What does the Lord seek from us daily? We are to emulate Him and how He treated those around Him. People’s personalities have not changed since Biblical times… Jesus had irritable, mean, self-centered people around Him constantly…but He chose to do what was right and act in kindness. He encouraged the oppressed, defended the fatherless, and stood up for the widow…how can we but do any less?
Tag: relationship with god
Luke 21:3-4 ” I tell you the truth, he said, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Jesus watched the wealthy Jews place their gifts in the Temple treasury with much pomp and ceremony. But He was also perceiving where their hearts were in this process… that’s the reason He used the word “gift”- a rather colorless word meaning any gift in general. Their offerings meant nothing to them, there was no sacrifice to it, it was just something they did. On the other hand, He watched intently as the widow came quietly and placed several coins in the treasury. He knew her sacrifice in doing so, He understood entirely what she was giving up in order to make that gift. She was offering everything she had to God…she was offering her life to Him. Would you do the same?
Proverbs 23:18 ” There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
To look forward with confident anticipation is the essence of all hope in us. We are ever bolstered by the joyful expectation that hope brings into our lives. As we move into the new year know that the Lord is watching over your future hope, it can never be destroyed by the enemy…your hope can never perish. The Lord knows and is fiercely guarding the desires of your heart. A future hope is forever yours…hold on to it.
Isaiah 43:18-19 ” Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
You will never move forward if you are tied to the past. The Lord tells us in this verse to forget the past and not dwell on it anymore. He says to you , See, I’m creating a brand new thing for you…take your eyes off the past so you can see it! And once you make that transition from dwelling on the past to looking forward to the future, you will finally see the wonderful new way the Lord has prepared for you.
Philippians 4:13 ” I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
The Lord enables us to endure, sustain and effectively handle any thing and/or situation we are thrust into. He will strengthen our feebleness and calm all fears. This scripture is a proclamation of what we are able to accomplish through Him.
YOU are able to do ALL THINGS by His power that lives in YOU and who gives YOU strength. Through Him there is nothing YOU can not do!
Hosea 10:12 ” Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.”
The snow is swirling, the roads barely driveable, it’s Winter here in Idaho. But the dark dreary days are broken up by hope in the form of seed catalogs! These brightly colored montages of flowers and vegetables transport me to Spring in the middle of all this snow. But I’m also realistic enough to know that it may be months before we can even till the garden. As with this scripture, we should do what we can now..it says it is time to seek the Lord until He comes. The time is right, the season is now, to seek Him…ever hopefull of Spring … and Him.
II Corinthians 1:4 “…who comforst us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
When distress, grief, or affliction are crushing down, you long for someone to tell you that they’ve not only been where you are, but about the journey back to wholeness. The Lord encourages us during those dark times, so we in turn can impart that same compassion and mercy to others. The time spent in the valley of the shadow of death is difficult to be sure, but when we’ve made it out, we can reach back to help others with the same encouragement the Lord has given us.
Romans 8:3 ” For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering…”
That tiny baby in the manger was fully man…and fully God. What the Old Covenant and animal sacrifices were unable to do, Jesus came to accomplish…once, for all. God offered His Son as an atonement for our sins. But Jesus was also fully man, sharing in our humanity…He looked like a baby, cried like one, acted like one. The biggest difference was that this baby had come to save us from our sins.
Isaiah 46: 4 ” Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
“Getting old is not for sissies!” I tell many an elderly patient. With advancing age can come chronic health problems, loneliness from loss of a spouse, and limited independence due to physical disabilities. But God doesn’t forget us when we’re old and gray…He’s still there supporting, and carrying our burdens. He’s there to refresh and lift us up as we go through each day looking towards Him.
Jeremiah 31:31 ” The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”
The Jewish people had the old Covenant that had been given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But now it was being prophesied that a new Covenant would supersede it. This new Covenant came about in a very unconventional and unlikely way. No one could have imagined the little baby born in a stable in Bethlehem would be the author and finisher of this new Covenant…a Covenant of peace presided over by the Prince of Peace Himself.
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