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.”

Elsewhere in Isaiah it says, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,  and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’ ”  Lord, I give You thanks and trust that everything, both big and small,  that happens in my life has been prepared long ago.  Each wonderful, miraculous, and extraordinary thing that has and will happen to me  You have planned out far before I was even born.   And I know you have much more for me to be doing, and I look with eager anticipation to the future and Your plans for me.     And everyone said,   Amen.

Revelation 3:19 ” Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”

You love your children don’t you?  You want only the best for them,  and for them  to avoid as many pitfalls and sadness you had to learn the hard way growing up.  So why should it be any different with our Heavenly Father?  Proverbs 3:12 says, ” The Lord disciplines those He loves.”  You are a cherished child of God when  He admonishes you over something not right in your life.  For He also wants only the best for you.  When God shows you something out of kilter…get serious… don’t ignore or get angry at God…admit  you need a moral re-orientation of your mind and heart, and repent.

 

Jeremiah 35:6 ” But they replied, ‘We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.’ “

The Lord had directed Jeremiah to invite the Recabite family in and serve them wine.  But when he did, they responded with this covenant they had kept for generations.  None of them had ever drank wine.    The Lord then used this example to show how the Recabites had continued to uphold their forefather’s commandment…yet the people of Judah and Jerusalem couldn’t seem to  keep God’s commandments.

Exodus 4: 11-12 ” The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’ “

Moses had many excuses of why he wasn’t the person to go to the Pharaoh and demand release of the Hebrew children.  But the Lord countered with an airtight defense of why Moses was just the right  man for the job.  We want to argue with God, but speaking from very personal experience…you’ll never win.  We can object all we want, but God desires obedience exclusively.  For if He calls you to something,  He can and will give you whatever skill is needed to accomplish that task.  With God, arguing will get you nowhere…obedience on the other hand, will move His Kingdom forward.

Psalm 52: 8 ” But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. “

I am planted like a thriving tree in Your presence Lord…grafted securely to the root of Jesse…my dependence is on You and You alone.  I praise You Lord  for Your never-ending  mercy and kindness.  I thank You for Your everlasting and eternal love.  Amen.

II Kings 19:31 ” The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Isaiah talks about the zeal of the Lord six times in the Bible.  God’s zeal…His passion, intensity, and fire for His people is evident in the countless times that He intervened on their behalf….achieving miracles only God could perform.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty is still working on our behalf today…carrying out His will for His people.

Zechariah 1:3 ” ‘Return to Me’, declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you’…”

Job 22:23 says, “If you return to the Almighty you will be restored.”  The responsibility lies on our shoulders…the decision, squarely on us.  For only we can resolve to turn around and come back to the Lord.  God’s position has never changed…it’s us that have wandered so far away.  But if we only turn our hearts back to Him, He will restore and rebuild our lives that are in shambles.

Colossians 3:22 ” Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.”

In ancient Greco-Roman Society,  slaves were looked upon as a commodity…but often it was slaves that served in stations of great responsibly, with rank and privilege.   Fast forward to modern times and the common work place.  Your approach at work  will speak louder than any Bible verse you have taped up at your desk.  Your manner of helping others without an ulterior motive will shine brighter than any religious plaque .  When you honor God in the everyday grind  by being that positive, giving individual…(even when the boss isn’t watching)…you show others what it’s like to be Christ-like.  Like the ancient slaves, you have been given great responsibility in your workplace…it’s to be an ambassador for Christ,  and a lover of people.

Colossians 3:20 ” Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

Let’s look at this verse from the perspective of different generations.   Read this verse to a young child and they’ll readily agree that they need to obey Mommy and Daddy…but the dance starts in the application of this into everyday living.  As children grow,  so does their autonomy.  We draw a line in the sand and they  push their big toe across it…just to see what happens!   Let a teenager read this verse and you’ll probably get eye-rolling and an argument of every point…like, what exactly is the definition of obedience?  And does everything mean “everything”?  Finally, we read this as a parent or Grandparent, having gained  a wealth of experience, wisdom, and insight… and we say, “Yes, Amen!”  to this verse. For all those past experiences and circumstances have drilled into us the importance of  obedience… not only to our parents, but to God.

Proverbs 13:10 ” Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

Taking offense against another person only fosters conflict and produces  anger.  When our feelings are hurt, we rise up in righteous indignation and can easily allow arrogance to take over at that moment.  We feel disrespected and insulted, not even listening to the wise counsel…for all we hear is an attack on our  belief system…even if that belief system is  corrupted.  The world likes to take offense  over the craziest things…But as a Believer, we need to be wary of allowing pride to color our interactions with others.   Proverbs 9:9 states, ” Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”