"He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." Psalm 147:9
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” I Peter 1:3-4
Recently I found this old devotional. It reminded me of some things I need to strive for. I decided to share it today.
The Lord told us in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Jesus Christ is our peacemaker.
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;” Ephesians 2:13-14
“ And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” Colossians 1:20-22
One thing I see is that when God made peace He acted first.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Sometimes to make peace it requires us to act first.
Jesus didn’t make peace because we deserve it.
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:7-8
Psalm 69:4 reads, “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.” We studied in Church how Jesus restored so many things that He did not take away.
Jesus didn’t make peace because He was in the wrong. The standard of right and wrong has never changed, and God never changed His opinion of sin. Even though we might not be the ones in the wrong, there still may be a way for us to make peace. And so many times it may not be an issue of right and wrong why we ourselves don’t have peace!
Jesus made peace because of the love of God.
I remember once being told a story about how fixing something wasn’t working and how in anger they threw an expensive tool in the bushes. They never found it again. Sometimes we can’t see beyond the trouble we are having now to see what the future will be like. Jonah wanted God to destroy Ninevah and didn’t want to go preach to them, but God wanted to save souls.
I remember once saying “John 3:16 says that Jesus loves the world”. Someone challenged me on that. John 3:16 says that God loved the world. It doesn’t say Jesus. I’m not saying that Jesus did not. Jesus is God, but “God the Father” and “God the Son” are distinct persons in the Trinity. God the Father loved the world, but I see so many times that the Scriptures emphasize that Jesus did what He did because of the love of His Father.
“ But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” John 14:31
“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8
Jesus made peace because of the love of God. And because we love God and have His love in us, that is why we should make peace. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” I John 4:10-11
These have been just a few thoughts.
God bless.
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” I Peter 1:7
The Lord told us in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Jesus Christ is our peacemaker.
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;” Ephesians 2:13-14
“ And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” Colossians 1:20-22
One thing I see is that when God made peace He acted first.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Sometimes to make peace it requires us to act first.
Jesus didn’t make peace because we deserve it.
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:7-8
Psalm 69:4 reads, “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.” We studied in Church how Jesus restored so many things that He did not take away.
Jesus didn’t make peace because He was in the wrong. The standard of right and wrong has never changed, and God never changed His opinion of sin. Even though we might not be the ones in the wrong, there still may be a way for us to make peace. And so many times it may not be an issue of right and wrong why we ourselves don’t have peace!
Jesus made peace because of the love of God.
I remember once being told a story about how fixing something wasn’t working and how in anger they threw an expensive tool in the bushes. They never found it again. Sometimes we can’t see beyond the trouble we are having now to see what the future will be like. Jonah wanted God to destroy Ninevah and didn’t want to go preach to them, but God wanted to save souls.
I remember once saying “John 3:16 says that Jesus loves the world”. Someone challenged me on that. John 3:16 says that God loved the world. It doesn’t say Jesus. I’m not saying that Jesus did not. Jesus is God, but “God the Father” and “God the Son” are distinct persons in the Trinity. God the Father loved the world, but I see so many times that the Scriptures emphasize that Jesus did what He did because of the love of His Father.
“ But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” John 14:31
“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8
Jesus made peace because of the love of God. And because we love God and have His love in us, that is why we should make peace. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” I John 4:10-11
These have been just a few thoughts.
God bless.
This past week I have been working on translating a circular knit dishcloth pattern into crochet. It reminded me of the Bible.
A lot of things I attempted did not end up looking like a circle. If you didn’t know that I was making a circle, you might think I was doing great. If there was no fixed standard you might think I was doing great. But, just as there is a fixed standard as to what a circle is, so there is a fixed standard to live our lives by. The Bible says that God made man in His image, (Gen. 1.26) and also woman (Gen. 1.27). There is a fixed standard on what men and woman ought to be .
I’ve found that if you ask a bunch of children in Sunday school what something is, they will give you an authoritative answer whether they are familiar with the subject or not. If they didn’t know what a circle was, I’m sure many still would give you an authoritative answer what it was. We might have an opinion of what is right and what is wrong, but our opinion doesn’t matter. You could have an opinion of what a circle is, but just as a circle is a fixed standard, so there are fixed things in life. And unless your opinion matches up with that fixed standard, your opinion is wrong. Jesus Christ, the author of the Bible (Col. 3.16), taught that the Bible is a fixed standard for all ages (Matt. 24.35; Matt. 5.18; Matt. 4.4; John 12.48).
Knitting or crocheting a circle requires adherence to a pattern.
The knitting pattern I have for a circle is a long one. It involves knitting wedges. These wedges eventually turn into a circle. The pattern is very exact, and each row is unique. For a very long time it doesn’t necessarily look like a circle, but in the end everything comes together. If we want to make something out of our lives that will give God the glory and honor He deserves we need to follow the pattern He wrote down for us.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. ” I John 3:2-3
We walk by faith and not by sight.
II Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”. I’ve learned that you just can’t crochet by looking at your stitches. You have to take time to count them.
The Bible tells us that we walk by faith, but faith in what? It is by faith in the Word of God.
I’ve had days where I have been just convinced that I was right, but I was wrong. It was when I began to read God’s Word, then I began to see that I was not inline. We can’t just walk around and think that because everything looks good, that everything is going to turn out okay. The Bible tells us otherwise! The only way we are going to make any progress in our Spiritual walk is by adhering to the Word of God! The end pattern of our lives is supposed to look just like Jesus. And we need to count up what we did and see if what we are doing is in line with God’s Word.
Sometimes things can look like they are going wrong, but they are going perfectly according to plan.
I’ve had times where I was convinced that I was going wrong and missing stitches, but everything was okay. After a while I identified my problem. I had difficulty seeing the stitches as I was turning a corner. Walking with the Lord, we can’t always see ahead of us. But, if we are following what He told us we can be sure we are going in the right way, and that everything will turn out okay in the end.
We know that the pattern is reliable.
I have this old booklet that gives details on embroidery. But, there is a long blank space printed in the book and it appears that it is missing words. I have no idea what I am supposed to do. Sometimes you may find a pattern and it is totally unreliable, but the Word of God is not like that. We can be confident in following it through to the end, as our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ followed it until the end.
“ Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
So let us follow our Saviour and make something beautiful for Him!
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:8-9
“But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; . . . And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:. . . And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:14-21
Peter here quotes a passage from Joel 2,
“And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. . . And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered:” Joel 2:29-32
Now in the King James Bible, when we read the “LORD” with all capital letters we know it is translated from the Hebrew word “Jehovah”.
Now, Peter is again questioned in Acts chapter four.
“And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:7-12
First Peter says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved. He then declares that there is no salvation in any other name than the name of “Jesus Christ”.
Was not the name Jehovah given? Was it not known among men? It certainly was.
“And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.” Exodus 6:2-3
Jesus Himself said “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
Notice Jesus did not say “go unto the Father”. Jesus said “come unto the Father”.
Think about it. You can “go” to someone else. But you can’t “come” unless the person speaking is present.
This is Jesus’ own words. I am not asking you to trust my words. If we can’t trust the witness of God the Father, and the witness of His Son, who can we trust?
Isaiah 42:8 declares plainly, ”I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
Yet we read in Philippians 2:9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
If Jesus’ Christ were anyone else but God, this would not glorify Him.
“And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” Exodus 23:13
Worshipping anyone or anything besides God is sin!
“And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.” II Kings 17:16
Acts 20:28 says, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
So many have tried to make themselves a god. But, the Lord God is not like any other. The LORD in His greatness became a man.
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2
“For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” Hebrews 2:16
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” Psalm 8:5
God promised in Hosea, “ I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” Hosea 13:14
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:” Hebrews 1:2-3
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14
“When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Matthew 8:16-17
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9
Jesus Christ is no less than God manifest in the flesh. He is not some angel. He is not merely a prophet or another man.
We read in Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Others may do differently. But my God didn’t send someone else to do the job. He came and did it Himself.
“ The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Isaiah 52:10
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” John 14:9
“ Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” I John 2:22-23
”Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” I John 5:9-10
“Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” Revelation 1:2
“I John . . .was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 1:9
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17
“And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways . . . and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:” I Kings 2:3
“And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.” Exodus 25:16
“And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:” Exodus 40:20
“And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.” Exodus 16:34
”Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant . . . that it may be there for a witness against thee.” Deuteronomy 31:26
“And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony . . .” Exodus 31:18
“[T]he Lord testified . . .by all the prophets” II Kings 17:13
“And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified . . .” II Kings 17:15
“Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.” II Chronicles 23:111
“Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.” Nehemiah 9:30
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” Isaiah 8:20
The Testimony of Jesus Christ is the Testimony of God.
Jesus Christ said, “Search the scriptures. . .they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39
“[F]or the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10
If you open your Bible just before the book of Matthew there should be a page telling you what you are reading. It should say, “The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Similarly before Genesis you will read “The Old Testament”. The Holy Bible is God’s Witness to Man.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son . . .” Hebrews 1:1-2
God provided us a Witness and a Testimony. And the Scriptures are given as a Testimony.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7
The online Etymological Dictionary tells of the word sure:
“(adj.) early 13c., “safe against attack, secure,” later “firm, reliable” (c. 1300); “mentally certain, confident” (mid-14c.); “firm, strong, resolute” (c. 1400), from Old French seur, sur “safe, secure; undoubted, dependable, trustworthy” (12c.), from Latin securus “free from care, untroubled, heedless, safe”
“ For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:”Psalm 78:5
“Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.” Psalm 119:152
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” Ephesians 6:17
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11
“ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” II Timothy 3:12-17
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.” I John 5:9
Related: The Witness from Heaven
I was witnessing to someone one day, when they said they believed in God, but claimed that no one could trust the Bible completely because it was written by men.
My response was “Is God unable to communicate?
When Ravens Cry 