God’s Verse for God’s people…

Alcoholism

The Bible teaches that there is deliverance from the things that come upon the world…

2 Corinthians 5:17  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

John 8:36  

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Question: What shall I say? – Isaiah 38:15

We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving. It is well for us to remember the mercies we receive in sickness. Hezekiah records the condition he was in. He dwells upon this; I shall no more see the Lord. A good man wishes not to live for any other end than that he may serve God, and have communion with him. Our present residence is like that of a shepherd in his hut, a poor, mean, and cold lodging, and with a trust committed to our charge, as the shepherd has.

Our days are compared to the weaver's shuttle, Job 7:6, passing and re-passing very swiftly, every throw leaving a thread behind it; and when finished, the piece is cut off, taken out of the loom, and showed to our Master to be judged of. A good man, when his life is cut off, his cares and fatigues are cut off with it, and he rests from his labors. But our times are in God's hand; he has appointed what shall be the length of the piece. When sick, we are very apt to calculate our time, but are still at uncertainty.

It should be more our care how we shall get safe to another world. And the more we taste of the loving-kindness of God, the more will our hearts love him, and live to him. It was in love to our poor perishing souls that Christ delivered them. The pardon does not make the sin not to have been sin, but not to be punished as it deserves. It is pleasant to think of our recoveries from sickness, when we see them flowing from the pardon of sin. Hezekiah's opportunity to glorify God in this world, he made the business, and pleasure, and end of life. Being recovered, he resolves to abound in praising and serving God. God's promises are not to do away, but to quicken and encourage the use of means. Life and health are given that we may glorify God and do good.

“But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this…”…Isaiah 38:15

Purpose of Christ’s Miracles.

Give abundant life.

John 10:10  

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Confirm His Son ship and Messianic claims.

John 5:17-19

17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19  Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

John 5:30-36  

30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.

32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.

34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.

35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.

John 10:25

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me,

Our goodness is a gift from God.

God did not save us because of our goodness but because of his own kindness and mercy. Thanks to the saving work of Jesus Christ our Savior, God can declare us good. Our goodness is a gift from God. We cannot work for it. We cannot earn it. We do not deserve it.

The Bible calls this work of Christ justification. That is a big word that simply means God says you are okay because of what Jesus did for you. When you put your trust in Christ, God gives you a new nature. (It is like starting over; that is why it is called being, “born again”). Then God not only gives you the desire to do good, but also gives you the power to do good. Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”. He gives you the desire and the power to do what is right. That is one of the ways you know you are a Christian.

By God’s grace and power we are re-created as good people, and then we are given the ability to do good deeds. God works from the inside out, not from the outside in. he says, “Let me change you on the inside, and the outside will fall into place.” Now, what does that mean? Does it mean that a Christian never sins? Of course not. All of us make mistakes. All of us sin. What it means is that now that I am a Christian, I have a new power and a new desire to do what is right. God solved the problem of my old selfish nature by giving me a new Chrsitlike nature.

Evangelical Word

"One of our troubles is we are not willing to humble ourselves. We are not willing to give up our opinions as to how things should be done. We want a revival to come just in our way. You never saw two revivals come just alike. We must let them come in God's way. People are ashamed to admit they need a revival. If you are not willing to take the shame on yourself, you then let it remain on Jesus Christ. You must bear the reproach of your sinful state of indifference, or the cause of our Master must bear it." - Mordecai Ham

Thought

God washes the eyes by tears until they can behold the invisible land where tears shall come no more.

Henry Ward Beecher

Thoughts from Max Lucado

Making the Impossible Possible

 “If you have faith, it will happen.”  Matthew 21:21

God always rejoices when we dare to dream. In fact, we are much like God when we dream . . . He wrote the book on making the impossible possible . . .

Eighty-year-old shepherds don’t usually play chicken with Pharaohs . . . but don’t tell that to Moses.

Teenage shepherds don’t normally have showdowns with giants . . . but don’t tell that to David . . . And for sure don’t tell that to God.

It May Not Be Easy

 “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and sat down again.”  John 13:12

Please note, he finished washing their feet.

That means he left no one out . . . He washed the feet of Judas. Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer. He gave this traitor equal attention. In just a few hours Judas’ feet would guide the Roman guard to Jesus. But at this moment they are caressed by Christ . . .

That’s not to say it was easy . . . That is to say that God will never call you to do what he hasn’t already done.

Not Made For Earth

 “Your faith and hope are in God.”  1 Peter 1:21, NIV

You will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have your moments of joy. You will catch glimpses of light. You will know moments or even days of peace.

But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead. 

Born Again

 “I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  Romans 7:25

Changing the clothes doesn’t change the man. Outward discipline doesn’t alter what is within. New habits don’t make a new soul. That’s not to say that outward change is not good. That is to say that outward change is not enough. If one would see the kingdom of God, he must be born again . . .

The first birth was for earthly life; the second one is for eternal life.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

By Jon Walker

"God also said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.'" (Genesis 17:15–16 NIV).

Just like you or me, Sarah and Abraham may have thought, "God doesn't understand our circumstances; his commandments are good guidelines, but they simply don't work well in the nitty-gritty of life."

And so Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Yet the promise had been that Sarah would be the one to deliver a son for Abraham; so the wait continued, long after reaching the point of desperate frustration--the place where you say, "God, I can't go on any longer!"

You've been there--like the widow knocking on the judge's door, you pray day and night but the shutters stay closed and the door remains shut (Luke 18). Sarah and Abraham knocked on that door for another fourteen years! (Genesis 16:16; Genesis 21:5).

While Abraham and Sarah waited, God made a covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham, which means "father of many." And he changed Sarai's name to Sarah, saying she would be the mother of nations and among her off-spring would be kings (Genesis 17 NIV).

Then God sent three mysterious visitors to tell Abraham that Sarah would provide him a son within the year. Sarah laughed, not believing God was about to give birth to his promise (Genesis 18).

Yet, they were totally and wholly dependent upon God to fulfill his promise. Not dependent because they'd obediently submitted everything to God, but totally dependent because they'd exhausted every other possibility.

And that's often why God delays. He's waiting on us to be ready for him.

Finally, God opened Sarah's womb so she could bear Abraham a son in his old age, at the time appointed by God (Genesis 21:2).

Lord knows us thoroughly

(Scripture Psalm 139:17-24)

God's counsels concerning us and our welfare are deep, such as cannot be known. We cannot think how many mercies we have received from him. It would help to keep us in the fear of the Lord all the day long, if, when we wake up in the morning, our first thoughts were of him: and how shall we admire and bless our God for his precious salvation, when we awake in the world of glory! Surely we ought not to use our members and senses, which are so curiously fashioned, as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.

But our immortal and rational souls are a still more noble work and gift of God. Yet if it were not for his precious thoughts of love to us, our reason and our living forever would, through our sins, prove the occasion of our eternal misery. How should we then delight to meditate on God's love to sinners in Jesus Christ, the sum of which exceeds all reckoning! Sin is hated, and sinners lamented, by all who fear the Lord. Yet while we shun them we should pray for them; with God their conversion and salvation are possible. As the Lord knows us thoroughly, and we are strangers to ourselves, we should earnestly desire and pray to be searched and proved by his word and Spirit.

God is interested in the work you do:

“The word secular is not in the Bible. It all matters to God; everything in your life is important to God”.

Bible

The compass of God’s Word will keep you from spiritual shipwreck.

All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book.

God’s Verse for God’s people…

The way to escape:

1 Corinthians 10:13  

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Hebrews 13:5  

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Excuses for Backsliding and Sin

Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life

Genesis 3:6 

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

John 2:15-17 

15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!”

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jealousy

Genesis 4:4-5

4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

1 Samuel 18:8 

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”

1 Samuel 26:2 

So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search there for David.

Desire for children

Genesis 19:31-38

 

31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth.

32 let’s get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”

35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.

37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today.

38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Things That Are Truth.

God’s Word:

John 17:17 

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

1 Thessalonians 2:13  

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

The Gospel:

Galatians 2:5 

To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

Galatians 2:14  

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

The Commandments:

Psalms 119:142 

Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.

God’s Covenant:

Micah 7:20 

Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

God Knows the Answers

By Max Lucado

If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. James 1:5

Thomas came with doubts. Did Christ turn him away?

Moses had his reservations. Did God tell him to go home?

Job had his struggles. Did God avoid him?

Paul had his hard times. Did God abandon him?

No. God never turns away the sincere heart. Tough questions don’t stump God. He invites our probing.

Mark it down. God never turns away the honest seeker. Go to God with your questions. You may not find all the answers, but in finding God, you know the One who does.

“Beware’s” – Beware of:

Hypocrisy

Luke 12:1  

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Covetousness

Luke 12:15  

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Scribes

Mark 12:38  

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces,

Luke 20:46  

“Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

Lest you despise of God and perish

Acts 13:40-41  

40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41  “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”

Dogs (false teachers)

Philippians 3:2  

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

Isaiah 56:10  

Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.

How God uses miracles

God’s power revealed to the people

Genesis 15:17

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

Exodus 3:1-6

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Joshua 3:14-17

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Luke 8:22-25

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let's go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we're going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Ways we are to be like JESUS.

Works:

John 14:12

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.

Mark 9:23

“If you can’?”  Said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Mark 16: 17-18

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Matthew 17:20

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 21:22

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Unity with God:

John 17:11

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

John 21:23

Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

Thoughts from Max Lucado

He Leads Us

Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.  Psalm 119:105

God isn’t going to let you see the distant scene.  So you might as well quit looking for it.  He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future.  We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow.  We only need to know He leads us and we will find grace to help us when we need it.

Heaven

 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.”  Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Remember, heaven was not foreign to Jesus. He is the only person to live on earth after he had lived in heaven . . . he knew heaven before he came to earth. He knew what awaited him upon his return. And knowing what awaited him in heaven enabled him to bear the shame on earth. 

God Never Gives Up

 “He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us.”  Micah 7:18-19, NKJV

When Joseph was dropped into a pit by his own brothers, God didn’t give up.

When Moses said, “Here I am, send Aaron,” God didn’t give up . . .

When Peter worshiped Him at the supper and cursed Him at the fire, He didn’t give up.

God never gives up.

The Careful Gardener

 “I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last.”  John 15:16

A good gardener will do what it takes to help a vine bear fruit. What fruit does God want? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are fruits of the Spirit. And this is what God longs to see in us. And like a careful gardener, he will clip and cut away anything that interferes.

What it is meant “The Knowledge of God?”

Not mere information about God, but a personal knowledge of God:

Genesis 3:8  

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

James 2:23

  

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God's friend.

Deuteronomy 34:10  

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

Who in the Bible desires such knowledge?

Christ prayed “that they might know thee,”

John 17:3  

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Moses prayed, “That I might know thee,”

Exodus 33:13  

If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

God desires for man to know Him,

Hosea 6:6  

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

God’s Verse for God’s people…

Acknowledging the name of God:

Mark 16:15  

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

Acts 1:8  

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

John 4:32  

But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

Ask, Seek and Knock.

Jesus knows what we want from Him to-day. He wants a specific request and an expression of the faith. One law of answered prayer is ask, seek and knock.

Matthew 7:7-11

7 Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Matthew 21:21-22

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

In the pathway of faith….

In the pathway of faith we come to learn that the Lord’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. Both in the physical and spiritual realm, great pressure means great power! Although circumstances may bring us into the place of death, that need not spell disaster—for if we trust in the Lord and wait patiently, that simply provides the occasion for the display of His almighty power. “Remember His marvelous works that He has done; His wonders and the judgments of His mouth” (Psalm 105:5)

God Smiles When We Praise

By Rick Warren

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name. Hebrews 13:15. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it too. He smiles when we express our adoration and gratitude to him.

Noah’s life brought pleasure to God because he lived with a heart of praise and thanksgiving. Noah’s first act after surviving the flood was to express his thanks to God by offering a sacrifice (Genesis 8:20).

We praise God for who he is and we thank God for what he has done (Hebrews 13:15; Psalm 116:17). David said, “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord” (Psalm 69:30-31).

An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy! My mother loved to cook for me. Even after I married Kay, when we would visit my parents, Mom prepared incredible home-cooked feasts. One of her great pleasures in life was watching us kids eat and enjoy what she prepared. The more we enjoyed eating it, the more enjoyment it gave her. But we also enjoyed pleasing Mom by expressing our enjoyment of her meal. It worked both ways. As I would eat the great meal, I would rave about it and praise my mother. I intended not only to enjoy the food but to please my mother. Everyone was happy.

Worship works both ways too. We enjoy what God has done for us, and when we express that enjoyment to God, it brings him joy—but it also increases our joy. The book of Psalms says, “The righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy” (Psalm 68:3).