God's Word

Scripture: Ezekiel 13:⁹And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Observation: God specifically directed the "writings of the house of Israel". God directed what would be in and not in those writings, which now make up our Bible.

Application: The Bible is not only trustworthy, it is directed by God. Only the prophets who were prophesying from God were included in the Bible. The Bible is God's word, powerful, and full of God himself.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for your Word. Thank you for preserving your Word. Thank you that you will preserve it forever. Open our spiritual eyes to the power that is in your Word. Make it alive in our hearts and souls. Thank You.

God's Wrath

Scripture: Ezekial 6:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

Observation: It is very clear in this scripture that the Lord personally destroyed Israel during the period of its history where Babylon sieged and ultimately destroyed Israel. We know from other scripture that the King of Babylon was directed by God for the destruction of Israel due to their great, never ceasing, rebellion against God.

Application: Our nations are also in rebellion against God, however as we live in the Church age, where Jesus has personally taken God's wrath upon himself, it is hard for us to understand how the loving God we know could do such a thing. However, prophesy tells us that God will again pour out his wrath one final time upon the earth in the seven years prior to when Jesus returns to rule and reign as King.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus, that you are a just God; Full of mercy, full of grace, full of love without end. Your ways are true, you alone are righteous. We trust in you, and we look forward to being with you always.

Cycle of Sin

Scripture: Lamentations 1:3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

Observation: All through the old testament the same cycle is repeated: God blesses, people sin, consequences ensure, people eventually repent, God Redeems.

Application: Do we not also see the same cycle in our own life? Through Jesus Christ the cycle can be broken. The power of sin has been broken, and if we turn from being lead by our our flesh to being led by our spirit, we have the power to overcome.

Prayer: May the power of Jesus Christ rule in my life. May I be lead by the Holy Spirit and not by my flesh, through the power of the name of Jesus Christ.

Preaching to the Angels

Scripture: 1 Peter 10 - 12 10Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Observation: The Gospel, the revelation of who Jesus Christ is, preached by the Apostles via the Holy Ghost, and given to us in his word, is SO PROFOUND that even the Angels long to look into it. Wow!

Application: God's word is precious, more valuable that our time on the television, computer, radio, and even some of the useful things we do.

Prayer: Jesus, give me a passion for your word. Make it come alive with I read it, though the Holy Spirit. Enlighten me through your Word.

Be careful about assuming leadership

Scripture: James 3:1 - My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment

Observation: Wow, I dont know about you, but the judgement is imposing enough already without becoming stricter. Who am I in the sight of an almightly, perfect, all-powerful God who created everything with a word? And now, to make that judgement stricter by moving into a position of leadership is daunting.

Application: Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ that makes our sins go away. Without it, none of us could step up to lead others. Thank God that we have an advocate, who on judgement day will say "this one is with me" to his father the Judge. It is only with that knoledge, and the humility that we so desprately need, that we can assume the calling that God has placed on our lives.

Prayer: In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray for new Christian leaders to step into their calling with all humility and full dependence on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of calvary.

All things are possible

Scripture:

Hbr 6:4

For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

Hbr 6:5

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

Hbr 6:6

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

Observation: At first appearance this looks like it is hopeless for those who were once Christians to be Christians again. However, that would contradict many other scriptures in the new and old testaments. The word "impossible" in its original Greek really means "lack of power". Consider also Matthew 19:26 which says: "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." This is the same word "impossible" in both verses.

Application: Yes, we don't have the strength, the right, or the ability to reconcile ourselves to God. It is only Jesus's work on the cross what can reconcile us to him. And his work is sufficient to make us clean, no matter how many times we have to come back to it. There is only one unforgivable sin, and that is unbelief. Jesus paid for our sins, but we can refuse what he did, and that unbelief will condemn us by our own word.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for what you did for us. Let us do our best to not continue in Sin. Help us to consider the cost of our sin. Help us to have assurance of your goodness and your all sufficient grace.

God's Love For Us

Scripture: Hbr 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Observation: If you were one of ten children, and your father passed away and left you all of his inheritance, what would you think? You would be awestruck at how much your father loved you. How could he have loved you even more than your siblings or his wife? A great inheritance speaks of a great love, and God has given us the greatest inheritance as believers in Jesus Christ. We are "heirs of salvation", and through Jesus we have billions of angels serving us.

Application: Considering this great love, how should we life? We have received this undeserved inheritance from a father who is still alive? How should we respond to him?

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for what you have given us. Help us to recognize who we are in you! Open the eyes of our understanding that we might be enlightened to the authority you have given us in your inheritance. Help us to love you and walk worthy of the trust you have placed in us.

1/1/10 - God is true to his Word

Scripture: Jeremiah 51:8 - Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

Observation: This prophecy of Jeremiah did indeed come to pass, and the prophecy is repeated again in the book of Revelations 14:8 "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

Application: God's Word is true. You can count on it. If he says it is going to happen, it will happen. If he says it is going to happen again, you can count on it happening again! We all need to be ready for the second coming of the Lord, because just as it happened, it will happen again. The promises of God are throughout his word, and when you read one, you can take it to the bank!

Prayer: Thank you Jesus that you are the Word, and that You are the Truth, and that Your Word is Truth! Thank you that you promised that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. Thank you that you have given us all blessings in heavenly places. Thank you that you have promised eternal life with you for those who trust in you!