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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 24 June 2023:
Isaiah 50:4 – The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
Do you know the word of God well enough to use it to sustain those who are weary? Do you wake up each morning to hear God’s word and to be taught by God’s word so you can walk by His word and teach His word? Dedicate every morning to Spirit-led, prayerful Bible study in order to be equipped to fulfill your purpose on earth and to sustain the weary.
Isaiah 50:5, 6 – The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
Still, it is not enough that we dedicate each morning the Spirit-led Bible study, you then have to live out what you have been taught by the Holy Spirit through God’s word, you have to be ready to deny self, to take up your cross, and to follow Jesus. How you respond to maltreatment reveals the truth of your faith and love for Jesus. God puts difficult people in your life to change you and to change them.
Isaiah 50:7 – But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
Those who follow Jesus do not respond negatively to negativity; they don’t return evil for evil; they return good for evil. They respond to abuse with forgiveness. They can do this because they have put their trust in the Lord. This, by the way, can only seem crazy to the world.
Isaiah 50:10-11 – Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.
Jesus is the Light of life. Many people build their own small fires as a substitute for Jesus. Not only are these lights burdensome and dim, they always burn out quickly. Why not rely on the Light which is the lights all creation for eternity?
Isaiah 51:1 — Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Many seek righteousness, but they refuse to look to the source of righteousness, the author of righteousness, the Sovereign, Holy God who is Righteousness – they refuse to turn to The Rock, or stone, of Righteousness, Jesus (see verses below). God tells you that if you are truly seeking Him, you will dig into His word and learn from what He has given you. Many want to ‘hear’ a word from God, but they don’t want to heed the words He has already provided through the Bible. How you approach the Bible reveals how much you are truly seeking and pursuing. If you don’t ‘have time’ for the Bible, what does that reveal?
- Matthew 7:24 — “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
- Matthew 7:25 — And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
- Matthew 16:18 — And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
- Romans 9:33 — as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 — and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
- 1 Peter 2:6-8 — For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
From Henry T. Blackaby — As Christians, we ought never to overlook our heritage. An awareness of our Christian heritage helps us to understand our identity, and it gives us a sense of where God is leading us. The Israelites had a rich heritage. Their nation began as a result of Abraham and Sarah’s faithfulness. The generations that followed included Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as their faithful leaders. God richly blessed His people and made them prosper. God continued to show favor on the Israelites by leading them out of Egypt into a prosperous land of their own. God established His nation through some of the most awesome miracles in history. God continued to provide strong leaders, such as Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Deborah, Samuel, David, and Solomon. He sent mighty prophets such as Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Unfortunately, in Isaiah’s day, God’s people had reached a point where they had forgotten their heritage. They lived as spiritual paupers rather than as heirs to a rich heritage and members of a royal priesthood. Your spiritual heritage is even richer than that of Isaiah’s generation. Your spiritual ancestors include Mary the mother of Jesus, John the Baptist, the disciples, the apostle Paul, and a host of saints down through the ages. Even more important, you look to Jesus as the author and finisher of your faith (Heb. 12:2). You may have a family history of faithfulness that goes back several generations. Do you see the full picture of God’s redemptive work? God’s plan involves you, just as it has included each Christian throughout the centuries. God wants you to participate in His continuing work to redeem a lost world. Your obedience today will provide a legacy of faithfulness to the generations that follow.
Psalm 72:1-4 — Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!… May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
Justice is not defined by men but by God. Men are as just as they are submissive to God. Godly leaders pursue justice and protect the weak.
Psalm 72:11 — In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound.
When the righteous flourish, peace abounds. A truly just ruler has the moral authority to expand is reign on earth.
Psalm 72:15 – May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!
We should pray for our leaders, particularly our faithful leaders.
Psalm 72:17 — May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!
God desires that we pray for righteous leaders continually.
Psalm 72:18 – Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
All good things come from God.
Proverbs 24:3, 4, 5 – By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled…. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might.
Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing. Wisdom is the ability to rightly apply knowledge in accordance with God’s will. Wisdom must be the foundation of knowledge for knowledge to be valuable. Knowledge that is not grounded in wisdom is ultimately destructive. God wants His people to acquire as much knowledge as possible, but wisdom is more important than knowledge. There are may very knowledgeable people in the world, but few with wisdom.
- Psalm 111:10 — The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Proverbs 24:10 – If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
You don’t know what you are made of until you are tested. Strength is something you must build up before you need it.
Proverbs 24:11, 12 – Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
God expects you to proclaim His truth to those you know need it, and He will hold you accountable for neglecting to tell others the truth they need.
Proverbs 24:19 – Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked….
Let God worry about the wicked while you focus on being faithful to Him, regardless of apparent outcomes. God knows what is going on and will judge the hearts of all people.
Proverbs 24:21 – My son, fear the Lord and the king.
Christians strive to obey all authority. Christians only defy authority when that authority demands disobedience to God. Christians obey God above all else.
Proverbs 24:29 – Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
This is easy to understand but often hard to do. It is easier for us to imagine obeying this command with big things – if someone robs us, we can accept not robbing them in return. However, it is in little everyday ways that we fail to obey this command. When someone speaks harshly to us, we are tempted to speak harshly back. When someone blatantly takes our parking spot, we want to yell at them. When someone puts their own interests ahead of ours, we, in turn, want to put our own interests ahead of theirs, though the Bible tells us to put the needs of others first. Today, focus on responding only with selfless, gracious love when others act selfishly and mistreat you.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 24 June 2023: Today, lift up and encourage others around you by speaking the truth of God’s love into their lives and helping them come to our draw closer to Jesus. Speak the them as someone who has been taught every day by the Teacher, and add real value to their lives, value money can’t buy. (Isaiah 50:4)
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 