ISAIAH 40
Jerusalem has sin pardoned verse 1- 2
Comfort you – comfort you MY people – says your God
speak you comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished
that her iniquity is pardoned
for she has receive of the LORD’S hand double
for all her sins
Glory of the LORD revealed verse 3- 5
The voice of him that cries in the wilderness
Prepare you the way of the LORD
make straight in the desert a highway for our God
Every valley shall be exalted
and every mountain and hill shall be made low
and the crooked shall be made straight
and the rough places plain
and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together
for the mouth of the LORD
has spoken it
Word of the LORD stands FOREVER verse 6- 8
The voice said
Cry
And he said – What shall I cry? All flesh is grass
and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field
the grass withers – the flower fades
because the Spirit of the LORD
blows upon it surely
the people is grass
The grass withers – the flower fades
but the word of our God shall stand for ever
KING JESUS is coming verse 9- 11
O Zion – that brings good tidings – get you up into the high mountain
O Jerusalem – that brings good tidings
lift up your voice with strength
lift it up – be not afraid – say to the cities of Judah
BEHOLD YOUR GOD!
BEHOLD – the Lord GOD will come with strong hand
and HIS arm shall rule for HIM – BEHOLD
HIS reward is with HIM
and HIS work before HIM
HE shall feed HIS flock like a shepherd
HE shall gather the lambs with HIS arm
and carry them in HIS bosom
and shall gently lead those
that are with young
Omniscience of the LORD verse 12- 14
WHO has measured the waters in the hollow of HIS hand
and meted out heaven with the span
and comprehended the dust of the earth
in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
WHO has directed the Spirit of the LORD
or being HIS counselor has taught HIM?
WITH whom took HE counsel – and WHO instructed HIM
and taught HIM in the path of judgment
and taught HIM knowledge
and showed to HIM the way of understanding?
Omnipotence of the LORD verse 15- 17
BEHOLD – the nations are as a drop of a bucket
and are counted as the small dust of the balance
BEHOLD HE takes up the isles
as a very little thing
AND Lebanon is not sufficient to burn
nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering
All nations before HIM are as nothing
and they are counted to HIM less than nothing
and vanity
Uniqueness of the LORD verse 18- 20
TO WHOM then will you liken God?
OR WHAT likeness will you compare to HIM?
The workman melts a graven image
and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold
and casts silver chains
He that is so impoverished that he has no oblation
chooses a tree that will not rot
He seeks unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image
that shall not be moved
Judgment comes from the LORD verse 21- 24
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is HE that sits upon the circle of the earth
and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers
that stretches out the heavens as a curtain
and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in
that brings the princes to nothing
HE makes the judges of the earth as vanity
YEA they shall not be planted
YEA – they shall not be sown
YEA – their stock shall not take root in the earth
and HE shall blow upon them
and they shall wither
and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble
Compare the LORD to who verse 25
TO whom then will you liken ME,
or shall I be equal? -says the Holy One
LORD the Creator of the world verse 26- 28
Lift up your eyes on high
and BEHOLD who has CREATED these things
that brings out their host by number
HE calls them all by names by the greatness of HIS might
for that HE is strong in power – not one fails
Why say you – O Jacob – and speaks – O Israel
My way is hid from the LORD
and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Have you not known?
have you not heard – that the everlasting God
the LORD – the Creator of the ends of the earth
faints not neither is weary?
there is no searching of
HIS understanding
LORD gives renewed strength verse 29- 31
HE gives power to the faint
and to them that have no might HE increases strength
Even the youths shall faint and be weary
and the young men shall utterly fall
BUT they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength
they shall mount up with wings as eagles
they shall run – and not be weary
they shall walk – and not faint
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is
ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). דָּבַר, דָּבַר, דָּבַר [dabar /daw·bar/]- to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing).
DEVOTION: Jerusalem was to be addressed tenderly (lit., “to the heart,” i.e., in gentle, encouraging words; cf. Hosea 2:14) as a mother would speak to her child. The tough and condemning talk of what Israel had been guilty of is replaced now with the encouraging words of discipline and exile almost being over. God had been present in the midst of the difficult times for the children of Israel. He had walked with them in the exile and sought to instruct and encourage them. Now His message was that the time was almost over and to begin to prepare for reconciliation.
It is difficult to discipline children and to get them to understand that the suffering they are encountering is also stressful to you the parent. Parents and children also need to have a period of reconciliation where th e child understands that the parents are prepared to mend a broken relationships and be re-united. Sometimes it is in discussions over the acts of disobedience, at other times it is overt act of love that demonstrates forgiveness and restoration. However that is accomplished the child and parent need to recognize and move forward in restored fellowship.
Perhaps today you need to take a step toward forgiveness and reconciliation. May the Lord give you strength the tenderly love those who are close to you and in need of forgiveness.
CHALLENGE: Today is a good time to consider the relationships that you are having difficulty with. You may need to spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to give you a tender heart and a soft answer. Sometimes we just need to remember how Mom forgave us and then apply that to other interactions. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 The grass withers, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (6965 “stand” [quwm] means rise, to be confirmed, to be valid, or established.)
DEVOTION: There are a lot of comparisons in Scripture. The people of God are compared to sheep. The LORD Jesus Christ is compared to the serpent in the wilderness. The word of God is compared to how long grass takes to die.
We find that the LORD wants HIS people to be comforted. HE wants them to know that their sins are forgiven. HE chastens them for their sins but it is only for a short time compared to eternity.
Some people doubt that the LORD keeps HIS word. Yet, we find that Jesus Christ came at a time appointed. HE had John the Baptist as a messenger that prepared HIS way for HIS first coming as the Savior of the World. Christ died on the cross for our sins. HE promised the disciples after HIS resurrection that HE would return the same way HE left. It has been two thousand years and the LORD has still not returned. It causes problems for some people. They think HE should have returned by now. Should this lead to doubt amongst true believers? NO!!
Our responsibility is to be prepared for the LORD’S return at any time. We should be looking for the return. We should be working until HIS return. We should NOT BE predicting dates for HIS return. The Bible states that only the Father knows the time of HIS return. It was planned from before the foundation of the world.
One thing we do know is that grass doesn’t last very long after it is cut. Plant life has a set time. Some plants live longer than other. If I have anything to do with plants their life expectancy is much shorter than those who know how to plant plants.
However, the life expectancy of the Word of God is forever. It was established before the foundation of the world. It was given to men who would write what they were told by the LORD. It is inerrant. There are no errors in the Bible. It will be validated by the second coming of the LORD. It will be confirmed when all the promises will be fulfilled.
Our relationship to the LORD should be one of trust. All else may wither and fade away but the Word of God is established forever. We can trust its promises and its predictions.
Each day we face the challenge concerning the truthfulness of the word of God by the actions of those who question the truth of the Word of God. Most people look for problems in the Word of God because they don’t want to follow the rules of the LORD in their life. They want to find ways to escape judgment. They have to believe that it is false to have any apparent peace in their life. However, there is no peace.
We should have peace because we know and trust the Word of God. We study to show that we believe it. We use it as our only guide to righteous living. We share these truths with others in the hope and prayer that they will become followers of the LORD Jesus Christ.
CHALLENGE: Share the Word of God as if you believe it. Study the Word of God to become a better follower of the LORD.
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: 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. (1254 “Creator” [bara] means form, shape, make, choose, or done.)
DEVOTION: The world is fighting hard to not teach creation in our schools, colleges and universities. Our educators are fighting hard to not teach our children that God created our universe. They want us to believe that there is no God. They want us to believe that this world just happened.
I have read a book called “Darwin’s God” and in it the author uses the premise that Darwin thought that if God had created this world there would be no parasites. There would be no animals made like they were made, because it looked like God used spare parts to Darwin. Darwin’s view of God was that of a limited God.
We have some in “evangelical” circles who like to limit God even today. They want to say that HE created the world through evolution. They want to say that it took HIM millions or billions of years to create our present world. They want to teach us that God only has limited knowledge about what is going to happen next in our world. They don’t think that God could know what was going to happen because it had not happened yet. All of these teaching are being taught by heretics.
HE had to create the way Darwin thought HE should create or else HE didn’t do it. Sometimes we think the same thoughts. This chapter informs us that God knew what HE was doing when HE created this world. HE formed it just the way HE wanted to. HE didn’t ask counsel of anyone. HE never gets faint or weary. Therefore, there is nothing created out of leftovers. Remember not to think as Darwin did. Our God did everything right in creation. HE has names for each of the stars. HE knows our names. HE is watching what is happening in our lives.
Remember verse 31 in this chapter. We have to wait on the LORD. HE is acting in our lives TODAY. Praise HIS name.
CHALLENGE: Remember that the Bible and true science have no conflicts. The Bible is true. True science is true. There is no contradiction between the two. There are many contradictions between the laws of science and evolution.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. (6960 “wait” [qavah) means look for, hope, expect, await, or hope in.)
DEVOTION: Those that know me know that I don’t like to let any grass grow under my feet. I want things to happen quickly. I want everything to be done yesterday. It is something that I have struggled with all of my life.
Patience is s virtue that I have prayed for regularly. The LORD is still working on me regarding this issue. There is promise associated with this verse. I would like to claim this promise.
I don’t know any genuine believer that would not like to have renewed strength when they are facing problems in their life. The nation of Israel because of their historic actions were always drifting away from the LORD just like we do today. We stay on course for a while but then something happens that we think we can do it on our own and we run ahead of the LORD.
Isaiah is a prophet of God that spoke the truth to the children of Israel and the Holy Spirit had him write it down for our benefit too. We need to realize that this is one of the promises that was given to the Israelites and is given to us today as well.
Things are moving faster in our time than ever before in history. We can see things happening around the world when they are happening. We don’t have to hear about it days later but only seconds pass after something happens and it is on the television or on our computer.
If we want the strength that the LORD promises we have to take time to allow HIM to communicate with us regarding what our actions should be next in any given situation. It is not easy but we are to be in prayer moment by moment to let HIM lead us through our daily life.
The promise informs us that if we do this we will not be too tired to do what HE wants us to do. HE will give us the strength we need to do what HE tells us when HE tells us. We will not be so frazzled on a daily basis. It is quite a promise if we obey HIS command to look to HIM for guidance which will give us hope.
CHALLENGE: Can we go to the LORD for guidance in every situation HE allows in our life and then look for HIS solution and act on it? This is a test that we all have to pass if we are going to serve HIM faithfully every day.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Burnt offerings verse 16
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of our God verse 8
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1, 3 8, 9, 18,
27, 28
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 5, 7, 13, 27, 28
Glory of the LORD verse 5
Mouth of the LORD verse 5
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 10
GOD – Jehovah verse 10
Lord GOD verse 10
Sitting on the circle of the earth verse 22
Holy One verse 25
Creator verse 26, 28
Calls all creation by their name verse 26
Mighty verse 26
Strong power verse 26
Never fails verse 26
Everlasting God verse 28
Doesn’t faint verse 28
Never weary verse 28
Perfect understanding verse 28
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Coming verse 10
Rule verse 10
Reward verse 10
Feed HIS flock (Shepherd) verse 11
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit of the LORD verse 7, 13
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Nations verse 15, 17
Lebanon verse 16
Inhabitants of the earth verse 22
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Iniquity verse 2
Sins verse 2
Graven image verse 19, 20
Not listening verse 21
No understanding verse 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Comfort verse 1, 2
Pardoned verse 2
Prepare the way of the LORD verse 3
Revelation verse 5
Good verse 6
Good tidings verse 9
Strength verse 9, 29
Not afraid verse 9
Reward verse 10
Provision of the LORD verse 11
Leading of the LORD verse 11
Power verse 29
Wait on the LORD verse 31
Renewed strength verse 31
Not weary verse 31
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jerusalem verse 2
Voice in the wilderness (John the Baptist) verse 3
Zion verse 9
Cities of Judah verse 9
Jacob verse 27
Israel verse 27
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
29–31. The string of attributes of the Lord—eternity, omnipresence, untiring strength, wisdom (28)—continues in the opening Hebrew participle: he is also one who shares his strength, not as a whim or an occasional act but as part of what he is. Weary (29) and tired (30) are the same word (translated tired in 28). It means failure through loss of inherent strength. Weary (30) is a different word, pointing to exhaustion because of the hardness of life. It is part of the ‘understanding’ (28) of the unwearying God that he knows our frailty and provides an antidote. Youths, those in the prime of young life; young men—from the verb ‘to choose’—those ‘picked’ out for bodily prowess. Thus native strength, whether simply natural or specially cultivated, can fail, but those who hope in the Lord … renew their strength. Hope (with, of course, its biblical component of certainty) is one meaning of √qāwâ, which also means ‘wait’ (patiently) and ‘rest’ (trustfully). Here it is a participle, pointing to a maintained relationship. Renew, from a basic meaning ‘to change’ (√ḥālap), comes to mean ‘to put on afresh’: here, ‘keep putting on fresh strength’. It is a different strength, as if people become eagles, a strength brought about by transformation; it is divine strength, a strength like the Lord’s own that does not weary or faint (28e). Run, the exceptional demands of life; walk, the ordinary daily grind. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 282–283). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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40:28–31. On the question Do you not know? see comments on verse 21. Since God, who unlike pagan idols is eternal and the Creator, never grows weary (v. 28) He can give strength to those who are weary or weak (vv. 29–31). Among Isaiah’s original readers those who hope in the Lord were believers who remained faithful to God. They were the ones who would be restored. For his readers in captivity Isaiah was probably speaking of a national refreshing when the captives would be released and would return to their land. Even though in captivity they were weary the Lord would help them endure and soar … like eagles, to be uplifted emotionally and spiritually. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1093). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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40:31 wait for the Lord. See 8:17; 49:23. There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2Co 12:8–10). The Lord also expected His people to be patient and await His coming in glory at the end to fulfill the promises of national deliverance, when believing Israel would become stronger than they had ever been. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 40:31). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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The circumstances within us (Isa. 40:27–31). Instead of praising the Lord, the nation was complaining to Him that He acted as though He did not know their situation or have any concern for their problems (v. 27; 49:14). Instead of seeing the open door, the Jews saw only the long road before them; and they complained that they did not have strength for the journey. God was asking them to do the impossible.
But God knows how we feel and what we fear, and He is adequate to meet our every need. We can never obey God in our own strength, but we can always trust Him to provide the strength we need (Phil. 4:13). If we trust ourselves, we will faint and fall; but if we wait on the Lord by faith, we will receive strength for the journey. The word “wait” does not suggest that we sit around and do nothing. It means “to hope,” to look to God for all that we need (Isa. 26:3; 30:15). This involves meditating on His character and His promises, praying, and seeking to glorify Him.
The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power (2 Cor. 12:1–10). As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis.
“I can plod,” said William Carey, the father of modern missions. “That is my only genius. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The greatest heroes of faith are not always those who seem to be soaring; often it is they who are patiently plodding. As we wait on the Lord, He enables us not only to fly higher and run faster, but also to walk longer. Blessed are the plodders, for they eventually arrive at their destination! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (pp. 110–111). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Someone has suggested that we may apply Isaiah’s words, verse 31, as representing Christians or children of God in different ages. The young believers mount up with wings of hope and expectancy as eagles flying into the height of heaven. The middle-aged ones are running with patience the race set before them, while those who have reached old age have come down to a quiet walk with God as they near the portals of the eternal Home of the saints. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (p. 244). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Nehemiah 5
Nehemiah stops the internal mistreatment among the Jews by force of example.
INSIGHT
The prospects for some of the returned exiles are bleak. There are deficient rains and poor harvests. As a result, the farmers mortgage their lands to their wealthier brethren and, in extreme cases, sell their children into slavery to pay the king’s taxes. The rich Jews, rather than helping out, are capitalizing on the situation to line their own pockets. This is inexcusable! Few things bring on more reproach to the cause of the Lord than the worldliness and hard-heartedness of those who claim to follow Him. Unselfish dedication to the common welfare of others in Christ is our spiritual obligation. (Quiet Walk)
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“AN UNCERTAIN SOUND”
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
1 Corinthians 14:8
The apostle Paul says to the Corinthians, “If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” If the sound is uncertain, then we shall add to the confusion. And that is why nothing is more important than that we should be perfectly clear in our minds as to what this Christian message really is. What does Christianity offer to people; what is it? How can we become Christians? These are the questions that we must answer.
Furthermore, what makes this terrible confusion so utterly inexcusable, of course, is that we have an open Bible before us, and we have it in a language that we can understand. If we had no Bible but merely some oral tradition, then there would be some excuse for the confusion. Or if we only had the Bible in a language that we could not understand, again there would be considerable excuse. But that is not our position at all. So why is there any confusion? And there is only one answer to that question. It is because men and women, instead of taking the message as it is in the Bible, are imposing their own message upon it. They are approaching it with their philosophies, their theories, their ideas, and their attempts to understand; and they are bypassing what is stated in this Book that is open before them in a language that all can understand.
So my plea is that in all honesty, apart from anything else, we must come back to the Bible. Here are the documents of the early Church; here are the records of how Christianity came into being, of what the Church taught at the beginning and something of what happened as the result of that. In particular we must come back to the words and to the teaching and the message of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
A Thought to Ponder: We must come back to the Bible.
(From The Kingdom of God, p. 50, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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We all have our days where we feel we can’t survice.
Sometimes dreams are shattered, Friendships may fall apart.
Loved one’s may overtake us.
We may even lose people we love.
But God will ALWAYS be there to guide us through even the toughest of times
Never lose: FAITHE. Hold onto Hope. Trust in GOD ALWAYS!
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Loving and Amazing World
The man brought four cards, four boxes of candy and four vases of flowers up to the cashier for checkout. The cashier rolled her eyes when she saw his wedding band.
So, the man told the cashier, “One set is for my mom because my dad passed away. He used to do this for her, and he taught me how to give love.
“The next set is for my wife because she teaches me to treasure love.
“The third set is for my daughter because it’s up to me to teach her how she should be treated.
“And you can keep the fourth set for yourself. I just wanted you to know that a man can show you love without wanting something in return. Have a blessed day.”
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Delighting in the Lord
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
Christians tend toward two extremes regarding this remarkable promise of Scripture. Some forget the first half of the verse, seeing this as an unconditional promise for the fulfillment of every desire, no matter how carnal or worldly. Yet the verse clearly states that the Lord will only give us the desires of our hearts if we first delight ourselves in Him. So the verse is not a license for the fulfillment of selfish whims (James 4:3).
Other well-meaning Christians, in an effort to guard against this first error, go to another extreme. They downplay or “spiritualize” the second half of the verse to such an extent that the promise becomes essentially meaningless. They do so by claiming that the promise only applies to the fulfillment of “spiritual” desires. But Christians can certainly have desires that aren’t sinful but aren’t necessarily spiritual either. Surely the desire for immortality would fall into this category, and God has already promised us that (Psalm 21:4)!
Christians may desire to see other parts of the world, or to play a musical instrument, or even to explore God’s vast created cosmos but cannot do so in this life. We may have to wait for His return for these desires to be granted, but grant them He will! “The LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
This should not come as a surprise. God has already given us the most selfless, lavish gift that He possibly could: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Christians have a Father who is both willing and able to give good gifts to His children.
(JH, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Grace is what God gives us good things that we don’t deserve.
Mercy is when He spares us from bad things we deserve.
Blessings are when He is generous with both.
Truly, we can never run out of reasons to thank Him.
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The Great Commission
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
The so-called “great commission” of the Lord to His disciples is found in somewhat different form in each of the four gospels and in still another form in the first chapter of Acts. To get the full message of the commission, all five must be analyzed and organized together.
The most familiar statement is in Mark 16:15 above. This was in the upper room and must have followed the words recorded by John: “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).
The commission was then further defined as recorded in Luke 24:47-48: “That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.”
Still later, on a mountain in Galilee, He told the disciples (literally): “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Not only were they to preach the saving gospel, implemented by true repentance unto remission of sins, based on His death, burial, and resurrection (Luke 24:46), but then to “disciple” people, baptize them, and indoctrinate them in all His teachings.
Finally, just before His ascension, He summarized the commission once again: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Above all, we are to go and to witness to all people in all places, as God enables. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Exodus 5
Israel’s affliction increases.
INSIGHT
When troubles come upon us, instinctively the first question we ask is: “Why?” “Why me, why this, why now?” That is what Moses asked in verse 22. Yet, in retrospect, we see that the question was premature. We now know why — since hindsight is better than foresight.
How long will it take the Lord to deliver us from our troubles? Usually just a little longer than we thought we could tolerate. We must remember the example of Moses when we are tempted to ask the Lord, “Why?” (Quiet Walk)
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THE IN-FILLING OF THE SPIRIT
Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18
The in-filling of the Spirit is essential to true Christian quality in our life. That is why we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. It is a command to every single Christian: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” We are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit. And this is commanded in order that our graces may grow, in order that the fruit of the Spirit may develop in us and may be evident to all. It is as we are filled with this life that the fruit and the graces of this life will be manifest. Indeed, the filling of the Spirit is essential to a true act of worship. Did you notice how Paul uses that commandment of his in that very connection? He says, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit”—and then goes on at once—“speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and our Father in the n ame of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So the way to test whether we are filled with the Spirit is to ask, Are we full of thankfulness? Are we full of the spirit of praise, of thanksgiving, of worship and adoration?
What is a revival? It is God pouring out His Spirit. It is this tremendous filling that happens to numbers of people at the same time. You need not wait for a revival to get it; each of us is individually commanded to seek it and to have it and indeed to make sure it is there. But at times of revival God, as it were, fills a number of people together; they almost describe it as the Spirit falling upon them. That is a revival, and that is the greatest need of the Church today.
A Thought to Ponder: “Be filled with the Spirit” is a command to every single Christian. (From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 242-243, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Prayer becomes demand when desire becomes our tyrant. (p. 86)
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A profound encounter with pain brings us to make a choice. Either we change or we sink into bitterness, despair, or hedonism. (p. 88)
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It’s the happiness of serving a God we trust enough to let us cry today, knowing He has promised to wipe our eyes tomorrow. (p. 89)
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No longer do we live for blessings; no longer do we pray, “God here is what I need. Give it to me !” Now we rest, an agitated rest that includes the agony of frustration, but still we rest. And we learn to say, “God, whoever You are, whatever You do, that is all I want. I demand nothing. I will wait for You.” (p. 92)
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Abandonment and confidence – here are two key elements of true spirituality. (p. 92, Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb)
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