Genesis 21: 33 Abraham calls God El Olam, The Eternal God. Our God has no beginning and no end, He never changes, His opinions never change, He is always dependable and will always do what He says He will do. He is faithful to His Word.
Genesis 22: 14 This is where Abraham calls God Yaweh Yireh, The Lord God Who Will Provide. God had told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but then provided a ram caught in a thicket to take Isaac's place in sacrifice. This is where the saying comes from, On the Mountain of the Lord it will be provided.
God has promised us that He would provide everything we need. He is eternal, so He knows the end from the beginning, and can see what is still ahead of us. So He would not ever say He would do anything that He would not be able to do.
The saying, "On the Mountain of the Lord it will be provided" is a picture of what Abraham experienced that day. He obeyed the Lord in taking his son to the Mountain, and God provided a substitute sacrifice for the boy, who was then able to live.
So the Mountain of the Lord would refer to being in obedience to God, to do even what would seem unreasonable; and God will provide what we need, to live and carry out His Plan for us and for the World.
O my Father, I can never go wrong when I know that I am doing what You have told me to do. Even if it seems silly or unreasonable to the World, I can trust You to do right by me, just as You did for Abraham. You have not changed, so I know You are worthy of my trust.
Father, I ask that whenever the time comes when I need to obey You against common sense, grant me the faith to go ahead with Your Plan, to accomplish what You have determined is mine to achieve in Your Name. And I know that You will receive all the credit, the glory and honor, for what You planned ahead of time to do.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Names Of God
God is known by different Names which reveal His power and personality. Here are two of these Names:
Genesis 16: 13 Here Hagar calls Him El Roi, the God Who Sees Me. No one ever escapes His notice, He watches each one of us.
Genesis 17: 1 Here God calls Himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, to Abraham. He is the God who is Almighty, He has all power over everything. He is Sovereign over all, no one else anywhere or anytime has or will ever be able to call Him to account, as we are all accountable to Him alone.
So the Almighty God sees us. He sees my sitting and my standing; my isolation and my reaching out to others; my staying home and my going out. He understands all my thoughts and intentions, and He sovereignly guides my steps. My free will allows me to chose, but only within His fenced-in yard: No matter how I choose, it will not mess up His plans for me, or for all Time.
But if I choose poorly, looking only at the immediate result, I can put all kinds of trouble into my life, that I would be able to avoid, had I considered His ways and the long-term consequences.
O my Father, Almighty God Who Sees Me, please guard my goings, that in my weakness Your strength will be perfected. I am destitute and in desperate need of You, my Lord. In You alone can I accomplish anything. Glorify Yourself in my life, because You alone deserve all the credit, all the honor and glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Genesis 16: 13 Here Hagar calls Him El Roi, the God Who Sees Me. No one ever escapes His notice, He watches each one of us.
Genesis 17: 1 Here God calls Himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, to Abraham. He is the God who is Almighty, He has all power over everything. He is Sovereign over all, no one else anywhere or anytime has or will ever be able to call Him to account, as we are all accountable to Him alone.
So the Almighty God sees us. He sees my sitting and my standing; my isolation and my reaching out to others; my staying home and my going out. He understands all my thoughts and intentions, and He sovereignly guides my steps. My free will allows me to chose, but only within His fenced-in yard: No matter how I choose, it will not mess up His plans for me, or for all Time.
But if I choose poorly, looking only at the immediate result, I can put all kinds of trouble into my life, that I would be able to avoid, had I considered His ways and the long-term consequences.
O my Father, Almighty God Who Sees Me, please guard my goings, that in my weakness Your strength will be perfected. I am destitute and in desperate need of You, my Lord. In You alone can I accomplish anything. Glorify Yourself in my life, because You alone deserve all the credit, all the honor and glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Fills The Earth
Psalm 8: 1 and 9
O Lord our Lord, Your majestic Name fills the Earth!
His Name is His authority as Creator, Maker, Designer, Provider, Ruler, Judge, and King. The Moon and Stars are the work of His fingers (v. 3). He has made Mankind a little lower than Elohim (gods or angels), and crowned us with glory and honor (v. 5) with authority over all the creatures on land and sea (vs. 6-8).
And it took the strength of His arm to save us! (Psalm 77:15). He has saved us from our sins, and saved us from ourselves. He has saved us for His own possession; for His purposes and His plans for us are for our good, to give us a future and a hope. This brings Glory to Him, our Owner.
He has granted us Mercy, in putting all His wrath that is due us on His Son; and He has granted us Grace, in giving us all the Goodness that we don't deserve and can never earn.
We are His Trophies of Grace--only in His power can we do or accomplish anything.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
O Lord our Lord, Your majestic Name fills the Earth!
His Name is His authority as Creator, Maker, Designer, Provider, Ruler, Judge, and King. The Moon and Stars are the work of His fingers (v. 3). He has made Mankind a little lower than Elohim (gods or angels), and crowned us with glory and honor (v. 5) with authority over all the creatures on land and sea (vs. 6-8).
And it took the strength of His arm to save us! (Psalm 77:15). He has saved us from our sins, and saved us from ourselves. He has saved us for His own possession; for His purposes and His plans for us are for our good, to give us a future and a hope. This brings Glory to Him, our Owner.
He has granted us Mercy, in putting all His wrath that is due us on His Son; and He has granted us Grace, in giving us all the Goodness that we don't deserve and can never earn.
We are His Trophies of Grace--only in His power can we do or accomplish anything.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, September 11, 2017
So Few Days
Psalm 90: 12
Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.
We have so little time here on this Earth to accomplish what we will. I dare say that half or more of my time here has already passed.
So few days left, O Lord; please teach me how to make the most of every day, each day left that is allotted to me, every moment You give me to seek Your Face, and grow in Your wisdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.
We have so little time here on this Earth to accomplish what we will. I dare say that half or more of my time here has already passed.
So few days left, O Lord; please teach me how to make the most of every day, each day left that is allotted to me, every moment You give me to seek Your Face, and grow in Your wisdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Our Home
Psalm 90: 1
Lord, through all the generations You have been our home.
Not Heaven, not Paradise, not any place, but a Person. My Lord God is my home. The longing of my heart is a Person, not place or a thing, or a culture or a society. A Personality, with honorable character and righteousness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Lord, through all the generations You have been our home.
Not Heaven, not Paradise, not any place, but a Person. My Lord God is my home. The longing of my heart is a Person, not place or a thing, or a culture or a society. A Personality, with honorable character and righteousness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Celebrate!
Exodus 34: 23-24
Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
These three times are for the three feasts that were to be celebrated in Jerusalem for a week each. So God invited them to His party three times a year.
Our God is a party God. He gave us a seven-day week so that we would take a day off each week and not wear ourselves out. And He had His people observe six specific "feasts" to lay out His program for us all, and half of these had all the people come to God's house for His week-long party.
When Jesus walked this Earth, He showed us what God is like; and He liked to go to parties. And some of His parables used parties as an example of God's ways.
We take vacations, which are like a week-long party to get away from the daily grind. God had His people take three vacations a year, coming to Jerusalem to celebrate with food and joyfulness.
God loves us so much, He doesn't want us to wear ourselves out with the hard labor of providing sustenance for our families. Even during planting and during harvest, the busiest times of the agrarian year, they were to take that day off each week to honor God and get the rest they needed to tackle their work again the next week. And they were also to let the land rest every seven years, so it would continue to produce the abundance of crops and not be depleted.
If only we would listen to God and take Him seriously and practically in our daily lives, things would go so much better for us in this World; we would have everything we need, and we would get along with one another so much better; because that's how He designed it all to work.
But we listen instead to our enemy who wants to destroy us, who tells us we're smart, we know better and can make our own decisions, we don't want anyone to tell us what to do. And our pride swells up in our hearts, and we make our own decisions, not considering the long-range consequences. Then we wonder why we just can't seem to get a break.
So turn around, humble yourself before your Creator, listen to what He says to you, even if it doesn't seem to make "sense." Do what He has told you to do, His way, in His time, and you will see the goodness of the Lord for you. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are so far above our thoughts! He wants only the best for us, and even sacrificed His most Precious for us.
Life is not a party. So let's find reasons to celebrate. Let's discover joy in the every day. Let's make time to get together and enjoy one another. It won't plan itself, we must intentionally look for ways to get together for at least a meal from time to time. Pay attention to what's going on, and focus on what's good and positive instead of criticizing what's not. Let's find time to have a party, and invite God into our celebrations, to rejoice in Him together.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
These three times are for the three feasts that were to be celebrated in Jerusalem for a week each. So God invited them to His party three times a year.
Our God is a party God. He gave us a seven-day week so that we would take a day off each week and not wear ourselves out. And He had His people observe six specific "feasts" to lay out His program for us all, and half of these had all the people come to God's house for His week-long party.
When Jesus walked this Earth, He showed us what God is like; and He liked to go to parties. And some of His parables used parties as an example of God's ways.
We take vacations, which are like a week-long party to get away from the daily grind. God had His people take three vacations a year, coming to Jerusalem to celebrate with food and joyfulness.
God loves us so much, He doesn't want us to wear ourselves out with the hard labor of providing sustenance for our families. Even during planting and during harvest, the busiest times of the agrarian year, they were to take that day off each week to honor God and get the rest they needed to tackle their work again the next week. And they were also to let the land rest every seven years, so it would continue to produce the abundance of crops and not be depleted.
If only we would listen to God and take Him seriously and practically in our daily lives, things would go so much better for us in this World; we would have everything we need, and we would get along with one another so much better; because that's how He designed it all to work.
But we listen instead to our enemy who wants to destroy us, who tells us we're smart, we know better and can make our own decisions, we don't want anyone to tell us what to do. And our pride swells up in our hearts, and we make our own decisions, not considering the long-range consequences. Then we wonder why we just can't seem to get a break.
So turn around, humble yourself before your Creator, listen to what He says to you, even if it doesn't seem to make "sense." Do what He has told you to do, His way, in His time, and you will see the goodness of the Lord for you. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are so far above our thoughts! He wants only the best for us, and even sacrificed His most Precious for us.
Life is not a party. So let's find reasons to celebrate. Let's discover joy in the every day. Let's make time to get together and enjoy one another. It won't plan itself, we must intentionally look for ways to get together for at least a meal from time to time. Pay attention to what's going on, and focus on what's good and positive instead of criticizing what's not. Let's find time to have a party, and invite God into our celebrations, to rejoice in Him together.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Friday, September 8, 2017
Our Words
Psalm 39: 1
I said, I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle.
Proverbs 13: 3
The one who guards his mouth preserves his life.
I have been learning how to put that muzzle on my mouth as a guard, to keep me from speaking before I have considered what my words will do--to harm or build up.
God's Word made the world; and He has given us words that have great power, also. We can, by our words, tear down much good and destroy others; and our words can build up and encourage others, and accomplish God's purposes.
O my Father, continue to teach me to think before I open my mouth to speak; that I may use the power You place in my words only to encourage, to teach Your Truth, and to build up others, drawing them to You.
Give me opportunities to share Your joy with others, the wonderful salvation You offer to all. Find Your lost sheep and bring them in that there will be one fold and one Shepherd!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I said, I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle.
Proverbs 13: 3
The one who guards his mouth preserves his life.
I have been learning how to put that muzzle on my mouth as a guard, to keep me from speaking before I have considered what my words will do--to harm or build up.
God's Word made the world; and He has given us words that have great power, also. We can, by our words, tear down much good and destroy others; and our words can build up and encourage others, and accomplish God's purposes.
O my Father, continue to teach me to think before I open my mouth to speak; that I may use the power You place in my words only to encourage, to teach Your Truth, and to build up others, drawing them to You.
Give me opportunities to share Your joy with others, the wonderful salvation You offer to all. Find Your lost sheep and bring them in that there will be one fold and one Shepherd!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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