Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. § He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
“Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” … “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
Matt. 28:20; 18:19–20; John 14:21; 14:22–23; Jude vv. 24–25
The end of all things is at hand.
I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. § The heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word … reserved for fire until the day of judgment.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. § You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled.
We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. § We … look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.
1 Peter 4:7; Rev. 20:11; 2 Peter 3:7; Ps. 46:1–3;
Matt. 24:6; 2 Cor. 5:1; 2 Peter 3:13–14
Jesus makes suffering understandable; as the Potter, He uses suffering as the pressure on the wet “clay” of our lives. Under His gentle, loving touch, our lives are molded into a “shape” that pleases Him. But the shape that is so skillfully wrought is not enough. He not only desires our lives to be useful, but He also wants our character to be radiant. And so He places us in the furnace of affliction until our “colors” are revealed – colors that reflect the beauty of His own character.
Without the preparation of the loving, skillful touch of the Potter’s hand, any usefulness or beauty the clay might have would be destroyed by the pressure and the heat. But Jesus makes suffering understandable to this blob of clay. In the midst of the pressure and the heat, I am confident His hand is on my life, developing my faith until I display His glory, transforming me into a vessel of honor that pleases Him! I don’t trust any other potter with my life.
Would you submit to the touch of the Potter’s hand?
I have been cast out of Your sight;
yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.
Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
I have forgotten prosperity. And I said, “My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord.” § Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. § Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God?” § “With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance. § We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
Jonah 2:4; Isa. 49:14–15; Lam. 3:17–18;
Ps. 44:23; Isa. 40:27; 54:8; Ps. 43:5; 2 Cor. 4:8–9
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them.
There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” § What has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest … All is vanity and grasping for the wind. § They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. § I will pour water on him who is thirsty. § Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
Isa. 41:17; Ps. 4:6; Eccl. 2:22–23, 17; Jer. 2:13;
John 6:37; Isa. 44:3; Matt. 5:6; Ps. 63:1
Winning a relay race depends not only on the speed of the runners but also on their skillful ability to transfer the baton. If the baton is dropped, precious seconds are wasted, and the race may be lost. If the runner fails to pass the baton, he is disqualified from the race altogether.
In the race of life, the “baton” is the truth that leads to personal faith in God. Each generation receives the “baton” from the previous generation, runs the race to the best of its ability, then passes the “baton” smoothly and securely to the next generation.
Every day we see advances in our civilization bringing better health care, longer life spans, and ever-expanding knowledge. But underneath all the progress and sophistication, our civilization is experiencing a bankruptcy of moral and spiritual values that threatens to erode our very existence. In the midst of wickedness and waste, we must strive to relay the baton of truth that leads to personal faith in God that has been handed down to generation after generation since Creation.
One’s life does not consist in the
abundance of the things he possesses.
A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. § Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble. § Godliness with contentment is great gain … Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God. § Give us this day our daily bread. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? § “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.” § Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Luke 12:15; Ps. 37:16; Prov. 15:16; 1 Tim. 6:6, 8;
Prov. 30:8–9; Matt. 6:11, 6:25; Luke 22:35; Heb. 13:5
It is the Spirit who gives life.
The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. § That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. § Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
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. § Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 6:63; 1 Cor. 15:45; John 3:6;
Titus 3:5; Rom. 8:9–11; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:11
