Sat, Sep 30th - 10:41AM
God’s Patience Nehemiah 9:30 September 30
For many years You were patient with them. By Your Spirit you warned them through Your prophets and they paid them no attention and You handed them over to neighboring nations.
Nehemiah goes on to say, “But in Your great mercy, You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.”
In chapter 9, Nehemiah records for us a day in the life of the children of Israel where they came together to ask God for His forgiveness of their sin of rebellion and rejection. This special day was not held on one of the special holy days that the Jews celebrated; they came to the Lord on their own as a nation. Nehemiah tells us that they spent 3 hours listening to the Law being read then they began worshipping the Lord in singing for another 3 hours.
Then a prayer was offered that thanked God for all that He had done for the people from creation to His promises to Abraham to the crossing of the Red Sea, their deliverance into the Promised Land to the time of the prophets to their current situation. In that prayer we read, “For many years You were patient with them. By Your Spirit you warned them through Your prophets and they paid them no attention and You handed them over to neighboring nations. But in Your great mercy, You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.”
The people were still in bondage in a foreign land and they were asking the Lord to deliver them once again. They acknowledged that their current condition was their fault and that God had been faithful and just in all that He caused and allowed to happen to them. They knew that they were responsible for their actions and the decisions that they and their forefathers had made but they came to the Lord and asked Him to intervene in their situation and bring them back to their homeland.
God is a God of great mercy. Israel rebelled against God’s efforts to be there for them and they rejected His warnings time and time again. God remained faithful to His people. He always has and He always will. He promises you and me that He will never leave nor forsake us. Even in our times of rebellion and rejection, He will abide with us and do everything that is within His power to lead us back to Him.
How many times has God been faithful to us and forgiven us of our sin and our refusal to let Him be Lord and Master in our lives? How many times have we come to God and made promises to Him that we would walk closer to Him and be obedient to His commandments if He would just deliver us from our current situation? That is very much what is happening here. The people made a promise to God to obey all the commandments that were given by God to Moses.
What kind of promises have you made to God for His faithfulness to you? Have you been faithful to Him in keeping those promises? Have you lived up to your end of the bargain with God for His goodness and His grace and His mercy shown to you?
I do not know about you but I do not want this to be the final statement about my life; I do not want this to be a statement about my country either. “For many years You were patient with them. By Your Spirit you warned them through Your prophets and they paid them no attention and You handed them over to neighboring nations.”
May we all know God’s patience and His warnings and pay attention to Him allowing His presence and His power and His provisions to prevail in our lives.
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Sep 29th - 7:40AM
According To Your Faith Matthew 9:29 September 29
Then He touched their eyes saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.”
Jesus has just raised Jarius’ daughter from the dead. People had already gathered to mourn the little girl’s death. The news of what Jesus did spread quickly through out all-the region. A couple of blind men came to Jesus and asked Him to heal them.
The men called Jesus, “Son of David”, which caught His attention. These men knew the scriptures and understood that He was the long awaited Messiah who would heal blindness. These men sought Jesus out. They came to Him because they wanted to see the Messiah!
These men cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” These men did not ask Jesus to heal them; they knew that God’s mercy would do more than heal them. These men knew that Jesus would meet their need, both physically and spiritually.
Jesus looked at the two men and He asked them, “do you believe that I am able to do this?” The men answered, “Yes Lord, we do believe.” Jesus then looked at the men and said, “According to your faith be it done unto you.” It is interesting that these men asked for God’s mercy, but Jesus responded saying to them, “According to your faith be it done unto you.”
In a sense, the men asked Jesus for one thing and Jesus gave them right the opposite! They came to Jesus humbly asking for His mercy, which means that He would not give them what they deserved. They did not deserve to be healed. We do not deserve to be forgiven and we certainly do not deserve to be saved. Jesus looked at these two guys and said, “I will give you according to your faith; in other words, I will do for you as you deserve because of your faith!”
The Bible tells us that their sight was restored.
I wonder what would happen in your life and in mine if Jesus looked at us and said, “I will do for you according to your faith in Me.” “Jesus, I need Your help.” His reply, “I will give you according to your faith.” What would be the next statement in your life or mine? Would that statement read, “And he went away rejoicing because God made a change in his life” or would the next statement read, “And he went away sorrowful and there was no change in his life.”
Our faith in the Lord needs to make a difference in our decisions because our decisions determine the direction that our lives will take and that direction determines our destiny. We need to do like the two blind men did; we need to come to Jesus. We need to trust Him and let Him do what only He can do in us and with us and for us. When we are willing to do that, God will make a difference in our lives and the whole world will know it! That is what a lost and dying world needs to see in you and in me.
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Sep 28th - 10:16AM
Shallow Promises Exodus 9:28 September 28
28Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
Moses and Aaron are before Pharaoh as God is getting ready to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt. 23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Pharaoh called for Aaron and Moses and listen to what he told them… “I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” Pharaoh realized that God was indeed more powerful than anything he had ever been up against. He knew that he had sinned against God. The Lord is righteous… I am wicked… Pharaoh said. However… it is not enough to recognize that God is a great God… it is not enough to recognize His righteous… nor is it enough to admit our sinful condition and our wicked state. Pharaoh was no closer to God at this point that he was before the hail fell.
Pharaoh also promised “28Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.” Ask God to stop the hail… and I will let you go. How many times have we faced difficulty and looked to God for help and promised Him that we would do things for Him if He would meet our need or solve our problem… that is what Pharaoh was doing. The storm was blowing and he called out to the man of God and he made a promise… but he failed to keep his word…
When the storms are blowing and confessions are made and the winds subside and the sky’s clear, those confessions sometimes prove shallow and the promises are often forgotten! How many times have we made promises to God for His hand in our lives only to see God provide for us and we fail to keep our promises to God. Just like Pharaoh when the storm subsides we forget our promises.
There are two thoughts we need to think about. First, we need to make sure our profession of faith is more than a confession similar to Pharaoh’s. We need to have a profession that is based on faith in the Lord Jesus… and His death on the cross… and the second thing to remember involves our promises to God… when we make a promise to God …we need to keep that promise.
God loves us with a love that we cannot begin to understand. We do not have to earn His love for us. We do have to let that love into our heart and into our lives. We do that by allowing His Word to come into our lives and make a difference in the decisions that we make. Remember, when we give our best to Him He is able to give His best to us and that makes our lives the absolute best that they can be! Keep your commitment to walk with Lord… let His Ways be your ways and see how quickly your life starts to reflect His power and His provisions in your life!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Sep 27th - 8:26AM
Judgment Is Coming Hebrews 9:27 September 27
It is appointed unto me once to die but after this the judgment. So, Christ was offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Death is a difficult topic for a lot of people and necessarily so. It is impossible to learn to live until we learn to die. Death is a natural part of life when you understand the purpose of life. We look at life from its present perspective. We look at life as if it is everything. However, the purpose of life is to get our soul into eternity. We have life today so that God can give us life forever. Death is not the end to life. There was a time when we were not but there will never be a time when we will not be. We were not born to just live; we were born for eternity. Death is the passage from the life that we now know to the life that is ours in eternity.
Judgment follows death. This judgment emphasizes the importance of our lives. In our judgment, the only thing that God is looking for is an answer to the question, “What have I done with Jesus?” Look at what Paul says in our test for today. “So” or because judgment follows death, “Christ was offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Because Judgment is so important, we need to understand that Christ came to provide for our salvation. Jesus shall appear on behalf of those who look to Him. Christ has done everything possible to secure for us our salvation. He was offered to bear the sins of many. He gave His life to pay the penalty for those who would look to Him and His substitutionary death on the cross. Salvation is a gift that Christ has bought and paid for with His blood; It is a gift that is offered to all who would simply look to Him and Him alone for forgiveness and salvation.
This is the only thing that will satisfy the judgment that follows our death. Once an individual has this issue settled, we can say with the songwriter, “Death ain’t no big deal.” If we see death as God would have us see it, and life in its proper perspective, then we are better prepared to live our lives to their fullest. When we come to understand that this life that we now know is but a journey to determine our destiny in eternity, then we will come to know life in its proper perspective and we will be able to live it knowing that we are headed in the right direction.
When we know that our eternity is secured in Christ Jesus, then we can live our lives knowing that God has us in the palm of His hand and nothing can separate us from His love for us and His provisions for us. All we have to do is keep our eyes focused on Him, looking unto Him as Savior and as Lord. When we look to Him as He reveals Himself to us in His Word, we will find Him all sufficient and all satisfying in every way imaginable! Judgment is a promise that we do not have to fear if we have looked to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Sep 26th - 7:29AM
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Mon, Sep 25th - 7:36AM
This I Do Know John 9:25 September 25
He answered and said, whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know, is that once I was blind but now I can see.
Jesus healed a man who had been born blind and he was brought before the Pharisees. They asked about this man who had healed him. He told them how Jesus spit on the ground and then put the mud onto his eyes and his sight came to him. Jesus did this on the Sabbath and so their conclusion was that He could not have been the Son of God because He did not keep the Sabbath. The looked at the man who had been blind and said, “This man is a sinner.”
Listen to this man’s reply, “I don’t know if He is a sinner or not; I do know that once I was blind and now I can see!”
What has Jesus done for you? We spend a lot of time learning a lot about Jesus and people can debate that. You can study the Bible until your eyes go bad and you are not likely to understand all that there is to understand about God’s love and His marvelous mercy and His Amazing Grace. You can read and read and read and you are not likely to understand how the world is going to come to an end. Scholars have debated that issue for centuries and even today, theological experts are divided on what is going to take place and when.
There are even debates on what the Bible has to say about a number of topics from the doctrine of the Trinity to how a person gets saved. There is one thing that no one can dispute and that is what Jesus has done in your heart and in your life.
Just like this man, once I was lost but because of God’s love for me and Jesus’ death on the cross, He spoke to my heart and convicted me of my sin and I asked Him to forgive me of my sin and to come into my heart and He did. God has been patient with me for 30 years and has let me live my life my way. He has allowed me to make mistakes and He has watched as I suffered the consequences of that sin. He has gently guided me and He has never left nor forsaken me even when I refused to listen to Him.
God has taught me more about His grace and His mercy in those 30 years than I could have ever gotten out of a textbook or a classroom. He has shown me that He is indeed everything that His Word says He is and He has proven to me that He will do everything that His Word says He will do. I have learned that there is nothing that I can do that will make God love me more than He already does and there is nothing that I can do that will ever cause Him to love me less. Every day with Him is sweeter than the day before!
The reason that this is so important is because people can argue with you about a lot of things but they cannot argue about what God has done for you! Take a moment and think about the things that God has done for you and be prepared to share that story with someone soon!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Sep 24th - 7:43AM
Lord Help My Unbelief Mark 9:24 September 24
Lord I believe; You help my unbelief.
A man came to Jesus with his son who was possessed with an evil spirit. He had gone to Jesus’ disciples with the son but they could not help him. Jesus asked the man how long his son had been in this condition and he replied since he was a baby. The man in his desperation said to Jesus, if there is anything that you can do, have compassion on us and help us.
Jesus looked at the father and said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” The man looked at Jesus and cried out, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”
First of all, lets look at what Jesus told this man. “If you can believe…” If you can believe what? This is the foundation of faith in Jesus. We have to be willing to believe that God is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do. We have to be willing to take God at His Word and then do what He tells us to do. All things are possible when we are willing to take God at His Word and believe that He will do all that He promises that He will do for us.
This man cried out, “Lord I believe; You help my unbelief.” Here is where our help comes in to focus for you and me. This man was willing to believe that Jesus was everything that He said He was and that He could heal is son. However, he did not understand a lot of things so He asked the Lord to help with his unbelief, not as he believed, but as Jesus saw his unbelief!
God is looking for individuals who are willing to say to Him, “Here I am God; I am willing to be all that You would have me be and I am willing to do whatever it is that You would have me do; God you help me to know what You would have me do. God I want to be obedient to Your Word and Your will and way for my life; help me in my walk with You to be all that You would have me to be.” If you and I could do that, there would be no limits to God’s blessings in our lives!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Sep 23rd - 7:24AM
Following Jesus Luke 9:23 September 23
And Jesus said to them all, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
If you and I want to follow the Lord, He says that we will need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. The key here is in the first statement; deny ourselves. The temptation of life is to try to handle things on our own. We want to be in charge. We want to go where God wants us to go but we want to get there on our own terms and that simply is not possible. The key to experiencing life in all of its glory is found in surrendering our wills and our ways to those of the Lord. Obedience in the decisions that we make is imperative when it comes to living an abundant life in Christ Jesus.
Jesus goes on to say, that we are to “take up our cross.” What does Jesus mean here? Obviously we know what the cross meant to Jesus; it involved Him giving His life. When I look at the Garden of Gethsemane I see something that is interesting. When Jesus prayed “Father, if it is possibly take this cup from Me but not My will but Your will be done.” The cross represents Jesus’ ultimate act of obedience. In His humanity, I believe He prayed in the garden not that God would keep Him from going TO the cross; He was born to die. His prayer was that God would allow Him to stay a little longer! In His humanity, He could not see how the church would get off the ground because the disciples were not ready yet! They were asleep in the garden! However, Jesus surrendered His will to the Supreme will of His heavenly Father.
This is what Jesus expects of you and me. He expects our obedience, period. In order to follow Jesus, we have to understand that our obedience is key. In fact, without obedience, there is no following Jesus. Following Him involves denying ourselves and being obedient to the Word and Will of God for our lives. It is time for us to do away with the excuses and the exceptions that we offer when it comes to our obedience to doing things God’s way. Our way may seem acceptable; however, God’s way is always the way; Our way may well be a good option but a good thing can be bad if it keeps us from experiencing what is best for us.
This is the case when we look at our way verses God’s way in our lives. Obedience to God’s will and His way for our lives is the key to living a victorious life. Look at what Jesus goes on to say; He who finds his life or does what he wants to the way he wants to do it, he will lose his life. But the one who loses his life for My sake, he will find life. This is a picture of obedience to God’s Word in comparison to our way of doing things! This is our tendency but it never pays. What you and I can do for ourselves cannot begin to compare to what God can do for us and with us. He is life and His example of obedience can be seen at Calvary and that example gives us life both now and forever!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Sep 22nd - 8:30AM
Cleansed By The Blood Hebrews 9:22 September 22
And almost all things are by the Law purged with blood and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Sin causes death. Blood in the Old Testament is the life giving agent. So the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness for sin. Paul is using the Old Testament sacrificial system to point to Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sin. He died in our place so that we could live for Him.
Had Jesus not gone to the cross, Heaven would be a lonely place. There would be no forgiveness for our sin. God could not arbitrarily forgive sinful man of His sin. The Law says, “the wages of sin is death.” God is obligated to keep His own law. So, He sent His only begotten Son to die in my place. Jesus paid the penalty for my sin. My sin has been purged by the sinless sacrifice at Calvary.
Forgiveness comes as the blood is applied to my heart and because that blood represents life, my life takes on eternal life in Christ Jesus. God forgives my sin and separates it as far as the east is from the west and He casts it into the sea of forgetfulness, never to remember it any more.
Jesus died for my sin, past, present and future. This message of the Cross and its message of redemption ought to transform our hearts and make a difference in the lives that we live. Jesus willingly paid the penalty for our sin. He died so that we would not have to.
Someone asked the question, “Would you be willing to die for Jesus?” This is not what the Lord wants from us. The question is not will you die for Him but rather, “Will you live for Him?” His blood was shed for us so that we could live for Him!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Sep 21st - 6:36AM
No Lack Nehemiah 9:21 September 21
For 40 years You did sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes waxed not old and their feet swelled not.
When the children of Israel left Egypt they had the clothes on their backs and some clothes to change into. However, they did not take enough to last them for 40 years! I have preached on this event a number of times and focused on God’s ability to provide for His children. Imagine the awesome task it would be to feed a million plus people in the middle of the desert. Even today with our ability to mobilize people and supplies, it would be an awesome undertaking. God fed His children every day in the morning and at night and never missed a beat! Not only did He give them food to eat He had to give them water to drink and the Bible tells us that they “lacked nothing.”
Here is a seemingly insignificant statement found in the Bible. That statement, “their clothes waxed not old” just passes by with very little attention. What did the writer mean when he made that statement? Simply put, not even the clothes that the Israelites took with them or those that they wore on their back ever wore out! Not only did they not wear out, they never looked battered or used! These clothes looked brand new in spite of the use for forty years!
Why is this important to you and me? God has not changed! His attention to detail has not wavered or gone dull. His desire to meet our need and help us so that we lack nothing has not changed. God wants to provide for us and He wants to bless us in ways that we could not begin to imagine. God wants us to look to Him and let Him lead us and guide us and as we do, He will bless us and take care of even the most minute details!
Let God meet your need today; let His care for you make sure that you lack nothing! God will do for you all that He has planned to do if you will just give Him the opportunity to do so. Remember one other thing. God cared for the children of Israel in spite of their rebellion and their disobedience. Imagine how He would care for you and me if we would just surrender our hearts and lives to Him and walk with Him without exception or excuse!
God’s desire is that you and I have “no lack” in our lives. Give Him the opportunity to prove Himself! He will not disappoint you.
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Sep 20th - 5:32AM
Innocent and Guilty Job 9:20 September 20
If I justify myself my own mouth will condemn me. If I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
The New International Version translates this verse this way, “Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.”
Job has gone through a terrible time. He was a righteous man. He had lived a righteous life and he knew that he had. One of Job’s friends had stood before him and challenged him to confess his sin because nothing like this could have happened to anyone that was righteous. Bildad insisted that God rewarded people for their good and He chastised others for the bad that they did. In short, his theology was that we got what we deserved.
We do not want what we deserve. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God give us mercy; He gives us His blessing even though we do not deserve it. Job understood this. He knew that God had been gracious with him and had blessed him in so many ways and he also knew that it was not because he deserved it.
Job understands that God is in control of everything and he continues to praise the Lord for His greatness but in verse 14 his praise changes. He begins to blame God for all that had happened. He began to reason, “How can I argue with God?” I am hurting and I have lost everything that I had and God can do whatever He wants to do!
“Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.” Job was in essence saying, there is nothing that I can say or do. He begins to think of God as one who destroys the innocent and mocks those who are blameless. In verse 24 he asks a question…. “If it is not God, then who is it?” Even in his pain and suffering and trying to blame God, he knows deep down that there is a reason for everything that he is going through.
Job is trying his best to make some sense of all that has happened. Sometimes that is possible and sometimes it is not. Job could go on to say, “I know that God can take care of all this and I know that He does it for others, but He is not doing anything about it for me.” Nothing that he could say or do would change the hurt and the pain that he felt.
When we face these kinds of storms in our lives, sometimes the only thing we can do is hold onto the Word of God and stand on God’s promises. Job would do just that in chapter 10! He knew that God created him; he knew that God loved him and He would not want to destroy him and he stood firm on those facts!
My prayer is that you and I will learn to stand firm on God’s Word and His promises. Then we will be like Job who did not have to be concerned with his innocence or his being blameless; he knew God’s goodness and His mercy and that was good enough for him. We need to know that God is indeed faithful and just to hear our cry and He will forgive our sin and He will touch our hearts and He will make a difference in the lives that we live!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Sep 19th - 6:58AM
For Your Sake Lord Daniel 9:19 September 19
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord hearken and do; defer not for Your own sake, O my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
The Jews are in captivity in Babylon. Daniel had prayed for the captives in Babylon. He prayed that God would bring them back to Jerusalem. God gave him wisdom and inspiration with respect to the prophecies that Jeremiah had written about. Daniel began to realize that 70 years after the fall of Jerusalem, God would allow the people to return once again. Daniel began to pray to that end.
Daniel understood that the children of Israel were in bondage and captivity because of their sin against God. Daniel knew that the people needed to repent before God because of that sin. He begins to pray that God would lead His chosen people to repent of their sin and to be allowed to return once again to the city of God, Jerusalem.
Daniel reminds God that He is the One who brought these people out of the land of Egypt. He reminds God that these people carried His name. Jerusalem bore His name as well but it lay in ruins for everyone that passed by it to see. Daniel prays that God’s wrath might be turned away from Jerusalem and His people.
Daniel prays, “Lord listen and forgive.” He prays, “Hear and Do! Do not delay but for Your sake Lord, because Jerusalem is Your city and these people are Your people.” Daniel’s prayer was personal. God takes His children personal. He also takes sin personal.
God wants to forgive our sin. However, before He can forgive, we must repent. We must be willing to acknowledge our sin and we must confess that sin before God. As we do, He is faithful and just to hear our confession and He will forgive our sin.
Daniel reminds God that the people in captivity in defeat are called by His name. Daniel reminds that Lord that Jerusalem, which is His city lies in ruin. God it is for Your glory and Your honor that this needs to change. For Your sake O Lord, do not hesitate any longer.
Or sin reflects on God. Our disobedience makes God look bad to the rest of the world. God is not going to bless us so that we can worship and serve the devil. He wants to bless us so that He can do for us and the rest of the world will be able to sit up and take notice of all that God can and will do for us. So, when a church fails or a Christian falls, God’s reputation is put to the test and people want to point a finger and say, “Look at those people; they call themselves Christians. If that is what being a Christian is all about, then count me out.”
This is what most of the world as saying in Daniel’s day. Daniel wanted God to reach down and restore Israel and Jerusalem, not because the Jewish people deserved it, but because God deserved it! He deserved His people’s best then and He deserves our best today. Where are you today? Are you in captivity and bondage because of your sin before the Lord or are you standing like Daniel pleading for God to intervene in the lives of His people in a time where the rest of the world is saying, look at those Christians today. When people look at you, what is it that they see? Are you carrying the Lord’s name well?
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Sep 18th - 7:17AM
Lord Have Mercy On Me Romans 9:18 September 18
Therefore God will have mercy on those that He chooses to have mercy on and those He chooses to harden, He hardens.
Paul is speaking to the giving of the gospel to the Gentile people. The Jews were God’s chosen people. They had this idea that they were the only people that God cared about. Paul is pointing to periods of time in the Old Testament when God showed the enemies of Israel mercy to bring them into captivity because of their disobedience.
The Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart for a purpose. Now, we should remember that Pharaoh considered himself to be a god. So it is not as if God took an innocent bystander somewhere and He hardened his heart. God simply let Pharaoh keep his god like mentality instead of allowing him to bend and break at the pressures that God would bring against him and the nation of Egypt to prove to the children of Israel that God was God and that He could indeed protect them against anyone, even the god of Egypt, which was the only real power that this people had really ever known for 400 years.
This passage of scripture and others like it have been interpreted in a number of ways. While God can show mercy on those that He chooses to show mercy, it seems safe to say that the Bible is clear that the desire of God’s heart is to show mercy to all who will come to Him! When we refuse to look to Him and we refuse to accept the free gift of pardon that Jesus provided for us at Calvary, then God may choose to do a number of things to bring about His ultimate goal of reaching people and touching their hearts.
Sometimes, we have to loose a battle or two to win the war. The same thing could be true with God’s plan to reach people. In the Old Testament, generations of people died in captivity so that other generations might enjoy the goodness and mercy of God as He blessed the nation of Israel. Everything that God did in Israel, He did to set the foundation for what He did for the gentiles at Pentecost and for the church today and for eternity forever! God has been in the process of preparing a people for eternity ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.
Make no mistake about it. God will do everything in His power to bring you and me to our knees so that we will of our own choice, make Jesus Savior and Lord of our lives for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. God’s mercy will be given to those that He chooses to give it to. We can find comfort in knowing that He has already chosen to give His mercy to us! All we have to do is come to Him and ask Him for that mercy and He is faithful and just to give us His mercy and He will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Sep 17th - 8:09AM
God’s Outstretched Hand Isaiah 9:17 September 17
Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall He have mercy on their fatherless and their widows; for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evil doer and every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is still stretched out.
The 9th chapter of Isaiah deals with 4 primary problems that Israel faced. God brings 4 basic charges against them. First of all, in verse 9 He says that they are arrogant. In verse 15, He charges the people with looking to men instead of God for direction and guidance and protection and blessings. In verse 19, He tells them that they have lost their love for one another. Then in the first 4 verses of chapter 10, God charges them that they have made unjust laws to oppress people for the benefit of a few.
This sounds so contemporary doesn’t it? The Bible says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” When a nation looks to God and allows Him to be God, He begins to steer that nation and He is able to do things for that nation that are unimaginable. However, when a nation turns its back on the Lord and begins to go in its own direction and do its own thing, the Lord may do as He did Israel, and have no joy in their young men. Young men are normally seen as an asset to the strength and vitality of a nation. However, when the nation is running headlong in the wrong direction, there is no joy in that strength and vitality because there are no benefits to be reaped from that great asset.
God told the children of Israel that His mercy for the fatherless and their widows was gone. God did not single this group out; this was the poorest group and the most needy and God is saying my mercy will not even extend to this group because He has withdrawn His mercy for everyone because of their sin.
Isaiah writes, “His anger is not turned away but His hand is still stretched out.” This statement is repeated several times like a chorus or refrain in a poem or a song. God’s anger is real. However, even in His anger, He is still interested in our redemption. God expresses His anger in ways that will cause us to wake up and turn from our wicked ways and look to Him for His mercy and His forgiveness. Even when His anger is not turned from us, His hands are still stretched out to us.
We need to be more like Simon Peter who walked out on the water to meet Jesus in the midst of the storm. When he took his eyes off of Jesus and he looked at the waves splashing around his feet and heard the wind whirling around his head, he began to sink. He cried out to Jesus to save him and that is exactly what He did, immediately!
Jesus will forgive us if we will just reach out and take Him by His outstretched hand. His anger can be cooled at a moments notice; all we have to do is look to Him as individuals and as a people and a nation! God can and will hear our cry and He will forgive our sin and He will heal our lives and our families and our nation if we will just look to Him and allow Him to do so!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Sep 16th - 7:22AM
The Rainbow Genesis 9:16 September 16
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
God commanded a man named Noah to build an arc because He was going to send rain and it would rain and rain until the waters flooded the whole earth and every living thing that was not on the arc would die in the flood. When the flood was over and the waters had receded, Noah and his family came out of the arc and God commended them to eat every living thing that moved but they were not to eat anything that still had its lifeblood in it. They could eat of the herbs of the field as well. They were not to shed innocent blood because life was precious and belonged to God.
God then made a covenant or a promise to Noah and his family and also to every created being; He promised that He would never destroy the earth by a flood. A covenant is a unilateral promise; meaning God is the One who establishes its terms and He alone carries out those terms. Man is the recipient of this covenant but has no part in establishing or keeping any of its terms or provisions. God does demand our obedience and our adherence to His Word if we expect to experience the fullness and the completeness of His covenant with us.
God put a rainbow in the sky as a reminder of His promise to man. Keeping in mind that God destroyed every living creation on earth because sin had begun to run rampant, it seems obvious that God would need the rainbow to remind Him of His covenant because sin would once again run rampant in the world that He created.
Today, the skies will contain the right amount of moisture and the sun will hit it just right and a rainbow will appear. This should serve as a reminder to you and me that God is in heaven and He is still on His throne and He is saying to you and me, “I love you so much and I have not forgotten any of the commandments that I have given to you.” I want you to love Me in return!
To me the rainbow is a reminder that God wants to have a personal relationship with me and He wants to fight my battles and He wants to bless me exceedingly abundantly more than I can ask or hope for! His rainbow is like writing, “I love you” in the sky as only He can do! I love Him more and more every day and am so grateful that He first loved me!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Sep 15th - 8:06AM
Unspeakable Gift II Corinthians 9:15 September 15
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!
Paul writes in verses 6-8, “He who sews sparingly shall reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. Let every man give as he so desires in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver. God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that you make be sufficient in all things and may abound in every good work.”
It is God’s desire that you and I have life and that we have it more abundantly. Jesus told us that this is one of the reasons that He has come. God delights in our desire to give ourselves to Him and to one another. The more we give the more we get. This is directly opposite of what the world would have us believe. The world wants us to get and get and get and we end up with the attitude that the more we get the happier we are going to be. God’s principle is right the opposite, and that ought not be any big surprise.
God’s desire is that we allow Him to be the source of our blessing. As you and I give ourselves away, we empty ourselves so that God can fill us back up. God is able to make all grace abound toward us. He is the author and finisher of life itself. He is the supplier and sustainer of life. He is life. He is the giver of life. God wants us to take Him at His Word so that He can do for us all the things that He so much wants to do in us and with us and for us.
God wants our lives to be sufficient in every way. He wants us to abound in everything that we do. God wants you and me to live in victory and He wants us to be successful in our lives. He has given to us a roadmap of success. This roadmap is found in His Word. As you and I are willing to take His Word and make it a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, then our lives will go on the right direction and we will come upon God’s abundant blessings for our lives. we will experience life in all of its fullness and we will know the real meaning of success and happiness and peace and joy will reign in our hearts and in our lives.
If we will just walk with God and a daily basis and let Him direct our decisions, we will discover a love worth finding and a life worth living! We owe all that we are to the Lord and we ought to get up every morning with this prayer on our lips, “Thanks be unto God for His indescribable, unexplainable, unspeakable gift!”
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Sep 14th - 6:34AM
Serve The Lord Hebrews 9:14 September 14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?
Paul in this series of verses will say in effect, that Jesus’ death on the cross was superior to the sacrificial system that was instituted and practiced in the Old Testament. Jesus did not enter into the temple with a blood offering from goats and calves He entered the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God after the shedding of His own blood. His Self sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for sin once and for all for all men who would come to the cross for forgiveness. His sin sacrifice applied to our hearts is what makes us His sons and daughters just as the blood over the doorposts in Egypt saved those who were inside the house as the death angel passed by.
Now, listen to Paul’s comment here. How much more shall the blood of Christ purge our conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? When God forgives us of our sin, He forgets that sin and He remembers it no more. However, there is still work to be done in your heart and in mine. We still have this old nature trying to reign and control our new nature.
A part of this saving process includes purging our conscience of these dead works that lead to death. We want to be in control of our own destiny. Jesus has taken care of that for us however, we have to let Him be Lord and Master in our lives so that we can be free to serve the Living God.
We want to pick and choose what we do and how we serve God. We want to set the limits and decide for ourselves how we ought to serve God. How do we do that? We gauge our level of commitment to those around us! However, God does not grade our commitment in relation to those around us; He grades according to the degree that we let the Blood of Christ cleanse us and purge us of the things that lead to death in our lives. Jesus said, “ I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly.” His death on the cross secured that quality of life for us and all we have to do is claim that gift to us and begin to appropriate it in our lives on a daily basis.
We have been given the privilege of allowing the cross and the promises that it represents to change our lives, both now and forever. All we have to do is let its message penetrate our hearts and guide our decisions and Christ will be lifted up and God glorified as we walk with Him in the power that is ours for the taking! Serve the Lord with gladness because of all that He has done!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Sep 13th - 7:42AM
Mercy and Not Sacrifice Matthew 9:13 September 13
13“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The religious leaders watched everything Jesus did. Matthew tells us about the time Jesus came to him and asked him to follow Him. I like what the Bible says in Matthew 9:10… “10Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.” Wow… imagine that! Matthew got up and followed Jesus and he went out and invited all his friends and other tax collectors to come and meet this man called Jesus! Our churches need some sinners like Mathew!
The religious folks came to Jesus’ disciples and asked them… why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners… if He was the Messiah He would not do that… He would certainly know better than that!
Jesus answered their question for the disciples. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
We have all heard about Jesus’ comment about coming to those who are sick… He is the Great Physician and He has come to those who need his healing Hand in their lives. I wonder how many have ever heard verse 13…” But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’“
Here is a wonderful nugget of truth tucked away so neatly in the Words of our Lord. ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ What is Jesus saying here?
The Pharisees were masters of sacrifice. God had developed the sacrificial system and the Pharisees kept the law to the letter. There was no better person than a devout Pharisee. Saul was described as a Pharisee of Pharisees, which meant he was the best of the best.There was a real problem with the sacrificial system. It made the Pharisees “righteous” in their own eyes. They walked the walk and talked the talk. The religious leaders were so sacrificial they sacrificed Jesus on the cross!
Listen to what Jesus said… ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ Sacrifice is something we do. It is a substitution for the penalty for our sins. This sacrifice involves cost on our part. Mercy on the other hand, is something God does. It involves a cost… but God paid the cost. It is substitutional; the life of God’s Son for our lives. What is mercy? Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve.
Jesus said… ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ He is not interested in what we do for Him… He is interested in what He can do for us! For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Do you need The Physician today? I do. I need His Mercy… I need His Grace. I need His strength in my life. I need His Way to direct my way. I need His Will to take over my will. I want His blessings in my life. I need Him more today than I have ever needed Him and I want Him more today than I have ever wanted Him in my life. Father… give us Your mercy today!
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Sep 12th - 5:45AM
Disaster Will Come Ecclesiastes 9:12 September 12
12 For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. (New Revised Standard Version)
Solomon shares a nugget of truth with us here. Look back with me at verse 11, “Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all.” Life is not always fair. It is not always as predictable as we would like it to be. In a race, the fastest runner is not always the winner. Underdogs sometime rise to the occasion and confidence and not being as prepared as someone else can cost the favored runner the race. The strongest army is not always the victor in a battle. The strongest fighter is not always the winner in a backyard scrap. The wise are not always the wealthiest neither are the most skilled individuals in the world we live in.
Solomon says “but time and chance happen to them all.” Sometimes the best laid plans and efforts of men fail. Success in the world in which we live is dependent more on being in the right place at the right time than it is being the most qualified or the best suited person for the task ahead. Opportunity has many faces and so does failure. Sometimes there is a very thin line between success and failure. In fact, today’s success may lead to tomorrow’s failure. Decisions that we make determine where we go and what we do. Just because a decision worked last week, does not mean it will work this week or next week. We may do something the same way for five years and all of a sudden that way of doing things will not work. Many times today’s failures are necessary steps to tomorrow’s success.
Life has to be lived by a standard. If we try to set that standard for ourselves, then we run the risk of missing the mark. Success then becomes a hit or miss proposition. If on the other hand, the standard that we choose to live our lives is the standard that God has set for us, then He is responsible for our success and He knows what real success is and how it is to be achieved. Life in Him is not controlled by time or chance because He controls them both!
. 12 For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. Solomon knows that life has its own snares. We need to make the most of the moment because that is really all that we are promised. Sometimes the doctor tells someone that he or she has only a short time to live. Their priorities change. What seemed so important before holds no importance to them now and what went so overlooked for so long now is more important than anything else. We do not know what tomorrow is going to bring. Calamity can come at any moment. Death can draw us in at any time.
We need to live our lives by God’s standard if we are going to escape the frailties of life and the winds of chance that take place in the lives of men and women who are living their lives by the dictates and the delusions that this world has to offer. Solomon learned that lesson the hard way and so will most of us. The one value of history is that we learn from the mistakes of others so we do not repeat the same mistakes that they made. Solomon shares this word of wisdom for that reason! We need to hear him and heed his instruction! It is not a question of will disaster come; it is a question of when will disaster come? We need Jesus in our hearts so that His presence and His power and His provisions will carry us through those difficult times.
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Sep 11th - 7:51AM
Come and Dine II Samuel 9:11 September 11
Then Ziba said to King David, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall your servant do; as for Miphibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king’s sons.
Jonathan was King Saul’s son. Jonathan loved David even though his father grew jealous of David’s popularity, knowing that David would take his place because of his disobedience before the God of Israel. Jonathan lost his life along with his father’s life in battle. David lost a good friend and a brother in Jonathan.
As David established his throne in Israel, he sent for a servant of Saul’s house named Ziba and asked him if there were any living members of Saul’s family. It appears that Jonathan had a son whose name was Miphibosheth. He had been hid for fear for his life because Saul sought to kill David. Because David loved Jonathan so, he sent for Miphibosheth and promised him that he would be treated as a son in David’s court. David also set Ziba on the king’s payroll to care for land that he would give to them to take care of for Miphibosheth.
Miphibosheth, you shall eat at my table as one of my sons. Listen to the invitation that Jesus gave to the lukewarm church at Laodicea, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear My voice and open the door, I will come in and dine with him and he will dine with Me. To him that overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I overcame and am set down with the father in His throne. (Rev 3:20-21)
Miphibosheth could not believe that David would make such an offer to him! He had grown up fearing for his life at the hands of David. David loved Jonathan and because of who he was, David opened his heart and his home to Miphibosheth.
Jesus has done the same thing for you and me. When David found out that Jonathan had a son, he immediately set out to make him part of his family. Jesus has done the same thing for you and me. He does not love us because of our own merit, but because the Father loves us! He has sought to make us part of God’s forever family and all we have to do is “Open the door to our hearts and let Jesus come in” and His promise to us is that He will dine with us and we will dine with Him at His Father’s table forever!
David’s invitation to Miphibosheth changed his life. Jesus’ invitation to you and me will change our eternity!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Sep 10th - 8:28AM
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Wisdom and Understanding Proverbs 9:10
September 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
God is the One who gives us life. He not only is responsible for the quantity of life; He is solely responsible for the quality of life. It is God who keeps our heart beating and it is God who keeps our hearts happy. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. What does this mean?
Am I to treble at the mention of God’s name? No. Does God want me to afraid of Him and what He can do to me if I sin against Him? This is not even true either. To fear the Lord is to look to Him in reverence not because of what He will do to me if I don’t, but because of what He will do for me when I do! God does not want my devotion because I am afraid that He will chastise me if I do not surrender my will to His’ God wants me devotion to Him because of all of the things He has already done for me and the things that He has planned to do for me! To fear God is to give Him His proper place in my relationship to Him.
This Solomon says is the beginning of wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is that part of us that allows us to make the most of the knowledge that we have. Wisdom allows us to enjoy the life that God has given us.
Notice Solomon makes two statements here. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and then he writes, Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Knowing God is the only basis that you and I have for living our lives. Wisdom is important. However, if we fail to know God then the whole basis for everything else in our lives fails us. God and His Word are the foundation that our lives are intended to be built upon.
Listen to what John says in the beginning verses of his gospel; In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Verse 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus was the Word and that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Why is this so important? Because that same Word can become flesh in your life and in mine and make a profound difference in who and what we can be! The Written Word becomes the Living Word in your life and in mine.
When you and I come to know the Holy One who has revealed Himself to us in His Divine Word, understanding takes hold in our lives and our lives begin to change as God is able to give us life and give it to us more abundantly.
Do you know the Lord today? Is God and His Word central in your life in the things you do and the decisions that you make on a daily basis? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Will you look to Him today so that your tomorrow will be everything that it possibly can be?
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Sep 9th - 7:16AM
A Refuge Psalms 9:9 September 9
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.
What is a refuge? A refuge is a place of safety, a safe haven to go to in times of trouble. David has been through the trials. He was chosen and anointed as a young lad to be king of Israel. He went to serve in King Saul’s court. David became Saul’s general in charge of his army. David’s popularity among the people grew and so did Saul’s jealousy of him! David was doing what God called him to do and it almost cost him his life. David spent several years running for his life, hiding and in refuge from Saul and his army which David had led.
How could God allow things to get so out of control in David’s life? There are a couple answers to that question. First of all, while God is in complete control, Saul sought his own ways instead of looking to God for His plans. As a result, David faced increased troubles because of Saul’s rebellion against God. We live in a world that is running out of control. Sin is rampant and its influence in the lives of so many people will cause God’s people difficulty in so many situations. In fact, the closer we walk with the Lord and attempt to do His will for our lives, the more difficulty we are sure to encounter.
A second aspect of this difficulty that David faced, was actually preparation for him when he did become king. In order to be able to handle adversity in times of great responsibility, David had to learn how to handle difficulty in his own life first. The old saying “what does not kill you will make you stronger” has some truth to it. David learned to walk and talk with God. He learned that no matter how difficult the situation got, God was a safe haven and a refuge in times of trouble.
Remember, there is never any panic in heaven, just a plan. God is completely aware of any and every situation that you will ever face. He is The Way! He is The Truth and He is The Life. Without exception, God will guide you and lead you to safety no matter what difficulty faces you, if you will just allow Him to be that refuge. Obedience is the key to God’s protection. Disobedience is an open door away from His protection. Walk with Him and let Him have His way in your life and you will find His life more than satisfying and most rewarding!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Sep 9th - 7:16AM
A Refuge Psalms 9:9 September 9
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.
What is a refuge? A refuge is a place of safety, a safe haven to go to in times of trouble. David has been through the trials. He was chosen and anointed as a young lad to be king of Israel. He went to serve in King Saul’s court. David became Saul’s general in charge of his army. David’s popularity among the people grew and so did Saul’s jealousy of him! David was doing what God called him to do and it almost cost him his life. David spent several years running for his life, hiding and in refuge from Saul and his army which David had led.
How could God allow things to get so out of control in David’s life? There are a couple answers to that question. First of all, while God is in complete control, Saul sought his own ways instead of looking to God for His plans. As a result, David faced increased troubles because of Saul’s rebellion against God. We live in a world that is running out of control. Sin is rampant and its influence in the lives of so many people will cause God’s people difficulty in so many situations. In fact, the closer we walk with the Lord and attempt to do His will for our lives, the more difficulty we are sure to encounter.
A second aspect of this difficulty that David faced, was actually preparation for him when he did become king. In order to be able to handle adversity in times of great responsibility, David had to learn how to handle difficulty in his own life first. The old saying “what does not kill you will make you stronger” has some truth to it. David learned to walk and talk with God. He learned that no matter how difficult the situation got, God was a safe haven and a refuge in times of trouble.
Remember, there is never any panic in heaven, just a plan. God is completely aware of any and every situation that you will ever face. He is The Way! He is The Truth and He is The Life. Without exception, God will guide you and lead you to safety no matter what difficulty faces you, if you will just allow Him to be that refuge. Obedience is the key to God’s protection. Disobedience is an open door away from His protection. Walk with Him and let Him have His way in your life and you will find His life more than satisfying and most rewarding!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Sep 8th - 7:46AM
Moses Listened to the Lord Numbers 9:8
September 8
And Moses said unto them, Stand still and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
The people were about to celebrate the Passover and a group of men came to Moses and told him that they had come in contact with a dead man, which defiled their bodies. Hey would have to go through a period of ceremonial cleansing that would keep them from participating in the Passover celebration.
Moses told the men to stand still and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. It would have been so easy for Moses to say, listen, you have defiled yourselves and you are ceremonially unclean and you cannot take the Passover. Moses could have simply made a decision and that would have been the end of it. He certainly had scriptural authority to make a decision.
However, on this day, Moses stood before the men and went to God for His instruction. God told Moses to conduct a second Passover celebration. This would allow these men to celebrate the Passover a long with some other folks as well. God allowed these men to be part of the celebration.
I have two thoughts. First of all, these men came to the man of God. They accidentally became unclean. They wanted to be part of the celebration. You and I are just like these men. We are unclean because of our own sin. We do not deserve to be part of God’s celebration. However, Moses went to the Lord when this problem came up and God provided a way!
He has provided a way for each of us in His precious Son, Jesus. God made a way for those men and He even opened up an invitation to include others who were traveling through a month later. God has provided you and me a way to come to Him and to remain in Him.
We need to be more like Moses as problems come up and we need to make sure that we look to the Lord for His direction and leadership even when we think we know what needs to be done. As parents, we need to look to the Lord for His direction and for patience in making a way for our children to come to the Lord. We need to do the same thing in our churches and in our communities. God will make a way and He will provide for us when we come to Him as these men came. We also need to be like Moses and we need to take our children and our church family to the Lord for His direction so that His presence and power can make a difference!
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Sep 7th - 10:43AM
Purpose Your Heart to Give 2 Corinthians 9:7
September 7
. 7So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may an have abundance for every good work.abound
Paul has bragged on the church in Corinth to a number of the churches that he had ministered to in other areas. One of the things that he had given testimony of was their generous giving spirit when it came to helping others who were in need. He used the example of their generosity as an example for other churches to follow. The time had come to collect the money and Paul wanted this church to be ready in advance. He did not want their witness to fall short as the eyes of other churches would be upon them.
Paul writes, “Let everyone give as he purposes in his heart.” There are two aspects to this instruction. First of all, we are not to give out of a spirit of obligation, “not grudgingly or out of necessity.” We are to give out of a heart of thanksgiving to share what God has given to us with others. This gift is not to be out of obligation but it is also to be purposed in our hearts in the amount as well. As we give, we are to be cautious of what we give as well as how we give.
Someone once said, God is not as interested in the amount of the check as He is the balance left in the account. It is not hard to be a “cheerful giver” if we give $10 and we have $500 in our pocket. However, when our hearts are heavy because we need to give more and we fail to “desire” to do so, we have a problem and that problem involves trusting God for God loves a cheerful giver. Why?
8And God is able to make all grace toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may an have abundance for every good work.abound. The New Living Translation tells us, “8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” When we give as our we purpose in our heart, or as we feel led to give, we are saying to God, “I trust You and Your provisions for my life.” Not only that, but we are also saying, “God I thank You that I have this to give!”
As we give to others, God is able to give to us! This principle of sowing and reaping is a powerful principle that has more to do with God’s ability to bless us than any other principle. For you see, the real test of our obedience and trust in God and His provisions is seen in how we handle our money and our time. As we give ourselves and our money, so is God able to give to us in return; providing for our every need and even giving us plenty left over to share with others!
I want to experience God’s plenty! I have experienced enough of the lack of the world!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Sep 6th - 7:50AM
A Child Is Born Isaiah 9:6 September 6
6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This child who is born is the son of man and the Son of God. He is given to us. His birth is for our benefit! For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but would have everlasting life. His purpose for coming is for our benefit for the government shall be on His shoulder. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Think about that for a moment. The Mighty God became a baby. The Everlasting Father became a Son given. The Ancient of Days became a mortal man. He Who was Wonderful became sin for us. The Prince of Peace became the subject of controversy and the object of conflict. Jesus emptied Himself so that He could fill us. He denied Himself the heritage of heaven for a little while so that He could give us that heavenly Home for all eternity.
He came in His glorified state to be included in our lowly state so that He could give us His glorified state! He left the Throne of glory so that He could share with us that glory. Imagine Jesus Who knew no sin coming into a sin stained world. Imagine for a moment Him putting off His royal, regal crown and becoming the lowest of the low so that He could share that royalty with us.
Jesus freely came to us so that He could freely give to us. There are two things about a gift that are important. A gift has to be offered. Jesus came on that first Christmas morning. He offered Himself at Calvary as a sacrifice on our behalf. He did all He could do.
The second aspect of a gift involves receiving. A gift is not a gift until it is accepted and received. A gift is nothing more than an offer until it is accepted and received. Jesus was given but it is our responsibility to accept Him. That responsibility extends far more than to just receiving Him as Savior too. We are to receive Him as Savior but we are to also receive Him as Lord. He goes from Son of Man to Son of God. He goes from a baby to Mighty God. The One Who was crucified becomes our Prince of Peace. Even in the midst of a sin sick world, there is peace in our hearts because He has His hand on our lives.
This Gift becomes our source of life. His Way becomes our way. His plans are to become our plans. The life that He came to give to us is to become our life. He has done His part; we need to be sure that we do our part. We need to make the reason for this season the reason for every season. We need to make the gift given to us on that first Christmas morning the gift of our lives every moment of every day. We need to give The One Who gave His all to us our every decision so that He can continue to give us all that He has planned for us still!
Jesus came so that we could indeed experience Christmas each and every day!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Sep 5th - 7:52AM
Worship or Obedience Hosea 9:5 September 5
What will you do in the solemn day and in the day of the feast of the Lord?
Worship is an important part of our lives. However, there is a lot of worship in our land that is not pleasing to God. This was the case in Hosea’s day and it may well be true in our churches today. In verse 9 we find God telling the people in Israel that they have sunk into terrible corruption and God will remember their wickedness and He will punish them for their sin. One of the reasons that there is so little power in our churches today may well be the same thing.
God says in verse 1, do not rejoice O Israel. They were going through the motions. They were singing and rejoicing and made the mistake of thinking that they were pleasing God but God was not pleased. This was a time when the Israelites came back to Jerusalem. This was a festive time. Hosea was shouting to stop the music and quit the dancing; the party is over! Their worship did not line up with the lives that they were living.
We need to understand that God is not pleased with our worship when there is unconfessed sin in our lives. We cannot expect God to be pleased with what we do on Sunday when the lives that we live the rest of the week do not reflect His involvement in our lives. Our devotion to Him is imperative in order for our worship to reach heaven. God’s promise is that where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I will be in their midst. We have interpreted this promise to mean someone who is saved; however, to be there in God’s Name is more than being saved, it is taking on His character in our lives.
If we want God’s presence and His power to be at work in our lives, we have to understand that His promise to us is to be our God as we are His people. How do we do that? We are His people and we are in His Name as we allow Him to have His way in our lives as we make decisions that honor Him and are consistent with His Word. When we choose to make decisions to do what we want to do the way we want to do it and we refuse to let God’s Word have any influence on our decisions, we cannot expect God’s presence and power to be part of our lives.
We are guilty of coming to church to correct that. However, when we stand and sing and raise our hands and dance in the isles and shout “Amen” during the message, we have begun to think that everything is now all settled between God and us. Somehow we have adopted the attitude that if what we are doing satisfies us, then it ought to satisfy God. God does not care about our worship if our devotion and dedication to Him is not what it should be as He wants it to be. If our worship is offered to God in place of our repentance and our obedience, it will never work! It wasn’t working in Hosea’s day and it will not work in our day today.
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Sep 5th - 7:51AM
Worship or Obedience Hosea 9:5 September 5
What will you do in the solemn day and in the day of the feast of the Lord?
Worship is an important part of our lives. However, there is a lot of worship in our land that is not pleasing to God. This was the case in Hosea’s day and it may well be true in our churches today. In verse 9 we find God telling the people in Israel that they have sunk into terrible corruption and God will remember their wickedness and He will punish them for their sin. One of the reasons that there is so little power in our churches today may well be the same thing.
God says in verse 1, do not rejoice O Israel. They were going through the motions. They were singing and rejoicing and made the mistake of thinking that they were pleasing God but God was not pleased. This was a time when the Israelites came back to Jerusalem. This was a festive time. Hosea was shouting to stop the music and quit the dancing; the party is over! Their worship did not line up with the lives that they were living.
We need to understand that God is not pleased with our worship when there is unconfessed sin in our lives. We cannot expect God to be pleased with what we do on Sunday when the lives that we live the rest of the week do not reflect His involvement in our lives. Our devotion to Him is imperative in order for our worship to reach heaven. God’s promise is that where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I will be in their midst. We have interpreted this promise to mean someone who is saved; however, to be there in God’s Name is more than being saved, it is taking on His character in our lives.
If we want God’s presence and His power to be at work in our lives, we have to understand that His promise to us is to be our God as we are His people. How do we do that? We are His people and we are in His Name as we allow Him to have His way in our lives as we make decisions that honor Him and are consistent with His Word. When we choose to make decisions to do what we want to do the way we want to do it and we refuse to let God’s Word have any influence on our decisions, we cannot expect God’s presence and power to be part of our lives.
We are guilty of coming to church to correct that. However, when we stand and sing and raise our hands and dance in the isles and shout “Amen” during the message, we have begun to think that everything is now all settled between God and us. Somehow we have adopted the attitude that if what we are doing satisfies us, then it ought to satisfy God. God does not care about our worship if our devotion and dedication to Him is not what it should be as He wants it to be. If our worship is offered to God in place of our repentance and our obedience, it will never work! It wasn’t working in Hosea’s day and it will not work in our day today.
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Sep 4th - 8:17AM
Walk With God I Kings 9:4 September 4
And if you will walk before Me as your father, David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My judgments, I will
establish your throne in Israel forever.
Solomon is David’s son. He has become king of Israel. The temple has been built. Solomon is on top of the world. He is a young king and he has been given the opportunity to dedicate this magnificent Temple to
the glory of God. God speaks to Solomon and tells him to be sure to walk before Him as his father David walked.
Worship is important. It is important for us and it is important to God. However, how we live our lives is more important to God than our worship given to Him. God wants us to men and women of integrity. He wants us to walk upright before Him and before one another. God wants us to do as He has commanded us to do. God wants us to keep Him statutes and His commandments so that He can establish our lives for
us.
The real irony of life is we work so hard to have so much and we fail to make the main thing the main thing. It is so easy to get caught up in all the things that we are doing and we fail to realize that it is only what we do with God and what we allow God to do for us that counts. God wanted Solomon to understand that as important as it was for him to build the Temple, God wanted him to know that his obedience to His Word was more important to God than anything else.
God promised Solomon that He would establish Solomon’s throne if he would walk with God as God’s Word instructed him to do. God will establish your life and mine if we would just walk with Him in each and every decision that we make.
When God establishes our lives, we are in the best possible place that we can be in our lives. There is nothing that can make our lives any better than what God can do with us and for us. If you and I will determine in our hearts to love God with all that we are, and walk with Him in obedience, as He would have us do, God will order our steps and He will establish our lives!
God wants to meet our need; He wants to fight our battles and He wants to bless us exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or hope for. All God wants us to do is to love Him and trust Him in each and every decision that we make so that He can make our lives everything that He would have them be. I want my life to be all that God wants it to be!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Sep 3rd - 8:37AM
Confess Our Sin Nehemiah 9:3 September 3
And they stood up in their place and they read the Book of the Law of their God one fourth of the day and another fourth part of the day they confessed their sin and they worshipped the Lord their God.
Israel has been in exile. Jews are beginning to come back to Jerusalem. Ezra begins to read the Word of God before the people. He began reading the Law to people hours at a time. The law began to make a difference in the attitude and actions of the people.
On this day in our scripture passage, the people listened to the Word being read for some 6 hours! It is amazing today because pastors catch a lot of flack if the morning service goes past noon. The children of Israel stood for hours to hear the Word of God read to them and they did it day after day. This was not an isolated event but one of several as Ezra began reading in the presence of the people. The people kept coming and they kept listening.
The people listened on this day and then something wonderful happened; the people began confessing their sin before the Lord for some 6 hours as well. Folks, listen; when the Word of God is present and we allow it to penetrate our cold hearts, confession will follow. It is impossible for the Word of God to go out and it not make a difference in people’s hearts and in their lives.
We are not seeing people coming to the altars to confess their sin as we once did. People come and they sit in the pew and they sing songs and they listen to a sermon and then they get up and they go home until it is time for them to do it all over again. Some come back on Sunday night, some even on Wednesday night and then for others the time to come back to church is the next Sunday morning; some only come on special occasions but they all come to satisfy this need that they have to “add some religion” to their schedule.
Perhaps the reason we are not seeing people in the pews confessing their sin, which is a sign of real revival in our churches and people walking the isles to invite Christ into their hearts and lives is because we are not hearing the Word of God preached in the pulpits as it should. Perhaps we are too focused on singing and doing all kinds of things and then capping things off with a sugar coated, feel good sermon that lasts 25 to 20 minutes. Then everyone gets up and tells the preacher how good a job he did and we go home.
Perhaps we need to go back to the all day services where we sit and listen to the Bible being read; where the Word of God has an opportunity to actually touch our hearts and make a difference in who we are and the lives that we live. When revival breaks out because the Word of God is being preached and read, people will confess their sin and it will make a difference in the lives that they live. When the church begins to experience real revival that comes from God when His Word takes root in our hearts, then the lost will come and they will be saved!
God help us hear Your Word and begin to write your words in our hearts so that we too might begin to respond by confessing our sin before You so that our churches will be everything that You need them to be in the communities where You have placed them!
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Sep 2nd - 6:34AM
Whose Sin Is It? John 9:2 September 2
And Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Master, who sinned, this man or his parents that caused him to be born blind?”
Jesus and His disciples were traveling and they walked past a man who was blind from birth. The disciples asked Jesus whose fault caused his blindness. Jesus’ answer is astonishing. “neither has this man or his
parents sinned but he was born blind so that the works of God should be made known in him.”
This is some statement! The Jews taught that birth defects were the result of the sin of the child’s parents or grandparents or even the sin of the unborn child. The disciples assumed the problem was the cause of something this man’s parents had done. Jesus said that this was not the case.
Make no mistake about it; many of our problems today are the result of sin in our past. Babies are born every day with serious problems because the child’s parents made choices that affected the health ofthe baby. We all have experienced difficulty because of our own poor decisions. However, not all difficulty is our fault. Not all problems are the product of our own doing. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people.
Our response to what happens is actually more important in our lives than what actually happens. You see, difficulty does one of two things to us. It causes us to turn away from God or it causes us to turn to God. instead of being a barrier between us and God, our trials and tribulations can be a bridge that brings us closer to God and His will and way for our lives. Instead of driving us into the darkness, these difficult times can lead us to the Light and help us draw closer to the Lord.
This man’s plight was there so that the power and presence of God could be demonstrated in his life and to the people around Him; His story lives on and is being told today!
What about your life? What areas of your life have been difficult and hard to bear? What areas of your life have you tried and tried to overcome but the harder you tried the more difficult things got? It may well be that God is preparing you for some special work and He will be the One to remove that affliction so that God may be able to get the glory in your life and in the life of those around you.
God will bring you out of the wilderness in His time and according to His purpose and when He does, your life will have been worth the living! Put your hand in His hand and allow Him to lead you and guide you into His perfect peace and place in your life!
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"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Name: Bob Hadley of Saved By Grace Ministries
