Verses for today…

Yesterday was filled with blessing as we worshiped with others, sang praises to God, listened to a challenge to yield our all in serving Jesus, and shared with others what God is doing in our lives. We visited our granddaughter, and even though she had surgery to reset her arm the day before, she was cheerful and thankful. 

I should have woke this morning full of joy, but that was not so. I felt discouraged and useless, without purpose and emotionally drained. Songs of praise didn’t help. Prayer for unsaved family didn’t help. Reading verses and devotional thoughts left me in the same empty place. However, my online Bible opens with an index and includes a daily verse, this time Isaiah 54:11 and God gave me this:

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:11–17)

This passage is near the end of this prophet’s section on comfort after many chapters about God’s judgment. While I’ve not felt under judgment, daily news and situations in the world feel like the entire planet is on a downward slope. The perks of yesterday were like dropping into God’s living room and escaping the bad news for a short while. But as soon as that was over, so went my peace of mind. I felt the affliction and lack of comfort described in this passage, but not the emotions that might go with being decked out in precious jewels.

But then, verse 13. I have this verse in the middle of a photo of my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. This is God's precious promise, that my family will have peace as God teaches them.

And here it adds more promises that God makes to His people, promises that the Scriptures tell me I can claim for myself since I am a child of God, by faith like the faith of Abraham. The first is that God will establish me, take me far from the oppression I often feel, and remove me from fear and terror — taking them away.

Next, any strife will not be from Him and it will fail because He has weapons against such things, even those who are against me. My vindication is from Him and my heritage — as His child. The prophet may be speaking of physical opposition and battles, yet this covers the spiritual wars against His people whose exterior situation is without strife but the enemy strikes against our minds.

Yesterday I was thanked for prayers that God answered, asked for help that God enabled me to give, and was given words to encourage others. The enemy doesn’t like that, yet if I put his name into the above passage as the weapons and negatives Isaiah points out as defeated, my heart is lifted again. The truth is: Jesus wins, and because He says “I will. . . . .” then I win also. 

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Revelation 12:10–11)

PRAY: Jesus, You are my joy and delight. You overcome the negatives that threaten me, whether their source is bad news, worries and concerns, fearful emotions, or the lies whispered by Satan to take my focus away from You. No weapon that is fashioned against me shall succeed. Because of You, this is my heritage and vindication. You are my righteousness and I am an overcomer and also a winner! How wonderful to belong to You and hear You speak.

 

The key to His goodness

 

Yesterday I asked my husband how marriages would be different if both husband and wife were always filled with the Spirit? We agreed — no conflicts ever.

At the request of a friend, I read a book in which the author didn’t understand that concept and gave a long history of the results of men and women in conflict over who is the boss. Without the Holy Spirit, this battle will continue; with Him there is no battle.

Piper gives testimony to the unity in his church between him, his wife, and the church leaders. He says that they all have the same “husband” who is Jesus Christ. As their first commitment and common allegiance, there is no competition. All three hear the same voice and the Holy Spirit is the secret of their unity. He is their peacemaker and the power behind their desires and ideas.

In another reading, another pastor said the same things, then added the way it happens and how God works to bring that understanding. He quoted:

Then (Jesus) said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:44–47)

This man’s prayer was that God would open his eyes and the eyes of all Christians to see Jesus everywhere in the Bible, to read the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the psalms with Jesus clearly in view.

He also confessed that for years he thought the law was only as a bunch of rules and principles for earning God’s favor and blessings and managing his life. Finally he understood they were given to drive him to Jesus. The law has never been a way to earn God's acceptance. Any efforts without the Holy Spirit are futile and frustrating.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Jesus fulfilled the law for us by His perfect obedience, and exhausted its judgment by His death. I have life because of His life. I cannot boast, just as I cannot do well without Him.
I’m reading the prophets but without fear of judgment for I see them the same way: those who listen and obey are able to walk in harmony with God. Those who do not will experience the consequences. He gave the “rules” to us for the same reason He gives us the “rules” in the NT — to show how badly we need to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Otherwise, we cannot obey Him, nor be like Him. Life in the flesh is doing our own thing — and that is sin.

Jesus is the “Yes” and “Amen” to every promise God has made. With Him, we can do it. In ourselves, we fall short. Reading the Bible is the way God reveals this. Of course I often learn through experience and its failures, but unless God opens my mind to understand the Scriptures, I will not ‘get it’ and be in the dark about why my life gets messed up. Too often I’ve lived my own way and made so many mistakes. Selfishness is a perfect way to be miserable.

PRAY: Jesus, continue to open my mind to understand how the entire Bible is a revelation of the gospel, of You and Your commitment to redeem Your people and restore the world. Show me more of you and my place in Your story. I’ve learned that all things are intended to transform me into Your image. That is entirely awesome. Even being able to listen to Your voice and do what You say is a great wonder. I’m deeply humbled that You transform sinners such as I to do Your will. I am overjoyed too, at such love and grace. You are incredible — and that also comes from You being willing to reveal Yourself to me. Amen.

God Communicates

When we moved into this new home, one large piece of furniture would not fit. Where we put it was functional but awkward. I began praying for a solution. Then, last week while visiting our son, he was excited about a small addition to his new home. It didn’t register then, but a day or so later, I woke up praying again about my dilemma and the Lord put two and two together. I was awake and saying “Yes, that’s it!” This woke my hubby and we spent yesterday moving furniture. The dramatic change was celebrated with apple pie and ice cream.

We knew this idea was an answer to prayer. Our son’s actions were part of it, but he had no idea that he was so helpful. What happened is another example of the power of God to communicate answers to prayer in surprising ways.

This is a small example. A bigger one is how He is working in parts of the world where Christianity is a crime and becoming one leads to severe persecution, even death. Those who are free to do so are praying for salvation for those people groups. But how can they be saved if they cannot hear the gospel? Some verses seem to say this is not possible. . . .  

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (1 Peter 1:22–23)
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Skeptics often ask the same question; what about those who never hear or who cannot read a Bible? God blessed me and my hubby with a clue. We talked with a woman who came from one of those ‘closed’ countries. She told about her family being in the living area of their home one morning. Her father was upstairs. She said when he came down, they knew something had happened. He was glowing, his face shining in great peace. He had experienced an encounter with Jesus Christ, prior unknown to him, and he was transformed. Now a Christian, he took his family out of their home. They fled to a safer country, all becoming believers in Jesus — without a Bible or a sermon.

Since then, we have heard many stories like that. It gives no excuse not to preach or share the gospel, but it does assure us that God is able to reach anyone with truth about Jesus and redemption, with or without us. Some might argue that this cannot be a ‘real salvation’ yet changed lives and a deep love for Jesus say otherwise.

Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit saying, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8) In my first encounter with Jesus, I did not physically see Him, yet I knew He was with me. Others testify to seeing Him, even being hugged by Him. Dare we limit God to what He can do to reach sinners?

Not only that, the NT church did not have the NT! They eventually had Paul’s letters, but none of them were written declaring the gospel until later.

Faith came by hearing — and anyone who knows Christ knows that the Holy Spirit is capable of speaking to the human heart. He convicts of sin, speaks of righteousness, and warns us when we forget or err in what we do. God even speaks of sending His Word to do His will:

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

Again, this is not license to sit back silent and merely pray for the lost, but it is assurance that no one who is chosen by Jesus will be lost. Another truth is also illustrated: when the Spirit speaks to me, I must listen. I have the Word to make sure what I am hearing is written by God also, yet Isaiah tells me that obedience is part of His success in His will being accomplished by those who hear Him.

PRAY: Jesus, Your great power to make Yourself heard makes my ability to listen and obey a partnership with what You are doing. I’m deeply humbled yet must never be speechless. You are the Savior and this is what You want me to say, loudly and joyfully, and deeply in awe. Yet I know that You have the power to speak in other ways besides using my mouth.