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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 6 August 2023:
Jeremiah 30:11-13, 17, 19-20 — For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD…. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished…. For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous. There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you…. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD…. Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small. Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them.
The Lord disciplines to save, and those who understand they have been saved by God when salvation was humanly impossible and could have come by no other, the natural result is songs of thanksgiving and celebration as well as abundant living, restoration to the kind of life God always intended for His children. When people see the incurable cured through the power of Christ, God is glorified, the Good News spreads, and the kingdom grows. The once pitiful who now display the power of Christ in their lives as “new creations,” become “the light of the world [and] a city set on a hill [which] cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)
Jeremiah 30:24 – In the latter days you will understand this.
Faith (trusting God at the moment), hope (trusting God with the future), and love (resting in God’s love and trusting God’s love enough to love others unconditionally) may require you to commit your whole life to parts of God’s word and will you don’t understand or which are completely unaccepted by others. Everyone will understand in the end, but what you do before then will reveal what you really believe to be true about God and will determine how joyful and effective your life will be in the meantime. Faith is not only believing in the most important part of our reality which is unseen, it is acting on that reality to experience the truth of it in ways which manifest it or make it visible for all to see. When we are faithful to faith, the invisible truth and power of God become evident – seeing is not believing, believing is seeing. As the Founding Fathers of America stated, truth is self-evident, it reveals itself.
- Hebrews 11:1 — Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
- Hebrews 11:3 — By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
- Luke 8:17 — For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
Psalm 89:1 — I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
We were created to glorify God on earth. We were not created simply for heaven, and eternal life is not something we experience only after we die. Eternal life is something we experience now, on earth – “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (see John 17:3 and read Jesus’ prayer for us). We were specifically made as both physical and spiritual entities so we could translate God’s spiritual qualities and truths into the physical world for His glory. Don’t let sin distract you from your earthly calling of glorifying God and enjoying Him right now while you patiently await His triumphant return.
- Matthew 6:10 — Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
- Isaiah 65:17 — “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
- Isaiah 66:22 — “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain.
- 2 Peter 3:13 — But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
- Revelation 3:12 — The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
- Revelation 21:1 — Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- Revelation 21:2 — And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
God’s plan brings the physical and spiritual into harmony. In fact, upon Christ’s return, His final restoration will include a new heaven and new earth, where everyone will see God as King over all, both a physical realm and a spiritual realm. While we wait for the final fulfillment of redemption and Christ’s triumphant return, we are to live out and proclaim the truth of our redemption on earth while on a mission of reconciliation. We have been given the wonderful calling to proclaim Christ and to display His love “that the world may believe!” We are Ambassadors for Christ, “God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20).”
“With my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” Remember, God’s plan is for generations. We don’t know when Jesus will return in His glory to restore all things — “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32) We are called to remain vigilant and ready, but also to prepare future generations. “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” (Luke 1:50) Proclaim the truth to the next generation.
- Psalm 78:4-7 — We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.
- Deuteronomy 6:5-9 — You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
- Psalm 71:18 — So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
Sing Jesus’ praises today to all generations. Live boldly and victoriously, rejoicing in all circumstances, not rejoicing because of the circumstances but because of the grace of God! The more you appreciate the love and faithfulness of Jesus, the more you will be compelled to sing out His praises uncontrollably, regardless the situation. If singing the praises of Jesus is not your natural reaction, pray for a deeper revelation of Him. In the meantime, sing anyway and see if that doesn’t help increase your joy and enthusiasm to share Him with others.
Proverbs 6:6-8 – Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer….
Self-disciplined people diligently do what needs to be done without needing any external motivation or immediate payoff. God wants you to be led by the Spirit but also self-regulated and self-motivated, a love that inspires discipline.
Successful people have the self-discipline and self-control to do what needs to be done today to prepare for tomorrow. Successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do – give up instant gratification for long-term reward. Successful people can lead themselves into victory.
Proverbs 6:9 – “How long will you lie there, O sluggard?”
There are many forms of procrastination. One form is to think about doing something for eternity. Successful people spend most of their time, 70-90% in execution, learning as they go. You learn the most by doing. It is important to read and think, but this too can be a form of procrastination. We often overthink it. Read God’s word and then do it. You don’t really understand it until you have experienced it.
Proverbs 6:12-15 — A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
“A worthless person….” A deceitful person is worthless in God’s economy. People become deceitful by first lying to themselves. They tell themselves lies about God and themselves and lie about what they say they are going to do and why they intend to do it. Their habits of inward thinking become social habits.
Don’t play games in your relationships. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Put all your cards on the table and be open and upfront with everyone. God expects you to always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in a loving way. Let your “yes” mean “yes” and your “no” mean “no.” Ensure your aim is to always heal and to bring peace and greater unity.
Proverbs 6:16 – There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him….
As a servant of Christ, you should know what God hates, and you should hate these things too. Do you know the six things the Lord hates? Don’t you think you should have those memorized if God hates them? For one, “…the Lord hates…. a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” Never, ever lie or start a quarrel — the Lord hates it!
Proverbs 6:20 – My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
God’s plan is for children to be raised by a godly mother and father.
Proverbs 6:23 – For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.
The Holy Spirit uses God’s word to convict you of sin and keep you on tack. If God’s words are not enough, He will use discipline. Better to do what you are told than to receive a God smack.
Discipline (external discipline in the form of punishment) today is intended to protect us from temptation tomorrow. It helps us connect pain (negative consequences) to a behavior to counter the pleasure we desire from instant gratification. God’s desire for us is that the fruit of the Spirit of self-control (internal discipline) inspired by love (the first fruit of the Spirit) will eliminate the need for external disciplines in our lives.
Proverbs 6:25 – Do not desire….
Following Jesus requires fighting your sinful desires and struggling to obey when it is hard for you. It requires determined effort and perseverance. With persistent effort, before long, our sinful desires are no longer desirous and no longer a struggle — “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) Desires aren’t all bad, only sinful ones. When the desires of our heart are the same as God’s desires, we find total fulfillment and full access to the power of God.
Proverbs 6:27, 28 – Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?
Moral failure does not happen overnight, and people don’t fall into it, they slip and slide into it. Little compromises lead to complete surrender. Be an extremist when it comes to your holiness and your purity.
Proverbs 6:30, 31 – People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.
We must hold everyone accountable for their sins, even if we can understand the circumstances which led them to sin.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 6 August 2023: Today, “sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with [your] mouth… make known [His] faithfulness to all generations.”
- Luke 12:43 — Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 