Isaiah 33:13-16 NASB
“You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

Command with a Promise…
Read down through “He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, he who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe, he who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil” and you will see the command to God’s people. The promise is that whomever lives their life this way wil “dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.” Does this apply to God’s people today? I certainly think it does. God wants us to live holy and righteous lives for His glory.

Proverbs 3:1-2 NASB
My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.

Command with a Promise…
I have often been surprised by how often the Bible talks about doing things with our hearts rather than our minds. Here we are commanded to hold on to the teachings of God and to keep his commandments…with our heart. The result will be length of days and years of life blessed with peace, God’s peace. I agree that it is important to study and to learn about God and our responsibilities to Him, but He wants it to go much deeper than that. He desires that we know him from our heart, the center of our being, and that we serve Him from there. Even Satan and all of his minions have all the knowledge that is available about God. That knowledge without the love and the service from our hearts makes us no different than them.

Psalm 86:12 NASB
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.

Personal Challenge…
God is God and I am not…this is why I must always remember to give thanks to Him. He is the one to be glorified and everything and at all times.

Job 28:28 NASB
“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Personal Challenge…
Now this is not what you would most likely hear in the world today as sound advice. Where does true wisdom begin…in the fear (respect, awe, reverence, piety) of the Lord. What is the basis of understanding…running away from evil (wickedness, mischief, wrong-being). God desires from us a humble and contrite heart…isn’t this where true wisdom and understanding begins?

James 2:19-20 NASB
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Personal Challenge…
Have you ever caught yourself minimizing God or taking Him and our calling to worship and obey Him lightly? Being a follower of Christ is serious business. Sometimes I think the modern church has watered God down so much that He is seen as just one more character, person, object in our lives to use when WE need it.

We are called to worship Him with awe and reverence, does your worship reflect this? We are called to obey Him and humble ourselves before Him, are you doing this in every moment of your day and night? I regret to admit that I all too often put God in the back seat and take over piloting my vehicle through life.

He is God and I am not! He is the Lord of all and I am not. I must decrease so that He can increase. I must exercise my faith in Him by doing His works. Otherwise, I am no different that the demons who know Him, but are not His “children”.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Encouraging Words…
As each day passes by and I am reminded more and more that my body is growing older this verse encourages me. It is wonderful to know that this physical presence is but a small blip on our lifeline of eternity. As I have heard, this life in these physical bodies are but the introduction to the book of our lives. We have not even started the first chapter yet. I guess the real important question to ask is, “Where will the chapters of your book be set throughout eternity?” I am grateful that I can say that through the work of my Lord Jesus Christ my setting will be in the presence of God.

Acts 5:40-42 NIV
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Personal Challenge…
When you read this scripture in it’s context you will find that the apostles have been pulled into the Council of the high priest to be judged because they were publicly proclaiming Jesus as the Lord and the Messiah. The Council was tired of punishing them and having them go right back out and do it again. This time they were getting ready to put them to death when Gamaliel, a member of the Council, convinced them that if this new movement (what we now call Christianity) was truly of God then they would not be able to stop it by killing these men.

Fast forward to our times today. Are we as Christians willing to stand up so firmly for our Lord? Are we willing to take the cat-calls and the slurs because we are willing to pray over our meal at a restaurant, or cross ourselves in public when the names of the Trinity are invoked, or kneel before Him? Are we willing to be public with our commitment to Christ or do we feel it is more politically correct to hide our expressions of faith because we might offend someone. I must admit that I have all too often chosen not to stand out for my faith because of who might be looking in my direction. Think about it…even Jesus was willing to be hung naked on a cross in front of all of the people of Jerusalem in order to save mankind and creation from death. What am I willing to do for Him?

John 16:33 NLT
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Encouraging Words…
Have you ever had one of those times where you felt like you were all alone? Maybe it was out on a desolate country road or hiking in the wilderness. Maybe it was in the middle of a crowded area. Often it is in the midst of those trials that bear down upon us. But here is a wonderful promise from God’s eternal Word. We are not alone for God is ever present and He, in the form of man, has overcome the world and redeemed creation from the hold that death had on it. We are not alone and have the Creator/Redeemer of all there with us.

Isaiah 1:16-20 NASB
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Personal Challenge…
When did we, “the church”, start making salvation a noun? It is truly a verb throughout the scriptures. It begins with the work of Jesus on the cross, but it continues through the Holy Spirit working in and though our lives, and continues with us being obedient to His directions and the commandments of our God. It works out in our lives being lived in community with other believers. It is a continual, ongoing process and we are called to be active participants in that process.

Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.


Encouraging Words…
To continue with yesterday’s verse of the day, this one is another reminder that living my life with my confidence and trust placed in the LORD will provide for me a life lived without fear. It is not my act of confidence or trust that provides this life without fear, but it is the One in whom I place that confidence and trust. God is my provider, my protector, my sustainer. It is Him and His hold on the greater things that takes care of me and those whom He places in my life. It is once again, not about me, but about Him and His creation.