Fear Not, For I am With You – Isaiah 41:10

Fear Not, For I am With You – Isaiah 41:10

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

I want to remain faithful to the Lord this year.

That’s something very easy to say, but it’s not always easy to do.  You know what I mean?

When you think about it, doing what is right in the sight of God – being faithful and loyal to Him no matter what – takes courage.  Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  In other words, you need to be more than just a religious person, someone who prays before meals and goes to church, in order to be saved.  You have to do what God says.

fear isaiah 41

God is faithful to you, to whom are you faithful?

What if you’re the only one in your family who wants to do that?  What if you are the only person at your job who wants to do right by God in a situation?  What if you are the only person among your friends or in your class at school who is willing to stand up for what the Bible says is right?

When that happens, we’re faced with a choice.  To whom are we more loyal?  Our family, our friends, our peers, our teachers…or the Lord?

That’s a tough decision.  It’s scary.  It requires a lot of courage to stand with God if no one else around you is willing to do the same.  In times like these, being faithful to the Lord is more than just a nice phrase to say, a nice New Year’s Resolution.  It requires courage and commitment.

And we can’t do it by ourselves.  At least I can’t, and I don’t think any of you can either.  If I am to remain faithful to God, I need God.  I need Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but I get a lot of comfort and assurance from today’s Bible Reflection verse of Isaiah 41:10.  It fills me with gratitude to know that God Himself, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, promises to be with me, give me strength, and help me.

The people in our lives can promise us great things, and many of them even do the best they can to keep their promises.  Yet there are times when they can’t, and even more times when they won’t.  We know that.  That’s why we say, “That’s life!” when disappointments come.

In matters involving the eternal welfare of our souls, it is far more serious…because there’s only one way to heaven and Jesus is that way (John 14:6).  Others will offer us another way.  Preachers, our family, our friends, authors, philosophers…they all say things about going to heaven that sound really good.  Yet so much of what they say is not based on truth, even though in many cases it’s offered with sincerity (Matthew 7:21; 15:14).

Many follow their feelings, their own theories and suppositions about how to be with God for eternity, but the road they’re on is not where we want to go.  I know this because the Word of God says so:  “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

Only God can help us.  Only Jesus can show us the way, and He has.  It’s the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God that comes to us from God, that shows us the way to God.  The Scriptures give us the guidance from God and the encouragement from Him that we need to stay on the right path.

The inspired Psalmist knew this:  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to Your word…You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word…Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes” (Psalm 119:105, 107, 114, 124).

Do you wish to remain faithful to God this year?  Let Him help you by going to His Word every day and letting His holy precepts guide you.

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Self Honesty

Self Honesty (Psalm 136-140)

One of the least appreciated character traits in mankind is the attribute of honesty! Oh, we talk about it and stress its important to our children but show an incredible lack of honesty when it comes to owning our own actions and words. To me, the biggest problem seems to be with self honesty!

self honesty

Are you ready to face up to who you truly are?

David declares that the Lord has searched us and knows us. Better even than we know ourselves! And this is more often than not the case because we are simply not honest with our-selves. We cannot hide from God, but often try to hide ourselves from ourselves. God knows us better than we know ourselves because He created us. Each new day brings us another opportunity to take stock in ourselves.

Be honest with yourself and make the changes in your life you need to make. Quit blaming someone else, or something else, for who or what you are, and take ownership, extreme ownership of your life and your souls salvation. You’ll be eternally glad you do!

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¿PODEMOS CONOCER LA MENTE DE DIOS?

¿PODEMOS CONOCER LA MENTE DE DIOS?

Es muy común escuchar a las personas decir, que no podemos conocer la mente de Dios y que solo cuando muramos entenderemos. Otros cientos de personas, aún cristianos del Nuevo Testamento alegan que la Biblia es muy “profunda” e “imposible” de entender. Tales aseveraciones son realmente tristes, porque provienen de seres humanos que no han conocido el sagrado libro, ni muchos menos lo han estudiado. De hecho suena mas a un esfuerzo para justificarse en su poco desempeño espiritual y su falta de preparación Bíblica. Por años hemos escuchado la frase: “La mucha letra mata”… completamente fuera de su contexto, parar argumentar que puede ser peligro y malo el estudiar mucho la palabra de Dios.

La mente de Dios ha sido y es infinita, mucho más allá de todo lo que pudiéramos imaginar o pensar. Sus enseñanzas, sus ilustraciones, su sabiduría, sus planes etc…

Pero realmente; ¿podemos conocer la mente de Dios?. Bueno, sin lugar a dudas nosotros sí podemos conocer la mente de Dios. Un hermano dijo en una ocasión: “Tenga cuidado al decir eso”,pero la realidad es que debemos de tener cuidado con todo lo hagamos y todo lo que expresamos (1Pe.4:11).

LA MENTE DE DIOS

¿PODEMOS CONOCER LA MENTE DE DIOS? LEAMOS LA BIBLIA.

El apóstol Pablo escribió en 1Corintios 2:16: “Porque ¿quién conoció la mente del Señor? ¿Quién le instruirá? Mas nosotros tenemos la mente de Cristo.” Aunque es seguro que en este contexto el  uso de la primera persona del plural “nosotros” esté  con relación a los los apóstoles, la aplicación en otros pasajes puede y es más generalizada. El hermano James B. Coffman comenta en cuanto a este versículo:

¿Precisamente qué es tener la mente de Cristo? Hay una serie de expresiones en el Nuevo Testamento que claramente hacen referencia a la misma condición: estar “en Dios”, “el ser de Dios” en nosotros, “nuestro ser” en Cristo, “el ser de Cristo” en nosotros “, el ser del Espíritu Santo “en nosotros”, nuestro ser “en el Espíritu Santo” o la palabra de Cristo mora “en nosotros” y la mente de Cristo “en nosotros”, como aquí y en Filipenses 2:5, son todos referencias a la condición guardada, no a ocho condiciones diferentes. Sin embargo, hay una distinción entre los cristianos de todas las edades que tienen la mente de Cristo y el hecho de que Pablo y los otros maestros inspirados de la era del Nuevo Testamento tienen la mente de Cristo como se afirma en este versículo. Es una cuestión de grado; y tenían poder plenario para predicar la palabra de Dios a la humanidad.

No existía manera alguna para que alguien pudiera conocer la mente de Dios, a menos que El mismo en su propia y solo voluntad la revelara a nosotros. Muchas personas intentan ponerle “un misticismo” a la palabra de Dios que simplemente no está ahí. ¡La Biblia puede ser leída y entendida en su totalidad  si tan solo se estudiara con seriedad!. Pablo a los Efesios dijo: “Leyendo lo cual podéis comprender…” (Ef.3:4) . Sería realmente ilógico que Dios nos exhortara a leer, si en realidad no se pudiera comprender…en tal caso ¡Dios nos ha mentido!.

De igual forma sería muy contradictorio que se nos anime a tener la mente de Cristo, si realmente no podemos conocer la mente de Dios (Fil.2:5). Sería realmente extraño, que existan cosas que no podamos comprender y es “mejor dejarlo así y no indagar más” Cuando Pablo mismo dice: “Porque ninguna otra cosas os escribimos sino lo que leéis y entendéis” (2Co. 1:13). Y la peor de las contradicciones sería que Dios haya ocultado misterios desde antes de la fundación del mundo, que haya dicho que tienes esos misterios y no pretenda revelarlos…pero sabemos por Pablo que ese no es el caso ya que el escribe:

“Sin embargo, hablamos sabiduría entre los que han alcanzado madurez; y sabiduría, no de este siglo, ni de los príncipes de este siglo, que perecen. Mas hablamos sabiduría de Dios en misterio, la sabiduría oculta, la cual Dios predestinó antes de los siglos para nuestra gloria, la que ninguno de los príncipes de este siglo conoció; porque si la hubieran conocido, nunca habrían crucificado al Señor de gloria Antes bien, como está escrito: Cosas que ojo no vio, ni oído oyó, Ni han subido en corazón de hombre, Son las que Dios ha preparado para los que le aman. Pero Dios nos las reveló a nosotros por el Espíritu; porque el Espíritu todo lo escudriña, aun lo profundo de Dios.” (1Cor.2:6-10).

Es más que claro que podemos conocer la mente de Dios, gracias a las santas escrituras a los santos hombres de Dios que siendo inspirados escribieron movidos por el E.S (2 Pd.1:21). La mente de Dios puede ser conocida por cualquier personas en la actualidad en su plenitud para con el hombre ya que toda la verdad ha sido revelada al Ser humano (Jn.16:13) y no hay nada más que Dios planee revelar en el futuro y que esté oculta a nosotros. Glorias sean dadas a Dios por su amor y misericordia con que nos ha bendecido al darnos su mente en forma escrita.

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What If History of the Bible

What If History of the Bible

Mordecai told Esther that there was no way she could know for sure that she (a Jewish young lady) had become queen of the Persian Empire so that she could, by her actions on just one day of her life, change the history of the nation. He simply said, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)? He understood that if she refused to do the right thing, God would use someone else in some other way to accomplish His purposes. Have you ever thought about how history would have been changed if those who knew God failed to do right? Consider the following.

What if Noah had refused to build the ark? What if he had begun the work and then just quit because what God expected of him was just too much? What if he had not obeyed God’s instructions and designed the ark the way Noah thought was best?

History of maybe

What if, they did their own thing?

What if Abraham had decided not to leave Ur? What if he, having been told by God to leave Ur, just kept silent and had stayed in Ur? What if he had thought the journey to an unknown land was just long and dangerous and had stopped before arriving in Canaan? What if he had departed from Ur and then decide he knew of a better route and a better destination for his journey?

What if Joseph had taken the path of vengeance on his brothers when they came to Egypt? What if he had decided that he would just ignore them, send them away and spend the rest of his life as one of the great rulers of Egypt? What if he had failed to save the children of Israel and had not brought them into Egypt?

What if David, having heard the challenges from Goliath, had responded as every other man in Israel? What if he had not stepped out of his comfort zone, ignoring the mockery of his peers and simply returned to the safety of his father’s house? What if he had not led the army of Israel to defeat the Philistines on that day?

What if…? What if…? What if…? Go through the rest of the Bible and see how the actions of one individual changed the lives of those around them. Then, take time to think about who you are and what is happening in your life. What if you, having been given a “Samuel” did not lend him back to the Lord? What if you, as a member of the church, refused to teach our children in their classes? You do not know who you are impacting; what if you thought it demanded too much of you? Make the application. What if you failed to give your all as a church leader? What if you made no effort to reach out and impact the lives of others? What if…? What if…? What if…?

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Objects of God’s Wrath

Objects of God’s Wrath

Revelation 16 contains the story of the seven angels who poured out their seven bowls. These bowls represent God’s wrath ful judgment on those that worship the beast. After the third bowl is poured out, we have this interlude of praise to God:

And I heard the angel of the waters saying:“You are righteous, O Lord,The One who is and who was and who is to be,Because You have judged these things.For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,And You have given them blood to drink.For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments” (Revelation 16:5-7).

We learn in Revelation 17:15 that the waters “are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” These are those who “did not repent and give Him glory,” and “did not repent of their deeds” (Revelation 16:9, 11).

wrath of God

God is the Lord of Justice.

The irony of this passage is that those guilty of bloodshed are given blood to drink as punishment. The implication is that their punishment fits their crime. This is how God dispenses justice to the wicked; each one will be punished according to his wickedness. This means that God’s judgments are true and righteous because He will not punish anyone more than he deserves.

This set of judgments given against the wicked in this chapter is final because Jesus is King over His Kingdom (Revelation 11:15). All will be judged by the words of Christ (John 12:48). This means there is no other standard that will excuse mankind of its wicked behavior. Christ is the final standard of judgment. Let’s use that standard to live for Him so that when judgment comes, we won’t be objects of God’s wrath.

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