“Faith is action that we take, based upon our belief in God and the TRUTH of His Word, which action is sustained by confidence that when God promises something, God is well able to perform what He promises and that He will keep ALL of His promises.”
We’re told in Isaiah 55:10-11 (New King James Version)”
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
The Bible speaks of Abraham as the father of faith…
In Romans 4, speaking of Abraham who was called the father of faith, starting in verse 13 to 23, we read (NLT) :
13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.
14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.
15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)
16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s.
For Abraham is the father of ALL who believe.
17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him,
“I have made you the father of many nations.”
This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations.
For God had said to him,
“That’s how many descendants you will have!”
19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise.
In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.
21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.
22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.
23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
In the spirit and in God’s economy many things have to be believed first, in order to be seen.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ________________________________
Friday, May 26 God At Eventide by Two Listeners
A DAY AT A TIME
The problems of tomorrow cannot be solved without the experience of today.
There is a plan for your lives dependent upon the faithful work of each day.
You frustrate that plan if you leave today’s task incomplete, while you bestir and fret yourself over tomorrow’s happenings.
You will never learn the Law of Supply if you do this, and the learning of that Law is the lesson for now.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25) ____
As the Apostle Paul said to the jailer, in Acts 16:31, when he kept him from committing suicide…
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Read Acts 16
Here’s the backstory
This is Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (49-52 A.D.) as recorded in Acts 15:30 – 18:21.
Paul is accompanied by Silas (15:37-38), and they are later joined by young Mark (16:1).
Because of the “we” passages in 16:10-16, some scholars believe that Luke (the author of this book) is also part of Paul’s party.
This missionary journey has taken Paul from Jerusalem north to Antioch of Syria and then westwards through the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).
A vision of a man from Macedonia (modern-day Greece) caused Paul and Silas to cross the Aegean Sea to go there (16:9-12).
This introduced the Gospel to the continent of Europe for the first time (Turkey is in Asia and Greece is in Europe).
Paul and his companions found a “place of prayer” outside the city of Philippi on the sabbath (16:13).
They met Lydia, a seller of purple, there, and baptized her and her family (16:11-15).
Lydia, a seller of purple (and probably affluent), offered them the hospitality of her home, which they accepted (16:15).
As the story continues, the disciples are still in Philippi, where they will be for the balance of chapter 16.
This chapter records Paul’s encounter with Lydia, the successful businesswoman (16:11-15) and his encounter with a slave-girl (16:16-18) —women from opposite ends of the social and economic scale.
It also records the conversion of a Roman jailer and his household (16:29-34), demonstrating the ability of the Gospel to penetrate into the hearts of people from all walks of life.
These three recipients of Paul’s ministry (Lydia, the slave-girl, and the Roman jailer) “epitomized all whom the Jews held in contempt—women, slaves, and Gentiles.”
In verses 20- 24 we read that after having been beaten by the local authorities, Paul and Silas were thrown into a dungeon.
But instead of murmuring and complaining about their situation, Paul and Silas instead went on the offensive:
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (v. 25a).
At midnight, the darkness would be all-encompassing.
Luke gives us no information concerning the content of these prayers, but the hymn-singing makes it clear that Paul and Silas are anything but depressed, defeated prisoners.
It seems likely that their prayers are prayers of praise and petitions for guidance rather than prayers for release.
“and the prisoners were listening to them” (v. 25b).
Some of these prisoners have probably spent many days in this terrible place, and this would surely be the first time that they have heard anyone praying and singing hymns.
The actions of Paul and Silas, therefore, constitute a powerful witness to the rest of the prisoners.
“Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken” (v. 26a).
Philippi is in a seismically active area, so it would not be unusual to experience an earthquake there—although an earthquake this violent would be unusual.
“and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosened” (v. 26b).
This is the point.
Using an earthquake for His purposes, God opens the prison doors and unfastens the prisoners’ chains so that Paul and Silas are free to escape.
Luke has told us about two occasions in the past when God opened prison doors, allowing disciples to escape.
In the first instance, Peter and other disciples were healing large numbers of people in the temple when the high priest had the disciples arrested and put in public prison.
“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, ‘Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life’” (5:20).
In the second instance, Herod arrested Peter “and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him” (12:4)—an extraordinary measure of security.
However, even though Peter was bound with chains and sleeping between two soldiers, an angel freed him (12:6-11).
These stories are intended to show that even powerful men, using their utmost to stifle the Gospel, cannot defeat the people whom God has sent to proclaim the Gospel.
“The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped”
(v. 27). It might seem odd that this jailer did not examine the cells carefully before deciding to kill himself, but people under great stress often panic—and this jailer is certainly panicked.
When the angel delivered Peter from prison in an earlier instance, Herod executed the guards for dereliction of duty (12:19).
In this latest instance, the jailer knows that his life is forfeit if even one prisoner has escaped—and all the prison doors are open, so surely more than one prisoner has escaped.
There is another reason, too, why the jailer would contemplate suicide.
Not only can he expect to be killed if a prisoner has escaped, but he will also be humiliated before his peers, who will carry out his execution.
Very often, fear of humiliation is a significant factor in suicide.
“But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Don’t harm yourself, for we are all here“‘ (v. 28).
Not only have Paul and Silas remained in prison, but the other prisoners have done the same.
Perhaps God caused the prisoners to delay their escape.
Perhaps Paul and Silas persuaded them to stay.
Paul understands the pressure that the jailer is under and the possibility that he will commit suicide.
He calls out to reassure the jailer that all the prisoners are still present.
The miracle that God has worked is not just for the deliverance of Paul and Silas, but also for the deliverance of the jailer.
“He called for lights and sprang in, and, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas” (v. 29).
The jailer understands that Paul has saved his life, so he falls down before them—signaling his obeisance.
“and brought them out” (v. 30). A lesser manuscript (known as the Western text of Acts) says that the jailer secured the other prisoners before bringing Paul and Silas outside, but the better manuscripts say nothing about this.
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30).
The jailer’s panic and his relief on discovering that the prisoners are still present has made him receptive to guidance from Paul and Silas, whom he surely regards as his saviors in this present crisis.
The jailer’s question reminds us of the people’s response to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, where they asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (2:37).
The jailer’s question can be understood on two levels.
He could be asking what he must do to be saved from execution by the authorities.
But, as we will see in the next verse, Paul and Silas hear the jailer’s question as having to do with his eternal salvation.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (v. 31).
Paul and Silas use the jailer’s question as an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel to him.
This verse probably summarizes a longer proclamation. It is similar to Peter’s salvation formula at Pentecost, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38).
“you and your household” (v. 31a).
Paul and Silas make it clear to the jailer that his household can enjoy the same salvation that they are offering him.
“They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house” (v. 32).
The proclamation of the Gospel continues, this time to the jailer and “all who were in his house”—his family and possibly servants as well.
Luke has already told us about the baptism of Cornelius and all those who were with him (10:44-48) and of Lydia and her household (16:15).
“He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household” (v. 33).
The jailer demonstrates his new faith by taking care of their wounds and by being baptized.
His family is also baptized, in keeping with a tradition that the head of a family can make a decision that is binding on the whole family.
Then it says, “He brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his household, having believed in God” (v. 34).
Like Lydia earlier (v. 15), these new converts extend genuine hospitality to Paul and Silas.
The message here is for us to allow God to use the leaven of our faith, to spread the Good News of the Gospel to our entire house.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) _________________________________
Tuesday, May 23 The Spirit Filled Believer by Dick Mills
“Salvation for You and Your Household Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” — Joel 1:3
Here is a word covering four generations, from us to our children, to our grandchildren, to our great-grandchildren.
It is a blessed word showing how the truth of God’s Word can remain in a family for a long, long time.
In Deuteronomy 5:9, Moses stated that the sins of the fathers would be passed down through the family to the third and fourth generation.
This verse in Joel is a positive assurance that the blessing of the Lord will also reach to the fourth generation.
It might be that very few people who read this message are great-grandparents. (My wife and I don’t even come that close.)
However, despite our age or situation, there is a resident truth in Joel 1:3 for each of us.
Your Family is Included
The truth is that our family is included in the promises of salvation.
Again and again we read in Scripture the familiar phrase, “you and all your household.”
Truth resident in one’s life has the potential for spreading through a family, and even through a whole family tree.
If you happen to be the only one in your family serving the Lord, rejoice!
The Lord has chosen you to introduce salvation to all your loved ones.
A little leaven leavens the whole lump (Gal. 5:9). You will live to see your entire family serving the Lord.
It’s just a matter of time!
(Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Daily Devotional by Dick Mills) ____
The Lord tells us exactly what to do when our nation is being flooded with evil:
2 Chronicles 7:14
Expanded Bible
“Then if My people, who ·are called by My name [belong to Me], will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek ·Me [My face] and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will ·heal [restore] their land.”
When we FAITHFULLY do our part, God always does His!
ISN – It’s Supernatural Network
“I Saw Jesus Say THIS WORD Over America!”
Bonnie Chavda was taken into a heavenly vision atop Mt. Rushmore, where she saw Jesus say this power word over America
Jesus told John to write a letter to His people in seven churches in Asia…
Each message has the same six parts:
1. Jesus says the name of each church,
2. Jesus tells each church what it is doing right or wrong,
3. Jesus tells each church what to do to fix its problems,
4. Jesus tells the churches to obey the Holy Spirit, and
5. Jesus makes promises to His people who win the war against sin.
The seven churches are believed to represent seven church ages or types that have existed since the church began and will exist until Christ returns.
6. Each of the seven letters is a prophetic word from Jesus, through the Spirit, who is inspiring John to write.
The seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Thaddeus, and Laodicea.
____
Wednesday, May 10 Forerunner “Bible Study”
The Seven Churches (Part One) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The letters to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 have been the subject of much debate, both in secular commentaries and God’s church.
Were they only historical churches along a Roman mail route with no present-day significance?
Should we understand them prophetically as successive church eras from the first century to the present?
Does the Bible provide any evidence that all seven might exist together in the end-time—right now—just as they did in the apostle John’s day?
Could they describe attitudes present within the church at any time during its history?
Within these short epistles, the glorified Jesus Christ gives each of the seven churches specific instructions to overcome.
In this initial study, we will examine the time element of the seven churches, and in future issues, we will analyze Christ’s message to each church individually.
1. How does the book of Revelation view the seven churches?
Does it recognize that they have future meaning as types of the end-time church? (Revelation 1:4, 7, 10, 19; 22:7, 10, 16)
Comment: Granted, Christ specifically addresses the book of Revelation to the seven churches in Asia.
However, it is essential to note that the introductory chapter places it in the context of the Day of the Lord and Christ’s return.
The visions John sees are of “things which are, and . . . will take place after this” (Revelation 1:19).
Since the Day of the Lord is yet to occur, we can conclude the seven messages are spiritually valid not only for John’s day but also for ours.
Revelation 22 accents this by declaring that Jesus’ servants would teach this prophecy in the churches until He returns.
2. Do the seven churches exist successively—as eras—from the days of the apostles to Christ’s return?
Comment: Though history and experience of the modern church of God indicates such a partial fulfillment, no internal evidence from the Bible supports this concept. We will cover this possibility in greater detail in Part Two.
3. Does internal evidence suggest another type of fulfillment? Do all seven churches exist concurrently at the end? Revelation 2-3.
Comment: Notice these intriguing facts:
» Grammatically, Jesus presents His seven messages as if the churches exist simultaneously.
» Jesus ends each of the letters with, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” plural (emphasis ours throughout).
» In Revelation 2:23, addressed specifically to Thyatira, Christ says that, by what happens to her, “all the churches shall know” He is the Judge and Head of the church.
Every church must exist concurrently with her to observe her calamity—especially those that had supposedly preceded her.
» The epistles’ language indicates an end-time frame of reference:
To Ephesus and Pergamos, He says He will “come to [them] quickly.”
To Thyatira, He will “cast her into great tribulation,” and her faithful should “hold fast . . . till I come” and “[keep] My works to the end.”
To Sardis, He will “come . . . as a thief” (see Matthew 24:43).
To Philadelphia, He mentions “the hour of trial” and “I come quickly.”
To Laodicea, He says they will be “tried in the fire,” a symbol of tribulation, and He “[stands] at the door,” indicating immediacy.
4. Could the church’s scattering into many small groups imply all seven churches currently exist? Leviticus 26:14-16, 33; Zechariah 4:2-4, 11-14; Revelation 1:12, 20.
Comment: The sins, lacks, and needs of each give the seven churches distinct personalities and attitudes.
All the problems Jesus describes exist in the various branches of the church today.
Remember, Christ addresses them individually, but advises all “the churches” to heed His advice.
The parallel prophecies of Zechariah 4 and Revelation 1 show the seven churches, distinct but existing together, at the time of the Two Witnesses.
5. Are the messages relevant to us individually? Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26-29; 3:5-6, 12-13, 21-22; II Timothy 3:16.
Comment: If we compare these seven brief messages to the epistles of Paul, who also wrote extensively to various churches around the Mediterranean Sea, we can see a great deal of similarity.
Paul’s letters address each church’s strengths and weaknesses, providing criticism, exhortation, and encouragement to help the members of those congregations overcome and prepare for Christ’s return.
Jesus’ epistles in Revelation 2-3 perform the same task—except that it is the awesome, glorified Judge and High Priest who is writing personally to His churches to get them ready for the Kingdom of God! Time is short!
A careful, humble self-examination will reveal that each of us has, to some degree, every problem described in every message.
All seven messages apply—today—to us, the elect of God in the end time.
As we overcome, grow, and mature—as we become more like Christ—we should see less and less of each negative point in ourselves.
Christ’s advice to all seven is the same:
Overcome!
If we heed His counsel, we will avoid the threatened judgments and receive the magnificent rewards He offers.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____
Moses and the Burning Bush 3 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian.
He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.
2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush.
Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.
3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up?
I must go see it.”
4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!” Moses replied.
5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned.
“Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.
6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.
I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers.
Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land.
It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.
9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.
10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you:
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
The Revelation of Jehovah to Moses
3:1–4 In tending the flock of Jethro, Moses learned valuable lessons about leading God’s people.
When he went to Horeb (Mount Sinai), the Lord appeared to him in a bush that burned with fire but … was not consumed.
The bush suggests the glory of God, before which he was told to stand with unshod feet.
It might also foreshadow Jehovah’s dwelling in the midst of His people without their being consumed.
And some have even seen in it the destiny of Israel, tried in the fires of affliction but not consumed.
We also should all be like the burning … bush—burning for God, yet not consumed.
3:5 The Lord promised Moses that He would deliver His people from Egypt and bring them into a land of abundance—that is, Canaan—inhabited by the six heathen nations listed in verse 8.
The word “holy” occurs here for the first time in the Bible.
By removing his sandals, Moses acknowledged that the place was holy.
3:6 God reassures Moses that He is the God of his forefathers—Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
And these verses, Moses brings no new or unknown god to his people, but a fuller revelation of the One whom they have known.
Not even Paul’s words to the Athenians on the Areopagus are a fair parallel here (Acts 17:23).
The only true parallel is the continuing Self-revelation made by God in later centuries, culminating in the coming of Christ.
Yet in its day the Mosaic revelation, while a fulfilment of patriarchal promises, was as new and shattering to Israel as the coming of the Messiah was later to prove to be.
3:7–12 Moses protested God’s sending him to Pharaoh, citing his own inadequacy.
But the Lord assured Moses of His presence and promised that he would yet serve God on this mountain (Mount Sinai) with a liberated people.
Moses’ inventory of his disqualifications covered,
~ lack of capability (3:11),
~ lack of special adaptation (4:13),
~ lack of message (3:13),
~ lack of.authority (4:1),
~ lack of eloquence (4:10),
~ lack of previous success (5:23),
~ lack of previous acceptance (6:12).
A more complete list of disabilities would be difficult to conjure up.
But instead of pleasing God, his seeming humility and reluctance stirred His anger.
“The anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (4:14).
In point of fact, the excuses Moses advanced to show his incapacity were the very reasons for God’s selection of him for the task.
Moses made excuses because he felt inadequate for the job God asked him to do.
It was natural for him to feel that way. He was inadequate all by himself.
But God wasn’t asking Moses to work alone. He offered other resources to help (God himself, Aaron, and the ability to do miracles).
When God calls us to tasks that seem too difficult, he doesn’t ask us to do them alone.
God offers us His resources, just as He did to Moses.
We should not hide behind our inadequacies, as Moses tried to do, but look beyond ourselves to the great resources available.
Then we can allow God to use our unique contributions.
Jesus tells us in the New Testament that our God given assignment, in life, is to learn to cooperate with Him, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who now lives within us.
By our putting on the Yoke of God, Jesus helps us navigate through ALL of our trials and tribulations, and He does so by carrying the bulk of the weight.
Our job is to take the yoke upon us and learn of Him, by learning His ways.
Matthew 11:28-30 New King James Version
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ________________________________
Saturday, May 6 The Berean Daily Verse and Comment Exodus 3:10-11
10 “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ____
The time had come. Previously, Moses thought he was ready, and he impetuously promoted himself to do the job. He did it without waiting for God.
Look at the difference:
Before, Moses promoted himself, but now he says, “God, who am I?”
What a change took place in his thinking!
He not only hesitated about going, but he almost seems petrified about the prospects of going.
This is a true principle of those who have been humbled in their field of expertise.
The young foolishly think, in their vanity, that their strength will allow them to sail through any problem.
They are deceived by their own ignorance.
Like Moses, they foolishly rush in where angels fear to tread.
When they come to understand, usually after years of experience, they realize how very little they know.
This principle is clearly shown in the way a student of science might be humbled.
He may have graduated from high school, then from college, and may have even obtained a master’s degree and now works on a doctorate.
He has learned a great deal. However, after maybe twenty years of experience in the field of chemistry or biology, he realizes there is a great deal more that he does not know, more than his accumulation of schooling and experience.
If he is a Christian, he begins to see God’s creation and the Creator’s mind in a much different light.
That is what has happened to Moses.
In those forty years, his impetuous spirit had been dissolved, and he saw the power of Egypt in its true light.
He may have feared execution, imprisonment, or embarrassment by the powerful Egyptians.
Does this not encumber and constrain us as well?
We worry and fear that we will look foolish before friends and relatives if we obey God—if we keep the Sabbath or tithe.
How many of our relatives have castigated us because of tithing?
It seems awfully dumb to them, but how do we feel?
Do we fear what they think?
Moses more fully recognizes his weaknesses in comparison to Egypt, and he quails at the thought.
God has to overcome Moses’ resistance.
What a change! Moses was going to do it on his own before, but God now has to overcome his resistance.
All of the testing God had put Moses through produces right faith and right conviction.
We each have to learn to trust God’s timing and His plan for our life…
God told Jeremiah…
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jer 1:5)
Then David says in Psalms 139, verses 15 and 16 (speaking of God our Creator, who is the Author of our lives):
15 “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
In the New Testament, we read in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus:
9 “God has now revealed to us His mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill His own good plan.
10 And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for HE CHOSE US in advance, and He makes EVERYTHING work out according to His plan. (Eph 1:9-11 NLT)
Note that in the New King James Bible it says, in verse 11:
“… (that we having) been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.
And again Paul writes in Romans 8:28–30:
28 “And we know that God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
29 For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.”
This life that we ALL, who are BORN-AGAIN IN CHRIST, are called to live is called LIVING BY FAITH AND NOT BY Sight (2 Cor 5:7)!
This means that God expects EACH OF US to cast the whole of our life and our life’s circumstances on the reliability and trustworthiness of God and His Word
So what does that look like and how do we do that in real life?
The answer to that question is given in Proverbs:
Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation
5 Trust in the Lord with ALL YOUR HEART; DO NOT depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
_________________________________
Monday, May 01 Worthy Brief
DO YOU HAVE A SAFE PLACE?
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” — Psalm 118:6
As some of you may know, a bomb exploded in a bus within blocks of our Jerusalem apartment when we first moved to Israel.
That morning, my wife and I, along with our newborn baby, were heading to the city center to run a few errands when suddenly we heard the explosion.
Within minutes, the sirens were screaming from every part of the city as officials quickly made their way to the scene.
Later that month, the bus I was supposed to be on drove away as I watched it carry away the 50 or so people who would be critically injured and the 8 who would be dead seconds later, when that bus exploded before my very eyes.
So, to put it mildly, we have seen firsthand how terrorism works and how it affects people.
People ask us all the time — “Aren’t you afraid to be living in Israel these days?”
Truth be told, there aren’t too many safe places in this world anymore, are there?
However, there is one very safe place we have found, and it’s the very safest place there is.
You may have heard of it — it’s called “God’s perfect will”.
We should all be striving to make our home there for the rest of our earthly days.
We may be afraid to go to those places or do those things that God may be calling us today.
It could be to share your God-given talents in some far away land, and it could be across the street to help a neighbor.
Whatever the case may be, it’s easy to get wrapped up in other people’s fear, anxiety and criticism.
But we have a choice. We can either give in to those fears or stand for the Lord and choose what he called us to do.
Let’s submit all our fears to the Lord today and choose the latter.
I want to live in the will of God, don’t you?
He will not leave our side when we step forward to do great things for Him!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Going to Christian College in Dallas, Texas) Arad, Israel ____
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 