This verse brings together the very essence of what every Christian strives to do on a daily basis. We are to love God and in doing so, love others. We are to imitate His ways… obey His word…and resist the pull of the world, cleaving only to God…for in that is eternal life and unspeakable joy.
Tag: family of god
Isaiah 1:18 ” ‘Come now, let us reason together’, says the Lord, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ “
The Children of Israel had veered far off course…they had rebelled against God and were “off doing their own thing.” Now God was calling them back…repent or face judgment…turn back to Me and be forgiven.
Psalm 73: 25-26 ” Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Elsewhere in Psalms it says, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” For to lose all things is to gain Christ. Our well-being …both mentally, physically, and spiritually is in the Lord and Him alone. And even when our bodies grow old and weak, He’s our strength.
Psalm 119: 130 ” The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
After speaking at a Ladies Breakfast yesterday, I reflected on what I had gleaned from the experience. Yes, I learn something every time I speak…for within all the preparation and presentation, the Lord speaks to me also. Insight into God’s word makes the simple wise, and I’m grasping after His truths daily. Insight into His heart is like a rose slowly unfolding its petals…becoming more beautiful and precious every day.
Matthew 5: 38-39 ” You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Jesus was quoting Leviticus 24:20 where the law stated that as a man had injured someone, so he was to be injured. But then, Jesus turned that law completely upside down by advocating loving your enemy and not repaying evil with evil…of doing good to those who hate you, and turning the cheek.
Proverbs 6:23 ” For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.”
We all want long life, health, and prosperity…but what does it take to achieve these things? This verse states that we need to first accept instruction and discipline from the Lord, and then allow it to be assimilated and incorporated into every part of our life…and into every action and behavior .
Isaiah 25:1 ” O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”
The steadfastness and certainty of the Lord can not be more apparent than knowing that what He has planned for us was decided long before this world began. This is shown even more beautifully in Isaiah 14:24, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’ ” God and His Word does not change…nor will His purpose and plans for your life.
Philippians 2: 3-4 ” Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
What would this world be like if everyone honored and sought the good of others before themselves? If there was only humility and kindness rather than conceit and selfishness in all our interactions? What would the world be like if our focus was on becoming more like Jesus and less like the world?
Job 16: 20-21 ” My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man He pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.”
As it says in Romans 8:34, “Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.” He is our close friend that not only knows us intimately, but knows our Judge intimately. Jesus is our mediator, our arbitrator, and the one that will always appeal on our behalf. What a friend we have in Jesus.
I John 2:16 ” For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”
The corrupt nature of man hasn’t change one bit from when this scripture was written to today…or for that matter…from when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. Man’s means and manners on the most part involve fulfilling and satisfying those sinful needs and pleasures that can never be fully appeased. Proverbs 27:20 tells us that our eyes are never satisfied. The world is always searching for the next new thing…the next new entertainment …the next new indulgence…never to be satisfied by the status quo. There is only one thing that can fully satisfy that longing and that is a relationship with the living Jesus.
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