Isaiah 53:3-4
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” In Isaiah 53, we find the Gospel of Christ prophesized in the Old Testament. What better time to read and study this chapter than the beginning of the Easter week. Christ was despised and rejected of men. He was a Man of sorrows. Jesus was acquainted with grief. It was our sin that caused Him to be despised and rejected. Our sin that gave Him sorrow upon sorrows. Our sin caused Him to be acquainted with grief. Our sin. Yet today, people still reject Him and hide their faces from Him. The lost hide from Him. The convicted reject from Him. Even the Christian has a tendency to hide from Him when they sense He is asking them to do something. Are you hiding today? What has He given you to do for Him? Are you rejecting His leading? He bore our griefs; and carried our sorrows. He did this so that we could have eternal life with Him in Heaven. Isaiah 53 paints a picture of the enormity of the crucifixion and the display of God’s love for us. Read it today, and remind yourself what Christ suffered on the cross for your sin. Begin this week leading up to Easter with the mindset of remembering His sacrifice for us. If the Lord has burdened your heart toward serving Him, take up your cross and follow Him today. Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 5-6 | Mark 8 | Psalm 50
0 Comments
John 12:12-13
“On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The Lord Jesus sat upon the colt that the disciples had fetched Him, and began to ride toward Jerusalem. As He came near the city, can you imagine what He saw? A multitude of people had created a path. The people’s clothes on the ground and palm tree branches were being waved. The people shouted “Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” The crowd shouted in an exclamation of adoration. They prepared a parade for His entry into Jerusalem. They had much respect for the Messiah. What about us today? Do we shout in adoration to Him? Do we prepare for His arrival in our church services? Do we prepare for Him to move in our lives? Do we respect the Saviour as the people did that day? Take some extra time to remember what this coming week means to you. Easter is not about the hiding of eggs or the receiving of candy. Teach your children the real reason for Easter. For Christ is the Reason for the Season. Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 3-4 | Mark 7 | Psalm 49 Luke 19:32-35
“And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they sat Jesus thereon.” The Lord Jesus was near Bethany again at the Mount of Olives. He sent two of His disciples into the village to fetch a colt. He warned the disciples that people would question what they were doing, and even told them what to say in response. “The Lord hath need of him.” The disciples were not aware of why the Lord needed him. They did not question the Lord or His methods… they simply obeyed. Matthew 21:6 “And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them” When they arrived in the village, they found the colt tied up exactly how Christ said. No one had ever sat upon that colt. He was preordained to be used for the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. The Lord sends us on our way, searching for those in need of Him. Perhaps even for those that have never heard of Jesus. The people around us may question us, but we should not let that stop us from our mission. Like the disciples brought the colt, we can bring people to Jesus by obeying the Lord’s commands. The phrase “brought him to Jesus” appears one other time in Scripture, referring to Andrew bringing his brother, Simon Peter, to the Saviour. Andrew was a soul winner. He brought people to Jesus. Read His Word today, and search for what He would have you to do. Then simply obey. You too can bring people to Jesus. Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 1-2 | Mark 6 | Psalm 48 Mark 14:1-2
“After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.” It’s 10 days before Easter. Let us take the next few days to get a glimpse of some of the events that transpired before the Easter weekend that made it possible for our eternity to be changed. Nearing the feast of the Passover, the religious leaders plotted and schemed of how they might kill the Lord Jesus Christ. This was right before Mary of Bethany worshipped her Lord by breaking her box and pouring the ointment of spikenard upon His head. Possessed by Satan, Judas Iscariot seeks out the chief priests to betray Christ. He had followed Him, he had served along side of Him, and yet he traded his relationship with Jesus Christ Himself for 30 pieces of silver. He sold out. Judas had already talked with the priests before the Passover in the upper room. Christ sat down with His eleven disciples and the Betrayer himself. The world we live in today is similar to that of what Jesus and His disciples faced. Religious oppression and persecution is becoming more rampant with each day that passes. The Name of Jesus is not popular. What was once considered right is now considered wrong, and vice versa. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 The devil uses many tactics to distract and deter from the Truth. He wants to keep people in the dark. The world is getting used to the dark, and they like it. The Bible even warns us of their love of darkness, and their hate of the Light. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” John 3:19-20 The darkness of this world gives us as Christians the opportunity to let our lights shine for Jesus Christ so that others may see. The darker it gets, the more effective a few lights can be! “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3 Bible Reading: Numbers 35-36 | Mark 5 | Psalm 47 Matthew 16:24-25
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Remember Achan? He took of the accursed thing, and hid it in the earth within his tent. He thought that he could save his stolen treasure. The Lord made Achan’s sin known among the people. Joshua’s messengers took him, his treasure, his children, and his animals to the valley of Achor. Achan had troubled all the children of Israel by his hidden sin. He ended up being stoned by all of Israel, burned with fire, and then stoned again. He lost his life because he tried to save it. By holding onto things or people in our life, we are saving them only to lose them. When we give the things we love the most to the Lord, He will work as only He can and lead us to His perfect will. What are you holding onto today? Let go of it! Let go of your relationships, your career, your children, your future, etc. Let God have your life. You will not regret it. It is completely against our human nature to let go of our control on the situations of our life. It isn’t easy, but when we give God our life He promises we shall find exactly what He desires for us. True victory and true success only comes from our submission to the Lord. When we lose our life for Christ’s sake, we find more than we ever had before. A life worth living is only found through taking our cross and following Jesus. He can take your life, and mold it into something new. Take up your cross, And follow Jesus; Take up your cross, Everyday. Bible Reading: Numbers 33-34 | Mark 4 | Psalm 46 Romans 4:20-21
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Abraham against hope believed in hope. He staggered not. He considered not his own body, which was about an hundred years old. It did not matter to Abraham what his body was telling him, He believed God’s promise. He did not consider the deadness of Sarah’s womb. God had promised that he would be the father of many nations. He did not question God or His methods. He simply believed God at His Word. Although He believed that God would do what He said He would, Abraham got ahead of God. He wanted God’s promise to be fulfilled so much so that he took matters into his own hands. He thought he needed to help God carry out His plan. Can you relate with him today? Have you ever gone ahead of the will of the Lord? You had good intentions, but in trying to fulfill God’s plan you ended up making a mess of the situation. Thankfully, we can have hope because God didn’t leave Abraham in his mess. He didn’t even acknowledge his error. He recognized Isaac as Abraham’s only son. God can look past your mistakes, and make a miracle out of your life. What has God promised you? “…the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9 “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalm 32:8 “Come unto me…and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 “But my God shall supply all your need…” Philippians 4:19 “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5 Be strong in faith today and take God at His Word. Give Him the glory for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do! Standing on the promises I cannot fall, Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call; Resting in my Saviour as my All in All, Standing on the promises of God! Stand on His promises today! Bible Reading: Numbers 31-32 | Mark 3 | Psalm 45 Hebrews 10:35-36
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” God wants us to receive His promises. He is waiting with open arms wanting to dispense the rewards He has for us, but oftentimes there are conditions to receiving them. My favorite Sunday School teacher often referred to what he liked to call conditional blessings - when the Lord promises us a blessing after a requirement is made. These conditions are not impossible standards, but rather simple steps of faith that unveil vast promises from God The Father. When God promises something, He always keeps His Word. The Bible is full of conditional blessings: Proverbs 3:6 Condition: “In all thy ways acknowledge him” Blessing: “…and he shall direct thy paths.” Acts 16:31 Condition: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…” Blessing: “…and thou shalt be saved.” Here is Hebrews we find that after we have done the will of God, we will receive the promise. Did you notice what we have to have before we do the will of God? We have need of patience. Oftentimes when we are energetically impatient to do something for the Lord, He has us wait. We get anxious to serve Him, excited to make a difference. While this excitement is encouraging, God sometimes uses the waiting periods of our lives to cause us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Him in ways that we could not if it were not for the apparent “delay” in His will for our life. God is never late. He is always on time. We are the impatient ones, even when we are sensing God’s leading and wanting to see the end result on our timetable. If you are waiting for direction, keep seeking Him through His Word. The Bible will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths today. Search the Scriptures today for conditional blessings. See what God has promised us if we will simply obey Him. Bible Reading: Numbers 29-30 | Mark 2 | Psalm 44 Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” We all want to please God and in order to please Him we must have faith. Faith on the mountain and in the valley. Faith in the middle of the storm and in the darkness of doubt. Faith despite our fears. Faith for His provision and protection. Faith for His direction. Faith. At the beginning of Hebrews 11, we find that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We are to have complete trust and confidence that despite our circumstances or desires, God will always do what is right according to His will for our lives. When we have faith and are diligently seeking Him in all we do, He will reward us. The Creator of the Universe wants to reward you. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords wants to bless your life as you seek His direction. How will the Lord reward us? Psalm 103:4 – He redeemed us from destruction. John 14:1-3 – He is preparing a place for us. James 1:12 – He has a Crown of Life for those that love Him. I Corinthians 3:13-14 – He rewards us according to our works. The Lord has many rewards for us if we will only trust, seek and obey Him. These rewards are not for us to display inside our mansions, but rather for us to cast at our Saviour’s feet. What a glorious day that will be, when our Jesus we shall see, and we look upon His face, the One Who saved us by His grace! Let us work for Him so that we may obtain our rewards to lay before His throne, for He is worthy to receive glory, honour and power! Bible Reading: Numbers 27-28 | Mark 1 | Psalm 43 Proverbs 26:20
“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.” Do you have a friend that you trust enough to tell them anything? They are rare, and if you are blessed to have one or a few, be thankful for them today. Maybe you are a friend to someone who feels they can share their stories with you, and not have them be the new topic of the ladies’ prayer meeting. Trustworthiness in a friendship is irreplaceable and needful. Praise the Lord for faithful friends! A talebearer is one who bears tales. The word in the Hebrew means to cause to walk. So we can see that a talebearer causes the tales that they choose to bear to have feet and move about to anyone who is willing to listen. The best motivation to not be a talebearer is to consider someone bearing your tales. You would want your friend to remove the wood from the fire so that it goes out. Following the golden rule then, let’s not add wood to the fires of the tongues of others; but instead, cause the fire and strife to cease by removing the wood. We read in James “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity”. When we run our mouths about the latest drama or let negativity fill our words, we add fuel to a fire the Lord is not pleased with. Someone must decide to stop the fire of our words. Be that person, be a firefighter. It’s hard to control our tongues sometimes isn’t it? But with the Lord’s help we can achieve it. Ask Him to help you today not only to control your tongue, but also to help remove the wood from the fires of the talebearers around you. Proverbs 11:13 “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.” Bible Reading: Numbers 25-26 | Luke 24 | Psalm 42 Mark 14:8
“She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.” Have you ever met one of those women who may not have had much, but whatever she had she gave to the Lord for His glory? I have been privileged to know several. One who always stands out was my grandmother. Nanny didn’t have much, but she did what she could. She was a preacher’s wife, a godly mother, and an active church member with a loving heart for people. Everything she did pointed people to Jesus. She reminded me of Mary of Bethany, Lazarus’ sister, who had an alabaster box of ointment. She didn’t have much, but she used what she had to honor and glorify the Lord. Her sacrifice caught the attention of the people all around her, many of whom murmured against her. Can you relate with Mary today? Perhaps you have given what little you have to the Lord in His service, only to have people murmur and complain about your sacrifice. Remember what Jesus said as He rebuked the complainers: “Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.” If you are doing a good work for the Lord, don’t let the opinions, suggestions, and complaints of others stop you. Continue to use your alabaster box for the Lord’s glory, and you too can be like Mary of Bethany… “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” Mark 14:9 Bible Reading: Numbers 23-24 | Luke 23 | Psalm 41 |
Archives
January 2021
Philippians 4:17Copyright © 2020
Delight Thyself Design Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. |