Category: Guest Contributor

Isaiah 52:6  Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks:‘’Behold, it is I’‘“”

Has the Lord ever spoken to you?  God spoke directly to Adam and Eve. He spoke outwardly to Noah. God spoke to Abraham and in the history of Israel  God spoke to them through Moses many times. He spoke to them of the exodus from Egypt, He spoke to them of the manna that would be sent from heaven to sustain them in their 40-year journey through the wilderness. Through the prophets the Lord spoke to His people numerous times reminding them of their relationship with Him.  Often disappointed with their continual turning from Him, He brought judgement, but always reminded them  that they were His.

One day the Lord will return to rule over all!  And “they shall  know in that day”…, “Behold it is I”

But we as 21^st century believers in the Son of God who went to the Cross for each of us, does the Lord speak to us? I am afraid that often we are too busy with the things of the day to even listen.  That is certainly true of me. In the Scripture we are  encouraged to find our quiet place and there He will speak to us. Matthew writes, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”.(Matthew 6:6)

In our prayers God will speak to us.  It may not be words that He openly says, but the Spirit within us will direct our mind,  will guide us.  The word of God is given to us as a guide to life. Our daily readings and study of His word are stored away within our minds and when we feel abandoned by those around us the Holy Spirit will reminds us of the words of the Lord,““I will never leave you nor forsake you”” (Hebrews 13:5, Josh1.5). When there is a task that seems like a mountain before us the Spirit will remind us of the words of  Paul,  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. (Phil. 4:13)  We are a people of the word but to be a people of the word we must be a people in the word! God speaks to us through His Word that we have hidden in our heart!

The last words of the Lord from John’s Revelation are, “surely I am coming quickly” (Rev 22.20). While we wait God will speak to us through His word, the Scripture.  Just a thought for the morning

Carl

Thought for the Morning

Isaiah 17:7  In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.

The phrase “in that day” is often used of a time when God will intervene and remove the yoke of oppression from His chosen people (Is 30.26) But there are also times when “In that day” means a time of judgment for his people (Zech 1-14-15)  The writings of the Prophets include many times the words “in that Day”. The phrase “in that day” is used over 200  times in all of the Scripture

But there is also “that day” when He will come to come for His Church and following that to set up His Kingdom and rule for a 1000 years as we read of the Revelation (Rev 20.4-5). In the verse before us, I believe Isaiah is referring to the time the Lord will return to reign in the Millennium (the end times).

There is a great hope that the Lord is coming to establish His kingdom.  The hope of His coming  is very dear to all believers -He is coming again! But first He is coming to take His “called out ones” home to be with Him.

Paul writes of that day to the Thessalonians Some false teachers had said the day of the Lord had already come (2Thes 2.2) and the Thessalonians were concerned about the saints who had died (1 Thes 4.13) ) – What about them?

God reveals to Paul “when He comes,in that day” (1Thes 1.10). And then he writes “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven…” (Thes 4.16-17) Those who have died and those who live will be caught up to be with Him. Paul then writes,”(1 Thess 4. 8) Therefore comfort one another with these words. The Lord  did not come to these persecuted  saints in Thessonilica during their lifetime and He has not “caught up, or raptured His Church yet.

Where there is turmoil, where there is distress, where there is persecution there is also hope: looking for His coming.  We, in this country have not  experienced what the  early church was going through and what saints are experiencing in other parts of the world today.  Do we think much about His coming again but “in that Day” He will come.  We don’t seem to have  much teaching about “that day” in the church today.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸  Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Looking for His coming.  Just a thought for the morning

Carl

Thought for the Morning

Matthew 1:23  ““Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”” which is translated,“”God with us””

“…she will bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sin (Matt 1.21) This was the message given to Joseph by an angel, in a dream.  This was to be a special birth for she was a “virgin”! This Jesus  would save “His people from their sin”. Matthew reminds us of what the prophet Isaiah wrote some 700+ years before, a virgin would bear a Son and He shall be called “Immanuel, “God with us”. (Isaiah 7.14).  

In the Scripture the word Immanuel is only used by the Prophet Isaiah, and here in Mathew. But Immanuel, this man Jesus would bring hope to a world that was burdened with sin. This Jesus had a lowly birth. When He was just a babe, He was held in His mother’s arms just like any child. He was brought up in the Jewish faith, the lowly son of a carpenter. We don’t know much about His first 30 years, He was knowledgeable in the Law and the Prophets. All we have is a glimpse of His last 3 years out this earth. He preached the Kingdom of God, He preached that we are to love one another, He preached that through Him there was salvation. He preached that for us to be saved He would be crucified on a Roman Cross and be raised from the dead on the third day!

Now 2000+ years later we are still celebrating His birth.  But what has it become? It has become a time of commercial profits.  It has become a time of  parties, and special events, somewhat like those of the pagans.  There are places in this world that celebrate Christmas time not even knowing who this Jesus is.   It is a time of exchanging gifts but being unaware that the greatest gift  is the Lord Jesus Himself. We don’t know if the Lord was even born on the 25^th of December.

It is good for all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus to remember the day He came into this world. Think of that day on God’s calendar when He would send His  beloved Son into this sin cursed world.  Think about how his People  refused to accept Him as their Messiah. Think about the love and Grace He showered on each of us. Think about how we can serve Him.

John 3:16  “”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. We have been given a great gift from  God.  Remember it during this special time.  Just a  thought for the mourning

Carl

Thought for the Morning

Genesis 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

 

An act of disobedience against their Creator has brought sin into the world. These two realized they had done wrong against the Lord, and they tried to cover it with the sewn-up leaves of a fig tree. By the work of their hands they tried to hide the problem of sin.

 

We have a lesson here. No actions on our part, no works on our part can eliminate the problem of sin. Because of God’s love, He steps in on these two and provides a covering. This covering required the death of an innocent animal. The first blood of sacrifice was spilt. The timing of this is before they are put out of the Garden, a place where they will never return. God is protecting them from the “tree of life.” (Gen 3.22)

 

They entered the world as we know it with a covering provided by the Lord. The covering does not take away sin, but it did protect them in the world outside of the Garden. Sin had entered the world that was created to be without sin.  .Adam and his wife Eve were put out of the Garden that had everything, and He put them in a place where everything that was needed to survive  was obtained by the “sweat of their brow”. This is where we live.

 

God selects a people (Israel), special to Him and presents to them the law, where the blood of sacrifice is evident. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Heb. 9:22)    All the sacrifices made by men were only essences of the Blood needed for Eternal Redemption!

 

For us, that first shedding of blood by God Himself was only a picture of what was to come thousands of years later. His own Son would shed His blood on the Cross for each of us. The writer of Hebrews also tells us, “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12)  Eternal redemption, eternal life for us is obtained through the Blood of Christ!

 

Colossians 1:13-14  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Just a thought for the

morning

 

 

 

Carl

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”

This charge by the writer of the book of Hebrews comes after a lesson from the history of the Israelites. Verses 7 through 11 are a quote from Psalm 95, and speak of a specific event in the travels of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land.

It is recorded in Numbers chapters 13 and 14. A few months after they left Egypt, after the LORD had fought for them against Egypt, and even dried the Red Sea for their travel convenience, Israel arrived at Kadesh Barnea, in the south of the Promised Land. Twelve spies were sent search it out and see what kind of a land it was.

The spies reported that the land was fruitful, even bringing back a cluster of grapes that was so big that it was carried by two men using a pole. But ten of the spies reported that there were giants in the land, and they that were not able to take the land that God had promised to them. Because of their report, the people rebelled against Moses, and against the LORD, and decided to return to Egypt.

The other two spies tried to turn the hearts of the people back to the task at hand. The LORD had told Israel that He would give them the land. He had told them that He would fight for them. All of them had seen Him do that before in Egypt and at the Red Sea. All of them had heard God’s voice tell them His ten commandments from mount Horeb and they saw His glory and His power. They now faced the unknown with God’s promise that He would take care of them. And they did not believe Him. They tried to go back.

As the story continued, because of their disbelief, God told them that they would wander in the wilderness for forty years. The army that came to Kadesh Barnea and refused to go into the land would die in the wilderness, and their children would come into the Promised Land.

After hearing God’s judgment, the army decided that they would go into the Promised Land. Previously they showed disbelief in God by refusing to go into the land. Now they were showing disbelief in God by trying to go into the land, after He had told them to wander in the wilderness. Their unbelief in God was revealed in both situations. He told them to go into the land, and they refused. He told them to go into the wilderness, and they refused. Would they ever listen to what He said?

Parents know about this. They tell their children what is expected of them, and when they are young they generally do what they are told, though they still steal cookies and put keys into electrical outlets. As they get older, the likelihood that they will obey their parent’s word reduces. For the parents this is a source of anguish because they want what is best for their children. They want them to not make the same mistakes that they had made. Almighty God knows what is best for His creatures, and gives commands with only their best in mind.

The story of Israel at the edge of the Promised Land was an example of unbelief, from which the writer of Hebrews wanted his readers to learn. He wanted them to avoid the same error. The Israelites were frightened by the prospect of war against giants, and concluded there was nothing they could do except go back to Egypt. Even the good advice of the two spies, and the promises of God didn’t stop them from succumbing to their fears. Life brings us into contact with difficulties that bring fear.

In Matthew 6:31-33 Jesus said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus is saying that the most fundamental of our needs, food, drink, clothing, and shelter are not things about which we should fear. The Father knows that we need them. Do we believe Him? Or do we fear.

In Hebrews 13:5 we read, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Every situation in life is another opportunity for us to determine to believe God. Do we believe that He knows what we need? Do we believe that He will never forsake us? Do we go forward and trust Him? The writer of Hebrews warns his readers away from an evil heart of unbelief, turning away from the living God.

Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain

Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Brightly does His Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine;
While He leads I cannot fall;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain

Singing if my way is clear,
Praying if the path be drear;
If in danger for Him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Refrain (Edgar P. Stites)