If you’re like me, you’ve read a particular passage in the Bible numerous times, when sudden you read it again and it jumps off the page at you…for the Holy Spirit wonderfully reveals the scripture in a completely different light and with such clarity that it’s like reading it for the very first time. This unfolding of God’s word is like a light shining in a dark place…it is the lamp for our feet and a light for our path. (Psalm 119:105) This unfolding of His word, takes what was once a mystery and makes it known to us…it takes what was once hidden but now is revealed to us.
Tag: word of god
John 15:12 ” My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
Jesus loves us with an unconditional love…it has no bounds…no restrictions. But can we love each other in the same way? Maybe it can be in what we don’t do that can show the love of Christ more effectively to those around us. Instead of yelling in anger and frustration at the kids…we don’t. Instead of becoming upset and disappointed with a co-worker…we don’t. Instead of allowing discouragement and despair to break apart our marriage…we don’t. For sometimes the greatest way to demonstrate God’s love to others… is in what we don’t do.
Psalm 29:11 “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.”
If you’ve ever gone through a very traumatic time in your life…like me, you were begging the Lord to stop it and give you back the security and wellbeing that was woefully missing in your life. But this Psalm shows us what the Lord gives us first in the mist of that traumatic event…He gives us strength. For many times, we must walk through the situation…one painful step at a time, to find only at the end of the journey, the peace we were so desperately looking for. This Psalm wants us to remember, that with each excruciating step, the Lord is there to come along side to support, sustain, and strengthen our fragile mind, body, and soul. For He will never leave us or forsake us. And soon, that peace will come back into our lives.
Revelation 20:10 ” And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
The ending has already been written…Satan’s doom is inevitable, and he knows it. The Accuser and Slanderer of God is well aware of how his story will end…and it’s not pretty. Satan knows that his time is short and so he’s bound and determined to take as many deceived souls with him into that abyss. Pray then, that people’s eyes and ears will be open to the Truth…the Truth of the living God.
II Chronicles 7:14 ” If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
The requirements of the Lord are many in this scripture. The prerequisites He has laid out are strict, fundamental, but necessary. If we want to see God moving in this world…we need to fulfill our part in this scripture first. For it says, “Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We do our part…then He’ll do His.
Mark 4:16-17 ” Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the Word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word they quickly fall away.”
In these verses from the Parable of the Sower we see the Word of God being sown over rocky ground. The plants spring up, but because they have no adequate root system, they die off quickly. In the Amplified Version of the Bible it gives us insight into this shallow faith. It states in Mark 4:17, ” And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.” So how can we pray for this person? They have to go deeper. In I Timothy 3:9 it talks about keeping ahold of the deep truths of the faith…the divine secrets, revealed truths, and revelations from God. To move from shallow faith to a vibrant and intimate relationship with the Lord, a person has to go deeper with God…allowing Him to speak to them through the Scriptures, revealing important truths to them. And with these new revelations, they are then able to send roots of trust down deep.
Mark 4:15 ” Some people are like seed along the path, where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them.”
This is from the Parable of the Sower, where the farmer sows the Word…the Logos…the Word of God, onto a hard-packed path. The seed just sits on top of the surface, unable to germinate and grow because of the hardpan – the unbroken subsoil beneath. To have a hardened heart towards the Gospel is to have an indifference towards the things of God…or to have an unfeeling conscience. So how can we pray for that person? We can ask the Lord to plow up that hard soil of rebellion in their life… that the Word of God may germinate and flourish there.
John 4:13-14 ” Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ “
We’ve all been very thirsty. An interesting note about the human body…hunger pangs will eventually subside, but thirst will never go away, for our bodies need water to operation and maintain homeostasis, (a stable and normal condition of all systems within the body.) In this Scripture, Jesus is offering the Samaritan woman the kind of water that will not only satisfy immediately, but will become an Artesian well within her. Like a spring rising up with a new and constant supply of fresh water, this living water fills and quenches our thirst unlike anything the world can offer.
House Rules – If it meows or barks…feed it.
Proverbs 12:10 says, “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals…” Taking responsibility for the family pets is one job most children get. It’s an excellent way to show them how to be kind towards animals and dependable in their care. Years later, that well-meaning consideration towards animals will translate into generous, thoughtful adults.
House Rules – If you sleep in it…make it.
Joshua 24:15 reads, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” Maybe you’ve heard the old saying, You’ve made your bed, now sleep in it. Unfortunately, we all live with the consequences of bad choices we’ve made in the past, for our days are filled with choices…some good, some not so good… but with the Lord’s guidance, He can help us make the best choices for us. Wise and good choices that will have eternal consequences.
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