Tag: Lord

A Child Will Lead Them

Eighteenth Day of Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10 (NIV 2011)
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD – and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and the little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner over the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

Financial problems, chronic pain, emotional hurt – these struggles seem to intensify as Christmas approaches. We wonder if God’s promises of peace and joy are out of our grasp. However, God has a plan bigger than we can imagine. These are days to look at our lives through the lens of our eternal tomorrows. Judah’s problems made God’s promise of a Messiah seem impossible. Life for God’s people in Judah held destruction, pain and hardship. Had God forsaken them? No, God had a plan bigger than they could imagine. The promise of a Messiah from the family line of David, son of Jesse was good because God is faithful to His word. As a tree stump grows shoots of new life after a fire so new life would come from God’s people. The Messiah, Jesus Christ would bless the people with the peace of God and transform their lives.

The Messiah’s peaceful rule will one day transform the earth. A day is coming when the wolf, leopard and lion will no longer hunt the lamb, goat and calf. A small child will be safe with wild animals and snakes. What God has promised, He will do. Looking to the future we have every reason not to fear, every reason to be peaceful, joyful people. He is able to transform your anguish into peace. This Christmas will you begin to look at your days through the lens of all your glorious eternal tomorrows?

Barbara Reaoch

Re: Verse reading – John 6:25-51

Be still…

Thirteenth Day of Advent

Psalm 46:10-11 (ESV)

10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The current culture has conditioned us to think and believe that waiting or being still is unproductive. There is an immense demand to always be on task and shortening the “to-do list”. We feel this tension in restaurants, traffic jams, and grocery stores. To a degree, we all “hate to wait”. We have come to believe that waiting is a waste of time.

Scripture teaches that waiting is not wasting when we are still (waiting) before the Lord. Why? When we are still and quiet before the Lord, we begin to discover and understand more about Him. We become aware of His Deity and Authority. The scope of His Rule and His Reign becomes clearer and larger. Finally, we are convinced of His Goodness (He is near and present) and His Strength (we are safe and secure). “Be still, and …”

Scott Lane

Re: Verse reading – John 3:1-21

Blessings Overflowing

Ninth Day of Advent

Psalm 40:1-5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God Sustains His Servant.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

It is not a Christmas hymn, but it is appropriate to sing anytime…Count Your Many Blessings. It can be a tricky trail through life as we await the coming return of our Savior. When we trust in God rather that the falsehoods of the world, we are blessed beyond measure. Others are blessed when they see His blessings in our lives. By counting our blessings, we are proclaiming God’s goodness to the world. At the time of year that we celebrate the birth of the Savior, the hearts of the lost are tuned most to Him. By demonstrating the wonders of God through our joy and gratefulness, many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. Jesus is coming again…will He find us faithfully waiting and proclaiming His blessings? Will He find us singing Joy to the world, the Savior is come?

Larry Soape

Re: Verse reading – John 3:1-21

Waiting

Seventh Day of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
Comfort for God’s People
40
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

After 39 chapters of warning and woe, Isaiah received a message of redemption and restoration that would offer encouragement to the Jews in exile as they waited.
Centuries later John the Baptist called people back to the Lord using the same message to a people still waiting.
Today, this call to action challenges us to get ready for the coming Messiah. While they were waiting for the Promised One, preparation was necessary. As we wait especially during this Advent Season, there are things we can do to get ready, not only to celebrate His first coming as a baby, but also to anticipate His ultimate coming as Conquering King.

Straighten the road of our hearts and lives in preparation for spiritual renewal.

Knock down the mountains by repenting of sins, busyness, and distractions.

Smooth and level the soil of our hearts so that nothing will hinder God’s work in and through us.

Isaiah foresaw the day when God would say, “your sin is paid for, I’ve accepted your sacrifice, it’s time to go home.” This is the good news of the Gospel; our just God is full of mercy and grace for those who wait on Him.

Jane Witcher

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

He Never Fails

Fifth Day of Advent

Isaiah 40:27-31 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
27 Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.

We are prone to spiritual weakness. We are prone to stumble in our faith. Isaiah 40:29-31 gives us a picture of our weakness and the strength and endurance that we lack as human beings. There are times that we all come upon that challenge in our faith. There are times that we find out just how weak we are. We face an unrelenting enemy that seeks to devour us at every turn.

This text uses the analogy of a “youth”; i.e. someone in the prime of his or her life. This is usually a time when someone is at his or her greatest prowess. Yet, there is a certainty of stumbling and falling in the text. It is the same for us spiritually. At our strongest point, we are weak. The idea is that even the strongest of us will surely fall. We are prone to weakness. Even the greatest theologian in the world is going to fail in faith.

There is a promise within this text, though. Verses 28 and 29 give us a base of understanding for verse 31. God will never fail. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Though our faith fails sometimes, God does not. He never faints. He never gets weary. We need strength, and God gives that to us. There are times that we will grow weary. There are times that we will faint and we will be weak. But the Lord renews us. He gives us the strength that we need to rise back up and begin running again.

Our prayer for you today is that you would rely on the Lord for your strength. May you hope in the Lord and in the strength, renewal, and redemption that He brings as we think of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Jimmy Gunn

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Anticipation

Third Day of Advent

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:24-26 (ESV)

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-pregnant-couple-silhouette-image6885613
I can still remember the emotions that flooded my heart when I heard for the first time that we were pregnant. I was thrilled! And scared to death. And a little panicked. I knew nothing about parenting. There was so much that needed to be done before either of us were ready for that job! And, in retrospect, nine months was just about exactly the right amount of time for us to work through most of those chaotic feelings. There were times during that nine months when time seemed to fly by (e.g., “Honey, we’re only four weeks out…is the nursery ready yet?”) and there were times when the days just seemed to inch along at a snail’s pace. Waiting, as it turned out in those circumstances, was an extraordinary experience!

Merriam-Webster defines “advent” as a coming into being. It describes something that is in the process of becoming….something getting ready to occur. Just like with a pregnancy, it is a word which implies anticipation and excitement over something transformational just around the corner. It can busy and chaotic, and it can seem impossible at times. And, oh, the patience it requires! But what could be more worth waiting for than the birth of a child?

Especially if that child brings with Him the salvation of the world?

Happy waiting everyone.

Blake Coffee

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Not Ashamed

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 1:6-14; 2:1-15 (day two)
But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. vs. 12

Imprisoned and alone, Paul’s words to Timothy show the fervor of his commitment to Christ. How often when discussing faith have your heard the words ‘it’s a private matter’? Yes, each person has to account for themselves and is responsible to the Lord, but we are not to be ashamed to give account of our faith in Christ Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment only emboldened his resolve to share the Good News and to encourage others to do the same. We are not in prison or in bondage, let us therefore share boldly with others.

Prone

Re: Verse reading–1 Timothy 6:3-19 (day five) 

11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

Do you get tired of constantly being reminded or repeatedly urged and encouraged about things you already believe or understand?  Most of the time my response is a dismissing “I Know, I Know!!”  Paul reminds Timothy of “trustworthy sayings”.  He urges remembering doctrinal truths.  Over and over, he calls for Timothy to teach these same things to believers in Ephesus.  Why?  Paul knows the human heart.  He knows that the human heart is wired to pursue.  It’s just often we pursue the wrong things.  Sometimes we pursue the right things but for wrong reasons.  So, maybe if we frequently made (sang) honest confessions and earnest pleas, the Spirit would give our hearts needed “course corrections”.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it                                                                                                    Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

 

 

 

Fight or flight?

Re: Verse reading–1 Timothy 6:3-19 (day one)
“But you, man of God, FLEE from all this. . .FIGHT the good fight of faith.”—v 11-12.

It is not an easy answer, no “one size fits all” wisdom.  Sometimes we flee, and sometimes we fight.  Paul is warning Timothy (and us) about controversies and quarrels that divide a church.  He warns also about a love for money that is “a root of all kinds of evil.”–v 10.  Run from these temptations!  Don’t get close and hope to avoid falling in.  Flee!  Sometimes the opposite is required.  When challenged with unbelief or untruth, fight!  (Note Paul’s reference to Christ as He courageously stood before Pilate–v 13.   Sometimes He avoided unnecessary conflict, other times He met it head on.)  Only the Spirit can make this choice in each situation.  For today, let us reflect on this lesson; sometimes we flee, and sometimes we stand and fight.  Lord, help us to know when and how to obey these commandments.