Isaiah 1:4-6
Alas, sinful nation, --
Any nation that has "missed the bull's eye," an archery term.
People weighed down with iniquity, --
This is a word for "twisting" and "bending" the Truth into unrecognizable monstrosities that weigh us down.
Offspring of evildoers, --
Like your parents who taught you to be harmful, injurious to yourselves and others.
Sons who act corruptly! --
Children who cause the good to putrefy!
They have abandoned the Lord, --
In preferring these twisted and corrupt ways, they have abandoned the pure right ways of the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel, --
They abhor the Holy One's goodness and deliberately provoked Him to anger.
They have turned away from Him. --
They've turned their backs on how He has designed this world to work, considering that God is not worth their attention; in their pride they consider themselves gods who know better.
The result is this:
Where will you be stricken again, as you continue in your rebellion?
We've had so many problems and troubles, financially, socially, relationally, even terroristically; what will happen next to tear down and destroy our society?
The whole head is sick, --
All our thinking processes have been infected.
And the whole heart is faint. --
There is no more hope for times to get any better, only despair.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head --
The whole body, every limb, every organ.
There is nothing sound in it, --
Nothing is healthy.
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, --
The "open sores" of all our problems staring us in the face.
Not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.
All the "remedies" and "reforms" the sick government provides do no good at all to actually solve any of the problems we have but only to benefit themselves and the Big Corporations who are in partnership with them, off the backs of the poor and sick that they are keeping poor and sick.
We have become a "sinful nation" that has gotten sick, and the moral sickness has infected every part of our national body: our federal, state and local governments; our seats of learning and education; our healthcare and hospital systems; our businesses and corporations, our insurance and other "helping" institutions; and even our churches.
We need real solutions to solve our problems at the root, to return to the common-sense, Biblical ways we learned from our Manufacturer's Instructions; and seek God's people to lead us back into His righteousness, before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
Sabbath Rest
Mark 6:31-32
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.
Gordon MacDonald said, "We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it."
When Jesus and His disciples went through a very busy time, He instructed His friends to come away with him on a vacation to rest and be able to relax. When God gave the Ten Commandments He included one that demanded we "rest" one day every seven, and not do our regular work that day. When He created the whole world and everything in it, He "rested" from creating anything more, as an example to us. God doesn't need to "rest," as He never grows weary. But He made us to need a break from our everyday work. He made us to need a time of "getting away" from time to time to relax and refocus. Then we can return to our regular lives with new enthusiasm and fresh perspectives, and avoid "burning out."
He is so good to us, He gave us a "Sabbath rest" for our own well being and good health. Jesus even said that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." He meant that we have the Day of Rest for our good, not just another obligation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.
Gordon MacDonald said, "We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it."
When Jesus and His disciples went through a very busy time, He instructed His friends to come away with him on a vacation to rest and be able to relax. When God gave the Ten Commandments He included one that demanded we "rest" one day every seven, and not do our regular work that day. When He created the whole world and everything in it, He "rested" from creating anything more, as an example to us. God doesn't need to "rest," as He never grows weary. But He made us to need a break from our everyday work. He made us to need a time of "getting away" from time to time to relax and refocus. Then we can return to our regular lives with new enthusiasm and fresh perspectives, and avoid "burning out."
He is so good to us, He gave us a "Sabbath rest" for our own well being and good health. Jesus even said that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." He meant that we have the Day of Rest for our good, not just another obligation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 24, 2016
The Words On Our Lips
Isaiah 59:20-21
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those of Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord, "My Spirit, Who is on you, will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants--from this time on and forever," says the Lord. --
O my Father, I pray for my children. I know that You have given me Your Spirit, Who will never depart from me. I pray that You will grant repentance to those who don't know You yet, that Your words will also be on their lips. And I pray for my grandchildren, and their children after them, that they all will also have Your words on their lips to pass on to their descendants, too.
You have said that You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). Show me my part in Your plan to save them, as You have saved their parents. May Your words be on all our lips, from this time on and forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those of Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord, "My Spirit, Who is on you, will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants--from this time on and forever," says the Lord. --
O my Father, I pray for my children. I know that You have given me Your Spirit, Who will never depart from me. I pray that You will grant repentance to those who don't know You yet, that Your words will also be on their lips. And I pray for my grandchildren, and their children after them, that they all will also have Your words on their lips to pass on to their descendants, too.
You have said that You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). Show me my part in Your plan to save them, as You have saved their parents. May Your words be on all our lips, from this time on and forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 23, 2016
God's Secret
Psalm 25:14
The secret of the Lord --
"Secret" in the Hebrew is sode; "A company of persons in close deliberation; a secret, intimate counsel." This is God's Plan of the Ages, what the Father, the Son and the Spirit devised and decided before He created anything that is. God's program for the operation of this world on this Earth. There is no way we can know this, except that God decides to reveal it to us.
is for those who fear Him, --
God reveals this program to those who fear Him, the people who are willing to be willing to acknowledge God's power and greatness and authority over us as our Owner, our Master.
And He will make them know His covenant.
These are they to whom God allows to know Who He is and the terms of the contract, the covenant He has put in force over us and for us. This agreement shows us what God has done for us in meeting all our needs. When we understand this covenant and live our lives according to its principles, then we reap the benefits of this world and the next; and God gets all the credit, all the glory for designing it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The secret of the Lord --
"Secret" in the Hebrew is sode; "A company of persons in close deliberation; a secret, intimate counsel." This is God's Plan of the Ages, what the Father, the Son and the Spirit devised and decided before He created anything that is. God's program for the operation of this world on this Earth. There is no way we can know this, except that God decides to reveal it to us.
is for those who fear Him, --
God reveals this program to those who fear Him, the people who are willing to be willing to acknowledge God's power and greatness and authority over us as our Owner, our Master.
And He will make them know His covenant.
These are they to whom God allows to know Who He is and the terms of the contract, the covenant He has put in force over us and for us. This agreement shows us what God has done for us in meeting all our needs. When we understand this covenant and live our lives according to its principles, then we reap the benefits of this world and the next; and God gets all the credit, all the glory for designing it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 22, 2016
Heart's Desire And Counsel
Psalm 20:4
May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your counsel!
O my Father, may my heart's desire be what You want for me, because I know that whatever You want for me is so much better than anything I could want for myself.
And, Father, may my counsel be truely according to Your Word, that I may correctly discern what You are teaching me; to share with others accurately Your attitudes and thoughts toward them, to show them Your righteous ways. Then many others will come to know how right You are and how following Your ways will be to their benefit.
You desire to bless us, Father, as our Maker You love what You have made and want to do good to us all our days. When we follow Your instructions all our lives, then we will be thinking and acting in harmony with how You designed this world to work, and the result will be peace and harmony and great abundance. And You, Father God, will enjoy all the credit, all the glory, for planning it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your counsel!
O my Father, may my heart's desire be what You want for me, because I know that whatever You want for me is so much better than anything I could want for myself.
And, Father, may my counsel be truely according to Your Word, that I may correctly discern what You are teaching me; to share with others accurately Your attitudes and thoughts toward them, to show them Your righteous ways. Then many others will come to know how right You are and how following Your ways will be to their benefit.
You desire to bless us, Father, as our Maker You love what You have made and want to do good to us all our days. When we follow Your instructions all our lives, then we will be thinking and acting in harmony with how You designed this world to work, and the result will be peace and harmony and great abundance. And You, Father God, will enjoy all the credit, all the glory, for planning it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Our Attitudes And Our Children
Isaiah 39:8
(also II Kings 20:19)
"The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."
King Hezekiah had gotten sick, and almost died. But God saw his tears and healed him. Other nations had heard about it, and the king of Babylon sent envoys to him. He showed these envoys all the treasures and valuables in his palace, showing off. Then Isaiah told him that the king of Babylon would come and take away all these treasures, carrying them off to faraway Babylon, along with Hezekiah's own descendents. Hezekiah's response to this was, that's good, I'll have peace and safety, all this trouble won't come until after I'm dead and gone.
God gave Hezekiah fifteen more years to live. During this time he had a son. When he died, Manasseh was twelve years old. Hezekiah had been a good king who followed the Lord all his life. But Manasseh was a very wicked king. I wonder if the father's selfish attitude in not caring that his own grandchildren would be eunuch slaves in a foreign land, had an effect on his son that turned him away from the Lord.
Parents, we need to be aware that our children won't necessarily do what we say, if our own attitudes contradict what we're trying to teach them. They are smarter than we usually give them credit for, and will pick up our bad habits even when we try to hide them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(also II Kings 20:19)
"The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."
King Hezekiah had gotten sick, and almost died. But God saw his tears and healed him. Other nations had heard about it, and the king of Babylon sent envoys to him. He showed these envoys all the treasures and valuables in his palace, showing off. Then Isaiah told him that the king of Babylon would come and take away all these treasures, carrying them off to faraway Babylon, along with Hezekiah's own descendents. Hezekiah's response to this was, that's good, I'll have peace and safety, all this trouble won't come until after I'm dead and gone.
God gave Hezekiah fifteen more years to live. During this time he had a son. When he died, Manasseh was twelve years old. Hezekiah had been a good king who followed the Lord all his life. But Manasseh was a very wicked king. I wonder if the father's selfish attitude in not caring that his own grandchildren would be eunuch slaves in a foreign land, had an effect on his son that turned him away from the Lord.
Parents, we need to be aware that our children won't necessarily do what we say, if our own attitudes contradict what we're trying to teach them. They are smarter than we usually give them credit for, and will pick up our bad habits even when we try to hide them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
To Serve God Without Fear
Luke 1:74-75
To grant us, that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
When enemies rule over us, we are not free to worship God according to His Word. Our forefathers left England and came to America in order to worship God freely and not be compelled to join a nationalized church. So our Constitution specifically states that the government is not to establish a church or organized religion, nor is it to interfere with any church or religious people. When this foundation for our laws was followed, we had the freedom to preach the Gospel without fear; we could teach our children how to read using the Bible for our textbook; we could bless our neighbors and customers freely without fear. And we enjoyed the prosperity that flowed from this.
I have recently heard about florists and bakers and other businesspeople who have blessed their customers in the past but are now being sued in court for maintaining the right ways God has allowed to be established in this Nation. Enemies of God are now gaining power.
O Lord Almighty, please wake up Your church, show us what each one of us is to do, how to act, what to pursue, to deliver us from the hand of our enemies, in rooting out those who are leading us away from Your good Ways and raising up others in our government who do know Your ways to bring up this Nation back into Your righteousness, and receive Your blessings, the benefits of cooperating with how You designed this world to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
To grant us, that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
When enemies rule over us, we are not free to worship God according to His Word. Our forefathers left England and came to America in order to worship God freely and not be compelled to join a nationalized church. So our Constitution specifically states that the government is not to establish a church or organized religion, nor is it to interfere with any church or religious people. When this foundation for our laws was followed, we had the freedom to preach the Gospel without fear; we could teach our children how to read using the Bible for our textbook; we could bless our neighbors and customers freely without fear. And we enjoyed the prosperity that flowed from this.
I have recently heard about florists and bakers and other businesspeople who have blessed their customers in the past but are now being sued in court for maintaining the right ways God has allowed to be established in this Nation. Enemies of God are now gaining power.
O Lord Almighty, please wake up Your church, show us what each one of us is to do, how to act, what to pursue, to deliver us from the hand of our enemies, in rooting out those who are leading us away from Your good Ways and raising up others in our government who do know Your ways to bring up this Nation back into Your righteousness, and receive Your blessings, the benefits of cooperating with how You designed this world to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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