God's Supreme Power (Isaiah 45:8-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/31/2013 11:19 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  God’s Supreme Power

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 45:8-25

            Message of the verses:  “8  "Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it. 9 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker-An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ’What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ’He has no hands’? 10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ’What are you begetting?’ Or to a woman, ’To what are you giving birth?’"

    “11 Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands. 12 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host. 13 “I have aroused him in righteousness And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free, Without any payment or reward," says the LORD of hosts. 14 Thus says the LORD, "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ’Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.’" 15 Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior! 16 They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them; The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation. 17 Israel has been saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity. 18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), "I am the LORD, and there is none else. 19  "I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ’Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.

    “20 "Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. 21 “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. 22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. 23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. 24 “They will say of Me, ’Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. 25 “In the LORD all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory.’”

            This is kind of a longer section, but it does seem to fit in together so we will take our time as we go through these verses to see what the Lord has for us while we study them.

            Verse eight speaks of righteousness and salvation and I believe that this verse is speaking of the Millennial Kingdom when this will take place, for we can look at Israel today and in the past and also the world today and in the past and this has not yet happened.

            If I am not mistake verse nine is quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans showing that the Lord is the One in control, and that men cannot tell the Lord what to do, especially in future things. Verse ten continues this argument by Isaiah.

            There is a question from the Lord in verse eleven, as the Lord asks Israel to seek information about what He will do for the nation in the future for God will reveal it to them.

            When we look at verses 23-23 we see that Isaiah speaks of the Lord’s creation power, and since He has created the world through His power and wisdom He surely can call Cyrus to bring Israel back into their land.

            We will look at John MacArthur’s commentary for verse fourteen:  “three countries to the South (cf. 43:3) illustrate the worldwide submission to Israel that will prevail during the messianic kingdom age.  Surely, God is with you:  All nations will acknowledge the presence of the one true God among His people Israel (49:23; 60:14).  Paul the apostle found a full sense in these words when he advised the Corinthians on exercising prophecy rather than tongues in their meetings.  This brought an acknowledgment from visitors of God’s presence among them (1 Cor. 14:25).”

            MacArthur goes on explaining the following from verse fifteen where Isaiah writes about God hiding Himself:  “The contemporary situation hid God’s purposes of mercy toward Israel, i.e., that they would repent and He would eventually regather them and make Jerusalem the center of world attention.”

            Verses 16-17 seem to compare those who have made idols with how the Lord will save Israel, for idols will not save people, but the Lord, through His Son Jesus Christ can save people.

            We see more about the creation of the world through the Lord in verse eighteen.  This is a very important thing to realize and something that is under much attack in the world today as evolution is something that is taught over much of the world today, and we must remember that evolution is impossible, and people know it is impossible, yet they still teach it so that they will not have to be accountable to God, but they will be accountable to God.  We see this in verse twenty-three:  “That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.”  John MacArthur writes the following about this verse:  “In the kingdom age, all nations will worship the one true God of Israel.  A further meaning, justified by the NT, applies this verse to believers’ accountability to God when He evaluates their words (Rom. 14:11).  In assigning the words another meaning, Paul relates the words to the coming universal acknowledgement that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10-11).”

            We see from verse 19 that the Lord does not do things in secret like the false gods do for God’s revelations comes through His true prophets.  Verse twenty goes on to show that the nations who worship idols pray to gods who cannot save, unlike the Lord who can save.

            In verse 21 we see God making His case that He has declared these things in the past, from of old, and He goes on to say that there is no other God than Him.

            I believe that verse 22 is a verse for the Messianic Kingdom, when the Lord Jesus Christ rules on David’s throne from Jerusalem for 1000 years.  We have already looked at verse 23, and verse twenty-four speaks more about the Messianic Kingdom age.

            We will again look to the MacArthur Study Bible for information on verse twenty-five:  “All the offspring of Israel:  Physical decent from Abraham alone cannot bring justification.  Only the faithful remnant of Israel will be saved (v.17; Rom. 11:25-27).  ‘Justified’ means to be declared righteous, to be treated as if one is not sinful, but holy through the application of Christ’s righteousness to the one who believes (cf. 61:10; 2 Cor. 5:21).

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I think of justification in the Biblical sense I am overwhelmed by this truth knowing that I can do nothing on my own, but trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Live like the position that I have in Christ, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide me.

Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-10

              1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

    5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7  and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Upon Jesus” (1 Peter 5:7).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who was the companion of Shadrach and Meshack?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/31/2013 12:08 PM

           

           

 

             

God Uses Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1-8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/30/2013 3:41 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  God Uses Cyrus

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 45:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. 3  "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me.  5 "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.”

            I will have to say that there are some things in this section of Scripture that are hard to understand for me and when that happens in cases like this I have to go to Deuteronomy 29:29 which says, “"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”  Now if I may translate this verse in a way that I can understand it better, and hopefully you too.  God is saying that He has not told us everything, but what He has told us we are to follow.  God knows all things, but He has not revealed all things to His people, but He has revealed things in the Law that we, His children are to follow.  Now what is it that I don’t understand about this passage in Isaiah?  Well it seems to me that God called Cyrus some 150 years before He was going to use Him to do something for Him that will bring glory to the Lord, and it will also be good for His children, Israel.  The passage states that Cyrus did not know the Lord, but that the Lord knew Him and called Him to do a work for the Lord.  The work that Cyrus was going to do for the Lord was to allow the children of Israel to return to their land and to provide them with what was needed to begin to build the city of Jerusalem and to also begin to rebuild the temple.  God uses all peoples to accomplish the things that He wants accomplished so that His plan will be worked out.  God used Hitler to begin the second world war and shortly after the end of that war because of what happened to the Jews in that war they were given a land to again call their own, the same land that Cyrus told the Jews of his time to return to.  Isaiah will later write in the last chapter of his book that there would come a day when a nation would be called in one day:  “Isa 66:8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.”  It was on the 5^th of May in 1948 that Israel was born in one day as the President of the United States recognized that Israel was a nation, and this happened in one day.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have often said that Balaam’s donkey is my favorite character in the Old Testament, and the reason for that is that this donkey was available to do what the Lord wanted her to do and she did it, that is talked to Balaam telling him the things that the Lord wanted to tell him.  In a same sense Cyrus was like Balaam’s donkey for he was available to do what the Lord wanted him to do.  I want also to be available to accomplish what the Lord wants me to accomplish in order to bring glory to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Be available to do what the Lord wants me to do, and to do it.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-10

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 Now if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted having forgotten the purification from his former sins.  10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Laban” (Genesis 29:26).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where did Peter instruct us to cast our cares?’

Answer in our next SD

10/30/2013 4:15 PM

  

God Forgives & Redeems (Isaiah 44:21-28)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/29/2013 11:15 AM

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  God Forgives & Redeems

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 44:21-28

            Message of the verses:  “21 "Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. 22  "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." 23 Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For the LORD has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His glory. 24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone, 25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness, 26 Confirming the word of His servant And performing the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, ’She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ’They shall be built.’ And I will raise up her ruins again. 27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ’Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry. 28 “It is I who says of Cyrus, ’He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ’She will be built,’ And of the temple, ’Your foundation will be laid.’"”

            If I am not mistaken we have seen the words “My Servant” a number of times in the book of Isaiah.  We have seen it refereeing to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, we have seen it as in this passage two times, once referring to Israel, and once referring to Cyrus who would let the people of Israel leave from captivity and rebuild Jerusalem and the foundations of the temple.

            I want to use the note in my MacArthur Study Bible to help explain verse twenty-two:  “Wiped out…your sins:  Further reassurance of God’s sovereign grace at work on behalf of Israel were given (43:25).  God had blotted out their sins written His book against them (cv. Rev 20:12).  As a person can’t see what is ahead because it is blocked by a ‘thick cloud,’ so God obliterated the sins of those He redeemed.  Return to me:  God has already provided for redemption, even before the cross, but based on it alone.  For those who turn from sin and return to Him, there is redemption (because the purchase price for the sinner was paid for by the sacrifice of Christ).  The Lord calls on His people to repent so they may receive the promised redemption (cf. Ne. 1:9; Jer. 4:1; 24 7; Joel 2:12; Zec. 1:3; Mal. 3:7; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Romans 3:35, 36; Heb. 9:15).

            When the Lord Jesus returns to earth from Heaven as seen in Revelations 19 He will redeem all of Israel as Paul writes in the book of Romans, and at this time we will also see redemption of nature as spoken of in Romans 8:19-22:  “19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21  that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

            Verse twenty-four again speaks of the Lord as the maker and the redeemer, and then verse twenty-five speaks of false prophets and the fact that they must suffer as a result of their false prophesying.  The word “omen” is also seen in verse twenty-five and the meaning of that word is as follows:  “1) sign, signal 1a) a distinguishing mark 1b) banner 1c) remembrance 1d) miraculous sign 1e) omen 1f) warning 2) token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof.

            We actually see another meaning of the term “My servant” in verse twenty-six and this time is speaks of the prophets of which Isaiah is one.  The true prophets spoke the truth concerning the future unlike those false prophets.  We see from verse twenty-seven the power of the Lord as He dried up the Red Sea and also the Jordan River allowing Israel to cross both on dry land.  This was no problem for God and we see the same power in His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ as He stopped the storm while in the boat, and also walked upon the water.

            I think it best to also use MacArthur’s note on verse twenty-eight as it speaks of Cyrus who will be seen more of in the next chapter.  “The prophecy—given a century and a half before Cyrus lived and became king of Persia—predicted God’s use of the Persian king to gather the faithful remnant of Israel back to the Land.  In this role, Cyrus prefigured the Lord’s Servant who will shepherd the sheep of Israel in their final regathering (Mt. 4).  The title “shepherd” applied to kings as leaders of God’s people.  Paul compares David to the standard of Cyrus’ obedience.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Understanding that God is all powerful will help me increase my faith in Him.  There is no one or nothing that is as powerful as the Lord.  Think about the creation as described in the first chapter of Genesis as the Lord spoke and the world came into existence. He spoke and the entire universes came into existence, and so we know that His power is above any power for all the power that man can get comes from what God created. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember that the Lord took my place on the cross to provide salvation for me.  He gave me His righteous in exchange for my sin.  Humanly speaking this is not a fair trade.  It took God’s grace, mercy, and love along with all His other attributes that are seen at the cross.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-10

            1Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render your neither useless, nor unfaithful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.  10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.

 Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The River Jordan” (Matthew 3:13).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.’”

Answer in our next SD.

10/29/2013 11:59 AM

The Folly of Idolatry (Isaiah 44:9-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/28/2013 11:52 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The Folly of Idolatry

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 44:9-20

            Message of the verses:  “9 Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble; let them together be put to shame. 12 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. 16  Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire." 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god." 18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!" 20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?’”

            We have written about idols in past SD’s, however we see a whole section in Isaiah 44 which speaks of how men made idols out of the same wood that they used to burn and warm themselves and also heat their stoves in order to cook their meals, and what was left over they made into an image of a “god.”  This was a very shameful process, to think that men, men of Israel who were suppose to know the true and living God would stoop this low to do this type of blasphemy against the Lord.

            What could possibly be a reason for this type of thing to happen?  I can give one answer that may not be entirely the total answer, but at least a part of the answer.  We know from reading the book of Genesis that Abram who was later renamed Abraham was an idol worshiper, but God called him to move away from the place where he was living and move to the Promised Land.  He did not obey right away, but after the death of his father he and his wife Sara did go into the Promised Land.  In the fifteenth chapter of Genesis we see a promise given to Abraham by the Lord, that he would finally have a child through his wife Sara and that through this child would be born the children of Israel whom go would send to Egypt for four hundred years to live and be in bondage there for most of that time.  God promised that He would call them out of Egypt and bring them into the Promised Land, but after the four hundred years, and the reason was that the sins of those who were living in the Promised Land were not yet complete.  Now when Israel finally got to the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua the conquered most of the land and were told by Joshua that they were to finish the job, to rid the land of these people because they were idol worshipers and if Israel did not do this then they would begin to act just like the people they were suppose to drive out.  Israel failed to do this and so that is why Israel began to worship idols, and continued to do so until the Babylonians conquered them in 586 BC.  If Israel would have followed the instructions of Joshua they would not have gotten themselves into the trouble that they were in.  The story we read about in Isaiah 44 happened because the children of Israel disobeyed the Lord.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When the Lord saved me He cleansed me of all of my sins, past, present, and future, but just like the children of Israel in the time of Joshua I need to continue to confess any sins that I sin against the Lord so that I can have food fellowship with the Lord, for just as there were physical enemies who wanted to pollute the children of Israel, there are now both physical and spiritual enemies that I have that want to do the same to me.  Paul writes about this battle that goes on in Romans chapter seven and also writes about it in Ephesians chapter six. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Be faithful in living the Christian life so that I can be ready to tell others about how they too can be saved.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The Law” (Hebrews 10:1).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where did John the Baptist baptize Jesus?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/29/2013 12:19 AM

The Blessings of Israel (Isaiah 44:1-8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/27/2013 8:30 PM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  The Blessings of Israel

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 44:1-8

            Message of the verses:  “1 "But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: 2 Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ’Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3  ’For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; 4  And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.’ 5 “This one will say, ’I am the LORD’S’; And that one will call on the name of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, ’Belonging to the LORD,’ And will name Israel’s name with honor. 6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ’I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. 7 ’Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. 8 ’Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’"”

            In the last three verses of chapter forty-three Isaiah spoke of more punishment to come upon the nation of Israel, so now the prophet speaks of abundant blessing that would come to the nation during the Millennium Kingdom.  We see these blessings in the first five verses of chapter forty-four.  In verses one and two we see that God proclaims the truth that He is the One who made Israel, who chose them, and so with this truth in mind Israel should know that God will never abandon them. In verse two we see kind of a strange name, “Jeshurun,” and this is an honorable name for Israel which means “right” or “straight.”  However the phrase “Jacob” or root of Jacob, this means “over-reacher” or “deceiver.”  “"But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked-You are grown fat, thick, and sleek- Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation (Deuteronomy 32:15).”

            We have spoken about some similar things that are found in verse three in a recent SD.  The waters and streams speak of extensive blessing of physical conditions which will favor the nation in the coming Millennial Kingdom.  It is good to remember that water is symbolic of refreshment from the Holy Spirit and also from God.  “28 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28-29).”  Isaiah 44:4 continues speaking of the blessings coming to Israel in the Millennial Kingdom.

            Verse five we see that this also speaks of the Millennial Kingdom John MacArthur writes “In the future golden age of Israel, belonging to the Lord and belonging to God’s chosen people will be synonymous, and it will be a badge of honor gladly worn without fear.”  This surely is not true in certain parts of the world today where naming the name of Jesus Christ can get you killed.

            In know that the highlighted part of verse six is found in the book of Revelations as God truly is the first and the last.  In chapter 43:15 the Lord identifies Himself as Israel’s King, and Redeemer, and also in 41:4 “the Eternal One.”  As I said this phrase the first and the last is about Jesus and is found also in Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13.  In the last portion of this verse Isaiah states that God says that “there is no God besides Me, and in this statement we see that it is preparing the way for another challenge to false Gods and I believe we shall speak of this in our next SD as starting in verse nine and going to verse twenty Isaiah speaks of the folly of idolatry.

            In verse seven we see that God is speaking to the false gods asking them to declare things that will happen in the future, but they cannot do it, for idols are nothing but rocks and stones and pieces of wood that people of that day and even some today mistakenly worship. 

            In verse eight the Lord reiterates that He is God and there is none other beside Him.  Israel is supposed to be a witness to this, but sadly they did not do a really good job doing it.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Just as Israel has not done a good job in telling others about the Lord Jesus Christ, so the Church has also failed to do this in our generation in our country.  I desire to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a witness of the things that I know about Him so that others can know Him, and have Him save them from their sins so that they can in turn begin to tell others about Him too.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am committed to go to a six day course to better equip me to tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ and I am looking forward to this and pray that I will be able to make each and every class.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-10

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

    5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “A burning bush,” (Exodus 3:1).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What had a shadow of things to come?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/27/2013 9:08 PM

           

The Shortcomings of Israel (Isaiah 43:22-28)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/26/2013 9:33 AM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus: The Shortcomings of Israel

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 43:22-28

            Message of the verses:  “22 "Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob; But you have become weary of Me, O Israel. 23 “You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. 24 “You have bought Me not sweet cane with money, Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices; Rather you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities. 25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. 26 “Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; State your cause, that you may be proved right. 27 “Your first forefather sinned, And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me. 28 “So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary, And I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement.”

            We can see in verses 22-24 that although God had chosen Israel, they had not chosen Him.  As we look at these three verses we can see that the children of Israel have wearied the Lord with their sins and with their idol worshiping and also their empty ritualism as seen in Isaiah 1:11-15:  “11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies-I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”

            I want to quote the verse note from the MacArthur Study Bible on verse twenty-five:  “I, even I …will not remember your sins.  This verse is probably the high point of grace in the OT.  In spite of Israel’s utter unworthiness, the Lord in His grace has devised a way that He can forgive their sins and grant righteousness without compromising His holiness.  This He would accomplish through the work of His Servant (53:6).  In spite of her failures, Israel will always be God’s chosen people.”

            Verse twenty-six seems to be another court room verse, as we have seen in the past in the book of Isaiah.  This one is a bit different from the other ones as God says “let us argue our case together; State your cause, that you may be proved right.  Israel’s only option is the same option that all unbelievers have, and that is to plead guilty before our Holy God, and do as what was seen in verse twenty-five, and that is to rely upon the graciousness and on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ who has paid the price for their sins and all those who call upon Him.  “9  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’”  (Romans 10:9-10.)

            Isaiah is showing the people that even the first forefathers sinned and could not claim their “goodness” for salvation, but we read in the book of Genesis 15: “Genesis 15:6  Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”  The “he” in this verse is Abram, and this verse is quoted in the book of Romans and other NT books to show that it was not through any works that Abraham did, but it was His belief in what God had done for him that he was given righteousness.

            John MacArthur writes the following commentary for verse twenty-eight:  “Even though God will forgive the nation in the messianic age, she still must suffer in the intervening interval.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am so very thankful for the salvation that God has provide for me through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and I want to live for Him, to be filled with the Holy Spirit doing the works that He has planned for me to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-9

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

    5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Nobleman’s” (John 4:46).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What did Moses see while tending Jethro’s flock near Mount Horeb?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/26/2013 10:07 AM

           

Babylon to Be Destroyed (Isaiah 43:14-21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/25/2013 2:54 PM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  Babylon to be Destroyed

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 43:14-21

            Message of the verses:  “14 Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships in which they rejoice. 15 “I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." 16 Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters, 17 Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick): 18 “Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. 19 “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. 20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. 21 “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.”

            The following is a part of the note on verse fourteen in the John MacArthur Study Bible and it speaks of the two names of God given in this verse, “Redeemer” and “The Holy One of Israel”:  The former title characterizes the Lord’s role in the salvation of His people in chapters 40-66.  The latter title represents His holiness throughout the book.  The Lord’s Servant retains His holiness in implementing His redemption of Israel.”  In the last part of the verse we see how some of the Babylonians escaped after Cyrus overtook the kingdom of Babylon, and that is in ships, as these ships could go through the Persian Gulf along with the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

            Verse fifteen speaks of “The King,” and that is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.  Israel asked for a king as seen in the book of 1 Samuel and now as they go into captivity they had no earthly king, but God was still their King, and the Lord Jesus Christ will reign from His throne in Jerusalem in the 1000 year kingdom.

            In verses 16-17 Isaiah is reminding the people of the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and this will give them hope of another exodus.  In verses 18-19 we see that the way that God will give deliverance to them in Egypt will pale in comparison with the future deliverance the Lord will give His people.  I am not sure if verses 18-19 speak of some verses in the book of Revelations or not, but in Revelation chapter twelve we see the story of the birth of Jesus Christ and right after His birth we see Him taken up to heaven.  This angered Satan and so He began to persecute the Jews, but God protects them in the wilderness, providing a place for them to stay.  These verses also remind me of how the Lord will redo the earth when He returns and then we will see rivers in the desert and we will see crops growing wonderfully in the place that is now a desert.  This is seen in verse twenty of Isaiah 43.

            MacArthur writes the following in relationship with verse twenty-one:  Declare My praise:  In the messianic age, Israel will finally give the Lord the credit that is due Him.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I was listening to a sermon by John MacArthur this afternoon from Acts chapter one, and in that message he quoted a poem that his grand-father had pasted in his Bible.  The poem has some similar things in it that we have seen from MacArthur’s note on Isaiah 43:21.  “"When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ and He shows me His plan for me; The plan of my life, as it might have been, and I see how I blocked Him here and checked Him there and would not yield my will. Will there be grief in my Savior's eyes, grief

though He loves me still? He would have me rich, but I stand there poor, stripped of all but His grace while memory runs like a haunted thing down a path I can't retrace. Then my desolate heart will well nigh break with tears I cannot shed. I'll cover my face with my empty hands, I'll bow my uncrowned head"...then this prayer..."Oh, Lord of the years that are left to me, I give them to Thy hand. Take me, break me, mold me to the pattern that Thou hast planned.’”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Oh, Lord of the years that are left to me, I give them to Thy hand. Take me, break me, mold me to the pattern that Thou hast planned.’”

 

Memory verses for the week: 2Peter 1:1-9

 

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, but the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakes of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Satan” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

 

Today’s Bible Question:  “Whose son was sick at Capernaum?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

10/25/2013 3:44 PM

 

 

 

             

           

           

Israel is God's Witness (Isaiah 43:8-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/24/2013 2:46 PM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  Israel is God’s Witness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 43:8-13

            Message of the verses:  8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. 9 All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, or let them hear and say, "It is true." 10 “You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11  "I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. 12  "It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And I am God. 13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?’”

            When we read in verse eight about the blind eyes, and the deaf ears we know that they will be healed and have spiritual eyesight, as this is speaking about the remnant.  Take a look at 43:18-19 which shows us that God is speaking about the future when Israel returns from Babylon.  I suppose too, that we can say that surely this verse will be fulfilled in the Kingdom Age.

            Verse nine is speaking of the nations and the “gods” that they worship.  Who among them could present a witness that Cyrus would be the one who would let Israel go from captivity?  No one but the Lord!

            Verse ten is a wonderful verse declaring who God is and showing that there is no other god other than the Lord.  Israel would be a witness to who God is and what He can do for He is the One who works through them.  Verse eleven reiterates the truth of verse ten.

            Verse twelve speaks of how God declared and saved and proclaimed that Israel would be taken out of Egypt, for God foretold of this in the 15^th chapter of Genesis to Abraham, and after this was done then the nations feared Him.  God was about to do the same thing by bringing Israel out of Babylon by using the king that He has spoken of as His servant, that is Cyrus.

            John MacArthur writes the following on verse thirteen:  From Eternity:  Before the first day of creation when time began and throughout all periods of history, God exists and manifest His will and purpose.  None…My Hand:  The Heb. Behind this clause is identical with the comparable clause in Dt. 32:39.  ‘’See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.’  God’s actions are irreversible and can never end in frustration.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What I see from this section, among other things, is that God is immutable, God cannot ever change, and though at times we see in His Word that God changed His mind that is referring to the fact that there are times in the Scripture that in order to better explain God, He is explained like a man.  God does not have any eyes, nor have any ears, nor arms, nor feet, but all these things are used to better explain who God is to man.  God cannot ever change His mind and for that I am very glade.  God provided salvation through Jesus Christ as He suffered and died on the cross, now if God could change His mind then perhaps He would change His mind about our salvation, but that is impossible with God for being immutable is one of the attributes of God. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-9.

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours ad are increasing, they render you neither useless, nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “An altar” (Genesis 8:20).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who is sometimes transformed into and angel of light?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/24/2013 3:22 PM