Blog: “Discovering His Living Hope”

As Much as it is Possible with Me, be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction, Faithful in Prayer—Romans 12:12

Romans 12:10-13 GOD’S WORD Translation

10 Be devoted to each other like a loving family. Excel in showing respect for each other. 11 Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. 12 Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. 13 Share what you have with God’s people who are in need. Be hospitable.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

As much as it is or is not possible for any one person, we read Paul’s directive to be joyful, patient and faithful in the midst of ever-mounting daily struggles.

Considering the differences between when Paul first wrote these words and these 21st century days, if there really are any significant differences except the passage of years and generations of people which have come and gone, and the obvious differences in socio-cultural, socio-economic, techno complexities, it must still be the same in the minds of the readers specific to each time frame.

They read the words and I have read the words myself over and over again, and it is clear to me as I believe it was to them: these words seem like a hard pill to try and swallow and remain faithful and devoted to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Every era has its own singularly unique complexities and challenges which we as followers and believers must raise up and meet – not in any image of “me, myself and I” but in the image of God. the Father, God the Son and Holy Spirit!

Be devoted to one another like a loving family.

Excel in showing respect for each other.

Do not be lazy in showing your devotion.

Use your energy to serve the Lord.

Be happy in your confidence.

Be patient in times of trouble – without regard to how big or small trouble is.

Pray continually.

Share what you have with God’s people who are in need. (Who does not need?)

Be hospitable.

Any one of these directives taken alone is daunting enough.

Any two or three or more taken together in whatever combination – WOW!

But there are NINE DIRECTIVES given by the Apostle Paul in these verses.

Doing all NINE DIRECTIVES in the image of God, the Father, Son and Spirit?

Who is not wondering what was on Paul’s mind when he wrote these words?

Is Paul out of his collective mind? Is he or is he not in firm contact with reality?

However, these charges come directly on the heels of instruction to serve the Lord continually out of a growing and maturing spiritual fervor and passion for God. When we are walking after the Spirit, living out of our relationship to Him then these things will naturally occur in our lives because each one of these is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-26). These fruits are His characteristics and traits, so each of these identified characteristics in our lives are a byproduct of our relationship to Savior Christ. As we devote ourselves to God, become more and more like him, we will 100% start resembling His character on a daily basis.

Let us just try to carefully examine the directives from verse 12.

12 Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. 

We are to be joyful in hope.

When our hope is placed Jesus then being joyful in all things is easy because we know the hope to which we were called.

1 Peter says, “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

As born-again believers, we know the hope that we have through Christ. Our future in heaven is secure in him by evidence of his resurrection. 

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

Just the knowledge one day we will be reunited with Christ is reason enough to be continually joyful in all things. This inexpressible and glorious joy should be self-evident to everyone around us because of the 100% hope we have in Christ.

Secondly, we are to be patient in affliction. Being patient is a wonderful characteristic to have. It is a quality of suffering with fortitude while enduring wrongs and trials at the hands of the world.

James tells us that we are to “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

The King James Bible says it this way, “the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3-4 KJV). 

The work of patience in our lives produces growth, maturity and completion in our faith. This is why we can be patient in affliction, because we know the result of the trial will not destroy us but rather help us grow and mature in the Lord.

Next we are to be faithful in prayer.

James teaches us “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

Through Christ Jesus we are completely righteous which means when we pray, it is powerful and effective. This is why Paul tells us to be continuously faithful in our continual devotion and discipline to prayer because we know that we are releasing God’s power on this earth when we pray. 

Jesus told the disciples “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). When we pray in accordance with God’s will then we can rest assured that the answer is yes to whatever we ask.

The Apostle Paul gave us an empowering and encouraging word in Romans 8 concerning this and praying in agreement to God’s will, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Since we are called to His purpose, we can pray in the knowledge that it is effective and will work out for our good.

Joy, patience and faithfulness are all fruit of the Spirit. We can operate in all of these things because they are characteristics of God and have been deposited into our born-again spirits. We can let them flow through us simply by living by His spirit and renewing our minds to the truth of His word. How may this word of God come to bless you and may your fruit look like His characteristics today?

Try giving the directives a new life within your 21st Century Times and Seasons!

Try giving these directives a new order within your 21st century complexities!

Recently I skimmed the verse backwards and it gave new life to the verse I already love.

FAITHFUL IN PRAYER

Prayer basically means to talk to God. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In all things we should seek God through prayer. We don’t need to be anxious, worried, or in doubt. He is always available to listen and give us peace.

Not only are we asked to pray but pray faithfully. Faithful by definition is to have a long-continued and steadfast devotion. So, we are to be devoted to prayer, and another translation tells us to be constant in prayer. Break the Cycle! Being in a constant conversation with God throughout your entire day. Through every last stumble we deliberately look to Him to guide us. That’s what He wants, and that’s what we need. A healthy relationship will always require communication.

PATIENT IN AFFLICTION

Patience is the ability to tolerate delay without getting angry or upset. I’ve heard a lot of people say, “don’t pray for patience, God will give it to you!” As in, you and I will sooner or later, end up in a situation that will require patience.

But the truth we all seem to take for granted is we will all have afflictions or something that causes us our unique pain and unique suffering in this life.

Whether it’s financial hardships, chronic pain, emotional struggles, or even various degrees and measures of oppression and persecution, we need Godly patience to help us along the way. When we face times like these, we can seek God through prayer and lean on Him to give us patience to endure our trials.

JOYFUL IN HOPE

We will spend eternity in the presence of the creator of the universe.

Our hope is in Jesus and eternal life spent with Him! This truth should be radiating from us!

John 14:1-14 GOD’S WORD Translation

Jesus Promises to Send the Holy Spirit

14 “Don’t be troubled. Believe in God and believe in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. So how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him ⌞through me⌟ and have seen him ⌞in me⌟.”

8 Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.”

9 Jesus replied, “I have been with all of you for a long time. Don’t you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I’m telling you doesn’t come from me. The Father, who lives in me, does what he wants. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me because of the things I do.

12 “I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do anything you ask ⌞the Father⌟ in my name so that the Father will be given glory because of the Son. 14 If you ask me to do something, I will do it.

Whatever size and magnitude of trials come our way; we can always be joyful in the fact that we will have a future with Jesus. In the meantime, through faithful prayer and patience, we can continue to look at Him until that day has come.

In John 16:33 after Jesus tells the disciples the future troubles, they were going to face he says:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Through faithfulness in prayer, we receive patience to wait upon Jesus in whom we find our joy-filled, joyful everlasting, ever-living, genuine hope.

We are called to disciple and shepherd not just the ones who are easy, but also the hurting ones. The hurt might be self-inflicted, or due to an illness, personal, financial, or relational loss or a number of other reasons.  Regardless of the reason, Romans 12 is a beautiful road map I often refer to for walking with the hurting.

BE PRESENT: Let your love for others be genuine, not artificial or forced. Be the first one to greet them in the church lobby, make eye contact, smile at them make them feel valued and that they are important to you. Make the sincere effort to be present with them as they navigate their ups and downs of life.

Reconciliation, forgiving someone, coming back to church, making amends with those they hurt, or starting a conversation with God who they believe let the bad thing happen to them. These may be little baby steps to us, but it is a very necessary forward motion, and they need to hear you celebrate with them.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ” Romans 12:9

“Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” – Romans 12:15

BE PATIENT: Don’t put off the hard conversations. This takes dedication, time, and intentionality. There is God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit’s part, there is our part, and their part. Don’t get too far ahead in your expectations and goal setting for them. Walk next to them, not ahead of them.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12

BE HUMBLE: “Let your mind be like Christ Jesus.” Ouch, that is a hard one. But Jesus showed us how to do that over and over. Living in harmony is hard work. We don’t get a free pass just because it is hard. Pride is the enemy of humility.

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” – Romans 12:10

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” – Romans 12:14

BE A GOOD LISTENER: A Sound, Growing and Mature Wisdom is knowing what to say and more importantly what not to say. Knowing when to say it and when not to say it. Listen with the exact intent to understand, not respond. The best moments occur when I’m counseling someone, and they just have that “awe ha” moment as they talk it out.  Be ever so prudent in your use and application of silence. Give God His space. I didn’t tell them the solution, the Holy Spirit did.

In any time, Paul’s directives are complex and challenging. If we are walking with someone who is hurting, who has hurt you or those you care about, give it to God. He can take the burden off your shoulders and do what only he can do. Love them well in their journey to freedom from the heartaches weighing them down. Love them just as God loves you! Celebrate them as God celebrates you!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. — Romans 12:12

Most of us have endured devastating trials in our lives. We have been devastated by financial loss, heartbreak, loss of loved ones, and other troubled times. Many of these stories are reported on television on a daily basis. And yet, 100% truth, time after time, the resilience of those who are facing adversity shines through.

The main reason many of us do not buckle or stumble under the weight of our circumstances is because of the eternal hope that is alive, well, in our hearts.

Characteristically, just like faith, hope is strengthened by adversity. The harsh experience of having gone through something difficult toughens our resolve so that we believe we are going to be okay. In verse 12 of Romans 12, Paul tried to help us understand that going through difficult times was no excuse to abandon hope. We should strive to remain joyful in faith, hope as we wait in anticipation for God’s promises to be fulfilled, with the greatest promise being His Heaven.

When you experience difficulty, you always have a choice. One option is to hide yourself in a dark place away from the world, or you can face the adversity head on, knowing that, In God, the Father, Son and Spirit, you are, 100% not alone.

God is forever there. Just reach out to Him in prayer. The everlasting hope that He has placed in your heart will see you through. And the next time you endure a trial, through godly patience and perseverance, your hope will be stronger.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

Holy God, make me a partaker of your Holy Spirit. Enlighten me, oh, God. May I taste this heavenly gift that you reserve for your righteous people. Cleanse me of any barriers in my heart and mind that may stop me from feeling your true presence in me. Flood any dark spots in my heart with your light. Help me to walk in your light and shine your beauty and grace on everyone I meet. Amen.

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Happy Valentine’s Day! The Love of God in the Light of Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is a special day for those in marriages where there is a mutually enriching relationship. It is a special for couples who are dating or engaged. It is a special day for dear friends. It is a day is for gifting with boxes of chocolate candy all wrapped with a red and white bow, flowers, loving cards, enjoyable times together, lunch dates and dinners all with the most romantic of flares.

But there are some people would like to ignore Valentine’s Day: recent widows and widowers, those living together who are estranged, separated or divorced, those struggling as single mothers or single fathers or anyone because of age, depression or infirmity who feels alone. How can those who are celebrating look at their celebration of shared love from another perspective? How can those who want the day to be invisible, live in their lives from another perspective?

The answer is contained in the pages of God’s Word to us. Whoever we are, we ought to try and remember we are first loved by Creator God at the moment of conception in our mother’s womb. This love remains a constant in our lives. The truth is: God’s love is our first valentine. So, whether we celebrate openly or simply desire the day to fall off the calendar, we can all celebrate God’s love on Valentine’s Day. We do this by reflecting on his word to each of us individually:

1 John 4:7-21 GOD’S WORD Translation

God’s Love Lives in His People

7 Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. 8 The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. 9 God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. 10 This love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 We know that we live in him, and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.

14 We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. 16 We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.

17 God’s love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him ⌞with regard to love⌟. 18 No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.

19 We love because God loved us first. 20 Whoever says, “I love God,” but hates another believer is a liar. People who don’t love other believers, whom they have seen, can’t love God, whom they have not seen. 21 Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

We often think of Valentine’s Day as the day for couples to show their love to one another, but rarely do we use the day to remind us of God’s unmatched love for us, His children. For many single people, Valentine’s Day can be a bitter reminder of their singleness and desire for a relationship. Luckily, God doesn’t leave anyone, single or in a relationship, out of His unending love and grace.

In 1 John 4:8, the author says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God is love itself. We wouldn’t have any conception of “love” at all if it weren’t for God, the definition of love.

God further defines love in the classic 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 passage that reads, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

God continuously describes love in this way, and then continually tells us that He IS love. This further emphasizes that God himself is all of these things.

God is continually and continuously patient and kind. He keeps no record of wrongs. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. God’s love is a perfect love that no one on earth could ever possibly emulate.

We frequently read this 1 John 4 and 1 Corinthians passage near Valentine’s Day or at weddings to remind us of what continuous and continual love should look like. We sin and tragically fall short, but God is the perfect demonstration of it.

John 3:16 says, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

In His continuous and continual love for us, He gave up His only son for us. He gave us eternal life because of His great and unmatched love for each of us.

The theologian C.S. Lewis once said, “He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”

Ponder upon and today meditate upon this thought: God loves you so much. If you were the only one on earth, He 100% still would have sent His son for you.

Mark 12:28-34 GOD’S WORD Translation

Love God and Your Neighbor

28 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings went to Jesus during the argument with the Sadducees. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

32 The expert in Moses’ Teachings said to Jesus, “Teacher, that was well said! You’ve told the truth that there is only one God and no other besides him! 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus heard how wisely the man answered, he told the man, “You’re not too far from God’s kingdom.”

After that, no one dared to ask him another question.

So, on this Valentine’s Day 2022, remember to set your sights not on earthy relationships, but on the God above who loves far more fully and abundantly than we could ever imagine. Strive in your life to continually, continuously learning everything there is to know from God’s Word about His love for you.

Translate that knowledge and experience into your everyday life with whoever it is you may meet. Celebrate and share the perfect love of God in Christ Jesus. Love others in the exact same way in which God, through Christ first loved you! Pray openly or secretly, with those you meet today, “may God’s love embrace you not just on this Valentine’s Day but in every single moment of every single day!”

There is no such a time that is ever a bad time to express your love for someone, and if it takes a formal holiday like Valentine’s Day, to help you to express your affection to the loved ones in your life, then I’m all for it and you should be too. For the occasion: don’t just send a card or note that says “I love you!” Include a personal message from God’s Words of Love and Life, of Faith and Hope about what it is that you love about that person, why you find time to cherish them.  

Please, Do not put off saying “I LOVE YOU.”

For God’s Sake, do not assume someone knows how you feel about them. Tell them. Tell them right now. The matter of one person’s soul hearing God’s love for them should never be taken for granted. God’s first love transforms utterly. Give God, Give Jesus, Give God’s Holy Spirit the opportunity to grow loves seed. We plant the seed of His abiding love with our love we first received from God. Love is always meant to be communicated. Love is always meant to be known.

Try and imagine all those moments when you did not speak or hear of 1st love. Did you love the feeling? Do you regret not even knowing of all the feelings? I encourage each and every one who eventually comes to read this devotional to pick up their Bibles, clean, wipe the dust off the covers – learn of “first love” all over again. Reacquaint and refresh your hearts and your souls with His Truth.

“Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, you soul, mind and strength!”

FROM GOD TO YOU, THROUGH ME, HAVE A HAPPY VALENTINES’ DAY 2022!!!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

A Valentine’s Day Prayer

I said a Valentine prayer for You
and asked the Lord above
to fill your heart and bless your soul
with the precious gift of love.

I asked Him for sincere love
the kind that’s meant to stay
just like the generous love
You give to those You touch each day.

I prayed for love from family
and from every cherished friend
then I asked the Lord to give you
His love that knows no end.

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Come! Let us Be Continuously Joyful in Hope. Come! Let us be Continually Patient in Affliction, Come, Let us be Continually, Continuously Faithful in an Attitude of Prayer—Romans 12:12

How can we keep our circumstances from determining our mood? How can we free ourselves from the continuous limitations that life continually deals us? This wondrous trio of commandments opens the door for the other two to be true — we can rejoice in hope, and we can be patient in affliction because we have been faithful in prayer. No matter what our situation is, we can pray with joy because of our hope in Christ no matter what our current situation is. We can remain patient, persevering through affliction, by presenting our requests and intercessions to God with thanksgiving. Prayer is God’s gift to us so that we can be surely patient and joyful, even when things don’t appear to be going well.

Romans 12:10-13 New American Standard Bible

10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; [a]give preference to one another in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the [b]saints, [c]practicing hospitality.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Apostle Paul composed a lengthy and weighty letter to the Roman Church that addressed every issue which is so vital to daily living the normal Christian life, in this post-cross era. His extensive epistle is written in such a wise way as to provide us with a wonderful understanding of all church-age doctrines and how to properly apply them in our 21st century lives today, so that we are enabled to live a victorious Christian life – the life that God intended for all His children.

Just as the main body of Romans is lengthy and weighty, so his final remarks are by contrast are succinct yet compelling. In a few short, crisp verses Paul sums up all that is necessary to live a life which is fully pleasing unto the Lord. In verse 12 we are challenged and encouraged to continuously Rejoice in hope, be continuously patient in tribulation, and be in a continual attitude in prayer.

To continually rejoice in hope is to have that unfaltering assurance in God’s Word as a continuous source of wisdom and truth – knowing that our hope of glory is secured for us in heavenly places for the eternal ages to come, simply because God’s Word is continuously true and cannot be broken. Our hope is built on nothing less than our own continuously trusting in the cross of Christ, continually taking God at His Word. We are continuously giving God a chance.

To be continuously patient in tribulation is to continually know and accept that in this world we will have constant tribulation – but to wait patiently in our suffering, without murmurings – and to be of good cheer, knowing that His strength is sufficient to see us through every difficulty of life, because He has already overcome sin and death – and we are united with Him and His victory.

To be constant in prayer is to recognise that prayer, is one of the chief weapons of the spiritual warfare in which all Christians are engaged. As saints of God, we should all be instant in prayer – constantly lifting our hearts and voice unto the Lord in prayers of thanks and praise and intercession and requests – and laying them before the throne of God’s Grace, in the name of JESUS – knowing that so much infinitely greater is He that is continuously within us that He who is in the world. It is this continuous connection and continuous conversation with God which serves to continually keep our hearts and souls and hands on God.

Come! Let us work out with God a plan to continually exercise all Paul’s short, crisp instructions for godly living which are found in this final section of His epistle to the Romans as well as taking time to study this lengthy and weighty letter that has been written for our learning – so that we too may live a life that is pleasing to the Lord – so Christ can be continually seen in me and in you too!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, I thank you, because no matter what struggles I face, you assure me of your ultimate victory. I thank you, dear God, because no matter the hardship or burden, I know you will help me through it and bring me to your presence with great joy. Until that day of ultimate victorious joy, please ransom my heart from discouragement by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Alleluia! Amen.

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Who is it who is Really and Ultimately in 100% Absolute Control of our Life? Just Exactly Whose Plan is it Anyway?

It is commonly thought among humans that if one wants to be somebody, he or she must find something of some measure of significance to accomplish.  Most people will do this by looking all around the world to see who and what others most admire, then set their hearts on becoming that, or accomplishing it. The plan becomes to set into motion a carefully laid out step-by-step plan to try and achieve their desired end. The hope is that once they have achieved their victory, they will be somebody, be happy, or even earn some kind of salvation.

Even those who do not have even the minimal self-discipline and drive to go after their dreams will spend all of their waking time wishing and dreaming and planning the steps even if it takes the form of condemnation for their failures.

This is the proposed, supposed way of the world.  It will lead to either achieving the goals and being left with pride, or worse, emptiness upon finding that the goal was not worthy. Alternatively, it will lead to failure, self-condemnation, feeling low and full of self-pity.  Breaking the cycle, to understand that the Lord establishes his, her steps will set a person free from this self-destructive cycle. 

Right from the beginning of all created things, God has always said to us, seek first the long planned for, created things of the Kingdom of God, and the Lord, who, from the beginning establishes all your steps, will add all things to you.

Proverbs 16:9 The Message

9 We plan the way we want to live,
    but only God makes us able to live it.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Throughout history, mankind has made their plans for what they will do each day. In the office, we start out our days with a detailed planning sheet we create for ourselves and organize our days and weeks and prioritize tasks to ensure the most important ones get done. We also make plans for holidays and vacations.

We budget our money; we set out our financial goals and make step-by-step plans with our financial planners for how we ourselves see fit to achieve them. We make, have daily planners, plans for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other events. Expectant parents plan and prepare for a new child. Teachers make lesson plans. The corporate owner plans for his, her business to grow and expand and become profitable. It is perpetual motion. We make plans.

There is nothing whatsoever wrong with planning. In fact, it is always a great idea to set goals and plan for their maximum success. If we did not, our lives would be a little here and a little there but mostly going nowhere fast– kind of like a balloon you completely blow up and then let go without tying a knot in it – and we’d really never accomplish much. Planning is definitely a good thing.

Our plans should always begin with prayer and seeking God’s will for our lives. If God has been included in our planning process right from the exact starting, we can be reasonably assured, those plans will have some measure of success. The only thing to remember here is that we are not the ones who get to define what that success is. Our personal vision of success will always be too limited.

We will probably let all the “bumps and the grinds, hills and valleys,” define whether or not we will even bother to continue that single-minded pursuit of what we ourselves define and measure out as the definition of our successes. We may end up quitting on ourselves, our hopes, our dreams way, way too quickly. We may not give ourselves the proper time to learn about perseverance in life. The glue in our “stick-to-itiveness ” will not be allowed to do its proper work.

It is here when we unceremoniously and regretfully, inconveniently, “forget” about God. When our planning is contrary to God’s will, we become guilty of sin.

In James 4:13-17, James wrote, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If the Lord will, we will live and do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So, it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.”

God may still allow you and me to make our own plans without properly, prayerfully consulting with Him. He will even allow you and me to make our own plans, own our own plans when you and I do not particularly like His plans or His will and decide to do things our way anyway. But you and I can be assured regardless of what you and I plan, God will be ONLY the one finally directing each and every step you and I take. And if in our arrogance and pride we choose to do things our way, God will always bring about His divine will.

The Prophet Jonah is a very familiar example of someone who didn’t like what God was telling him to do and so he trusted in himself and made his own plans. God had wanted Jonah to go preach in Nineveh and Jonah didn’t want to go.

He got on a boat and went in the opposite direction from Nineveh. As a result, a great storm came up and everyone on the boat became afraid they would die at sea. They started throwing the cargo over to lighten the boat’s load and then Jonah told them they had to throw him overboard and the storm would stop.

The sailor’s thought Jonah was crazy, but after a while, they conceded and tossed Jonah into the storm-tossed waves. God was not only directing Jonah’s steps, but he also directed the swim path of a great fish who came along at that exact moment and swallowed Jonah up. After living three days in the belly of the fish, Jonah finally repents and finally, humbly prays to God. God then has the fish throw up Jonah and Jonah goes to Nineveh and preaches repentance.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Proverbs 16:9

#1 “In their hearts…”
In most places where the heart is mentioned in Scripture, it is not looked upon very kindly.  Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)?  Mark 7:21-22 says, “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” The advice of others to “Just follow your heart” may work great in the movies, but it is foolish, terrible advice for the believer.

#2 “…humans plan their course,”
It is, and always will be a good and righteous thing to plan our day to a certain extent; for example, what is for dinner tonight? When will I finish my work? But the kind of planning that is not good is the arrogant kind that desires its own way and has self-promoting expectations for how things are going to go. 

This is essentially mankind significantly over-extending his own abilities, taking on God’s job.  James 4:13-17 calls it “boasting about tomorrow.”

#3 “but the Lord establishes their steps.”
What is going to happen is what God wants to happen. Seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:25-34), don’t worry for tomorrow, live in his presence right now, and watch him unfold his perfect plan before you. 

This means consciously remembering God, to live according to his principles in his Word and lay down your life for him and for his Kingdom.  You cannot even imagine what His control over your life has in store for those who trust in him.

In the New Testament, a group of shepherds made plans for tending their flock throughout the long cold night. But God suddenly interrupted their long night and sent angels to proclaim the birth of Jesus which brought the shepherds to worship the newborn King. Their plans were to simply care for their flock of sheep – God’s plans were “glorify the Lord,” to bring them to worship Jesus.

In Acts Chapter 3, A lame man who had been lame since birth had plans for going to the temple to beg for alms but as Peter and James saw him and listened to the leading of the Holy Spirit, Peter said to him, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” In an instant, he was healed, and he rose up on his newly strengthened legs and went walking and leaping and praising God. The Lame Man’s plans were to get enough alms so he could eat – God’s plan was a miraculous healing.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has good plans for us – plans for our welfare and not destruction. If we truly believe this, then we should have no problems starting our planning time in prayer and seeking God’s will to be sure that the plans we make align with God’s will. If they do, then we can surrender our plans into His hands and trust that even if the path to get where we were planning looks different than how we planned it, that ultimately God will get us there, He will work all things out for our good (Romans. 8:28), and He will forever and ever be with us every single step of the way and keeping us from stumbling.

But if we try to go our own way like Jonah, we might find ourselves in some trouble just like Jonah did and then find ourselves right where God wanted us in the first place. Had Jonah simply cooperated with God’s plan in the first place, he could have saved himself three days in the belly of a fish – and if we will cooperate with God’s plans for our lives, we can save ourselves from all the unpleasant consequences that running from God brings. (Luke 15:11-32)

So go ahead and make your plans, but start every plan with prayer, seeking God’s will first. Then as you make your plans centered around His will, ask that your plans will bring Him honor and glory. If, like Joseph, the path getting to where God wants you looks different than you thought it would and includes a “pit” or “prison” along the way, remember that God is always with you and if the “palace” is God’s plan for you, you can trust Him to get you there at just the right moment so you are in position for what God wants to do in your whole life.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Father in heaven, your Son promised that we would see him again if we wait patiently and listen to what the Holy Spirit says to us. Illuminate our hearts and send your Spirit in. All that is yours will be ours through your Spirit. I pray that I learn to quiet my mind so I can hear the Holy Spirit. I pray that I am filled with the understanding to know how to follow its guidance for me. Amen.

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From Every Single Street Corner, Let the Word Go Forth! Praise the Lord!! Let all our Praises Sing Out unto God! Let All Voices Shout Out: God Wins!!!

Praise Ye the Lord! Let all of us who have even a minimal voice, rise up from the places they are reclining or seated. Raise up your sleepy and tired and exhausted souls, unto a position of standing, unto an attitude of highest expectation and the loftiest worship. Open up your dreariness unto the Presence of the Lord our God, who is forever worthy of our praise! While there are many things for which we can praise God, one of the most significant is his 100% faithfulness to do all of what he has planned and promised. While many of us are big dreamers and schemers, only God can accomplish the marvelous plans he alone has made!!

Isaiah 25 English Standard Version

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

25 O Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners’ palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5     like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
8     He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.[a]
11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
    but the Lord will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill[b] of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

The Word of God for the Children of God! Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Today’s verses are all about praising God. You know, the word “praise” we hear so much in and around church, but what does it mean? It means “to give high thanks, to lift up, to exalt, to magnify, to celebrate.” It’s usually at a point of an otherwise inexpressible “from the very deepest depths of your humbled soul” thanksgiving which derives and then follows the maximum acknowledgment or confession of benefits we have all received from an ever-faithful, merciful God.

You might have just had the very worst day at school or at your place of work. Perhaps everything is going sideways in your life, and it just feels like there’s nothing to praise God for. That’s ok. I’ve been there too. The important thing is to realize that it’s when you’re at your lowest that praise can be most powerful.

As you begin wake yourself up, to stir up that need to praise God for what He’s done, praise Him for the world He created, praise Him for each day that you’re here on earth, it helps you. It makes you realize that yes, you might have had a bad day or a bad week, but God is good. He’s there to help you through all of the trouble you’re facing. And as you praise, it helps you remember God’s goodness.

So today, please take some quality time to praise God. It does not have to be a long thing, 5 minutes or better yet 10 will do. But remember God’s goodness. Remember all the good things that He has done and how much He loves you!

We cannot help but notice here Isaiah’s very personal relationship with God. In-between the different prophecies God gave Isaiah are passages where he seemed overwhelmed by what he had been given and needed to stop and simply worship God. He praised God for His actions in the past, and the promises He made and then faithfully accomplished. The absolute faithfulness, the utter reliability of God, the absolutely unchangeable fact that He does exactly what He promises, is an often-repeated thought throughout the Book of Isaiah.

Since God is absolutely faithful, absolutely reliable and unchangeable, we can be certain that He expects us to be faithful in our service to Him and others. He covenants with us to be in a continuous mind-set of truest praise and worship.

And here Isaiah is praising God in Chapter 25, Verse 1, let’s see why, he says:

“O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For you have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”

This verse is part of a song of praise for God’s favor upon His people. Isaiah Chapters 24 – 27 are known as “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.” The chapters go over God’s judgment on the entire world for its sin. Isaiah’s prophecies were first directed to the Tribe of Judah, then to Israel, to the surrounding nations, and finally to the entire world. These chapters describe the last days when God will judge the whole world where He will permanently remove evil from the earth. 

But here’s the thing, God is a righteous and loving God. How many chances has He given to you and to me? I don’t think we would be able to count how many chances He has given mankind to repent and get back to a right and righteous relationship with Him. The billions and billions of people who have lived and have died since man first started inhabiting the earth has been given thousands of chances each. How completely crazy that God is longsuffering for our man’s love to turn away, to repent from the things of the world, and to turn to Him. He gives us all the love that we need if we would just open-up our hearts unto Him.

Isaiah recognized that genuine openness, that ability to realize that God is so impossibly forgiving and loving. Isaiah exalted and praised God because He realized that God completes His plans just as He promises. I love what Moses says to God in the “Song of Moses,” Exodus, Chapter 15, Verse 2, he says:

“The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”

Today, in our 21st Century, do we trust that song? Do we 100% believe the Lord is your strength and song? Is He your salvation, is He our God, will we praise Him, will we 0.1% exalt Him? Many believers have gone before us, billions upon billions who have all sang this song. It’s so amazing! God keeps His promises. 

He has another promise that is coming soon, Him. Jesus is coming back for His Church, His Bride. Are you and I, in these harsh, changing 21st century times living for God today, living for our Savior Jesus, breathing in and breathing out His Holy Spirit prepared for His return? Is your lamp full of oil? Praise the name of God from your lips for all He has done for you, 100% promises to do for you. 

Isaiah Chapter 25, Verse 1, Praise to God, and that’s your Word on the Street.

This is your still small voice shouting far above the raucous din of chaos: God is the winner! God will always be the winner! God will always be 100% Victorious! Our God reigns forever and ever and there is absolutely nothing to change that. Chaos, even at its absolute loudest moment is absolutely powerless to change it.

God must be our number one focus. According to Isaiah, it is better that the whole earth should perish than that God be unfaithful or untrue! He is laser focused on God. Isaiah is laser prioritized on being a maximum expression of highest praise and the hopeful, hope-filled humblest attitude of daily worship.

Let us today, carve out some quality time with God! Let us all come back to God. Even if it is only for five or better yet, ten minutes of our chaotic day. Focus on Him! Praise Him! Worship Him! Exalt Him! Understand Him! Trust Him! Serve Him! Love only Him! And only then will our view of the world be the right one.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God of all truth, God of all Wisdom, sometimes I not sure if I’m actually hearing your voice, or if it’s just my own thoughts or even another spirit. Sharpen my spiritual hearing, Lord, so I can recognize your words when you are speaking to me. Help me know it’s really you, with no doubt or second-guessing. When I’m asking for your guidance in important decisions, grant unto me your peace that surpasses understanding with your answer. Help me remember that your words to me will never go against your written word in the Bible. Give me a clear mind and push out all my confusion. In Jesus’ name. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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A Teachable Heart. A Teachable Soul. A Teachable Life. On Psalm 119:15-16.

Today, I am asking you to take more than a few moments to look at anything and everything around you and surrounding you. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised to know that you got to know its name or its purpose simply because someone, somewhere, somehow taught this to you at some early stage in your life. Interestingly, most of the basics we learnt as children, and then as we grew into adulthood, we may have taken it further, studied or researched further, to excitedly increase our knowledge. So also, our understanding of God, His word and prayer are contributions made by many people right from our childhood. This list of contributors includes our Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Siblings, Teachers, Sunday School Teachers, Pastors, Friends, many others.

Meditate upon these things! Meditate on the God who brought all of this into existence. Meditate on the Word of God which brings these truths unto life, who gives these truths new and sustained life, completely, unimaginable vibrancy. Such a renewed and refreshing perception of life is so desperately necessary. Ponder and Reflect upon the significance of the Psalmists word “MEDITATE!”

In this devotional effort we are prayerfully going to explore the ways in which we as children of God, through meditation can grow more in the knowledge of God. For this to happen it is vital we have a teachable heart. Hope this teaching will help us understand the various aspects of being a godly teachable person.

Psalm 119:9-16 Complete Jewish Bible

ב (Bet)

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Christian meditation is a spiritual virtue that every believer should cultivate. The Holy Spirit through David has taught us the discipline of meditation when we read, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Psalm 119:15-16).

Christian meditation is not merely Scriptural memorization, though such an exercise will certainly yield that virtue. Christian meditation is a most sublime division of private prayer. The teaching on Christian meditation is dealt with in the larger context of the most careful planning and execution of the Psalmists poetic reflection. Thus, the Prince of Preachers, the Reverend Charles Spurgeon wrote of Psalm 119, “The manner it is composed in is very elegant; full of art, rule, method theological matter in a logical manner, a spiritual alphabet framed and formed according to the Hebrew alphabet.”

Thus, the long methodical approach of the Psalmist to creating this longest contribution to the Psalter gives an example of the effect of such spiritual exercise in his own life. Ponder for a long while upon all of the time and effort and prayer and study and personal reflection and personal introspection it took for the Psalmist to bring such an empowering writing as Psalm 119 into being

To meditate is to gaze upon a divine object of incalculable worth with the spirit of humble devotion. It is to locate the precious jewels of truth in the Word. It is to mark the truths carefully and to recite those Biblical truths to your own soul. It is to listen quietly as the Holy Spirit applies His truth to your heart and mind.

It is to collect and gather those truths as an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord. Christian meditation, humbly practiced in devout prayer, will inaugurate a deep and genuinely delightful journey of intimate time, turning into a lifetime of closeness, with your Creator. It is to enter the holy of holies “praying in the Spirit” and thus rendering your sacrifice of praise as a priest of the Almighty.

“I will meditate . . .” This is the resolute soliloquy of the author, most likely an aged King David, near the end of his life, as he reflects upon, charges his own soul in response to all of the blessings and curses he walked and lived through.

Is it any different for us today as we sometimes consider all our blessings and curses, our ups and our downs, our left turns and our right turns, and all of the square pegs of our choices we have tried to hammer through round holes we drilled out to make them work, have had to contend with, as we ourselves make a deliberate effort to “carve out” some very much needed quality time with God away from the unseemly ruinous efforts of chaos as it threatens to run amok.

I encourage all you readers to try a wholly different tactic. Pick up your Bibles and invite God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to sit with you. God is the One who commands and speaks order from chaos. We cannot know God’s ways of doing this, but we can know and be inspired and empowered by the truth that He did in fact, in the beginning of all things brought chaos under his full command. We freely ponder on the ever-present trouble chaos brings to our very doorsteps. I do not know how much time we spend meditating on God bringing even more trouble to chaos’s doorstep. Meditate upon God commanding chaos to leave.

To receive change in our lives away from the sovereignty of chaos into the light of the divine order of the absolute sovereignty of God, we must make this our firm resolution and immovable conviction. From this, we will come to learn that our alone moments with God passes quite effortlessly into hours as you meditate upon God’s precepts according to Scripture. Eventually, miraculously, the incomparable spiritual experience transforms your life of prayer, you will discover what it means to “pray without ceasing.” The benefits of Christian meditation are many—peace, perspective, power, perseverance—yet none so glorious as the blessing that becomes affirmation: “I have been with God.”

A teachable person is…

• Humble – Psalm 25:9 – He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way. (ESV) Someone said, true humility is being truly teachable, regardless of how much you know.

• Wise – Proverbs 9:9 – Instruct the wise and they will be even wiser.

• Righteous – Proverbs 9:9 – Teach the righteous and they will learn even more (NLT)

I am sure there may many other qualities that mark a person who is teachable, but I would just like to highlight the above three.

The basic characteristic of a teachable person is humility. Someone said it this way, “True humility is being truly teachable, regardless of how much you know.” In other words, a person who is not humble, will not be willing to take any kind of teaching from anyone. So also Proverbs 9:9 explains that a wise and righteous person will certainly be teachable, because they understand the value of receiving instructions and gaining knowledge.

As children of God, who teaches us?

1. The Word of God – 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (NLT)

Someone said this aptly, the word of God is useful for teaching (teaches us what is right), for reproof (teaches us what is not right), for correction (teaches us how to get right) and training (teaches us how to stay right). David understood the significance of God’s word when he said in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (NLT). God’s word is of 100% paramount importance, as all of our guidance and teaching to live a holy life comes from the individual’s knowledge and deep experience with word of God.

2. The Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 “When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them, and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (NLT)

John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (ESV)

The Holy Spirit of God is absolutely our best teacher, counsellor and guide. You may have heard someone say that they could not understand the bible as they read it. The reason is that only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal to us the truths about God. Ergo, only a spiritual person, who has the Holy Spirit indwelling them, can receive these spiritual insights. Also, we may have experienced times when we are struggling mightily with and against sin, temptation or a badly complicated situation, that the Holy Spirit of God will bring to remembrance the Word of God and give us strength to overcome these trials and temptations.

The Holy Spirit of God is that still small voice of God inside us that is constantly prompting us to walk in the ways of God and live a life that is pleasing to God.

3. People of God – Philippians 3:17, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” (ESV)

The church of God is the gathering place of believers, where with the Word of God for the Children of God, we are covenanted, called upon to both bless, edify and encourage one another. Paul could boldly tell his fellow-believers that they should strive to imitate him and also keep their eyes on other people who are role models whom they could follow.

Acts 2:42-47 English Standard Version

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe[a] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Take the time to look around and you will notice many men and women of God who are working and praying hard at living exemplary lives, from whom we can learn. It is important that we should mentor those who are younger to us, but it is also crucial that we have in our lives those older to us who can mentor us as well, if we want to continue to grow in our faith and our knowledge of God.

4. Experiences (our own and others as well)

Romans 5:3-5, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (ESV)

2 Corinthians 1:4, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (NLT)

Each of us go through our own singularly unique and various experiences, good and bad. The experiences we go through are also very great teachers, if we are willing to learn. Each experience can make us bitter or better, depending on how teachable our hearts are. Paul explains this in great detail these sufferings are what produce character, teach us patience and give us hope for the future. This hope is based on God’s love and the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Every time we come out victorious, we allow God to fulfill His purposes in our lives. These experiences are God’s way to refine us to be more like Jesus.

It is important to learn from our own experiences it is equally beneficial to learn from other’s experiences too. Someone said, ‘Smart people learn from their mistakes, wise people learn from others’ mistakes. Someone else said it this way, ‘Learn from other people’s mistakes, and then go and make new ones.” It is also a fact that God comforts us and teaches us through all the hard times, so that we can, in return, comfort those who are going through a similar path.

What should we be taught?

The way we should go…. Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;” (ESV)

• To walk in God’s truth Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth;” (ESV)

• To do God’s will Psalm 143:13, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!” (ESV)

Every day we are faced with numerous challenges and have to make so many decisions. God is willing to instruct and teach us the way we should go if we are willing to let Him do so. We also need to walk in the truth.

These are days where it is so easy to compromise, when challenged with conflict between the word of God and the world.

It is only when we talk and walk in the truth, (and we know that Jesus is the Truth), can we live a life of no compromise. The other important aspect we need to be taught, is the will of God. If we choose anything other than the will of God, revealed through Scripture, we will lose out on the peace and joy that should be ours. Staying within the will of God is the safest place for us as God’s children.

Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

Holy God, make me a partaker of your Holy Spirit. Enlighten me, oh, God. May I taste this heavenly gift that you reserve for your righteous people. Cleanse me of any barriers in my heart and mind that may stop me from feeling your whole presence in me. Flood any dark spots in my heart with your light. Help me to walk in your light and shine your beauty and grace on everyone I meet. Amen.

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Walking Upon God’s Well-Trodden Path (Meditation on Psalm 119:15-16)

Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Have you ever had to walk a distance in the deep cold of winter or in the hottest hot of the summer months? It is a discipline to keep doing either one or even both depending upon the seasons where-ever you choose to call your home. I knew that if I had to discipline on learning how to do that – day in and day out – for the sake of I familiarity, I always tried to remember to take the same path.

It is easiest to walk a path that has been heavily tread, one in which the snow has already been compacted or the dried hard ground is hard, tamped down.

The Psalmist writes that he will fix his eyes on God’s ways. The word “ways” is translated from orach, referring to a well-trodden path. This is a path walked by many and clearly visible; having been taken many times before, the outcome is predictable. Author God makes His ways clearly known to us through scripture, including the quality of outcome for those who choose His well-trodden path.

Think about the flattened snow path: you don’t have to lift your legs as high to walk, and you don’t sink down into the powder with every step. Walking upon dry and compressed, well-trodden paths worn down over time, will take you to your destination, using less energy. Such is the discipline of “meditating” upon the Word of God for the Children of God. God has already done the hard work for you – He gave us His Word, fulfilled the law. His is the path you want to be on.

The phrase “fix my eyes” comes from the root word nabat, meaning to look intently at something, regarding it with pleasure, favor, or care. The Psalmist is determined to fix his eyes on the well-trodden path that God has provided for him. Just as a horse might wear blinders to keep it focused on the path ahead with no peripheral distraction, we should be looking so intently at God’s way, regarding it with so much favor and pleasure, that the cares of the world would disappear from our peripheral. Let our hearts and our souls, let our eyes be so utterly GOD fixed that no distraction could pull us off of the well-trodden path.

How can we keep our gaze affixed on God’s ways? First, the Psalmist states that he will mediate on God’s precepts. Meditate is translated from the word siyach and means to ponder or converse with oneself. Scripture calls us to meditate on the word day and night (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2). The Psalmist’s daily goal (as ours ought, should be) is to fill his thoughts with scripture, with things above (Colossians 3:2), and with all that is good (Philippians 4:8).

Second, the Psalmist determines to 100% delight in God’s statutes. Delight is translated from sha’a’, which means to be fond of, or pleased with. We must renew our minds (Romans 12:2) and not to think of scripture as only a list of rules that we must strictly adhere to and follow. Instead, we can delight in the freedom of God’s way – the freedom to sin no more and the freedom to do what is right. His commandments are not burdensome (John 8:1-11, 1 John 5:3).

Lastly, the Psalmist declares that he will not forget God’s word. Forget can also be translated as “mislay” (as in misplacing your car keys) or “obliviousness due to lack of attention.”

When it is time to act, when there is a decision to be made, and even as day to day routines are being lived out, we do not want to be blatantly oblivious to God’s ways because we have each neglected (given no attention to) His word.

We want the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17), ready at our side at all times. When it’s go-time we do not want to be searching for God’s word like misplaced car keys. We want it at the forefront of our mind and on the tip of our tongue. How can we obey the word if we do not know it?

How can we know God’s plan, intentions and purpose if we know not His Word?

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
― John Wesley

Let us be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).

Today I encourage you start disciplining yourself into beginning a new daily habit. That to daily examine whether you are on God’s well-trodden path or if you are trying to forge your own path through the snow or over the sunbaked ground, whether you are expending needless energy or learning stewardship of the Word of God. Either way, you can choose to follow the Psalmist’s example:

Day and night, fix your eyes on God’s way, study, mediate and pray on and over and above, through His word, delight in His word, and do not forget His word.

Why is quality meditation so important?  Joshua 1:8 tells us why: This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. (NASB)

Our Christian responsibility and duty to each other? To ponder and meditate on God’s word for by it we become obedient to Him. We cannot hope to succeed without carefully doing all that is written in the Bible.  Now this does not mean that if we do not meditate on God’s word like this that we are somehow not saved, but I cannot stress enough how much fuller our lives will be if we give ourselves quality time to ponder what God is saying to us through His word.

Psalm 119:9-16 New American Standard Bible

Beth

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 I have treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[a]As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
And [b]regard Your ways.
16 I shall [c]delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

Jesus, Giver of peace, I so easily get distracted when I’m trying to focus and hear your Holy Spirit. Help me quiet my mind in the middle of my busy life. Help me to pause and to make space to listen to the most important voice of all. God, empower me to be a more disciplined listener to the gentle whispers of your Spirit. Help me follow the example of Jesus, who would slip away in the evening or the early morning to be alone with you. Teach me to abide in you. Amen.

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Word of God! Speak Your life into Me and Over Me! O’ Restore My Soul! We Can Find Power in His Word! We Can Find Genuine Life! (Hebrews 4:12)

I’d like to start out simply by reading the passage for today. No cute stories or anything to get us going, because I really believe this passage speaks for itself. In many respects, we ought to believe that it does not need any introduction.

Hebrews 4:11-13 J.B. Phillips New Testament

11-13 Let us then be eager to know this rest for ourselves and let us beware that no one misses it through falling into the same kind of unbelief as those we have mentioned. For the Word that God speaks is alive and active; it cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword: it strikes through to the place where soul and spirit meet, to the innermost intimacies of a man’s being: it exposes the very thoughts and motives of a man’s heart. No creature has any cover from the sight of God; everything lies naked and exposed before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

How would your life change if you committed to meeting with God every day?

The writer of Hebrews tells us the Word of God “is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

God’s Word is complete power. God watches over His Word to see that his will is accomplished (Jeremiah 1:12). His Word is His plan, and His plan is something He makes happen. And so, He promises, “So will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). God’s Word never fails! The writer of Hebrews says the Word is “active” (in other words, it has energy and power, Hebrews 4:12).

According to 2 Timothy 3:16 God’s words are “God-breathed” — not in-spired, meaning some kind of vague power or ghost breathed into man’s preexisting words, but literally breathed or spirited out of the mouth of God. So as 2 Peter 1:21 tells us, these words did not originate in the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Word sanctifies (purifies, cleanses) — “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). No wonder the apostles gave themselves to undistracted prayer and the Word of God (Acts 2:42-47, 6:1-4, 13:1-3)!

Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God, Who is traced to every single page of the Written Word of God. All that He is, stands in stark contrast to all that we are. His penetrating eyes search out all the dross that is rooted in the fallen soul of man. His Word of Truth exposes everything in me that is not of Christ: my-self, my-hypocrisy, my-insincerity, and my-unbelief. (Mark 9:14-29)

The Word of God is living, because He is the living God Who breathes life into us and in Whom are the WORDS of eternal life. The Word of God is active. It is fully dynamic and miraculous. It is vigorous and lively because the Spirit of the living God is the eternal Source of power, that moved holy men of God to pass on His supernatural message to us – through the very living Word of the living God.

The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. It is like the razor-sharp blade of a double-edged sword, with the ability to cut into the deepest recesses of all that is spiritual and divide it from that which is of the soul. It can differentiate between words, actions, thoughts, and motives, that are looking to Jesus and words, actions, thoughts, and motives, that have placed self on the throne of their life.

So penetratingly piercing is the Word of God, it has the ability to separate the soul of man from the born-again spirit, just as the butcher’s razor-sharp blade slices the joint of meat from the marrowbone. The Spirit of the living God is able to judge the deepest thoughts and intentions of the entire heart of every man.

Every spoken Word from the lips of Christ are Life and Truth. All the written Words of Scripture give wholeness and health and life to those who believe. How vital to take His Word deep into our hearts? God’s purpose, for all who believe, is to conform us into the image and likeness of Christ, and the stark reality of Scripture is the contrast of God’s amazing grace towards us… with our own rebellion. It contrasts His faithfulness with our near hysterical unbelief.

The Word of truth exposes our deceitfulness and our unworthiness. It can cut our evil hearts to the quick just as the penetrating look of the eyes of Lord Jesus brought His denying disciple into the depths of distress and repentance. Gazing deep into the powerful Word of God is a penetrating, soul-searching exercise, for it cleaves, severs away any foolish boasting in ourselves and exposes any prideful perceptions of our own worthiness! Nothing is left for anyone to hide.

The action of the Word of God on the spirit and soul of every believer is a life-long process that continues to cut away all that is of the old man and conform the new life we received at Salvation into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an ongoing operation in the inner recesses of every believer, which will be fully and finally completed at the rapture/ resurrection of the Church, when we shed the last remnants of our old fallen self, through our transformation into the image and likeness of the lovely Lord JESUS.

Throughout this life, the Word of God in all its fullness, continues to lay bare the truth, in the inward parts of man, silencing forever our own weak protests and unjustifiable defences. The razor-sharpness of God’s Word can crush, to the uttermost, all that is of our old fallen flesh, and bring the believer’s old sin-nature to the end of itself.

It is in His gracious, loving-kindness God brings each of us to face such depths, so that He can purge out the old Self and form in us the pure and holy nature of the Lord Jesus. The sharp, active, living, powerful, wonderful Word of God, is used by the Holy Spirit in each of our lives, to convict, convert, comfort, and conform us into Christ’s likeness, and to prepare us… during our lifetime, for the spiritual rest, eternal life, and future glory, that is laid-up for us in heaven.

The Word of God will continue in each of our lives to be living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, as we sojourn in a land that is not our home. The Word of God will never stop piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, on this earthly journey to our heavenly home. It will never cease splitting the good from the evil, the heavenly from the world, right from wrong, faith from fear – and that which is of Christ from that which is not – for the Word of God is able to judge every single thought and intentions of every single heart.

Let us, in humility of heart, and patient endurance, permit the testing work of the Holy Spirit to penetrate deeply into the depth of our being as He examines truth in the inward parts, and lays bare the hidden thoughts and intentions within. Let us embrace the everlasting truth that God’s Word is living and active, powerful and sharp… and allow Him to complete the good work He has started within. May we rejoice that God’s WORD is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts deeply to the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet – for our eternal good and for His ever-greater glory.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Thank You, Father, for the living, powerful Word of God. I pray that whatever it takes, Your Holy Spirit would continue to convict, convert, comfort, and forever conform me into the image of the lovely Lord Jesus, so that I become the person You want me to be. May I never hinder the work of Your Holy Spirit within, as He continues to divide my born-again spirit from my sin-sick soul. Root out all which is not of my Savior Christ and use me I pray, as a conduit through Whom You can flow, unhindered, into the lives of those around me. I Thank You that You loved us so much You purposed to change all who believe, into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus, in Whose name I pray, Alleluia! Alleluia AMEN.

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Jeremiah 29:11 Digging Deeper with God. Understand the Real Meaning of ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’!

We spend a lot of time thinking about God’s plans for us. What does God have in mind for me? What is God’s plan for my future? This is definitely something I can and will hang onto while I am trying to sort out just exactly what the plan is for the exact moment I am in right now as I sit and contemplate this devotion.

While this is definitely a wonderful thing to sit alone in one’s quiet places and ponder and perhaps even pray over, the plan for the next moments when I will take my next breath of life, and then the one after that, should God grace me in that moment with another breath, in a moment of Holy Spirit clarity, it came to me and I realized something, it’s easy to have the attitude: “It’s all about me.”

Am I thinking about God in the exact moments when I am trying to plan for my future? When I’m making my own plans to take my very own next breath of life? Have I even thought to plan on including God in my own plans for myself? God cares about every intricate detail in our lives (Psalm 139:1-18). Jesus said that he even numbers the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7). And after all, when compared to God, everything is small. Am I planning on or for any Holy Spirit revelation?

What about God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? But should we expect that the main purpose of God’s plans is to solely make us happy right here, right now? Is it the least bit realistic to believe God’s plan “for me” is really only “my plan?” Where have I even minimally planned to try to make any living space for God? Where have I made any plans to invite Jesus into my home, my heart and soul? Where are my plans to have a Holy Spirit “party of all parties” to celebrate life?

Jeremiah 29:10-11 The Message

10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

God’s Word is full of wisdom and encouragement that guide Christians through life. Memorizing Scripture can serve as a powerful weapon against temptation, despair, hopelessness and worldliness. However, learning verses in isolation, without context can lead to misunderstanding and misapplying the virtues and lessons that God has already planned for all of His people to possess and learn.

One familiar verse that Christians often quote is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It is a critically important text to become acquainted with.

This is a message of hope and a promise of a good future that is easy to cling to and repeat. But knowing the full context of the verse is quite interesting and it reveals the enormous scope of God’s design and will for mankind. Let’s dig into what it really means when its God alone who tells all of us, he has plans for us.

What Does, Ought, It to Mean to ME That God Knows the Plans He Has for Me?

In the context of Jeremiah 29, the phrase, “I know the plans I have for you,” refers to the plans the Lord has had for the people of Israel from the beginning. This verse is a reiteration of the promises of God from the beginning of creation as well as the beyond absolute guarantee that He always keeps His covenants.

They were the descendants of Abraham, with whom God made a covenant to bless His descendants. They were the people of David, a man after God’s own heart. Even though they broke their promise to worship only the one true God, He was not going to forget His word, and would restore them to blessings. In fact, this verse is a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

God promised David, a descendant who would reign forever, “You have said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever and build your throne for all generations’” (Psalm 89:3-4). There is only one throne that lasts forever, the throne of God where Jesus Christ will live and reign forever. If God allowed the descendants of David to stop being carried out to Babylon to go extinct in exile, that promise of an eternal throne for David’s descendants could not ever have been fulfilled. 

In context, this verse came to serve as an inspiration and encouragement for the Jews in exile and therefore should be a great inspiration and encouragement for Christians today. God’s timing is God’s timing. God is not fickle. He keeps all of His promises! Because the Father kept His promises to use the Jewish people in His plans, the whole world now has access to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Man would forsake man without hesitation. God did not forsake His people, redeeming them for His glory and their good. When the Lord promises that we are saved, He means it. When Jesus promises to return for His church, we can have confidence in His word. As Jesus says in the New Testament, centuries later, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). We change! God does not change, no matter how individuals or the world does, and believers can rest assured that He will keep His promises.

Who Wrote Jeremiah?

The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah is one of three books of prophecy called the Major Prophets. Its name comes from its author, who wrote during the last days before the exile to Babylon. Jeremiah, also known to us as the weeping prophet, wrote most of the text during the exile of the Israelites.

At this time in the history of the Jewish people, Israel was divided into two kingdoms: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Both kingdoms were conquered by foreign powers during this period. Jeremiah was the main prophet to Judah and unto the exiles in Babylon working at the same time as the minor prophet Zephaniah, who is likewise briefly mentioned in Jeremiah’s book.

Babylon and the Kingdom of Judah had been in conflict for a few years, resulting in the Babylonian empire conquering Jerusalem, destroying the Temple, and carrying the Israelites into slavery. The book includes more than just prophetic text; it also has biographical information, sermons, and poetic messages which Jeremiah uses to communicate God’s will unto the people.

The prophet provides some biographic information about himself early in the book. He says, “The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign” (Jeremiah 1:1-2). He gives his father and his tribe, as well as the time he began receiving prophecy and prophetic messages from the Lord.

God’s Prophet Jeremiah preached all throughout Israel and received much persecution; “But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more’” (Jeremiah 11:19). Though God often guarded, protected him from these persecutions, Jeremiah’s prophecies were generally laughed at and ignored.

What Is Happening in Jeremiah 29?

Chapter 29 in the Book of Jeremiah is a letter with a specific message to a specific audience. The prophet wrote this passage to those Israelites in exile in Babylon. Many despaired, separated from their homes, their history, and their God. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed as well, adding to the calamity.

The Israelites received warnings from the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah that this would happen. Because they had been worshipping Baal and Moloch, false gods imported from foreign lands, breaking their covenant, the Lord allowed Babylon to invade. The Jews would be taken from their homeland for a period of seventy years. In chapter 29, the prophet wrote to encourage the people in exile, and warn them against false prophets during this time. 

The letter can be broken up into sections. Verses 1-3 serve as introductions, stating who wrote the letter and when. The following verses, 4-10, contain an edict from the Lord for the Jews to continue living, to not give up, and to ignore prophets whom He had not ordained. 

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters…multiply there and do not decrease…Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you.”

Jeremiah 24:4, and verse 8a

Next is a word of promise, an assurance that God has not forsaken His people. In this passage, verses 10-14 contains the famous verse. The Lord said through his prophet, “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you” (Jeremiah 29:10-13).

God gave the Israelites in captivity a deadline for their time under Babylonian rule. Verse eleven contains God’s assurances that He was not finished using Israel for His divine plan, and there were blessings to come in the future. After 70 years, the people would return to the Lord in prayer, and the relationship between God and His people would be restored. God alone would restore all!

What Covenant Did Israel Break?

To understand how incredible God’s statement in verse 11 is, it is important to understand the meaning and significance of the many covenants in that culture. It is often compared to a promise, which is not an incorrect assessment, but there is significantly more to it.

Covenants were seen as binding and lifelong. Because God lives forever, His promises live forever. One of the best examples of this kind of commitment from God is the rainbow, a sign of His promise to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with water and flood.

Most covenants required both parties to do something. In Genesis 17, God makes a covenant with Abram, from that point forward called Abraham, to make him the father of many nations, with generations of blessings and kings. Abraham and his male descendants through all generations were to be circumcised to uphold their part of the covenant. 

The specific promise between Israel and the Lord that the Israelites broke, leading them into exile, was also reinforced several times through the Old Testament. If they kept God’s commandments, He would be with them. A specific message given to Solomon that illustrates this relationship is a clear articulation of this guarantee, and underscores how they violated it. 

God said to Solomon:

“And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.”

1 Kings 9:4-7

Not only did Solomon allow his various wives from many other lands to worship and set up altars to their own gods, but his descendants would engage in idol worship for years before God cut them off from the land through conquest and exile. Yet, as He states in Jeremiah 29:11, He already had plans to restore them to a right relationship with Him.

What Does Jeremiah 29:11 NOT Mean?

This verse promises restoration and redemption for a people in exile that would lead to the salvation of mankind. It is full of hope and assurance. However, it is not always used to convey that message. It can sometimes be used, when taken out of context, to mean that Christians today have guarantees of blessings and prosperity. It can also be used to give a false sense of purpose, chasing after material blessings in a worldly fashion, rather than seeking after God. This verse only guarantees the exiled Israelites that they had not been forgotten by their Lord, not that He guarantees material gain for people who believe in Him.

Does this mean that, we the Christians of this 21st century cannot look to this magnificently hope-filled inspirational verse for hope and encouragement?

Not at all!

While the verse does not guarantee comfort and success, it does promise redemption, something the modern Christian experiences daily after being forgiven of their sins, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God does have a plan for all His people, and Jesus even says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

The truth Jesus states here is the same one from Jeremiah 29:11.

God loves all humanity, wants to redeem them to Himself, and plans for a glorious eternity together.   

From Psalm 107, There will be trials and troubles in this world, and the Bible never promises believers a problem-free life. There are many verses in the Old and New Testament that give assurance of His love and that He will keep His promises; Jeremiah 29:11 is such a “I want to hug God” transformational verse.

I am very big on not pulling Bible verses out of context. I want to know what does this verse mean for someone going through the worst of pain or abuse?

How could we ever share or pray this verse for a person living out life in prison? Wandering aimlessly in wildernesses? If those examples seem too extreme, try this: Does God really intend for us to apply this verse to our everyday lives?

I believe God does, and I have, by my own experiences, have discovered three ways we can live like we have a future and a hope, which is what God intends!

1. Live Fully No Matter Your Circumstances

No sooner had the Israelites been carried off into exile in Babylon than God prompted Jeremiah to send them a letter to encourage and instruct them! This is what we read in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah: a letter sent to people held captive, not living where or how they wanted. “Seek out the place of Shalom.”

Can you relate to any part of that?

Surprisingly, God didn’t first chastise them, and he also didn’t immediately rescue them. Instead, he encouraged them to put down roots and live fully despite their circumstances!

4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. (Jeremiah 29:4-6 ESV)

We can apply this strong encouragement from God to our lives: When we are going through tough times, it is tempting to hang our heads and throw in our towel. But God says, “Don’t give up! Live, thrive! Build, plant, multiply!”

What part of that do you want to apply to your 21st century life today?

2. Pray for Peace, Pray for Shalom, and for Welfare for Those Who Are Troubling You

This next step is perhaps more difficult than we want to admit. Raise your hand if you have trouble praying for the good of all people around you, including those who are causing you problems. Hand raised here! Goodness, this hits between the eyes! Look at the reasons God’s covenant calls us to do just that:

7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7 ESV)

The NIV translates “welfare” here as “peace and prosperity.” Does it sound unspiritual to say this? When the people around us live in peace and prosperity, so will we, and wouldn’t we want that?

You know, in this passage–in this letter from Jeremiah to the exiles–God was reminding the Israelites they were his people, and he was still taking care of them. Part of that care was for them to be safe and to prosper in this new land.

How are we to live in peace if people in our lives are in turmoil?

Will you commit with me today to pray for the hardest people in your life to pray for? Will you commit to being a part of God’s greatest best plan for them?

3. Trust God’s Long-Term Plan! NOT Yours

Finally, God’s covenant calls us to surrender our best plans for our greatest future. Surrender, trust God’s plan for the long-term despite what things look like today. For the people of Israel, the wait for freedom would last 70 years. They would see kings rise and fall; they would live through persecution and trial. They would have more than their fair share of highest energy concerns.

Remember Daniel’s faith being severely tested in the Lion’s Den and too the account of Daniel’s friends thrown into The Fiery Furnace? Those events and countless other trials challenged the Israelites during their time in Babylon.

Yet God encouraged them to remain faithful, faith-filled, hope-filled and hopeful followers, to zealously hold onto to him, to implicitly trust in him, and trust that when God declared the exact time was right, their trial would end.

10 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:10-11 ESV)

God had a future and a hope planned for the Israelites, and he does for us, too!

Remember Joseph’s warm words to his brothers?

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

So, too, we might experience what seems like straight-out evil for a time. But God is working for good. Matthew Henry in his commentary says,

We are sometimes ready to fear that God’s designs are all against us; but as to his own people, even that which seems evil, is for good. He will give them, not the expectations of their fears, or the expectations of their fancies, but the expectations of their faith; the end he has promised, which will be the best for them.

You might be thinking of another favorite verse at this very exacting time!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 ESV)

So, as you face today, with its plans, trials and stressors, trust God for the long term. He has a plan. It is utterly good! And in it you have a future and a hope! 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thank you that every good and perfect gift comes from you, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. You have promised that, if I commit whatever I do to you, then you will timely cause my plans to succeed. My success will come from aligning my plans with your will. Guide my path and show me favor. Now may you, the Lord of all, give me success at all times and in every way. In your mighty name, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Proverbs 11:25: Watering Others and Getting Watered Yourself. Meaning of the Generous Person Will Prosper.

Many times, we don’t think a lot about being generous, liberal or otherwise. We are often thinking about how we can save enough money to buy the car, shoes or the best phone we have always believed we wanted. Lots of energy goes into making sure we have the latest and greatest. And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting all the nice things, we’ve got to keep it in the proper perspective.

Zealously acquiring things can and will trap us in an endless cycle. You get something, but it doesn’t really satisfy you, so you try to obtain the next thing, and that does not really make you happy, so you reach for something new. If you are not very careful, your whole life can turn into that pursuit of “stuff.”

God wants His people to be like Him – and that requires that we take a serious look at what it means to be generous – to water and then be watered.  The Lord Himself is extremely generous toward mankind.  When one considers that we have sinned against Him, rebelled against His sovereignty and authority, you begin to grasp why any response other than judgment is marvelously generous.

Yet God has gone far above just showing us a little love and charity. There are many reasons why a truly generous person will prosper. There does seem to be a distinction between those who seem to generously share their happiness and relative prosperity with those around them, and those who seem to serve others and or themselves out of some sort of obligation and self-hatred. Therefore, we should honestly and generously consider our God’s generosity as being infinite.

Proverbs 11:24-26 New King James Version

24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

Proverbs 11:25 King James Version

25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

God says that the generous man will be prosperous.  The literal Hebrew here says, “The soul of blessing will be made fat.”  The idea here is that a person wants to bless others.  This men or woman is generous in the very core of their being.  Their normal response is to be kind and generous to others.  God tells us that this kind of person will be prosperous. 

Some in the “name-it, claim it” movement states that this means they will have lots of money.  But I’ve seen over the years people who would not be in any way described as rich – be very generous and be very prosperous.  They are this way not just with money – but with their time, with their service, their spiritual gifts.  From their “poverty” they richly prosper because they choose a mindset of “My life can reveal God in His Neighborhood” I’ve known these people to be some of the most blessed people in my life.  They have nothing to their names, but they have God in their “neighborhoods” called their hearts and their souls.

Thus, in defining prosperity, we likewise need to define it not just as monetary prosperity, but also as prosperity of soul as well. God moves in that place also. 

When a truly generous person generously shares their prosperity, from their poverty, a cycle of “refreshing” begins to turn, until it is hard to tell which came first, the generosity, or the feeling of prosperity and refreshment. God calls us to be a source of refreshment to others, and generally, the degree to which we are able to do that will be the degree to which we ourselves receive refreshment in return. This seems to line up with the way that he has created the world with certain principles of justice and mercy. God is more generous from His “poverty” than we can imagine. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

The way to approach this proverb is simply to generously believe it and then generously seek to be a person who refreshes others and is generous from their impoverished state. It is also reasonable to examine yourself if you don’t feel refreshed. How generous have you been? Do you believe that you are deprived, your resources are scarce? Has it caused you to hold back from being generous? If so, then you are unlikely to feel refreshed, or that God is generous with you.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Proverbs 11:25

#1 “A generous person…”
This is a person who gives freely because they understand that Jesus came that they would have a generous life and have it abundantly. They understand that God is the source of all they have and that he cannot be out given (2 Cor. 9:6).

#2 “…will prosper;”
Prosperity is an all-encompassing word that only partially refers to money. Jesus said that our Father in heaven knows what we need and will add all things as we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Generous living is a key part of seeking God’s kingdom and will cause us to prosper. (Mt. 6:19-24 and 25-34)

#3 “whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
The life of a generous lover and follower of God is refreshing in itself. You won’t find a life of following God that is disconnected from generosity to others.

The last aspect of this proverb says that the one who waters others, will himself be watered.  This is an allusion to the agricultural world. 

When someone waters a plant, he is providing much needed moisture to the plant for its health, growth and welfare.  The picture here is not of a plant being watered, but of a person being blessed.  When we are generous with our time and our ministry to others, we are helping them grow spiritually.  When we do this, God lets us know that we ourselves will be aided in our spiritual growth. 

The way this works is truly amazing – because so often our fallen nature wants everyone to “water and refresh us” rather than to refresh, pour out into others.

At the risk of being prideful, I will use an example from my own life.  There have been many days that I have woken up and did not want to do anything.  I was filled with thoughts of myself – and all I wanted was to do my own thing – or to just sit and do nothing.  Often on these days I feel pretty depressed and useless.

But on several of them God began to speak to my heart, encouraging me to get up and actively go out somewhere to bless someone else who needed it.  What is funny is that at first when I chose to obey God in this, I was not terribly excited about the whole thing.  Usually, I did it by accessing what seemed to be the last ounce of strength I could muster (really this was not the case – I just get a kind of dramatic when I am an over-zealous selfish blob of bah, blah and humbugs. 

What is truly astounding though is how I was generously watered by the Holy Spirit as I ventured forth outside of my “humbugs” to just bless someone else.

Eventually the over generous supply of my blahs would begin to lift – and my attitude would alter radically.  By the end of the day, I would notice that I had come full circle, being filled with joy over God’s goodness in it all. 

I remember a good friend talking about a friend of his who had a day like this.  He chose to get up, drive 500 miles in a day and go, bless someone else with the “fishing trip of their lifetimes.”  The story concludes with this man stating that it was because this brother obeyed God that he himself was saved.  The man he went to bless – was him.  He shared the gospel with my friend – and later that evening, at a revival service he invited him to attend, he gave his life to Christ.

Remember this proverb the next time you get into a spiritual and emotional funk.  Decide to go do something that will generously bless others. Choose to be generous – to go out and our out an abundance of water upon someone whose spiritual life is impoverished, dry, as longing and thirsty as a dear and barren. 

Go out and bless someone else who could never repay you for what you are about to do.  When you do this – you will soon learn the generously refreshing truth of this passage.  From your “impoverished state,” you will be prosperous spiritually – and – you will find yourself being watered by God Himself for your generosity – and by your willingness to adopt His character as your very own.

True happiness comes when you put pursuing things to the side and to begin living a life of generosity. And the great thing about generosity is that you don’t have to have several tons of money to do it. It can start by simply just buying a friend a Water who is having a bad day. Or helping your neighbor carry in their trash cans. It could be cooking a friend some meals after they’ve had surgery.

Being generous doesn’t have to take a lot of money, it’s just about getting out of yourself and the singular pursuit of our stuff and into being a blessing to other people around us. So today ask God for ways that you can begin to be generous.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

O Lord, my zealously generous God, thank you that your work is perfect, your ways are just, you are a God of faithfulness. You have said that in all things at all times, from my poverty, you will be the One to supply all that I need. Please help me to abundantly trust only in your generous power to bring breakthroughs in situations where I cannot find a solution. Be exalted above the heavens, O God. Let Your glory be above all the earth. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

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