Songs Of Friendship
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
Psa 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew] that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
A True Prophet Gives The Glory To God Alone.
God gave Joseph power to overcome temptation (Genesis 39). Now, He gives him power to interpret dreams. Here, Joseph the dreamer (Genesis 37:5-11) becomes Joseph the interpreter of dreams. Joseph may be viewed as a prophet: ‘Surely the Lord does nothing, without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets’ (Amos 3:7). As a true prophet, he gives the glory to God alone: ‘Do not interpretations belong to God?’ (Genesis 40:8). Joseph became the forgotten man (Genesis 40:23). For Joseph, life had become very difficult. He had known prosperity (Genesis 39:2-3). Now, he was suffering adversity. God is in both our prosperity and our adversity. He uses adversity to produce in us a heart of humility. What was Joseph doing while he was in prison? He was keeping close to God, waiting patiently for his ‘time to speak’ (Ecclesiastes 3:7).
Let’s Be Like Jesus - Walking In The Ways Of Our Heavenly Father.
Ahab’s repentance (1 Kings 21:27) didn’t last long! He continued to live in sin (22:8). He died in shame (1 Kings 22:37-38). Ahab’s son - Ahaziah - was just like his father - ‘a chip off the old block’: ‘He … provoked the Lord, the God of Israel to anger in every way that his father had done’ (1 Kings 22:51-53). Jehoshapat was a different type of king - ‘he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord’ (1 Kings 22:43). Here, we catch a glimpse of our Lord Jesus Christ - ‘I do as the Father commanded Me’ (John 14:31). Don’t be like Ahaziah -‘he walked in the ways of his father… the ways of sin’ (1 Kings 22:52). Let’s be like Jesus - Walking in the ways of our Heavenly Father. God says to us, ‘This is the way; walk in it’ (Isaiah 30:21). Let us say, ‘As for God, His way is perfect’ (2 Samuel 22:31). Let us pray, ‘Our Father in heaven… Your will be done (Matthew 6:9-10).
What Kind Of Effect Do Your Actions Have On Other People?
"Is There Any Hope For Us? ... "
Is there any hope for us? Our situation seems hopeless - until we look to Jesus.
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Job 40:15-41:34
Bible Reading Notes At "The Promises Of God" Blog
The Greatest Wisdom Of All
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This post is taken from my notes on 2 Chronicles.
We Receive God's Strength As We Give Him Our Worship.
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This post is taken from my notes on 1 chronicles.
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (11) - "We Are To Be Changed By God's Word" (iii)
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (10) - "We Are To Be Changed By God's Word" (ii)
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (9) - "We Are To Be Changed By God's Word" (i)
The Bible doesn't leave us as it found us. The Book of Revelation calls for a change in our way of thinking, a change of our way of living. It calls for a change of heart: "Be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any one opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:19-20). God's Word comes to us with a call for obedience. It calls us to receive comfort. It calls us to worship. We haven't been given the Bible so that we can build up a great treasury of Biblical knowledge, and pat ourselves on the back, taking pride in our great knowledge. The Book of Revelation hasn't been given to us so that we become conceited in our supposed knowledge of the things to come. We have been given the Word of God so that we might learn to be obedient. This is the way of comfort. No less than any other part of Scripture, the Book of Revelation calls for our obedience. When we seek to obey its message, we will find that it will bring great blessing into our lives - "Blessed is he who reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written here" (Revelation 1:3).
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (8) - "Seeing History From God's Point Of View" (ii)
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (7) - "Seeing History From God's Point Of View (i)
What does this mean? There are really only two ways of looking at history. There is the way of faith and there is the way of unbelief. For the unbeliever, history is no more than a meaningless series of events. There is no sense of direction. There is no goal toward which history is travelling. We're going round in circles. We're on a journey, but we're not going anywhere. We're on a wild goose chase, looking for something and finding nothing. For the believer, everything is different. The believer sees a sense of direction in history. He sees history as a journey toward a destination - a glorious, heavenly and eternal destination. What is it that makes the difference? How is the believer able to see more than the unbeliever? Is there something special about the believer? No! The difference comes from this - "the revelation of Jesus Christ." It is Jesus who gives us something to live for. Through "the revelation of Jesus Christ", we are able to look at life with new eyes. We see our life with the eyes of Jesus. He gives to us the eyes of faith. Through faith in Him, we see God at work in all things. We see God at the centre of our life. We see Him, working out His purpose of grace. He is fitting us for heaven. This is the goal of our life on earth.
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (6) - "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ (iii.b)
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (5) - "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ" (iii.a)
What does this mean?
Thirdly, it means this. The revelation is one revelation. It is not many revelations. The final book of the Bible is called the Book of Revelation. It is not the Book of Revelations. This is important. It emphasizes that the Book of Revelation has a single focus of attention. It directs our attention to Jesus Christ. It is not a Book of Revelations which takes us here, there and everywhere. Right at the very beginning, it tells us, "This Book is about Jesus Christ." When we read the Book of Revelation, there will be times when we're not sure how a particular passage relates to this great Theme, "the revelation of Jesus Christ." We find the same thing when we're reading other parts of the Bible. We read something that is difficult to understand, and we wonder, "How does this relate to our Saviour, Jesus Christ?" We should not get over-anxious about this. We have many questions, but let's not forget this: Jesus is the Answer to our most important question: "What must I do to be saved?"
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (4) - "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ" (ii.b)
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (3) - "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ" (ii.a)
What does this mean?
Second, it means this. The purpose of the Book of Revelation is not to mystify. It is to reveal. This is the reason God has given us the Bible. God is not putting a veil over our eyes. He is lifting the veil from our eyes. He is opening our eyes. He is revealing Jesus to us. Certainly, there are many things we do not understand. We read the Book of Revelation, and we wonder, "What does this mean?" We turn to other parts of the Bible, and we still have many unanswered questions. If we had lived in Biblical times, we might have had a better understanding of some of the things that are written in the Bible. If we had lived at the time when the Book of Revelation was written, we might have had a clearer understanding of its message. In our search for understanding of Scripture, there is a very important point that we must never forget. There are many things that we cannot fully understand for this reason. We are human. We are not divine. Full understanding belongs to God. Our understanding of God's Word will never be more than partial understanding. There will always be an element of mystery in our Christian Faith. We are mere human beings. We cannot fully understand the deep things of God.
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (2) - "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ" (i)
What does this mean?
* First and foremost, it means this. Jesus Christ is the great Theme of the Book of Revelation. Jesus Christ is the great Theme of the whole Bible. Why has God given us the Book of Revelation? Why has He given us the Bible? Is it just to teach us all sorts of interesting information about ancient times? - These are the kind of things that people believed in ancient times. No! God's Word is for us. God's Word is for today. God is revealing to us His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is leading us to a true knowledge of Himself. He is showing us the Way through which we come to know Him. He is showing us Jesus Christ - "the Way, the Truth and the Life." Jesus is the Way. He is the True and Living Way. Jesus Christ is revealed to us so that, through faith in Him, we might come to know God as our Loving, Heavenly Father.
Approaching The Book Of Revelation (1)
That The Everlasting God
Isa 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
"My Help ... "
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
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The Lord has listened long enough! He's listened to a lot of 'empty-headed words.' He has listened to a long, heated debate. There's been a lot of heat and not much light. Everything seems to be as clear as mud (Job 38:1). Now, it's His time for speaking! What does God have to say? He invites Job to look at the bigger picture. Being preoccupied with our own problems doesn't really solve anything. 'Why has this happened to me? Why did it not turn out that way? Why this? Why that?' - We go round in circles, thinking about these kind of questions. We don't have all the answers. There are plenty of things we don't understand. Even when we don't understand what's happening, we can still say, 'I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth' (Psalm 121:1-2).
"Come To The Saviour ... "
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"Can God spread a table in the wilderness?" (Psalm 78:19). We are living in a spiritual wilderness. We wonder, "Can God continue to bless us in this wilderness?" How does God's Word answer our question? - "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.". In the "wilderness", there are many "enemies". There is also the "table". At the "table", God blesses us - "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" (Psalm 23:5). We are in the "wilderness", surrounded by many "enemies". What are we to do? - We must come to the "table" - the Lord's Table. We must come to Christ. We must drink from "the cup of salvation" (Psalm 116:7). Come to the Saviour. Look to Him for His blessing. He will not disappoint you. You will be "anointed with the oil of gladness". His blessing will be poured upon you "like precious oil" (Psalms 45:7; 133:2).
What Is The Will Of The Father
"With Christ, We Have More ... "
With Christ, we have more than life under the sun. We have life in the Son - abundant life, eternal life.
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This thought is taken from
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26
Rejecting True Friends
WWJD?
Dealings With Abandonment
However when the peace of God is flowing richly in your life and home, well, it just seems to make sense.
Resting in God, trusting in God and being faithful in God is a way of life. Love, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.