"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill The Word of The LORD spoken by Jeremiah, The LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: 'This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: The LORD, The God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of His people among you, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of The LORD, The God of Israel, The God who is in Jerusalem.' " Ezra 1:1-3 (NIV)
The prophet Ezra records that The Lord God moved on the heart of Cyrus, the king of Persia, and he released the people of Judah from captivity and allow them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The ten northern tribes of Israel were conquered and enslaved by the Assyrians. The two southern tribes of Judah were conquered and enslaved by the Babylonians, who were subsequently overthrown by the Persians.
God changed the heart of an enemy of His people and used him to help His people. God can make our enemy a footstool to help take us up a little higher. (Psalms 110:1, Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13, & Hebrews 10:13) God can take the bad that people do to us and turn into a good thing. (Genesis 50:20) All things work together for good for them who love The Lord. (Romans 8:28)
Friday, March 8, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
His Blood For Our Forgiveness
"Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:27-28 (NIV)
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, to His disciples at the last supper before they left the upper room and went to the garden at Gethsemane. He made it clear that only by the shedding of His blood would the sins of the many be forgiven.
The cup of wine represents and signifies the blood of Christ. The blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of our sins. He who was without sin, took on the sins of the world, and paid the penalty for our sins, so that we might be saved. When God, The Father, looks at us now, He sees the blood of His Son. We are redeemed from our sins, purchased by the blood of Christ. For without the shedding of His blood, there would be no remission of sin. (Hebrews 9:22) It is through His blood that we are cleansed from our sins.
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, to His disciples at the last supper before they left the upper room and went to the garden at Gethsemane. He made it clear that only by the shedding of His blood would the sins of the many be forgiven.
The cup of wine represents and signifies the blood of Christ. The blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of our sins. He who was without sin, took on the sins of the world, and paid the penalty for our sins, so that we might be saved. When God, The Father, looks at us now, He sees the blood of His Son. We are redeemed from our sins, purchased by the blood of Christ. For without the shedding of His blood, there would be no remission of sin. (Hebrews 9:22) It is through His blood that we are cleansed from our sins.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Only Believers Will Understand
"The man without The Spirit does not accept the things that come from The Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul told the Christians in Corinth that non-believers cannot understand the things of God because they lack the gift of discernment which is given to believers by The Holy Spirit.
There are those today who say that The Bible and belief in God is foolishness. Non-believers are quick to question and discredit The Bible and those of us who believe it is the true Word of a living God. The prophets said that there would be people who had eyes but could not see, and who had ears but could not hear. (Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 5:21, & Ezekiel 12:2) Jesus, The Christ, said the same thing when He explained why He spoke in parables. (Matthew 13:13-17) Wisdom and understanding come from God. (Job 12:13, Proverbs 2:6, & Proverbs 9:10) We only understand as God gives us insight and enlightenment, and He illuminates things for us. In order to understand and accept the things of God, we must first believe in God. We will only understand it all after we see Him face to face.
The Apostle Paul told the Christians in Corinth that non-believers cannot understand the things of God because they lack the gift of discernment which is given to believers by The Holy Spirit.
There are those today who say that The Bible and belief in God is foolishness. Non-believers are quick to question and discredit The Bible and those of us who believe it is the true Word of a living God. The prophets said that there would be people who had eyes but could not see, and who had ears but could not hear. (Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 5:21, & Ezekiel 12:2) Jesus, The Christ, said the same thing when He explained why He spoke in parables. (Matthew 13:13-17) Wisdom and understanding come from God. (Job 12:13, Proverbs 2:6, & Proverbs 9:10) We only understand as God gives us insight and enlightenment, and He illuminates things for us. In order to understand and accept the things of God, we must first believe in God. We will only understand it all after we see Him face to face.
Walk And Talk Righteously And Be Blessed
"He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil, this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him." Isaiah 33:15-16 (NIV)
The prophet Isaiah told the people that a good Christian man's character and conversation will lead to his safety and his comfort because The Lord will protect him and provide for him.
We need to understand that some blessings are conditional, our actions will determine whether or not we receive them. Those who walk in God's way, who follow His Word, will be blessed with benefits that are not afforded to others. Those who fear The Lord shall not want for anything, all of their needs will be supplied. Belief in, reverence for, and submission to The Lord will result in His blessings of protection and provision.
The prophet Isaiah told the people that a good Christian man's character and conversation will lead to his safety and his comfort because The Lord will protect him and provide for him.
We need to understand that some blessings are conditional, our actions will determine whether or not we receive them. Those who walk in God's way, who follow His Word, will be blessed with benefits that are not afforded to others. Those who fear The Lord shall not want for anything, all of their needs will be supplied. Belief in, reverence for, and submission to The Lord will result in His blessings of protection and provision.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
God Blesses Us Daily
"Praise be to The Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." Psalms 68:19 (NIV)
"Blessed be The Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even The God of our salvation." (KJV) "Blessed be The Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God of our salvation." ((NAS)
"Blessed be The Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even The God Who is our salvation." (Amplified Bible)
King David clearly praises God, our Savior, in this psalm. It is also clear that he is praising God for blessing us. However, the experts do not agree on the exact nature of the blessing. The benefits which God provides are daily blessings, which we are overloaded with and are too numerous to count. (Matthew Henry) God bears us up and protects us from our enemies. (C John Collins) God daily provides, supports, and upholds us. (Finnis Dake) The benefit that God provides is protection for His people. (Thomas Nelson)
Regardless of which version of The Bible we read, or which Bible expert we believe, it is clear that God blesses us and helps us, even if we do not understand all of the blessings that we receive. I believe that we are blessed daily in more ways than we know, and more often than we realize. Each heart beat and each breath is a blessing. We take so many bodily function blessing for granted. We are blessed with things and people in our lives, some to help us and some to teach us. Blessings can also take the form of protection from dangers, seen and unseen. Just know that as a believer God has blessed us in the past, God is blessing us right now, and God will bless us in the future.
"Blessed be The Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even The God of our salvation." (KJV) "Blessed be The Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God of our salvation." ((NAS)
"Blessed be The Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even The God Who is our salvation." (Amplified Bible)
King David clearly praises God, our Savior, in this psalm. It is also clear that he is praising God for blessing us. However, the experts do not agree on the exact nature of the blessing. The benefits which God provides are daily blessings, which we are overloaded with and are too numerous to count. (Matthew Henry) God bears us up and protects us from our enemies. (C John Collins) God daily provides, supports, and upholds us. (Finnis Dake) The benefit that God provides is protection for His people. (Thomas Nelson)
Regardless of which version of The Bible we read, or which Bible expert we believe, it is clear that God blesses us and helps us, even if we do not understand all of the blessings that we receive. I believe that we are blessed daily in more ways than we know, and more often than we realize. Each heart beat and each breath is a blessing. We take so many bodily function blessing for granted. We are blessed with things and people in our lives, some to help us and some to teach us. Blessings can also take the form of protection from dangers, seen and unseen. Just know that as a believer God has blessed us in the past, God is blessing us right now, and God will bless us in the future.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
God Will Finish The Good Work He Began In Us
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi and he told them that God would complete the good work which He had begun in them. Paul was pleased with their work in spreading the gospel, but he was confident that better things were yet to come for them.
In essence Paul told them that God was not finished with them yet. The same thing can be said of us today. This is not an excuse to rationalize our sins. We are to continuously make efforts to be more Christ-like. We are a work in progress. We are saved and blessed for a purpose, there is work for us to do. God is still working on us and working through us to accomplish His plan. God will complete His work on us when Christ returns. Until then, as believers we are part of the body of Christ, and there is kingdom building work for us to do while He is working on us to make us more Christ-like.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi and he told them that God would complete the good work which He had begun in them. Paul was pleased with their work in spreading the gospel, but he was confident that better things were yet to come for them.
In essence Paul told them that God was not finished with them yet. The same thing can be said of us today. This is not an excuse to rationalize our sins. We are to continuously make efforts to be more Christ-like. We are a work in progress. We are saved and blessed for a purpose, there is work for us to do. God is still working on us and working through us to accomplish His plan. God will complete His work on us when Christ returns. Until then, as believers we are part of the body of Christ, and there is kingdom building work for us to do while He is working on us to make us more Christ-like.
Friday, March 1, 2013
God Supplies All We Need To Do A Good Work
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul said that God was able to give them all of the spiritual and physical things that they needed in order to do, and to continue to do a good work for Him by helping others.
God can and does bless us with all that we need so that we can be a blessing to others. When we are doing a good work for Him, we will be blessed. Demonstrating the love of God by helping others is doing a very good work. He who blesses others shall himself also be blessed. (Proverbs 11:25)
The Apostle Paul said that God was able to give them all of the spiritual and physical things that they needed in order to do, and to continue to do a good work for Him by helping others.
God can and does bless us with all that we need so that we can be a blessing to others. When we are doing a good work for Him, we will be blessed. Demonstrating the love of God by helping others is doing a very good work. He who blesses others shall himself also be blessed. (Proverbs 11:25)
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