Isaiah 18: 2, 7
Go, swift messengers! Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers. ... At that Time (that Day He returns) the Lord of Heaven's Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven's Armies dwells (where He is ruling on His Throne).
Isaiah has directed these words to Ethiopia, but who actually is this tall, smooth-skinned nation, an "aggressive nation of strange speech"? (NIV) If we look at the world map of today, there are nations that did not exist in Isaiah's day, so it may not actually refer to the Ethiopa we know today.
When we look at Nations today that are: divided by rivers; populated by a tall, smooth-skinned people; who are feared world-wide for their political, military and financial power, and speak a language much different from Hebrew; I only see one modern Nation that fits this description.
If the Lord should come within our lifetime (which I fully expect He may), then today's map could tell us who this Nation is. Should the Lord tarry until the map changes again, then it could be some other Nation at that time. But I think we need to be aware of the times in which we are living, and be prepared to follow our Lord in whatever He has planned for each of us.
God's ways are not our ways, and when He says to, "Come out of her, my people, that you not participate in her sins, and you do not receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4), we must be able to listen to and obey His quiet voice in our spirit, and not just do what seems reasonable to us.
O my Father, strengthen me to be able to do all the things You planned before time for me to accomplish. Help me to grow: spiritually strong in Your wisdom and knowledge of You; in my mind and emotions, to think clearly and love others unconditionally with Your love; physically fit to go where You send me and do the work set before me to do; that my attitudes be those of my Lord Christ Jesus, my words gracious and compassionate; my life an offering to You, Father, to use as You will; that Your Kingdom may come and Your will be done on this Earth, in this World, even as it is now done in Heaven.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, April 10, 2017
Sunday, April 9, 2017
The Silver Cord And The Golden Bowl
Ecclesiastes 12: 6-7
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For the dust will return to the earth and the spirit will return to God Who gave it.
David was an old man when he penned these words. Old age usually brings with it a wearing down of the body and the diminishing of the bodily functions: The light of the sun, moon and stars will look dim to our eyes (v. 2), our legs will lose the strength to stand and run (v. 3), the teeth will not be able to chew well (v. 4a), the eyes will see only dimly (v. 4b) and the ears will hear muffled (v. 4c). Our bodies will eventually wear out, no matter what we do to to nourish it and take care of it (v. 5).
May we each consider our end years and days, and look to see what we can do now, today, before we may be subject to all this limiting of what we will be able to do then. Let us use what remaining years we have to do our best with all our strength to serve our God, relying on Him more and more as the days progress; because only in His strength can we do all that He has planned for us to accomplish for the furtherance of His Kingdom, and that's the only thing that will count in the end. And He will receive all the credit, all the glory for what He has done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For the dust will return to the earth and the spirit will return to God Who gave it.
David was an old man when he penned these words. Old age usually brings with it a wearing down of the body and the diminishing of the bodily functions: The light of the sun, moon and stars will look dim to our eyes (v. 2), our legs will lose the strength to stand and run (v. 3), the teeth will not be able to chew well (v. 4a), the eyes will see only dimly (v. 4b) and the ears will hear muffled (v. 4c). Our bodies will eventually wear out, no matter what we do to to nourish it and take care of it (v. 5).
May we each consider our end years and days, and look to see what we can do now, today, before we may be subject to all this limiting of what we will be able to do then. Let us use what remaining years we have to do our best with all our strength to serve our God, relying on Him more and more as the days progress; because only in His strength can we do all that He has planned for us to accomplish for the furtherance of His Kingdom, and that's the only thing that will count in the end. And He will receive all the credit, all the glory for what He has done.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Blessings Before The End
II Kings 22: 1-2; 23: 3
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
He renewed the covenant in the Lord's presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws and decrees with all his heart and soul. ... And all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
Josiah was the king, the leader of his nation. And he led his people back to worshiping the Lord God. The people followed their king in returning to God's Truth.
Josiah cleansed Judea of all the shrines, altars, totems, shrine prostitute houses, pagan shrine buildings, all the articles used in pagan worship, all the mediums and psychics and even all the household gods. The people all cooperated with this cleaning out of all these things, because they knew that God has no rivals, all these other gods are nothing. And God caused the whole nation to prosper.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
He renewed the covenant in the Lord's presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws and decrees with all his heart and soul. ... And all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
Josiah was the king, the leader of his nation. And he led his people back to worshiping the Lord God. The people followed their king in returning to God's Truth.
Josiah cleansed Judea of all the shrines, altars, totems, shrine prostitute houses, pagan shrine buildings, all the articles used in pagan worship, all the mediums and psychics and even all the household gods. The people all cooperated with this cleaning out of all these things, because they knew that God has no rivals, all these other gods are nothing. And God caused the whole nation to prosper.
May God bless our nation with a godly leader who will lead us all back into God's righteous ways: to cleanse us of all these same things, represented by the pornography; the child abuse; the detestable practices of those who have perverted God's good gifts and promote their perversions from high places; the unjust judges and the unrighteous lawmakers; the employers who defraud us all in their unnatural products, and their support and promotion of lawlessness; and all the idolatrous worldly-wise and powerful people who practice, support and promote the murder of our most precious innocents, and those who let the guilty go unpunished.
As God allowed Josiah to bring Judah back to Right Living before she was dragged off to Babylon in captivity; so let Him grant us that same reprieve to enjoy His blessings again before our end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, April 7, 2017
All You Need Is Jesus
John 3: 16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
I've heard that John three-sixteen is the most quoted passage of literature in the history of Mankind. I can't verify that, but I don't doubt it, either.
This one verse gives us the centerpiece of God's love for each of us. True love is a decision to want the very best for the one loved no matter what it costs us. And God is our Maker, and He loves what He made. He is our standard for what love is, and He gave us His most precious--His only Son. I'm sure it pained the Father as much as it pained the Son to die that horrendous death. That's how much He loves us.
God is holy. He cannot have any kind of sin living with Him, marring His glory. The sacrifices He gave His people in The Law could never take away their sins, just cover them; they were to teach us that sin requires death, and the sacrificed animal died instead of the person. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice. His Blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could do more than just cover sins, it could actually wash them away completely!
God's own Blood has unlimited worth to pay off every debt and all debt of sin and sins. When Jesus died our human death, and His Blood poured down the sides of the Cross, He fulfilled all the Old Testament sacrifices, starting with the first--the individual one that Leviticus chapter one begins with. He also was the corporate sacrifice, for the Nation, and even more, enough for the whole World. He also purchased the whole Universe.
When Mankind sinned, God placed a curse not only on this Earth, but the whole Universe this globe is a part of. When Jesus makes "everything new" He will re-make, re-format the whole thing, to remove that curse of death, decay and running down (the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy). That's the culmination of God's Plan of the Ages, to make everything pristine, with no pain, no sorrow, no more tears--perfect. (See "the last chapter" or two!)
But to get there, to be a part of that New Creation, we also must start at the beginning, the most fundamental first step. You and I must realize that you and I deserve death, and that Jesus took our death in our place on that Cross, paying each individual debt, personally. I did that, and when you also come to God, admitting your guilt and culpability, and let Jesus die for you; then God will forgive you, wash away all your sins, and give you a New Life, His own Holy Spirit, to live in your dead spirit making it alive. Then you will be changed, never again the same as you were before your encounter with this Saving Grace.
When God showed me Jesus hanging there on His Cross, I knew that I deserved it, not Him, and that He did that for me. That's how much God loved me, and my heart broke, knowing how I had been living against what I knew to be His ways. But He loved me anyway, and I gave control of my life to Him that day, since I didn't know why He made my life, He knew. So He's been directing my days every day since, more than 46 years so far. And I never did return to those seductive ways, I found so much better in Him.
God doesn't want anybody to be lost, but not everybody wants to come to Him. So if you find that you just don't think you're "that bad" to deserve that death, then I suggest you pray and ask God for Saving Faith to believe Him. He loves you more than you can imagine, and He wants you to live with Him in His glory forever.
All you need is Jesus!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
I've heard that John three-sixteen is the most quoted passage of literature in the history of Mankind. I can't verify that, but I don't doubt it, either.
This one verse gives us the centerpiece of God's love for each of us. True love is a decision to want the very best for the one loved no matter what it costs us. And God is our Maker, and He loves what He made. He is our standard for what love is, and He gave us His most precious--His only Son. I'm sure it pained the Father as much as it pained the Son to die that horrendous death. That's how much He loves us.
God is holy. He cannot have any kind of sin living with Him, marring His glory. The sacrifices He gave His people in The Law could never take away their sins, just cover them; they were to teach us that sin requires death, and the sacrificed animal died instead of the person. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice. His Blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross, could do more than just cover sins, it could actually wash them away completely!
God's own Blood has unlimited worth to pay off every debt and all debt of sin and sins. When Jesus died our human death, and His Blood poured down the sides of the Cross, He fulfilled all the Old Testament sacrifices, starting with the first--the individual one that Leviticus chapter one begins with. He also was the corporate sacrifice, for the Nation, and even more, enough for the whole World. He also purchased the whole Universe.
When Mankind sinned, God placed a curse not only on this Earth, but the whole Universe this globe is a part of. When Jesus makes "everything new" He will re-make, re-format the whole thing, to remove that curse of death, decay and running down (the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy). That's the culmination of God's Plan of the Ages, to make everything pristine, with no pain, no sorrow, no more tears--perfect. (See "the last chapter" or two!)
But to get there, to be a part of that New Creation, we also must start at the beginning, the most fundamental first step. You and I must realize that you and I deserve death, and that Jesus took our death in our place on that Cross, paying each individual debt, personally. I did that, and when you also come to God, admitting your guilt and culpability, and let Jesus die for you; then God will forgive you, wash away all your sins, and give you a New Life, His own Holy Spirit, to live in your dead spirit making it alive. Then you will be changed, never again the same as you were before your encounter with this Saving Grace.
When God showed me Jesus hanging there on His Cross, I knew that I deserved it, not Him, and that He did that for me. That's how much God loved me, and my heart broke, knowing how I had been living against what I knew to be His ways. But He loved me anyway, and I gave control of my life to Him that day, since I didn't know why He made my life, He knew. So He's been directing my days every day since, more than 46 years so far. And I never did return to those seductive ways, I found so much better in Him.
God doesn't want anybody to be lost, but not everybody wants to come to Him. So if you find that you just don't think you're "that bad" to deserve that death, then I suggest you pray and ask God for Saving Faith to believe Him. He loves you more than you can imagine, and He wants you to live with Him in His glory forever.
All you need is Jesus!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Jesus' Brothers And Sisters And Mother
Mark 3: 21, 31-35
When His family heard about this (miracles, parables, etc.) they went to take charge of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and brothers?" He asked them. Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother."
Jesus' brothers didn't believe in Him until after His Resurrection. So when they heard all the fantastic stories about what He was doing and saying, they figured that they were responsible to "save Him from Himself" and take Him home to take care of Him. They even convinced their mom Mary.
I'm sure Jesus went outside to talk to them, and reminded Mary of His supernatural conception and birth events, which she had "pondered in her heart" and merely forgotten about in the years of every-day living. So they went home without Him, and He continued His ministry.
O my Father, may I never forget the love You lavished on me that day You saved me, and remained with me every day since.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
When His family heard about this (miracles, parables, etc.) they went to take charge of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and brothers?" He asked them. Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother."
Jesus' brothers didn't believe in Him until after His Resurrection. So when they heard all the fantastic stories about what He was doing and saying, they figured that they were responsible to "save Him from Himself" and take Him home to take care of Him. They even convinced their mom Mary.
I'm sure Jesus went outside to talk to them, and reminded Mary of His supernatural conception and birth events, which she had "pondered in her heart" and merely forgotten about in the years of every-day living. So they went home without Him, and He continued His ministry.
O my Father, may I never forget the love You lavished on me that day You saved me, and remained with me every day since.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Seek First
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When we only seek the things of this World, we may accumulate some, but they will not satisfy. When we seek God's face and His ways, according to His Word, then we will gain not only eternal rewards but also some measure of Earthly prosperity.
This is the verse I quoted that sent my new husband storming out of the house and I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. But that was also the night that God called my husband into sonship with Himself. He was saved that night.
Praise God for helping me to have the strength and fortitude so early in my own walk with God to bear up under the pressure of God's leaning on him to draw him to Himself.
Thank You, Father, for knowing me, and drawing my husband, too. And thank You for the 30 years we had together, and that we both will spend Eternity together with You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When we only seek the things of this World, we may accumulate some, but they will not satisfy. When we seek God's face and His ways, according to His Word, then we will gain not only eternal rewards but also some measure of Earthly prosperity.
This is the verse I quoted that sent my new husband storming out of the house and I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. But that was also the night that God called my husband into sonship with Himself. He was saved that night.
Praise God for helping me to have the strength and fortitude so early in my own walk with God to bear up under the pressure of God's leaning on him to draw him to Himself.
Thank You, Father, for knowing me, and drawing my husband, too. And thank You for the 30 years we had together, and that we both will spend Eternity together with You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
To Be Seen Or Not?
Matthew 5:16; 6:1-4
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Be careful to not practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward in Heaven. ...
These seem to be conflicting verses: are we to let people see our good works or not?
I think that if letting others see will bring glory to God, then that is good. But if it will only bring honor to ourselves, then that's the only reward we will receive.
So we need to be very careful and discerning how the hearers will perceive our good works. I won't contribute to the cause if my name will go on a brick, or a plaque, or some list. But if my gift can be anonymous or quietly given to help someone in need or to support a missionary or some other venue that will bring glory to God, not me, then I can feel free to contribute. And God will reward me in Heaven.
And I need to apply this principle with whatever I do.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Be careful to not practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward in Heaven. ...
These seem to be conflicting verses: are we to let people see our good works or not?
I think that if letting others see will bring glory to God, then that is good. But if it will only bring honor to ourselves, then that's the only reward we will receive.
So we need to be very careful and discerning how the hearers will perceive our good works. I won't contribute to the cause if my name will go on a brick, or a plaque, or some list. But if my gift can be anonymous or quietly given to help someone in need or to support a missionary or some other venue that will bring glory to God, not me, then I can feel free to contribute. And God will reward me in Heaven.
And I need to apply this principle with whatever I do.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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