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Going Through Deep Waters with God

Posted in Devotional, Isaiah, Uncategorized, tagged , , on November 2, 2019|

I love when God reminds me that I don’t have to struggle or fight or worry. He has everything under control. The opening verses of Isaiah 43 are a perfect example of such a reminder:

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:1-2 NLT

God holds the reins.
God controls the impact outside forces can have on me.
God is sovereign over everything.
God is concerned and monitoring the things and forces that come against me.

For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia[a] and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.
Isaiah 43:3-4 NLT

God chose me.
God values me.
God will choose those who are His–those who love Him and seek Him over those whose hearts are cold toward him.

May the Holy One of Israel speak these truths over you today in such a way that you know that He loves you and will keep you from going under or burning up. He is a good, good Father.

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Dan – Israel

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Salve for Sorrow

Posted in Devotional, Uncategorized, tagged , on October 26, 2019|

For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
        Jeremiah 31:25

With God everything is done to perfection. Thus, in the Amplified Version, this verse reads, “I fully satisfy the weary soul” reminding us of that complete work God does in our souls when we allow Him.

The Amplified Version also adds “languishing” to the second phrase, so it reads, “I have replenished every languishing and sorrowful soul.” This word languishing carries the meaning of wasting away from sorrow.”

This is my testimony. As I was languishing in my sorrow over my loss, betrayal and humiliation at the hands of one close to me, God gave me satisfaction and healing in my soul, in my innermost being–the place that only God can touch, but which desperately needs touching. My situation remained unchanged, but my soul was replenished and restored.

So remember, when you are languishing in sorrow, you need only wait in helplessness for God for just a short while with an openness to Him, and you shall experience what God promised through the prophet Jeremiah.

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Isaiah Chapter 45

Posted in Isaiah, Uncategorized, tagged , on September 10, 2019|

Read Isaiah Chapter 45
1. What do you learn about Cyrus from the following verses?
□ 2 Chronicles 36:22-23

□ Ezra 1:1-11

□ Ezra 4:1-5

2. What do you learn of Cyrus from Isaiah 45:1? What is significant about this verse?

3. What does God promise in Isaiah 45:2? Why is this going to be important?

4. What does God promise in Isaiah 45:3? Why do you think He makes this promise?

5. Has God ever given you the treasures of darkness, the hidden riches of secret places? Explain.

6. How will God call us according to Isaiah 45:3 and 4?

7. What do you learn from Isaiah 45:4 about those who do not know God?

8. What does God say about Himself in Isaiah 45:5? About those who haven’t known Him?

9. What reason does God give for his promise in Isaiah 45:6?

10. Copy Isaiah 45:7 here. Meditate on this verse. What do you see? How does this apply to your life? What does this teach you about God’s sovereignty?

11. What do you learn from these verses?
□ Jeremiah 32:27

□ John 1:1-4

□ Romans 9:5

□ Colossians 1:15-20

□ 1 Timothy 6:14-16

12. What do you learn about God from Isaiah 45:8?

13. What does God warn against in Isaiah 45:9-10?

14. What do you learn about God from Isaiah 45:11-13?

15. What promise does God give to Israel in Isaiah 45:14-17?

16. What declarations about Himself does God make in Isaiah 45:18-19?

17. What does God say of those who worship idols in Isaiah 45:20?

18. How can you use this passage to soften your heart to pray for those lost in idolatrous religion today? Pray for those you may know or even strangers who are caught in idolatry and the worship of false gods.

19. What does God say of Himself in Isaiah 45:21? How does this bring comfort to the believer?

20. Copy Isaiah 45:22 here. Meditate on it. What do you see?

21. Pray for the nations who do not know God – that they would look to Him and be saved.

22. What do you learn from the following verses?
□ John 3:16, 36

□ John 6:47

□ 1 John 5:10

□ Acts 16:31

□ Romans 10:9-10

23. What does God promise in Isaiah 45:23-25? How does that encourage you?

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Here

Posted in Poem, Uncategorized, tagged , , on August 23, 2019| 1 Comment »

This is not my home
I find no thrill
no comfort
no future
here.

I long for You
to be with You
I long for life
eternal life
with You.

On days like this
subtle tricks on my mind
it plays
taking all the color
stealing all the joy
leaving me sad
but I can’t pinpoint
why?

My hope is in You
Your Word heals my
shattered heart

days like these will come
but I will cling to You.

My Rock
My Fortress
My Foundation
My Refuge

restore me
renew me
breathe life into me
O God,
My God
as long as I am
here.

Mary Beth 2019

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Breaking vs Crushing

Posted in Devotional, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on August 21, 2019|

It is one thing to be broken. A clean break is not impossible to mend. Align the broken pieces, apply some epoxy, wait and time will heal the fractures.

Crushing is a totally different thing. With a horrible blow or a series of repeated strikes to the fragile porcelain of a human heart, a crushing occurs–thousands of tiny pieces are left with no hope of ever being re-aligned or re-assembled.

Humpty-dumpty all over again.

But God . . .

Indeed, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you. Isaiah 42:9

If anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].  2 Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified)

Sometimes with God it is a break, clean and neat. But often with God it is a crushing–to testify to His desire and power and make all things new–to release the fragrance that is within us.

Take heart, beloved, if you are going through a time of crushing right now, He will make all things new for you. Not one of His promises will fall. He will keep each and every one.

 

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Isaiah Chapter 36

Posted in Isaiah, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on August 20, 2019|

The next three chapters of Isaiah are about King Hezekiah. In order to better understand them, we are going to review what the books of the history (Kings and Chronicles) tell us about Hezekiah and his life.

Read 2 Kings Chapter 18
1. Who is the king of Judah at the beginning of this chapter?
2. How old was Hezekiah when he became king of Judah? How long did he reign? How is his reign described?

3. What do you learn of Hezekiah from 2 Kings 18:5-6?
4. What happened to Israel during the sixth year of Hezekiah, King of Judah? Why? (See verse 12)
5. What happened to Hezekiah and Judah in the 14th year of his reign? How does Hezekiah try to remedy the situation? What was the result?

Read 2 Chronicles 29
Some of what is covered is review of the above chapters in 2 Kings Chapter 18.
6. What did Hezekiah do in the first month of his reign? What did he tell the priests?
7. What does Hezekiah lay out as his plan in 2 Chronicles 29:10?
8. What do the priests do in 2 Chronicles 29:12-19?
9. How does King Hezekiah respond?

10. What are you told about Hezekiah and the people in 2 Chronicles 29:36?

Read 2 Chronicles 30
11. What does Hezekiah decide to do in this chapter?

12. What did the runners (couriers) tell the people when they announced the celebration of Passover in Jerusalem and the call for the people to come?
13. What did Hezekiah pray for the people according to 2 Chronicles 30:18-19? What was the Lord’s response?
14. What happened according to 2 Chronicles 30:23?

15. What do you learn from 2 Chronicles 30:26-27?

Read Isaiah Chapter 36
16. What is going on in the opening verses of Isaiah 36?

17. What does Rabshakeh try to do to those listening?
18. How did Hezekiah’s servants respond? Why? What did they do/tell Hezekiah?

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Rescued and Drawn

Posted in General Epistles, Uncategorized, tagged , on July 31, 2019|

Some days everything’s coming up roses, but often it’s hard to move forward, maybe even to get out of bed. For times when what faces us seems to be dominating us, God has provided in anchors for the soul to hold us and keep us from slipping. Colossians 1:13 is such an anchors.

For He [Adonai] has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son [Jesus] (Amplified version)

He has rescued us. This speaks of a completed work. It requires nothing further to be complete. It can’t be undone. It won’t unravel.

We were rescued from imminent danger-the danger of death and the unavoidable wrath of God because it is the fate of man to die once and then face God’s judgment. What an amazing rescue! Without anything else that would be mind-blowing. But Paul goes on.

He has drawn us to Himself. This is the very heart of God–closeness with us, intimate relationship with us. He knows that we are surrounded by darkness–the dominion of darkness. That which has dominion over us rules us, governs us, dominates us. Our necks were under the heel of the boot of the enemy of our souls. God saved us from that. And not leaving us there, He gave us a new destination–a new Sovereign. He transferred us to the kingdom of His Son–a kingdom in which all sin has been paid for and its power eliminated. In the Kingdom of His Son, I am an adopted child, I’m grafted into a rich history with God and the people of God.

Hallelujah! What a Savior! That’s good news (gospel).

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Isaiah Chapter 30 – Warning against Making Alliance with Egypt

Posted in Uncategorized on June 29, 2019|

Read Isaiah Chapter 30

  1. Against whom is the “woe” spoken in Isaiah 30:1-5?
  2. What shall become of them?
  3. Against whom is judgment spoken in Isaiah 30:6-11?
  4. How is this group described?
  5. What do verses 9 to 10 say about how they respond to God’s law?
  6. What is the judgment spoken in Isaiah 30:12-14?
  7. What promise does God say to them in Isaiah 30:15?
  8. Compare Isaiah 30:15 to Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:37. What do you notice?
  9. What promises do you find in Isaiah 30:18?
  10. What do you learn from these verses about God’s justice?
    □ Psalm 89:14 □ Psalm 97:2
  11. What promise do you find in Isaiah 30:19?
  12. What do you learn of the LORD’s willingness to answer from these verses?
    □ Psalm 20:6 □ Psalm 118:5 □ Psalm 138:3 □ Jonah 2:2
  13. What will be the result of the adversity the people of God suffer according to Isaiah 30:20-22?
  14. What promises are given in Isaiah 30:23-26?
  15. What judgment is described in Isaiah 30:27-33?

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Mother’s Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on May 12, 2019|

Honor (respect, obey, care for) . . .  your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you. (Exodus 20:12 Amplified)

The commands of God are often easier to read than to follow. Mother-daughter relationships can be challenging. I have had my own struggles.

The road to understanding, accepting and honoring my mother has been smoother since I became a mother. I began to see through my own experience as a parent of only one child how one might say and do the things that my mother, who had 4 children, did.

In the end, God needed to break my heart for my mother, to see her in truth, not colored by my needs, desires, disappointments. To give me a heart for her, God needed to cut mine.

As I pressed in to God to learn to be a better daughter, God reminded me of the command–honor your mother.

It isn’t a suggestion; it’s a command. It isn’t something I can do when I feel like it; it is required of me by God. I guess He knew there’d be days when we’d want to give up, when disappointments and unmet expectations would threaten to crush us like bugs.

On a day like today, when my heart is overwhelmed by love for my mother, for all that she is and all she went through in her motherhood journey, it is easy to love and to treat her well.

On the difficult days, I fall back on the command. I honor her because that is my reasonable service to God.

Mom

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The Last Supper

Posted in Uncategorized on April 17, 2019|

Read Matthew 26:17-30.

The scene described in these scriptures is of the Last Supper (as it is known by the Church) which was a Passover meal (a Seder) which Jesus (a Jew) celebrated with his disciples (all Jews) the night He was arrested. The Seder was very ritualized.

Passover was to begin at sundown which in March or April would be at approximately 6 p.m. The meal had to be eaten within the walls of Jerusalem. For that reason, at the time of Passover, pilgrims from all over Israel would crowd into Jerusalem, and its population would swell. Passover was a very intimate meal to be shared with family and close friends. Here Jesus is with his very closest friends and disciples.

  1. What do you observe? Why are we given this part of the story?
  2. Read Luke 22:7-23
  3. According to Luke 22:15-16, what does Jesus say about this Passover?
  4. In Luke 22:19, how did Jesus describe the bread?
  5. In Luke 22:20, what did Jesus say about the cup?
  6. What does Jesus say about the fruit of the vine in Mark 14:25? What is implied by His statement?
  7. What were the Jews told to teach their children about Passover according to Exodus 12:25-27?
  8. What is the significance of the Passover for the Christian? (Hint: 1 Corinthians 5:7)
  9. What prophecy did John the Baptist speak over Jesus in John 1:29? What did he mean?

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