#ScriptureReflection - Psalm 96 (12.31.19)

Psalm 96

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
³ Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

⁴ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come into his courts.
⁹ Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth.
¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
¹² Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
¹³ Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.



Source: NIV  (New International Version)

Prepare to Move Forward... Stay Focused, Trust God, Live in the Spirit & Walk in Harmony with Spiritual Truth (12.30.19)

Beloved,
Do not be afraid. 

I Speak to those who are discouraged, and I Tell you the truth - that discouragement will kill your faith.  I Am with you to show you the way to direct your steps, so that you fulfill My Will in your life. the enemy is at work to try to make you feel spiritually dry or impotent.  Do not accept his lies.

My Holy Spirit is alive within you, but at times is unapparent because of your uncertainty.  Refuse to be distracted from living in the Spirit and walking in harmony with Spiritual Truth.  These are perilous times, and it will take a deliberate effort to stay on track. You must be prepared to move as My Holy Spirit leads.

You must look up and seek Me for wisdom and guidance. 
I Hear your prayers of faith, and I Will direct your steps. 

Rise up out of the dead ashes of the past; and refuse to get tired of doing what is right and good. Do not worry about what the future holds.  Make the most of the time you have today.

Put your trust in Me, as you quiet your soul; and give turmoil no place.  Quiet yourself until you know, without a doubt, that I Am in you and with you.  Let My Life spring up in you and flow like a river out of you. 

These are important days in your progression and your transition from where you have been to a more complete expression of who you really are. 

I Will help you, if you ask.

Prepare to move forward.  

 

READ AND MEDITATE ON GOD'S WORD

Psalm 119:133 - Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

John 7:38 - He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

Philippians 3:13-14 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of GOD in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:1 - But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.

#ScriptureReflection - John 14:15-31 (12.29.19)

Role of the Spirit

¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; ¹⁷ that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. ²⁸ You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. ³⁰ I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; ³¹ but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

Source: NASB (New American Standard Bible)

 

It's A Faith Battle..... So Do Not Fear the enemy!! (12.28.19)

My Child,
the enemy has been creeping and plotting to seek ways to destroy everything that some of you believe in.

he never sleeps nor rests from his assignment against some of you, and some of you are being tempted to give up. I See your struggles and your discouragement, and I Know it has been difficult for you at times. Why do his attacks surprise you? Remember this - the enemy's only weapons are lies and deceit.

Do not fear the enemy, My Child.

Stand firm and continue to resist him.
he has no power over you.

So, never give him a place in your life; whether through unrighteous thoughts, words, or deeds. You are MORE than a conqueror through Me. I Have provided all that you need to overcome his attacks. That is right, by the Blood of the Lamb, My Word and the Word of your testimony - he is defeated. You have nothing to fear.

Stand strong when the enemy comes against you.

Know that My Holy Spirit shall lift up a standard against him and send him fleeing from you seven different ways.

You are My Chosen One, and I Did NOT put a spirit of fear within you. Stand strong and know that I Have already won the battle.

All you have to do is resist him.

It is a faith battle My Child,
     a faith battle.
I Will fight for you!

 

 

 

 

 

Read and Meditate on God's Word:

Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid of them. For Jehovah your GOD is He who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.

Psalm 27:3 - Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Isaiah 59:19 - So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

#ScriptureReflection - Matthew 2:13-23 (12.27.19)

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, ¹⁵ and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

¹⁶ Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. ¹⁷ Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ “A cry was heard in Ramah—
    weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
    refusing to be comforted,
    for they are dead.”

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. ²⁰ “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

²¹ So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. ²² But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. ²³ So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”


Source: NLT (New Living Translation)

 

#ScriptureReflection - Matthew 2:1-12 (12.26.19)

Visitors from the East

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.


Source: NLT (New Living Translation)


 

Living a Life of LOVE!!! Jesus is the Reason for EVERY Season!!! (12.25.19)

Faith Believers,
 We have a saying during this time of the year.  We say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and we demonstrate this by the giving of gifts. However, wouldn’t it be nice if we could find a way to live continuously in the season of giving?

How many of us can say that our children know the real meaning of Christmas?  

How many of us have shared with our children that Christ was born in a manger? Oh yes, they see the displays of the manger and think how beautiful it looks.  But have you really told them the surroundings of the manger? Have you told them about the animals that were there, and what it actually looked and may have smelled like?  Do they really know about His Birth? 

With all of the preparation of family, decorating, gifts and the time we spend at our churches, it's so very important that we take the time, now and every chance we get, to teach our children about our Saviour’s birth. It’s time we teach them the true meaning of giving and getting a gift.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
- Isaiah 9:6  

When the Lord GOD gave us His only‐begotten Son Jesus, Jesus' birth signified a new beginning and reflected what true love should look like.

Our Father wanted us to see real love and to understand that, saying, “I love you isn’t just enough.” GOD our Father demonstrated that “love” is an action word when He gave us His Son, Jesus; and Jesus imitated that same love, when He suffered and died for us, so that we would have eternal life.

Everything Jesus did for us was based upon our Father's new commandment, LOVE. Jesus said,

A new commandment I give unto you,
that ye love one another,
as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another.
- John 13:34

LOVE!!  The Lord has commanded that we follow His example of love. He expects us to love every day of our lives, not just during holiday seasons. Therefore, during this holiday season, and every season of your life, start reflecting on the One to whom this season - and every season - should reverence.

Showing love to someone, every day, is the greatest gift you can give.

This year, and in the years to come, give a gift a gift that you don’t have to put on layaway or have to make installment payments on the rest of the year.

Don’t worry if you don’t have money to buy
     gifts for your family and friends.
Don’t worry what people are going to say about
     what you have or don’t have.
None of that matters.

Mary and Joseph had very little when they made the journey to Bethlehem, but they had the greatest gifts - a babe that would be born to humble beginnings....  And they had Love.

So, give a gift that’s been brought at a price that we can never repay. Give your family and friends  what Jesus gave us. His greatest gift of all . . . LOVE.

Give the gift of love.
After all, we wouldn’t be celebrating this season
     if the Lord GOD hadn’t given us His Son, Jesus.

I cannot imagine the pain the Lord GOD endured as He sent His only Son to save us. So, let us honor the Lord our GOD with our love and show our Father how grateful we are for His Sacrifice. Let’s keep His new commandment and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and give this same love to those we meet.

Let’s celebrate the birth of Jesus in a way that will put a smile on our Father's Face, with LOVE. I know this would make Jesus and GOD happy, and that is truly all that matters.

Wishing a very Merry CHRISTmas to you & yours!!  And remember, as we go forward to Love, Love, Love!

 - Marilyn Chaney

Trusting in God's Timing (12.24.19)

My Child,
I Know that there are times that you may question My Kindness, especially when life seems unfair. 

the enemy of your soul uses this time to fill your mind with doubts, causing you to question if I Will fulfill My Word.  You should know by now that My Timing and your timing is not the same; however, My Timing is always right on time. 

I Understand how hard it is for you to wait, and how you long for Me to move quickly on your behalf. However, I Am using this time of delay to shape and mold you; and while I Am doing this, please do not take matters into your own hands. Just begin to praise Me, and know that the longer you wait, the more deeply you will appreciate the blessings when you receive them. Nothing can compare to the blessings that I Have for you.

Now, I Want you to turn a deaf ear to what the enemy is saying to you, and declare your trust in My Timing. 

Choose to worship and praise Me, right where you are, and believe that I Will be on time in your situation.  When you praise and worship Me, My Holy Spirit nurtures you and causes your faith to grow. Regardless of the circumstances, give thanks - for all that I Do, is for your good. Soon, there will come a day when you will see Me Bring good out of all the evil the enemy has done.  

Now, start celebrating My Loving Kindness, by thanking Me for the Blessings that I Pour into your life each day. 

Thank Me for the Blessings that you sometimes take for granted. Be at peace and know that I Will always do what is best for you, and understand that My Timing is always the best timing for you.

 

Read and Meditate on God's Word:

Ephesians 4:27 - Neither give place to the devil.

Habakkuk 2:3 - For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Isaiah 55:8-9 - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 - For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Psalm 90:4 - For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - In everything give thanks: for this is the will of GOD in Christ Jesus concerning you.
 

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. 

 

 

 

Hold On, In Your Weary Season..... (12.23.19)

My Children,
Battle fatigue has been hitting some of you.

Some of you are feeling like a soldier wounded in combat. Some of you are beginning to doubt whether you heard My Voice. So much has happened in your life, that it has caused some of you to lose faith. Now, some of you have become so weary, that you’re afraid to step into the new place that I Have Prepared for you. 

However, even though some of you are feeling weary, and feeling as though you’re falling behind with no hope of recovering; My Love will minister to your Spirit, and stir up the Anointing I Have placed on your life. 

Some of you are (or will be) walking in a way in which you have never walked before.

Your Anointing will increase and I Will Bless you, enlarged your territory, and My Hand shall be upon you. Therefore, it is time to take Me out of that small box you have kept Me in for so long. Put on the Helmet of Salvation, as I Prepare to Bless you.

Do not give up, Beloved.
Continue to seek My Face when feel that you
      are going through seasons of trials.

I Will be there to strengthen and comfort you.
Lift your head up and faint not.

Do not be weary; your season of despair
     is coming to an end.
I Am calling you to have faith in Me.

Your season of despair and controversy
     will be behind you soon.

Read and Meditate on God's Word

Psalm 27:13-14 - I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Galatians 6:9 - And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Ephesians 3:13 - Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 - We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Timing Is Everything (12.22.19)

My Child,
I have called you to a New Anointing, that requires your awareness. 

You can improve your spiritual discernment by looking and listening; as I Reveal My Purposes.  It is My Desire that you ascend to a higher place, where you can receive wisdom and direction. 

Timing is everything, so quietly - and powerfully -
     carry out My Instructions.  

Remove yourself from everything that creates unrest in your soul, and come close to Me.  I Am calling you to a New Anointing, if you can receive it; but it requires your complete dedication. Take advantage of windows of opportunity as they open in the Spirit realm.  The windows will seem to open suddenly, and then close again, if you wait too long to act. 

Timing right now is everything. 

You will need to pay attention and discern the moving of My Holy Spirit. You will begin to reap a harvest from the Spiritual Seeds you have sown; but the enemy has also planted things that you will need to deal with first.   If you will quiet your soul, and be sensitive to My Leading, and move as I Say Move; everything will fall into place as planned and according to My Timing.   

 

 

 

 

 READ AND MEDITATE ON GOD'S WORD:

Ecclesiastics 3:1 - To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Matthew 13:30 - Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn."

Psalm 101:6 - My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with Me; he who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve Me.

Galatians 6:9 - And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

1 John 2:27 - But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

 

 

 

 

#ScriptureReflection - John 10 (12.21.19)

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

¹⁹ The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹ But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

 

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.


 Source:  NIV  (New International Version)

#ScriptureReflection - Isaiah 48 (12.20.19)

God the Creator and Redeemer

48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel,
        and who have come forth from Judah’s loins;
you who swear oaths in the name of the Lord
    and invoke the God of Israel—
        but not in truth, nor in good faith.

² For they name themselves after the holy city,
    and rely on the God of Israel—
        the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
³ I foretold the former things long ago;
    it went forth from my mouth,
        and I disclosed them;
Suddenly, I acted,
    and they came to pass.
⁴ Because I knew that you are obstinate,
    and because your neck is an iron sinew,
        and your forehead is bronze,

⁵ I told you these things long ago;
    I announced them to you before they happened
so that you couldn’t say, ‘My idol did them;
    my carved image or metal idol ordained them.’

⁶ “You have heard—now look at them all!
    How can you not admit them?
From now on, I’ll make you hear new things,
    hidden things that you have not known.
⁷ They are created now, and not long ago;
    you didn’t hear them before today,
        so you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew them.’
⁸ And neither had you heard, nor did you understand,
    nor did you open your ear long ago.
Indeed, I knew that you would act very deceitfully,
    and they would call you a rebel from birth.
⁹ I defer my anger for my name’s sake,
    and as my first act I’m restraining it for you,
        so as not to cut you off.

¹⁰ Look, I have refined you, but not like silver;
    I have purified you in the furnace of affliction.
¹¹ For my own sake—Yes, for my own sake!—I’m doing it;
    indeed, how can I be profaned?
        Furthermore, I won’t give my glory to another.”

The Lord Calls Israel

¹² “Listen to these things, Jacob,
    and Israel, whom I have called.
I am the One: I am the first,
    I am even the last.
¹³ Moreover, my hands laid the earth’s foundation,
    and my right hand spread out the heavens.
I call out to them,
    and they stand up together.
¹⁴ Let all of them come together and listen:
    Who is there among them that could declare these things?

“The Lord loves me,
    and he will accomplish my purpose against Babylon;
        his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

¹⁵ I—Yes, I!—have spoken;
    indeed, I’ve called and I’ve brought him,
        and he will make his path successful.
¹⁶ Draw near to me, and listen to this:
    ‘From the beginning I haven’t spoken in secret;
at the time it happened, I was there.’
    And now the Lord God, and his Spirit, has sent me.

¹⁷ “This is what the Lord says,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you how to succeed,
        who directs you in the path by which you should go.
¹⁸ Now if only you had paid attention to my commandments!
    Then your peace would have been like a river,
        and your success like the waves of the sea.

¹⁹ Your descendants would’ve been like the sand,
    and your offspring like its numberless grains.
Their name wouldn’t have been cut off
    or annihilated out of my reach.

²⁰ “Go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans!
    With happy shouts, announce
and proclaim this to the ends of the earth:
    Say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!’

²¹ They didn’t thirst when he led him through the desolate places.
    He made water gush from a rock for them;
        he split open the rock, and water gushed out.

²² “But there is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

Source: ISV (International Standard Version)

 

#ScriptureReflection - Acts 4:29-35 (12.19.19)

²⁹ And now, Lord, observe their threats [take them into account] and grant that Your bond-servants may declare Your message [of salvation] with great confidence, ³⁰ while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders (attesting miracles) take place through the name [and the authority and power] of Your holy Servant and Son Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place where they were meeting together was shaken [a sign of God’s presence]; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and courage.
 

Sharing among Believers

³² Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one [of them] claimed that anything belonging to him was [exclusively] his own, but everything was common property and for the use of all. ³³ And with great ability and power the apostles were continuously testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace [God’s remarkable lovingkindness and favor and goodwill] rested richly upon them all. ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them, and bringing the proceeds of the sales ³⁵ and placing the money down at the apostles’ feet. Then it was distributed to each as anyone had need.


Source:  AMP (Amplified Bible)

 

#ScriptureReflection - Psalm 89 (12.18.19)

The Lord’s Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89 I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever;
To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.
² For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”

³ “I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant,
⁴ I will establish your seed forever
And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.

⁵ The heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
⁶ For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,

⁷ A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
⁸ O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

⁹ You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
¹⁰ You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them.
¹² The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

¹³ You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
¹⁵ How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance.

¹⁶ In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
¹⁷ For You are the glory of their strength,
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰ “I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
²¹ With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.
²² “The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
²³ “But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.

²⁴ “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.
²⁵ “I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.
²⁶ “He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ “I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸ “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.

²⁹ “So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.

³⁰ “If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
³¹ If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
³² Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes.

³³ “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
³⁴ “My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
³⁵ “Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.

³⁶ “His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.
³⁷ “It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.

³⁸ But You have cast off and rejected,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
³⁹ You have spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
⁴¹ All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a reproach to his neighbors.

⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴ You have made his splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame. Selah.

⁴⁶ How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember what my span of life is;
For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!
⁴⁸ What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.

⁴⁹ Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants;
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
⁵¹ With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

⁵² Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

Source: NASB  (New American Standard Bible)

 

#ScriptureReflection - Matthew 12:30-50 (12.17.19)

The Unpardonable Sin

³⁰ He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. ³⁵ The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. ³⁶ But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

 

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

 

Changed Relationships

⁴⁶ While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” ⁴⁸ But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

 Source:  NASB  (New American Standard Bible)

Unexpected Challenges (12.16.19)

My Child,

Many of you have been faced with certain unexpected challenges; which have resulted in a setback.  

Think it not strange that this has happened; however, this too shall pass.  You have not gotten off course, Beloved. The trials you have endured in recent weeks have prepared you to become stronger than you thought you could be.

In all that you have overcome, I Know that you will come through this as well.  This Strength will serve you well during your spiritual progression. Through it all, rejoice in your victory; because it is on the way.

You have been through alot; but I Am right there, in the midst of it all, with you. Refuse to become discouraged, but know that I Am doing something in your life that is going to bring about many blessings.

Unexpected challenges will bring unexpected blessings, My Child.
You are Loved.

READ AND MEDITATE ON GOD'S WORD

Habakkuk 3:18 - Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the GOD of my salvation.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 - For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

1 Peter 4:12-13 - Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you, but rejoice according as you are partakers of Christ's suffering, so that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

#ScriptureReflection - Isaiah 35 (12.15.19)

Joy of the Redeemed

35 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
 
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.



 Source: NIV (New International Version)