God, as our heavenly Father, so closely identifies with His children that our tears are His. This precious revelation of God’s relationship to us is first glimpsed plainly when we read how God called Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and follow Him in a life of faith, encouraging him by promising, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3, NIV). In other words, God would be so closely identified with Abraham that He would consider Abraham’s friends and enemies His own. God not only loves His children, He identifies with them.
And in response to such loyalty and love, I, in turn, desire to so closely identify with Him – with His grief, His joy, His love, His pain, His blessings, His honor – that His tears are on my face.
My tears – and yours – are precious to Him! How He loves those who love Him enough to shed His tears as they share His cross!
When I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. § I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. § Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? § The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Mic. 7:8; Isa. 43:2–3; 42:16; Ps. 23:4; 56:3–4; 27:1
One God and one Mediator between
God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! § A mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies … Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.
He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises… I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
1 Tim. 2:5; Deut. 6:4; Gal. 3:20;
Ps. 106:6–7, 23; Heb. 3:1–2; 8:6, 12
While the woman of Samaria and I have many differences, we have one thing in common. I, too, find myself from time to time running on empty.
In the busyness of ministry,
the weariness of activity,
the excitement of opportunity,
I sometimes wake up and realize, “I am so dry and thirsty.” Invariably, when I examine myself, the reason for the dryness of spirit can be traced to one thing. I’m not drinking freely of the Water of Life. I’m neglecting my Bible study. I’m rushing through my prayer time. I’m not listening to the voice of the Lord because I’m just too busy to be still. At those times I carve out quiet interludes to confess my sins and read and meditate and pray and listen and just drink Him in. Thank You, dear God, for still giving us today, Living Water from the Well that never goes dry.
By their fruits you will know them.
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. § Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. § Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Matt. 7:20; 1 John 3:7; James 3:11–13;
1 Peter 2:12; Matt. 12:33, 12:35; Isa. 5:4
I will make the place of My feet glorious.
Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.” Will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,” says the Lord of hosts … “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,” says the Lord of hosts.
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea … And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
Isa. 60:13; 66:1; 2 Chron. 6:18; Hag. 2:6–7, 9; Rev. 21:1, 3
“Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female” (Gen. 7:2-3, NIV ). Just how big was Noah’s assignment? We know that there are more than eighteen thousand different species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians today. If the number is doubled to include two of every kind, with several thousand extras added to make up the five additional pairs of each “clean” species, then double all of that to include any that have become extinct, the total figure is about seventy-five thousand animals!
According to the dimensions given, when Noah had all the animals assembled on the ark, only 60 percent of the available space would have been occupied. The remaining 40 percent would be available for food storage and living quarters for Noah’s family. It all worked, as impossible as it had seemed!
God knows what He is doing! His plans are perfect! You can obey His instructions with confidence!
