Category Archives: Righteousness / Serving God

Blessed, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Prophecy, Through Prophets

In Yeshua, We Find Joy!

Isaiah 35 looks ahead to the joy and celebration we find in our Messiah, Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus). It is cause for celebration and hope! It is cause for joy even today!

Isaiah 35

Zion’s Happy Future

1The wilderness and the desert will be glad,
And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;
Like the crocus

      2It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the LORD,
The majesty of our God.

      3Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.

      4Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”

      5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

      6Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the Arabah.

      7The scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.

      8A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.

      9No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
These will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there,

      10And the ransomed of the LORD will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

It is encouraging to put our hope and focus on Yeshua. Let it transform you. Do not miss it. He has come. The Spirit dwells with us now. Do not miss out on the joy we find in Yeshua, waiting only for the second coming. Yes, there is a joy to be had then, but our eternity with the LORD has already started when we submitted our lives to Him.

Take a few minutes in prayer. Thank God for sending Yeshua. Spend time thanking and praising God for making a way for us to be reconciled to Him through Yeshua. Reflect on the joy and hope you should be experiencing even today. If you are not experiencing that joy, ask God to help you and show you why. Put your full trust in Him.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, Help / Serve Others, Wickedness / Evil

Remove the Wicked from Among Us

Believers and followers of Jesus Christ are not to accept immorality in our church body. Contrary to common public opinion of today’s culture, we are not to just accept everyone in our church fellowship regardless of behavior and attitude. Those who are immoral are to be removed from our midst and treated as part of the world of non-believers. If they repent, we can of course accept them back. This is not to say we treat them badly or with meanness. Remember, we also are called to treat everyone with a basic level of love and respect.

1 Corinthians 5

Immorality Rebuked

      1It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

      3For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

      6Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

      9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

It is important to remove the immoral from our midst rather than accept them so that they might recognize the need to repent. They suffer for a while, but then have the best chance to repent and return to true fellowship with God and the family of believers. If we just keep accepting one immorality after another, then soon the church family looks a lot like the world and culture around it… filled with unrepentant sinners who do not believe they need to change. Many of our church fellowships look like this today because of failure to heed Paul’s instructions.

Let us focus on helping, and yes, rebuking one another when necessary. As a family of believers, we are to help one another remain on the right path with God. Part of that requires that we remove the wicked from among us.

—-

Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Curse, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Obeying God, Slow to Anger, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

God’s Wrath or God’s Blessing?

Isaiah 34 highlights God’s wrath against nations that choose not to submit to Him and live according to His ways. Those who choose their own ways, the ways of sin, are not pleasing to the LORD. There will be judgment. In fact, we can also remember that sin by itself, even without God’s wrath, separates us from God and transforms our personal lives, marriages, families, communities, or nation from what God desires to a mess.

Isaiah 34

God’s Wrath against Nations

1Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!
Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

2For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations,
And His wrath against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to slaughter.

3So their slain will be thrown out,
And their corpses will give off their stench,
And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.

4And all the host of heaven will wear away,
And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;
All their hosts will also wither away
As a leaf withers from the vine,
Or as one withers from the fig tree.

5For My sword is satiated in heaven,
Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom
And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.

6The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7Wild oxen will also fall with them
And young bulls with strong ones;
Thus their land will be soaked with blood,
And their dust become greasy with fat.

8For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9Its streams will be turned into pitch,
And its loose earth into brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch.

10It will not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke will go up forever.
From generation to generation it will be desolate;
None will pass through it forever and ever.

11But pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
And owl and raven will dwell in it;
And He will stretch over it the line of desolation
And the plumb line of emptiness.

12Its nobles—there is no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its princes will be nothing.

13Thorns will come up in its fortified towers,
Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities;
It will also be a haunt of jackals
And an abode of ostriches.

14The desert creatures will meet with the wolves,
The hairy goat also will cry to its kind;
Yes, the night monster will settle there
And will find herself a resting place.

15The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there,
And it will hatch and gather them under its protection.
Yes, the hawks will be gathered there,
Every one with its kind.

16Seek from the book of the LORD, and read:
Not one of these will be missing;
None will lack its mate.
For His mouth has commanded,
And His Spirit has gathered them.

17He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it to them by line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Seek to live according to God’s ways. Do not sin. Seek forgiveness. Submit to the LORD. The very nature of living according to His instructions is to live in a way that loves God and loves others. On top of that, we want to seek and receive His blessing for obedience rather than His wrath for disobedience.

For those that want to focus on the forgiveness we get through Yeshua, that is true. We can be very grateful! However, He also tells us to go and sin no more, which is to repent and change our ways to God’s ways.

Take a few minutes to pray. Ask God to show you any areas in your life in which you have not fully submitted to Him. It may be a job or marriage. It could be a hobby or friends that you know are not a good influence. Once He shows you where you are not fully submitted, ask forgiveness and take action to bring that part of your life into submission before Him. No excuses.

Matthew 6:33

 33But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

All Powerful / King of All, Fear / Reverence for God, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Repenting from Sin, Unteachable / Foolish

We Will Each Face Judgment – Do You Want Grace or That Which You Deserve?

The judgment of God is a very real thing we will each face. The unrepentant sinner will receive his due. He will receive the punishment he deserves. Those who have repented and received forgiveness through Yeshua will experience grace in receiving the good things they did not deserve. This is a constant message through scripture. Do not disregard it. There is hope and peace on one side, through Yeshua, and reason to fear for those who refuse Yeshua’s offer of forgiveness.

Isaiah 33

The Judgment of God

1Woe to you, O destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.

      2O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You.
Be their strength every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of distress.

      3At the sound of the tumult peoples flee;
At the lifting up of Yourself nations disperse.

      4Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.

      5The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

      6And He will be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

      7Behold, their brave men cry in the streets,
The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

      8The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased,
He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,
He has no regard for man.

      9The land mourns and pines away,
Lebanon is shamed and withers;
Sharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage.

      10“Now I will arise,” says the LORD,
“Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.

      11“You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
My breath will consume you like a fire.

      12“The peoples will be burned to lime,
Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

      13“You who are far away, hear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

      14Sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?”

      15He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

      16He will dwell on the heights,
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

      17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will behold a far-distant land.

      18Your heart will meditate on terror:
“Where is he who counts?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”

      19You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue which no one understands.

      20Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation,
A tent which will not be folded;
Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its cords be torn apart.

      21But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us
A place of rivers and wide canals
On which no boat with oars will go,
And on which no mighty ship will pass—

      22For the LORD is our judge,
The LORD is our lawgiver,
The LORD is our king;
He will save us—

      23Your tackle hangs slack;
It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
The lame will take the plunder.

      24And no resident will say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

Please take a few minutes and prayerfully reflect before God. Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Don’t blame God as “harsh” if He has made a way to receive forgiveness by grace through faith and you just refuse to accept His offer.  That responsibility lies solely with you.

Shalom. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Am I on the path?, Salvation, Share the Good News

Salvation through Faith in Yeshua (aka Jesus)

Romans 10 provides valuable insight into salvation.  I encourage everyone to click the link and read the entire chapter.

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[e] 12 Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[g]

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”[h]

It sounds almost too easy, but most of the world misses it. If we truly believe in our hearts God raised Jesus from the dead we should be driven to several natural next steps.

  • Change our lives. Turn away from our selfish focus on what is comfortable and acceptable. Be transformed to serve and obey Jesus even when facing those who would mock or persecute us.
  • Openly declare that Jesus is Lord. In this way, we also become the messengers to bring the good news to others!

If we as Christians are quiet and blend in with the world, then we are like a lamp that provides no light… what is the point?

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Grace / Forgiveness, Parables, Repenting from Sin

No Matter the Sin, God Will Forgive You if You Repent

No matter the sin, God will forgive you if you genuinely repent and turn to God seeking forgiveness. Humble yourself before Him.

Yeshua powerfully demonstrates this principle to us in Luke 15:11-32 as He described God’s love for sinners and desire to welcome them back to Himself in a parable we often refer to as the prodigal son.

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

God is yearning for our return! He will celebrate if we come in genuine humility and repentance. Why do so many choose to remain in the world with emptiness in their lives, yearning to eat what the pigs have instead of humbling themselves before God?

Whatever sin you have committed. Take a few minutes now in prayer and genuinely turn from it and seek forgiveness. Humble yourself before God. He is waiting for you, looking for your return.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Hope, Prophecy, Suffering / Adversity

The Glorious Future Can Give Us Peace Even Today

The opening verses of Isaiah 32 appear to look forward to a time when Yeshua and those who follow Him are reigning. What a glorious time that will be! As we get further into the chapter, there is a reminder that we will continue to see struggles in this world until the Spirit is poured out from on high.

Isaiah 32

The Glorious Future

1Behold, a king will reign righteously
And princes will rule justly.

      2Each will be like a refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like streams of water in a dry country,
Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.

      3Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.

      4The mind of the hasty will discern the truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

      5No longer will the fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

      6For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart inclines toward wickedness:
To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD,
To keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And to withhold drink from the thirsty.

      7As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He devises wicked schemes
To destroy the afflicted with slander,
Even though the needy one speaks what is right.

      8But the noble man devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.

      9Rise up, you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.

      10Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, O complacent daughters;
For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.

      11Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,

      12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

      13For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up;
Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.

      14Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken.
Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks;

      15Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.

      16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness
And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.

      17And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

      18Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;

      19And it will hail when the forest comes down,
And the city will be utterly laid low.

      20How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.

You can study this chapter in more detail in various ways. Of course, you can always do an internet search, but there are also commentaries available on most of the major Bible websites such as Biblehub.com and Biblegateway.com.  One such commentary that is easy to digest is the Matthew Henry Concise .

Take a few minutes in prayer to relect with God on what it will be like when Yeshua returns and rules over us. Let that hope and expecation flow through you and bring you peace today. Yeshua is LORD even today. Embrace Him now. Let His peace settle over you. There is nothing that is beyond God.

Shalom. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Share the Good News, Submitted / Servant

Servants of Christ

If we are servants of Christ, then we are to seek our approval in Him and Him alone. We are not to seek our approval in the opinions of men. We are not to puff up our own feelings about ourselves either. Be humble before the Lord. Serve Him and from Him will come the praise that matters.

1 Corinthians 4

Servants of Christ

      1Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 3But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. 5Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

      6Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. 7For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

      8You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. 9For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. 11To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; 12and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; 13when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

      14I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. 17For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 18Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. 20For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. 21What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

Take a few minutes to pray. Ask God to show you any areas where you are seeking your praise from man or just building it up within yourself. Commit to seeking praise from the Lord alone. This does not mean that you will reject praise from others, but that you will focus your message and actions to please God and let the rest fall where it may.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discipline / Guidance From God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Faith / Trusting God, Protector / Deliverer, Provider

Our Help Is in God, Not Man

Israel turned to Egypt for help when they should have turned to God. We should pay attention in our own lives to avoid the same mistake. For us it will not be putting our trust in Egypt, but perhaps politicians, our employer or even friends. Seek help first and foremost from the LORD. Then He will show you from where He will bring help.

Isaiah 31

Help Not in Egypt but in God

1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
And rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!

      2Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster
And does not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.

      3Now the Egyptians are men and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the LORD will stretch out His hand,
And he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.

      4For thus says the LORD to me,
“As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
Against which a band of shepherds is called out,
And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise,
So will the LORD of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”

      5Like flying birds so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem.
He will protect and deliver it;
He will pass over and rescue it.

      6Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel. 7For in that day every man will cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your sinful hands have made for you as a sin.

      8And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of man will devour him.
So he will not escape the sword,
And his young men will become forced laborers.

      9“His rock will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the standard,”
Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

The people of Israel put their faith in man rather than God. This attitude creates separation and anger with God. Let us always put our trust in Him first. He shall direct our paths. Here are a few scriptures to remind ourselves that God will be with us.

  • [Joshua 1:9] 9“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
  • [Exod 33:14] And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”
  • [Deut‬ ‭31:8‬] And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.”
  • [Matt 28:20b] And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Compassionate, Curse, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Grace / Forgiveness, Repenting from Sin, Slow to Anger, Submitted / Servant, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

It’s Good to Have a Plan, But Make Sure It Is God’s Plan!

It is good that we have a plan for whatever challenges we face. However, we do well to ensure our plan is God’s plan. If we try to do things our way, instead of God’s, it is like adding to our problems instead of resolving them. Consult God and wait for His answer. Test your plans against the word of God.

Isaiah 30

Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance

1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD,
“Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;

      2Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting Me,
To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

      3“Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.

      4“For their princes are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.

      5“Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them,
Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.”

      6The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev.
Through a land of distress and anguish,
From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent,
They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys
And their treasures on camels’ humps,
To a people who cannot profit them;

      7Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty.
Therefore, I have called her
“Rahab who has been exterminated.”

      8Now go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may serve in the time to come
As a witness forever.

      9For this is a rebellious people, false sons,
Sons who refuse to listen
To the instruction of the LORD;

      10Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right,
Speak to us pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.

      11“Get out of the way, turn aside from the path,
Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

12Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,

      13Therefore this iniquity will be to you
Like a breach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,

      14Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
So ruthlessly shattered
That a sherd will not be found among its pieces
To take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

15For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,

      16And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses,”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

      17One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top
And as a signal on a hill.

God Is Gracious and Just

18Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.

      19O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. 21Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 22And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, “Be gone!”

      23Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plenteous; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture. 24Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25On every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.

      27Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place;
Burning is His anger and dense is His smoke;
His lips are filled with indignation
And His tongue is like a consuming fire;

      28His breath is like an overflowing torrent,
Which reaches to the neck,
To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve,
And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin.

      29You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival,
And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
To go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.

      30And the LORD will cause His voice of authority to be heard,
And the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger,
And in the flame of a consuming fire
In cloudburst, downpour and hailstones.

      31For at the voice of the LORD Assyria will be terrified,
When He strikes with the rod.

      32And every blow of the rod of punishment,
Which the LORD will lay on him,
Will be with the music of tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight them.

      33For Topheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.

Listen to God’s word. Seek out and listen to God Himself for your situation. If you have gone off making your own plans, stop now and consult Him. If appropriate, repent. Find your rest in the LORD. Trust in Him. He is waiting to be gracious and show compassion to you.  Do not trust in those who tell you what you want to hear, but rather trust in God who has the power to redeem and deliver you!

He is ready and waiting for you to make the next move.

Take a few minutes to pray. Ask the LORD to show you any areas in your life in which your plans do not line up with His plans. Wait for Him to answer. If it does not come right away, keep paying attention over the next few days as He may answer you in a different way. Let Him show you what you need to change and surrender to Him. Praise God for His compassion and grace.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.