YEAR 2, WEEK 24, Day 1, Monday, 12 June 2023

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 12 June 2023:

Isaiah 37:1 – As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.

When you lack faith, go to the Lord – get closer to Him, not further away.

Isaiah 37:7 – Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.

God influences and controls people where you can’t. God can change the heart of your adversaries. Powerful is the person who trusts in the power of God to do what He can’t.

Isaiah 37:30 — And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

It may take years for God to answer your prayer. Do you have the faith to wait?

Isaiah 37:35 – For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.

God delivers those who are faithful to Him before unbelievers in order to reveal Himself to the world, not just to give His people what they want out of life. To receive the full blessings of God, you must live a life before others that truly seeks His will over comfort, security, and desires, a life that always points to Him.

Isaiah 37:36 – And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

When you are trusting in God in accordance with His will, He will fight your enemies, and you won’t have too defeat them in your own strength; He will do what you could never do for yourself, again to reveal Himself both to you and to the world. If you rely on your own strength for your own purposes, the world will only see what you can do – that is no witness nor a powerful life.

2 Corinthians 12:6 – …though if I should wish to boast, I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

What you have done in the past (or what you think you have done) matters little compared with what you are now in Christ. If certain virtues are truly visible in your life, you won’t have to boast – what you are will be self-evident. Margaret Thatcher once said, “Being powerful is like being a lady; if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.”

Jesus said, “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-18) “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit…. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43-44) It is one thing to tell people you are a Christian, but it is another thing to display the fruit of the Spirit in your life. The Bible tells us exactly what this fruit is: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22, 23) Are you boasting about fruit in your life or producing fruit that is obvious to everyone who sees you?

• Proverbs 25:14 — Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
• John 13:35 — By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus said, that all His true followers will bear fruit — “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:1-11)

Notice that in the above verses, the word “abide” is used ten times. The key to fruitfulness is abiding in Jesus, remaining “in” Him. Abiding is present tense, not something we did, but something we must do continuously, like breathing. When we are abiding in Jesus, we produce obvious fruit, and therefore, there is no need to talk about the kind of fruit we can produce or once produced. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8) Notice too that Jesus is the reason for fruitfulness, apart from Him, we can do nothing truly virtuous.

• Proverbs 27:2 — Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
• Ephesians 2:8, 9 — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7 — For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
• 2 Corinthians 11:30 — If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
• 1 Corinthians 1:31 — So that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
• Jeremiah 9:23-24 — Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
• Galatians 6:14 — But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

If there is anything about us which might be praiseworthy, it can only be a gift from God, and all praise, honor and glory must go to Him. We can only boast about Jesus Christ, and in fact, that is our purpose and calling, to glorify Him to all creation – “…they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12) God forbid that we should seek any praise, glory, or honor for ourselves apart from those coveted words from our Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 — But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

“Human strength is a strong deterrent to trusting in Christ. When we rely on our own strength, resources, and knowledge, we assume we can handle situations without help from God. We tend to divide problems into two categories: problems that we know require God’s help and problems we think we can handle on our own. Paul had a tenacious personality and an exceptionally strong will. He courageously faced angry mobs as he traveled far and wide to promote the cause of Christ. He had spent the first half of his life serving God in his own strength. However, once God gained his attention, Paul had to learn to rely on God’s strength and not his own.

Paul was afflicted with a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). Whatever this was, it humbled him. He had performed incredible miracles, even raising the dead, but he could not remove the affliction that God had given him, an affliction that made him depend on God. The world had seen what Paul could do in his own strength, and it was horrifying! Now God wanted to exercise His power through Paul’s life. When Paul thought he was strong, he neglected to rely upon God’s strength. Only in his weakness did Paul trust implicitly in God.

If you feel strong in an area of your life, beware! Often your strength, rather than your weakness, hinders you from trusting God. God will bring you to a point of weakness if that is what it takes to bring you to trust in Him. Do not despise your weakness, for it leads you to trust in God’s strength.” (Henry T. Blackaby)

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 12 June 2023: Boast in the Lord, never in yourself. Let you good deeds testify to the reality of Christ in your life and never miss the opportunity to tell people why you are different:

• Ephesians 2:8 — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
• Galatians 2:20 — I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
• 2 Peter 1:3-8 — His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.