“On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat” (Gen. 8:4, NIV). When Noah first gazed out of the window, drinking in the warmth of the sunshine and breathing the clean, fresh air, it must have looked like he was on an island in the midst of a vast lake with the tops of the mountains looking like other islands in the sea. But as the water continued to recede, what did he think when he realized he was on top of a mountain range seventeen thousand feet high?
As Noah became aware of the gradual yet drastic changes taking place in his circumstances, he must have feared what they would mean to his everyday life. He was an old man to be starting out in a new job requiring a new home and a totally new environment. But like the psalmist, Noah knew he should “wait for the Lord and keep his way.” He had to keep trusting that the same God Who had saved him from the storm of judgment that had “cut off” the wicked would enable him to inherit the “land” of his new life.
None of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. § Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. § You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Rom. 14:7; 14:8; 1 Cor. 10:24; 6:20; Phil. 1:20–23; Gal. 2:19–20
God gave Solomon … largeness of
heart like the sand on the seashore.
Indeed a greater than Solomon is here. § Prince of Peace.
Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. § Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. § The love of Christ … passes knowledge.
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. § In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. § The unsearchable riches of Christ. § Of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
1 Kings 4:29; Matt. 12:42; Isa. 9:6; Rom. 5:7–8;
Phil. 2:6–8; Eph. 3:19; 1 Cor. 1:24; Col. 2:3; Eph. 3:8; 1 Cor. 1:30
The apostle John gives us a thrilling glimpse into a universal celebration that one day we are going to participate in. He describes four living creatures who surround the throne on which Jesus reigns supreme over the universe. These living creatures never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4:8, NIV). Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, the twenty-four elders fall down before him and worship him. And as the elders praise the person of Jesus Christ, millions of angels join in the chorus, singing in a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then John describes the entire universe beginning to roar in the continuous, contagious acclamation of Christ as every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea sings: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!'”
So . . . who is praising Christ because you are?
Aug 21, 2013
The harvest is plentiful but the
workers are few. Ask the Lord of
the harvest, therefore, to send out
workers… Matthew 9:37-38
The momentum of America’s decline into moral and spiritual bankruptcy has increased to a breath-taking death-spiral. Our nation cannot continue on this path for much longer. It’s not the multi-trillion dollar debt that concerns me the most. It’s the impending judgment of God that we are provoking through our defiance of Him, His Son, His Word, and His principles that alarms me to the core.
You are my portion, O Lord.
All things are yours … And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. § Our … Savior Jesus Christ … gave Himself for us. § He … gave Him to be head over all things to the church. § Christ … loved the church and gave Himself for her … that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. § I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.
Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. § O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord.” … O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance.
Ps. 119:57; 1 Cor. 3:21, 23; Titus 2:13–14;
Eph. 1:22; 5:25, 27; Ps. 34:2; Isa. 61:10; Ps. 73:25–26; 16:2, 5–6
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way of death.
He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. § Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, … saying, “Let us go after other gods”—which you have not known—“and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet … for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. § I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
Prov. 14:12; 28:26; Ps. 119:105; 17:4; Deut. 13:1–4; Ps. 32:8
