it was God who locked the door behind Noah and his family? For 370 days and 370 nights in the Ark, Noah's family is locked in. No windows, decks, internet, cell phones, TV, Youtube, Facebook, or Netflix. Mrs. Noah could not go out for walks or go to the store. They could not take the animals for their da ily walk.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Friday, April 13, 2018
Wearied To A Wayside Well
Reading from the Book of Ezekiel 3:22
And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me,
Arise, go forth unto the plain, and I will there talk with thee" Ezekiel 3:22
Did you ever hear of any one being much used for Christ who did not
have some special waiting time, some complete upset of all his or her
plans first; from St. Paul's being sent off into the desert of Arabia
for three years, when he must have been boiling over with the glad
tidings, down to the present day?
You were looking forward to telling about trusting Jesus in Syria; now
He says, "I want you to show what it is to trust Me, without waiting for
Syria."
I laid it down in silence,
This work of mine,
And took what had been sent me--
A resting time.
The Master's voice had called me
To rest apart;
"Apart with Jesus only,"
Echoed my heart.
I took the rest and stillness
From His own Hand,
And felt this present illness
Was what He planned.
How often we choose labor,
When He says "Rest"--
Our ways are blind and crooked;
His way is best.
The work Himself has given,
He will complete.
There may be other errands
For tired feet;
There may be other duties
For tired hands,
The present, is obedience
To His commands.
There is a blessed resting
In lying still,
In letting His hand mould us,
Just as He will.
His work must be completed.
His lesson set;
He is the higher Workman:
Do not forget!
It is not only "working."
We must be trained;
And Jesus "learnt" obedience,
Through suffering gained.
For us, His yoke is easy,
His burden light.
His discipline most needful,
And all is right.
We are but under-workmen;
They never choose
If this tool or if that one
Their hands shall use.
In working or in waiting
May we fulfill
Not ours at all, but only
The Master's will!
--Selected
God provides resting places as well as working places. Rest, then, and
be thankful when He brings you, wearied to a wayside well.
Friday, March 9, 2018
Woe, to the Rebellious Children
Reading from the Book of Isaiah 30:1-2, 9-13
Isaiah 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Isaiah 30:1 is another of those "woe" passages we see from time to time in the Bible. In it the Lord pronounces a curse upon those rebellious children who turn from trusting in Him to take counsel of themselves, carry out their own plans, and flee to "the shadow of Egypt," rather than resting under the "shadow of the Almighty."
Isaiah 30:2, in this case, fleeing to "the shadow of Egypt" refers to turning to the arm of the flesh rather than leaning on the arm of the Lord. In other words we are not to trust others, in ourselves, or in the world, but only in the Lord. We are to acknowledge Him in all our ways so that He may direct our paths. We are to find our strength in Him alone.
Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
When you and I make our plans or run to other people instead of trusting in the Lord, we leave a weak spot in our wall of divine protection. At a time when we least expect it, the enemy will break through that weak spot. When that happens, we will indeed be like the "broken section of a high wall" mentioned in Isaiah 30:13.
God does not want us to have weak spots in our lives. He wants us to rely on Him and be obedient to Him so our "walls" will remain strong and thick and our lives will be blessed and full. The more we depend on God, the more He can do through us. Sometimes we may have to go through brokenness before we enter His blessings. Sometimes before God can promote us, He has to remind us of our place.
He is the answer to all of our problems, especially when we are broken. And our children, who have forsaken the Lord, who have taken the path of destruction, are coming upon a time where meeting the Lord face to face will be their final rebellious act.
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Isaiah 30:1 is another of those "woe" passages we see from time to time in the Bible. In it the Lord pronounces a curse upon those rebellious children who turn from trusting in Him to take counsel of themselves, carry out their own plans, and flee to "the shadow of Egypt," rather than resting under the "shadow of the Almighty."
Isaiah 30:2, in this case, fleeing to "the shadow of Egypt" refers to turning to the arm of the flesh rather than leaning on the arm of the Lord. In other words we are not to trust others, in ourselves, or in the world, but only in the Lord. We are to acknowledge Him in all our ways so that He may direct our paths. We are to find our strength in Him alone.
Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
When you and I make our plans or run to other people instead of trusting in the Lord, we leave a weak spot in our wall of divine protection. At a time when we least expect it, the enemy will break through that weak spot. When that happens, we will indeed be like the "broken section of a high wall" mentioned in Isaiah 30:13.
God does not want us to have weak spots in our lives. He wants us to rely on Him and be obedient to Him so our "walls" will remain strong and thick and our lives will be blessed and full. The more we depend on God, the more He can do through us. Sometimes we may have to go through brokenness before we enter His blessings. Sometimes before God can promote us, He has to remind us of our place.
He is the answer to all of our problems, especially when we are broken. And our children, who have forsaken the Lord, who have taken the path of destruction, are coming upon a time where meeting the Lord face to face will be their final rebellious act.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Showers Of Blessings
Reading from the Book of Ezekiel 34:26
Ezekiel 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
"I will send... showers of blessing." Notice that the word 'showers' is plural. God will send all kinds of blessings. And all His blessings go together like links in a golden chain. If He gives you saving grace, He will also give you comforting grace. God will send "showers of blessings."
What is your season today? Are you experiencing a season of drought? If so then it is the season for showers.
Are you going through a season of great heaviness with dark clouds? Then that too is the season for showers.
Look up today, you who are dried and withered plants. Open your leaves and flowers and receive God's heavenly watering.
"I will send... showers of blessing." Notice that the word 'showers' is plural. God will send all kinds of blessings. And all His blessings go together like links in a golden chain. If He gives you saving grace, He will also give you comforting grace. God will send "showers of blessings."
What is your season today? Are you experiencing a season of drought? If so then it is the season for showers.
Are you going through a season of great heaviness with dark clouds? Then that too is the season for showers.
Look up today, you who are dried and withered plants. Open your leaves and flowers and receive God's heavenly watering.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Laying of Hands Upon You
Reading from the Book of Acts 8:14-18, 10:44-46
Acts 8:14 Now
when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given.
The Holy Spirit is the seed of eternal life that leads us to salvation. God gives His Holy Spirit to the truly repentant person after baptism by the laying on of hands by His true servants. Then, through the gift of the True Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ begins to live His life in us.
Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
The Word of God teaches that though some people received the holy Spirit through the laying of hands, other times the Spirit was simply poured out upon people. The believers who came with Peter were amazed because they witnessed how freely the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the crowd as evidenced by their talking in unknown tongues.
You can ask God to fill you and baptize you in the Holy Spirit right now, right where you are, by simply praying. Then wait on God quietly and believe you have received that for which you asked.
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given.
The Holy Spirit is the seed of eternal life that leads us to salvation. God gives His Holy Spirit to the truly repentant person after baptism by the laying on of hands by His true servants. Then, through the gift of the True Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ begins to live His life in us.
Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
The Word of God teaches that though some people received the holy Spirit through the laying of hands, other times the Spirit was simply poured out upon people. The believers who came with Peter were amazed because they witnessed how freely the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the crowd as evidenced by their talking in unknown tongues.
You can ask God to fill you and baptize you in the Holy Spirit right now, right where you are, by simply praying. Then wait on God quietly and believe you have received that for which you asked.
Monday, November 6, 2017
A Choice To Be Humble
Reading from the Book of Matthew 23:12, 1 Peter 5:6
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12
Humility is a quality that is greatly underemphasized in today’s standards. The world today does not know what humility means, and they do not know how to appreciate it. More importantly, they do not know how to do it. The sad fact is they’re not all that sure they even want to have it.
Culturally, we're much more drawn to the energetic, dynamic, charismatic, crowd-drawing people. That's who gets the headlines and the attention. But if we listen closely and watch carefully, we can see in Jesus someone who is humble, but strong; humble, but charismatic; humble, but crowd-drawing; humble, but dynamic.
The same Jesus who stilled the storm and spoke to the crowds is the same Jesus who washed feet and died on a cross and held babies in His arms when it wasn't politically correct.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6
Humility is a choice. We’re never told in the Bible to pray for God to make us humble. It’s something you choose for yourself.
Humility doesn’t mean thinking of yourself less. It means thinking of others and God more. If you have experienced some success and are beginning to get prideful, then ask God to teach you how you can be humble. Make a conscious effort to change your perspective about who you are and where your success comes from.
Make a choice to be humble. Making a choice means you change your mind. You go from thinking one way about your life to thinking another way.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Believe And Praise
Reading from the Book of Hebrews 11:3, Psalm 33:8
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Many is the modern-day evangelical who has attempted to harmonize the plain sense of the Scriptures with Big Bang concepts of stellar evolution, and a uniformitarian framework for Earth history. This exercise seldom results in a tempering of secular thought but rather in a compromising reinterpretation of Scripture, making it say something it clearly does not say.
The Bible says that “the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3), that all things that now exist were simply called into existence at God’s spoken command.
Creation was a true miracle. It was not (as some insist) merely a godly oversight of cosmic processes acting on eternal matter, nor was it the gradual appearance and disappearance of matter in a steady-state transformation. Only a poor regard for Scripture, coupled with an overly high regard for current astronomical theory, could interpret Hebrews 11:3 as the explosion of a tiny, super-dense “cosmic egg” (that did not “appear,” i.e., too small to see), itself the result of a “quantum fluctuation in a vacuum” in a Big Bang which produced the entire universe.
Our response should not be to disbelieve and twist but to believe and praise.
“Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him” Psalm 33:8
Many is the modern-day evangelical who has attempted to harmonize the plain sense of the Scriptures with Big Bang concepts of stellar evolution, and a uniformitarian framework for Earth history. This exercise seldom results in a tempering of secular thought but rather in a compromising reinterpretation of Scripture, making it say something it clearly does not say.
The Bible says that “the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3), that all things that now exist were simply called into existence at God’s spoken command.
Creation was a true miracle. It was not (as some insist) merely a godly oversight of cosmic processes acting on eternal matter, nor was it the gradual appearance and disappearance of matter in a steady-state transformation. Only a poor regard for Scripture, coupled with an overly high regard for current astronomical theory, could interpret Hebrews 11:3 as the explosion of a tiny, super-dense “cosmic egg” (that did not “appear,” i.e., too small to see), itself the result of a “quantum fluctuation in a vacuum” in a Big Bang which produced the entire universe.
Our response should not be to disbelieve and twist but to believe and praise.
“Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him” Psalm 33:8
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