Yet I wait

Psalms 100:5  For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalms 119:68    You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.

Psalms 119:90-91     Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.  By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

Exodus 34:6-7    The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Deuteronomy 7:9     Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Romans 15:8-9    For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,  and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

Tit 1:1-3  their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word

When I read these verses of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to all generations I wonder what should be manifested in a life that believes this with all their heart, mind, and soul.  What thoughts come to mind when trials, troubles, and issues run full force into our lives?  Do I wait for the one who is my refuge, hope, rock, strength or do I fret, worry, and have thoughts of defeat and giving up?  See the depth of faith in time of great fear;  Habakkuk 3:16-18     I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.  Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Being Ready

“And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Psalms 90:12  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 39:4     “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

Deuteronomy 32:29     If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

Ecclesiastes 9:10    Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Luke 12:35     “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,  and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.  If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

John 9:4     We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Ephesians 5:16     making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Proverbs 2:2     making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 4:5     Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 7:1     My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;  keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;  bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.  Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend,

Proverbs 8:32     “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.  Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.  Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.  For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,  but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 16:16     How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Proverbs 22:17     Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

Proverbs 23:12     Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 18:1     Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.  A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Jude 1:19     It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

Being ready at all times is much different than thinking about being ready.  Being ready and living ready is putting the Word of God into action in our lives.  Thinking about being ready is just that, stuff moving through our head and no action to follow it up.  God’s will must be a desired and sought after presence in our lives. This desire and seeking keep us actionable for His purpose and plans.  Reread these verses and as is says in Proverbs 22:17     Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

distinction between those who serve God and those who do not

Psalms 89:5  Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!  For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,  a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?  You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.  You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.  The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

Daniel 7:10    A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

Psalms 96:11     Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;  let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy  before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Malachi 3:16     Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.  “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.  Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

Revelation 20:11     Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Isaiah 30:27    Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire;

Isaiah 66:15     “For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.  For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.

Nahum 1:5    The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.  Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

John 3:18  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

There are times we just don’t feel good enough to be considered worthy, fruitful, or for that matter saved. For some reason the redemptive work of Christ does not seem real and effective for our life.  We believe but do not have a victorious heart and mind. Why is that?  We are in battle(s) – the battle with our conscious where we are self convicted – the battle with what others tell us and we are convicted by others – the battle where satan convicts us by telling us we are worthless and not good enough for God – the battle where we do think we are good enough on our own – the battle our sinful nature has with the Holy Spirit when we are convicted on our actions and thoughts in light of God’s word.  Our conscious and others conviction may or may not be true.   Satan is the father of all lies and will continually convict us with these lies and half truths.  However, the Holy Spirit will convict us with absolute truth.  It is easy to fall into the trap of unworthiness or good enough and end up ineffectual in our Christian walk.  Both of these end in either complacency or neglect.  When we catch of glimpse of God’s Holiness and our sinfulness it is easy to feel unworthy and you are right.  We are unworthy.  That is all the more reason to shout for joy and give thanks to Jesus Christ who, though we were sinners and have a sinful nature, went to the cross and died for our sins.  He did this to redeem us and make our sin as white as snow to all who believe in Him.  At the moment of believe and trust in Jesus Christ our sins were no more.  Some may feel they are not worthy of this redemption, believing they are not good enough or they are too bad to be forgiven.  God’s word is true!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

We are never good enough to be saved.  Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners.  He takes us as we are, right where we are at in life – full of guilt and shame. Are we sinless, no but they are forgiven.  Do we stop sinning, no but if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sin.  God is truth and His word is true.  If our sins are forgiven they are no more before God’s eyes.  We can be certain of His word of truth.  We can be victorious.  We can have joy and peace.  Satan would have us believe it is a lie.  It is not a lie.  How can we know?  Stay in His word and live to honor, glorify, serve and obey Him.  You are whiter than snow, confessed sin to God is forgiven. Stop living defeated, complacent, and neglectful.  You can live victorious for God through His word.

Walk among them

“as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

“ The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; “

“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Zecharuag 2:10  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

John 14:23    Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Revelation 21:3    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Leviticus 26:12     And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Ezekiel 37:27    My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Isaiah 40:9  Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”  Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.  He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Philippians 4:4    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

God, the creator of all there is, has made His dwelling place with His people and He will walk among them. He will gently lead them who are willing to be led by Him.  He will guide those who desire Him.  He will give them hope and assurance. He will carry them through hard times.  He will teach us how to live to honor, glorify, follow, and obey Him if we are willing to grow in this knowledge.  With so much pulling at our time we must commit to this with urgency and heart deep desire.

Handiwork of God

Psalms 74:16  Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.

Psalms 136:7  to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;  the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever;  the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Genesis 1:3  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Genesis 1:14  And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,  and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.  And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.  And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,  to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Psalms 136:3  Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;   to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;   to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;   to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;   to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;   the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever;   the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;

“The heavens declare the glory of God.”  There is so much we take for granted.  We see the sun come up every day and as well the moon and stars, yet we forget the awesome power of God who spoke them into existence.  In Romans it says that  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”  We chase after so much and so easily turn a blind eye toward the handiwork of God.  I recently heard a man speaking from back in 1975 on the expanse of the galaxies and how many stars are estimated.  We seem to be able to see more and more with the latest technology which shows the expanse of God’s creation.  This same man said it appears as though we are being allowed to come out of a designed permitted ignorance.  There have been so many new discoveries in the last 25 years about the universe we live in.  These discoveries, though new to us, have been there since creation.  It seems as though God is allowing mankind to see more of His creation.  Don’t get lost in the science and discoveries.  Keep grounded in knowing God is the creator of all there is.  Commit to humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying Him.

No One Knows

And there shall be a unique day,

There is a day coming that will have consequences for everyone.  Those who are of faith in Jesus Christ and salvation through him by the grace and mercy of God will have a glorious day.  Those who, like in the times of Noah, do not see any merit in pleasing God or living for Him or evening believing that He exists will have a very terrible day.  The fact that the day is coming does not matter if you believe it or not.  Believing determines if you look forward to that day.  Believing determines how you live your life this side of eternity.  The same can be true of not believing.  I wonder how people’s lives would change if they thought or knew this day was on the 6th of June 2016.  Would that which is troubling us seem so important?  Would the things that we put before others seem so important?  Would the money we so dearly hang on to seem so important?  Would Me, Myself, and I have any importance at all?  The answer to these questions is No they are not.  So what is it that keeps you from living this way?

 

Matthew 24:36
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man

Zechariah 14:7
On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light

Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord