Eternal Comfort and Good Hope...

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, ESV)

I really like how Paul makes this benediction so personal in that he asks that the Lord Jesus Christ HIMSELF and God our Father comfort our hearts.  May  the One who gave Himself for us to give us ETERNAL consolation....may He be the true source of all our comfort, encouragement and strength.  When God comforts me, He also establishes me because the consolation I receive enables me to persevere in His ways and not waver in faith.  It is His faithful Presence with me that makes it possible for me to be established and to endure.  It’s all grace! 

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  (Isaiah 41:10, ESV)

May Fulfill Every Resolve for Good..

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, ESV)

There are so many good examples of prayer in Scripture and this one is no exception.  Oh, that I might behave in ways that are consistent with my identity as a follower of Jesus...that His will might be fulfilled in me and that my life might be marked by His goodness and His powerful works of faith.  Father, be glorified in me...make this the end and aim of all that I do and all that I desire. 

The phrase ‘may fulfill every resolve for good” really gave me encouragement this morning. 

I don’t know about you but my Bible journal is replete with my resolves for good...not because I am good, but because it is equally replete with my sin and failure.  My sin is ALWAYS  before me.   As it says in Psalm 38 my iniquities have gone over my head.  Like a burden they are too heavy for me.  It encouraged my heart this morning to know that God sees those resolves for good...remembers them...and by His Spirit that works in me, brings them to fulfillment.  

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.—Matt 11:28

My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.—Psalm 73:26

A Quiet Life...

that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you—1 Thessalonians 4:11

I have always been attracted to the picture this verse paints.   I want to be the one who leads a quiet life, who minds her own business and works with her hands.  1 Peter 3:4 is similar...it tells us to “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.”  I want that too!  Spending time minding other people’s business and/or attempting to make me look good on the outside takes a lot of my energy and causes disquietude not only in my heart but usually in the hearts of others, also.  It uses energy that could be better spent more aspiring to lead a quiet life.  Energy that could be spent working with my hands to aid the smooth running of my household.  Energy that could be spent helping provide for the needs of others. Energy that could be spent focusing on those things that are above that bring stability and peace...that enable me to be the one whose soul rests easy even in the midst of difficulty.  My life is quiet...free from external disturbances...because I am minding my own business.  My life is peaceful...free from internal disturbances...because my has been spent staying focused on Him.  

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.  And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,—2 Corinthians 3:2-5

The Way of Man is Not In Himself - Jeremiah 10:23

O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself;

It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.—Jeremiah 10:23

When I read verses like this, I rejoice and settle down to read more about how incapable I am of directing my own steps. God had a plan for Jeremiah before he was even born...He has one for me too. (Ps 139).  I love knowing and being assured of that it is not in me to get through this life on my own. It takes the pressure that I lived with for far too many years off of me and that is such a good thing. (casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you). I looked up weakness in my Thompson Chain...posting pictures of some of the verses that brought comfort and peace to my heart this am. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.—Prov 3:5-6

A man's heart plans his way,

But the LORD directs his steps.—Prov 16:9

Filled With the Fullness of God...

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,—Colossians 1:19

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.—Colossians 2:8-10

Praying this morning that none of us are deceived by the philosophies, lies and futility of life that is not according to Christ.  We who are broken are made whole in Christ.  We are complete in Him...accepted in the Beloved.  All His spiritual resources are ours.  Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount tells us, “Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.”  With what are we filled?  We are filled with the One who “brought us out of the land of Egypt”.   The One who tells us to open our mouths wide and He will fill them.  We are filled with the One that wants us to know the blessings of His gospel, the love of His Son and the knowledge of His will. We are filled with all wisdom and spiritual understanding until we come to the unity of the faith, to a perfect man...to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.—John 1:16

But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."—John 6:68-69

Jeremiah...

O my soul, my soul!

I am pained in my very heart!

My heart makes a noise in me;

I cannot hold my peace,

Because you have heard, O my soul,

The sound of the trumpet,

The alarm of war.

20 Destruction upon destruction is cried,

For the whole land is plundered.

Suddenly my tents are plundered,

And my curtains in a moment.

21 How long will I see the standard,

And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 "For My people are foolish,

They have not known Me.

They are silly children,

And they have no understanding.

They are wise to do evil,

But to do good they have no knowledge."—Jeremiah 4:19-22

I LOVE Jeremiah.  The more you read the book, the more you love him.  He truly and sincerely loved God’s people.  His heart was for them as well as broken for them.  He preached and preached for 42 years and nobody listened.  In fact, Chapter 7 tells us the sad result of his preaching...the people went backward and not forward.  

But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.' "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.—Jeremiah 7:23-24

 I want to endure as this man endured.  I want to be faithful as Jeremiah was faithful.  I cannot imagine the discouragement he must have often felt preaching a message that no one wanted to hear...a message that made him the focus of jokes, ridicule, humiliation and torture...a message to which no one responded.  I think John MacArthur sums up Jeremiah perfectly:

“He is an intensely human personality, this Jeremiah. He is very human. And yet his humanity does not explain the power of his preaching and the relentless endurance of his faithfulness. He is a man who is mysteriously endowed with power from on high to survive the rejection that marked his entire life. He is so humanly weak that he can’t stop crying, and yet he is so unassailably strong that he will not yield and compromise. He is a powerful personality. He is a lovable personality.”

What an example to us!  Praying I can be faithful to do what my God has called me to do and remember that the results of my obedience are not up to me...they are thankfully in God’s hands.  Praying also, that I draw near to God in brokenness and heartfelt, fervent prayer for the people He has sovereignly placed in my path.  

God’s Sovereign Hand...

But God is the Judge:

He puts down one,

And exalts another.—Psalm 75:8

God’s sovereign hand IS ALWAYS a comfort to my heart.  The Lord reigns!  Let the earth and all its people rejoice.  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.  Blessed are the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.  There is a God, and His Divine providence brings comfort to those who put their trust in Him.  If God is for us who can be against us? Nothing happens to me or to you by chance...All that we go through phases through His hand and He overrules all for our good and His glory.  I forget this...I focus on those things that are seen and “forget” that my unseen Lord is at work, as Spurgeon says, “behind and within the cloud.”  God only is; all power belongs to him; all else is shadow, coming and going, unsubstantial, misty, dream like.”  Ending with Psalm 33 which depicts God’s sovereignty and praises Him for His goodness and His power. 

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the LORD with the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;fn

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

13 The LORD looks from heaven;

He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually;

He considers all their works.

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army;

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;

Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD;

He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.