In I Corinthians 15:10 the Apostle Paul confesses that it’s only by the grace of God that, “I am what I am.” And that’s true of every Believer. God’s grace abounds where we are weak…His grace there in our time of need, or as Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” God has never promised us all worldly things…but He has promised us timely support to sustain us in the midst of temptation & suffering.
Month: July 2024
Isaiah 40:29 ” He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Life isn’t all mountain-top experiences…in fact, most of our life here on earth is comprised of plodding slowly ahead, one foot in front of the other. Our walk at times becoming heavy & slow…our daily life laborious & monotonous. And as we are sapped of strength, we are then prone to simply endure the drudgery & fatiguing work before us. But God promises to strengthen & sustain us through His Word. Or as Jeremiah 31:25 tells us, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” or Psalm 119:28, ” My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word.” God’s Word is all powerful in sustaining the weary, giving strength to His people, and will never be ineffective.
I Samuel 2:3 ” For the Lord is a God Who knows.”
There’s nothing more humbling than a “I don’t know” prayer. “I don’t know what’s happening right now God…I don’t understand what’s going on, and I don’t even know where or what to do.” This type of prayer is devoid of pride & boasting, for I’ve come to the end of myself…admitting to God & myself that I’m lost in this chaos & confusion. So all I can say is, “Yes, I don’t know, but You do God.” And so, I will take my tiny mustard seed of faith, while also asking God to help me with my unbelief, (Mark 9:24) and trust Him to intervene…remembering all the while that God understands and knows me better than I know myself. (Jeremiah 9:24)
Ephesians 5:8-10 ” For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
We first hear about the comparison of fruit & our behavior as Believers in Jesus’ Parable of the Tree and its Fruit in Matthew 7:16-20. As He explained, fruit is either good or bad and easily recognizable. But as Paul stressed here, it is not our job to be “fruit inspectors” of others, but to constantly evaluate and ascertain if our lives are producing good fruit. Do we demonstrate peace and joy, or strife and division? Are we filled with patience and kindness, or greed and destruction of the faith? Galatians 5:20 sums it up well, “By their fruit you will recognize them.”
Job 37:12 ” At His direction clouds swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them.”
You can be sure of one thing during the summer months in the Midwest…thunderstorms & tornadoes. And as the weather quickly changes, the National Weather Service (N.O.A.A) sends out in rapid succession severe thunderstorm & tornado watches and warnings…as the TV & our phones are filled with information about derecho & straight-line winds, bow echoes, and radar indicated rotation. But in all its advanced technology, the weather service can only predict what they think will happen…for they have no control over the unpredictability of an approaching storm. In Job 37:1-16 we see a very descriptive account of the sheer magnificence and control God has over the weather…from unleashing the lighting and hail, to controlling the clouds and wind. Which is made very plain in the middle of the storm just how much we’re at His mercy.
Psalm 1:3 ” He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.”
When God places you in a new season of your life…it all starts with an ending of the old one. Now this closure may come abruptly & with little warning… leading us to franticly bang on the closing door, grasping to keep it open. Why? That season of our life may have become very comfortable, fulfilling, and may I dare say, self-serving. But it was a season designed for that particular time. So, we need to be thankful, not unhappy for the closing of that door…or as Oswald Chambers wrote, “Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you’ve never been.” The Lord has purposed each season of our life…we need to only obey & walk through each new door of opportunity.
Proverbs 8:13 ” To fear the Lord is to hate evil.”
Another way to look at it is, the love of God and hatred cannot co-exist in our hearts. For if we allow hatred to dwell where His love should abide, we’ll never be effective in God’s work. That’s because of hatred’s intense negative emotional response that overrides wisdom and can even provoke an unstated legitimization of violence against the object of our hatred…whether it be person, place, or thing. Unfortunately, hatred is a tangible measurement of the evil in the world today as it spreads ugliness in all directions of the globe…for hatred only breeds more hate. We must hate evil and love good, (Amos 5:15) for hatred is not in accordance with the teachings of Christ Jesus, & the righteous way we are to live our lives.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 ” This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me…’ “
Wisdom, might, and wealth are natural places we usually place our trust and haughtiness. But as the old Proverb tells us – “Let him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.” (I Kings 20:11) In other words, it’s just plain foolish to brag about ourselves and what we have before the fight even begins. Proverbs 11:28 takes it even farther, when it warns us that trusting in ourselves only sets us up for failure. So, the only true thing we can boast about is in the Lord (Psalm 34:2) and in our relationship with Him…always remembering that He is God, and we are not…and without Him in our lives, we are nothing.
Ephesians 4:19 ” Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
Paul makes it very clear in Galatians 5:16, “Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” But short-term pleasure is a tough temptation to easily avoid, and immediate gratification is almost built into our DNA. And so instead of cultivating a Christ-like character of self-denial, we become callous and give in to lasciviousness, covetousness, and greed. But if we allow the Holy Spirit to rule & reign as He dwells within us… He will empower us to turn our backs on all our sinful & corrupt human failings – relying on the Lord rather than giving in. And we’ll fully realize at that time that we no longer need to live in bondage.
Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Both here in Luke and in Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus is teaching the Parable of the Lost Sheep. As was His custom, He was hanging out with “sinners” and the Pharisees were complaining about it. So, to demonstrate His mission here on earth, Jesus pulled from the Old Testament and recounted God’s promise to come and fulfill the shepherding responsibilities that had been neglected by both kings, priests, & scribes. Ezekiel 34:16 tells us, “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed.” And even today, Jesus seeks out the one who has wandered away into the desert, led astray & deceived by the world. For He actively goes after them with compassion, desiring them to turn back to God with a changed heart & mind. And this is when it says there will be great rejoicing Heaven.
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