Do you ever feel like things are out of control? Do you ever feel like nothing makes sense? God is still very much in control. Even though that seems to be an over-used cliche, its eternal truth is clearly taught in His word. Here is just a sample of the many Scriptures that attest to this:
9Whatever you devise against the LORD,
He will make a complete end of it.
Distress will not rise up twice.
12Thus says the LORD,
"Though they are at full strength and likewise many,
Even so, they will be cut off and pass away
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no longer.
Nahum 1:9, 12
9"Thus says the LORD, 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go.
10'For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'"
Jeremiah 37:9-10
14David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
1 Samuel 23:14
10"Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;
State a proposal, but it will not stand,
For God is with us."
Isaiah 8:10
5Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"
6so that we confidently say,
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"
Hebrews 13:5-6
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:28, 31
6For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until (A)the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Hard Times and Encouragement
2The godly person has perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a net.
3Concerning evil, both hands do it well
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together.
4The best of them is like a briar,
The most upright like a thorn hedge
The day when you post your watchmen,
Your punishment will come
Then their confusion will occur.
5Do not trust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a friend.
From her who lies in your bosom
Guard your lips.
6For son treats father contemptuously,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man's enemies are the men of his own household.
7But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation
My God will hear me.
8Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy
Though I fall I will rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.
Micah 7:2-8
28"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33"But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35"For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
36and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
37"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39"He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it."
Matthew 10:28-39
And there is no upright person among men
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a net.
3Concerning evil, both hands do it well
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together.
4The best of them is like a briar,
The most upright like a thorn hedge
The day when you post your watchmen,
Your punishment will come
Then their confusion will occur.
5Do not trust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a friend.
From her who lies in your bosom
Guard your lips.
6For son treats father contemptuously,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man's enemies are the men of his own household.
7But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation
My God will hear me.
8Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy
Though I fall I will rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.
Micah 7:2-8
28"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33"But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35"For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
36and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
37"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39"He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it."
Matthew 10:28-39
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Humility
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:1-4
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,But humility goes before honor.
Proverbs 18:12
For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
"I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time
1 Peter 5:5-6
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:1-4
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,But humility goes before honor.
Proverbs 18:12
For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
"I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time
1 Peter 5:5-6
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Hear Me
"I do not have a right to pray because I do not have a truly prayerful heart. Much less do I have any right to receive what I ask for. Everything which Thou seest in my heart, O Lord, is of such a nature that it must close Thy heart to me and all my supplications. But hear me, not for my sake, nor for the sake of my prayer, and not even because of my distress, for it is a result of my own sinfulness. But hear me for Jesus' sake."
-- O. Hallesby from "Manna in the Morning"
-- O. Hallesby from "Manna in the Morning"
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
What's My Motivation?
4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
5"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
6'When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?
Zechariah 7:4-6
When I happened upon this Scripture I had to ask myself, "What's my motivation for ministry, singing, prayer...? Am I involved in ministry for the personal satisfaction, or to honor my Creator? Am I really singing to the Lord, or do I like the sound of the music? Am I praying to seek His face, or just His hand?
By His grace, may I be among the blessed pure in heart, and not self-seeking.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
5"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
6'When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?
Zechariah 7:4-6
When I happened upon this Scripture I had to ask myself, "What's my motivation for ministry, singing, prayer...? Am I involved in ministry for the personal satisfaction, or to honor my Creator? Am I really singing to the Lord, or do I like the sound of the music? Am I praying to seek His face, or just His hand?
By His grace, may I be among the blessed pure in heart, and not self-seeking.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Power Corrupts (and absolute power corrupts absolutely)!
I just finished watching a documentary about Jonestown -- the commune established by false prophet Jim Jones who along with over 900 of his followers committed mass suicide in November of 1978.
The whole mess was yet another failed attempt at socialism/communism, which is really nothing more than man thinking that he can be God and decide how to direct and govern his fellow man without answering to the true God.
It is sad that to this day there are those who think that man has the capacity to govern himself apart from God and His word. We simply were not designed for that. There has been no lasting peace on the earth since the fall in the Garden of Eden. We naturally want to believe that we are good and able to handle it, but God's word clearly speaks to the opposite of what we want to believe...we are naturally evil and self gratifying!
The bottom line is this: Don't be decieved by empty rhetoric that says we are going to accomplish world peace. Someday the antichrist will appear and deceive many with the promise of peace -- but his "peace" will be short lived. The only one who can rightly handle that kind of power and not become corrupt is Jesus. There will be no real, lasting peace on the earth until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom! As Christians, let us look forward to that day, and not put our trust in man.
1And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
2Many nations will come and say,
"Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths "
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
4Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Micah 4:1-5
The whole mess was yet another failed attempt at socialism/communism, which is really nothing more than man thinking that he can be God and decide how to direct and govern his fellow man without answering to the true God.
It is sad that to this day there are those who think that man has the capacity to govern himself apart from God and His word. We simply were not designed for that. There has been no lasting peace on the earth since the fall in the Garden of Eden. We naturally want to believe that we are good and able to handle it, but God's word clearly speaks to the opposite of what we want to believe...we are naturally evil and self gratifying!
The bottom line is this: Don't be decieved by empty rhetoric that says we are going to accomplish world peace. Someday the antichrist will appear and deceive many with the promise of peace -- but his "peace" will be short lived. The only one who can rightly handle that kind of power and not become corrupt is Jesus. There will be no real, lasting peace on the earth until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom! As Christians, let us look forward to that day, and not put our trust in man.
1And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
2Many nations will come and say,
"Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths "
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
4Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Micah 4:1-5
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