May Quotes

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

-Unknown

No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.

-Unknown

As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. 

-C.S. Lewis

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. 

-Augustine of Hippo

Pangs go with birth, and anguish precedes success. 

-C.H. Spurgeon

The explanation of this is simple: truth is uniform and harmonious, whereas error is multiform and incongruous; but for the truth to control us effectually faith must be in constant exercise—when faith ceases to act we at once become erratic and undependable and, as men speak, we are soon a ‘bundle of contradictions.’ Consistency of character and conduct is dependent upon a steady walking with God.

-A.W. Pink

If they can see you love them, you can say anything to them. 

-Richard Baxter

In all things seek to know God’s will and when known obey at any cost. 

-Jonathan Goforth

The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts. 

-George Mueller

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope. 

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let us press on, in patient self-denial. Accept the hardship, shrink not from the loss; our portion lies beyond the hour of trial; our crown beyond the cross.

-Unknown

There is no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world ruled by God. 

-John Weaver

**I will be on vacation next week, so there may or may not be a new post on Friday. ;) Enjoy your week! God bless. 

Prophecy Fulfilled and Unfulfilled

I'll have finished reading through Isaiah by tomorrow, and it was interesting to read the prophecies foretold of Jesus' first coming. With the help of my Bible notes, I'm going to list a few of them here. Isaiah repeatedly speaks of the supremacy of Christ, and in the rest of Scripture we can see that the Lord God fulfilled His spoken Word, just as He said He would.

Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose'. 
(Isaiah 46:9)

The Virgin Birth

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Fulfilled

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6-7)

Revival of the David dynasty

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1)

Fulfilled

...he [God] raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.' Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. (Acts 13:22-23)

Jesus' physical healing of the deaf and blind

In that day shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah 29:18)

Fulfilled

The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raise up, and the poor have good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:5)

The preaching of John the Baptist

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Fulfilled

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:2-4)

Jesus beaten and spat upon

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)

Fulfilled

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. (Luke 22:63-65)

Israel failed to recognize her Messiah

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

Fulfilled

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:36-38)

The Lamb of God

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

Fulfilled

The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

The Triumphal Entry

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.” (Isaiah 62:11)

Fulfilled

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:4-11)

Crucified between criminals

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

Fulfilled

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (Luke 22:32-33)

*****

But Christ didn't stay crucified, and Isaiah 35, one of my favorite chapters, describes what some of the Millennium is going to look like when Christ returns to the people who rejected Him and rules on earth. For though He was despised at His first coming, every knee shall bow at His Second return, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord! The prophecy of His Second Coming is, as yet, unfulfilled, but just as He completely met all the requirements of the Old Testament prophecies, Christ will return again and fulfill the Scriptures that speak of His next return. His Word is sure. He will come to claim His own. 

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.

Isaiah 48:12-13

His World and His Word!

This week's Bible reading schedule took me through the whole book of Psalms. And while I love them all, two of my favorites would be Psalm 18 and 19. Psalm 18 describes David's love for the Lord who consistently delivers him. He speaks of God's awesome power over the earth when he cried out to the Lord, and he tells of how God has protected him and enabled him to walk in integrity.

Psalm 19 begins with a description of the Creator's creation, as well, saying that "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). While we as Christians are commanded to share the gospel with the unsaved, creation itself merely shows the God of heaven on its own. In response to the Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus followers for proclaiming His glory, Jesus responded, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." (Luke 19:40) Creation points to a Creator, and because creation is all over the world, the message is spread to all the corners of the earth. "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." (Romans 1:19-20) God's world since the six days of creation have shown the glory of Christ, and David often describes the majesty of the earth in his Psalm, as he did in Psalm 19:1-6. And one day our Creator will create a new heavens and a new earth where we will reign with Him and glorify Him for all of eternity.

In the rest of Psalm 19, David describes the Word of God using four different words: law, testimony, precepts, and commandment. Each of these have specific definitions and describes part of what God's Word does. As the law of God, Scripture directs, instructs, and shows us truth from error. Scripture's testimony is that which points back to the Divine Author. Precepts show us how God governs men's hearts (and all of creation), and commandments in the Word of God are divine orders that we are called to obey. The fear of the Lord imparts wisdom, and in that wisdom we realize that God's rules are righteous, just, and eternal, which leads us to desire them over any temporal, earthly thing. The Word of God also warns and directs, commanding us to deal with the sin in our life as God reveals it, so that it doesn't have dominion over us. David ends with a prayer and a plea that his words and thoughts would be pleasing to a holy Creator. Realizing that he is accountable to the One who made and sustains him, David desires that his life would be a living sacrifice to His Lord--his Rock and his Redeemer.

May we, too, be able to pray as David did, that our words and thoughts would be found to be in line with God's truth. For as our Creator, we are accoutable to Him who gives us our life. By His grace He has granted us mercy by giving us His Word, so that we might know the fear of the Lord that gives wisdom.

Bearing the Burdens of Others

This week I read the latter half of 2 Chronicles up to the end of Job. I'm actually using two different Bible reading plans right now, but the second one doesn't really count--I'm reading through all the notes in my study Bible using a 6-month reading plan. But this week both of my reading plans had something in common.

Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We all carry our own burdens, either of difficult situations, trials and temptations, or just even the own sin in our hearts. Burdens are something we carry with us all the time, every day. They give us ample opportunities for learning endurance, patience, and forbearance. But in this verse in Galatians, it doesn't just say to carry our own burdens, but also those of fellow believers. Sometimes this means carrying the weight of another's sin and its consequences.

Hezekiah
This man began his reign over Judah after the nation had been corrupted by the ungodly leaders before him. The Bible tells us, however, that "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done". The sin of the nation wasn't directly Hezekiah's fault, yet he took on the responsibility of it and commanded the people to reform their land. He reminded them that the wrath of the Lord was on them (and him) because of their wicked forefathers. "Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us" (2 Chronicles 29:10). He was willing to take on the consequences of the people's sin and begin the process of repentance with them. He commanded the priests to sacrifice, and he led the Israelites in consecrated worship to the Lord. He gathered Judah and those who would come from Israel to once again celebrate the Passover, and Hezekiah prayed for them all. "And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people" (2 Chronicles 30:20)

Josiah
He was the third king after Hezekiah, and because the people had turned away from the Lord again, Josiah had a similar task to Hezekiah. After Hilkiah find the Book of the Law of the Lord in the temple, Josiah has it read to him. And then he realizes even more the great sin of the people in forsaking God. God reveals to Josiah through a prophetess that great destruction will come because of the people's disobedience, and only because of Josiah's humility before the Lord would he be spared the sight of this destruction of the land. Josiah takes on the results of sin and brings the people to repentance by reading the Book of the Law to them. "And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book" (2 Chronicles 34:31). Josiah saw relative peace while he reigned, and he died before Jerusalem was captured, burned, and her people exiled.

Ezra
After King Cyrus allowed the deported Jews to return to Jerusalem, many exiles returned to their homeland. Under Ezra's leadership the people fast and pray, and begin the reconstruction of their land. Ezra soon finds out that the Jews have once again intermarried with the pagan nations around them, breaking the commands of God and bringing judgment if they did not repent. Ezra identifies himself with the sin of the people and is struck with grief at their sin. He prays to the Lord admitting the guilt of the people and recognizing that they deserved judgment. "O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this" (Ezra 9:15). Ezra prays and makes confession, interceding for the people and taking on the weight of their sin, and the people responded in humility, separating themselves from the pagan foreigners.

Job
Perhaps this scene from Job is one we don't remember often. After all of Job's "friends" have given their "advice", the Lord answers Job and silences Job's questions, showing His infinite power even in the midst of suffering. He calls Job to trust Him even when he doesn't know the reason for his trials. And in his humility he acknowledges the greatness, majesty, and sovereignty of God in his life. God then turns his anger on Job's friends for their misrepresentation of Job's character and God's character. And though Job has suffered much mentally from these three men, he obeys the Lord and prays for them, interceding for them on behalf of their sin. "...and the Lord accepted Job's prayer" (Job 42:9).

Jeremiah
Knowing as the "weeping prophet", this man was sent to proclaim God's judgment on Judah. And though the nations sin was not his, he lives his life in humility and identifies himself with the sinners. In Jeremiah 10:24, he asks the Lord to bring correction and justice on himself and on the people for their sin. He places himself as one of the Israelites and takes on their sin, pleading with the Lord for mercy.

Moses
Though not in my week's reading, this man serves as another example of bearing the burden of another's sin. After Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the 10 Commandments, he was greeted with the noise of the people worshipping and dancing around the golden calf that had apparently just appeared out of the fire (as Aaron intelligently reported). Moses metes out judgment on the people when he commands the Levites to destroy those who had turned from the Lord, and the next day day Moses says to the people "You have sinned a great sin, And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin" (Exodus 32:31). Realizing the folly of the Israelites and the greatness of their sin he pleads for forgiveness from God for this rebellious group. "But now, if you will forgive their sin--but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written" (Exodus 32:33). Moses' desire for the people's forgiveness is so great that he places the sin on himself, and says that if God could not spare them in His justice, he will be willing to end up in the darkness of eternity if only the Israelites would be spared!


These men willingly took on the sins of others in order to bring mercy on others, but yet see justice done to sin. But they were not faultless men themselves, and though many times they did bear the burden of sin that was not theirs, they only represented a Greater Intercessor who was to come. In order to perfectly fulfill justice for sin and give grace to the wrongdoer, a perfect atonement was needed, and that was only found in the sinless priesthood Christ. Only the One who came willingly in the faultless image of God could bear the sins of the world and, at the same time, bring judgment and grace.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

(Isaiah 53:11-12)

Sometimes we, too, are called to wrestle with the sins of others and to bear its consequences, not because we're perfect, but because the body of Christ works to bear the burdens of others. We're to help the weak, encourage our fellow soldiers, and admonish the sinning. "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak" (Romans 15:1), and this should be done with the knowledge that others are bearing our own weaknesses, as well. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16, KJV). 

Verses from David's Prayers

David knew how to pray. From being hunted constantly by enemies, falling into sin, and reaching the heights of joy, David's life provided just about every experience for prayer. And he took the opportunities to cry out to God. Perhaps some of the most well-known words of David come from the Psalms, and they are words Christians still read today. But this week in my devotions I read through 1 Chronicles and this book also includes a few of David's prayers as well.

Perhaps these verses can help direct us in how we should pray, as well.

Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 

(1 Chron.17:16)

Awe over what God has done and the knowledge that he (David) is nothing in comparison to God's greatness.

There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (1 Chron.17:20)

Recognition of God's supremacy and sovereignty.

And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. 

(1 Chron.17:22)

Recounting the history of God's greatness and faithfulness to a wayward nation.

And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, 'The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,' and the house of your servant David will be established before you.

(1 Chron.17:23-24)

Pleading that God would fulfill His promises like He said he would, in order that His name would be glorified and that the house of David would remain established in the Lord.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours in the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

(1 Chron.29:11)

Acknowledging God's control and power over all the earth using words similar to what Jude later uses. "To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:25) And also Jesus uses similar words in the Lord's Prayer. "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." (Colossians 1:18)

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. (1 Chron.29:14)

Realizing, in humility, that what he and his nation gave back to God only belonged to God in the first place. 

I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. (1 Chron.29:17)

God searches the heart and knows it completely, and David later goes into more detail in Psalm 139 about this. Nothing can be hidden from God, and our actions, motives, and thoughts that result from the Holy Spirit's working in us are pleasing to God.

Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless the Lord your God." And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king.

(1 Chron.29:20)

The people demonstrated the Lordship of Christ by worshiping Him as the God of their forefathers, and loyalty and obedience to David as their earthly king.

Say also: "Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!"

(1 Chronicles 16:35-36)