Thirsts...Come...Drink

 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;--Isaiah 44:3

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

What a wonderful prayer to pray for you, my children...and for my precious grandchildren. I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessings on your offspring! Glorious!

This is the verse that was always read on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles which celebrates God's deliverance, protection, and provision during Israel's wilderness wanderings. John's gospel tells us that on the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying:

“...If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”--John 7:37-38

Jesus revealed Himself as the fulfillment of this verse in Isaiah. He is the One who would provide the living water that gives us eternal life. Jesus is the only One who can satisfy the thirsts that resides in the heart of every person.  We try to quench it with so many things both physical and emotional, but what we really need is Him. 

God will pour out His Spirit on those that come to Him and out of their hearts shall flow torrents of living water. Complete satisfaction is only found in Him. Those three words...thirsts...come...drink summarize the message of the Gospel.  First, there must be a recognition of need, then a coming to the Source and finally a receiving of what is needed to satisfy. Isaiah 12: 3 is also quoted on this last day of the feast.

Behold, God is my salvation,  I will trust and not be afraid;  ‘ For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’”Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.--Isaiah 12:2-3

Jehovah is a Hebrew word for God meaning literally "the becoming one."  The name is important because it expresses what God wants to be to you. God desires to become whatever your need may be. The name Jesus means Jehovah is Salvation. He has become your salvation!  Don't settle for the endless and hopeless quests of finding permanent and lasting satisfaction in this world.  A relationship with Jesus will satisfy every longing in your heart.   It will cost you nothing.  It costs God the Father, the death of His Son on the cross at Calvary.  His redemptive work and His kingdom are for the benefit of all who are willing to come.

Love
Mom

Jesus' words in John echo Isaiah 55 which I have copied in its entirety below.

Isaiah 55

  “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

      Come to the waters;

      And you who have no money,

      Come, buy and eat.

      Yes, come, buy wine and milk

      Without money and without price.

       ² Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

      And your wages for what does not satisfy?

      Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

      And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

       ³ Incline your ear, and come to Me.

      Hear, and your soul shall live;

      And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

      The sure mercies of David.

       ⁴ Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,

      A leader and commander for the people.

       ⁵ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,

      And nations who do not know you shall run to you,

      Because of the LORD your God,

      And the Holy One of Israel;

      For He has glorified you.”

       ⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be found,

      Call upon Him while He is near.

       ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way,

      And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

      Let him return to the LORD,

      And He will have mercy on him;

      And to our God,

      For He will abundantly pardon.

       ⁸ “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

      Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.

       ⁹ “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

      So are My ways higher than your ways,

      And My thoughts than your thoughts.

       ¹⁰ “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

      And do not return there,

      But water the earth,

      And make it bring forth and bud,

      That it may give seed to the sower

      And bread to the eater,

       ¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

      It shall not return to Me void,

      But it shall accomplish what I please,

      And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

       ¹² “ For you shall go out with joy,

      And be led out with peace;

      The mountains and the hills

      Shall break forth into singing before you,

      And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

       ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,

      And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;

      And it shall be to the LORD for a name,

      For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Old Things Have Passed Away; Behold, All Things Have Become New

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.--2nd Corinthians 5:17

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
 
There is just no way I can possibly do this verse justice or even begin to speak to its magnificence.  (But of course...you know...I will try.

The key to the verse is "in Christ."  I AM IN CHRIST!  I am a new creation...the Holy Spirit has given me new life.  It is not a new leaf so to speak...it is a new life I walk in.  My master is no longer the God of this world but is the Lord Himself!   He is my strong tower.  He is my shelter. He is my refuge.  He is my security...He is my forgiveness...He is my acceptance...He is my hope....He is my future assurance and my inheritance. He is my Ark of Safety when I pass through the waters. In Him, the bible tells me, I live and move and have my being. He is my covering...He is the Becoming One...He becomes whatever I need!  I (ME!) have Him  living inside..I participate in the divine nature of Christ. This treasure lives in my earthen vessel.  I am now set free and am no longer a slave to my past or to sin.  In fact, because I believe, my past and everything else in my life now works together for good.  Goodness and mercy follow me and whether I live or die, I am with Him.  I am always with Him. 

 My old values, beliefs, loves and plans are gone.  My old man can still put up a fight and will to the day I die, but I am no longer enslaved to him.  He no longer has control over me. I am set free from the bondage of the past.  I can walk in holiness and newness of life.

This newness of life did not go away a few days after I was saved...this newness of life continued and was and is a constant reality for me.  Why because my position in Christ is secure. There is nothing that can separate me from Him. When I forget or allow something from my past to take hold  and gain a foothold in my life, my Lord is so gracious to show me that it no longer has the power to hold me and keep me from walking with Him by His Spirit. He graciously reminds me of my position in Him and all that that means. I have His power living inside me and as I surrender to it, I can do all things through my God who gives me strength.  I face nothing...nothing without Him.  He is always there...nothing can separate me from Him. I no longer live for the temporal.  I can live for the eternal.  I can walk in those works He has prepared for me.  I can walk according to His plan. I can face life with no condemnation and look forward to living with Him in glory  because I am in Him!

There is a notation in my bible next to the following verses...it was and is my prayer for myself and each one of you...my daughters.

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,"--Colossians 1:9-13


Love
Mom

Some verses to contemplate when you need to remember the new perspective you have in Him...


 "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.--Isaiah 43:18-19

Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? --Ezekiel 18:31

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. --John 3:3-6
 

No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." --Matthew 9:16-17

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.--Romans 6:4-6

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.  Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." --Revelation 21:1-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
\that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.--Ephesians 1:3-14

A Heartbroken Parent and a Wayward Child...

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

I started to read the book of Isaiah today reading Chapter 1 several times through.  Isaiah was a prophet who wrote from the southern kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in the eighth century B.C. This was during the time the northern kingdom had already been taken captive by the Assyrian army but before the southern kingdom would be taken captive by Babylon. He warned them of the destruction and devastation that would take place because of their rejection of the God of Israel and His word.  He also talked of the restoration that would follow speaking to the near future and the very distant one.  Isaiah spoke many prophecies concerning the Messiah...both His first and second coming.  In reading them one gets a very clear picture of the cross and what was accomplished by Jesus there.

The book of Isaiah is interesting in that it has 66 books...like the bible.  The first 39 (the same number of books contained in the Old Testament) deal with judgment and history and the next 27 (the same number of books contained in the New Testament) deal with the salvation that God provides.  The book is a bible within the bible and is all about Jesus.

Chapter 1 Summary: The first chapter begins with a courtroom scene with God convening and charging the nation of Judah in verses 2-4 calling them rebellious children who are less devoted to Him than an animal is to its master. They had corrupted their way and forsaken the Lord and gone backward. He presents His case in verses 5-15 and pronounces them guilty.  Unbelievably in verses 16-31 we find Him speaking of pardon and offering a solution to their situation  Not only that He goes on to talk of their future restoration in the latter verses. What was most hideous about what Israel was doing was that they were claiming to be a religious nation.  They attended religious services and offered many sacrifices, but in their worship they sinned even more because of the hypocrisy of their hearts.  God wanted the inward heart not the outward show.

There is much in this chapter but a few verses really spoke to my heart.

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!  For the LORD has spoken:  “ I have nourished and brought up children,  And they have rebelled against Me;  The ox knows its owner  And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”  Alas, sinful nation,  A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters!  They have forsaken the LORD,  They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward."--Isaiah1:2-4

The Lord here sounds like a heartbroken parent.  He had nourished and brought up children and they had rebelled against Him.  God tells His children that the animals had more sense than they did.  He brought the nation of Israel into being and brought them out of Egypt where they were enslaved.  He took care of them in the wilderness and brought them into the land He had promised them.  He grew them, fed them, made them strong and forgave them when they rebelled.  He had shown them His love, grace and mercy and they in response rejected Him. They literally bit the hand that fed them. If you are a parent, you  understand what it means to pour your life, your love and your heart into a child.  What a heartbreak for a mom and a dad when  when the one you have loved, cared for and treasured, rebels and act like they don't even know you.  You become nothing to them.  What an example, however, our God, our Father, is for these parents.  He continually stretches out His hand in mercy and love.  Mercy triumphs over judgment. All God's people needed to be was willing.

“ Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD,  “ Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.--Isaiah 1:18-20

Despite all the evil...despite their continual sin, God does not forget mercy.  Despite their rejection, despite their betrayal and worship of other gods, despite their going backwards and not remembering Him...He still offered them a way out of their suffering and sin and back into blessing. All they needed to do was to be willing...It was their choice.  Rebel and die or obey and live.   Forgiveness comes through repentance and you can't fake it. If it is from your heart, it will look like something in your life.  Your word and your deed will match.


Love
Mom


Here is the entire chapter...Read and be blessed.  Hear your God's heart for you, His children.  Hear His hurt and see His extended arm to them in forgiveness.  See further on that God's discipline and judgment is always for the purpose of restoration.

Isaiah 1

 ¹ The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

    ² Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
      For the LORD has spoken:

      “ I have nourished and brought up children,
      And they have rebelled against Me;
       ³ The ox knows its owner
      And the donkey its master’s crib;
      But Israel does not know,
      My people do not consider.”
       ⁴ Alas, sinful nation,
      A people laden with iniquity,
      A brood of evildoers,
      Children who are corrupters!
      They have forsaken the LORD,
      They have provoked to anger
      The Holy One of Israel,
      They have turned away backward.
       ⁵ Why should you be stricken again?
      You will revolt more and more.
      The whole head is sick,
      And the whole heart faints.
       ⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head,
      There is no soundness in it,
      But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
      They have not been closed or bound up,
      Or soothed with ointment.
       ⁷ Your country is desolate,
      Your cities are burned with fire;
      Strangers devour your land in your presence;
      And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
       ⁸ So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard,
      As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
      As a besieged city.
       ⁹ Unless the LORD of hosts
      Had left to us a very small remnant,
      We would have become like Sodom,
      We would have been made like Gomorrah.
       ¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD,
      You rulers of Sodom;
      Give ear to the law of our God,
      You people of Gomorrah:
       ¹¹ “ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?”
      Says the LORD.

      “ I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
      And the fat of fed cattle.
      I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
      Or of lambs or goats.
       ¹² “ When you come to appear before Me,
      Who has required this from your hand,
      To trample My courts?
       ¹³ Bring no more futile sacrifices;
      Incense is an abomination to Me.
      The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
      I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
       ¹⁴ Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
      My soul hates;
      They are a trouble to Me,
      I am weary of bearing them.
       ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands,
      I will hide My eyes from you;
      Even though you make many prayers,
      I will not hear.
      Your hands are full of blood.
       ¹⁶ “ Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
      Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
      Cease to do evil,
       ¹⁷ Learn to do good;
      Seek justice,
      Rebuke the oppressor;
      Defend the fatherless,
      Plead for the widow.
       ¹⁸ “ Come now, and let us reason together,”
      Says the LORD,

      “ Though your sins are like scarlet,
      They shall be as white as snow;
      Though they are red like crimson,
      They shall be as wool.
       ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,
      You shall eat the good of the land;
       ²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel,
      You shall be devoured by the sword”;
      For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The Degenerate City

    ²¹ How the faithful city has become a harlot!
      It was full of justice;
      Righteousness lodged in it,
      But now murderers.
       ²² Your silver has become dross,
      Your wine mixed with water.
       ²³ Your princes are rebellious,
      And companions of thieves;
      Everyone loves bribes,
      And follows after rewards.
      They do not defend the fatherless,
      Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
       ²⁴ Therefore the Lord says,
      The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,

      “ Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries,
      And take vengeance on My enemies.
       ²⁵ I will turn My hand against you,
      And thoroughly purge away your dross,
      And take away all your alloy.
       ²⁶ I will restore your judges as at the first,
      And your counselors as at the beginning.
      Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
       ²⁷ Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
      And her penitents with righteousness.
       ²⁸ The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
      And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
       ²⁹ For they^[b] shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees
      Which you have desired;
      And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
      Which you have chosen.
       ³⁰ For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
      And as a garden that has no water.
       ³¹ The strong shall be as tinder,
      And the work of it as a spark;
      Both will burn together,
      And no one shall quench them.

TO BE LONGING...BY ANNA

 Isaiah 43:1 “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”

I’m currently memorizing Isaiah 43—and let me tell you, it is worth every single second I spend on it and a dozen times more. (Isaiah 54 and 55 are just as good.)

Go on, read that verse over again. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have... called you BY YOUR NAME; YOU ARE MINE.”
You are Mine.

Do you know just how many people in the world, past and present, who have struggled with the feeling of being homeless? Of having no one who cares for them. Unclaimed. Unwanted. Rejected. Cast off. Of being alone. Of being so sinful, so dirty, so unworthy, that no one could ever even look at them without cringing, let alone forgiving them and raising them up from the ashes. 

Of not belonging to anyone.

I’m not very old at all, and I’m certainly not too experienced, but in my brief span, I’ve noticed that we as human beings struggle with the issue of belonging. On one hand, we don’t like the idea of being “beholden” or “obligated” to anyone, and we certainly don’t like being in servitude. (More on that another devotional.) But on the other hand, we NEED to belong. To something. To someone. To not be “unclaimed”. To not be adrift in a big, scary world with no one by your side, no one to look out for you and after you. To not be rejected and unwanted. (Those two words “rejected” and “unwanted” are two of the most frightening words in the English language. I know; I’ve felt them. They’re horrible.) And do you know what? Separate “belonging” into two words. “Be” “longing”. We literally “be longing” to belong. 

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”

I’m His. I belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He’s called me BY MY NAME. He knows everything about me. He loves me. I’m precious in His sight. He’s always with me. He never leaves me nor forsakes me; He cares for me now, always has, and always will. He wants me. He claims me. He redeems me. He forgives me.

I belong to Him. 

And so do you.

YOUR HANDS HAVE MADE ME...

Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.--Psalm 119:73

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,


His hands have made me...His hands have shaped me!   As it says in Psalm 139, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. My Lord, my God and Father, is acquainted with all my ways.  He knows what I am going to say before I say it.  He hedges me behind and before.  His presence is inescapable.  His right hand upholds me and even when I think the darkness is going to fall on me... even the night is light about me. He planned my days when as yet there were none of them.  All of them are written in His book. His thoughts toward me are precious and cannot be counted....more in number the Psalmist says than the sand. My God knows all about me...my thoughts, my anxieties, the way that I take...and it is HE that leads me in the way that is everlasting.

I am an open book to Him and He LOVES what He sees!  Why would I not submit to Him completely and be completely enveloped in His love. God is omniscience and omnipresence...that is such a comfort!  When each of your were babies I can remember just watching as you played...not wanting to miss a precious moment of it.

I love thinking that our God is like that! Life is made up of thousands of moments...each one our Lord has planned for us.  Don't miss any of what He has planned for you by going your own way...let Him lead.

I am created by God!  He has a purpose for me...for my life.  The opposing view renders life meaningless and pointless.  It says that I am the result of a billion accidents, over billions of years.  This is what many of us are teaching our children or allowing our public school system  to teach them.  They then have to spend millions of dollars trying to counter that teaching with self-esteem courses.  Such evil we teach our little ones.  We are created in His image.  We are made in the similitude of our Creator. Genesis says "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." This defines man unique relationship to God. Colossians 3:10 says this:

^"and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,"

It is God's plan that believers become progressively more like Jesus Christ, the One who made them. He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.1 Corinthians 15:49 says  

"as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man."

1 John 3:2 says, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 

Finally 2nd Corinthians 3:18 says this:  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We are who He, our Creator, says we are and when we awake in His presence we shall be like Him!

Love
Mom

Hymn of Security...

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:


      “ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.--Romans 8:31-39

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

John MacArthur calls this the believer's hymn of security.  What a great passage this would be to memorize!   Paul begins by asking the question "if God is for us, who can be against us?" It could also read, "since God is for us."  The Father is for us...He did not spare His own Son to give us the free gift of salvation when we were still His enemies. He has already given us the greatest gift and paid the highest price. He has sacrificed His Son for us, there is nothing...nothing that He would not give.

Verse 33 asks, "who will bring a charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.  We have been declared righteous by God. Our sin has been pardoned, our debt has been paid.  When we believe, God imputes Christ's righteousness to our account.  If then God has declared us righteous, who can accuse us?  Paul goes on to ask, "who is he that condemns?  It is Christ who died, and furthermore is risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Do you see what is being said here, girls, The answer is NO ONE can condemn us.   I (we) am the defendant.  Christ died in my place for my sin.  The Son of God...for me!  And what is more...He is risen from the dead and is at the right hand of the Father interceding for me!  The Lord Jesus not only died for me, He prays for me for my good!  God has committed judgment to the Son.  If He does not condemn me...no one can.

Next, Paul gives the list of what cannot separate us from the love of Christ.  NOTHING CAN BANISH US FROM HIS PRESENCE.  NOTHING!  OUR SALVATION IS SECURE.  Check out the list for yourself...it is pretty inclusive. John 10:27-30 says this:

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.

”Believers often face much suffering and persecution in this world.  Paul understood this better than most.  The sheep reference reminds me that the Lord is my Shepherd...He leads, I follow.  Nothing can separate me from Him.  I am secure...I have everything I need.

Because of our identification with Christ we die daily and are at times persecuted for our faith...as David writes and Paul quotes, we are killed all day long...we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Persecution and death will not separate us from Him.  The bible tells us when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord. When we awake after death, we awake in His likeness.

Here is my favorite verse..."Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Instead of drawing us away from God, sufferings and persecutions draw us to Him and through them we bring glory to God and blessings to ourselves.  All you need do to understand is to look to the cross and see the glorious result of the One who suffered...the just for the unjust. The darkest moment in history was in reality the brightest light and the greatest gift the world would ever know.  We are secure in Him. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  No matter what I face in this life...He will always be with me.  No one....no one can take Him from me...not even me.  "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;"  WHAT COMFORT!

Love
Mom

Some verses that were encouraging to read...

Rom_8:17, Rom_5:3-5; Mat_5:10-12, Mat_10:28-31; Luk_21:12-18; Joh_16:33; Act_14:22; Act_20:23-24; 2Co_4:17, 2Co_6:4-10, 2Co_11:23-27; 2Ti_1:12, 2Ti_4:16-18; Heb_12:3-11; Jam_1:2-4; 1Pe_1:5-7, 1Pe_4:12-14; Rev_7:14-17

Absent From the Body...Present with the Lord....

You will guide me with Your counsel,  And afterward receive me to glory --Psalm 73:24

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me.  Selah --Psalm 49:15

Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His saints.--Psalm 116:15

Dear Girls,

After our lives are over here on this earth, our Lord receives us!  Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5:8 that absent from the body is present with the Lord.  As believers, we are His redeemed.  We may be rejected and despised by many here on earth.   We may even be persecuted for naming the name of Christ, but truly we have nothing to fear.  Read what it says in Romans:

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us"--Romans 8:18 

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. --Romans 8:37-39

Death comes to all of us.  We cannot buy our way out of it.  The unbeliever goes to the grave unredeemed and is received in hell only to face the second death. (see Revelation 20:11-15) No matter what kind of rejection we face here on earth for our faith, we are victorious  in death.   Because we are accepted in the Beloved, we are received by the Lord Himself at the moment of our death.  THE LORD HIMSELF RECEIVES US!  We will hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant...Enter into the joy of your Lord."

What an incentive to do His will then here on earth!  How much time so many of us waste striving to be accepted by the people around us instead of sharing the truth of the Gospel with them. How much time do we waste trying to impress and please man?  None of it matters in the end.  Spend your time rightly...serving Him who will guide you with His counsel here on earth and receive you in glory when your life on earth is done.  The Lord is on your side...there is nothing to fear.  The worse that can happen is death and when that occurs the Lord will receive you.  Ironically then, the worse that can happen to you here on earth is really the best thing that will ever happen to you. 


Love
Mom

Psalm 17:15  As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

Believers Are Conquerors....

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?--1 John 5:1-5

Dear Mikayla, Anna, Rebecca and Suzanne,

This is what I want for you my daughters.  Victory over this world.  Overwhelming success.  I want you to be conquerors in Him and through Him!  John says that whatever is born of God overcomes the world. The victory that has overcome the world is the believer's faith.  Believers then are the overcomers! Why?  As believers we have been accepted in the Beloved.  We are in Christ and thus share in His victory.  What is His is ours!  Look at the promises to the overcomer spoken of by the apostle John in Revelation.  Read Ephesians and see what riches we have in Him!

Revelation 2:7 To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." '

Revelation 2:11 He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
Revelation 2:17 To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." '
Revelation 2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations
Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

An overcomer believes that Jesus is the Christ and thus is born of God.  Belief here is not just intellectual assent.   James tells us that the demons believe and tremble.  John is speaking of a heart belief.  When your heart believes something your words and actions will reflect that belief. Your life will be one dedicated to doing the will of God from your heart. Romans 10:10 says it is with the heart that one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.


Next we note that because he is born again. he will love both God and fellow believers. Verse 2 defines it further and says that a believer will not only love God and fellow believers but he will also obey His commandments.  Our love for God then will be expressed in our love for other believers and our desire to do His will and obey His commandments. Faith leads to love and love leads to obedience. The three are linked here beautifully by John.

Verse 3 goes on to say that His commandments are not burdensome.  Contrast Matthew 23:4 with Matthew 11:28-30.

Jesus is speaking here in Matthew 23 of the scribes and Pharisees. 

"For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

In Matthew 11 Jesus gives the only autobiographical statement He ever made:


Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Now sometimes obeying God is not easy.  Sometimes, in fact, many times it is difficult. But because I love Him, I delight to do His will. Doing His will is never a burden because it is not me that does the work, but Christ in me.  My job is to surrender to His Spirit and stay close.(hang on tight)  The more I know Him...the more I trust Him...the more it becomes my delight to surrender and obey Him because I know that He desires the best for me. 

Verse 4 tells us that we as believers have overcome the world.  The world is passing away. It is an evil system that continually attempts to get our attention with things that have no value eternally. An unbeliever is enslaved to the things of the world and cannot separate himself from it.  A believer is set free and can overcome the world through His faith in Christ. The believer separates himself from the world and sanctifies Christ in his heart...giving Him the preeminence always.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.--Galatians 2:20

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.--Colossians 3:1-4

Satan is the ruler of this world.  1 John 4:4 says that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.  Our hope is not in this world...our home is not in this world.  We look past the temporal to the eternal. Our old nature looks to the things of the world, but our new nature looks to the things above. Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.  Our victory is in the person of Jesus.  It is through Him that we can do all things. As we grow in faith, we grow in love as we grow in love we grow in obedience.  As we immerse ourselves in the things of God and look up the things of earth grow dim and we loosen our grip and focus on the temporal and look, like Abraham did, to the reward. Victory is ours in Him.  


Read more and be encouraged...


These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”--John 16:33


 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:

      “ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.--Romans 8:35-37

 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.--1 Cor 15:56-58

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.--1 John 2:15-17

He who does the will of God abides forever...

Love
Mom


 

My Home Away From Home...

Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed;  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.  Selah --Psalm 61:1-4



Dear Girls,

David is not really that far from home when he is crying out here.  He had fled from Jerusalem at the time of his son Absolom's betrayal and rebellion and was probably just on the other side of the Jordan River.   What anguish of heart David must have been experiencing at his son's betrayal!

Like David, when our own  hearts are overwhelmed,  it can feel like help is a million miles away.  But God...God is our shelter, He is our resting place, He is our strong tower and as believers He abides in us...In Him we live and move and have our being. We can trust in the shelter of His wings. God is near girls, as close as our crying. The moment we cry out broken and overwhelmed, He is there.  He is our home away from home.  He is our defense and the rock of our strength. He is our shelter in the storm.  David's God is our God.  Pour out your heart before Him, girls.  He is a refuge for us!

Love
Mom

The Glory of God

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³ the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans^] by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.--Ezekiel 1:1-2


Dear Girls,

We are beginning a study in Ezekiel this morning with Pastor Ed.  I read these first two verses last night and then again this morning and was encouraged.  The Lord visited Ezekiel when he was among the captives. Separated from his homeland  and isolated.  This is when he had this glorious vision...this is when the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God.  This is when the hand of God was upon Him and He received the word of the Lord. Take heart during your times of loneliness and despair...of separation and uncertainty. Psalm 34:18 says the LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Seek Him diligently...look up during your times of trial.  Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.

I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them--Psalm 34:4-7

Love 
Mom

On Having a Good Conscience...

Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.  For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.--1Peter 3:16-17

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

The conscience accuses.  Most of us really hate that, don't we? It notifies us when we sinned.  My pride hates being informed of my wrongdoing and wants very much to suppress that notification in any way it can. Romans 2:14-16 tells us this.

"for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)  in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."

We have the law written on our hearts.  Man knows the basic standard of right and wrong.  When violated, a conscience acts like a built-in warning system, and  produces some uncomfortable feelings...guilt, doubt, fear, anxiety, shame and sometimes even despair.  If we listen to our conscience and handle these assaults as they come up...confessing sin and purposing to obey God...we will have a good conscience toward God.  A good conscience produces....well, good feelings. A believer who does God's will has peace, joy and assurance in his heart.

A conscience can, however, become "hard" when ignored and continually assaulted with violations. The apostle Paul urges us in many places not to ignore, violate or cause others to violate this built-in warning system.   Repeatedly ignoring the warnings that come from our conscience will desensitize it and eventually silence it all together.  That, girls, is a very dangerous place to be. When we experience the pain of a burn from touching something hot we remove our hands from the object.  The consequences of not doing that is the searing of flesh.  The same occurs when we ignore our conscience...it becomes seared and loses feeling. We begin the process of inoculating ourselves against God and the truth of His word.  In effect, we begin the process of condemning ourselves into hell.  Read these words from Romans 2:

"Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,  who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: "

Pretty scary thing to allow our conscience to become seared and cling to our sin instead of turning and repenting and accepting  God's free offer of forgiveness. 

On the other hand, if we are then reviled for doing good, our accusers will be ashamed...that is, our good conscience will prick their seared consciences enough to perhaps make them want what you have.  Perhaps they will be pricked even enough to make them repent and turn away from evil to God.

It is better to suffer then for doing good, rather than doing evil.  We do not want to be a reproach to Christ and be reviled because we are acting in an un-Christlike manner towards others or are doing things that are in opposition to God's law.  These just serve to confirm in a sinner's heart that God's people are no different from them; that they are, in fact, hypocrites...professing something with their mouths but not believing it in their hearts so that it affects their behavior.  Aaaah...but when we suffer for doing good and take it willingly...this is what gets them thinking.  Look at the cross.  The Just One suffered for the unjust.  The greatest good the world has ever known came out of just this kind of suffering.  That is why we are to rejoice when we face persecution for naming the name of Christ.  What opportunities are ours then to react in a manner that honors Him before men.

Love
Mom

Give Me Jesus...

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips. O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.--Psalm 16:4-6


Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

The previous study we did on Psalm 16 spoke of the saints, the excellent ones on the earth.  These stand in stark contrast to those who run after other gods...the ungodly.  This verse brought my mind to Psalm 1 which speaks of the way of the righteous and the end of the ungodly.  Here it is:

¹ Blessed is the man

         Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

         Nor stands in the path of sinners,

         Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

 ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

         And in His law he meditates day and night.

 ³ He shall be like a tree

         Planted by the rivers of water,

         That brings forth its fruit in its season,

         Whose leaf also shall not wither;

         And whatever he does shall prosper.

     

 ⁴ The ungodly are not so,

         But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

 ⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

         Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

     

 ⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

         But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

What a contrast!  Girls, going after other gods, whatever they might be...however innocent they might seem will only increase your sorrow.  You eventually will become like what you worship and unless you are worshiping the Lord of the Universe, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, this will NOT BE A GOOD THING.

Jeremiah 10:14-16

"Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image; For his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them.¹⁵ They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish.¹⁶ The Portion of Jacob is not like them,  For He is the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name."

Your idols cannot do a thing for you...in fact they will make you dull-hearted and without knowledge.  They are futile. Their end is destruction and you will become their essence.  God will eventually turn you over to your own desires.  Your foolish heart will become darkened. (Romans 1:19-25) Read, however, Jeremiah 10:16...here is the antidote for idol worship.  Here is its cure.  Let your Portion...your all in this world be Jesus Himself.  Do not compromise.  Become radically, completely and utterly devoted to Him and your joy will be full.

Lamentations 3:24  “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “ Therefore I hope in Him!”  The antidote to idol worship is to immerse yourself in Him and remember that it is in Him that you live and move and have your being.  How many times have you said to yourself..."if i just had or if this would just occur then I would be okay"...How many times?  Finally you go to where you should have gone at the outset...to the Lord and spend time with Him and return realizing that it really wasn't any of those things that were needed or were going to make it better...IT WAS HIM YOU WANTED...HE WAS WHAT WAS NEEDED.  The Lord doesn't just give me a portion...HE is my portion. He is the Becoming One...He becomes whatever we need.  In Him we find such satisfaction in our souls that nothing else matters.


Girls, may you never fool yourself in thinking that you can live after your own desires and that somehow the grace of God will make up for it or His love will cover it. God said, "Tear your heart, not your garments." He doesn't want an outward display. He wants an inward work in your heart and your total devotion to Him. If there are things you are putting before God even today...repent...stop...go in the other direction.  If your life is filled with an outward display but not much of an inward change...surrender to Him right now and ask Him to do that work in your heart.


Truly, if the Lord is my Portion and my cup then the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places...YES! I DO HAVE A GOOD INHERITANCE!!

Love
Mom

Sanctifying the Lord in Your Heart

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?  But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR THREATS, NOR BE TROUBLED." But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear--1 Peter 3:13-15


Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? Now as a general principle people do not suffer for doing good.  Proverbs 16:7 says that when a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Romans 13:3 tells us that  rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.


Sometimes, however, people do suffer for righteousness sake.

Peter goes on in verse 14 quoting Jesus and says "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed."   Happy are those who suffer because suffering helps us to hold loosely to the things of the world.  We begin more and more to look forward to heaven.  When a Christian does suffer persecution because of  loyalty to the Lord, the result is blessing.   God will use the suffering that the persecutor(s) meant for evil for His glory and for His purposes.  He will bless others through it and He will bless the one who is suffering.

Look to Jesus and the cross as the example. This was the greatest evil the world had ever known and yet God used it for His glory to conquer sin and death.  Jesus who knew no sin, became sin for us and suffered the penalty due us, who knew no righteousness. The blessed purpose of our Lord's sufferings were to enable us to make peace with God, and to bring us to eternal glory. Because of Jesus' humble obedience, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  

Peter goes on now quoting Isaiah chapter 8 saying, "AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR THREATS, NOR BE TROUBLED." But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."

Here is the passage Peter is quoting from in Isaiah.

For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:  "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.--Isaiah 8:11-14

Isaiah is instructed by God not to join this people in their fear of the conspiracy formed against them, but to trust the Lord alone saying that He will be as a sanctuary to those who rely on Him, but a stone of stumbling to all others.

Do you see what Peter is saying here by quoting these verses from Isaiah, girls?  The fear of the Lord should be your greatest fear and should overrule all of your other fears. It is Him you should hallow...let Him be your sanctuary. Rely on Him. Give Him the preeminence in your life.  Sanctify Him in your heart.  When Jesus is given preeminence in your life, you do not need to fear men or circumstances.  The worst thing that can be done to a believer is the killing of the body.  The Christian's enemy cannot harm their soul.  A believer is eternally secure.  He is kept by the power of God through faith for salvation.  If we suffer for righteousness sake, Jesus says we are blessed.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.--Matthew 5:10-12

We can see suffering and trial as opportunities for not only greater rewards both here and in heaven but also as occasions to share our faith...to give a defense or a reason for the hope that is in us.  The lives we live and the behavior we exhibit should back up this defense.  This kind of witness is especially helpful in a trial because it is in this kind of situation that most people become hopeless.  When you walk in  faith and hope in these types of situations, unbelievers pay attention.  You provoke them to jealously, so to speak, because they begin to want what you have.  When they ask, we are to respond meekly and with godly fear...speaking the truth to them in love and humility, not in arrogance or pride.

Sanctify God in your hearts, girls.  Live your life entirely for Him...want nothing but His will in your life. Walk by faith obeying his word...in spite of what the consequences might be.  Let Christ dominate every area of your life—As you sanctify Him in your heart your behavior will reverence and honor Him before men and be an encouragement for them to do the same.





Love
Mom

A Hymn of Faith

Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.--Habakkuk 3:17-19

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla, 

Such a beautiful hymn of faith!  Such a profession of unwavering confidence in our God.  Verse 16 says that the prophet trembled when he heard of the judgment coming from the Babylonian invaders. But his solution was to rest in Him and wait on Him.  Habakkuk's fears took Him to God and it was in Him where he found rest.  It is in Him, girls, that we also find rest from the fears and sufferings of this world. Habakkuk's strength melted at the thought of what was to come.  God's strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul said this in 2nd Corinthians 12:9.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Habakkuk decided or purposed in his  heart to delight in God.  All that was predictable and normal in his world was collapsing. All that He knew might be gone but the Lord would remain. His God would not leave him nor forsake him.  Here is the point.  Habakkuk's desire was not for the things of this world or his own comfort and peace.  Habakkuk's desire was for God himself.  This was what made all the difference in his outlook.  Paul had spoken of this very thing in Philippians.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.--Philippians 4:11-13

The Lord was Paul's desire.  It was God in whom he rejoiced.  Trials show you where your heart is...there is no joy in a heart that does not know Jesus when they are abased and in need. There is nothing left here on earth for them and nothing to look forward to eternally. A person who has the living God in his heart can praise God for their salvation and rejoice and even sing like the apostle Paul during times of deep distress because he understands that this world is not his home. Our hope and our security are not here in this world but are in the person of Jesus Christ. It was and would be Habakkuk's faith in God that would sustain him and enable him to endure.  

Here is what Matthew Henry said about these verses:

"Thus the prophet, who began his prayer with fear and trembling, ends it with joy and triumph. And thus faith in Christ prepares for every event. The name of Jesus, when we can speak of Him as ours, is balm for every wound, a cordial for every care. It is as ointment poured forth, shedding fragrance through the whole soul. In the hope of a heavenly crown, let us sit loose to earthly possessions and comforts, and cheerfully bear up under crosses. Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry; and where he is, we shall be also."

Love

Mom

 

 

 

Not Legalism But Christ...

Before doing anything outward, look inward at your relationship with your Lord...

Here is the best definition from Scripture of who a Christian is...

Philippians 3:3  For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
 
Christ alone is my grounds for boasting...there is nothing, nothing I can do in my flesh that would make me fit for heaven or help me to gain merit before God. 

The Christian attitude is that we have died to the flesh with all its passions and lusts, and from now on we live to the glory of God. We do this, not out of fear of punishment, but rather out of love to the One who gave Himself for us. A. T. Robertson put it well: “It is love that makes us really free to do right. Love makes the choice easy. Love makes the face of duty beautiful. Love makes it sweet to keep up with Christ. Love makes the service of goodness freedom.”

Colossians 2:11-23 speaks to this issue very succinctly. The emphasis (bolding) is mine in verses 20-23.


 Not Legalism but Christ

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,  which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.  Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,  and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—  “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?  These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Here is the mystery..here are some of the most beautiful words in Scripture: 

The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

Christ in me...my hope of glory.  Biblical hope is sure and certain as if what you are waiting for had already occurred.  Christ indwells me...the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ is my  guarantee of future glory as well as to all other believers.   We have this treasure in our earthen vessel that the power is not of us but of Him.  


I will end with these words of Christ.


John 14:15-18  “If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

^{1 John 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.}

 

Isaiah's Perks...by Anna

Isaiah 51:12-16 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasten, that he may be loosed, that he should not die in the pit, and that his bread should not fail. But I am the Lord your God, who divided the sea whose waves roared—the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

Wow.
Just…wow.

Let me go over that again. (Wow.) No, that wasn’t what I wanted to go over... “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?”

That was it!

When I read this, I was in my nightgown and comfortably ensconced within my covers, just about ready to call it a night and flop down on the pillow.

Guess what? The pillow stayed unflopped. Even in my nightgown, with no slippers, in a very old, very creaky, occasionally drafty house, I still wanted to commence with that impromptu jig I mentioned in an earlier devotional, and shout at the top of my (very off-key) voice for the world to hear that I didn’t have to be afraid. Ever again. EVER AGAIN.

Let me repeat that. (I’ve never been one for redundancy, but the Bible deserves to get a little awestruck repetition once in a while.)
EVER.
AGAIN.
(And of course, as before, whether or not I actually did that nightgown-clad jig is none of your business.)

That’s one of the biggest perks in this Christianity deal. We’re His children. We’re His sons and daughters. We belong to Him. (No “unclaimed” people here!) We are the children of the God and Creator of Heaven and Earth. We have unlimited access to His protection, His grace, His love, and His comfort. WE ARE HIS.
(I know I’m going a little overboard with the caps, but cut me some slack. I can’t exactly yell for joy via cyberspace, now can I? Don’t answer that.)

And what God is saying here—for about the fifty billionth time, just as patiently as He did the second and fifteenth times—is that we, as His children, as His beloved, don’t have to be afraid. He comforts us. He watches out for us. He never slumbers or sleeps. He is the shade at our right hand.
He’s also going in for a bit of wry teasing here, too. Note the contrast.

“I, EVEN I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?”

“Hello…oh, beloved children, please pay attention…I’m here for you…I died for you...c’mon, you’re afraid of that puny guy who I made and whose father I made and whose grandfather I made and whose great-great-great grandfather I made? I know it might seem like he’s all-powerful down there, it might seem to your mortal eyes that he holds your life in his hands…BUT HE DOESN’T. I do. And I love you, I always have and always will, and I am in complete control of your situation.”

C’mon. God and Creator and Savior of Heaven and Earth vs. tiny little guy over there in the corner that He knows inside and out, backwards and forwards, who He created in the first place.

Which one are you betting on? I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna go for the obvious. At least while I still have my senses. (In a few minutes after I step away from this keyboard, I’ll be back to my thickheaded ways again…sigh. Keep reminding me, God!)

How to Love Life According to 1 Peter 3:8-12

 1 Peter 3:8-12  Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  For


      “ He who would love life
      And see good days,
       Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
      And his lips from speaking deceit.
        Let him turn away from evil and do good;
       Let him seek peace and pursue it.        
       For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
       And His ears are open to their prayers;
      But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,


Been spending some time meditating a bit on these verses.  There is so much here. So many marvelous truths.  How do we love life and see good days?  It is right here in these verses.   Peter is summing up the whole section that began in 1 Peter 2 with verse 11.  This is where the Apostle began a discussion of how we, as Christians, are to relate in the society in which they live.


Verse 11 of Chapter 2 says "You're aliens and strangers...You're in a war not only against the soul but a war against the society around you and you must keep your behavior excellent among the pagans."  Peter went on to talk about three social relationships which demand godly living...citizens, employees and mates. Peter exhorts us to live out pure, godly lives...to live specifically in an evangelistic way before the world so that we glorify God in these relationships and we bring other people to the point where they will glorify Him in their day of visitation.  Visitation here means in the day of judgment.  In the day of judgment, then, they will face God redeemed and will not suffer His wrath.  It means you live your life in such a way as to bring others to Christ. It is living in accordance with God's will rather than self-will. That is the bottom line of living the good life.  How to do this is a paradox as it always is living for Jesus.  It is living opposite of how the world lives.


The first thing we are to do to live this way and heap not only blessings on ourselves but on others is to live with the right heart attitude.  The right heart attitude will be one of love.  Love is where it all begins.  The love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts will be made manifest in our dealings with others.

It will be evidenced by our like mindedness with other believers. There will be a harmony with God's people.   A unity of mind and a working together  for the purpose of doing the will of God here on earth. 

The right attitude also involves putting on of brotherly love and compassion for those God has placed in your lives...everyone..not just fellow Christians. It is so easy to become hard-hearted in this world. We are constantly bombarded with bad news and evil.  It is easier just to insulate ourselves from all of it.  It hurts to love.  It hurts to open up your heart.  This is, however, what God wants us to do.  We are to be actively compassionate, and lovingly concerned towards one another.  We are to love as brothers...sharing one another's joys and sorrows.  We are members of the same family.  When one hurts, the others should also.  When one is joyful, the others should be also.

Our hearts will be tender towards others...feeling their pain and sympathizing with them in an active way.  The right heart attitude also involves being courteous which means simply that you will be meek, humble and put others and their needs ahead of your own.

Peter goes on in verse 9 and exhorts us not to retaliate in kind when someone offends us or does evil toward us.  The right response then if we want to love life and see good days is not to return evil for evil or reviling for reviling but to respond with blessing.  Girls, the bible speaks to this very thing in so many many places.  God truly wanted us to hear this message and He exampled it mightily in His Son.  Returning good for evil goes so much against our flesh which almost always wants very much to respond with even greater evil.  If we want to obey our God, however, we will respond with blessings.  This CANNOT be done in our own strength. It must be done by the power of His Spirit working in our hearts.

When we do respond with blessing to evil done against us, oh, what blessings are ours. I can only describe the heart feeling that comes when I heap a blessing on someone who is not out for my good like this.  Think of when the Grinch's heart grew...that is how it feels...your chest expands...you can breathe easier.  You relax.  and your shoulders come down. You let go of something you didn't need and your whole body feels lighter somehow.  Joy has entered our heart and our capacity to love has been expanded!  What a lifting of the veil occurs as we see Jesus and what He has done for us then so much more clearly in our own hearts.  We begin to understand  the love that He wants us to show to others. We see the "self" that we need to die to. God operates with us on the basis of mercy...if it were not for His mercy all of us would be consumed and die in our sins. Returning evil for good is satanic.  Returning good for good or evil for evil is human.  Returning good for evil is divine.

We are to respond divinely as Jesus did.  "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."  I LOVE this statement. You were called, that's your election to salvation,  for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.  Your  election...your salvation is a free undeserved, unmerited gift from God.  You have been freely given and are to freely give in return.  Instead of wrath and vengeance from God for your sin and offense, He has given you mercy, salvation and abundant blessings in Him.  We should know then very well how to show mercy and give blessings to those that have offended us.  If we do not do this, then we are not even close to being aware of what we have been delivered from and blessed with. We should be jumping at the opportunity to bless someone else with the undeserved, unmerited free gift of forgiveness that we ourselves received from God. 


1 Peter 2:21-23 puts it this way: "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:  "WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;"

We are to depend on Him knowing that it is His battle and that the ONLY way to overcome evil is with good. Leave the vengeance and retaliation to Him.  He suffers long but as my pastor says, "do not mistake the longsuffering of God for indifference".  The time of judgment will come.  Our weapons are not carnal but spiritual...mighty in God.  We are to depend on prayer and His power. The greatest evil was overcome by the greatest goodness the world has ever seen...the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary.

How would this look practically?  Pray for your enemy...for their salvation or their spiritual growth.  Pray for their desire and for their well-being.  Speak well of them. Be thankful for them. Bless them with an act of service. Again, none of these can be done outside of the Spirit of God working in your heart as you surrender yourself to Him.

Peter goes on in verse 10 quoting Psalm 34 to support the exhortations he gave in verses 8 and 9. He tells us to do these things  because Scripture tells us to do them.  Scripture is the standard. The first thing we are to do is to deliberately decide to love life. To love life is not usually spoken of well in Scripture. It is condemned in John 12:25, but there it means to living according to self-will. Here it means to live in the way God intended.
Warren Wiersbe puts it this way:

"This is an act of the will: “He who wills to love life.” It is an attitude of faith that sees the best in every situation. It is the opposite of the pessimistic attitude expressed in Ecclesiastes2:17 : “Therefore I hated life . . . for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” We can decide to endure life and make it a burden, escape life as though we were running from a battle, or enjoy life because we know God is in control. Peter was not suggesting some kind of unrealistic psychological gymnastics that refused to face facts. Rather, he was urging his readers to take a positive approach to life and by faith make the most of every situation."

I really like that...by faith making the most of every situation. Seeing life that way will give us a purpose in every moment of every day despite what we are facing. Living for Him is the only way to do this.

Next, it tells us to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking guile or lies.  The Word, tells us this in many places.  The first 12 verses of James chapter 3 talk about the evil of the tongue.  The mouth speaks out of the abundance of what is in your heart, girls.  You can find out much about yourself and others from their speech. James says that if a man does not stumble in word he is perfect able to bridle the whole body. We are to refrain from speaking evil of anyone and avoid lying...we are to be committed to the truth and giving back good for evil with our tongues.

Peter speaks of the things that need to be eliminated if you want to love life and see good days. We are to be committed to turning away from evil and doing good and we are to seek peace and pursue it. The good life then is in rejecting evil and doing good. It is not in doing our own thing. It is in doing good...that which is excellent.  Next we are to seek peace and pursue it.
 
John MacArthur says that the word for seeking is the strongest verb, zeteo. He is to seek peace with all his might..  Pursue peace means to hunt it. It should be remembered here that Peter is writing to people who are living in a world that is hostile towards them.  There are people surrounding them looking to speak evil of them, discredit them, and really just make their life miserable. He is writing to people who are or will be shortly, under persecution that will threaten their very lives. Even under the most extreme circumstances, then,  we are to respond as God tells us to in His word.  The Word of God tells us not to respond in our humanity to offenses, but to respond in Him, divinely.  We are to do everything we can to live in unity with compassion and brotherly love towards one another.  We are not to return evil for evil but are to return a blessing for evil done to us. We are to guard our tongue from evil and lips from lying.  We are to shun evil and do good.  We are to seek peace and pursue it and all of this we are to do despite the provocation.  Christians are to live like this. John MacArthur puts it this way.  Christians should be the greatest blessing in any culture. The whole world was blessed in Jesus Christ.  We are those who are the peacemakers.

Last verse taken from Psalm 34 verse 15 and 16.  Here is our motivation.  For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” Our motivation is that God is watching.  He is watching.  The Lord sees and that is a good incentive to do all those things. Accountability is a good thing, but the Lord is not just watching for the purpose of judgment or chastisement but His purpose is a gracious one. God is omniscient.  He observes us and is aware of every detail of our lives. God is looking at us and what we are doing so that He might listen and respond to our prayers.  I don't know about you but I want to live my life in a way that the Lord is waiting and watching to answer my cry and provide for my needs.  I want to live in a way that honors Him and all that He has done for me.  I want to live before my fellow man in a way that they will see Jesus and turn from their ways to His.  I have been forgiven so much and I so want others to have the treasure that I have in this earthen vessel of mine...Christ the hope of glory.

Love
Mom