John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Jesus did not leave us alone but God gave us His book and the truth of His Word made flesh…we need to read it and take it to heart with the ever present help of Holy Spirit.
Seek first the Kingdom of God, of which we are a part as the Body of Christ, and all things will be added to us. We enter into His body in our faith in the birth, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Micah 4:1-3
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
This same message, inspired by Holy Spirit, is repeated in Isaiah 2:2-4.
Isaiah 2:2-4 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
All nations shall flow from Jerusalem and Jesus will rule from there. His rule will be for the good of its citizens and His peace will reign forever. There will be war no more.
Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
The ways of the world described in Galatians 5:16-21 and all of its sins will be gone and the fruit of the Spirit will be manifested for God’s glory.
Micah 4:6-7 6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted; 7 I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever.
Jesus will reign in justice and in truth and all the citizens of the world will be as He created them… equal.
Genesis 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
All of God’s creation described in genesis will live together, side by side, in peace and there will be no death. The lion will lay down with the lamb. Death came on the earth through the curse. Death, the last curse on the earth, will be no more.
Zechariah 14:6-9
It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day
Which is known to the Lord
Neither day nor night.
But at evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.
8 And in that day it shall be—
That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward the eastern sea
And half of them toward the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be “The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord and holy is His name. When Jesus returns to reign on the earth all will be new and without the power of sin released on the earth from the curse. All of creation will be at peace and as God originally created it. God will see all that He had created and it will be very good. Carla
Living waters describes waters flowing rapidly with constant movement and a variety of twists and turns, so that they appear to be something alive. Ezekiel 47:1–12 also describes a river flowing from Jerusalem in the last days. Yahweh will be one is an allusion drawing attention to the statement of Yahweh’s essential unity in Deuteronomy 6:4 (sometimes referred to as the Shema). Faithlife Study Bible
Cosmic upheaval is associated with the Second Coming. The glory of the Messiah’s kingdom is preceded by dark days of judgment. The imagery of darkness as a portent of judgment is common in the prophets. The term living waters describes running water from a spring or river, in contrast to the stale and stagnant water of a cistern (Jeremiah 2:13). The water will flow from Jerusalem toward the eastern sea (the Dead Sea) and the western sea (the Mediterranean). In contrast with the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season, these streams will irrigate the land both summer and winter. Zechariah anticipates the glorious day when the Lord will reestablish His reign on this earth, where it was first challenged by Satan (Revelation 20:1–3; Psalms 93:1; 97:1; 99:1). This will be the answer to the prayers of all those who pray Jesus’ words, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). The words the Lord is one speak of His unity and His uniqueness (Deuteronomy 6:4). The NKJV Study Bible
Revelation 22:1–2 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
Genesis 16:11 (ESV) "And the angel of the LORD said to her, 'Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. '"
God saw and heard Hagar.
It is here, in the midst of harsh treatment, harsh circumstances and a harsh environment, that God met Hagar in a personal way.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar sitting by a well and comforted her with healing and hopeful words: "The LORD has listened to your affliction" (Genesis 16:11). The God of Abram and Sarai cared not only for them but for Hagar as well.God heard Hagar's pain and purposefully pursued her because she, too, was made in His image (Genesis 1:27). From the beginning, God's message has always stayed the same: No one is outside the reach of His love, no matter how far they run.
When we are tempted to believe no one cares about our struggles, let's remember the Lord's compassion in these scriptures. God hears our cries and sees our heartache even when others cannot. He chooses to respond. Like Hagar, we can face harsh circumstances and yet proclaim, "I have seen him who looks after me" (Genesis 16:13).
Each person is valuable to God, no matter what the world may say about their status or perceived worth. Today we know Christ died and rose again to offer salvation to the whole world, and all are free to accept His invitation to everlasting life through belief in Him (John 1:12; John 3:16). First5
Today I received this question, “How do we stay kind during these times? I am deeply struggling.”
Okay, this I do understand at my core. Spilling kindness does sound easier on paper.
As we’ve honored Dr. Martin Luther King this week, I want to channel his spirit.
On a Saturday morning in 2013, I stood in the kitchen of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church Parsonage, the home to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his family from 1954 to 1960. By the time the Montgomery bus strike was achieving both success and national attention, Dr. King began receiving telephone death threats (as many as 40 a day).
"One night very late around midnight—and you can have some strange experiences at midnight—the telephone rang." Dr. King relates the story in a later sermon. "On the other end was an ugly voice."
"For some reason, it got to me. I was weak. Sometimes, I feel discouraged... You can't call on Daddy anymore. You could only call on the Something your Daddy told you about, that Power that can make a way out of no way."
And at that kitchen table, he prayed. "Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right... But I must confess... I'm losing my courage."
King explained what happened next: "I could hear an inner voice saying to me, 'Martin Luther, stand up for truth. Stand up for justice. Stand up for righteousness.'"
Maybe that's what clicked for me.
When I see acts of courage I see heroism, and I don't see myself.
Instead, I see how far I have to go. Or I see how far short I have fallen.
And I miss seeing that heroism is the light inside each and every one of us, visible and life-giving in the small steps along the way. In small ways honoring the Talmud’s reminder, "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."
So yes, I do understand tired. And I do understand discouraged. And I do understand the end of my resources.
And thank you Dr. King for the reminder. And thank you to all who spill light—of justice, mercy and humility—along the way.
Some stories are too heavy to carry alone. Let us remember that we are on this journey together. Sabbath Moments
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