The Bible says that one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11, nasb). Whether we want to or not, one day we will all bow before God’s only Son.
Who do you know who has set him- or herself against Christ?
A school administrator?
A business employer?
A secular corporation?
A religious institution?
A political agenda?
A government policy?
An entire culture?
Whoever, or whatever, sets themselves against Christ will find themselves sooner or later on their faces before Him! So . . . bow down now!
Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!
Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. § We ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. § Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. § To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. § It will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! § The blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. § Our citizenship is in heaven.
Isa. 64:1; Song 8:14; Rom. 8:23; Ps. 144:5; Acts 1:11;
Heb. 9:28; Isa. 25:9; Rev. 22:20; Titus 2:13; Phil. 3:20
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord. § The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. § The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance.
To you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. § He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Ps. 61:5; Isa. 54:17; Ps. 34:7–10; 16:6; Mal. 4:2; Rom. 8:32
If we think we can avoid God by pleading indifference toward Him or ignorance of Him, we’re mistaken; both choices are indirect rejection. John makes this point when he states, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him” (John 1:10, NIV). It would be easier to imagine Ford Motor Company not recognizing Henry Ford, or Microsoft not recognizing Bill Gates, or the United States of America not recognizing George Washington than to imagine man not recognizing his Creator!
Just about everybody you and I know fails to recognize Jesus for Who He is. The majority of the world doesn’t recognize Him for Who He is. The world talks of and teaches evolution as the beginning of all things. The world talks of and teaches about Jesus Christ as a good man or a well-meaning prophet or a revolutionary zealot. But the world does not recognize Jesus Christ for Who He really is: God as Man!
Walk in love.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. § Above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” § Love covers all sins.
Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. § Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return. § Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles. § Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. § If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. § Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Eph. 5:2; John 13:34; 1 Peter 4:8; Prov. 10:12; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:35;
Prov. 24:17; 1 Peter 3:9; Rom. 12:18; Eph. 4:32; 1 John 3:18
Let your requests be made known to God.
Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will. § A thorn in the flesh was given to me … Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities.
I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. § [Hannah] was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish … Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and … will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.” …
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought. § He will choose our inheritance for us.
Phil. 4:6; Mark 14:36; 2 Cor. 12:7–9; Ps. 142:2;
1 Sam. 1:10–11, 20; Rom. 8:26; Ps. 47:4
In the beginning, Adam was single. Increasingly he longed for a companion with whom he could share his life. He didn’t have to beg God or beat the bushes or spend every Saturday night in a singles bar. He just went to sleep in God’s will. I wonder if, as he drifted off to sleep, he was praying that God would somehow take away the strange ache in his heart and the loneliness he felt inside, especially when he had observed that every animal had a partner except himself. “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man” (Gen. 2:21-22, NIV). In His wisdom, God knew exactly how to meet Adam’s emotional needs – by presenting Adam with a wife. And He knows how to meet your needs and satisfy your desires, too. So . . . commit your way to Him and trust Him!
