Willing And Obedient

Isaiah 1:18-20

"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The key here is "willing and obedient." I must will, I must want to do God's will rather than my own; then I must actually do whatever it is He asks of me, not putting it off or discounting it. Not refusing, in my laziness, to get up and do; not turn over and go back to sleep!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Unknowable

Matthew 24:42,44

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. . . . so you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a hour when you do not expect Him.

O my Father, please help me and strengthen me to continue to seek You and walk in Your ways. Grant me Your faithfulness to always keep my feet on level paths, not turning to the right or to the left. Let me be Your hands and Your feet and Your voice; let me be Christ to my family members who do not know you, and all others whose path touches mine. Let me not let any opportunity slip by.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Hollow And Deceptive

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

O my Father, I know that some of my family members and relatives have been deceived by the human traditions and the sciences of this world, just like I once was. Please let me be Christ to them, in His humility, gentleness, kindness and truth. Help me and strengthen me with Your strength and faithfulness.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Kindness, Justice And Righteousness

Jeremiah 9:24

But let him who boasts boast about this: That he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on Earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.

Kindness. Justice. Righteousness.

O my Father, teach me how to be Jesus to others, in practicing kindness, justice and righteousness in all my relationships with my family and friends and others.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Whoever Is Wise

Psalm 107:43

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.

O my Father, always remind me of "these things;" how You have satisfied my thirstiness and filled my hunger with good things (v. 9); how You have brought me out of darkness and broke away my chains (v. 14); how You have saved me from my distress, healed me and rescued me from the grave (vs. 19-20). Help me continually to tell of Your works with songs of joy!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Planting For The Kingdom

Mark 4:26-29

This is what the Kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.

O my Father, teach me how to plant my words, my dollars, my works into the proper fields that will grow these seeds, then at the proper harvest time, teach me to harvest the crop. Help me, Father, to know what to do, and then to do it.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Who Is Jesus?

John 5:26-27

For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man.

God the Father "has life in Himself," that is, is self-existent; and He has given Jesus to also "have life in Himself," self-existent, as God. So Jesus is as much God as God the Father is God. This is beyond my understanding, but I believe it to be so. And the Father has given Jesus all "authority to judge because He is the Son of Man;" Jesus is also just as human as you and I. He lived a whole life as a human being, always making the right choices and obeying. And He purchased us all with His precious Blood; so is our legal and righteous Judge.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!