Joy in the Lord is our strength!
Isaiah 52:1-3
Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus says the Lord:
“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed
without money.”
God uses everything for His glory. The Jerusalem of the Kingdom age will be ruled by the descendants of Abraham with the King of kings, Jesus Christ, as the head. There will be peace! The God of Israel will redeem His city Jerusalem. There is only one true servant of God, Jesus Christ. In Him alone is salvation offered to the world. The Old Testament prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, foretold the coming birth, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, but they didn’t fully understand the magnitude it would have on the whole world.
Luke 21:24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Jesus had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD. As a result, the Israelites would be dispersed, and Jerusalem would be conquered by the Gentiles. As a result of the dispersion the Good News of salvation would go out to the world.
1 Peter 1:7-9 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
In the midst of our struggles, we can find glory in God. The Holy Spirit can turn the things that would destroy us into opportunities for growth and strengthening our faith in God alone. The end of our faith is salvation in Jesus Christ. We don’t know the exact end of this age, but it’s been prophesied, and it will happen.
Luke 18:31-34 31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” 34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus shared with them, though they couldn’t comprehend it, the crucifixion and suffering He would endure for the salvation of the world. But the full extent of this revelation would only come to Paul on his journey to Damascus.
John 19:7-11 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” 8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Until Peter saw the evidence of the Lord’s garments neatly folded at the empty tomb it was then that he remembered and believed in the things Jesus had said. He knew that Jesus had been raised by the Holy Spirit, conquering death in His salvation. It is finished. Carla
The metaphors rock and pit are interpreted as referring to Abraham and Sarah. Zion replaced Eden. Both were walled-in places of fellowship with God, free from sin, and guarded by cherubim so that only God’s people could enter (Genesis 3:24; 2 Chronicles 3:7). The NKJV Study Bible
Isaiah 51:7
“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people in whose heart is My law:
Do not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
Genesis 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
Isaiah 40:1
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!
“Says your God.
While trials would come and false teachers would keep deceiving believers and straying from the gospel, Paul urged, "As for you, continue in what you have learned" (2 Timothy 3:14). He told Timothy to remember his heritage of faith from his mother and grandmother, who had taught him the holy Scriptures, laying the foundation for his salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). Timothy's faith was deeply rooted in the preeminence and authority of God's Word, which Paul declared to be inspired by the breath of God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
So did Timothy have what it takes to keep following Jesus?
Yes! Timothy was divinely equipped to carry on the Apostle Paul's legacy as well as his family's legacy of faith, to stand firm and remain faithful to the Truth of the gospel until the end.
The Bible is replete with stories of deeply flawed men and women who chose to believe God, and He rewrote their stories. With His Spirit and by the power and authority of His Word, you and I have everything we need to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. First 5
No comments:
Post a Comment