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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Thursday, 29 June 2023:
Isaiah 55:1, 2 — Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
God’s salvation is free, the gift of God in Christ received by grace through faith in Christ alone – GRACE: God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Yet instead of taking that eternal, priceless gift, people struggle with all their might to acquire a substitute that has no value and doesn’t satisfy. Instead of accepting God’s free salvation, comfort, peace, and security, people wear themselves out attempting to create their own salvation which is no salvation at all.
Isaiah 55:6, 7 — Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
God gives people an opportunity to repent and be forgiven and opportunities to learn and grow, but those opportunities aren’t endless. Don’t waste the opportunities God gives you to obey, grow, and experience Him more fully. Some will miss the opportunity that was made available to them to find the Lord, but it will be of their own choosing. The Lord calls out to the lost and wayward: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price…. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live. ” (Isaiah 55:1)
God’s word always accomplishes its purpose of revealing the hearts of men. To those who genuinely desire the Lord, He will break down all barriers and accomplish the impossible – “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’; and let not the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.’” (Isaiah 56:3-5) However, those who do not truly desire God will follow their own blind guides who will tell them what they want to hear to suit their passions and appetites – “His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.’” (Isaiah 56:10-12)
We are reminded in Hebrews that we are not led by such blind shepherds but rather by The Great Shepherd who gives us peace and equips us and empowers us to do His will for His glory – “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20, 21) Some will believe our testimony, and others won’t. Either way, God’s word will accomplish its intended purpose.
Isaiah 55:8, 9 — For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
The revelation of God does not come from intellectual pursuits but must come through the Spirit. There is no way to measure the difference between our thoughts and God’s thoughts. Often, a person must forsake their thoughts and follow the Spirit because our thoughts are far from The Holy LORD.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “Rarely does God do something exactly as we think He will. Our problem is that we try to second-guess God, saying, “Oh, now I know what God is planning to do!” Moses experienced this as he learned how God was going to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt. God told him He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Yet, the result was not what Moses anticipated. Rather than allowing the Hebrews to leave, Pharaoh increased their hardship. Rather than becoming a hero among the Hebrews, Moses was despised by them for bringing greater suffering. Moses returned to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?” (Exod. 5:22).
Much of the frustration we experience as Christians has nothing to do with what God does or doesn’t do. It has everything to do, rather, with the false assumptions we make about how we think God will and should act. Have you ever done the will of God and then things seemed to become worse? Moses completely misunderstood what the results of His obedience to God would be. When things did not turn out as he anticipated, Moses became discouraged. God had told Moses what to do, but He had not told Moses what the consequences would be. It is foolish to attempt to do God’s work using your own “common sense.” God does not eliminate your common sense, He consecrates it. He gives you His wisdom so you can understand His ways. As you look back on God’s activity in your life, you will recognize the supreme wisdom in how He has led you. As you look forward to what God may do, be careful you do not try to predict what He will do next. You may find yourself completely off the mark.”
Isaiah 55:11 — …so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Whether God’s word is received or rejected by the listener, it has accomplished its purpose. We are messengers of God, not to be accepted by men but to proclaim the glory of God to all who must then choose.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “When God speaks, nothing remains the same. At the beginning of time, God spoke, and a universe was created out of nothing. God followed a pattern when He created the earth: He spoke; it was so; it was good (Gen. 1:3-4). This pattern continued throughout the Bible. Whenever God revealed His plans, things happened just as He said, and God considered the result “good” (Phil. 2:13). God doesn’t make suggestions. He speaks with the full determination to see that what He has said will come to fruition. Whenever Jesus spoke, what He said came to pass. Lepers found that a word from Jesus meant healing (Luke 5:13; 17:14). The blind man discovered that a word from Jesus meant sight (Luke 18:42). Through a barren fig tree the disciples saw that a curse from Jesus meant destruction (Mark 11:20). The sinner experienced forgiveness through a word from Jesus (John 8:11). How many attempts did it take Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead? Only one (John 11:43). There was never a time that Jesus spoke that what He said did not happen. What happens when Jesus speaks to you? Have you been reading the words of Jesus in your Bible without experiencing His word that transforms everything around you? Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they assumed that knowledge of the written Scriptures would give them life. They were satisfied with having the words instead of experiencing the person who spoke the words (John 5:39). How powerful a word from God is to your life! As you read your Bible and pray, listen to what God has to say to you about His will for your life.
Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Parents are also required to treat their children with dignity, patience, gentleness, and grace. Parents cannot abuse their authority.
Ephesians 6:5-9 – Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
Yes, we are to treat our bosses like we would treat Jesus, and we must do it with sincerity. Do you sincerely treat your employer like you would Jesus?
We are called to serve both God and man, not in order to get credit but out of sincere love and to bring glory to God.
“…knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” God will treat you the way you treat others.
Who receives our service should not affect how we serve; how they respond to our service should not affect how we serve. If our service is not appreciated from people it matters little because we are serving the LORD, and He will treat us in the same way we treat others. He is gracious to the gracious, generous to the generous, forgiving to the forgiving, etc. God is in control of all things, not people.
Ephesians 6:10, 11 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
The devil will scheme against you, and you will not be prepared for his attacks against you without the strength that comes from God.
Ephesians 6:12 — For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The sinner is not your real enemy, evil spiritual forces are the enemy. The sinner is your objective.
From Henry T. Blackaby — “In a battle, it is imperative to identify your enemy. If you are not aware of the point of your attack, you are vulnerable. Paul had many enemies. Some resented him, others hated him, and others wanted to kill him. Some, who were supposedly on his side, sought to harm him and his ministry (Acts 9:23; Phil. 1:17; 2 Tim. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 4:14). In spite of the persecution he faced, Paul never lost sight of his real enemy. Paul was wary of Satan. When people attacked him, he knew they were not his real opponents. They were simply unwitting instruments of the spiritual forces of darkness.
When you meet opposition to your faith, your first reaction may be anger toward your antagonist. This may divert your attention from the deeper, spiritual dimensions of your conflict. Your adversary may be hopelessly in to sin. Rather than retaliating, you should immediately and earnestly intercede for that person. Your opponent’s hostility is your invitation to become involved in God’s redemptive work to free him or her from spiritual bondage.
Be alert to the spiritual warfare around you. It is real and potentially destructive to you and those you care about. Knowing your real foe will protect you from bitterness and unforgiveness. Your hope lies in the reality that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Do not place your hope in humanity, but steadfastly trust in the One who has already defeated your enemy.”
Ephesians 6:17 — Take… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God….
Train with the sword every day so you are ready for the fight when it comes. No one gets really skilled at anything without daily commitment over time. “Forty years ago, in a paper in American Scientist, Herbert Simon and William Chase drew one of the most famous conclusions in the study of expertise: ‘There are no instant experts in chess—certainly no instant masters or grandmasters. There appears not to be on record any case (including Bobby Fischer) where a person reached grandmaster level with less than about a decade’s intense preoccupation with the game. We would estimate, very roughly, that a master has spent perhaps 10,000 to 50,000 hours staring at chess positions…’” How many hours have you spent studying God’s word?
- Deuteronomy 11:18-23 — “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.
- Proverbs 2:1-22 — My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. …
- Psalm 1:1-6 — Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
- 2 Timothy 2:15 — Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Ephesians 6:18 – …praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints….
Effective prayer requires perseverance in prayer and alertness – pay attention to what God might be doing beyond your preconceived notions of how or when He might or should answer your prayer as well as ways He might answer your prayer beyond your imagination. Being faithfully perseverant in prayer included waiting patiently upon the Lord and praying out of loving obedience without a demand for specific outcomes. God will honor your prayers, though He might not reveal to you how. Remember, your prayers are for His glory and for the benefit of others, not primarily for your sense of accomplishment. Be faithful and trust God with the results.
Ephesians 6:20 – …for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
You can serve God powerfully in any position or condition.
Ephesians 6:22 — I have sent him to you for this very purpose…. that he may encourage your hearts.
Everyone can use an encouraging word; are you there to provide it to them?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 29 June 2023: Re-commit today to a consistent study of God’s word, as well as consistent practice in God’s word.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 