Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Perspective Matters
The LORD said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away. Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman is to ask her neighbor for ob¬jects of silver and gold." The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's officials and in the sight of the people.
Moses said, 'Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out through Egypt. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the livestock. Then there will be a loud cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again. But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites—not at people, not at animals—so that you may know that the Lom makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. Then all these officials of yours shall come down to me, and bow low to me, saying, 'Leave us, you and all the people who follow you: After that I will leave." And in hot anger he left Pharaoh. - Exodus 11:1-8 NRSV
How you perceive God's actions depends on your point of view. God rescued his people from Egypt and set them free. The Israelites saw how much God loved them and cared about them when he slaughtered the firstborn of Egypt. The Egyptians, and especially the parents, probably didn't see it that way. One action gave rise to two points of view and two radically different interpretations of God.
The same fire that warms also burns. How you feel about the fire will depend on whether you're warming your hands on a cold night or you're being burned at the stake. The fire, however, has not changed. It is doing exactly the same thing, no matter how you feel about it. So it is with God. God is love. Whatever he does, he does because of love. He loves the world. And yet, when God showed his love, Egyptians died while Israelites rejoiced and were set free. God does not change. Love always motivates his actions. How we feel about what God does is up to us.
Information for your soul. Daily devotionals and Observances to celebrate.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Chose You
The LORD said to Abram:
Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
Abram was seventy-five years old when the Loan told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the posses-sions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, but the Lox) appeared to Abram and promised, "I will give this land to your family forever." Abram then built an altar there for the LORD. - Genesis 12:1—7 CEV
Just because you think you know what to expect from life, doesn't mean you do. Abram was an old man when God called him from the city of Haran. By the world's standards, Abram's life was nearly done. It was past time to retire. He was just an ordinary man living in the Middle East, one of millions of people alive on the planet in that day. And God decided to pick him. What made Abram special was not who he was, but who God was. God did not choose Abram because he was extraordinary. Abram became extraordinary—even in his twilight years—because God chose him. God chose Abram because he loved him.
The promise that God gave Abram when he told him to pack up and move to what would someday be the land of Israel had no strings attached. Regardless of Abram's character or choices, God told him he was going to become famous, he'd be happy, and his descendants would grow to become a great nation. Moreover, God protected Abram and those who encountered him or his descendants—those who blessed Abram would themselves be blessed, and those who cursed him would be cursed. God takes care of those who belong to him, and woe to any who try to harm those God has chosen.
Abram responded to God's promise by going where God told him to go, and by building an altar to God. Abram didn't know much about God, but he paid attention to him. Like Abram, we never know when God might surprise us, or what God might have in store for us.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Chose You
The LORD said to Abram:
Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
Abram was seventy-five years old when the Loan told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the posses-sions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, but the Lox) appeared to Abram and promised, "I will give this land to your family forever." Abram then built an altar there for the LORD. - Genesis 12:1—7 CEV
Just because you think you know what to expect from life, doesn't mean you do. Abram was an old man when God called him from the city of Haran. By the world's standards, Abram's life was nearly done. It was past time to retire. He was just an ordinary man living in the Middle East, one of millions of people alive on the planet in that day. And God decided to pick him. What made Abram special was not who he was, but who God was. God did not choose Abram because he was extraordinary. Abram became extraordinary—even in his twilight years—because God chose him. God chose Abram because he loved him.
The promise that God gave Abram when he told him to pack up and move to what would someday be the land of Israel had no strings attached. Regardless of Abram's character or choices, God told him he was going to become famous, he'd be happy, and his descendants would grow to become a great nation. Moreover, God protected Abram and those who encountered him or his descendants—those who blessed Abram would themselves be blessed, and those who cursed him would be cursed. God takes care of those who belong to him, and woe to any who try to harm those God has chosen.
Abram responded to God's promise by going where God told him to go, and by building an altar to God. Abram didn't know much about God, but he paid attention to him. Like Abram, we never know when God might surprise us, or what God might have in store for us.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Obedience Is better Than Sacrifice
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
"Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
"I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,"
Says the LORD. - Zephaniah 3:16-20 NKJV
We'd really like to do most of what tempts us. God tells us "Do not fear." It seems an unlikely commandment. But other things are equally unpleasant even though they may appear desirable or reasonable at first glance. Fear is that way, and Jerusalem certainly had many things to fear. Zephaniah prophesied during Josiah's reign in Judah. Jeremiah was prophesying then too. It was a time of revival, but the international situation was in flux. The balance of power was shifting to Babylon, and Josiah's revival had touched only a few. The rot in the heart of Israel remained festering. The return to exclusive worship of God stopped when he died. God had no solution left but exile. Captivity in Babylon became inevitable, the destruction of Jerusalem guaranteed. How could there be no fear in the face of that?
But Zephaniah pointed out that someday their punishment would be past tense. In that day, Jerusalem would stop being afraid. In that day, God's love would quiet them. Their hearts would grow calm and turn to joy. The captives would come home. Whether times are good or times are bad, we, like Jerusalem, are still with God. We do not need to be afraid. With God, we can capture the attitude of joy we will have tomorrow when the pain of today has become yesterday.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Obedience Is better Than Sacrifice
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
"Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
"I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,"
Says the LORD. - Zephaniah 3:16-20 NKJV
We'd really like to do most of what tempts us. God tells us "Do not fear." It seems an unlikely commandment. But other things are equally unpleasant even though they may appear desirable or reasonable at first glance. Fear is that way, and Jerusalem certainly had many things to fear. Zephaniah prophesied during Josiah's reign in Judah. Jeremiah was prophesying then too. It was a time of revival, but the international situation was in flux. The balance of power was shifting to Babylon, and Josiah's revival had touched only a few. The rot in the heart of Israel remained festering. The return to exclusive worship of God stopped when he died. God had no solution left but exile. Captivity in Babylon became inevitable, the destruction of Jerusalem guaranteed. How could there be no fear in the face of that?
But Zephaniah pointed out that someday their punishment would be past tense. In that day, Jerusalem would stop being afraid. In that day, God's love would quiet them. Their hearts would grow calm and turn to joy. The captives would come home. Whether times are good or times are bad, we, like Jerusalem, are still with God. We do not need to be afraid. With God, we can capture the attitude of joy we will have tomorrow when the pain of today has become yesterday.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
What Am I Going to Do with You?
People of Israel and Judah, what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears more quickly than mist or dew at sunrise.
That's why I slaughtered you with the words of my prophets.
That's why my judgments blazed like the dawning sun.
I'd rather for you to be faithful and to know me than to offer sacrifices.
At a place named Adam, you betrayed me by breaking our agreement.
Everyone in Gilead is evil; your hands are stained with the blood of victims.
You priests are like a gang of robbers in ambush.
On the road to Shechem you murder and commit other horrible crimes.
I have seen a terrible thing in Israel—you are unfaithful and unfit to worship me.
People of Judah, your time is coming too. - Hosea 6:4—11 CEV
Human love can be fickle, vanishing over the least offense. Hosea married a prostitute because God told him to, so his wife spent most of her time elsewhere with other men. She didn't love Hosea. Likewise for God, Israel gave him lip service, but Israel's real passion was for the other gods, the ones she really cared about, since she spent all her time with them.
God listed three places where people had been unfaithful to him: Adam, which was near the Jordan River; Gilead, which was a region near Adam; and Shechem, which was in central Palestine. The people were guilty of unfaithfulness to God and unfaithfulness to one another. Even the priests, who were supposed to represent God, acted like a criminal gang. This was nothing new. Even in the days of Samuel, before Saul became king, the priests had taken advantage of those few people who had come to worship Yahweh.
But by the time of Hosea, God's patience was near an end. Hosea's wife wound up sold as a slave. Hosea bought her back from the slave market. The sad events of Hosea's life were pictures of what God intended for Israel. Israel would become captive in Babylon. Eventually God would redeem Israel from Babylon. Neither Hosea's wife nor Israel had done anything to merit being bought back. Hosea rescued his wife because he loved her, even if she didn't love him. God rescued Israel for the same reason. They were both redeemed because God's love is not fickle.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
What Am I Going to Do with You?
People of Israel and Judah, what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears more quickly than mist or dew at sunrise.
That's why I slaughtered you with the words of my prophets.
That's why my judgments blazed like the dawning sun.
I'd rather for you to be faithful and to know me than to offer sacrifices.
At a place named Adam, you betrayed me by breaking our agreement.
Everyone in Gilead is evil; your hands are stained with the blood of victims.
You priests are like a gang of robbers in ambush.
On the road to Shechem you murder and commit other horrible crimes.
I have seen a terrible thing in Israel—you are unfaithful and unfit to worship me.
People of Judah, your time is coming too. - Hosea 6:4—11 CEV
Human love can be fickle, vanishing over the least offense. Hosea married a prostitute because God told him to, so his wife spent most of her time elsewhere with other men. She didn't love Hosea. Likewise for God, Israel gave him lip service, but Israel's real passion was for the other gods, the ones she really cared about, since she spent all her time with them.
God listed three places where people had been unfaithful to him: Adam, which was near the Jordan River; Gilead, which was a region near Adam; and Shechem, which was in central Palestine. The people were guilty of unfaithfulness to God and unfaithfulness to one another. Even the priests, who were supposed to represent God, acted like a criminal gang. This was nothing new. Even in the days of Samuel, before Saul became king, the priests had taken advantage of those few people who had come to worship Yahweh.
But by the time of Hosea, God's patience was near an end. Hosea's wife wound up sold as a slave. Hosea bought her back from the slave market. The sad events of Hosea's life were pictures of what God intended for Israel. Israel would become captive in Babylon. Eventually God would redeem Israel from Babylon. Neither Hosea's wife nor Israel had done anything to merit being bought back. Hosea rescued his wife because he loved her, even if she didn't love him. God rescued Israel for the same reason. They were both redeemed because God's love is not fickle.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Them Bones, Them Bones
The hand of the Loa) was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. Then He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I replied, "Lord GOD, [only] You know."
He said to me, "Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Loa)! This is what the Lord Goo says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD."
So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. - Ezekiel 37:1-7 HCSB
Ezekiel, an exile himself, prophesied to the exiles living in Babylon. The people in exile felt empty, abandoned, and hopeless. Despite the words of Jeremiah and Isaiah, who had promised that they would return home one day, they still doubted. They were unable to see any further than their current pain. So once again, God revealed the future.
God granted Ezekiel a vision of a vast field, filled with bones, metaphori-cally standing for the exiled nation. Then God restored the bones to life, a vast army, and told Ezekiel that they represented the Israelites who were saying, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone; we are cut off." God intended to resurrect them. That is, he would bring them home, to the land of Israel.
God doesn't go back on his promises. But he makes allowances for human fear and weakness. Sometimes we may fear that God has abandoned us. We may fear that we've been too bad, we've gone too far from his will, and that for us it is too late. God reassured the Israelites—even after hundreds of years of their going too far and after years of exile—that it wasn't too late. Like Israel in the days of Ezekiel, even when we're nothing but dried bones, God still has a plan for us.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Them Bones, Them Bones
The hand of the Loa) was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. Then He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I replied, "Lord GOD, [only] You know."
He said to me, "Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Loa)! This is what the Lord Goo says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD."
So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. - Ezekiel 37:1-7 HCSB
Ezekiel, an exile himself, prophesied to the exiles living in Babylon. The people in exile felt empty, abandoned, and hopeless. Despite the words of Jeremiah and Isaiah, who had promised that they would return home one day, they still doubted. They were unable to see any further than their current pain. So once again, God revealed the future.
God granted Ezekiel a vision of a vast field, filled with bones, metaphori-cally standing for the exiled nation. Then God restored the bones to life, a vast army, and told Ezekiel that they represented the Israelites who were saying, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone; we are cut off." God intended to resurrect them. That is, he would bring them home, to the land of Israel.
God doesn't go back on his promises. But he makes allowances for human fear and weakness. Sometimes we may fear that God has abandoned us. We may fear that we've been too bad, we've gone too far from his will, and that for us it is too late. God reassured the Israelites—even after hundreds of years of their going too far and after years of exile—that it wasn't too late. Like Israel in the days of Ezekiel, even when we're nothing but dried bones, God still has a plan for us.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Was for Your Awn Good
This is what the LORD says:
'A cry is heard in Ramah—deep anguish and bitter weeping.
Rachel weeps for her children,refusing to be comforted—for her children are gone."
But now this is what the LORD says:
"Do not weep any longer,for I will reward you," says the LORD.
'Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.
There is hope for your future," says the LORD. "Your children will come again to their own land.
I have heard Israel saying,
'You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke.
Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD My God.
I turned away from God, but then I was sorry.
I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.'" - Jeremiah 31:15—19 NLT
Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome, once made a wry comment about Herod the Great, the man he had made into the king of Judea. He said, "It is better to be Herod's pigs than Herod's sons." Pigs were not kosher, so he wouldn't touch them. But Herod's family? Herod was paranoid and killed several sons he thought might be plotting against him.
When wise men from Persia came looking for a royal son, Herod was panic stricken. None of his wives had recently given birth. He was not descended from David. If a new king had been born, then Herod had a rival. So he found out where the child had been born, and then he took care of things in his own inimitable style. He killed all the babies in Bethlehem who were close to the right age.
God's prophecy of Rachel's weeping because her children were no more was taken by Matthew and applied to Herod's slaughter. But Jeremiah's original intent was to prophesy about the deportation of the Jews to Babylon. "Rachel," of course, was Jacob's—Israel's—true love, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel came to stand in as a poetic reference to the nation of Israel. Why did Matthew use a prophecy of the Babylonian captivity for Herod's slaughter? The thematic parallel in it—Babylon had failed to destroy Israel. Herod had failed to destroy Christ.
God reassured the Rachels of Jeremiah's day, the people of Israel, that those taken from them would one day return. For those murdered by Herod, the resurrection was coming. Those lost to us now will be with us forever someday. Our tears will be wiped away.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Was for Your Awn Good
This is what the LORD says:
'A cry is heard in Ramah—deep anguish and bitter weeping.
Rachel weeps for her children,refusing to be comforted—for her children are gone."
But now this is what the LORD says:
"Do not weep any longer,for I will reward you," says the LORD.
'Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.
There is hope for your future," says the LORD. "Your children will come again to their own land.
I have heard Israel saying,
'You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke.
Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD My God.
I turned away from God, but then I was sorry.
I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.'" - Jeremiah 31:15—19 NLT
Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome, once made a wry comment about Herod the Great, the man he had made into the king of Judea. He said, "It is better to be Herod's pigs than Herod's sons." Pigs were not kosher, so he wouldn't touch them. But Herod's family? Herod was paranoid and killed several sons he thought might be plotting against him.
When wise men from Persia came looking for a royal son, Herod was panic stricken. None of his wives had recently given birth. He was not descended from David. If a new king had been born, then Herod had a rival. So he found out where the child had been born, and then he took care of things in his own inimitable style. He killed all the babies in Bethlehem who were close to the right age.
God's prophecy of Rachel's weeping because her children were no more was taken by Matthew and applied to Herod's slaughter. But Jeremiah's original intent was to prophesy about the deportation of the Jews to Babylon. "Rachel," of course, was Jacob's—Israel's—true love, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel came to stand in as a poetic reference to the nation of Israel. Why did Matthew use a prophecy of the Babylonian captivity for Herod's slaughter? The thematic parallel in it—Babylon had failed to destroy Israel. Herod had failed to destroy Christ.
God reassured the Rachels of Jeremiah's day, the people of Israel, that those taken from them would one day return. For those murdered by Herod, the resurrection was coming. Those lost to us now will be with us forever someday. Our tears will be wiped away.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Has Plans for You
Thus says the Loan of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, "Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Loan on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them," dedares the Loup.
For thus says the Low:), "When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you," dedares the Loa), "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:4-13 NASB
False prophets predicted good times. They were quick to promise health, wealth, and prosperity. God warned his people not to listen to them because what they said simply wasn't going to be. Instead of good times, God, through Jeremiah, predicted that the false prophets were facing judgment and exile.
This news was hardly good, hardly comforting, and hardly what anyone wanted to hear. No wonder everyone was mad at the real prophets. They made the people think that God hated them and wanted to hurt them.
But God wanted to correct those misunderstandings. In the midst of the pain, God explained that his plans for them were good ones. They had a future to look forward to, and, oddly, in the midst of their misery they would turn to God, the one who seemed to be harming them. When the day came that they were genuinely sorry for what they had done, then he would listen to them and restore their fortunes.
Repentance is more than saying, "I'm sorry." Repentance is changed behavior. We have repented when we will do anything and take any punishment in order to make things right again.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Has Plans for You
Thus says the Loan of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, "Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Loan on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them," dedares the Loup.
For thus says the Low:), "When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you," dedares the Loa), "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:4-13 NASB
False prophets predicted good times. They were quick to promise health, wealth, and prosperity. God warned his people not to listen to them because what they said simply wasn't going to be. Instead of good times, God, through Jeremiah, predicted that the false prophets were facing judgment and exile.
This news was hardly good, hardly comforting, and hardly what anyone wanted to hear. No wonder everyone was mad at the real prophets. They made the people think that God hated them and wanted to hurt them.
But God wanted to correct those misunderstandings. In the midst of the pain, God explained that his plans for them were good ones. They had a future to look forward to, and, oddly, in the midst of their misery they would turn to God, the one who seemed to be harming them. When the day came that they were genuinely sorry for what they had done, then he would listen to them and restore their fortunes.
Repentance is more than saying, "I'm sorry." Repentance is changed behavior. We have repented when we will do anything and take any punishment in order to make things right again.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Behold, the Days Are Coming
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the Loan. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the Loan. "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the Lou).
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteous¬ness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. - Jeremiah 23:1-6 NKJV
It's hard to be the boss. Authority is a dangerous thing. The apostle James wrote that those who teach would be judged more harshly than others. Why? While each human being touches more people than he imagines, the impact of a teacher is far greater. A single teacher may train dozens, who then take the teacher's words to others, multiplying the effect exponentially. Similarly, "shepherds"—the leadership in Israel consisting of the king, the bureaucrats, and the religious establishment—affected the lives of all those around them.
The leaders of Israel had been made responsible for the spiritual safety of their people. But rather than leading them toward God, they led them away. They seduced them with other deities. God was going to take the power of the shepherds from them and pass it on to someone else, someone who would actually do right by those under them—a good shepherd.
Jeremiah prophesied while Zedekiah, whose name meant "righteousness of the Lord," ruled as the final king of Israel before Nebuchadnezzar took him into exile. God reassured the Israelites that one day they would have a king who actually lived up to that name, who would really be "the Lord our righteousness." God's words to Jeremiah found their fulfillment in Jesus, the son of David, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Behold, the Days Are Coming
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the Loan. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the Loan. "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the Lou).
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteous¬ness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. - Jeremiah 23:1-6 NKJV
It's hard to be the boss. Authority is a dangerous thing. The apostle James wrote that those who teach would be judged more harshly than others. Why? While each human being touches more people than he imagines, the impact of a teacher is far greater. A single teacher may train dozens, who then take the teacher's words to others, multiplying the effect exponentially. Similarly, "shepherds"—the leadership in Israel consisting of the king, the bureaucrats, and the religious establishment—affected the lives of all those around them.
The leaders of Israel had been made responsible for the spiritual safety of their people. But rather than leading them toward God, they led them away. They seduced them with other deities. God was going to take the power of the shepherds from them and pass it on to someone else, someone who would actually do right by those under them—a good shepherd.
Jeremiah prophesied while Zedekiah, whose name meant "righteousness of the Lord," ruled as the final king of Israel before Nebuchadnezzar took him into exile. God reassured the Israelites that one day they would have a king who actually lived up to that name, who would really be "the Lord our righteousness." God's words to Jeremiah found their fulfillment in Jesus, the son of David, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Behold, the Days Are Coming
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the Loan. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the Loan. "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the Lou).
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteous¬ness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. - Jeremiah 23:1-6 NKJV
It's hard to be the boss. Authority is a dangerous thing. The apostle James wrote that those who teach would be judged more harshly than others. Why? While each human being touches more people than he imagines, the impact of a teacher is far greater. A single teacher may train dozens, who then take the teacher's words to others, multiplying the effect exponentially. Similarly, "shepherds"—the leadership in Israel consisting of the king, the bureaucrats, and the religious establishment—affected the lives of all those around them.
The leaders of Israel had been made responsible for the spiritual safety of their people. But rather than leading them toward God, they led them away. They seduced them with other deities. God was going to take the power of the shepherds from them and pass it on to someone else, someone who would actually do right by those under them—a good shepherd.
Jeremiah prophesied while Zedekiah, whose name meant "righteousness of the Lord," ruled as the final king of Israel before Nebuchadnezzar took him into exile. God reassured the Israelites that one day they would have a king who actually lived up to that name, who would really be "the Lord our righteousness." God's words to Jeremiah found their fulfillment in Jesus, the son of David, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Behold, the Days Are Coming
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the Loan. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the Loan. "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the Lou).
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteous¬ness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. - Jeremiah 23:1-6 NKJV
It's hard to be the boss. Authority is a dangerous thing. The apostle James wrote that those who teach would be judged more harshly than others. Why? While each human being touches more people than he imagines, the impact of a teacher is far greater. A single teacher may train dozens, who then take the teacher's words to others, multiplying the effect exponentially. Similarly, "shepherds"—the leadership in Israel consisting of the king, the bureaucrats, and the religious establishment—affected the lives of all those around them.
The leaders of Israel had been made responsible for the spiritual safety of their people. But rather than leading them toward God, they led them away. They seduced them with other deities. God was going to take the power of the shepherds from them and pass it on to someone else, someone who would actually do right by those under them—a good shepherd.
Jeremiah prophesied while Zedekiah, whose name meant "righteousness of the Lord," ruled as the final king of Israel before Nebuchadnezzar took him into exile. God reassured the Israelites that one day they would have a king who actually lived up to that name, who would really be "the Lord our righteousness." God's words to Jeremiah found their fulfillment in Jesus, the son of David, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
What Good Is an Idol?
Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, 0 house of Israel. Thus says the LORD:
Do not learn the way of the nations, or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan;
people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.
Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good. - Jeremiah 10:1-5 NRSV
For most people in the modern world, idols are merely works of art. We are never tempted to worship them. Some art historians are dismayed that as Christians became dominant in the old Roman Empire, they destroyed the pagan temples and wrecked the images of the gods. Two thousand years later, it is easy to think only in terms of the destruction of art. Keep in mind, however, that for those who had turned from paganism to Christianity, idols held power. They symbolized something evil and wrong. They oppressed the hearts and minds of countless human beings, blinding them to the truth. People had devoted themselves, their money, and even their lives to things that were useless. Idols were a lie and a delusion.
Following the destruction of any totalitarian regime, whether that of Nazi Germany, Communism, or Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, the people freed from tyranny quickly destroyed statues and images of the hated regime. Statues of Stalin and Lenin were knocked down and dragged away; swastikas atop buildings in Berlin were dynamited; Saddam's statue in the center of Baghdad was toppled by tanks. Two thousand years from now, some might be appalled at the destruction of art and culture in these places, but those destroying the images were striking blows for freedom. For those who worshipped idols, the idols were not art. They were tyrants who had blinded their worshippers. Whatever idols oppress you today—fearful circumstances or material belongings—God has set you free from them. Your idols are nothing but objects made by men.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
What Good Is an Idol?
Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, 0 house of Israel. Thus says the LORD:
Do not learn the way of the nations, or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan;
people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.
Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good. - Jeremiah 10:1-5 NRSV
For most people in the modern world, idols are merely works of art. We are never tempted to worship them. Some art historians are dismayed that as Christians became dominant in the old Roman Empire, they destroyed the pagan temples and wrecked the images of the gods. Two thousand years later, it is easy to think only in terms of the destruction of art. Keep in mind, however, that for those who had turned from paganism to Christianity, idols held power. They symbolized something evil and wrong. They oppressed the hearts and minds of countless human beings, blinding them to the truth. People had devoted themselves, their money, and even their lives to things that were useless. Idols were a lie and a delusion.
Following the destruction of any totalitarian regime, whether that of Nazi Germany, Communism, or Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, the people freed from tyranny quickly destroyed statues and images of the hated regime. Statues of Stalin and Lenin were knocked down and dragged away; swastikas atop buildings in Berlin were dynamited; Saddam's statue in the center of Baghdad was toppled by tanks. Two thousand years from now, some might be appalled at the destruction of art and culture in these places, but those destroying the images were striking blows for freedom. For those who worshipped idols, the idols were not art. They were tyrants who had blinded their worshippers. Whatever idols oppress you today—fearful circumstances or material belongings—God has set you free from them. Your idols are nothing but objects made by men.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Good Times Are Coming
"Never again will there be in [Jerusalem] an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who
dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their
descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. - Isaiah 65:20—25 NIV
People had lived in the dark for a long time. But the dawn finally came. The last of Isaiah's prophecies predicted new heavens and a new earth, a time when weeping would cease, when infants would not die, when people would live well into old age, when they would build houses, plant vineyards, and harvest the fruit, keeping it all for themselves instead of giving it to others.
When we read that God told his people about the "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17 Mv), we are tempted to imagine that God was talking about the eternal kingdom. When we read about the wolf and the lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, and dust becoming the food of serpents, it is hard to think of anything else but the kingdom. But between those words that sound like the kingdom, God said that those who died at a hundred were dying young. God spoke about babies being born. Neither death nor birth seems to fit the usual notion about the kingdom of heaven. So what are we to make of the passage?
Are the blessings of the passage literal, or are they figurative? A clue comes from remembering that God chose to speak in poetry. This passage expressed the hope that was to come when God finally reigned in the lives of his people. The serpent eating dust reminds us of the curse in Genesis. God proclaimed victory over that old curse. The kingdom of heaven lives in our hearts. No matter what the world may throw at us today, God still reigns there.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Good Times Are Coming
"Never again will there be in [Jerusalem] an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who
dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their
descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. - Isaiah 65:20—25 NIV
People had lived in the dark for a long time. But the dawn finally came. The last of Isaiah's prophecies predicted new heavens and a new earth, a time when weeping would cease, when infants would not die, when people would live well into old age, when they would build houses, plant vineyards, and harvest the fruit, keeping it all for themselves instead of giving it to others.
When we read that God told his people about the "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17 Mv), we are tempted to imagine that God was talking about the eternal kingdom. When we read about the wolf and the lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, and dust becoming the food of serpents, it is hard to think of anything else but the kingdom. But between those words that sound like the kingdom, God said that those who died at a hundred were dying young. God spoke about babies being born. Neither death nor birth seems to fit the usual notion about the kingdom of heaven. So what are we to make of the passage?
Are the blessings of the passage literal, or are they figurative? A clue comes from remembering that God chose to speak in poetry. This passage expressed the hope that was to come when God finally reigned in the lives of his people. The serpent eating dust reminds us of the curse in Genesis. God proclaimed victory over that old curse. The kingdom of heaven lives in our hearts. No matter what the world may throw at us today, God still reigns there.
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Good Times Are Coming
"Never again will there be in [Jerusalem] an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who
dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their
descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. - Isaiah 65:20—25 NIV
People had lived in the dark for a long time. But the dawn finally came. The last of Isaiah's prophecies predicted new heavens and a new earth, a time when weeping would cease, when infants would not die, when people would live well into old age, when they would build houses, plant vineyards, and harvest the fruit, keeping it all for themselves instead of giving it to others.
When we read that God told his people about the "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17 Mv), we are tempted to imagine that God was talking about the eternal kingdom. When we read about the wolf and the lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, and dust becoming the food of serpents, it is hard to think of anything else but the kingdom. But between those words that sound like the kingdom, God said that those who died at a hundred were dying young. God spoke about babies being born. Neither death nor birth seems to fit the usual notion about the kingdom of heaven. So what are we to make of the passage?
Are the blessings of the passage literal, or are they figurative? A clue comes from remembering that God chose to speak in poetry. This passage expressed the hope that was to come when God finally reigned in the lives of his people. The serpent eating dust reminds us of the curse in Genesis. God proclaimed victory over that old curse. The kingdom of heaven lives in our hearts. No matter what the world may throw at us today, God still reigns there.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Good Times Are Coming
"Never again will there be in [Jerusalem] an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who
dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their
descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. - Isaiah 65:20—25 NIV
People had lived in the dark for a long time. But the dawn finally came. The last of Isaiah's prophecies predicted new heavens and a new earth, a time when weeping would cease, when infants would not die, when people would live well into old age, when they would build houses, plant vineyards, and harvest the fruit, keeping it all for themselves instead of giving it to others.
When we read that God told his people about the "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17 Mv), we are tempted to imagine that God was talking about the eternal kingdom. When we read about the wolf and the lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, and dust becoming the food of serpents, it is hard to think of anything else but the kingdom. But between those words that sound like the kingdom, God said that those who died at a hundred were dying young. God spoke about babies being born. Neither death nor birth seems to fit the usual notion about the kingdom of heaven. So what are we to make of the passage?
Are the blessings of the passage literal, or are they figurative? A clue comes from remembering that God chose to speak in poetry. This passage expressed the hope that was to come when God finally reigned in the lives of his people. The serpent eating dust reminds us of the curse in Genesis. God proclaimed victory over that old curse. The kingdom of heaven lives in our hearts. No matter what the world may throw at us today, God still reigns there.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Merriam-Webster Online
Merriam-Webster Online
The Word of the Day for January 20 is:
ninja \NIN-juh\ noun
: a person trained in ancient Japanese martial arts and employed especially for espionage and assassinations
Examples:
Ninjas are thought to be able to run faster than ordinary people, scale impossible walls, and endure the severest of pain.
"Simon Baldry has practiced ninjutsu on and off for 15 years and, despite his brown belt, he still wouldn't call himself a ninja. That is an honour earned after many years of experience, he says humbly." -- From an article by Hayley Hannan in The Auklander, December 3, 2010
Did you know?
Ninjas may seem mysterious, but the origin of their name is not. The word "ninja" derives from the Japanese characters "nin" and "ja." "Nin" initially meant "persevere," but over time it developed the extended meanings "conceal" and "move stealthily." In Japanese, "ja" is the combining form of "sha," meaning "person." Ninjas originated in the mountains of Japan over 800 years ago as practitioners of ninjutsu, a martial art sometimes called "the art of stealth" or "the art of invisibility." They often served as military spies and were trained in disguise, concealment, geography, meteorology, medicine, and also other martial arts. Popular legends still associate them with espionage and assassinations, but modern ninjas are most likely to study ninjutsu to improve their physical fitness and self-defense skills.
The Word of the Day for January 20 is:
ninja \NIN-juh\ noun
: a person trained in ancient Japanese martial arts and employed especially for espionage and assassinations
Examples:
Ninjas are thought to be able to run faster than ordinary people, scale impossible walls, and endure the severest of pain.
"Simon Baldry has practiced ninjutsu on and off for 15 years and, despite his brown belt, he still wouldn't call himself a ninja. That is an honour earned after many years of experience, he says humbly." -- From an article by Hayley Hannan in The Auklander, December 3, 2010
Did you know?
Ninjas may seem mysterious, but the origin of their name is not. The word "ninja" derives from the Japanese characters "nin" and "ja." "Nin" initially meant "persevere," but over time it developed the extended meanings "conceal" and "move stealthily." In Japanese, "ja" is the combining form of "sha," meaning "person." Ninjas originated in the mountains of Japan over 800 years ago as practitioners of ninjutsu, a martial art sometimes called "the art of stealth" or "the art of invisibility." They often served as military spies and were trained in disguise, concealment, geography, meteorology, medicine, and also other martial arts. Popular legends still associate them with espionage and assassinations, but modern ninjas are most likely to study ninjutsu to improve their physical fitness and self-defense skills.
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
The LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You." - Isaiah 49:5—7 NKJV
God is not in hiding. He is standing out in the open, shining brightly. The servant of this passage from Isaiah is someone other than Israel. And the servant is someone other than the prophet Isaiah, since Isaiah was not the one to "raise up the tribes of Jacob." Nor was Isaiah the one to give "light to the Gentiles." Paul quoted from this passage in Acts 13:47 and applied it to himself and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:23, when he explained the gospel to King Agrippa, he said that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and "proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (NIV).
Simeon was an old man living in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah with his own eyes. When Jesus' parents brought him to the temple to consecrate him to God and offer the sacrifices required of a newborn son, Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms and quoted Isaiah's passage. He told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would bring the light of revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:29—32).
Jesus and his body and bride—the church—have done and are doing just what was predicted of them by God's words to the prophet Isaiah. They have brought the light of salvation to everyone.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
The LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You." - Isaiah 49:5—7 NKJV
God is not in hiding. He is standing out in the open, shining brightly. The servant of this passage from Isaiah is someone other than Israel. And the servant is someone other than the prophet Isaiah, since Isaiah was not the one to "raise up the tribes of Jacob." Nor was Isaiah the one to give "light to the Gentiles." Paul quoted from this passage in Acts 13:47 and applied it to himself and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:23, when he explained the gospel to King Agrippa, he said that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and "proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (NIV).
Simeon was an old man living in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah with his own eyes. When Jesus' parents brought him to the temple to consecrate him to God and offer the sacrifices required of a newborn son, Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms and quoted Isaiah's passage. He told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would bring the light of revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:29—32).
Jesus and his body and bride—the church—have done and are doing just what was predicted of them by God's words to the prophet Isaiah. They have brought the light of salvation to everyone.
AWAD
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg
Tomorrow Barack Obama will become president of the US, and not a moment too soon. This week we'll feature words from Obama, words from his books, speeches, and interviews.
Unlike most politicians, who hire ghostwriters, Obama writes his own books. He's a gifted writer. Reading his words you can see his thought process. He's not one who sees the globe in black and white. He has lived outside the US and has been exposed to other cultures (nyt). He realizes that just because someone has a different set of beliefs, just because someone looks different, doesn't mean he's wrong -- sometimes there can be two ways to do something and both can be right.
Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We've come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman.
Anything is possible... but don't hold your breath.
cohere
PRONUNCIATION:
(ko-HEER)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To be united; to work or hold together.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin cohaerere, from co- (together) + haerere (to stick).
USAGE:
"I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds would eventually cohere."
Barack Obama; Dreams From My Father; Times Books; 1995.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
with Anu Garg
Tomorrow Barack Obama will become president of the US, and not a moment too soon. This week we'll feature words from Obama, words from his books, speeches, and interviews.
Unlike most politicians, who hire ghostwriters, Obama writes his own books. He's a gifted writer. Reading his words you can see his thought process. He's not one who sees the globe in black and white. He has lived outside the US and has been exposed to other cultures (nyt). He realizes that just because someone has a different set of beliefs, just because someone looks different, doesn't mean he's wrong -- sometimes there can be two ways to do something and both can be right.
Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We've come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman.
Anything is possible... but don't hold your breath.
cohere
PRONUNCIATION:
(ko-HEER)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To be united; to work or hold together.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin cohaerere, from co- (together) + haerere (to stick).
USAGE:
"I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds would eventually cohere."
Barack Obama; Dreams From My Father; Times Books; 1995.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
The LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You." - Isaiah 49:5—7 NKJV
God is not in hiding. He is standing out in the open, shining brightly. The servant of this passage from Isaiah is someone other than Israel. And the servant is someone other than the prophet Isaiah, since Isaiah was not the one to "raise up the tribes of Jacob." Nor was Isaiah the one to give "light to the Gentiles." Paul quoted from this passage in Acts 13:47 and applied it to himself and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:23, when he explained the gospel to King Agrippa, he said that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and "proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (NIV).
Simeon was an old man living in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah with his own eyes. When Jesus' parents brought him to the temple to consecrate him to God and offer the sacrifices required of a newborn son, Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms and quoted Isaiah's passage. He told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would bring the light of revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:29—32).
Jesus and his body and bride—the church—have done and are doing just what was predicted of them by God's words to the prophet Isaiah. They have brought the light of salvation to everyone.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
The LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You." - Isaiah 49:5—7 NKJV
God is not in hiding. He is standing out in the open, shining brightly. The servant of this passage from Isaiah is someone other than Israel. And the servant is someone other than the prophet Isaiah, since Isaiah was not the one to "raise up the tribes of Jacob." Nor was Isaiah the one to give "light to the Gentiles." Paul quoted from this passage in Acts 13:47 and applied it to himself and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:23, when he explained the gospel to King Agrippa, he said that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and "proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (NIV).
Simeon was an old man living in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah with his own eyes. When Jesus' parents brought him to the temple to consecrate him to God and offer the sacrifices required of a newborn son, Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms and quoted Isaiah's passage. He told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would bring the light of revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:29—32).
Jesus and his body and bride—the church—have done and are doing just what was predicted of them by God's words to the prophet Isaiah. They have brought the light of salvation to everyone.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
The LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You." - Isaiah 49:5—7 NKJV
God is not in hiding. He is standing out in the open, shining brightly. The servant of this passage from Isaiah is someone other than Israel. And the servant is someone other than the prophet Isaiah, since Isaiah was not the one to "raise up the tribes of Jacob." Nor was Isaiah the one to give "light to the Gentiles." Paul quoted from this passage in Acts 13:47 and applied it to himself and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:23, when he explained the gospel to King Agrippa, he said that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and "proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (NIV).
Simeon was an old man living in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah with his own eyes. When Jesus' parents brought him to the temple to consecrate him to God and offer the sacrifices required of a newborn son, Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms and quoted Isaiah's passage. He told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would bring the light of revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:29—32).
Jesus and his body and bride—the church—have done and are doing just what was predicted of them by God's words to the prophet Isaiah. They have brought the light of salvation to everyone.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
The LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
"It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the LORD who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You." - Isaiah 49:5—7 NKJV
God is not in hiding. He is standing out in the open, shining brightly. The servant of this passage from Isaiah is someone other than Israel. And the servant is someone other than the prophet Isaiah, since Isaiah was not the one to "raise up the tribes of Jacob." Nor was Isaiah the one to give "light to the Gentiles." Paul quoted from this passage in Acts 13:47 and applied it to himself and Barnabas as missionaries to the Gentiles. In Acts 26:23, when he explained the gospel to King Agrippa, he said that the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and "proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (NIV).
Simeon was an old man living in Jerusalem when Jesus was born. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah with his own eyes. When Jesus' parents brought him to the temple to consecrate him to God and offer the sacrifices required of a newborn son, Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms and quoted Isaiah's passage. He told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would bring the light of revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:29—32).
Jesus and his body and bride—the church—have done and are doing just what was predicted of them by God's words to the prophet Isaiah. They have brought the light of salvation to everyone.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Fading Flowers
Our God has said:
"Encourage my people! Give them comfort.
Speak kindly to Jerusalem and announce:
Your slavery is past; your punishment is over.
I, the LORD, made you pay double for your sins."
Someone is shouting:
"Clear a path in the desert! Make a straight road for the LORD our God.
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and mountain.
Level the rough and rugged ground.
Then the glory of the Lorw will appear for all to see.
The LORD has promised this!"
Someone told me to shout, and I asked, "What should I shout?"
We humans are merely grass, and we last no longer than wild flowers.
At the LORD'S command, flowers and grass disappear, and so do we.
Flowers and grass fade away, but what our God has said will never change. - Isaiah 40:1—8 CEV
Payback time, with interest. With this chapter; the prophet Isaiah shifted gears. Where before he had predicted the necessary punishment against God's people Israel, he suddenly predicted what would come after the punishment. He told them that God intended to restore the relationship their idolatry had destroyed.
God promised his people that he would restore them just as surely as he had punished them. God was offering comfort to the Israelites. He was letting them know that their time in captivity was ending and that they would soon return to their land. Their sins had been paid for; their punishment was completed. Compared to God, the life of a human being was remarkably short. But God's purposes and promises, like God himself, would last forever.
The New Testament authors of the Gospels identified John the Baptist as the one calling in the wilderness to make a straight way for God. The one for whom John made a straight way was Jesus: the Messiah and the Son of God, whom the Gospel writers and John, by the use of this passage from Isaiah, identified with Yahweh, the God of Israel. How could that prophecy be applied by the New Testament authors to John the Baptist and Jesus? Just as God had rescued his people from exile in Babylon and forgiven them for all their unfaithfulness to him, so Jesus would rescue his people—all humanity—and forgive them. The forgiveness God offered to Israel he extends to all of us.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Fading Flowers
Our God has said:
"Encourage my people! Give them comfort.
Speak kindly to Jerusalem and announce:
Your slavery is past; your punishment is over.
I, the LORD, made you pay double for your sins."
Someone is shouting:
"Clear a path in the desert! Make a straight road for the LORD our God.
Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and mountain.
Level the rough and rugged ground.
Then the glory of the Lorw will appear for all to see.
The LORD has promised this!"
Someone told me to shout, and I asked, "What should I shout?"
We humans are merely grass, and we last no longer than wild flowers.
At the LORD'S command, flowers and grass disappear, and so do we.
Flowers and grass fade away, but what our God has said will never change. - Isaiah 40:1—8 CEV
Payback time, with interest. With this chapter; the prophet Isaiah shifted gears. Where before he had predicted the necessary punishment against God's people Israel, he suddenly predicted what would come after the punishment. He told them that God intended to restore the relationship their idolatry had destroyed.
God promised his people that he would restore them just as surely as he had punished them. God was offering comfort to the Israelites. He was letting them know that their time in captivity was ending and that they would soon return to their land. Their sins had been paid for; their punishment was completed. Compared to God, the life of a human being was remarkably short. But God's purposes and promises, like God himself, would last forever.
The New Testament authors of the Gospels identified John the Baptist as the one calling in the wilderness to make a straight way for God. The one for whom John made a straight way was Jesus: the Messiah and the Son of God, whom the Gospel writers and John, by the use of this passage from Isaiah, identified with Yahweh, the God of Israel. How could that prophecy be applied by the New Testament authors to John the Baptist and Jesus? Just as God had rescued his people from exile in Babylon and forgiven them for all their unfaithfulness to him, so Jesus would rescue his people—all humanity—and forgive them. The forgiveness God offered to Israel he extends to all of us.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Won't Be Long Now
Soon—and it will not be very long—the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.
In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.
The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lou).
The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear, and those who plot evil will be killed.
Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear.
A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.
That is why the Loiw, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,
"My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear.
For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Israel.
They will stand in awe of the God of Jacob.
Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction." - Isaiah 29:17—24 NLT
Sooner, rather than later, the people of Israel would get a clue. When Isaiah volunteered to become God's prophet, God told him that the people he went to would "be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving" (Isaiah 6:9 NN), and that it would remain thus until the nation was destroyed. But afterward, the blind would finally see and the deaf would finally hear, and then the wicked would finally be gone.
The forests of Lebanon were famous for their cedar trees, not for being good farmland. God used that as a metaphor. What you'd least expect to be possible is just what God can do. Those who were most disadvantaged in society—the handicapped, the poor, the humble of whatever sort—would find joy in God, while those who had oppressed them would be destroyed. The destruction of the wicked was not necessarily by their deaths, however. God explained that the wayward and complainers would gain understanding. The wicked would be destroyed by being transformed into the righteous. Some of the wicked would have their old hearts changed. They would die to their past way of life. They would be renewed in God. Their fear of destruction would become a fear of God, their redeemer who had saved them.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Won't Be Long Now
Soon—and it will not be very long—the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.
In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.
The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lou).
The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear, and those who plot evil will be killed.
Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear.
A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.
That is why the Loiw, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,
"My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear.
For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Israel.
They will stand in awe of the God of Jacob.
Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction." - Isaiah 29:17—24 NLT
Sooner, rather than later, the people of Israel would get a clue. When Isaiah volunteered to become God's prophet, God told him that the people he went to would "be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving" (Isaiah 6:9 NN), and that it would remain thus until the nation was destroyed. But afterward, the blind would finally see and the deaf would finally hear, and then the wicked would finally be gone.
The forests of Lebanon were famous for their cedar trees, not for being good farmland. God used that as a metaphor. What you'd least expect to be possible is just what God can do. Those who were most disadvantaged in society—the handicapped, the poor, the humble of whatever sort—would find joy in God, while those who had oppressed them would be destroyed. The destruction of the wicked was not necessarily by their deaths, however. God explained that the wayward and complainers would gain understanding. The wicked would be destroyed by being transformed into the righteous. Some of the wicked would have their old hearts changed. They would die to their past way of life. They would be renewed in God. Their fear of destruction would become a fear of God, their redeemer who had saved them.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
The Only One to Fear Is God
The LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
"You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
"It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
"Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
"Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught." - Isaiah 8:11—15 NASB
People are afraid of many things. A lot of those things don't even exist. They imagine dark conspiracies and worry about things that are unlikely, even as they happily ignore real dangers. The Israelites worshipped gods other than Yahweh and bent themselves beneath ridiculous superstitions, imagining that the motions of stars influenced their destinies or that animal innards and tossed piles of bones could give them answers. They gave money and attention to mediums and spiritists, carried lucky charms, and spoke magic incantations or waved their hands in special ways to ward off imagined curses.
Meanwhile, they ignored the real God, the one who could actually influence the events of their lives, the one who was about to bring his judgment against them. God told Jeremiah to ignore all the silliness that consumed the attention of the people around him. God alone was to be feared, and God alone, as a result, would be Jeremiah's sanctuary. God would protect him from the coming destruction of Judah, just as he had protected Moses from the plagues of Egypt. Judah would learn to fear God alone. As they came to understand God and his reasons for judgment, they would learn to love him. In that love, their other fears would fade away. They would come to know that God was the one who controlled their destinies rather than shadowy conspiracies or the motions of the stars. They would ultimately find great comfort in that realization, as should we. God can drive groundless fear away and give us minds and hearts at peace.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
The Only One to Fear Is God
The LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
"You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
"It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
"Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
"Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught." - Isaiah 8:11—15 NASB
People are afraid of many things. A lot of those things don't even exist. They imagine dark conspiracies and worry about things that are unlikely, even as they happily ignore real dangers. The Israelites worshipped gods other than Yahweh and bent themselves beneath ridiculous superstitions, imagining that the motions of stars influenced their destinies or that animal innards and tossed piles of bones could give them answers. They gave money and attention to mediums and spiritists, carried lucky charms, and spoke magic incantations or waved their hands in special ways to ward off imagined curses.
Meanwhile, they ignored the real God, the one who could actually influence the events of their lives, the one who was about to bring his judgment against them. God told Jeremiah to ignore all the silliness that consumed the attention of the people around him. God alone was to be feared, and God alone, as a result, would be Jeremiah's sanctuary. God would protect him from the coming destruction of Judah, just as he had protected Moses from the plagues of Egypt. Judah would learn to fear God alone. As they came to understand God and his reasons for judgment, they would learn to love him. In that love, their other fears would fade away. They would come to know that God was the one who controlled their destinies rather than shadowy conspiracies or the motions of the stars. They would ultimately find great comfort in that realization, as should we. God can drive groundless fear away and give us minds and hearts at peace.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
What Are You Worried About?
Can you arrange stars in groups such as Orion and the Pleiades?
Do you control the stars or set in place the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper?
Do you know the laws that govern the heavens, and can you make them rule the earth?
Can you order the clouds to send a downpour, or will lightning flash at your command?
Did you teach birds to know that rain or floods are on their way?
Can you count the clouds or pour out their water on the dry, lumpy soil?
When lions are hungry, do you help them hunt?
Do you send an animal into their den?
And when starving young ravens cry out to me for food, do you satisfy their hunger? - Job 38:31-41 CEV
When God asks a question, it isn't because he doesn't know the answer. Job had lost his family, his livelihood, and his health. He wondered why it had all happened, and his question made him doubt God's goodness. God responded by asking him other questions that Job wouldn't have answers for. An interesting question God asked Job was "Do you know the laws that govern the heavens and can you make them rule the earth?" When God asked Job the question, Job had no answer. Today, Job would have probably answered yes, thanks to the physicist Sir Isaac Newton. Newton discovered that the laws of nature are universal. What is true in the heavens is true on the earth. The falling of an apple is caused by the same force that keeps the moon swinging around the earth and the earth swinging around the sun.
But God's point was not to quiz Job about physics. God wanted Job to realize there was no difference between the questions God was asking and the question Job was asking. Not knowing how to arrange the stars didn't keep Job up at night questioning God's goodness. So why did not knowing why he suffered make him do that?
Job couldn't control the clouds. He didn't understand how they worked. He couldn't take care of hungry birds. But God does understand. God can take care of them. God's real point for Job was simple: "Why are you so worried and afraid? You don't know much and can't do much. But I do. I'm God, so relax."
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
What Are You Worried About?
Can you arrange stars in groups such as Orion and the Pleiades?
Do you control the stars or set in place the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper?
Do you know the laws that govern the heavens, and can you make them rule the earth?
Can you order the clouds to send a downpour, or will lightning flash at your command?
Did you teach birds to know that rain or floods are on their way?
Can you count the clouds or pour out their water on the dry, lumpy soil?
When lions are hungry, do you help them hunt?
Do you send an animal into their den?
And when starving young ravens cry out to me for food, do you satisfy their hunger? - Job 38:31-41 CEV
When God asks a question, it isn't because he doesn't know the answer. Job had lost his family, his livelihood, and his health. He wondered why it had all happened, and his question made him doubt God's goodness. God responded by asking him other questions that Job wouldn't have answers for. An interesting question God asked Job was "Do you know the laws that govern the heavens and can you make them rule the earth?" When God asked Job the question, Job had no answer. Today, Job would have probably answered yes, thanks to the physicist Sir Isaac Newton. Newton discovered that the laws of nature are universal. What is true in the heavens is true on the earth. The falling of an apple is caused by the same force that keeps the moon swinging around the earth and the earth swinging around the sun.
But God's point was not to quiz Job about physics. God wanted Job to realize there was no difference between the questions God was asking and the question Job was asking. Not knowing how to arrange the stars didn't keep Job up at night questioning God's goodness. So why did not knowing why he suffered make him do that?
Job couldn't control the clouds. He didn't understand how they worked. He couldn't take care of hungry birds. But God does understand. God can take care of them. God's real point for Job was simple: "Why are you so worried and afraid? You don't know much and can't do much. But I do. I'm God, so relax."
Friday, January 14, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Knows What's Going On
[Jahaziel] said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Loan to you: 'Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, 0 Judah and Jerusalem: Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."
Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. - 2 Chronicles 20:15-19 NRSV
God has his own ways of taking care of things. No matter what methods he ( peens to use, all God's people have to do is believe him and do what he says. God makes it all work out.
Jehoshaphat was facing an invasion of the Moabites and Ammonites coming from Edom on the other side of the Dead Sea. He was the king. This was his responsibility. It was his job to do something. But Jehoshaphat didn't have any way of stopping the invasion. So he called all the people to fast. The people of Judah and Jerusalem came to Jerusalem and sought help from God. Jehoshaphat led them in prayer, concluding that "we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you" (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV).
God's spirit came upon one man, a Levite named Jahaziel, and God told him what to do. Jehoshaphat and the people responded by bowing down, worshipping God, and thanking him. Jehoshaphat then sent his army to face the enemies approaching Jerusalem. At the front of his army, people sang and praised God, and his army never had to face the enemy. Instead, God made the enemies fight among themselves. They destroyed one another. All Jehoshaphat's army had to do that day was gather the plunder left behind.
Since God is with us, we should never be afraid. When we understand that our own abilities are weak but that God is strong, and when we know in our hearts that what God wants is what we want, we can ask for and receive God's help.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
God Knows What's Going On
[Jahaziel] said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Loan to you: 'Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, 0 Judah and Jerusalem: Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."
Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. - 2 Chronicles 20:15-19 NRSV
God has his own ways of taking care of things. No matter what methods he ( peens to use, all God's people have to do is believe him and do what he says. God makes it all work out.
Jehoshaphat was facing an invasion of the Moabites and Ammonites coming from Edom on the other side of the Dead Sea. He was the king. This was his responsibility. It was his job to do something. But Jehoshaphat didn't have any way of stopping the invasion. So he called all the people to fast. The people of Judah and Jerusalem came to Jerusalem and sought help from God. Jehoshaphat led them in prayer, concluding that "we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you" (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV).
God's spirit came upon one man, a Levite named Jahaziel, and God told him what to do. Jehoshaphat and the people responded by bowing down, worshipping God, and thanking him. Jehoshaphat then sent his army to face the enemies approaching Jerusalem. At the front of his army, people sang and praised God, and his army never had to face the enemy. Instead, God made the enemies fight among themselves. They destroyed one another. All Jehoshaphat's army had to do that day was gather the plunder left behind.
Since God is with us, we should never be afraid. When we understand that our own abilities are weak but that God is strong, and when we know in our hearts that what God wants is what we want, we can ask for and receive God's help.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Is Enough
When it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics. And David prayed to GOD, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done. But now GOD forgive my guilt—I've been really stupid."
When David got up the next morning, the word of GOD had already come to Gad the prophet, David's spiritual advisor, "Go and give David this message: 'GOD has spoken thus: There are three things I can do to you; choose one out of the three and I'll see that it's done."'
Gad came to deliver the message: "Do you want three years of famine in the land, or three months of running from your enemies while they chase you down, or three days of an epidemic on the country? Think it over and make up your mind. What shall I tell the one who sent me?"
David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by GOD, whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands."
So GOD let loose an epidemic from morning until suppertime. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand people died. But when the angel reached out over Jerusalem to destroy it, GOD felt the pain of the terror and told the angel who was spreading death among the people, "Enough's enough! Pull back!"
The angel of GOD had just reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel hovering between earth and sky, sword drawn and about to strike Jerusalem. David and the elders bowed in prayer and covered themselves with rough burlap. - 2 Samuel 24:10-16 MSG
Errors have a way of multiplying themselves. David had done something wrong when he conducted his census and God held him responsible. Because David was the king of Israel, what he did affected the nation. The prophet Gad offered David three choices for punishment. David noticed a difference between them. Certainly, they all came from the hand of God, but one required human involvement, while two were the actions of God alone. David decided that whatever the punishment, better that people not be a part of it. With God, mercy was possible. With people, mercy was unlikely. David knew he could trust God just as much as he knew he could not trust people.
So God sent the three-day plague, wiping out many people. Why did those men suffer for David's mistake? They had benefited from David's rule; likewise, they suffered for it. The king stood as representative for his people. What blessings or curses came to him, came to all. Our wrongdoings affect everyone around us, because our lives affect everyone around us.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Is Enough
When it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics. And David prayed to GOD, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done. But now GOD forgive my guilt—I've been really stupid."
When David got up the next morning, the word of GOD had already come to Gad the prophet, David's spiritual advisor, "Go and give David this message: 'GOD has spoken thus: There are three things I can do to you; choose one out of the three and I'll see that it's done."'
Gad came to deliver the message: "Do you want three years of famine in the land, or three months of running from your enemies while they chase you down, or three days of an epidemic on the country? Think it over and make up your mind. What shall I tell the one who sent me?"
David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by GOD, whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands."
So GOD let loose an epidemic from morning until suppertime. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand people died. But when the angel reached out over Jerusalem to destroy it, GOD felt the pain of the terror and told the angel who was spreading death among the people, "Enough's enough! Pull back!"
The angel of GOD had just reached the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel hovering between earth and sky, sword drawn and about to strike Jerusalem. David and the elders bowed in prayer and covered themselves with rough burlap. - 2 Samuel 24:10-16 MSG
Errors have a way of multiplying themselves. David had done something wrong when he conducted his census and God held him responsible. Because David was the king of Israel, what he did affected the nation. The prophet Gad offered David three choices for punishment. David noticed a difference between them. Certainly, they all came from the hand of God, but one required human involvement, while two were the actions of God alone. David decided that whatever the punishment, better that people not be a part of it. With God, mercy was possible. With people, mercy was unlikely. David knew he could trust God just as much as he knew he could not trust people.
So God sent the three-day plague, wiping out many people. Why did those men suffer for David's mistake? They had benefited from David's rule; likewise, they suffered for it. The king stood as representative for his people. What blessings or curses came to him, came to all. Our wrongdoings affect everyone around us, because our lives affect everyone around us.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
The Consistency of God
These are the last words of David the son of Jesse.
The God of Jacob chose David and made him a great king.
The Mighty God of Israel loved him.
When God told him to speak, David said:
The Spirit of the LORD has told me what to say.
Our Mighty Rock, the God of Jacob, told me, "A ruler who obeys God and does right is like the sunrise on a cloudless day, or like rain that sparkles on the grass."
I have ruled this way, and God will never break his promise to me.
God's promise is complete and unchanging; he will always help me and give me what I hope for.
But evil people are pulled up like thorn bushes.
They are not dug up by hand, but with a sharp spear and are burned on the spot. - 2 Samuel 23:1-7 CEV
God doesn't love us because we're good. David referred to God as "the God of Jacob" because he wanted to make a point. Just as God had chosen Jacob despite all Jacob's faults, so God had chosen David. David was good at killing Philistines, but he was not good at raising his children: Amnon raped his sister Tamar; Absalom killed Amnon. Then Absalom rebelled against David, precipitated a civil war, and both he and many Israelites on both sides of the issue died in battle. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then saw to it that her husband was killed in battle. Just before he died, like a mob boss, he told his son Solomon—the crown prince born to the woman he had committed adultery with—to settle accounts, old grudges, with everyone who had wronged him. But at the end of his life, David looked back on it all and said that he had been a king who obeyed God and did what was right.
How can we reconcile David's life with his claim to righteousness? And with God's words, that a king must be righteous? By remembering that righteousness came from David's relationship with God rather than from his behavior. David did not need to fear the wrath of God because God's wrath had been—or in David's case, would be—directed at the ultimate sacrifice. David was forgiven. God declared him righteous. That's how David could know he was a good man: his goodness was in God, not in himself. It's the same way we know we're righteous today.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
The Consistency of God
These are the last words of David the son of Jesse.
The God of Jacob chose David and made him a great king.
The Mighty God of Israel loved him.
When God told him to speak, David said:
The Spirit of the LORD has told me what to say.
Our Mighty Rock, the God of Jacob, told me, "A ruler who obeys God and does right is like the sunrise on a cloudless day, or like rain that sparkles on the grass."
I have ruled this way, and God will never break his promise to me.
God's promise is complete and unchanging; he will always help me and give me what I hope for.
But evil people are pulled up like thorn bushes.
They are not dug up by hand, but with a sharp spear and are burned on the spot. - 2 Samuel 23:1-7 CEV
God doesn't love us because we're good. David referred to God as "the God of Jacob" because he wanted to make a point. Just as God had chosen Jacob despite all Jacob's faults, so God had chosen David. David was good at killing Philistines, but he was not good at raising his children: Amnon raped his sister Tamar; Absalom killed Amnon. Then Absalom rebelled against David, precipitated a civil war, and both he and many Israelites on both sides of the issue died in battle. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then saw to it that her husband was killed in battle. Just before he died, like a mob boss, he told his son Solomon—the crown prince born to the woman he had committed adultery with—to settle accounts, old grudges, with everyone who had wronged him. But at the end of his life, David looked back on it all and said that he had been a king who obeyed God and did what was right.
How can we reconcile David's life with his claim to righteousness? And with God's words, that a king must be righteous? By remembering that righteousness came from David's relationship with God rather than from his behavior. David did not need to fear the wrath of God because God's wrath had been—or in David's case, would be—directed at the ultimate sacrifice. David was forgiven. God declared him righteous. That's how David could know he was a good man: his goodness was in God, not in himself. It's the same way we know we're righteous today.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
You Should Eat
Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you." The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?" But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful."
So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to him who works wonders. When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these." - Judges 13:15-23 NRSV
God is not a computer that can't find the file just because you mistyped. God knows what you meant.
Samson's father, Manoah, was from the tribe of Dan. His wife was unable to have children. But then an angel promised that she would have a son who would be a Nazirite from birth. Manoah then asked God to send the angel back to repeat everything he had said to his wife.
The angel refused Manoah's offer of a nice meal. Instead, the angel told him to offer God a sacrifice. Although Manoah was not a descendant of Aaron, God accepted his offering. Realizing that the angel was actually God, Manoah was afraid that he would drop dead for having seen him. His wife pointed out that they'd already be dead if that had been God's intent. Besides, God had accepted the offering and had given them a promise about having a son that wouldn't come true if they died.
God seemed more concerned with attitude and sincerity than he did with the details of the law. The law boils down to two things: loving God and loving people. Do that, and the details will take care of themselves.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
You Should Eat
Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you." The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?" But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful."
So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to him who works wonders. When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these." - Judges 13:15-23 NRSV
God is not a computer that can't find the file just because you mistyped. God knows what you meant.
Samson's father, Manoah, was from the tribe of Dan. His wife was unable to have children. But then an angel promised that she would have a son who would be a Nazirite from birth. Manoah then asked God to send the angel back to repeat everything he had said to his wife.
The angel refused Manoah's offer of a nice meal. Instead, the angel told him to offer God a sacrifice. Although Manoah was not a descendant of Aaron, God accepted his offering. Realizing that the angel was actually God, Manoah was afraid that he would drop dead for having seen him. His wife pointed out that they'd already be dead if that had been God's intent. Besides, God had accepted the offering and had given them a promise about having a son that wouldn't come true if they died.
God seemed more concerned with attitude and sincerity than he did with the details of the law. The law boils down to two things: loving God and loving people. Do that, and the details will take care of themselves.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Makes Sense to Be Scared
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
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 writ-ten in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:3-9 NASB
Fright comes easily, suddenly, and without any effort or practice. It is often the smart response. Hope is a bit harder to make happen and can seem foolish. Moses was dead, and the promised land remained in enemy hands. Joshua was overwhelmed. It was up to him to lead more than two million people to a place he'd never been. He was scared. Not only did he face the burden of leading armies into battle against a powerful enemy, but he also had to face the Israelites, who he knew would be quick to compare him with the then-dead Moses. How could he ever hope to fill those shoes?
God appeared and reassured him that just as he had been with Moses, so he would be with Joshua. And since God would walk with him, he had nothing to fear. Fear exists in the land of doubt and in the shadow of trouble. God relieved Joshua's doubts. He promised to relieve his troubles. He told Joshua that he loved him and would stand with him. Joshua's courage was restored when he knew he was not facing the future alone.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
It Makes Sense to Be Scared
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
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 writ-ten in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:3-9 NASB
Fright comes easily, suddenly, and without any effort or practice. It is often the smart response. Hope is a bit harder to make happen and can seem foolish. Moses was dead, and the promised land remained in enemy hands. Joshua was overwhelmed. It was up to him to lead more than two million people to a place he'd never been. He was scared. Not only did he face the burden of leading armies into battle against a powerful enemy, but he also had to face the Israelites, who he knew would be quick to compare him with the then-dead Moses. How could he ever hope to fill those shoes?
God appeared and reassured him that just as he had been with Moses, so he would be with Joshua. And since God would walk with him, he had nothing to fear. Fear exists in the land of doubt and in the shadow of trouble. God relieved Joshua's doubts. He promised to relieve his troubles. He told Joshua that he loved him and would stand with him. Joshua's courage was restored when he knew he was not facing the future alone.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
A Wall of Bronze
Jeremiah, get ready! Go and tell the people what I command you to say.
Don't be frightened by them, or I will make you terrified while they watch.
My power will make you strong like a fortress or a column of iron or a wall of bronze.
You will oppose all of Judah, including its kings and leaders, its priests and people.
They will fight back, but they won't win.
I, the LORD, give my word—I won't let them harm you.
The LORD told me to go to Jerusalem and tell everyone that he had said:
When you were my young bride, you loved me and followed me through the barren desert.
You belonged to me alone, like the first part of the harvest, and I severely punished those who mistreated you. - Jeremiah 1:17-2:3 CEV
God tells you how it is, not how you wish it were. God never promised Jeremiah that he wouldn't have problems. He didn't tell him his job would be easy or that anyone's mind would be changed by what he said. Instead, God told Jeremiah that those he confronted would fight back. But he also told him that they wouldn't win, and that they wouldn't harm him.
But God's definition of harm might have been a tad different from Jeremiah's definition. Jeremiah spent time in a miry pit, suffered repeated arrests, and endured blistering verbal attacks. Jeremiah did not have a nice house; nor did he make a lot of money. He didn't even get respect. But though his life was endangered, and though there were those who threatened to kill him, Jeremiah survived. His enemies didn't kill him or silence him. For God, harm did not mean trouble. For God, harm meant being rendered ineffective.
Jeremiah did exactly what God asked him to do every time. Despite his suffering, and despite the fact that no one believed his message or acted upon it, Jeremiah was successful. He had no way of knowing that his words would be preserved and studied by millions for more than twenty-five centuries. He did not change the minds of the people he first confronted, but his words have lived on to change people's minds. Live your life the way God wants you to, and you'll never suffer regret. You will ultimately realize true success.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
A Wall of Bronze
Jeremiah, get ready! Go and tell the people what I command you to say.
Don't be frightened by them, or I will make you terrified while they watch.
My power will make you strong like a fortress or a column of iron or a wall of bronze.
You will oppose all of Judah, including its kings and leaders, its priests and people.
They will fight back, but they won't win.
I, the LORD, give my word—I won't let them harm you.
The LORD told me to go to Jerusalem and tell everyone that he had said:
When you were my young bride, you loved me and followed me through the barren desert.
You belonged to me alone, like the first part of the harvest, and I severely punished those who mistreated you. - Jeremiah 1:17-2:3 CEV
God tells you how it is, not how you wish it were. God never promised Jeremiah that he wouldn't have problems. He didn't tell him his job would be easy or that anyone's mind would be changed by what he said. Instead, God told Jeremiah that those he confronted would fight back. But he also told him that they wouldn't win, and that they wouldn't harm him.
But God's definition of harm might have been a tad different from Jeremiah's definition. Jeremiah spent time in a miry pit, suffered repeated arrests, and endured blistering verbal attacks. Jeremiah did not have a nice house; nor did he make a lot of money. He didn't even get respect. But though his life was endangered, and though there were those who threatened to kill him, Jeremiah survived. His enemies didn't kill him or silence him. For God, harm did not mean trouble. For God, harm meant being rendered ineffective.
Jeremiah did exactly what God asked him to do every time. Despite his suffering, and despite the fact that no one believed his message or acted upon it, Jeremiah was successful. He had no way of knowing that his words would be preserved and studied by millions for more than twenty-five centuries. He did not change the minds of the people he first confronted, but his words have lived on to change people's minds. Live your life the way God wants you to, and you'll never suffer regret. You will ultimately realize true success.
Daily Devotion
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
All Will Be Well
GOD said to Moses, "Climb up into the Abarim Mountains and look over at the land that I am giving to the People of Israel. When you've had a good look you'll be joined to your ancestors in the grave— yes, you also along with Aaron your brother. This goes back to the day when the congregation quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin and you didn't honor me in holy reverence before them in the matter of the waters, the Waters of Meribah (Quarreling) at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin."
Moses responded to Goo: "Let GOD, the God of the spirits of everyone living, set a man over this community to lead them, to show the way ahead and bring them back home so GOD's community will not be like sheep without a shepherd."
GOD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun—the Spirit is in him!—and place your hand on him. Stand him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire congregation and commission him with everyone watching. Pass your magisterial authority over to him so that the whole congregation of the People of Israel will listen obediently to him. He is to consult with Eleazar the priest who, using the oracle-Urim, will prayerfully advise him in the presence of GOD. He will command the People of Israel, the entire community, in all their comings and goings." - Numbers 27:12-21 MSG
Who knows whether the one who comes after you will be wise or a fool?" said the author of Ecclesiastes. Moses knew he was going to die before he could lead the people of Israel into the promised land. Who would take his place? Would he be up to the task? Moses had been the one to stand before Pharaoh. He had prayed to God on Israel's behalf. He had stood up for Israel when even God seemed ready to give up on them. And now, just as they were about to reach the place God had promised them, Moses wasn't going to be there for them. Would his forty years of ministry be for nothing? Would it all fall apart without him?
God let Moses know who would take his place. God reassured him that just as he had been with Moses and had helped him lead a group of obstinate and difficult human beings through a nightmare, so God would be with Joshua. Just as Moses had succeeded because of God's presence, so Joshua would succeed for the same reason. The human leader might change, but the real leader—God—wasn't going anywhere. God can take care of things even when we're gone.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
All Will Be Well
GOD said to Moses, "Climb up into the Abarim Mountains and look over at the land that I am giving to the People of Israel. When you've had a good look you'll be joined to your ancestors in the grave— yes, you also along with Aaron your brother. This goes back to the day when the congregation quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin and you didn't honor me in holy reverence before them in the matter of the waters, the Waters of Meribah (Quarreling) at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin."
Moses responded to Goo: "Let GOD, the God of the spirits of everyone living, set a man over this community to lead them, to show the way ahead and bring them back home so GOD's community will not be like sheep without a shepherd."
GOD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun—the Spirit is in him!—and place your hand on him. Stand him before Eleazar the priest in front of the entire congregation and commission him with everyone watching. Pass your magisterial authority over to him so that the whole congregation of the People of Israel will listen obediently to him. He is to consult with Eleazar the priest who, using the oracle-Urim, will prayerfully advise him in the presence of GOD. He will command the People of Israel, the entire community, in all their comings and goings." - Numbers 27:12-21 MSG
Who knows whether the one who comes after you will be wise or a fool?" said the author of Ecclesiastes. Moses knew he was going to die before he could lead the people of Israel into the promised land. Who would take his place? Would he be up to the task? Moses had been the one to stand before Pharaoh. He had prayed to God on Israel's behalf. He had stood up for Israel when even God seemed ready to give up on them. And now, just as they were about to reach the place God had promised them, Moses wasn't going to be there for them. Would his forty years of ministry be for nothing? Would it all fall apart without him?
God let Moses know who would take his place. God reassured him that just as he had been with Moses and had helped him lead a group of obstinate and difficult human beings through a nightmare, so God would be with Joshua. Just as Moses had succeeded because of God's presence, so Joshua would succeed for the same reason. The human leader might change, but the real leader—God—wasn't going anywhere. God can take care of things even when we're gone.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
January 1 Observances
January 1 is the first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). The preceding day is December 31 of the previous year.
CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST
1863 EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION TAKES EFFECT'.ANNIVERSARY
HAITI: INDEPENDENCE DAY
NEW YEARS DAY
NEW YEARS DISHONOR LIST
SAINT BASILS DAY
SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
STOCK EXCHANGE HOLIDAY NEW YEARS DAY
SUDAUN INDEPENDENCE DAY
Z-DAY
Month Long Observances
BOOK BLITZ MONTH
CALIFORNIA DRIED PLUM DIGESTIVE HEALTH MONTH
CELEBRATION OF LIFE MONTH
FINANCIAL WELLNESS MONTH
GET ORGANIZED MONTH
INTERNATIONAL CHANGE YOUR STARS MONTH
International CREATIVITY MONTH
INTERNATIONAL Quality OF LIFE MONTH
INTERI IATIONAL WAY Finding MONTH
INTERNATIONAL WEALTH MENTALITY MONTH
National BE ON-PURPOSE® MONTH
National CLEAN UP YOUR COMPUTER MONTH
National GLAUCOMA AWARENESS MONTH
National Mall ORDER Gardening MONTH
National MENTORING MONTH
National PERSONAL SELF-DEFENSE Awareness MONTH
National POVERTY IN AMERICA AWARENESS MONTH
NATIONAL RADON ACTION MONTH
NATIONAL SKATING MONTH
NATIONAL VOLUNTEER BLOOD DONOR MONTH
RISING STAR MONTH
SELF-HELP GROUP AWARENESS MONTH
SHAPE UP US MONTH
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