Do you possess a continual eternal perspective that envelopes your life? If we had a consistent eternal perspective we could endure the ups and downs of life with little or no regard because we would always be steadfast upon the truths of God. Our eternal perspective is always shifting depending on our emotions and circumstances. We are consistently scrambling to overcome every moment of tribulation before we become overwhelmed and sadly we easily forget the truth that God is our unmovable hope. ”For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.” Isaiah 17:10,11 God is a refuge for those who know Him. God is hope for those who seek Him. God is the source of salvation to those who believe. Do you know God? Do you know His refuge, hope, and salvation? Continue Reading…
Refuge, hope, and salvation found in Jesus Christ: Isaiah 17 and 18
Leaving pride to find the enveloping grace of God: Isaiah 15 and 16
What of do you think about pride? Is pride a noble virtue, an inherent quality of mankind, or a fault to overcome? Look at the people of the world who you pass by each day. Have they presumed to live their lives in complete apathy towards God and endure without calamity? We create monuments to our vanity as we glory in ourselves each day. Oh the wretchedness of humanity ; we take the precious gift of life that God has given us and we degraded it to a freak occurrence of nature over billions of years. Do we fear God? Do we realize the peril that is upon our doorstep as we glory in our pride of life? Continue Reading…
God’s eternal, purposed, redemption of humanity: Isaiah 11 and 12
We are a part of a great story. God’s redemptive purpose from eternity past to redeem mankind from sin is playing out to this day as people come to place their hope and trust in Jesus Christ. The amazing breadth of God’s purposed redemption of humanity can be seen when our present circumstances are placed into the story presented in the Bible. In Isaiah chapters 11 and 12 we are presented with the promise of a righteous and fair leader who will bring hope and healing. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” Isaiah 11:1-5 We are in the midst of God’s continuing promise to redeem humanity from their sins. Can you fathom the overwhelming love of God? Continue Reading…
Do not be consumed by the things of the world: Isaiah 5 and 6
Isaiah in chapter 5 presents a picture of Israel to the people of Jerusalem as a vineyard. Isaiah tells the people of Jerusalem of their straying from the path that God desired for them. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” Isaiah 5:3-7 Continue Reading…
Find your hope in the saving grace of God: Isaiah 1 and 2
What emotions and thought come to mind when you think about culture, society, and prosperity? Do we live today at the pinnacle of human society? Across the generations people have thought that their current progress and ingenuity was paramount to the existence of man. In Isaiah chapters 1 and 2 the prophet Isaiah brings the word of God to the people of Israel. ”Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: ‘Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.’ Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.” Isaiah 1:3,4 Continue Reading…
A love between bride and bridegroom: Song of Solomon Summary
The words of Solomon recorded within Song of Solomon provide a poetical love song between Solomon and his bride. They both relish in each other and their love for each other is intoxicating and all consuming. It can be difficult to read through Song of Solomon because it can be very graphic as Solomon describes his love for his bride. In the midst of Song of Solomon there is a great picture of God’s love for His people contained in the view that Solomon has for his bride. God expressed such a great love for mankind when Jesus Christ died willingly on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world. It was a furiously passionate love that compelled God to restore the fellowship between mankind and Himself. Do you marveled at the wonderful love of God? Will you trust in the all sufficient power of God? Continue Reading…
Learn to love from the author of love: Song of Solomon 7 and 8
How does love effect us? Can love be controlled once it take root? “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.” Song of Solomon 8:6,7 When love takes over your thoughts it becomes all consuming. Once love is awakened it cannot be put out so the word of Solomon ring even truer, ”I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” Song of Solomon 8:4 Have you stirred love before its proper time? Do you live with regret over your past actions? Will you trust the author of love to heal your hurts? Commit your way to God and trust in Him. Seek to love God and learn to know what true love is from the author of love. Continue Reading…
Experience the transformative love of God :Song of Solomon 5 and 6
Can you convey the love that you feel to the people around you? Can love be truly conveyed through words or speech? Love is contained within the summation of the heart, mind, soul, and strength. God has woven love into the fiber of our being because we were made in His image. ”I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love. What is your beloved more than another beloved, O must beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?” Song of Solomon 5:8,9 People cannot fully grasp the passion of true love unless they have first experienced such a love. We all long for the acceptance of true love but often a pale and shallow love is embraced before true love and fully blossom. Continue Reading…
What captivates your eyes and heart: Song of Solomon 3 and 4
The message of Solomon in Song of Solomon is direct and poignant about the quality of true love. The search for love is described as a passionate pursuit in chapter 3. ”On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. Have you seen him whom my soul loves? Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.” Song of Solomon 3:1-4 Continue Reading…
What is catalyzing you to move beyond yourself: Ecclesiastes Summary
What is the driving purpose and meaning behind everything we do? The book of Ecclesiastes can be summarized as the factual warning from Solomon proclaiming that a life without God is meaningless foolishness. It does not matter what we do or the grandiose visions and motives that are catalyzing us to exert our entire strength because without God our existence is only our own vaporous creation. ”Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 Can humanity be virtuous as our perceptions declare? We want to believe that the noble tasks that we undertake are will cause the winds of change to transform our world. It doesn’t matter how good or debase our desires are because all mankind is equally damned from birth. Solomon’s desire within Ecclesiastes is to proclaim that no one can live a life of fulfillment without God. Continue Reading…
