Posts

Christ’s Revelation

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  2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4   “The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I who speak to you am he.’” John 4:25, 26 Jesus revealed himself to the Samaritan woman with a bold declaration that he was the long awaited Messiah. The religious Jews didn’t hear these words; neither did Jesus’ closest friends or family. Why this woman, and why this early in his ministry when he remained hidden from others? Jesus was responding to a seeker, not a casual inquirer or someone looking for a miracle. The woman’s relational thirst and empty life needed to be filled by the living presence of God. She proved to be the gateway through which the gospel entered Sychar – and probably many other Samaritan towns and cities.   When Jesus speaks to us this clearly through our own life experiences, what do we do about it? Our only valid response is to surrender our life and will to him and worship him. “Lord
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Refuge and Rest

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Isaiah 65-66; Psalms 62; John 3   “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge, Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:5-8 What does it mean to make God our refuge?” David declared that he had placed his hope in God; God had saved his life again and again. God protected him better than a towering fortress, so that he would not be shaken. When God is our refuge, we place our full trust in him and we pour out our hearts to him, so that whatever we are experiencing we process with God. When God is our refuge, he is our best friend, our confidante, and our counselor. The result of making God our refuge is that we experience rest in our soul. Our inner being is at peace. The wealthiest and best protected people in the world can’t find rest for their souls. Rest is fo
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Waiting on the Lord

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  Isaiah 63,64; Psalms 107; John 2   “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4 It is an interesting contrast - we wait and God acts. This is not a passive waiting, but an active, expectant waiting on God. Waiters, whom we consider to be excellent, are attentive to the needs of those on whom they are waiting, even to anticipating their needs. Would we position ourselves in this way in the presence of the Lord? God’s activity on our behalf precedes our awareness of our need. We don’t need to get God’s attention, we have it. What we need is to surrender our agenda and our need to God with the awareness that he loves us and is already ahead of us on the issue.   Will we wait on God, keep our eyes on him, and thank him for his gracious presence? Those who wait, see God act. “Lord Jesus, my eyes are on you. Thank you for the many ways you are acting on my behalf, even now.”
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The Attraction of God’s Light

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  Isaiah 60-62; John 1   “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you…the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light…” Isaiah 60:1-3 “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world…We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:9, 14 The presence of God, like light, always attracts. God’s presence is full of grace and truth: grace which loves us unconditionally and offers us forgiveness for our sin and rebellion, truth which is uncompromising in exposing our sin and the true nature of our motives and heart, and loving, penetrating light that draws us to God. As we witness to the effect of that light in our lives, others are drawn to the light of Christ. Nations are coming to the light of God’s presence. People that have lived in darkness for many generations are finding Christ’s healing, releasing, and empowering presenc
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The Heritage of Loving God

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    Isaiah 57-59; Psalms 103; 2 Peter 3 “…from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” Psalm 103:17, 18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!   Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 There are amazing benefits to a covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. David spoke of God’s love and righteousness as a heritage that we can pass on to our grandchildren if we keep covenant with God and obey his precepts; however, we know that David’s grandson rebelled against God and split the kingdom. In the new covenant through Jesus, we can experience amazing peace, grace, and favor with God that impacts our family and succeeding generations. Our covenant with Jesus also invites ongoing growth in the knowledge of who Jesus is. Let us not rely on a thirty-year commitment, but let us ren
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God’s Salvation Plan

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Isaiah 53-56; 2 Peter 2   “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer…After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…For your Maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is his name…he is called the God of all the earth…my unfailing love for you will not be shaken   nor my covenant of peace be removed…Listen, Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare…my house will be called a house of prayers for all nations.” Isaiah 53:10, 11; 54:5, 10; 55:2; 56:7 God’s plan of salvation for all nations was prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus proclaimed and fulfilled this prophecy. God’s salvation plan was focused on a suffering servant, his Son, who would take upon himself the sins of the world and pay the ultimate price to redeem humanity. Why? God wants relationship with those who respond to his offer of salvation. Relationship, like a husband to his bride, is a covenant of peace based on
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Seeing and Believing

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  Isaiah 50-52; Psalms 92; 2 Peter 1   “The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God…so he will sprinkle many nations and kings will shut their mouths because of him…Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Isaiah 52:10, 15; 53:1 God’s revelation of his salvation plan for the nations came in a way no one expected. When God lays bare his holy arm, we all expect a repeat of the exodus from Egypt – amazing miracles and dramatic demonstrations of power, fire, and smoke. But God’s salvation plan for men and women everywhere was to send his Son in the form of frail humanity. Jesus came to “sprinkle many nations” with his atoning blood. The holy arm of God was revealed in a suffering servant who took our sins upon himself and died in our place as our atoning sacrifice.   If we are to proclaim this salvation message to the nations so they actually see it, can we look
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