In the beginning, Solomon had walked closely with the Lord as had his father, David. But Solomon’s pagan wives & concubines (a total of 1000) had turned Solomon’s once faithful heart away from serving God. (I Kings 11:1-8) So here, he is encouraging young people to establish a strong relationship with the Lord while they are still in their youth…before the temptations of the world overwhelm them. And this is still fitting for today. Foundational faith in the Lord early on in a person’s life can spare them from much heartache. And besides, they will discover down the road that the temporary pleasures of this life cannot compare to the joy that comes from living for the Lord.
Month: September 2024
Luke 6:36 ” Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
Mercy is a characteristic of God’s treatment of His people – and is therefore commended to us as a social ethic for us to follow. We are to be like God -full of mercy as He is. For it is only by God’s heart transforming grace that can make us even willing to have such counterintuitive kindness to others…especially our enemies. (Ephesians 5:1-2) In James 2:12-13, we see that even though God is never obligated to show us mercy – He freely chooses to do so in abundance. But He also warns us here in James that if we refuse to show mercy, we won’t receive it from Him.
Luke 18:29-30 ” I tell you the truth, Jesus said to them, No one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Any sacrifice we make for the Lord is a mere pittance in the face of His gifts to us. For His benevolence surpasses anything we can ever give up for Him. And if we admit it, any sacrificing we do in the Name of the Lord can’t even start to measure up to the ultimate sacrifice He made on our behalf at the Cross. Yes, following Jesus means the giving up of self, picking up our cross and following Him daily…but the benefits far outweigh the cost…both now and eternally.
Jeremiah 33:19-21 ” The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: This is what the Lord says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then My covenant with David My servant – and My covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before Me – can be broken…”
Just as Psalm 72:5 used the images of the sun & the moon as symbols of longevity…so here the Lord is comparing the security of His promises to restore Israel and His Kingdom with the constancy of day following night. It shows His commitment as unchanging as the course of the day…from His Davidic Covenant in II Samuel 7:12-16 to His covenant with the Tribe of Levi in Numbers 1:47-54…God assures them and us that nothing will ever make null & void His everlasting promises for His people.
John 8:12 ” I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Following Jesus demands a choice on our part, a surrendering of self. But as I look back on my life, I “gave up” nothing meaningful when I chose to follow Jesus. Oh sure, I relinquished and left a lot of things…things that weren’t healthy for me and caused me to make unwise decisions. But what I gained from following Jesus cannot be measured in the significance of what I gained eternally. In Philippians 3:7-8, the Apostle Paul writes that he freely discarded all sources of things that brought self-confidence and personal profit…flinging away whatever interfered with the all surpassing worth of knowing & following Christ Jesus.
I Corinthians 4:19 ” “But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing.”
The Apostle Paul was constantly asking God for direction in his life, not the other way around. He knew that total submission to the Will of God…in every area of his life was necessary for God to work. Besides, if you think about it, only God knows what tomorrow may bring, and boasting about what we’re going to be doing is very short-sighted…let alone it’s self-centered ambition & pridefulness. (James 4:13-17) We should want to be in the center of God’s good pleasure and divine purpose…for it’s the perfect place to be. So, by prefacing our words with “If it’s God Will”, we fully allow God to work & to will in our life.
Isaiah 54:10 ” Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My Covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.”
Mountains and hills, to us, seem like permanent fixtures in the landscape. But as Isaiah compares these seemingly majestic & unchanging bits of nature to the commitment God has with His people, there is no comparison. Isaiah tells us that when the mountains & hills are no more, God and His everlasting love will still remain…His Covenant of peace forever ours… heralded by His Son, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
Luke 7:12 ” As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.”
This short passage in Luke is the first of three miracles of Jesus raising the dead…though we usually just think of the resurrection Lazarus. According to custom, the mother was walking, by herself, in front of the bier…all alone now with no one to care for her needs. As Jesus saw her it says that His heart went out to her in love and compassion because of her profound loss & hopelessness. He then did something totally against Jewish Law…He touched the funeral pallet…which tradition states would render Him ceremonially unclean. But Jesus went ahead and touched the bier, reversing death and its defilement, and told the man to get up. He then gave the son back to his mother, thus fulfilling Deuteronomy 10:18 which instructed all to have care and compassion for the least in society.
Acts 11:24 ” He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.”
Believers had been scattered because of the persecution…some ending up in Antioch. There, they not only shared the Gospel Message with Jews but also with the Greeks. And a great number of the Greeks were saved as God called them to believe. Word of this got to the Church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabus to investigate. Now Barnabus was the nickname the Apostles had given him, meaning “Son of Encouragement” and he was the perfect person to check out this fledgling Church comprised of all Gentiles. When Barnabus arrived, he could clearly see that God’s hand was all over this Church, so he did what he did best…he encouraged them to remain faithful…allowing God to strengthen & establish this newly founded Church for His glory.
Psalm 143:10 ” Teach me to do Your Will, for You are my God! Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”
As we walk through this world our prayer should always be, “Lord, keep me in the middle of Your Divine Will so that I don’t end up getting in Your way instead.” For Philippians 2:13 reminds us, “For it is God Who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” In other words, Paul is reassuring us that we don’t will or work on our own, but rather that our wills and actions are the very arenas where God’s power is found working…His good plan & purpose active in us. So, in everything we should be asking for His guidance… not running ahead, nor lagging behind, but walking side by side in the middle of His Divine Will.
Safetypinlove 