Tag: declares

Foundation of earth and heaven

“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,”

Zechariah 12:1  The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.

Isaiah 51:22  Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;  and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”

Jeremiah 30:10     “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

Isaiah 57:16     For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.

Isaiah 44:24    Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

The power and sovereignty of God can easily be seen in  scripture.  Why is it I so easily forget the power, might, purpose, plans, and love of God?  Do I not trust the creator of all there is?  Do I not have faith in His love, purpose, and plans? Do I doubt He is in control? I wish this lack of reliance and trust were put behind me and I could walk this life in and by absolute faith.  It seems as though I have the head knowledge, but the heart, mind, and soul deep belief and trust is always on the fringe.  Forgive me Father for you alone is where my service, obedience, and reliance should continually be.

We have no King

“The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.”

Zechariah 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

John 12:13    So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”  And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,  “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

Zechariah 2:10    Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.

Isaiah 12:6     Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 62:11     Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”

Zephaniah 3:14    Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

Jeremiah 23:5    “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

John 19:15    They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

We need to be mindful of those who have the mindset of “we have no King” Prior to the coming of Jesus people looked forward to Him coming and rejoiced.  Likewise after His coming people rejoice or at least should have heart and mind of rejoicing.  If we understand, in part, His holiness and our sinfulness and the price/redemption freely given for all of those who believe, repent, and humbly serve, honor, follow and obey we should rejoice and give thanks to Him.  There is more though isn’t there.  It comes with the promise of the Holy Spirit to indwell, lead and guide us through this life in such a way that we honor Him and are a light for those still searching.  I rejoice in Him for salvation.  I rejoice in Him for the indwelling Holy Spirit.  I rejoice in Him for the joy, peace, rest, hope, power, and love.  I rejoice in His word that proclaims His majesty, strength, grace, mercy, wrath, anger and love.  I rejoice in how He opens His word to lead in understanding and knowing Him more.  I rejoice in the fact He has me in His hands.  I rejoice in knowing He is my God and knows my every thought.  I say this and yet I am not certain I would stand so faithful as Abraham who waited 25 years for the promise given him.  I am not sure I would be as faithful as Joseph and trials of betrayal and prison.  I am not sure I would be as faithful as the disciples in persecution.  I fail in so much, yet I do rejoice in this walk with God and seeing His hand at work in and through my life.  I rejoice in knowing He will never leave me or forsake me.  I rejoice in how He makes it clear we are to be fully committed with heart and mind deep desire to serve Him.

Spirit of counsel to lead us

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;”

“But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”

“so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Zechariah 4:6  Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

2 Chronicles 14:11   And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”

Isaiah 11:2    And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Isaiah 63:14    Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.

Ezekiel 37:14    And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”

Haggai 2:4  Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,

Psalms 20:6  Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

“Not by power or might but by His spirit”.  How many times do we try to accomplish on our own?  We use our power, strength, knowledge, and head off on a course of action without seeking God, without knowing if this is in His plans and purpose for us.  We make these plans or take action and after we have set them to motion we ask God to make them work out.  Knowing you are being led by God down His path for you is power, strength, and peace to our heart and soul. Seek God first with all your heart,, mind and soul.  Our pastor has been teaching through the book of Exodus and this past Sunday in chapter 33/34 it spoke of the tent Moses had out side of the camp.  He went there each morning and the rest would stand in the doors of their tents and watch God’s presence come down in the form a cloud.  The people would worship from their door ways knowing God was present while Moses spent the day speaking with God.  A question keep running through my head.  If I/we had a choice each morning to spend the day with God – would we choose it?  Would we step away from all the activity and plans we have made?  Joshua said it this way “choose this day whom you will serve.  As for me and my house we will serve the Lord our God”

Don’t end up cut off from God

“ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

“But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”

“Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’”

“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.”

Zechariah 1:6  But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

Numbers 23:19   God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Ezekiel 12:25  For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”  And the word of the LORD came to me:  “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’  Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”

Daniel 9:11   All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.  He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

Lamentations 1:18   “The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity.

Lamentations 4:11  The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations.  The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world

Deuteronomy 28:20     “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.

I wonder if we believe all of God’s word is truth and that what is spoken will come to pass.  We tend to lean on His grace, mercy and love but do not listen to words of warning, anger, and wrath.  God will not be mocked “what a man sows so shall he reap” False belief is no excuse.  Neglect of His word is not excuse.  Being to busy is no excuse. Romans says man is without excuse because God has made very clear to them through what He has created and what He has written on their hearts and minds.  We need to take living for Him very serious with our whole heart, mind, and soul.

Even now return to Me

“ Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD”

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;”

Zechariah 1:1  In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.  Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

Ezra 9:6  saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.  From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.

Nehemiah 9:26  “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.

2 Chronicles 36:13  He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.  All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem.  The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.  But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

James 4:8  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Hosea 6:1   “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

It is a slippery slope away from God when your heart is not seeking to honor and glorify Him.  Many hearts have hardened and call foolish that what God has revealed to man about himself, sin, redemption, and eternity.  With great boasting they defy God, His existence, and His purpose for mankind.  In this boasting many are pulled away and lack encouragement to hold the course.  Our lives should be filled with words and actions that honor God, encourage others, and shine light into the darkest corners of the hearts of those lost and without hope.

Judge right & true

“May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!”

““Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’”

Psalms 58:1  Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

Deuteronomy 16:18  “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.  You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.

2 Samuel 23:3   The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God,

Exodus 18:21   Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

2 Chronicles 19:6  and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment.  Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”  Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”

19:9  And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart:

Isaiah 11:3  And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.  Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Psalms 82:1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:  “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?

Matthew 27:1   When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

Luke 23:50  Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man,  who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.

Zechariah 9:9   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

When I read Psalms 58:1 I was immediately thinking about people in the various positions of office who govern others.  How many times do we look for justice and it appears at times there is none to be found.  Of course we look at this from our perspective and what we determine to be right and true.  Sometimes the cultural mass will abide by decision of those in governance.  This does not make it right and true.  I remember hearing “right is right even if only one is doing it and wrong is wrong even if all are doing it.”  You can see this in the decision by the chief priests when they condemned Jesus to death and Joseph from Arimathea who did not consent to their decision.  Where do we find truth?  How do we know what is right? We can find this in God and His word.  If we neglect spending time in His word.  If we do not desire to know Him more and more each day. If we don’t desire to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.  If we don’t seek Him.  God wants our whole heart, mind, and soul committed to Him.  This is a choice we make every single day.  A choice to humbly serve Him, to seek Him, to hear His quiet small voice leading us, to obey Him, to find our strength in Him, to praise Him.  To often the cares of this world and the busyness of the day take over and we soon find ourselves day after day drifting further and further away from Him and His plan in our life.  Choose to make this the day to start humbly serving, honoring, following, obeying and praising Him.  For He alone is worthy.

Be Encouraged

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?  When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.  Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.”

Psalms 54:4  Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

Psalms 118:6  The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?  The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

Psalms 118:13    I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.

1 Chronicles 12:18  Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said, “We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.

Isaiah 41:10    fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 42:1     Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isaiah 50:7  But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.  He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.  Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

Romans 8:31    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Hebrews 13:6   So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Isaiah 54:17   no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

John 10:28  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

1 John 4:4   Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

We all find times where we seem to be alone in our issues, trials, and troubles.  We are not strange or abnormal in these thoughts as scripture indicates many before us have similar thoughts.  Notice all of the references used to encourage others: “He will strengthen”, “He will uphold”, “He will never leave”, “His hand hold us”, “He will help”, “He is for us”, “He is on our side”.  God never changes and His promises are never empty “HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US”.  Be encouraged and stand firm in His promises.  Fear not and be confident in Him.  We are never alone.

Consider your ways!

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.”

“Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure”.

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”

“My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.  I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.”

“but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Psalms 37:23  The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

Psalms 17:5   My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

Psalms 85:13  Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Psalms 119:133   Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Psalms 121:3   He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Psalms 121:8   The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

1 Samuel 2:9    “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.

Proverbs 16:9   The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Jeremiah 10:23  I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

Hebrews 13:16    Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Ephesians 5:15   Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise

I have been thinking about resting in God.  Relying on Him.  Waiting on Him.  Trusting in Him.  I wonder what this looks like lived out.  Does resting mean we are not constantly searching to know and understand Him more?  I think we have a tendency to become complacent and we stop at “resting”.  Notice scripture today in pondering our path and God’s leading.  Can we know this if we are complacently resting?  Our purpose in this life is to humbly serve, honor, glorify, and obey God.  To do this we need to continually spend time in His word with a heart deep desire.  Spend time in His word.