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In that crucified life we can hear the Lord speak! In that life, they produce some 100-fold for the kingdom of God. They are producers of good fruit to glorify God.
In Psalm 90:12 so teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Accountability on our part is that all our actions in this life should hold an amount of fear. It is not fearing God as one of wrath, but one who is always before us in His sweetness, and light. It is seeing Him in His everlasting nature. He is the all-sufficient God, mighty and unconquerable.
Psalm 119:133 Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. 134 Redeem me from the oppression of man.
Philippians 1:27 only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.
Here Paul talks of one's conduct. In this time period, men and women prized their citizenship as Roman citizens. But the most important conduct today is to behave in a manner befitting citizens of the kingdom of God.
In thinking of these words as to the kingdom of God, will be choose to unify with Christ Jesus? Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Would this be our theme verse for 2026 or any other year? Will we feed our mind the things of God's kingdom or of this world that is passing away......?
Isaiah
55:1-3 NKJV "Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the
waters; And you who have no money,
Come, buy
and eat.
Yes, come,
buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
2 Why do
you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not
satisfy?
Listen
carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in
abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and
your soul shall live;
And I will
make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David.
Isaiah
55:1-3 contains an appeal, continuing the theme that there is a spiritual food
that nourishes the inner man and fills one's life in a way and with abundance
that all of a person's material things cannot. Your house nor your car can save you from hell. Here we see that God is speaking about His
Word seen in the word "listen," which is directly connected to the
phrase "eat what is good." This food is, of course, spiritual, and
its source is God. Interestingly, He says to come and buy, but not with money.
This food cannot be purchased with material wealth. All the money in the world
cannot purchase it, but it still must be bought. Recall that the foolish
virgins in Matthew 25 are advised to go out and buy oil from those who sell in
preparation for the coming of the Bridegroom.
The "food" in Isaiah 55 and the "oil" in Matthew 25 can be bought only by means of the dedication and commitment of one's life in submission to Christ. Being committed to Christ is seen in our lifestyles!
By being a living sacrifice in prayer, study, meditation,
and obedience, one becomes energized by the food of God's Word. In addition,
one can "purchase" it only from those appointed by God to
"sell" it. It can only be bought from those already converted and
provided by God with the gifts to teach it to others. In most cases, this is
the ministry of the true church.
Do you know that "true church"?
Jeremiah 3:15 provides us with clear Old Testament evidence that the principle of feeding the mind with the correct instruction leads to good spiritual health: "And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." God clearly states that a mind fed with the right things can produce wisdom, holiness, and happiness. ( Imagine your life if you ate hamburgers every day. And this burger has three slices of bacon on it.)
Here it is God who promises that those who hear Him will be fed the elements of an abundant
life through shepherds who exhibit godly character. God's Word, if it is
believed and practiced, produces a unique perspective of life and a balance
that cannot be found through any other means. Nothing that man has produced
through philosophy or religion can even come close. Think of those who have created a religion like Mormons. These elements of human society
have played major roles in producing restless, anxious, violent cultures. Know any of these? Have you seen some appear in your own community?
In reading a recent newspaper from our area, I came across an article written by a group who are providing a teaching on authoritarianism. This event is scheduleease and comfort, d to be rolled out in January. It appears that they will give participants opportunities to discuss and join projects that oppose authoritarian measures currently being seen and done by current federal government. My question is: "where were all you the last four years in the last administrations rolled out such organizations?
Is that for folks who want to oppose an existing government established some 250 years ago??? Men can certainly fail you indeed. But I believe many voted for the recent President and I am certain he would desire all righteous men to pray for him as he leads this nation!
In hearing of such government oppositions, stomping your feet and demanding your wants is childish. One should be willing to vote for righteous ways and not unethical violent practices! And my next question would be on what amount of time have you spent praying over your leader and country?
People desire ease and comfort. They want you to give them "free stuff" while they tell you to leave them alone. People today want ease and no frictions. Although they carry tons of baggage over the last 25 years, they choose to find only those who like what they like and hate all others even if it is a leader of a nation or at their own job.
Of recent years, both my husband and I have had many days to record our thankfulness for still being alive in this hour. We have written down what God has done for us in the darkest hour we have seen. We have seen change come so quickly and hard to change my own life indeed. But my husband stepped up to help when I could not do for me. He stepped up, humbled himself to working from home so he could help me and not depend on another. For men will fail you indeed but prayer and God's word bring us wisdom and of course His peace. Today, a new year begins, not weighted down with past things, but looking forward with less clutter and much peace in seeing each day yielding the goodness of God. We record, yes, the good, the bad and the ugly, but we give much thanks to Him who is our sufficiency!
While I worked and my husband seemed distant at times, I found Psalm 92 so helpful to me. Verse 1-2 It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.
I found God good and faithful in my loneliness. I found giving Him thanks for His faithful heart, I could take that brokenness of my heart and hold tightly. I found by letting go of His hand and taking His heart, we connected in a deeper level. For any anxiety that existed, I could minister His heart to others every day. In the morning, I expressed with loud voice to thanking His all-sufficiency and at night again, a voice filled our home with love for His grace to a broken world.
Yes, we two have seen good times and hard times. We have seen this life together in sickness and health, and know God is available in every season. He is waiting as we listen to His voice of wisdom and run to declare it to others. We know the darkness of the enemy and the pain of any struggle. And prayer is a God-thing. It is about reaching His heart for His glory and His praise. And in return we walk in His wisdom dwelling in peace daily. Certainly Jesus knew these things. He declared them from the cross as He hung giving up His last breath.
We pray for those attending this event in January. We pray they stop violence to live in God's peace. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
When the Spirit fully controls the life of a believer, He produces all of these graces. The 1st three have to do with our attitude toward God. The second three deal with social relationships and the third group describes principles that guide a Christian's conduct.
Today, we know that it is the world that always produces an almost overwhelming amount of spiritual junk food and outright spiritual garbage, and it is within easy reach of any mind anywhere no matter where one lives. You know that today if you own a television set or a cell phone all that "Junk" is just a swipe away. It is a place of harm, and violence. It is a place where God is not revered. Let us look forward, reaching for God's heart and not His hand. Reach out in prayer and believe God is there in the midst, in His goodness, we expect godly behavior, prayer against any violent behavior, and love for our neighbor. This is not for the one who breaks the laws of this land where we live, but one who reveres what God has done in the past. He can do it again when we lean into His word and His love. Amen.
Teaching at: Voice of Prayer
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