Listening to the Word

  Isaiah 11-14; Hebrews 9   “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2, 3 There are many dry places in the world like the Sahara Desert where water is seemingly absent. Yet, some of the largest freshwater reservoirs in the world are found under the sand of the Sahara! Where can we find living water for our spiritual thirst? Jesus has opened the wells of salvation to the nations. What are we drinking? Have we found the sweet water of salvation and made it personal? Can we say, “God is my salvation? The Lord is my strength and my song?” We access the wells of salvation through the prayer of faith. Instead of trusting in our capacity and strength, we trust in the Lord, and we turn away from fear. Drink deeply of salvation and invite others to drink with us. When we have a song and his name is Jesus, our joy will be co...

Isaiah 8-10; Hebrews 8   “Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us. The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: ‘Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it…’” Isaiah 8:10-12 Our peace comes from the presence of the Lord with us, Emmanuel. In a world that is fearful of disasters, wars, sickness, and death, God speaks to us through Emmanuel. The strong hand of the Lord on our lives changes everything! Isaiah faced the threat of Assyria’s invasion and eventual siege of Jerusalem with the even stronger hand of the Lord on his life. Our peace begins within our heart and mind through the presence of Emmanuel. Then, like Isaiah, we can be a beacon of light and hope, and the reality of God’s presence to those around us! “Lord Jesus, thank you for coming as Emmanuel, with your presence an...

  Micah 5-7; Hebrews 7   “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High…” First, his name means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace’…’You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.’” Hebrews 7:1, 2, 17; [Psalm 110:4] “…his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.” Micah 5:4, 5 The writer of Hebrews pointed to Jesus as the permanent high priest, in the order of Melchizedek, in fulfillment of Psalm 110:4. In both ‘king of righteousness’ and ‘king of peace’, Jesus demonstrated that there is no peace without righteousness. Through Christ Jesus’ sinless sacrifice for our sin, we receive Christ’s righteousness as a gift by faith, and we experience peace with God. Christ is our peace. Righteousness or right standing before God is the first place we must experience peace. From this place of peace with God, we become his ambassadors of reconciliation and peace in our world. Are we living in r...

Micah 1-4; Hebrews 6 “’Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for I the Lord Almighty has spoken. All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.’” Micah 4:4, 5 In times of transition, change, and conflict, what matters is the Word God has spoken over our lives. Listening to the voices of fear and conflict trouble our spirit; listening to the Word of the Lord brings peace when we submit to the Lord of the Word. Micah’s call is to both listen to the Word of the Lord and walk in his paths. Walking in the name of the Lord means our identity and perspective on life are shaped by our relationship with God. We participate in God’s mission for the reconciliation of all things, in Christ, as we experience inner peace with God. Are we living in peace under our own fig tree and vine, or still making a name for ourselves in this world? What has the Lord spoken over our l...

Hosea 13,14; Psalms 100,102; Hebrews 5   “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…” Hebrews 5:8, 9 If God did not spare his own son suffering, why would he spare us? Christ learned obedience from what he suffered and so do we. The pain of suffering the consequences of our sin, of our choices, of other peoples’ choices, and of sin in general is a convincing teacher of our need for God and his redemption. God is capable of taking our suffering and redeeming it into our sanctification and transformation for his glory. Jesus learned obedience and so do we. We are never too old to learn obedience. We are never too old to have our suffering redeemed for God’s glory. What pain is the Lord inviting us to surrender to him today in worship and obedience? “Lord Jesus, you are my example of redemptive suffering, obedience, and surrender to the will of the Father, for your glory.”

Hosea 10-12; Psalms 73; Hebrews 4   “’It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.’” [‘To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.’] Hosea 11:3, 4 The Creator of the universe is also the gentle nurturing Father of Ephraim. The image of a father patiently teaching his child to walk reminds us of God’s instruction through Moses to learn his ways and walk in his truth. The image of a father lifting a little child to his cheek in a loving embrace is so intimate that few of us would describe God that way. Yet, that is his invitation to us in Christ. Are we aware of God’s gentleness with us despite our rebellion and sin? Will we lift up our arms and ask our Father to pick us up? Will we open wide our mouth so our Father can feed us from his Word? Do we k...