dreams, which both came true: in three days was Pharaoh's birthday, and he reviewed their cases; he hanged the baker, and restored the cupbearer to his job. When Joseph had told him he would be released, he asked him to speak to Pharaoh for him, but he forgot all about him (v. 23).
When Joseph thinks he'll finally get out of jail, he's still stuck there.
Don't worry, Joseph, My plan for you is more than just freedom; I'm giving you so much more!
Just wait, Bonnie, My plan for you will astound you!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Chapter 37
Joseph's brothers really resented that their father Jacob favored Joseph over them. So when he came to them far away from home, they decided to get rid of him. When Reuben heard this he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood (don't kill him). Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father (vs. 21-22).
Then they sat down to eat the lunch Joseph had brought them! While they ate, they noticed a caravan passing by, headed to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to these Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed (vs. 26-27). Judah (the first Jew) had a profit motive. So they sold him into slavery for twenty silver shekels, and got rid of him.
Only these two brothers, Reuben and Judah, seemed to have any regard for their brother, or for their father's care for him. But neither did these two betray the secret they all kept about Joseph. They didn't turn in their brothers, even to ease Jacob's agonizing mourning for the loss of his dear son.
Meanwhile, the traders sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard (v. 36).
Chapter 39
He's working for Potiphar, and everything he does for him makes a profit, and Potiphar recognizes that God is blessing him for Joseph's sake, so he promotes him. Now he's working in his master's house, and the wife takes notice of how handsome and well-built he is, and starts to rag on him every day to have an affair with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside (v. 11). Oh boy, this is a big red flag! She grabs him and tries to seduce him, but he gets away by "the skin of his teeth," leaving his robe clutched in her hot little hands. So she accused him of trying to rape her, and none of the other household servants that worked with Joseph, who had to have seen her coming on to him constantly, had the courage to speak up for him, possibly for fear of going to prison for insulting the wife.
So Potiphar, the captain of the guard, puts him into his prison, instead of executing him. Now Joseph is locked up, his situation has gone from bad to worse. But he hasn't given up on God. Now the warden notices how everything that Joseph does succeeds, and makes him a trustee, in charge of the other prisoners (vs. 21-23).
Chapter 40
Now it happened that Pharaoh's personal servants, his baker and his cupbearer, had offended their king and were in the prison with Joseph. One night they each had a dream, and they knew they meant something, but didn't know. Then Joseph told them that dream interpretations belonged to God, and got them to tell him their dreams, which both came true: in three days was Pharaoh's birthday, and he reviewed their cases; he hanged the baker, and restored the cupbearer to his job. When Joseph had told him he would be released, he asked him to speak to Pharaoh for him, but he forgot all about him (v. 23).
When Joseph thinks he'll finally get out of jail, he's still stuck there.
Don't worry, Joseph, My plan for you is more than just freedom; I'm giving you so much more!
Just wait, Bonnie, My plan for you will astound you!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Esau's Journey
Genesis 33: 4
Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Whew! We aren't told anything about Esau's journey to forgive and welcome his brother Jacob back into his life. But it's a relief to know that God was working in his life, too, these 20 years.
We don't need to know all the workings of what is going on in others' lives as they will affect our lives. We only need to be humble before God and trust Him to take care of the details.
Jacob had been scared to death, but God had already prepared Esau to accept him, instead of still wanting to kill him. A complete turn-around.
I can also trust God to work in my family's lives without my inserting my own two cents' worth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Whew! We aren't told anything about Esau's journey to forgive and welcome his brother Jacob back into his life. But it's a relief to know that God was working in his life, too, these 20 years.
We don't need to know all the workings of what is going on in others' lives as they will affect our lives. We only need to be humble before God and trust Him to take care of the details.
Jacob had been scared to death, but God had already prepared Esau to accept him, instead of still wanting to kill him. A complete turn-around.
I can also trust God to work in my family's lives without my inserting my own two cents' worth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 27, 2017
God's Power In Our Weakness
Genesis 31 & 32
This is about Jacob heading back home. His father-in-law chases him down, and they make a non-aggression pact. Then he hears that his brother Esau is coming with an army, and he's afraid that he might wipe him out. So he divides his possessions, sends a gift ahead to Esau to try to pacify him, prays for God's help here, and ends up wrestling with the Lord all night. Now he's limping.
He contended with the Lord in prayer, and ended up with a limp!
Jacob is doing what God told him to do, but it looks like disaster! He's between a rock and a hard place. He can't go back to Paddam-Aram to his father-in-law, and his murderous (20 years ago) brother is heading his way. No wonder he wrestled all night. But he ended up with a limp!
God also changed his name from Jacob (trickster) to Israel (A Prince with God).
God told Paul that His power is greatest in our weaknesses. That is what He is teaching Jacob here.
O Father, show me how Your power is great in my own weaknesses. Show me that I can do nothing in my flesh, but I must lean on You, depend on You to bring me out of the trouble I find myself in. And I will give You all the credit, all the glory, because You are the only One Who can do what You do in us, to us, and through us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This is about Jacob heading back home. His father-in-law chases him down, and they make a non-aggression pact. Then he hears that his brother Esau is coming with an army, and he's afraid that he might wipe him out. So he divides his possessions, sends a gift ahead to Esau to try to pacify him, prays for God's help here, and ends up wrestling with the Lord all night. Now he's limping.
He contended with the Lord in prayer, and ended up with a limp!
Jacob is doing what God told him to do, but it looks like disaster! He's between a rock and a hard place. He can't go back to Paddam-Aram to his father-in-law, and his murderous (20 years ago) brother is heading his way. No wonder he wrestled all night. But he ended up with a limp!
God also changed his name from Jacob (trickster) to Israel (A Prince with God).
God told Paul that His power is greatest in our weaknesses. That is what He is teaching Jacob here.
O Father, show me how Your power is great in my own weaknesses. Show me that I can do nothing in my flesh, but I must lean on You, depend on You to bring me out of the trouble I find myself in. And I will give You all the credit, all the glory, because You are the only One Who can do what You do in us, to us, and through us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Dysfunctional Families
Genesis 29:32- 30:24
"Jacob" means "trickster," and he had tricked his brother Esau out of both the birthright and the blessing. Now the tables are turned, and Laban tricked him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob had worked 7 years for Rachel, and ended up with her sister instead! So Laban also let him marry Rachel, and work 7 more years!
And God is building the House of Jacob, the Tribes of Israel. We see eleven of his sons born in these two chapters. We also see the rivalry and competition between these two sisters: dysfunction in the families of these people God chose and used for His purposes.
And He still uses even us, with our own dysfunctional families today. Relationships are and have always been so messy! We do what we can, and sometimes we make matters worse, but sometimes we can smooth over some of the rough spots. The most we can do is to pray for our family relationships that they can be healed.
We can also be encouraged, knowing that God uses our imperfect selves and families for His own purposes, and we will only find out the whole story, the Big Picture, when we are in that wonderful Eternity God has planned for us, and see how all the dark and shining threads wove together in that grand tapestry.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"Jacob" means "trickster," and he had tricked his brother Esau out of both the birthright and the blessing. Now the tables are turned, and Laban tricked him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob had worked 7 years for Rachel, and ended up with her sister instead! So Laban also let him marry Rachel, and work 7 more years!
And God is building the House of Jacob, the Tribes of Israel. We see eleven of his sons born in these two chapters. We also see the rivalry and competition between these two sisters: dysfunction in the families of these people God chose and used for His purposes.
And He still uses even us, with our own dysfunctional families today. Relationships are and have always been so messy! We do what we can, and sometimes we make matters worse, but sometimes we can smooth over some of the rough spots. The most we can do is to pray for our family relationships that they can be healed.
We can also be encouraged, knowing that God uses our imperfect selves and families for His own purposes, and we will only find out the whole story, the Big Picture, when we are in that wonderful Eternity God has planned for us, and see how all the dark and shining threads wove together in that grand tapestry.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Jacob And Esau
Genesis 27 and 28
The story of Jacob and Esau, the twin boys born to Isaac and Rebecca.
God shows us just how dysfunctional this little family of four was. Isaac favored Esau, the hairy he-man who liked the outdoor life. And Rebecca favored Jacob, the smooth-skinned mama's boy who hung around the kitchen. She encouraged Jacob to trick his dad into giving him the blessing Isaac wanted to give to Esau.
But God used the dysfunctionality of this family to further His purposes. Even though it caused upset and division among those who should have been united, God used the situation to get Jacob to where he would marry the ones with the DNA God wanted for His people.
No matter what happens, even when we do things with worldly motives that seem to tear things apart, God can use them to have things fall into place in our lives to get us to where He wants us to be, to do what He has planned for us to do, to fulfill His purposes.
O my Father, it breaks my heart to see the dysfunctionality in my own family, but I know that You know what You're doing, and that You can use these sorrows and wounds to bring glory to Your Name. Please, Father, just keep me in that path You have set my feet upon, regardless of what others do around me. Help me to remember that Your joy gives me the strength to follow Your ways in all my relationships with my family members and others. That Your light in me might shine out upon all whose lives touch mine, drawing them to Yourself in Your goodness and love.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 24, 2017
Isaac And Rebecca--A Love Story
Genesis 24
Who was Rebecca? She was Isaac's cousin, being the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. She had a sterling character, being a virgin who was concerned for her modesty, and a willing worker, offering to draw enough water for ten camels--at 30 gallons each, that comes to 300 gallons of water! A lot of hauling for one little lady!
The culture was very different from where I live, because she agreed to marry a man she had not yet met! She did know that he was able to support and take care of her. And they did ask her if she wanted to, so it was her own decision.
When the servant told Isaac everything that happened on this trip and what she was like, he must have admired her. Then they got acquainted with each other and his admiration turned into love.
What a wonderful love story!
O my Father, I have never seen Jesus. I've met Him in the pages of Your Word, and I love Him. And I agree to being His bride. I look forward to His coming and that great Marriage Feast. Not much different from this story of Isaac and Rebecca.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Who was Rebecca? She was Isaac's cousin, being the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. She had a sterling character, being a virgin who was concerned for her modesty, and a willing worker, offering to draw enough water for ten camels--at 30 gallons each, that comes to 300 gallons of water! A lot of hauling for one little lady!
The culture was very different from where I live, because she agreed to marry a man she had not yet met! She did know that he was able to support and take care of her. And they did ask her if she wanted to, so it was her own decision.
When the servant told Isaac everything that happened on this trip and what she was like, he must have admired her. Then they got acquainted with each other and his admiration turned into love.
What a wonderful love story!
O my Father, I have never seen Jesus. I've met Him in the pages of Your Word, and I love Him. And I agree to being His bride. I look forward to His coming and that great Marriage Feast. Not much different from this story of Isaac and Rebecca.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Substitutionary Sacrifice
Genesis 22: 13
...Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
This is a very specific and obvious substitution of the animal for the person's death. This was before the Law was given.
We see since Adam and Eve that the death of an animal was to substitute for the death of the person, as God clothed them with the animals' hides.
God has always taught His people this principle, which He later codified in the Law He gave to Moses. The very first sacrifice a person was to offer was the personal, individual one, listed first in Leviticus, the book of sacrifices. The person brought his own animal to the priest, laid his hand on the animal's head to identify with it, and the priest would then kill it, burn it on the altar, and splash its blood on the sides of the altar. This blood would cover the person's sins, and they could be forgiven.
This lays out what Jesus came to accomplish, and He fulfilled all the Law, including the sacrifices. Jesus died in the place of each of us, individually, when we admit to God that we deserve death and let Him be our personal Sacrifice, His blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross.
God does not change. He required a death from the very beginning, because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), so each of us deserves to die.
That's how much He loves us. God planned from before He created, to have Jesus be the Sacrifice to take away our sins, to make us fit to live with Him forever. From the Garden of Eden to Abraham's offering of Isaac, to the Law, to Jesus fulfilling all the letter of the Law. We don't offer animal sacrifices any more, because Jesus died "once for all" (I Peter 3:18). No more blood sacrifices will ever need to be made, since Jesus fulfilled that requirement for all time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
...Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
This is a very specific and obvious substitution of the animal for the person's death. This was before the Law was given.
We see since Adam and Eve that the death of an animal was to substitute for the death of the person, as God clothed them with the animals' hides.
God has always taught His people this principle, which He later codified in the Law He gave to Moses. The very first sacrifice a person was to offer was the personal, individual one, listed first in Leviticus, the book of sacrifices. The person brought his own animal to the priest, laid his hand on the animal's head to identify with it, and the priest would then kill it, burn it on the altar, and splash its blood on the sides of the altar. This blood would cover the person's sins, and they could be forgiven.
This lays out what Jesus came to accomplish, and He fulfilled all the Law, including the sacrifices. Jesus died in the place of each of us, individually, when we admit to God that we deserve death and let Him be our personal Sacrifice, His blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross.
God does not change. He required a death from the very beginning, because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), so each of us deserves to die.
That's how much He loves us. God planned from before He created, to have Jesus be the Sacrifice to take away our sins, to make us fit to live with Him forever. From the Garden of Eden to Abraham's offering of Isaac, to the Law, to Jesus fulfilling all the letter of the Law. We don't offer animal sacrifices any more, because Jesus died "once for all" (I Peter 3:18). No more blood sacrifices will ever need to be made, since Jesus fulfilled that requirement for all time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
"I Thought"
Genesis 20
V. 3 God came to Abimelech in a dream...
V. 11 Abraham said, "I thought surely there is no fear of God in this place...
Abraham and Sarah had moved to Gerar, and Abraham had told King Abimelech of Gerar that Sarah was his sister, rather than his wife, because he was afraid that they would kill him to have Sarah, because she was a very beautiful woman. And Abimelech had taken her into his harem, but hadn't come near her yet.
This is the second time Abraham did this. Right after God promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, and he had begun to travel around the land of Canaan, there came a famine, so they went to Egypt. And Abraham told Sarah to tell them that she was his sister, so they took her into Pharaoh's harem. She must've really been beautiful, at age 65! (see Genesis 12.)
These two times we see that Abraham depended on his own reasoning concerning these pagan kings, thinking that they would take his life to get him out of the way to procure his wife for their own harems; but they took her, anyway, considering her his sister.
I wonder why it didn't occur to him that God couldn't make him into a great nation if he was dead!
How many times have I depended on my own powers of reasoning and logic to make pivotal decisions? Instead of relying on God and His Word? How often have I not even thought to consult my Father in Heaven? Do I think He wouldn't be interested? That's not just silly, it's foolish! Of course He's concerned for every detail of my life. If He counts how many hairs that are on my head, how much more is he watching what I do!
Well, God protected Sarah from having to sleep with either of these kings, and they even paid Abraham to take her and leave.
Would that my foolish choices could turn out so well. I have found that my consequences haven't been that rosy. So I want to remember to pray about every decision before I come to act on it. I want to consider Him and His ways in everything I do, all the time.
This takes practice, to remind myself to pray. So I've been working on "practicing the presence of the Lord" for quite some time now, and I hope that my thinking processes are beginning to proceed along my Lord's lines, instead of my flesh.
O my Father, please help me keep my focus on what You would have me think about, to see with Your eyes and discern with Your understanding. Thank You for Your promise to never leave me, so I know that You are with me every moment of every day. Help me to continually be aware of Your constant closeness, and rest in Your arms.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
V. 3 God came to Abimelech in a dream...
V. 11 Abraham said, "I thought surely there is no fear of God in this place...
Abraham and Sarah had moved to Gerar, and Abraham had told King Abimelech of Gerar that Sarah was his sister, rather than his wife, because he was afraid that they would kill him to have Sarah, because she was a very beautiful woman. And Abimelech had taken her into his harem, but hadn't come near her yet.
This is the second time Abraham did this. Right after God promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, and he had begun to travel around the land of Canaan, there came a famine, so they went to Egypt. And Abraham told Sarah to tell them that she was his sister, so they took her into Pharaoh's harem. She must've really been beautiful, at age 65! (see Genesis 12.)
These two times we see that Abraham depended on his own reasoning concerning these pagan kings, thinking that they would take his life to get him out of the way to procure his wife for their own harems; but they took her, anyway, considering her his sister.
I wonder why it didn't occur to him that God couldn't make him into a great nation if he was dead!
How many times have I depended on my own powers of reasoning and logic to make pivotal decisions? Instead of relying on God and His Word? How often have I not even thought to consult my Father in Heaven? Do I think He wouldn't be interested? That's not just silly, it's foolish! Of course He's concerned for every detail of my life. If He counts how many hairs that are on my head, how much more is he watching what I do!
Well, God protected Sarah from having to sleep with either of these kings, and they even paid Abraham to take her and leave.
Would that my foolish choices could turn out so well. I have found that my consequences haven't been that rosy. So I want to remember to pray about every decision before I come to act on it. I want to consider Him and His ways in everything I do, all the time.
This takes practice, to remind myself to pray. So I've been working on "practicing the presence of the Lord" for quite some time now, and I hope that my thinking processes are beginning to proceed along my Lord's lines, instead of my flesh.
O my Father, please help me keep my focus on what You would have me think about, to see with Your eyes and discern with Your understanding. Thank You for Your promise to never leave me, so I know that You are with me every moment of every day. Help me to continually be aware of Your constant closeness, and rest in Your arms.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Fear Or Faith?
Genesis 19: 19-21
"...I can't flee to the mountains. ... Here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared." He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request, too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of." ... (That is why the town was renamed Zoar.)
V. 30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
Lot didn't want to go to the mountains like he was told to do, and so Bela's name was changed to Zoar, meaning "small" (see Genesis 14:1, 8), and it was the only town in that whole plain that was left intact; everywhere else around it was totally destroyed.
So now these village people probably blamed Lot for the disaster, not realizing that it was because of him that they were still alive. So he feared for his life there, and ended up in the mountains, after all.
Lot was a city guy, but God wanted him in the mountains. How often do I not go where God says, and delay God's plan for me? How often do I just stay where I am and not get off my duff and do what He has shown me to do?
O my Father, strengthen me to go and do what You want me to do, not procrastinate and delay and put it off. Help me, Father, for I am weak. My strength is only in You.
Then allow me to accomplish what You have placed before me; to not bang on the door you have closed, but to see and enter through the door You have opened before me, no matter how scary it looks to me.
Let my confidence in You give me the boldness to enter in, and do what my hand finds to do, even if I never did it this way before.
And may You get all the credit, all the honor, all the glory, all the praise, as You are the One Who has planned it all out and designed it to work this way.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"...I can't flee to the mountains. ... Here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared." He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request, too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of." ... (That is why the town was renamed Zoar.)
V. 30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
Lot didn't want to go to the mountains like he was told to do, and so Bela's name was changed to Zoar, meaning "small" (see Genesis 14:1, 8), and it was the only town in that whole plain that was left intact; everywhere else around it was totally destroyed.
So now these village people probably blamed Lot for the disaster, not realizing that it was because of him that they were still alive. So he feared for his life there, and ended up in the mountains, after all.
Lot was a city guy, but God wanted him in the mountains. How often do I not go where God says, and delay God's plan for me? How often do I just stay where I am and not get off my duff and do what He has shown me to do?
O my Father, strengthen me to go and do what You want me to do, not procrastinate and delay and put it off. Help me, Father, for I am weak. My strength is only in You.
Then allow me to accomplish what You have placed before me; to not bang on the door you have closed, but to see and enter through the door You have opened before me, no matter how scary it looks to me.
Let my confidence in You give me the boldness to enter in, and do what my hand finds to do, even if I never did it this way before.
And may You get all the credit, all the honor, all the glory, all the praise, as You are the One Who has planned it all out and designed it to work this way.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 20, 2017
The Methods Of The World
Genesis 16: 2
And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
The custom of the peoples living around them had this practice of using a slave-surrogate to bear children for a barren wife. So Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) thought they could accomplish God's plan for them using the methods of the World!
And today we see the results of this. Verse 12 says that, "his hand will be against everyone, (then) everyone's hand will be against him. And he will live to the East of his brothers." So Ishmael will provoke "everyone" to bring their response of being against him; and they do live East of Israel, and are the most passionate against Israel.
How often we want to do things the way the World says, instead of doing the hard thing God has asked us to do. The thing we are not able to do at all. But we want His plan to succeed, and decide that we can do it for Him.
That always comes back to bite us. Every time I try to do things my way, they always mess up my life. Only as I learn to lean upon Him and not my own understanding, as I do things His way, even it it seems crazy, then He will cause it all to turn out well (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
O my Father, teach me Your ways, keep me from being seduced by my own flesh to do things the way the World says to do them; but to always turn to You and Your Word for the way to think, to speak, and to act. Show me the deception in all the World's ways, as they have taken Your good principles from Your Word and taught that we don't need You to follow them.
But I know that You alone are wise, that the World's wisdom is foolishness, and Your ways seem foolish to the World. But I want to do all I do according to Your ways, and trust You to bless others through me as You bless me.
Then You will get the credit, not me. You will receive the glory, and the honor, and the praise for everything You have done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
The custom of the peoples living around them had this practice of using a slave-surrogate to bear children for a barren wife. So Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) thought they could accomplish God's plan for them using the methods of the World!
And today we see the results of this. Verse 12 says that, "his hand will be against everyone, (then) everyone's hand will be against him. And he will live to the East of his brothers." So Ishmael will provoke "everyone" to bring their response of being against him; and they do live East of Israel, and are the most passionate against Israel.
How often we want to do things the way the World says, instead of doing the hard thing God has asked us to do. The thing we are not able to do at all. But we want His plan to succeed, and decide that we can do it for Him.
That always comes back to bite us. Every time I try to do things my way, they always mess up my life. Only as I learn to lean upon Him and not my own understanding, as I do things His way, even it it seems crazy, then He will cause it all to turn out well (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
O my Father, teach me Your ways, keep me from being seduced by my own flesh to do things the way the World says to do them; but to always turn to You and Your Word for the way to think, to speak, and to act. Show me the deception in all the World's ways, as they have taken Your good principles from Your Word and taught that we don't need You to follow them.
But I know that You alone are wise, that the World's wisdom is foolishness, and Your ways seem foolish to the World. But I want to do all I do according to Your ways, and trust You to bless others through me as You bless me.
Then You will get the credit, not me. You will receive the glory, and the honor, and the praise for everything You have done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Faith That Saves
Genesis 15: 6
Then he believed in the Lord, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Abram (Abraham) believed in the Lord when He showed him all the stars in the sky, and there was no "light pollution" to to mask any of them; Abram must have seen thousands, even millions of stars, and God had told him that's how many descendants he would have, even before he had any children yet of his own. Even before God made the blood covenant with him with the divided animals (15:9-17) to "sign" the covenant, the contract He made with him to give his family the land (15:18-21).
Abraham believed, even before Isaac was born (21:1-7). Abraham demonstrated and proved his faith when God tested him (Chapter 22:1-18). And God said, "by Myself I have sworn," declares the Lord, "that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your Offspring all Nations on Earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me." (22:16-18).
So Abraham believed in God, and his faith was counted as righteousness in God's eyes. Then years later, God tested his faith, and because he trusted God enough to go ahead with the sacrifice of his son, he proved that his trust in the Lord was strong enough to overcome even the most challenging circumstance.
So our faith alone is enough to save us, but if it is genuine, saving faith, it will express itself in what we do. Our obedience proves that our faith is genuine; and the trials we face will grow our trust in God, Who always provides a way to escape the temptation, and do what is right (I Corinthians 10:13), just as He provided the ram caught by its horns in a thicket (22:13) to take Isaac's place in death.
O my Father, I look back and see how much You showed me, before I believed. I was taught Your Truth about Who Jesus is, but You showed me that He took my place on that Cross. How much more have You shown me through the years since that day You saved me. Thank You so much for Your grace-gift of the faith to trust You with all I am. Thank You that you are worthy of all my trust, that You are Almighty God Who can do all things. And thank You for designing this World to run on Love. Continue to teach me more of Who You are, how You designed things to operate, and how I can cooperate with You in my thoughts, my words and my works.
Keep me on that path You have set my feet upon, that I may confidently step each step with my hand in Yours, not turning to the right or to the left, with Your Light illuminating all the pitfalls and stumbling stones in the way. Cause what I do to be a benefit to all You bring across my path, and bless them also with Your good gifts.
And Father, draw them to Yourself, hiding my flesh in that "cleft of the rock" as You cover me with Your hand, and shine Your light that You have placed in me upon them.
And may You receive all the credit, all the honor and glory, for all that You are doing in my life and in this World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then he believed in the Lord, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Abram (Abraham) believed in the Lord when He showed him all the stars in the sky, and there was no "light pollution" to to mask any of them; Abram must have seen thousands, even millions of stars, and God had told him that's how many descendants he would have, even before he had any children yet of his own. Even before God made the blood covenant with him with the divided animals (15:9-17) to "sign" the covenant, the contract He made with him to give his family the land (15:18-21).
Abraham believed, even before Isaac was born (21:1-7). Abraham demonstrated and proved his faith when God tested him (Chapter 22:1-18). And God said, "by Myself I have sworn," declares the Lord, "that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your Offspring all Nations on Earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me." (22:16-18).
So Abraham believed in God, and his faith was counted as righteousness in God's eyes. Then years later, God tested his faith, and because he trusted God enough to go ahead with the sacrifice of his son, he proved that his trust in the Lord was strong enough to overcome even the most challenging circumstance.
So our faith alone is enough to save us, but if it is genuine, saving faith, it will express itself in what we do. Our obedience proves that our faith is genuine; and the trials we face will grow our trust in God, Who always provides a way to escape the temptation, and do what is right (I Corinthians 10:13), just as He provided the ram caught by its horns in a thicket (22:13) to take Isaac's place in death.
O my Father, I look back and see how much You showed me, before I believed. I was taught Your Truth about Who Jesus is, but You showed me that He took my place on that Cross. How much more have You shown me through the years since that day You saved me. Thank You so much for Your grace-gift of the faith to trust You with all I am. Thank You that you are worthy of all my trust, that You are Almighty God Who can do all things. And thank You for designing this World to run on Love. Continue to teach me more of Who You are, how You designed things to operate, and how I can cooperate with You in my thoughts, my words and my works.
Keep me on that path You have set my feet upon, that I may confidently step each step with my hand in Yours, not turning to the right or to the left, with Your Light illuminating all the pitfalls and stumbling stones in the way. Cause what I do to be a benefit to all You bring across my path, and bless them also with Your good gifts.
And Father, draw them to Yourself, hiding my flesh in that "cleft of the rock" as You cover me with Your hand, and shine Your light that You have placed in me upon them.
And may You receive all the credit, all the honor and glory, for all that You are doing in my life and in this World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Nothing Will Be Impossible
Genesis 11:6
...And now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.
I think this is one of the most astounding pronouncements in the whole Bible!
God says here, that, with the new technology of baked bricks and mortar instead of stones, to be able to build this tower; now that they see that they can do this, then nothing they imagine will be impossible for them to accomplish!
So we find today that Science Fiction in time becomes Science Fact. Throughout all of human history, everything that has entered into the imagination of Man, with cooperation, financing, and hard work, we now have technologies today that were only dreamed about just a few years ago.
And Satan has even convinced some people today that we are the kind of gods who created the Universe!
We are God's imagination, and He also gave us imagination, being made in His image and likeness. But we need to acknowledge Him in everything we do, not take the credit for ourselves. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
O my Father, thank You for making me according to Your design, and for giving us, as a human race, to be able to imagine You, and to figure out how to do and make so many things. Help us, O Lord, to recognize You as the Source and Provider of our intelligence, our imagination, and our ability to earn a living in this World.
Keep us in Your hand, Jesus, with Your Father's hand over us, securely in Your care. Lead and direct us, each of us, in the path You have set our feet upon, step by step travelling closer to that final Day when our Lord and King returns to claim His Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
...And now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.
I think this is one of the most astounding pronouncements in the whole Bible!
God says here, that, with the new technology of baked bricks and mortar instead of stones, to be able to build this tower; now that they see that they can do this, then nothing they imagine will be impossible for them to accomplish!
So we find today that Science Fiction in time becomes Science Fact. Throughout all of human history, everything that has entered into the imagination of Man, with cooperation, financing, and hard work, we now have technologies today that were only dreamed about just a few years ago.
And Satan has even convinced some people today that we are the kind of gods who created the Universe!
We are God's imagination, and He also gave us imagination, being made in His image and likeness. But we need to acknowledge Him in everything we do, not take the credit for ourselves. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
O my Father, thank You for making me according to Your design, and for giving us, as a human race, to be able to imagine You, and to figure out how to do and make so many things. Help us, O Lord, to recognize You as the Source and Provider of our intelligence, our imagination, and our ability to earn a living in this World.
Keep us in Your hand, Jesus, with Your Father's hand over us, securely in Your care. Lead and direct us, each of us, in the path You have set our feet upon, step by step travelling closer to that final Day when our Lord and King returns to claim His Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 17, 2017
Do I Run My Mouth?
Job 40-42
God confronts Job with Behemoth (sounds like the Brontosaurus, now called the Bracchiosaurus) and Leviathan (sounds like a fire-breathing water dragon, no wings). And Job says, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know....Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes (Job 40:4).
Job says that he didn't know what he was talking about, and ran his mouth about things too high and deep for him to grasp. So he took it all back, and "repented in dust and ashes."
How often do I run my mouth, or my fingers, with texting and/or emails or postings of matters I don't fully grasp? Of situations I don't understand?
How can I take it back? Words are "out there," lie feathers on the wind.
Because Job humbled himself before God and prayed for his friends, God replaced everything he had lost with twice as much! (Job 42:12-15.)
I don't expect that in this life.
But I do trust His promise to accept me "in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6) and to live forever in that New Jerusalem that will come down to the New Earth (21:1, 7) after this Earth explodes in fire and this Universe implodes on itself (II Peter 3:7, 10-12).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
God confronts Job with Behemoth (sounds like the Brontosaurus, now called the Bracchiosaurus) and Leviathan (sounds like a fire-breathing water dragon, no wings). And Job says, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know....Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes (Job 40:4).
Job says that he didn't know what he was talking about, and ran his mouth about things too high and deep for him to grasp. So he took it all back, and "repented in dust and ashes."
How often do I run my mouth, or my fingers, with texting and/or emails or postings of matters I don't fully grasp? Of situations I don't understand?
How can I take it back? Words are "out there," lie feathers on the wind.
Because Job humbled himself before God and prayed for his friends, God replaced everything he had lost with twice as much! (Job 42:12-15.)
I don't expect that in this life.
But I do trust His promise to accept me "in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6) and to live forever in that New Jerusalem that will come down to the New Earth (21:1, 7) after this Earth explodes in fire and this Universe implodes on itself (II Peter 3:7, 10-12).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Faith To Seek Him
Hebrews 11: 6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Some call themselves atheists or agnostics, claiming that there is no way to know for sure there is a God at all. And they are correct to a point.
There is no way for us to know God if He had not chosen to reveal Himself to us. But He has. When we choose to believe what He has told us, then we can learn to trust what He says. Our choice.
Believing that God exists is a good start, but only the first step. The demons also believe that God exists, because they've seen Him. But they don't trust Him.
God made Man with both, the ability to die and also to live forever, our choice. So when Adam willfully sinned, his DNA was changed to allow him to die. Had he ate instead of the Tree of Life, it would have changed his DNA to never die at all; that's why he was driven away from that Tree before he had a chance to sample it after first eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
Now, being subject to death, he can have a substitute to die in his place. The animals needed to die to provide clothing for Adam and Eve, showing that their sin would be covered by the blood of the animal.
Then He gave the sacrifical system to cover their sins until the Messiah (Savior) would come, and to show what He would accomplish for us as the Lamb of God, in not just covering, but actually washing away our sins without a stain or wrinkle by shedding God's own Blood on our behalf individually.
So, if you're searching for the Truth, His Name is Jesus, the Christ of God. He has promised that, if you seek the Lord your God you will find Him, if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 4:29).
When I was seeking for the Truth, it didn't matter to me what that Truth would be, just that I could find it so I could believe it, and not be deceived. That's when God found me (I'm the one who was lost!) and I realized that Jesus is the Truth I'd been looking for.
And He will also be found by you. And reward you with His precious salvation and redemption He so graciously and freely gifts to us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Some call themselves atheists or agnostics, claiming that there is no way to know for sure there is a God at all. And they are correct to a point.
There is no way for us to know God if He had not chosen to reveal Himself to us. But He has. When we choose to believe what He has told us, then we can learn to trust what He says. Our choice.
Believing that God exists is a good start, but only the first step. The demons also believe that God exists, because they've seen Him. But they don't trust Him.
God made Man with both, the ability to die and also to live forever, our choice. So when Adam willfully sinned, his DNA was changed to allow him to die. Had he ate instead of the Tree of Life, it would have changed his DNA to never die at all; that's why he was driven away from that Tree before he had a chance to sample it after first eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
Now, being subject to death, he can have a substitute to die in his place. The animals needed to die to provide clothing for Adam and Eve, showing that their sin would be covered by the blood of the animal.
Then He gave the sacrifical system to cover their sins until the Messiah (Savior) would come, and to show what He would accomplish for us as the Lamb of God, in not just covering, but actually washing away our sins without a stain or wrinkle by shedding God's own Blood on our behalf individually.
So, if you're searching for the Truth, His Name is Jesus, the Christ of God. He has promised that, if you seek the Lord your God you will find Him, if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 4:29).
When I was seeking for the Truth, it didn't matter to me what that Truth would be, just that I could find it so I could believe it, and not be deceived. That's when God found me (I'm the one who was lost!) and I realized that Jesus is the Truth I'd been looking for.
And He will also be found by you. And reward you with His precious salvation and redemption He so graciously and freely gifts to us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Bold Humility
Job 38: 1
Then the Lord answered Job . . .
(Read Job 38 and 39)
God personally answered Job and talked to him out of the whirlwind. God is a Person, and a personal God to each of us, to me. He knew Job, and He knows me.
God confronts Job, asking him to describe all the parts we know of His Creation--the geological Earth, weather, the wild animal kingdom, the movement of the constellations--as though Job was present at Creation.
He wanted to show Job that, although he knew what he knew, he should not take pride in what he knew, because there was so much more he did not know.
I need to take care to not present myself as all-knowing. The more I learn of God's ways, according to His Word, I hope that I would realize how much more I don't know, and even what I will never know until He returns and glorifies me.
My I have my boldness in humility as I share with others.
Bold humility!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then the Lord answered Job . . .
(Read Job 38 and 39)
God personally answered Job and talked to him out of the whirlwind. God is a Person, and a personal God to each of us, to me. He knew Job, and He knows me.
God confronts Job, asking him to describe all the parts we know of His Creation--the geological Earth, weather, the wild animal kingdom, the movement of the constellations--as though Job was present at Creation.
He wanted to show Job that, although he knew what he knew, he should not take pride in what he knew, because there was so much more he did not know.
I need to take care to not present myself as all-knowing. The more I learn of God's ways, according to His Word, I hope that I would realize how much more I don't know, and even what I will never know until He returns and glorifies me.
My I have my boldness in humility as I share with others.
Bold humility!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Do Not Add Or Subtract
Deuteronomy 12: 32
So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
This is not the only place God has told us not to add or subtract anything from either the Law or the Word of Scripture. God has given us everything we need to know to live our lives in this World pleasing to Him and in accord with how He designed and made this Earth to operate. The better we know God and His ways, and follow them, then the more He can bless us with both this World's goods and eternal wonderments.
O my Lord God Almighty, I praise You for Your greatness, and Your mighty power and wisdom. Thank You for revealing to us Yourself and Your ways through Your Word.
Help me, my Father, teach me to follow all Your commands in the pure simplicity in which You gave them. Teach me Your ways, because they are not my ways. Lead and guide me today in Your path for me, not adding anything to Your requirements or leaving any out, and to know You a little better and love You a little more each day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
This is not the only place God has told us not to add or subtract anything from either the Law or the Word of Scripture. God has given us everything we need to know to live our lives in this World pleasing to Him and in accord with how He designed and made this Earth to operate. The better we know God and His ways, and follow them, then the more He can bless us with both this World's goods and eternal wonderments.
O my Lord God Almighty, I praise You for Your greatness, and Your mighty power and wisdom. Thank You for revealing to us Yourself and Your ways through Your Word.
Help me, my Father, teach me to follow all Your commands in the pure simplicity in which You gave them. Teach me Your ways, because they are not my ways. Lead and guide me today in Your path for me, not adding anything to Your requirements or leaving any out, and to know You a little better and love You a little more each day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 13, 2017
Our Mighty And Awesome God
Deuteronomy 10: 16-17
Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts and stop being stubborn. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the Great God, the Mighty and Awesome God, Who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed.
Deuteronomy 10: 13
You must always obey the Lord's commands and decrees ... for your own good.
We are to excise from our attitudes and thinking processes all our own ego. All our own selfishness and self-centeredness. God is God, we are not. We don't know better than God what is good, or good for us.
I don't have to understand all the theological ins and outs, all the deep mysteries of Who He really is. He is God. Period.
He is good: so whatever He says for me to do is good for me. All His Law, all His ways, are based on His Love for all He has made, including me. I am not to judge whether I think He means this or that when He says what He says. All I need to do is to decide to trust Him at His Word. That's my choice, to trust that He knows what He's talking about, and has the power and authority to keep mere men from changing or altering what He has had written. Even through the translation from the Hebrew or Greek into my native tongue.
I know He is Good, because He is Love. His Love put the Order into the chaos that was our Universe (Genesis 1:2), and true Science is the quest to understand that Order. The First Law of Thermodynamics, Conservation of Matter, is the Creation. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, Entropy, is the curse of death God placed on all Creation because of Man's sin.
O my Father, I know I do not understand fully Your ways, for Your ways are so far above my ways. But I also know that everything You do is right and righteous, and brings glory to Your Name. And everything that glorifies You is also the best for us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts and stop being stubborn. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the Great God, the Mighty and Awesome God, Who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed.
Deuteronomy 10: 13
You must always obey the Lord's commands and decrees ... for your own good.
We are to excise from our attitudes and thinking processes all our own ego. All our own selfishness and self-centeredness. God is God, we are not. We don't know better than God what is good, or good for us.
I don't have to understand all the theological ins and outs, all the deep mysteries of Who He really is. He is God. Period.
He is good: so whatever He says for me to do is good for me. All His Law, all His ways, are based on His Love for all He has made, including me. I am not to judge whether I think He means this or that when He says what He says. All I need to do is to decide to trust Him at His Word. That's my choice, to trust that He knows what He's talking about, and has the power and authority to keep mere men from changing or altering what He has had written. Even through the translation from the Hebrew or Greek into my native tongue.
I know He is Good, because He is Love. His Love put the Order into the chaos that was our Universe (Genesis 1:2), and true Science is the quest to understand that Order. The First Law of Thermodynamics, Conservation of Matter, is the Creation. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, Entropy, is the curse of death God placed on all Creation because of Man's sin.
O my Father, I know I do not understand fully Your ways, for Your ways are so far above my ways. But I also know that everything You do is right and righteous, and brings glory to Your Name. And everything that glorifies You is also the best for us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, November 12, 2017
The Bread Of Life
Deuteronomy 8: 3
[God gave you manna] to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Jesus quoted this passage when Satan tempted Him.
Matthew 4: 4
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
John 1: 1-5 tells us that Jesus is the Word of God.
John 6: 32-33, 47-51, 53-58
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who gave you the Bread from Heaven, but it is My Father Who gives you true Bread from Heaven. For the Bread of God is He Who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the World."
"I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the Bread that comes down from Heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living Bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. This Bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the World."
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last Day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this Bread will live forever."
Then Jesus explained this to His disciples:
John 6: 63
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The Words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life."
And Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life." (John 6:68).
I was raised Catholic, so I was rather confused about this whole concept of Jesus flesh being bread, and His blood being drink.
So God showed me how Jesus explained it to His disciples, just a few verses later. And even then, many of His disciples turned back and didn't follow Him any more (v. 66). When Jesus asked the 12 if they would also leave, Peter gives his sterling answer. I doubt he understood it fully, but he chose to believe.
So the Word of God, our Bible, is spiritual food, to give us spiritual life, which engenders our physical life. Purely physical life is based on our spiritual parts being joined to our body, as when they leave, the body is dead. So, before we receive God's Spirit into our spirit, the life we have will end, we'll die; the flesh alone is worth nothing to God.
But when we realize that we deserve death, and Jesus came to take our death on the Cross for us individually, and let Him pay that eternal debt we each owe to God; then we come alive with true, real life, life that will last forever.
And this is how we are to feast on the Body and Blood of Jesus our Lord--by devouring His Word. True, real life is spiritual, and mere physical life flows from our spiritual life.
Just like the Psalmist hid His Word in his heart, so I ponder and think about His Word also, allowing it to lead and guide my thoughts and words into His love and righteousness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
[God gave you manna] to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Jesus quoted this passage when Satan tempted Him.
Matthew 4: 4
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
John 1: 1-5 tells us that Jesus is the Word of God.
John 6: 32-33, 47-51, 53-58
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who gave you the Bread from Heaven, but it is My Father Who gives you true Bread from Heaven. For the Bread of God is He Who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the World."
"I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the Bread that comes down from Heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living Bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. This Bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the World."
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last Day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this Bread will live forever."
Then Jesus explained this to His disciples:
John 6: 63
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The Words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life."
And Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life." (John 6:68).
I was raised Catholic, so I was rather confused about this whole concept of Jesus flesh being bread, and His blood being drink.
So God showed me how Jesus explained it to His disciples, just a few verses later. And even then, many of His disciples turned back and didn't follow Him any more (v. 66). When Jesus asked the 12 if they would also leave, Peter gives his sterling answer. I doubt he understood it fully, but he chose to believe.
So the Word of God, our Bible, is spiritual food, to give us spiritual life, which engenders our physical life. Purely physical life is based on our spiritual parts being joined to our body, as when they leave, the body is dead. So, before we receive God's Spirit into our spirit, the life we have will end, we'll die; the flesh alone is worth nothing to God.
But when we realize that we deserve death, and Jesus came to take our death on the Cross for us individually, and let Him pay that eternal debt we each owe to God; then we come alive with true, real life, life that will last forever.
And this is how we are to feast on the Body and Blood of Jesus our Lord--by devouring His Word. True, real life is spiritual, and mere physical life flows from our spiritual life.
Just like the Psalmist hid His Word in his heart, so I ponder and think about His Word also, allowing it to lead and guide my thoughts and words into His love and righteousness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Search And Find God
Deuteronomy 4: 29
But from there (a foreign land) you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for Him with all your heart and soul, you will find Him.
This is a wonderful promise, not only for God's people, Israel, but also for us who are the Good Shepherd's sheep in another field. No matter who we are, where we are in this World, on this Earth, in the whole created Universe, whenever anyone will search for God sincerely and in earnest, He will allow Himself to be found by us, for He is never far from us.
When I was searching for the Truth, I didn't know what I would find, I just wanted to know the Truth so I could believe it, and not be deceived. When God found me (I'm the one that was lost), I realized that Jesus is Truth. He is the Way (the only Way), the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
God thought up everything, planned it out, and spoke it into existence. He is the only Self-Existent One, everything else comes from Him, He is the Source.
He is Almighty God, Who fills all spaces, Who is everywhere all the time; we live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28). We are His imagination--if He wasn't thinking about us, we wouldn't exist!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But from there (a foreign land) you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for Him with all your heart and soul, you will find Him.
This is a wonderful promise, not only for God's people, Israel, but also for us who are the Good Shepherd's sheep in another field. No matter who we are, where we are in this World, on this Earth, in the whole created Universe, whenever anyone will search for God sincerely and in earnest, He will allow Himself to be found by us, for He is never far from us.
When I was searching for the Truth, I didn't know what I would find, I just wanted to know the Truth so I could believe it, and not be deceived. When God found me (I'm the one that was lost), I realized that Jesus is Truth. He is the Way (the only Way), the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
God thought up everything, planned it out, and spoke it into existence. He is the only Self-Existent One, everything else comes from Him, He is the Source.
He is Almighty God, Who fills all spaces, Who is everywhere all the time; we live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28). We are His imagination--if He wasn't thinking about us, we wouldn't exist!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 10, 2017
Our Focus
Proverbs 11: 27
If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!
This describes our focus: if we just look at what we want to criticize, to find fault, then our life will be full of misery; but if our focus is on whatever is right, lovely, or deserving of praise, then our life will be cheerful, we will know the Joy of the Lord.
One way to see where our focus is, is to pay attention to our words. If we tend to compliment or criticize, that will show us where we're looking, and determine what kind of emotional life we are living.
Whatever I choose to focus on becomes larger, clearer, and more real in my life; and what I'm not focused on, the rest of what is going on around me, fades away into the background. So I choose to focus my thoughts and attention on whatever is good, lovely, positive, and right, so that what is troublesome or problematic or negative will fade into obscurity in my life.
I will fix my thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.
How about you?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!
This describes our focus: if we just look at what we want to criticize, to find fault, then our life will be full of misery; but if our focus is on whatever is right, lovely, or deserving of praise, then our life will be cheerful, we will know the Joy of the Lord.
One way to see where our focus is, is to pay attention to our words. If we tend to compliment or criticize, that will show us where we're looking, and determine what kind of emotional life we are living.
Whatever I choose to focus on becomes larger, clearer, and more real in my life; and what I'm not focused on, the rest of what is going on around me, fades away into the background. So I choose to focus my thoughts and attention on whatever is good, lovely, positive, and right, so that what is troublesome or problematic or negative will fade into obscurity in my life.
I will fix my thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.
How about you?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 9, 2017
What He Did For Me!
Psalm 66: 16-20
Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He did for me. For I cried out to Him for help, praising Him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God Who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw His unfailing love from me.
This says it all! Amen!
I cannot count all the times my Father has come to my aid. Even for the small, insignificant things, He has heard me and answered me.
If I am in the wrong, I must confess my sin, accept His forgiveness, and let God wash me clean in the Blood shed at Calvary. When He saved me, He cleansed me thoroughly, every sin past, present, and future. But I must confess when I become aware of my culpability. This humbles me, and only the humble are granted Grace.
Then I can pray and God will hear my prayer. And if I know He hears me, then I know that He has already given the answer; I just need to wait for it, looking for it.
Now, after waiting for 16 years, some things seem to be falling into place. My Father knows the dream He has put into my wanting, but He has been preparing me for it, through all these years. Knowing it was from Him, I never completely let go of that dream, and now it looks like it may soon come true.
May my other prayers also be answered concerning my family members I am concerned for. May He take me out of His way in working in their lives.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He did for me. For I cried out to Him for help, praising Him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God Who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw His unfailing love from me.
This says it all! Amen!
I cannot count all the times my Father has come to my aid. Even for the small, insignificant things, He has heard me and answered me.
If I am in the wrong, I must confess my sin, accept His forgiveness, and let God wash me clean in the Blood shed at Calvary. When He saved me, He cleansed me thoroughly, every sin past, present, and future. But I must confess when I become aware of my culpability. This humbles me, and only the humble are granted Grace.
Then I can pray and God will hear my prayer. And if I know He hears me, then I know that He has already given the answer; I just need to wait for it, looking for it.
Now, after waiting for 16 years, some things seem to be falling into place. My Father knows the dream He has put into my wanting, but He has been preparing me for it, through all these years. Knowing it was from Him, I never completely let go of that dream, and now it looks like it may soon come true.
May my other prayers also be answered concerning my family members I am concerned for. May He take me out of His way in working in their lives.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Wait Quietly
Psalm 62: 5-6, 11-12a
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times. Power, O God, belongs to You; unfailing love, O Lord, is Yours.
O my Father, may Your peace settle upon me to wait patiently before You. All my hope is in You, You are my only security. I know full well what You have spoken to me in Your Word.
I know that all power is Your power, and You yield Your power in me and in my life in Your love. Your all-encompassing, eternal, wide, broad, deep, high love surrounds me: above, below, before, behind, right, left, around, filling me inside. Completely drown me in Your love, O my Father, that Your power may be seen in me, not my flesh.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times. Power, O God, belongs to You; unfailing love, O Lord, is Yours.
O my Father, may Your peace settle upon me to wait patiently before You. All my hope is in You, You are my only security. I know full well what You have spoken to me in Your Word.
I know that all power is Your power, and You yield Your power in me and in my life in Your love. Your all-encompassing, eternal, wide, broad, deep, high love surrounds me: above, below, before, behind, right, left, around, filling me inside. Completely drown me in Your love, O my Father, that Your power may be seen in me, not my flesh.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
His Purposes In Me
I Thessalonians 5: 23-24
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that Day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, Who calls you, is faithful; He will do this.
When a person realizes that they deserve death and Jesus took their death for them on the Cross, that's when God causes them to be "born again" into His own Family by putting His own Holy Spirit in their spirit, making it alive. Then that person begins a whole new journey of life, having a whole new nature in addition to their human nature.
When God showed me Jesus on the Cross, and I knew He didn't deserve any of it because I did, He took my place there in death, I left that room floating, and realized that God had taken the load of sin off my shoulders and put it on Jesus at that moment in time. And I had new sight; like I'd been living in a black-and-white world, now I can see in full Techni-color!
Now God is working in me, and He has been since that day, to make me holy, and to keep me blameless until that Day when Jesus returns. He has promised to do this, and He always keeps His promises!
O my Father, thank You for this wonderful promise! I'm so glad You are working in me, on me, and through me, through Your power. Because I know that I am still so weak and rebellious, lazy and willful. I cannot do right in myself, I must lean on You, Father, and use Your strength, for I have none.
In me, in my flesh, there dwells no good thing--anything good, or pure, or righteous in me is all and only of You, my Lord God; You are working in me according to Your own good pleasure, and You will accomplish Your purposes in me in spite of my weaknesses.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that Day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, Who calls you, is faithful; He will do this.
When a person realizes that they deserve death and Jesus took their death for them on the Cross, that's when God causes them to be "born again" into His own Family by putting His own Holy Spirit in their spirit, making it alive. Then that person begins a whole new journey of life, having a whole new nature in addition to their human nature.
When God showed me Jesus on the Cross, and I knew He didn't deserve any of it because I did, He took my place there in death, I left that room floating, and realized that God had taken the load of sin off my shoulders and put it on Jesus at that moment in time. And I had new sight; like I'd been living in a black-and-white world, now I can see in full Techni-color!
Now God is working in me, and He has been since that day, to make me holy, and to keep me blameless until that Day when Jesus returns. He has promised to do this, and He always keeps His promises!
O my Father, thank You for this wonderful promise! I'm so glad You are working in me, on me, and through me, through Your power. Because I know that I am still so weak and rebellious, lazy and willful. I cannot do right in myself, I must lean on You, Father, and use Your strength, for I have none.
In me, in my flesh, there dwells no good thing--anything good, or pure, or righteous in me is all and only of You, my Lord God; You are working in me according to Your own good pleasure, and You will accomplish Your purposes in me in spite of my weaknesses.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 6, 2017
Just As Told Them
Luke 2: 20
The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the Angel had told them.
Whenever God tells us what to look for, we find it just as He said it would be. The shepherds found the Baby in the manger. The two disciples found the colt for Jesus' Triumphal Entrance to Jerusalem (Mark 11:2-6). They rented the right Upper Room for the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-16).
We can always trust what God has clearly said. Why do we tend to doubt? Our lack of faith! We don't have to understand everything to believe it, we just need to trust God, relying on His past record. And today we have a much more complete record than the Israelites did, and the shepherds, and even the disciples.
O my Father, thank You so much for telling us what to expect. Even when we look around us and don't understand how things will turn out the way You said it would, I trust You to know what lies before me on that path You have set my feet on. You know what's around the corner where I can't see. You know what lies in the fog ahead of me.
You have my hand securely in Yours. Even if I should want to pull away, You will never let go. You have promised me that You would never leave or forsake me; so I trust You to always go before me, have my back, defend my right side and my left, protect me from above, be the Rock under my feet, and surround me with Your Love.
Continually prompt me to consult You and Your Word for every decision, every word, every thought. Cleanse me and make me a fit vessel for Your use everywhere I go and with everything I do.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the Angel had told them.
Whenever God tells us what to look for, we find it just as He said it would be. The shepherds found the Baby in the manger. The two disciples found the colt for Jesus' Triumphal Entrance to Jerusalem (Mark 11:2-6). They rented the right Upper Room for the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-16).
We can always trust what God has clearly said. Why do we tend to doubt? Our lack of faith! We don't have to understand everything to believe it, we just need to trust God, relying on His past record. And today we have a much more complete record than the Israelites did, and the shepherds, and even the disciples.
O my Father, thank You so much for telling us what to expect. Even when we look around us and don't understand how things will turn out the way You said it would, I trust You to know what lies before me on that path You have set my feet on. You know what's around the corner where I can't see. You know what lies in the fog ahead of me.
You have my hand securely in Yours. Even if I should want to pull away, You will never let go. You have promised me that You would never leave or forsake me; so I trust You to always go before me, have my back, defend my right side and my left, protect me from above, be the Rock under my feet, and surround me with Your Love.
Continually prompt me to consult You and Your Word for every decision, every word, every thought. Cleanse me and make me a fit vessel for Your use everywhere I go and with everything I do.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Sunday, November 5, 2017
God's Faithfulness
Numbers 23: 19
God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
God is Truth, He will never lie or be deceived. We are human, we are vulnerable to being deceived, and repeating that lie to others. We are subject to realizing our pronouncements may not be the best, and change our minds.
God has all knowledge of everything, as He is the One Who made it all according to His design. He has already planned out how the progress of Time will continue to proceed, as He thought it up and put it into place. He knows how He has determined everything will come about, from the beginning to the end. He stands outside our Time, and sees it all as now. He can reach in at whatever point He desires to show us His Power and Authority over all Nature, as Jesus broke into our realm as one of us, and performed miracles to show us Who He is.
God can even manipulate Time, as when He answered Hezekiah's prayer, and caused time to go backward by ten degrees on the Sundial of Ahaz (Isaiah 38:7-8), and when Joshua asked God for more time to defeat the Amorites, and God caused the sun to stand still for "about a full day" (Joshua 10:12-14).
God's faithfulness is absolute--He would never say He would do anything that He doesn't intend to do. He knows what the future holds for us, because He sees it the same as He sees the past. We are encapsulated in Time, He stands outside it. We can see into the past as other humans have accurately recorded it, and we can see what is going on today. We can only surmise what we think might happen in the future, but we cannot know.
But we can trust God's knowledge, and what He says He will do. He has given His prophets to tell His people what to expect in the future, and thousands of prophesies have already been fulfilled in the time that has transpired since each prophesy was given. Like Daniel, reading Jeremiah, found that Israel would be in Babylon for 70 years (25:11), and 70 years was fast approaching in his time (see Daniel 9:1-3). And, just as He had said, the Nation was sent back to Jerusalem after being in Babylon for 70 years (see Ezra and Nehemiah, one book when written).
So we can fully trust God to do exactly what He says He will do. Literally. Practically. In our own lives, families, societies, nations, and in our World. And in this beautiful Earth that will undergo violent "birth pangs" as the Kingdom of God approaches our shores.
O my Father, I thank You and I praise You for Your faithfulness to Your Word, Your truthfulness and loyalty to Your own Righteousness.
I thank You and I praise You for Your faithfulness to me, in demonstrating in my life the changes You are making in me, in transforming the dust and clay of my vessel, molecule by molecule, into the crystal and diamond to show forth Your own Glory through me.
Thank You for Your promise, that, He Who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the Day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6), You will continue to work in me and on me until You have perfected me on that glorious Day when my Lord and King Christ Jesus returns.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
God is Truth, He will never lie or be deceived. We are human, we are vulnerable to being deceived, and repeating that lie to others. We are subject to realizing our pronouncements may not be the best, and change our minds.
God has all knowledge of everything, as He is the One Who made it all according to His design. He has already planned out how the progress of Time will continue to proceed, as He thought it up and put it into place. He knows how He has determined everything will come about, from the beginning to the end. He stands outside our Time, and sees it all as now. He can reach in at whatever point He desires to show us His Power and Authority over all Nature, as Jesus broke into our realm as one of us, and performed miracles to show us Who He is.
God can even manipulate Time, as when He answered Hezekiah's prayer, and caused time to go backward by ten degrees on the Sundial of Ahaz (Isaiah 38:7-8), and when Joshua asked God for more time to defeat the Amorites, and God caused the sun to stand still for "about a full day" (Joshua 10:12-14).
God's faithfulness is absolute--He would never say He would do anything that He doesn't intend to do. He knows what the future holds for us, because He sees it the same as He sees the past. We are encapsulated in Time, He stands outside it. We can see into the past as other humans have accurately recorded it, and we can see what is going on today. We can only surmise what we think might happen in the future, but we cannot know.
But we can trust God's knowledge, and what He says He will do. He has given His prophets to tell His people what to expect in the future, and thousands of prophesies have already been fulfilled in the time that has transpired since each prophesy was given. Like Daniel, reading Jeremiah, found that Israel would be in Babylon for 70 years (25:11), and 70 years was fast approaching in his time (see Daniel 9:1-3). And, just as He had said, the Nation was sent back to Jerusalem after being in Babylon for 70 years (see Ezra and Nehemiah, one book when written).
So we can fully trust God to do exactly what He says He will do. Literally. Practically. In our own lives, families, societies, nations, and in our World. And in this beautiful Earth that will undergo violent "birth pangs" as the Kingdom of God approaches our shores.
O my Father, I thank You and I praise You for Your faithfulness to Your Word, Your truthfulness and loyalty to Your own Righteousness.
I thank You and I praise You for Your faithfulness to me, in demonstrating in my life the changes You are making in me, in transforming the dust and clay of my vessel, molecule by molecule, into the crystal and diamond to show forth Your own Glory through me.
Thank You for Your promise, that, He Who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the Day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6), You will continue to work in me and on me until You have perfected me on that glorious Day when my Lord and King Christ Jesus returns.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 4, 2017
God's Name El-Elyon
Psalm 57: 2, 11
El-Elyon (God Most High)
I cry out to God Most High, to God Who fulfills His purpose for me.
Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May Your Glory shine over all the Earth.
Our God is God Most High, the Great God of the Universe. He alone is holy. He alone is good. He fills all and is in all. In Him we live and move and have our being. All glory and honor belongs to Him, He alone deserves all honor and all glory, because He has done all things, and has done all things well.
He is perfect. His Plan of the Ages is perfect, and all His plans for each of us are all perfect, and fit perfectly into His great Plan of the Ages. He is so powerful and so wise as to use all our choices that we seem to make so freely to further His Plans. Whether we choose wisely or foolishly,or even evilly, God uses it to further His will.
O my dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are God, and we are not! Thank You for being God Most High, above every other thing that has ever been worshiped. All those other gods have demons behind them, or even Satan himself. You alone, my Lord, deserve all worship and adoration.
Continue to work out Your complete Plan, Father, even when it leads to Your children suffering, as it will. No gain in this World is worth the loss it would entail in Your Kingdom. Strengthen Your sons and daughters as times grow more perilous for them over more and more areas of the World. Let them feel Your Presence with them, and let them know that their brothers and sisters are lifting them up in prayer.
Continue to lead me, my dear Father, as I approach this corner in my life. I don't know what lies ahead for me, but You do, and I trust You to show me the way You have designed my feet to follow, as I follow You.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
El-Elyon (God Most High)
I cry out to God Most High, to God Who fulfills His purpose for me.
Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May Your Glory shine over all the Earth.
Our God is God Most High, the Great God of the Universe. He alone is holy. He alone is good. He fills all and is in all. In Him we live and move and have our being. All glory and honor belongs to Him, He alone deserves all honor and all glory, because He has done all things, and has done all things well.
He is perfect. His Plan of the Ages is perfect, and all His plans for each of us are all perfect, and fit perfectly into His great Plan of the Ages. He is so powerful and so wise as to use all our choices that we seem to make so freely to further His Plans. Whether we choose wisely or foolishly,or even evilly, God uses it to further His will.
O my dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are God, and we are not! Thank You for being God Most High, above every other thing that has ever been worshiped. All those other gods have demons behind them, or even Satan himself. You alone, my Lord, deserve all worship and adoration.
Continue to work out Your complete Plan, Father, even when it leads to Your children suffering, as it will. No gain in this World is worth the loss it would entail in Your Kingdom. Strengthen Your sons and daughters as times grow more perilous for them over more and more areas of the World. Let them feel Your Presence with them, and let them know that their brothers and sisters are lifting them up in prayer.
Continue to lead me, my dear Father, as I approach this corner in my life. I don't know what lies ahead for me, but You do, and I trust You to show me the way You have designed my feet to follow, as I follow You.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 3, 2017
Our Tenderhearted Daddy
Psalm 56: 8
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.
O my dear, tender-loving Father, You are the great God of the Universe, yet You are my Daddy (Abba), Who invites me into Your lap, and You wrap Your strong, protective arms around me.
You take such careful note of all my sorrows, even collecting all my tears in Your bottle and recording each one in Your journal.
Why would You do all this, if not to demonstrate how Your own heart grieves for my pain and hurts! Such gentle care You give me, so tenderhearted and strong.
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.
O my dear, tender-loving Father, You are the great God of the Universe, yet You are my Daddy (Abba), Who invites me into Your lap, and You wrap Your strong, protective arms around me.
You take such careful note of all my sorrows, even collecting all my tears in Your bottle and recording each one in Your journal.
Why would You do all this, if not to demonstrate how Your own heart grieves for my pain and hurts! Such gentle care You give me, so tenderhearted and strong.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Burdens
Psalm 55: 22
Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Matthew 11: 28-30
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
The burden that has weighed most heavily on me through the years has been my children. Before they were conceived and born I had given them back to the Lord, His having shown me back then that He would only lend them to me for a time, to prepare them for eternity with Him.
But I have often taken them back and tried to make them righteous in my own strengths and abilities. This has proved to me to have been unprofitable and even harmful to them.
Now that they are adults, I realize that they are out of my hands, and are now directly responsible and accountable to God, not me.
O my Father, thank You so much for each one of my children. Please keep me out of the way of Your dealing with them and working on them. They belong to You, Father, they always did. Please make Yourself real in their understandings and sensibilities. Draw each of them ever closer to Yourself and bless them.
And thank You also, Father, for the grandchildren You have given me through them. Help me, guide me, and teach me how to be a good grandma to each of them, as each one is so different from every other. As Jesus dealt with different people with different approaches and methods, show me how to be a good influence in each of their lives, considering how You have formed each one.
Father, You are such a good, good Father to us. Thank You for all You have done for me and mine. Teach us how to respond to Your workings in our lives the way You desire, walking in the path You have set each of our feet upon. Show Your light before each step, showing all the pitfalls and stumbling stones so we can avoid them, and I know You will not let go of our hands, to keep us from slipping off into a ditch on the right-hand or on the left.
And may You receive all the credit, all the glory, for everything You are doing in our lives, our societies and our World on this beautiful Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Matthew 11: 28-30
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
The burden that has weighed most heavily on me through the years has been my children. Before they were conceived and born I had given them back to the Lord, His having shown me back then that He would only lend them to me for a time, to prepare them for eternity with Him.
But I have often taken them back and tried to make them righteous in my own strengths and abilities. This has proved to me to have been unprofitable and even harmful to them.
Now that they are adults, I realize that they are out of my hands, and are now directly responsible and accountable to God, not me.
O my Father, thank You so much for each one of my children. Please keep me out of the way of Your dealing with them and working on them. They belong to You, Father, they always did. Please make Yourself real in their understandings and sensibilities. Draw each of them ever closer to Yourself and bless them.
And thank You also, Father, for the grandchildren You have given me through them. Help me, guide me, and teach me how to be a good grandma to each of them, as each one is so different from every other. As Jesus dealt with different people with different approaches and methods, show me how to be a good influence in each of their lives, considering how You have formed each one.
Father, You are such a good, good Father to us. Thank You for all You have done for me and mine. Teach us how to respond to Your workings in our lives the way You desire, walking in the path You have set each of our feet upon. Show Your light before each step, showing all the pitfalls and stumbling stones so we can avoid them, and I know You will not let go of our hands, to keep us from slipping off into a ditch on the right-hand or on the left.
And may You receive all the credit, all the glory, for everything You are doing in our lives, our societies and our World on this beautiful Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
His Love And Suffering
Mark 14: 62
Jesus said, "I AM [the I AM is here (Exodus 3:14)], and you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God's right hand (Psalm 110:1) and coming on the clouds of Heaven (Daniel 7:13)."
It is so amazing that our great God of the Universe, the Creator of all things, would come as a human, a Son of Man, to receive power and to come on the clouds of Heaven to receive the kingdoms of this Earth to reign as Sovereign King!
But to first suffer--to endure hardship, humiliation, rejection, even execution as a criminal; for me, the criminal now set free! But for the joy set before Him, He endured the Cross--how He could have endured it at all, but especially, God the Father's rejection--God turning His back on God. I cannot imagine the agony of that moment, being forsaken by Father God--unimaginable!
Mark 14: 33-36
He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. ... He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. "Abba, Father," He said, "Everything is possible for You. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what You will."
O my Father, my tiny mind will never comprehend how You could love so much, so deep, so saturating to fill all the Universe, down to the very molecules and atoms and beyond. To demonstrate that love in allowing Your own Son to be that atoning Sacrificial Lamb of God, knowing that it would entail that separation between Father and Son, if even temporary. Knowing that it would all be worth the price paid. To count us, me, worth that unlimited price! Uncomprehendable!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Jesus said, "I AM [the I AM is here (Exodus 3:14)], and you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God's right hand (Psalm 110:1) and coming on the clouds of Heaven (Daniel 7:13)."
It is so amazing that our great God of the Universe, the Creator of all things, would come as a human, a Son of Man, to receive power and to come on the clouds of Heaven to receive the kingdoms of this Earth to reign as Sovereign King!
But to first suffer--to endure hardship, humiliation, rejection, even execution as a criminal; for me, the criminal now set free! But for the joy set before Him, He endured the Cross--how He could have endured it at all, but especially, God the Father's rejection--God turning His back on God. I cannot imagine the agony of that moment, being forsaken by Father God--unimaginable!
Mark 14: 33-36
He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. ... He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. "Abba, Father," He said, "Everything is possible for You. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what You will."
O my Father, my tiny mind will never comprehend how You could love so much, so deep, so saturating to fill all the Universe, down to the very molecules and atoms and beyond. To demonstrate that love in allowing Your own Son to be that atoning Sacrificial Lamb of God, knowing that it would entail that separation between Father and Son, if even temporary. Knowing that it would all be worth the price paid. To count us, me, worth that unlimited price! Uncomprehendable!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)