another pearl of wisdom by Max Lucado

Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote:

Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but by the lift . . . God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves.

Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never.

Zephaniah 1:2-3

It frightens me every time I am led to this passage. I long for Christ to return but I want no one to be hurt or lost in the process.... that is how God feels! If only we did not have free will none of this would happen....BUT...God wanted a people who would choose to love Him and to follow Him. The ultimate gentleman He values freedom and our right to choose what we believe in. He will not come into our lives unless we ask, even if our decisions destroy us and we break His heart by those choices. 

The message of Zephaniah begins with a pronouncement of universal judgment. These words not only introduce the particular judgment that would be pronounced upon Judah, but they also speak of the final judgment that will usher in the kingdom of God on earth. 

Stumbling blocks here refers to idolatry, or substitutes for God in the life and affections of a person. Because there is nothing in the universe that really may be compared to the Creator.

Zephaniah 1:2-3

² “I will utterly consume everything 

From the face of the land,” 

Says the Lord; 

³ “I will consume man and beast; 

I will consume the birds of the heavens, 

The fish of the sea, 

And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. 

I will cut off man from the face of the land,” 

Says the Lord. 

2 Timothy 1:6-7

It is human to fear but we have an advocate,  a helper in those times with the Holy Spirit. We can call on His power to do that which we are incapable of doing and the wisdom to call on and to rely in His intervention in our daily lives in good times and in bad. We do well to remember that His love conquers all!

The desire to discover, develop, and deploy our specific spiritual gifts should be like a fire blazing within us. The constant struggle of Christians is to be diligent about our work for God and not to slacken our pace in this spiritual race. We need to make a conscious effort to exercise our gift for the common good of the body of Christ. 

The Holy Spirit is the One who gives us spiritual gifts and empowers us to use them. God’s Spirit does not impart fear or cowardice, but power, love, and a sound mind, or “self-control.” The love the Spirit gives to us should be directed toward other individuals.

2 Timothy 1:6-7

⁶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

Mark 2:21-22

We are made new in Christ so that we can absorb the truth beyond the parameters of the traditions of man. Our past can stop us from entering into the glory of God, don’t let it be a stumbling block, let go of it. Seek the truth and precept upon precept it will set you free!

Mark records only four of Jesus’ parables—two of which he includes here. The comparison implies that the newness of His message, and of the new covenant to follow, cannot fit into the old molds of Judaism. The OT was preparation for the NT.

Mark 2:21-22

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” 

Daniel 8:15-17

Throughout the Old and New Testament God used angels to convey messages and to explain their meaning to humans. Now we can be enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit who resides in us. Jesus promised that He would never leave us alone and unprotected. In times of trouble we have an advocate and we need to be able to hear that small still voice that directs us.

This is the first mention of the messenger Gabriel in the Bible. The angel is mentioned three other times in Scripture. The time of the end is a reference to a time that may already be underway  in some respects, but will not find its fulfillment until the Second Coming of Christ.

vision (Heb. chazon) (8:1; Is. 1:1; Prov. 29:18) Strong’s #2377: The Hebrew word for a dream or a vision is derived from a common Hebrew verb meaning “to see.” Dreams and visions were often recognized by the ancients as revelations from the gods, or from God Himself in the case of the Hebrews (Is. 1:1). Daniel received a visionary message from God that spoke about the future of the kingdoms of Persia and Greece. His dream was encoded in symbols which required the interpretive assistance of the angel Gabriel (8:15–27). The author of Proverbs insists that revelation from God is essential to the well-being of a society. Without God’s law revealed in Scripture, the foundation of a society crumbles (see Prov. 29:18).

Daniel 8:15-17

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” 

Matthew 18:32-35

To be forgiven we need to forgive....it is as simple and as complex as that! Lord, help me to forgive others and for others to forgive me.

This parable reiterates the principle that we should forgive others because God forgives us. If our forgiveness should be in direct proportion to the incredible amount that we have been forgiven, then we must always be willing to forgive.

Matthew 18:32-35

³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 

³⁵ “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” 

1 Samuel 30:22-25

We reap the rewards of a battle we did not fight in Christ Jesus and this is the ultimate example of sharing what we did not earn....and do not deserve.

It is human nature to want to keep to ourselves anything that we have, in our opinion earned, but it is God’s way to share the blessings that He has provided you with all who are in need. We provide a service or product but we are dependent on others to need and buy the service or product that we are supplying. No one without the participation of others makes a living.  God’s ways are not man’s.

These men insisted that the spoil captured from the Amalekites should not be divided with the men who stayed at the Brook Besor with the supplies. David pointed out that the booty captured from the Amalekites was actually a gift from God, who had given them the victory. David’s band of warriors were one, although they had different strengths and abilities. They would share equally in the fruits of victory.

1 Samuel 30:22-25

²² Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 

²³ But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. ²⁴ For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” ²⁵ So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. 

John 10:7-10

Jesus came to bring us an abundant life rich in His promises and to His Father’s glory. The ruler of this world seeks to destroy you by stealing your joy and taking away eternal life with God. Accept Jesus Christ into your life and live, fully  and richly, live! 

Jesus is the shepherd; here He is the door. Some shepherds lay down across the entry of the sheepfold at night to sleep. Wild beasts would be discouraged from entering, and sheep would not exit. Thus the shepherd was also the door. The thieves and robbers were the Pharisees. Jesus, the shepherd, gives spiritual life and access to spiritual food.   

The thieves take life; the shepherd gives it. Abundant life includes salvation, nourishment, healing (v. 9), and much more. Life here refers to eternal life, God’s life. It speaks not only of endlessness, but of quality of life. With Christ, life on earth can reach much higher quality, and then in heaven it will be complete and perfect.

John 10:7-10

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again,  “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

John 15:1-4

Be thankful if you are facing trials and tribulations in your life....it means that God is not done with you yet! Rejoice in your victories. Remember whom He loves He refines in the furnace of affliction until looking upon them He can see His Son. His love,  peace, and kindness to others will reflect in you so that  the world may see His glory!

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. 

With such a vinedresser, the branches can experience complete confidence and security. Jesus’ purpose was to move His disciples from servants to friends. This would involve a process of discipline in regard to His commandments. No plant produces fruit instantaneously; fruit is the result of a process. Such is also the case with believers. Once the fruit is on the vine, the vinedresser cleanses the fruit of bugs and diseases. The spiritual counterpart is cleansing which is done through the Word. 

For the branch to produce more fruit, it must abide, which means to dwell, to stay, to settle in, to sink deeper. The way to abide in Christ is to obey. The believer who lovingly obeys the Word of God produces much fruit.

John 15:1-4

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 

When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Ephesians 4:29

1 Timothy 5:1-2

There is wisdom in just keeping silent about the failures of someone and speaking up on the good they have done.  There are things that we all would have done differently given the chance and there is no man perfect, no not one.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,  and gentleness. 

1 Timothy 5:1-2

5 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity. 

Zechariah 10:5-8

God is full of mercy and grace and He wants everyone to have the choice of eternal life with Him so.....He provided the sacrifice once and for ALL in Jesus. He will strengthen us and we will rejoice. Ask the Lord for His blessing so that you can be a blessing. What we cannot do He does with just a word! Lord, rain down on me.

The promise I will bring them back is a promise of restoration. The dispersed remnant of Israel would return to the Promised Land.

As a shepherd signals his sheep, so the Lord will whistle for His people to return to the land. God will deliver them from sin and from the bondage of captivity.

Zechariah 10:6-8

⁶ “I will strengthen the house of Judah, 

And I will save the house of Joseph. 

I will bring them back, 

Because I have mercy on them. 

They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; 

For I am the Lord their God, 

And I will hear them. 

⁷ Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, 

And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. 

Yes, their children shall see it and be glad; 

Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. 

⁸ I will whistle for them and gather them, 

For I will redeem them; 

And they shall increase as they once increased. 

Jonah 2:1-10

Outside of God’s will for our life is a dangerous place to be. He will do whatever it takes to show us the stupidity of our choices and to bring us back to the center of the cross where God met man in Jesus Christ. I have been there and I am filled with gratitude that our Father is full of mercy and grace and never leaves nor forsakes those prodical children who place their trust in Him alone.

The phrase the Lord his God shows that Jonah, even though he was disobedient, was a true believer in God. Jonah was terrified. When the sailors threw Jonah into the sea, he seemed to be “as good as dead.” Thus for Jonah, the sea became like Sheol, the place of death. The man who had run from God’s presence was alone, yet he clung to the hope that God would not abandon him. Jonah reaffirms his faith in the Lord and renews his commitment to Him.

The focus in the story of Jonah is on the Lord’s sovereign control over creation to bring about His purpose.

Mercy (loyal love), the term that so often describes God’s faithfulness to His covenant and to His people is used as a name for the Lord. Jonah declares that he will keep his promise, a pledge both to sacrifice and to acknowledge God’s help. It is the Lord who delivers His people. God acts on behalf of His creation and the redeemed community to insure a relationship with them.

November 14th, 2011

Jonah 2:1-10

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. ² And he said: 

“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, 

And He answered me. 

“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, 

And You heard my voice. 

³ For You cast me into the deep, 

Into the heart of the seas, 

And the floods surrounded me; 

All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 

⁴ Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; 

Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 

⁵ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; 

The deep closed around me; 

Weeds were wrapped around my head. 

⁶ I went down to the moorings of the mountains; 

The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; 

Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, 

O Lord, my God. 

⁷ “When my soul fainted within me, 

I remembered the Lord; 

And my prayer went up to You, 

Into Your holy temple. 

⁸ “Those who regard worthless idols 

Forsake their own Mercy. 

⁹ But I will sacrifice to You 

With the voice of thanksgiving; 

I will pay what I have vowed. 

Salvation is of the Lord.” 

¹⁰ So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 

Isaiah 12:1-2

Humbled beyond measure, filled to the brim with gratitude and full of His mercy and grace in Christ Jesus...this is how I feel after His cleansing in my life. I praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

The first you is singular, representing the remnant as an individual. The anger of God had caused the people to be dispersed among the nations; His grace would lead to their regathering.

ah, the Lord, by its repetition, emphasizes that Israel’s covenant-keeping God—and not the nations—brings salvation 

Isaiah 12:1-2

12 And in that day you will say: 

“O Lord, I will praise You; 

Though You were angry with me, 

Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. 

² Behold, God is my salvation, 

I will trust and not be afraid; 

‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; 

He also has become my salvation.’ ” 

Ezekiel 34:20-24

God cares about all of His creation but He especially watches over and protects those that have no power and no one who cares for their needs. Today I am thankful that through our votes we have shown that Ohio cares for God’s children, all of them! 

The leaders of Israel had failed to lead properly. They had used their positions of power to their own advantage and to the disadvantage of the people.

The change from the pronoun I to he in this verse indicates that God would continue operating as the Chief Shepherd through this chosen future ruler from the Davidic line. He is the Messiah—God’s only Son and His servant.

Ezekiel 34:20-24

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, ²² therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them— My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. 

1 Corinthians 14:26-32

Do we limit the power of the Holy Spirit by not allowing or encouraging all of His gifts in our churches? We need to allow Him full reign knowing that in all things He desires order, peace and unity.

If each person brings to the meeting the special ability that God has given him or her, and if everything is done for edification, the church as a whole will benefit. 

Revealed indicates that prophesying as described here is different from what we call preaching or reading from Scripture. The prophesying that Paul referred to is similar to OT prophecy in which God gives a revelation to one of His servants who, in turn, gives that revelation to God’s people.

1 Corinthians 14:26-32

²⁶ How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. ³⁰ But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. ³² And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. ³³ For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 

John 1:14-18

Do we truly understand this, can we fully comprehend the meaning of these passages? The Word of God became man to set us free with His truth and to save us with His grace. No greater gift can be given than eternal life with Him to all who believe!

The Son of God who was from eternity became human, with limitations in time and space. This is the doctrine of the incarnation: God became human.  All who trust Christ are born of God. In the Gospel of John, these “born ones” are called children of God, but Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God. He is the only Son who is fully God.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, He proclaimed Himself to be “abounding in goodness and truth” (see Ex. 34:6). As applied to Jesus Christ, this phrase marks Him as the author of perfect redemption and perfect revelation. 

Grace is God’s favor expressed to sinful humankind apart from any human works or worth. God became visible to human eyes in the man Jesus. It is through seeing the Son that we see God. The One who is the Father’s only begotten Son and who knows God intimately came to earth and declared Him.

John 1:14-18

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 

¹⁵ John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 

¹⁶ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 

Matthew 26:39

Jesus understands our fears because in His human nature He feared. Through Him we have the privilege of calling on His intervention in our circumstances. We have an advocate to the divine through Him, all man AND all God. His peace He gives to us, not the peace of the world, but the peace of the Godhead to face whatever life throws at us. He was separated from His Father so that we don’t have to be.

It was not the impending physical suffering, as terrible as it would be, that caused Jesus to pray this way; it was the reality of the sinless Son of God bearing the sins of the world and facing separation from His Father. Jesus became a curse for us and took the brunt of God’s righteous wrath against sin.

Matthew 26:39

³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 

Matthew 1:17

God keeps His promises from generation to generation. They are not on our time but on His. We are drawing close to the Holy Season let’s all remember that Jesus is the reason behind the celebrations. We live because Jesus was born, was crucified and He rose again to conquer sin and death so that we don’t have to. God’s family is important to Him just like ours is important to us....our family can be broken in death but His family will last forever. The good news is that all of us can choose to be adopted into His family He comes to us with open arms and a forgiving heart waiting for us to ask Him for the salvation that only He can provide!

The genealogy is broken down into three groups of names with fourteen generations in each list. The name David in Hebrew has a numerical value of 14. Because the heading of the list is “Son of David”, Matthew may have been drawing attention to the Davidic emphasis in these names.

In the first group, the Davidic throne is established; in the second group, the throne is cast down and deported to Babylon; in the third group, the throne is confirmed in the coming of the Messiah. Further, a basic covenant is set forth in each of these three periods: the Abrahamic covenant in the first; the Davidic covenant in the second, and the New Covenant in the third.

Isaiah 55:3 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. 

2 Chronicles 21:7  Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 

Matthew 1:17

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations

Acts 13:36-41

The letter of the Law kills the grace of God given in Jesus Christ who gives eternal life to all who choose to believe.  Just believe!!

Justification is a legal term meaning “declared innocent” It is a legal declaration that a person is acquitted and absolved. It is by justification that a person is righteous and acceptable to God. The death of Christ was the payment of our sin debt, so that we might be forgiven.

Acts 13:36-41

³⁶ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; ³⁷ but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; ³⁹ and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: 

⁴¹ ‘Behold, you despisers, 

Marvel and perish! 

For I work a work in your days, 

A work which you will by no means believe, 

Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”