ISAIAH 44
Future plans for children of Israel verse 1- 5
Yet now hear – O Jacob MY SERVANT
and Israel – whom I have CHOSEN
Thus says the LORD that
MADE you and FORMED you from the womb
which will HELP you
Fear not – O Jacob – MY SERVANT
and you Jesurun – whom I have CHOSEN
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty
and floods upon the dry ground
I will pour MY Spirit upon your seed
and MY blessing upon your offspring
and they shall spring up as among the grass
as willows by the water courses
One shall say – I am the LORD’S
and another shall call himself
by the name of Jacob
and another shall subscribe
with his hand unto the LORD
and surname himself
by the name of Israel
LORD challenges false gods verse 6- 8
Thus says the LORD the king of Israel
and his redeemer the LORD of hosts
I am the first – and I am the last
and beside me there is no God
AND who – as I – shall call – and shall declare it
and set it in order for me
since I appointed the ancients people?
and the things that are coming – and shall come
let them show to them
Fear you not – neither be afraid –
Have not I told you from that time
and have declared it?
You are even MY witnesses
Is there a God beside me? YEA – there is no God
I know not any
LORD judges those who make false gods verse 9- 11
They that make a graven image are all of them vanity
and their delectable things shall not profit
And they are their own witnesses – they see not – nor know
that they may be ashamed
Who has formed a god
or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
BEHOLD – all his fellows shall be ashamed – and the workmen
they are the men – let them all be gathered together
let them stand up
yet they shall fear – and they shall be ashamed together
LORD acknowledges foolishness of worshiping
false gods verse 12- 17
The smith with the tongs both works in the coals
and fashions it with hammers
and works it with the strength of his arms
yea – he is hungry
and his strength fails
he drinks no water and is faint
The carpenter stretches out his rule
he marks it out with a line – he fits it with planes
and he marks it out with the compass
and makes it after the figure of a man
according to the beauty of a man
that it may remain in the house
He hews him down cedars – and takes the cypress and the oak
which he strengthens for himself
among the trees of the forest
he plants an ash – and the rain does nourish it
THEN shall it be for a man to burn
for he will take thereof – and warm himself
yea – he kindles it – and bakes bread
yea – he makes a god – and worship it
he makes it a graven image
and falls down thereof
He burns part thereof in the fire – with part thereof he eats flesh
he roasts roast – and is satisfied
yea – he warms himself – and says
Aha – I am warm – I have seen the fire
AND the residue thereof he makes a god – even his graven image
he falls down unto it and worships it and prays to it
and says
Deliver me – for you are my god
LORD state problem with false gods verse 18- 20
They have not known nor understood
for HE has shut their eyes that they cannot see
and their hearts – that they cannot understand
And none considers in his heart
neither is their knowledge nor understanding to say
I have burned part of it in the fire
yea
also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof
I have roasted flesh – and eaten it
and shall make the residue thereof an abomination?
Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
He feeds on ashes – a deceived heart hath turned him aside
that he cannot deliver his soul – nor say
Is there not a lie in my right hand?
LORD sets Israel free verse 21- 22
Remember these – O Jacob and Israel – for you are MY SERVANT
I have FORMED you – you are MY SERVANT
O Israel – you shall not be forgotten of ME
I have blotted out – as a thick cloud – your transgressions
and – as a cloud – your sins
return unto me for I have REDEEMED you
LORD wants Israel to sing praises verse 23
Sing – O you heavens – for the LORD hath done it
shout – you lower parts of the earth
break forth into singing – you mountains
O forest – and every tree therein
for the LORD has REDEEMED Jacob
and glorified HIMSELF in Israel
LORD exposes false prophets and true prophets verse 24- 28
Thus says the LORD – your REDEEMER
and HE that FORMED you from the womb
I am the LORD that MAKES all things
that stretches forth the heavens alone
that spreads abroad the earth by MYSELF
that frustrates the tokens of the liars
and makes diviners mad
that turns wise men backward
and makes their knowledge foolish
that confirms the word of his servant
and performs the counsel of his messengers
that says to Jerusalem
You shalt be inhabited
and to the cities of Judah
You shall be built
and I will raise up the decayed places thereof
that says to the deep
Be dry – and I will dry up your rivers
that says of Cyrus
He is MY shepherd
and shall perform all MY pleasure
even saying to Jerusalem
You shalt be built
and to the temple
Your foundation shall be laid
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 6 Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (1350 “redeemer” [ga’al] means act as kinsman, deliverer, to buy back, lay claim to, ransom, or to require blood.
DEVOTION: The LORD has many relationships to HIS people. HE is called a King in this verse. It can mean that HE is the King of kings. Read Revelation 19:16. When the final judgment of those who reject Jesus Christ is going to happen on the earth we find that on the vesture is written a name: King of Kings and LORD of LORDS.
HE is our kinsman deliverer. We needed to be brought back from the fall of man in the first Adam. Jesus is the kinsman. Those who become followers of HIM can be brought back from death to everlasting life. HE has conquered death. The sting of death is gone. We have life after death. We have life in a place prepared by the LORD after HIS ascension into heaven. Remember HE stated that HE was going to prepare a place for us and return to take us to our place prepared.
Thirdly, HE is the LORD of hosts. HE could have called ten thousand angels to deliver HIM from the judgment of Rome. HE is going to lead heavens army in the last days. No army can face this army and win.
Fourth, HE describes HIMSELF as the first and the last. HE is the beginning and the end. Everything began with HIM and will end with HIM. No one else is in control.
Finally, HE states that there is no other god because HE is the ONLY GOD. Through HIS prophet Isaiah HE makes this statement many times to keep HIS followers thinking the right thoughts. Too often they went after other gods. HE had to keep correcting them. HE still remained faithful to them even when they were not faithful.
Our basic understanding the attributes of the LORD helps us understand the choices we have in life. If we truly believe HE is our King, redeemer, Captain of the hosts of heaven, the beginning and the end and that there is no other God in our universe, it should cause us to not doubt HIS instructions and HIS assignments.
CHALLENGE: When you go into your prayer time with the LORD ask HIM to reveal HIMSELF to you, so that, you can understand what HIS attributes mean to you personally.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 Fear you not, neither be afraid: have not I told you from that time, and have declared it? You are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any. (5707 “witnesses” [‘ed] means testimony, evidence of things, witness of people, someone who sees an event and reports what happened, or the giving of evidence in a formal legal setting)
DEVOTION: Those who are genuine followers of the LORD are the ones who share their testimony as to the uniqueness of the LORD. HE presents HIMSELF to the people of Israel and some will become followers and others will just give lip service to HIM but not really follow HIM.
This is happening even today. There are many people who attend church each Sunday to give lip service to the LORD during the service but when they leave the building, they don’t mention HIM the rest of the week. They are individuals who don’t share the truth that HE is the only way to heaven.
Genuine believers are witnesses to the truth of HIS provision of salvation and blessing in their daily walk with HIM. They will share their testimony with others. They will pray with others regarding their salvation and personal needs.
God wants us to be individuals who are genuine seven days a week and not just on Sunday. Our words will glorify HIM. Our actions will glorify HIM. People will know where we stand and it will be a consistent stand day in and out.
God wants us to be genuine and faithful to HIM seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. This can only happen with the help of the Holy Spirit in our life and a life that studies the Bible daily.
CHALLENGE: Those who are genuine believers are not living in fear but are praising the LORD every moment of every day and if they drift, they confess it and move back to witness for the LORD.
________________________________________________________
:21 “Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).זָכַר, זָכַר, מַזְכִּיר [zakar /zaw·kar/]-to remember, recall, call to mind)
DEVOTION: After describing the idolaters and foolish individuals that refused to believe the Lord call upon the believers to remember and rejoice! When we recognize all that the Lord has done for us we cannot help but praise Him and celebrate in His presence. Pastor Sharpe use to say that we should be “Bapticostals”! Be baptistic in our doctrine and Pentecostal in our worship of the Lord! I believe that Isaiah would have agreed with that design of worship! When we remember whose servant we are and live accordingly the praise and worship flows naturally from our lips and lives. Today take a few moments to consider where and what you would be had not the Lord delivered and redeemed you!
Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4-5 are just a couple of passages that relate to the worship that the Lord receives as He sits upon the throne. It is not going to be a quiet, reflective liturgy but one that elevates every emotion and action to worship the Lamb that was slain and is alive forevermore.
CHALLENGE: If you have not read Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4-5 in a while take a few moments to reflect upon these passages and how worship is in Heaven. It might make you consider how to be “Bapticostal” in some small way! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 24 Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, and he that formed you from the womb, I am the LORD that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreads abroad the earth by myself. (990 “womb” [beten] means female reproductive organs, belly, womb, body, within, or born.)
DEVOTION: Isaiah is communicating with the children of Israel regarding the God they are supposed to worship. They have been worshiping false gods. They are going to be judged because of their worship of false gods.
However, the LORD is also stating that HE is not going to end HIS relationship with them because of their disobedience. HE is going to chasten them so that they learn that HE loves them. HIS desire is for them to return to worshiping HIM. This will happen in the future.
This verse is a description of some of the works of the LORD. HE starts by stating that HE is their redeemer. HE brought them with a price. HE will restore them to a proper relationship to HIM. Adam lost that relationship in the Garden of Eden. Only a proper sacrifice was going to restore that relationship. The only sacrifice was a pure sacrifice. The only pure man who ever lived was Jesus Christ. HE died for the sins of the world.
Next HE states that HE is the one who gives life to every living being. HE allows them to stay alive because HE is the one in control of their every breath. HE can end their life at any time because they are alive at HIS pleasure.
HE made the heavens. HE made the earth. HE is our redeemer. HE is introduced as the redeemer of Israel. HE has a chosen people. HE knew them from the womb. The New Testament tells us that we were chosen before the foundation of the world. Before creation the LORD knew HIS people.
One of the facts that we need to always remember is that HE formed us in the belly of our mother. Many men were called to serve the LORD from the belly of their mothers. We find that John the Baptist jumped in the belly of his mother when Mary came into the house with baby Jesus in her belly. The word of God states that the baby in the belly of his or her mother is a person. Jeremiah was called by the LORD from the belly of his mother.
Each believer is called from our mother’s belly. Each of us that are called of God was called before the foundation of the world. We need to remember that each person is important to God from conception to death. Praise HIS name.
CHALLENGE: From birth the LORD has prepared HIS children to serve HIM with their gifts until their death. Are you using your gifts right now? There is no retirement age with the LORD.)
____________________________________________________________
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
Sing verse 23
Shout verse 23
Temple verse 28
_____________________________________________________
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 5, 6, 23, 24
Creator verse 2, 21, 24
King of Israel verse 6
Redeemer verse 6, 22- 24
LORD Of host verse 6
I am the first verse 6
I am the last verse 6
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 6, 8
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Pouring out of the Holy Spirit verse 3
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)
LORD made men verse 2
LORD formed men verse 2, 21, 24
Cyrus (God’s shepherd) verse 28
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
False god verse 8
Graven image verse 9- 20
Delectable things verse 9
Fear verse 11
Ashamed verse 11
Worship false god verse 15, 17
Pray to false god verse 17
Abomination verse 19
Deceived heart verse 20
Lie verse 20, 25
Transgressions verse 22
Sins verse 22
Diviners verse 25
Make knowledge foolish verse 25
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Servant verse 1, 2, 21
Chosen verse 1, 2
Fear not verse 2
Provision verse 3
Blessing verse 3
Not forgotten verse 21
Blotted out sins verse 22
Redeemed verse 22- 24
Sing verse 23
Shout verse 23
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jacob verse 1, 2, 5, 21, 23
Israel verse 1, 5, 21, 23
Jesurun verse 2
Jerusalem verse 26, 28
Cities of Judah verse 26
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
_____________________________________________________________
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
_______________________________________________________________
QUOTES regarding passage
25–26b. False prophets translates baddîm, used in 16:6, Job 11:3 and Jeremiah 48:30 in the sense ‘idle talk’; here and in Jeremiah 50:36 of the pretentious claims of fortune-tellers. Makes fools of: ‘bewitches, drives mad’. Since they choose folly, the Lord will see to it that they become fools (44:18, 20)! Diviners claimed special means of telling the future; the wise tried to apply human wisdom to the task. Isaiah is not consigning all human wisdom to the rubbish heap: in context, alongside diviners, there is a ‘wisdom’ which tries to make sense of life, the flow of history and the trends that lead from present to future and which seeks to apply this helpfully to individual needs. But, compared with the higher wisdom which orders all things, it is no more than upside-down (overthrows) nonsense (1 Cor. 1:18–25). Yet the word of the messengers (26b), those who carry God’s word, which can so easily be scorned by worldly sophistication (28:7–13), carries deeper and eternal truth. In this matter the Lord is jealous of his position and no word but his will come to pass. Predictions is simply ‘advice, counsel’ without any necessary reference to forecasting. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 319–320). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
________________________________________________________
44:24–28. The Lord, Israel’s Redeemer (see comments on 43:14), who formed her (cf. 43:1, 7, 21; 44:2), is the Creator of all things including the heavens and the earth (cf. 42:5; 45:12, 18; 48:13; 51:13, 16) and the One who makes false prophets … diviners, and supposedly wise people look foolish. Those who said God could not release His people from Babylon would be proved false when God’s predictions were fulfilled. Through the prophets, His messengers, He said Jerusalem would again have people living in it. Cyrus would allow the exiles to go back and rebuild their capital city Jerusalem (cf. 45:13) and the temple. In 586 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar and his forces broke through Jerusalem’s walls, burned the houses and the temple, and carried many captives into exile. Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, first came to the throne of Anshan in Eastern Elam in 559. In 549 he conquered the Medes and became the ruler of the combined Persian and Median Empire. In 539 he conquered Babylon (Dan. 5:30) and the very next year issued a decree that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (2 Chron. 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–4). In doing this Cyrus was serving God’s purposes as if he were God’s shepherd. Those returnees built the temple, completing it in 515 b.c., and years later (in 444 b.c.) Nehemiah went to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls (see comments on Neh. 1–2; Dan. 9:25). (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. 1099). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
__________________________________________________
25 That frustrateth the tokens eof the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
That frustrateth the tokens of the liars; of the magicians, and astrologers, and sorcerers, who were numerous, and greatly employed and esteemed in Babylon, Isa. 47:12, 13; Dan. 2:2, 48, and who had foretold the long continuance and prosperity of the Chaldean empire. But, saith God, I will confute their tokens or predictions, and prove them to be liars. And maketh diviners mad with grief for the disappointment of their hopes and predictions, and their disgrace and loss which followed it. That turneth wise men backward; stopping their way, thwarting and blasting their designs, so as they can proceed no further, but are forced to retreat and take new counsels, and giving them up to such counsels and courses as are foolish and pernicious to themselves. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 427). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
__________________________________________________
Ver. 25. That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, &c.] Struck dumb the oracles of the Heathens, disappointed their lying priests, and made void all the signs and tokens they gave the people, that such and such things would come to pass, which did not, and which proved them to be liars: and maketh diviners mad; soothsayers, astrologers, and such sort of persons, who pretended to foretel future events; but these not answering to their predictions, they became mad, because their credit was ruined, and they lost their reward: that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolishness; the wise philosophers among the Gentiles, and their schemes of philosophy, which were all confounded and destroyed, and proved foolish, through the ministration of the Gospel, 1 Cor. 1:19, 20, 27 and 3:19. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 259). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
_________________________________________________________
44:25 boasters … diviners. False prophets must suffer the consequences of their deceptive counsel (47:12–14; Dt 13:1–5; Jos 13:22; Jer 27:9; 29:8; 50:36; Mic 3:7). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 44:25). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
__________________________________________________________
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!!)
________________________________________________________
Time for Romance BY BARBARA RAINEY
I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me. SONG OF SOLOMON 7:10
So often, a man thinks romancing his wife means buying a certain gift or doing a certain thing or creating a certain situation. And, yes, all of these things can communicate romance to a woman. But romance for us is all about relationship and time, about feeling safe and accepted, about simply being together. So when I think of a true, romantic memory, I’m taken back to one September when Dennis took a whole day off work—not to clean the garage or go fishing or catch up on some writing, but just to spend it with me and do whatever I wanted to do.
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. We worked in the yard for a while, feeling the first cool snatches of fall through our flannel shirts. Then we went inside, cleaned up a little, hopped in the car and just took off. We drove for several hours, stopping where we wanted, doing what we wanted. And in a sense, it was almost like being on our honeymoon to me. For those few hours, we had no responsibilities. No one else to worry about. We were just out having fun together. On an autumn afternoon, I had Dennis all to myself, away from the everyday demands of work and parenting and pressure. We talked and laughed together all day long. It was absolutely wonderful. No, it wasn’t the typical sweep-me-off-my-feet moment. I didn’t feel like I was being carried to the castle to live happily ever after. It was much richer and sweeter and deeper than all of that. It was romance in its purest form, being chosen as my husband’s delight, seeing his love for me in the joy he found by spending a day . . . just with me. (Moments with YOU by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
________________________________________________________
The plagues on Egypt intensify.
INSIGHT
Frogs and gnats? Boils and hail? Water into blood? What strange plagues! What reasoning went behind the selection of plagues? Were they chosen at random, or was there design behind it? Though we might not always be able to discern it, the God of omniscience does nothing without design. The Egyptians worshiped odd and debased gods. Each plague was designed to strike at the credibility of an Egyptian god and manifest the barrenness of belief in these objects.
God does the same today. Our gods are fortune, power, beauty, talent, and intelligence. There’s nothing wrong with them as servants, but when we worship them, they are cruel. God shows the barrenness of worshiping them by allowing people without them to be deeply joyful while those who worship them are tortured. Again, today, God’s personal mark of blessing is the fruit of the Spirit and not necessarily of the vine. Joy is found in God, not things. (Quiet Walk)
__________________________________________________________
THE POWER OF GOD
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:15
The plan of salvation displays to us, in a way that nothing else does,the power of God. The power of God was manifested in the Incarnation when He prepared a body for His Son and worked the miracle of the virgin birth—and what marvelous power! But not only that. I rather prefer to think of it like this: It is as we look at God in Christ and all that He did in Him and through this plan of salvation that we see His complete power to master everything that is opposed to Himself, everything that is opposed to the best interests of man, and everything that is opposed to the best interests of this world.
For the fact is that the whole problem has arisen in this way. One of the brightest of the angelic beings that were created by God rebelled against God and raised himself up against Him. That is the origin of Satan. He is a power, a person, an angel of great might. He is as great as this: He deluded a man and conquered him, thereby making himself the god of this world and “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The power of the devil is something that we seriously underestimate. He believed he had overturned all the work of salvation when the Son of God went to the cross.
But, says Paul in Colossians 2, it is there Satan made his greatest blunder, for by the cross God “spoiled principalities and powers,[and] he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (verse 15). Christ met Satan face to face in single combat and routed him; at the cross He fulfilled the promise given to man at the beginning, when Adam was told that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. This was the plan of salvation.
A Thought to Ponder: The plan of salvation displays to us the power of God. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 50-51, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
________________________________________________________
A Certain Young Man
“And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.” (Mark 14:50-52)
This “certain young man” is mentioned only in Mark’s gospel and was almost certainly John Mark himself. A rather obscure character in the New Testament, yet the Lord chose him to write what is probably the earliest of the gospel records of the life of Christ. If so, his account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is the first record we have of the most important events in all history.
Mark’s family (Acts 12:12) apparently was prosperous enough to own a home in Jerusalem with a large upper room where the disciples (even 120 of them, Acts 1:14-15) could meet for prayer after the resurrection. This was possibly the same “large upper room furnished and prepared” (Mark 14:15) where the Lord’s last supper took place. Note that Mark’s account says: “And in the evening he cometh [not ‘goeth’] with the twelve” (v. 17). Thus, Mark—probably as a teenager—was very likely an intensely interested observer of all the moving events that took place in the upper room, both before and after the crucifixion and resurrection.
He may well have overheard the conversation with and about Judas, and then watched as the disciples went out to Gethsemane. Perhaps Judas returned with the soldiers, and Mark, already in bed, grabbed a “linen cloth” and rushed out to warn Jesus. The soldiers found Jesus first, however, and Mark had to watch the disciples flee, and then finally had to flee himself.
In any case, this close proximity to these great events made such a profound impression on him that he was later led to write about them, very probably working closely with Peter (1 Peter 5:13), and Mark’s gospel was the result. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
__________________________________________________________
Those on the spiritual journey, however, believe they were not designed to live as people who do bad things in a world where bad things happen. Unlike secularists, their primary purpose is neither to enjoy this life nor the people they meet, nor themselves; it is rather to enjoy God. (p. 125)
______________________________________
I have come to believe that suffering is necessary to awaken our desire for God and to develop confidence in His desire for us. (p. 137)
______________________________________
Life is not an opportunity for things to go well so we can feel good. Life is an opportunity for us to be forgiven for requiring God to make us feel good and for turning from Him when He doesn’t.
And life is an opportunity to live through shattered dreams and discover that we really long to abandon ourselves to the Perfect Love of God, the love revealed when Jesus died. It is an opportunity to trust Him to forgive our resentment over bad things that happen and our determination to feel good with or without Him. (p. 145)
_______________________________________
Shattered dreams will create the opportunity for God to work more deeply than ever before, to further weaken our grasp on our empty selves. (p. 146, Shattered Dreams – God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy by Larry Crabb)
______________________________________________________________________
We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.