God ProvidesJohn 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 1 Corinthians 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Revelation 5:12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” Remember the sacrificing and shedding of the blood of the lamb in the Old Testament did not take away the sins of the people. When they sacrificed a lamb, they were admitting to God that they could not rid themselves of their own sin but needed a Savior. They were trusting God to send Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, to sacrifice Himself and shed His own blood for them. This verse is one that keeps reminding me how important it is to be changed from the inside out. If I can manage to keep my eyes on the right things, I can be changed on the inside by what I am feeding myself through my eyes and ears. It is important to remember that not only should we be doing good works on the outside, but our inside should match the outward appearances. This is something I must work on daily.
The only infallible and certain good thing is, that faith which is faith towards God; it is the solace of life, the fullness of good hopes.
"Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers. The person who strays from common sense will end up in the company of the dead" (Proverbs 21:15-16).
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety" (Psalm 18:2).
David uses seven metaphors that describe what the Lord was to him. Enter into David's worship: The Lord is my Rock! The Hebrew word means "a crag." This isn't something you could pick up and carry. The Lord is like a huge crag, a huge outcropping of rock, that will never be moved. God is an immovable rock to His people. He is always there, dependable, stable and strong. My Fortress! God is a stronghold, a place of safety where we can run to when we're under attack. My Savior! I can't save myself, but He surely can! My God! People today live as though they have to be their own god. They live today as though they have to take care of themselves; like they have to worry about everything for themselves as though there isn't a God in heaven who loves them. How different it is for those of us who know the Lord. We have a God! We serve the living and true God; the One who has created Heaven and Earth. He is the God who cares about us. He is the One who is in control of the universe. God has everything in control and He is "my God," not "their God" or "your God." He's my God! My Rock in whom I find protection! I wish I could take you to Israel with me and we could go to the Judean wilderness where this psalm was composed. It looks a lot like the backside of South Mountain Park without the cactus but with a little stream that goes through it. It is thought that David hid there from Saul, and from there you can view the Dead Sea below you. It's very barren and there are huge outcroppings of rock that have a pie-shaped hole cut under them, you have to crouch under it to get into the waterfall area. Here's a photo I took a few years back of Ein Gedi. I think of that when I think of God being my refuge and my rock. David was surrounded by these massive rock formations and in some places there are caves way up high and you wonder, "What's in that cave?" I always wonder, "Did David hide in there?" If you were looking for someone, you would never find the person. The Lord hides His people. He is a place of refuge and He has more ways of hiding you and taking care of you than you could ever imagine. My Shield and the Horn of my Salvation! (NASB) The horn on a bull represents the strength of that bull. The horn on any animal represents strength, and so when David says, "the horn of my salvation," it means "the strength of my salvation." My Place of Safety! Do you get the idea that our God has everything under control? He is strong and He can take care of you! (Commentary Mark Martin) St. Peter returns here to what he had often touched upon in this epistle, namely, to exhort the Christians to behave with patience and integrity under their present severe persecution; to which purpose he uses the following arguments: -
First, He intimates that it was not a strange or unusual thing for the people of God to be persecuted. Secondly, That if they suffered here as Christ did, they should hereafter be glorified with him. Thirdly, Besides the prospect of that future glory; they had at present the Spirit of God for their support and comfort. Fourthly, That it was an honor for any of them to suffer, not as a malefactor, but as a Christian. Fifthly, Though the afflictions began with the Christians, yet the weight of the storm would fall upon the unbelievers. From these considerations he exhorted them to persevere in their duty, and trust all events with God. (Commentary Adam Clarke) One of the most important reasons that God refers to Himself as the Word is because He is very interested in communicating with those who belong to Him. He speaks to us in different ways, and one of the most important ways is through the Word of God.
Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. If Jesus said that the greatest commandment is loving God with all your heart, then wouldn't it be fair to say that the greatest sin is to not love Him with all your heart? Have you loved God with all your heart all of the time? |
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July 2017
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