ISAIAH 59
Deaf ear of God toward those living in sin verse 1- 3
BEHOLD the LORD’S hand is not shortened – that it cannot save
neither HIS ear heavy – that it cannot hear
BUT your iniquities have separated between you and your God
and your sins have hid HIS face from you
that HE will not hear
FOR your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity
your lips have spoken lies
your tongue hath muttered perverseness
Web of sin all consuming verse 4- 8
None calls for justice – nor any pleads for truth
they trust in vanity – and speak lies – they conceive mischief
and bring forth iniquity
They hatch cockatrice’s eggs – and weave the spider’s web
he that eats of their eggs dies
and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper
Their webs shall not become garments
neither shall they cover themselves with their works
their works are works of iniquity
and the act of violence is in their hands
Their feet run to evil – and they make haste to shed innocent blood
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity
wasting and destruction are in their path
The way of peace they know not
and there is no judgment in their goings
they have made them crooked paths
whosoever goes therein shall not know peace
Living in darkness verse 9- 11
THEREFORE is judgment far from us
neither does justice overtake us
we wait for light – BUT behold obscurity
for brightness – BUT we walk in darkness
We grope for the wall like the blind
and we grope as if we had no eyes
we stumble at noonday as in the night
we are in desolate places as dead men
We roar all like bears – and mourn sore like doves
we look for judgment – BUT there is none
for salvation – BUT it is far off from us
Sinners understand their sinfulness verse 12- 13
FOR our transgressions are multiplied before YOU
and our sins testify against us
for our transgressions are with us
as for our iniquities – we know them
In transgressing and lying against the LORD
and departing away from our God
speaking oppression and revolt
conceiving and uttering
from the heart words of falsehood
Truth is unacceptable to sinners verse 14- 15
And judgment is turned away backward – and justice stands afar off
for truth is fallen in the street – and equity cannot enter
YEA – truth fails – and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey
and the LORD saw it
and it displeased HIM that there was no judgment
LORD steps in to help the oppressed verse 16- 19
And HE saw that there was no man
and wondered that there was no intercessor
THEREFORE HIS arm brought salvation unto him
HIS righteousness – it sustained him
For HE put on righteousness as a breastplate
and a helmet of salvation upon his head
And HE put on the garments of vengeance for clothing
and was clad with zeal as a cloak
According to their deeds – accordingly HE will repay
fury to HIS adversaries – recompense to HIS enemies
to the islands HE will repay recompense
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west
and HIS glory from the rising of the sun
When the enemy shall come in like a flood
the SPIRIT of the LORD
shall lift up a standard against him
Redeemer is coming for believers verse 20- 21
AND the Redeemer shall come to Zion
and unto them that turn form transgression in Jacob
says the LORD
AS for ME – this is MY covenant with them – says the LORD
MY SPIRIT that is upon you
and MY words which I have put in your mouth
shall not depart out of your mouth
nor out of the mouth of your seed
nor out of the mouth of your seed’s seed
says the LORD
from henceforth and for ever
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. (7114 “shortened” [qatsar] means to dock off, cut down, much discouraged, be in a state of not having sufficient or normal length, grieved, trouble or vex.)
DEVOTION: The first part of this chapter relates the fact that the hands of the LORD are not of sufficient length to help the children of Israel. HE has enough power to deliver them from any enemy. However, HE wants them to know that it is because of their sin that HE is not acting. HE can hear their prayers but HIS answer is NO!
There is coming a time when a Redeemer will come but it is not in the present situation. The Redeemer will have a breastplate of righteousness. HE will have a helmet of salvation. HE will put the Holy Spirit upon them. HE will put HIS words in their mouths. It is yet future Isaiah is telling the people of Israel. Our God is still powerful. HE is still jealous of HIS people. HE wants them to serve HIM.
We are living in a time when some think that the LORD is not active. They are wrong. HE continues to work HIS plan. Could there be captivity in the future for our nation? Are we at the same point that the children of Israel were before HE sent captivity? Could our nation turn so far away from the LORD that HE will send judgment?
We need to pray for a revival in the hearts of all those who are genuine believers. There needs to be a fresh moving of the Holy Spirit in our midst to cause us to win others to the LORD.
Too many are just sitting and waiting for the LORD to return but HE wants to find us working until HE comes. We are to “occupy” until HE comes. Is each of doing our part to win others to HIM?
This chapter ends with a future time when the Holy Spirit will come upon the people. Also HIS words will not depart from their mouth. It will affect three generations of people.
God is still on the throne. Sin is very active in those who call themselves followers of the LORD. Many who think they are followers of the LORD are walking in darkness and don’t understand what is going on around them. They are not caring for those in need. They are not running away from evil but toward it. There needs to be a challenge given to those who think they are right with the LORD to examine their lives through a continual meditation in the Word of God.
If we are serving the LORD there will be peace in our life. If we are serving the LORD we will enjoy the truth of the Word of God. The LORD will then hear our prayers and answer.
CHALLENGE: Don’t believe in a LITTLE God. The God of the Bible has never lost any power. HE is sovereign and almighty!! Believe these truths and share them with others.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garment of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. (7068 “zeal” [qin’ah] means jealousy, ardent love, or passion.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is very displeased with what HE was seeing in the practices of the children of Israel. They were far from HIS standard. They were walking in darkness. They were out of touch with HIM. HE would not answer their prayers because of the sin in their lives.
However, HE promised a time period when HE would intervene for HIS people. HE didn’t like the fact that they had no intercessor. HE would provide such an intercessor in the future.
HE was going to put on a breastplate and a helmet to fight for HIS people. HE was going to fight to provide righteousness and salvation to the land. HE was going to put on garments of vengeance.
How was HE going to act while HE was putting on HIS armor for war against sin and iniquity? HE was going to come with passion against all those who would not yield to HIM. HE was going to pay them back for their deeds.
All of HIS enemies were going to be defeated. Those of Israel who were followers would be spared. They were the one who had the fear of the LORD in their life. They were the ones who would receive the Holy Spirit in their life. They would teach their children’s children about the right way to live. They would not live in darkness but in the LIGHT.
We need to see that even in our day there are people who claim to be part of the Biblical church who are not living according to God’s standard. We are not talking about legalism or license but a balanced Christian life that honors the LORD and brings glory to HIS name.
We are to be a people who love the truth. We are to be a people who don’t want to walk in darkness. We are a people who want to understand the Word of God and live according to the instructions given therein. We have to have a passion for the LORD that the world might not understand but fellow believers should understand and want it too.
CHALLENGE: Hitting a balance between legalism and license is hard but our goal should be to maintain this balance. The Holy Spirit is there to give us instruction in this balance.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 21 As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). 1285 בְּרִית [bâriyth /ber·eeth/] – agreement, pledge (man to man). 1A4 alliance (of friendship). 1A5 alliance (of marriage). 1B between God and man. 1B1 alliance (of friendship). 1B2 covenant (divine ordinance with signs or pledges).
Devotion: When God makes a covenant with his people he keeps his promises! It may seem that He has forgotten and is silent in the Heavens but the word of God is sure and consistent. The trials and difficulties that the Israel nation endured was there to draw and remind the people of God’s promises. He rebuked through the prophets, punished through foreign nations and exiled Israel into faraway places to draw them unto himself. In these verses God is reminding them of that covenant and His timeframe to keep it.
As the church we need to cross reference and look into the New Testament to see that God is revealing truths that relate to us and how Jesus fulfills the new covenant through the new priesthood in the book of Hebrews. Re-read chapter 7-8 of Hebrews and note the usage of covenant language and how Christ fulfills it for the believers! In chapter 9 of Hebrews we see the conclusion of the author’s thoughts and his assertion that Christ is “the Mediator of the new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” (v.15)
WE can rest assured that Christ keeps his promises as well and that in spite of the difficulties being faced today by many in the church the end is under control.
Application: Isaiah proclaims a promise that the people of Israel could cling to as they endured the difficulty of exile and national disgrace. We can also be secure that Christ is in control as we face difficulties in our lives. Look up and see Christ is seated the throne!
(Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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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)
LORD hears prayers verse 1
Sin causes the LORD to not hear prayers verse 2
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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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 1, 13, 15, 19- 21
LORD’S hand is not shortened verse 1
Saves verse 1
Hears verse 1
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 2, 13
LORD displeased that there was no judgment verse 15
HIS arm brought salvation verse 16
HE will repay according to deeds verse 18
Fury to HIS adversaries verse 18
Recompence to HIS enemies verse 18
Name of the LORD verse 19
Glory of the LORD verse 19
Covenant of the LORD verse 21
MY words shall not depart out of mouth verse 21
MY words shall not depart out of seed’s seed verse 21
MY words shall not depart from henceforth
and forever verse 21
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Redeemer shall come to Zion verse 20
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit of the LORD verse 19
My Spirit that is upon YOU verse 21
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
The enemy (Satan) verse 19
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Enemies verse 18
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Iniquities verse 2- 4, 6, 7, 12
Separation from God verse 2
Sins verse 2, 12
Sin hides HIS face from us verse 2
Sin causes God not to hear our prayers verse 2
Hands defiled by blood verse 3
Fingers with iniquity verse 3
Lips have spoken lies against the LORD verse 3, 4, 13
Perverseness verse 3
None call for justice verse 4
No truth verse 4
Trust in vanity verse 4
Mischief verse 4
Violence verse 6
Feet run to evil verse 7, 15
Shed innocent blood verse 7
Thoughts of iniquity verse 7
Destruction is in path verse 7
Way of peace unknown verse 8
Crooked paths verse 8
Walk in darkness verse 9, 10
Walk like the blind verse 10
No judgment known verse 11
Transgressions verse 12, 13, 20
Departing away from out God verse 13
Speaking oppression and revolt verse 13
Conceiving and uttering words of falsehood verse 13
Judgment is turned away backward verse 14
Justice unknown verse 14, 15
Truth unknown verse 14, 15
Equity cannot enter verse 14
No intercessor verse 16
Transgression in Jacob verse 20
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Salvation verse 1, 11, 16
Heard of the LORD verse 1
Justice verse 4, 9, 14
Truth verse 4, 14, 15
Peace verse 8
Departs from evil verse 15
Intercessor verse 16
Righteousness verse 16, 17
Sustained verse 16
Breastplate of righteousness verse 17
Helmet of salvation verse 17
Garments of vengeance verse 17
Zeal verse 17
Judgment according to deeds verse 18
Fear the name of the LORD verse 19
Turn from transgression verse 20
Covenant verse 21
God’s words in our mouth verse 21
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Zion verse 20
Jacob verse 20
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
The Covenant Mediator (59:21). The sequence of 59:1–20 is suddenly—and mysteriously—interrupted. The three sections of accusation (1–4), description (5–8) and confession (9–13) have been followed by a section on rectification (14–20), in which the Lord himself undertakes to do what his people cannot do—achieve vengeance and salvation on a worldwide scale, with Zion at the centre of it all—and the sequence might well have ended with glorification (60:1–22): Zion, the centre of world pilgrimage. What then do we make of 59:21?)
First, the idea of a covenant with them fits into what has preceded. ‘They’ are the worldwide people of verse 19 and the penitents of 20 (cf. 1:27; 57:19), the world Israel of 19:24–25; 27:12–13; 45:14–25; 54:1–55:13. To each of these components the Lord has already pledged a covenant relationship 54:10; 55:3; cf. 42:6; 49:8). Thus verse 21 actually brings 14–20 to a suitable conclusion. Secondly, the worldwide, Zion-centred vengeance and salvation were attributed to the Spirit of the Lord (19d, niv breath). Verse 21 extends this truth: the Spirit who effected the work of rectification now indwells the world Israel. Thirdly, we have already met an Individual endowed with the Spirit for a ministry of the word, the Lord’s Agent to the world and to the people (42:1–4; 49:1–6; cf. 50:4), the Servant of the Lord, who brings worldwide (40:3–5; 52:10), Zion-centred (40:9–11; 52:7–9) revelation and salvation. When the Lord undertakes to rectify all that is amiss (59:14–20), it is not so surprising, then, as it seems at first sight, that a Covenant Mediator comes into the picture at verse 21. Fourthly, like the Servant of the Lord (53:10), this Spirit-endowed One has a family extending through the generations. His covenant status reaches back to 54:10 (cf. 53:5), the peace secured by the death of the Servant, and to 55:3, the covenanted blessings accruing through the eternal and universal kingship of David. Along with this he is the repository and mediator of the Lord’s Spirit, bringing the gift of the Lord’s word. As ever, the distinguishing mark of the separated people is their possession and expression of revealed truth.
Finally, this introduction of the Covenant Mediator in 59:21, with its ‘tailpiece’ (60:1–22) affirming the worldwide significance of the city of Zion, is the first of four passages in which he figures as the appointed Executor (53:10) of the Lord’s purposes. The second passage is 61:1–4, where the Anointed One brings in the day of favour and vengeance. Its tailpiece (61:5–9) pledges restoration and a priestly people central to the nations. In the third passage, 61:10–62:7, he receives the ‘garments of salvation’ which, in 59:17, the Lord himself donned in order to undertake for his helpless people, and to achieve (cf. 59:18–20) the glory of Zion at the centre of the world, a truth confirmed in the tailpiece (62:8–12). And the fourth, 63:1–6, describes how this splendidly robed figure returns, having accomplished vengeance and redemption. Formally, these four passages recall the Servant Songs: the same number, with added tailpieces; and, in each series, the first and fourth are reports, the second and third are testimonies. In each series, too, the first passage (42:1–4; 59:21) concerns status and task, the second (49:1–6; 61:1–3) ministry and objective, the third (50:4–9; 61:10–62:7) personal commitment, and the fourth (52:13–53:12; 63:1–6) completion of the work. In brief, here is a third messianic figure, completing the portrayals of King (chs. 1–37) and Servant (38–55). The King reigns, the Servant saves, and the Anointed One consummates salvation and vengeance. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 418–420). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press)
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19–21 The chapter that began with such a picture of a nation utterly depraved by its sin moves now to a glorious climax in the grace of God.
Verse 19 has been variously translated and interpreted (see Notes). As rendered by the NIV, it means that God’s acts of judgment will cause men over all the world to reverence him, the second part of the verse presenting a further statement of the overflowing wrath of God against his foes. Coming in judgment to the world, he will however come in quite a different character to Zion, but only when she repents. Paul aptly uses v.20 in support of his hope of Jewish repentance in Romans 11:25–27, where the word modification is accounted for by the LXX. The NT shows that God has given two covenant gifts to his church—the Word made flesh in Christ and the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 4:4–7). These two gifts are here pledged (v.21)—at least in their anticipatory forms—as eternal gifts. The word in the mouth may suggest personal reading (cf. Josh 1:8), for completely silent reading is a product of a more sophisticated society; or it could suggest that the word given and appropriated is now to be proclaimed. (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 327). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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59:21. When the Messiah returns in judgment (v. 18), He will inaugurate His covenant (elsewhere called the New Covenant, Jer. 31:31), pouring His Spirit on believing Israelites (cf. Ezek. 36:27a; Joel 2:29) and instilling His words within them (Jer. 31:33–34; Ezek. 36:27b). (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. 1114). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The unjust (Isa. 59:1–21). There was a great deal of injustice in the land, with the rich exploiting the poor and the rulers using their authority only to make themselves rich (see 1:17–23; 3:13–15; 5:8–30). The people lifted their hands to worship God, but their hands were stained with blood (1:15, 21). God could not answer their prayers because their sins hid His face from them.
It was a conflict between truth and lies, just as it is today. Isaiah compared the evil rulers to pregnant women giving birth to sin (59:4; Ps. 7:14; Isa. 33:11), to snakes hatching their eggs, and to spiders weaving their webs (Isa. 59:5–6). What they give birth to will only destroy them (James 1:13–15), and their beautiful webs of lies can never protect them.
When people live on lies, they live in a twilight zone and do not know where they are going (Isa. 59:9–11). When truth falls, it creates a “traffic jam”; and justice and equity (honesty) cannot make progress (vv. 12–15). God is displeased with injustice, and He wonders that none of His people will intercede or intervene (Prov. 24:11–12). So the Lord Himself intervened and brought the Babylonians to destroy Judah and Jerusalem and to teach His people that they cannot despise His Law and get away with it.
God’s judgment on His people was a foreshadowing of that final Day of the Lord when all the nations will be judged. When it is ended, then “the Redeemer shall come to Zion” (Isa. 59:20), and the glorious kingdom will be established. Israel will be not only God’s chosen people but God’s cleansed people, and the glory of the Lord will radiate from Mt. Zion.
The glory of the Lord in the promised kingdom is the theme of the closing chapters of Isaiah. While we are waiting and praying, “Thy kingdom come,” perhaps we should also be interceding and intervening. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13–16), and God expects us to make a difference. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (pp. 151–152). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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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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We’ve mentioned in the past on BreakPoint about “zombie abortion arguments.” You know, those arguments that just won’t die? They continue to be repeated long after they should have been “dead and buried.” Like zombies in movies, these arguments continue shuffling along, seemingly impervious to the reality that they are dead.
Abortion isn’t the only issue confused by “zombie arguments.” There’s a whole host of “should-be-dead-by-now” ideas having to do with so-called “overpopulation.” I say “so-called” because virtually every dire prediction Paul Ehrlich made fifty years ago in his book “The Population Bomb” was wrong. Spectacularly wrong, in fact. Yet Ehrlich’s ideas remain an article of faith among many—and I mean that literally.
In “The Walking Dead,” the only sure way to dispatch a zombie is with a headshot. Well, a new book should be the headshot for Ehrlich’s ideas. Unfortunately, many people’s worldviews harden to the point of becoming ideological kevlar helmets.
The book of which I speak is “Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline” by Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson.
To be clear, there’s far more than one “shock” described in “Empty Planet,” but all of them flow from a single reality. Contrary to what people have been taught to believe for decades, “We do not face the challenge of a population bomb but of a population bust—a relentless, generation-after-generation culling of the human herd.”
As the Canadian duo documents, an increasing number of demographers around the world believe that the UN’s estimates, that human population will peak at 11 billion in 2100, are far too high. The more likely outcome, they suggest, is that “the planet’s population will peak at around nine billion sometime between 2040 and 2060, and then start to decline.” According to Bricker and Ibbitson, “Once that decline begins, it will never end.”
Their argument is scarily plausible. They are not exaggerating when they call this decline the “great defining event of the twenty-first century” and “one of the great defining events in human history.”
We talk a lot on BreakPoint about the decline of fertility rates in the industrialized world: Western Europe, Japan and the United States. We have described the dire economic and social consequences of this decline.
What “Empty Planet” makes clear is that this decline isn’t limited to the usual suspects. South Korea is headed down the same road to demographic catastrophe as Japan. Even more ominously, similar trends are emerging in the developing world. By the middle of this century, Brazil, Indonesia, China, and even India will begin to see their populations decline.
The reasons behind the decline are, not surprisingly, mostly cultural. In a brilliant bit of analysis, the authors point out that “as societies become more modern and urban, friends and co-workers replace siblings, parents, and uncles and aunts.” Families may put subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle pressure on young people to get married and have kids, but friends rarely do.
And then, there’s this well-established link between religiosity and fertility, something we’ve talked about before on BreakPoint.
Population decline is going to be a nasty shock, especially in the economic realm. Ideally, there should be about six workers for every retiree. Thanks to increased life expectancy and low birth rates, it is projected to drop to about three by 2050 and about two by 2100. We may live longer but there will be fewer of us, and our societies will be less dynamic, entrepreneurial, and creative.
Despite these realities, the myth of “overpopulation” refuses to die. Efforts to combat fertility and population growth, whether governmental policies or cultural incentives, are terrible ideas that threaten to make victims of us all.
Still, unlike Bricker and Ibbitson, I refuse to give up hope. Faith, especially Christian faith, is still strong in many parts of the world. And while that persists, there’s still a chance to avoid some of the “shocks” they describe in “Empty Planet.”
Otherwise a different, but no less real, zombie apocalypse awaits us.
BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry
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Deuteronomy 6
Moses exhorts the Israelites to obey the greatest commandment.
INSIGHT
There are three keys to sharing your faith with someone else. First, it must be real in your life. Moses said the words must be in your “heart,” not just your “head.” Second, we must impart truth and information. That is, we must teach diligently. Finally, this truth must penetrate every corner of our lives. We must talk of it when we lie down and when we rise up.
We rarely fool anyone, and if one of these keys is missing in our lives, we will not make an impact on others. We must know the truth, it must be real to us, and it must permeate our daily lives. (Quiet Walk)
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THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
This is your hour, and the power of darkness. Luke 22:53
What does our Lord mean exactly when He says in the Garden of Gethsemane, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness”? It seems to me that the only possible explanation must be that this hour would never have come to pass were it not for the power of darkness. What makes this hour and all that it involves necessary and essential? It is again the problem of sin and of evil, the problem of Satan and of hell. It is the kind of hour that the devil has staged and brought into being, for in one sense he has manipulated it, though in a much higher sense he has not. I think this is the way to look at it—it is the work of the devil that makes the hour essential from God’s standpoint; it is because of what Satan has produced by sin and evil that God has to do this in order to overcome it.
So it is, in a sense, the hour of evil men, and it is there that we really see the essence of evil and of sin. The devil has produced such a situation that this hour alone can deal with it.
So this hour can be described as “your hour” and the hour of the glorification of the Son at the same time, and that is why He prays that His Father may glorify Him. It is in going through this hour, which has been produced by Satan and hell, that our Lord really is glorified. It is there we know for certain that He is the Son of God. No one had ever before had to meet Satan and conquer him; no one had been able to destroy the power that Satan had over death. The author to the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it like this: “That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death”(2:14). And thus He sets the children free, and Christ has done this through His glorification. Christ’s death and resurrection are proof that He is the Son of God.
A Thought to Ponder: Christ’s death and resurrection are proof that He is the Son of God. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 114-115, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Life in the Fast-Food Lane BY BARBARA RAINEY
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. EXODUS 20:8
When Truett Cathy opened his Dwarf House restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946, he made a decision never to deal with money on the Lord’s Day. The Dwarf House was always closed on Sundays. Perhaps this policy didn’t seem extremely revolutionary to his post-World War II American patrons. But that small restaurant was the first franchise for Chick-fil-A®—and by the organization’s sixtieth anniversary, it had multiplied into over 1,200 restaurant locations. As Chick-fil-A continues to grow, it also continues to close its operations on Sunday, traditionally one of the biggest days for food service.
Being closed on Sunday is a reflection of Truett’s purpose statement for his company. It’s an investment in the spiritual lives of his employees and a witness to both the watching world and the restaurant industry. He still refers to his closed-on-Sunday policy as “the best business decision I ever made.” In fact, Chick-fil-A restaurants often generate more money in six days than other comparable restaurants do in seven. Being closed on Sunday is also a reflection of one of my core values: Sabbath rest. I believe that when we yield control of our lives to the Father—when we reserve our Sundays to turn from our activity to rest and to abide more fully in Him—we receive strength for daily living throughout the coming week and live under the blessing of God.
The Sabbath is God’s invitation to draw near to Him, to rest in Him, and to linger by His still waters. It’s how He helps detoxify you from the pressures of life. It’s how He restores your soul. Perhaps it’s even how He makes Chick-fil-A sandwiches taste so good on Monday.
DISCUSS
How does your family practice Sabbath rest? How could you make God-honoring relaxation more of a deliberate effort? (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
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It is important that you delve deeply into the Word yourself. You need to be studying it and reflecting on it every day of your life. The Word of HIS grace, according to Paul, is able to build you up. And do you remember earlier in the chapter when I mentioned finding only one passage that speaks of building ourselves up? Jude 20-21 is that very passage: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (p 64)
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You can excel at both, keeping the discipline of a daily appointment with God, to build the inner person, and also ministering among the body at your church. What a wonderful balance it makes when we do both well. What a great joy to be found doing them both when Christ appears in the sky. (p. 64-65)
Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah
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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.