Jeremiah 46:28

God does not promise us a life without trials but He does promise that if we stand and wait on Him we will be saved. 

Although He refines us in the furnace of affliction Jesus gives us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, so that we are never alone in the midst of those trials. The Holy Spirit watches over us to guide us in the lessons that we need to learn. We will not be overwhelmed by life if we place every situation into His hands…. because He cares for us. 

He gives us His peace..…which is beyond our human understanding!

refine |riˈfīn|

verb [ with obj. ]

remove impurities or unwanted elements 

• improve (something) by making small changes, in particular make (an idea, theory, or method) more subtle and accurate

Israel will be preserved.

Jeremiah 46:28

²⁸ Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,

“For I am with you;

For I will make a complete end of all the nations

To which I have driven you,

But I will not make a complete end of you.

I will rightly correct you,

For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.”

²⁴O Lord, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. 

Jeremiah 10:24

⁸“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” Says the Lord. 

Amos 9:8

⁹“For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. 

Amos 9:9

¹¹For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’ 

Jeremiah 30:11

John 14:15-21

What were the commands of Jesus? 

To love God above all and to love others as much as we do ourselves. Without the Holy Spirit in the world we would have no voice | no wisdom | no guide and we would be unable to carry out these commands lost in a world that is clueless to the ways of God…for His ways are far beyond our own understanding. 

Pray that we have eyes to see and ears to hear the Guardian of our soul.

guide |gīd|

noun

1 a person who advises or shows the way to others

2 a thing that helps someone to form an opinion or make a decision or calculation

3 a structure or marking that directs the motion or positioning of something

4 a soldier, vehicle, or ship whose position determines the movements of others.

verb

1 [ with obj. ] show or indicate the way to (someone)

2 [ with obj. ] direct or have an influence on the course of action of (someone or something)

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth because He is truth and guides us into all truth.The  Spirit of God is active in the world, but His acts go unnoticed by the world.

John 14:15-18

¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 

John 15:26

⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

Acts 2:4

¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 

John 16:13

⁷ For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 

1 John 5:7

⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 

1 John 2:5

Jeremiah 5:3

There is no one with greater patience than the Lord God Almighty. If it were up to man we would all be destroyed…. by each other…..nation against nation | state against state | religion against religion | man against man.

Where has the love of God gone? 

Jesus is the very Word of God made manifest to men. We are His hands and His feet for good on this earth.

When did we stop believing in the commands of Jesus to love God above all and to love others as much as we do ourselves. By living this way we fulfill God’s commandments. 

Who are these others?

Everyone…We are all His creation and all God’s people should be saying? Amen…. because we are God’s creation created for His good pleasure not ours.

God always looks for truth and faithfulness. When truth was found lacking in Judah, God punished the people of Jerusalem through foreign invasion. But rather than responding with remorse and repentance, the people reacted in rebellion. The Hebrew term translated correction means “chastisement” or “discipline.” Sometimes it means “instruction.” In the prophets it generally refers to God’s attempt to teach His children faithfulness by means of discipline or punishment. 

But despite the words of Jeremiah and other prophets, Israel refused “correction” and continued down the path of self-destruction. The illustration of faces harder than rock emphasizes the rebellious attitudes of the people.

Jeremiah 5:3

³ O Lord, are not Your eyes on the truth?

You have stricken them,

But they have not grieved;

You have consumed them,

But they have refused to receive correction.

They have made their faces harder than rock;

They have refused to return.

⁹ For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 

2 Chronicles 16:9

⁵Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 

Isaiah 1:5

²She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, She has not drawn near to her God. 

Zephaniah 3:2

2 Samuel 1:25-27

In our lifetime there will be those we love that will not love us. The ultimate sign of our death to the old man and the birth of our new man in Christ is when we, in the depths of our heart, want nothing but good for those who wish us evil. 

It is easy to love those that love us but it is only in God’s love that we can love all men.

Saul the father of Jonathan grew to despise David and wanted him dead but even in the midst of this David refused to retaliate against God’s anointed.

David compared Jonathan’s love with that of women in its depth and loyalty. David was not afraid to speak of his deep and genuine love for his friend.

2 Samuel 1:25-27

²⁵    “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan was slain in your high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;

You have been very pleasant to me;

Your love to me was wonderful,

Surpassing the love of women.

²⁷ “How the mighty have fallen,

And the weapons of war perished!”

² So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. 

1 Samuel 19:2

¹⁷ Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 

1 Samuel 20:17

Daniel 12:9-13

While time allows us to do good we should be about our Father’s business. There will come a time when His hands will be taken from this world. 

We are refined, changed, in the tribulations of our life and we are perfected when we realize life has nothing to do with us but everything to do with Him. Out of their mouth will flow rivers of living water, the Holy Spirit, that many will believe and be saved.

Various interpretations have been suggested for this number of days. One significant interpretation is that these days refer to the middle of a seven-year period of tribulation prior to the coming of Christ. At that time, the Antichrist will abolish the abominable and idolatrous sacrifices that he had established.

refined |riˈfīnd|

adjective

with impurities or unwanted elements having been removed by processing.

• developed or improved so as to be precise or subtle

Daniel 12:9-13

⁹ And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. ¹¹ “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

¹³ “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.

⁹I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. ^sThey will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ” 

Zechariah 13:9

⁶For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the Lord, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 

Isaiah 32:6

¹⁷ If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 

John 7:17

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, ^f“that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” 

Revelation 14:13

Psalm 150

God  {Father. Son. Holy Spirit} is the only One worthy of our praise | our adoration | our love….without God love would not exist. 

We first knew love because He first loved us.

praise |prāz|

verb [ with obj. ]

express warm approval or admiration of

• express one's respect and gratitude toward (a deity), especially in song: we praise God for past blessings.

noun

the expression of approval or admiration for someone or something

• the expression of respect and gratitude as an act of worship: give praise to God.

praise be archaic used as an expression of relief, joy, or gratitude.

praiseful |-fəl| adjective

ORIGIN Middle English (set a price on, attach value to’)

The very breath that God gives us should be used to praise Him. As long as we live we should praise our Creator. By His breath God created all things, and by our breath we should adore Him. 

The Book of Psalms begins with God’s blessing on the righteous and concludes with all of creation blessing its loving Creator.

Psalm 150

Let All Things Praise the Lord

¹ Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

² Praise Him for His mighty acts;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

³ Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;

Praise Him with the lute and harp!

⁴ Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

⁵ Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

²⁴ ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? 

Deuteronomy 3:24

⁵I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. 

Psalm 145:5

⁶Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. 

Psalm 145:6

Matthew 23:23-24

Tithing is important to fund God’s work but faith alone pleases Him. We show our love for Him by how we treat others. We all love those who love us but we are called to show mercy, fairness and love to all people even those who don’t love us. 

What did Christ command us to do? Love God above all and our neighbors as much as ourself.

⁸He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 

Micah 6:8

The scribes and Pharisees were meticulous about tithing tiny seeds, but they failed to be obedient in more significant matters such as ensuring that all their actions were governed by justice and mercy and faith. Jesus was not saying that tithing is unimportant; He was pointing out that the scribes and Pharisees were emphasizing one area at the expense of another. Similarly, we can become so preoccupied with external rules and regulations in the church that we forget the principles behind them.

 Matthew 23:23-24

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 

Luke 11:42

²² So Samuel said:“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 

1 Samuel 15:22

⁶For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 

Hosea 6:6

¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” 

Matthew 9:13

Matthew 2:5-6

How appropriate for the first day of the Lenten Season. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, the Word made flesh, to fulfill prophesy from the beginning of time that whoever would believe in Him would be saved!

Matthew clearly records how the Jewish religious authorities, who became Christ’s enemies later, unintentionally affirmed that Jesus had fulfilled a messianic prophecy in His birth.

Matthew 2: 5-6

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

 ²“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” 

Micah 5:2

⁴² Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 

John 7:42

³The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 

Isaiah 60:3

¹⁰The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. 

Genesis 49:10

Isaiah 12

Sometimes in the midst of all the turmoil in the world I forget to look around me and praise God for the sheer beauty of His world, His creation, that He created for man. Thank you Lord for the snow, for the sunshine, for the beauty that is Your workmanship! 

The ultimate gift of salvation is  unmerited, undeserved but an outward expression of His love for man….rejoice in it!

Sometimes I need to be reminded that “Joy in the Lord” is my strength.

This hymn of praise for God’s salvation by the restored remnant after the second Exodus resembles Moses and Miriam’s hymn of praise after the first Exodus from Egypt.

praise |prāz|

verb [ with obj. ]

express warm approval or admiration of: 

• express one's respect and gratitude toward (a deity), especially in song: we praise God for past blessings.

noun

• the expression of respect and gratitude as an act of worship: give praise to God.

Isaiah 12

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.’ ”

³ Therefore with joy you will draw water

From the wells of salvation.

⁴ And in that day you will say:

“Praise the Lord, call upon His name;

Declare His deeds among the peoples,

Make mention that His name is exalted.

⁵ Sing to the Lord,

For He has done excellent things;

This is known in all the earth.

⁶ Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,

For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

¹⁸That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth. 

Psalm 83:18

²The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 

Exodus 15:2

³Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. 

Psalm 34:3

⁸Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 

1 Chronicles 16:8

¹⁴Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 

Zephaniah 3:14

¹⁸For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel. 

Psalm 89:18

Isaiah 30:19-21

God sees every tear we shed and He will wipe away every one of them. He speaks comfort to us in the nuances of our everyday lives but we must put forth the effort to listen closely to hear Him. 

He doesn’t promise us a life without trouble or affliction but He does promise us that He will never leave us nor forsake us when we place our love & trust in Him. 

He will give you rest in the midst of your heartache.

nuance |ˈn(y)o͞oˌäns|

noun

a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound

The people had been living in such a way that they were oblivious to their spiritual teachers now they would be taught by the Spirit of the living God.

Isaiah 30:19-21

¹⁹ For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;

You shall weep no more.

He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;

When He hears it, He will answer you.

²⁰ And though the Lord gives you

The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,

Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,

But your eyes shall see your teachers.

²¹ Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

“This is the way, walk in it,”

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left.

²⁸ The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ” 

Ezekiel 37:28

¹⁵Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” 

Psalm 50:15

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8

²It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep. 

Psalm 127:2

Mark 3:23-27

If we allow ourselves, as Americans, to be divided we have sold out to the enemy….Satan. If he can get us to fight each other then he wins and all America loses. United we stand a chance of fighting the true enemy of our souls…there is no other way.

If we allow ourselves, as Christians, to be divided by politics, denominations and social boundaries we have sold out to the enemy….Satan. If he can get us to quarrel with each other then he wins and the world loses God’s light. 

United in the Holy Spirit we can stand for good | for love | for justice…..or we can become as useless as the clanging of cymbals…..just pathetic noise.

Our enemy is not made of flesh and blood he hides in the recesses of closed minds and man made traditions.

Nazareth was the location of the Roman garrison in northern Galilee. Those who lived there were suspected of compromise with the enemy.

Mark 3:23-27

²³ So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. ²⁷ No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

²⁵ But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 

Matthew 12:25

¹⁷ But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 

Luke 11:17

²⁵ But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. 

Isaiah 49:25