Bible Verse of The Day: Isaiah 66:12-14

Isa 66:12-14, “For thus says the LORD, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. 13  "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem." 14  Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad, And your bones will flourish like the new grass; And the hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants, But He will be indignant toward His enemies.” (NASB)

Through Isaiah, God states he, “extends peace to her like a river”.  A river flows through an area without concern for where it is going. As long as there are no barriers, the water just continues to flow. Eventually, it will cover the whole area. Everything it flows over will be nurtured by the river. Everything around the river will be nurtured. The whole area will receive the benefits that the river’s water brings.

Next, God describes what will happen to the nation of Israel. “…Glory of the nations like an overflowing stream…” Any nation that follows God’s will enjoys the same peace as the individual. This nation will enjoy inner peace. While following the will of God, their endeavors will be blessed. God will be with this nation. Even though God is directing this to the nation of Israel, it applies to any nation that follows God’s will.

Verse 13 compares God to a mother comforting her child. Consider how a mother comforts her child? Her presence provides the child comfort. The child knows that his mother will do everything to protect him. The child’s mother will provide for his needs. Everything that the mother has is at the child’s disposal. If someone threatens the child then the mother will bring all of her resources to bear on the child’s enemies. God is telling us that he will do all these things for us and more.

These promises from God should bring us great comfort. Consider that the creator of the entire universe is promising to use his power to help you. These words should cause several changes within us. It should bring us inner peace. How much greater of an ally could we have then God? It should cause a desire to please him. It should motivate us to cultivate the traits and attitude that will create a God fearing life.

Finally, God explains who will enjoy these benefits. These benefits will be open to God’s servants. Consider what a servant was at this time. If you had a servant then the servant did whatever you needed them to do. It did not matter what you asked. It did not matter how long the task took. It was the servant’s duty to do your will. Consider Abraham’s servant. Sara even asked her to have Abraham’s baby. She did that without any hesitation.

We must treat God in the same manner. We cannot be flippant with our attitude towards God. We cannot be a Sunday only Christian. Our walk with God must continue throughout the week. It must be an everyday event. We must actively search out God’s will for our lives. Once we know what he wants for us then we must apply it. We must create such a habit in ourselves that we follow God’s will without hesitation.

As with any other blessing, God warns us about not following his will. “But He will be indignant toward His enemies.” Indignant is not a passive word. It does not mean that God will just look the other way at his enemies. Indignant means, “feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.” God has just described the level of benefits that his servant’s enjoy. Consider now the opposite. If God can bring so many benefits then how much destruction can he bring? If we are seen as God’s enemy then he will show anger or annoyance at us. Paints quite a picture doesn’t it. Which side of this coin do you want to be on?

Bible Verse For Today: Isaiah 42:16

Bible Verse For Today: Isaiah 42:16  "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."

Have you ever been walking in a dark room and stub your toe? When that pain shoots up your leg, you realize the value of a light. If only you had turned the light on then your toe wouldn't be yelling at you right now? You react by quickly locating the nearest light switch. You don't want to make that same mistake twice. Our lives are no different.We have two choices in life. 

We can spend our lives finding our own way in the dark. This results in many "stubbed toes". We spend our lives bouncing from one stubbed toe to another. We continue to lean upon our own understanding of life. We think that we can make our own successful plan. No matter how dark our circumstances get. This doesn't seem like a very good plan does it?

Through Isaiah, God is providing us another way. He tells us that we are not alone in this world. God knows that we have no idea what is ahead of us. We are like the blind. We do not know the path ahead of us any better then a blind person in a new building. However, we are never alone. God promises to guide us through "a way they do not know". No matter what we are facing, if we trust God then he will guide us through it.

God also promises, no matter what the obstacle, he will provide us a way out. Through Isaiah God tells us, "I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places in to plains." God is not promising that we will not have difficulties. However, if we trust him then he will always provide a solution to our problems. We just have to trust that God can and will provide a way out. We also have to realize that God's way out may not always be the way we would choose.

What problem have you been having? What situation in your life is causing you "stubbed toes"? Have you turned the light of God onto the situation? If not then why not? Isn't it time to take the problem to God in prayer? If you completely trust that God will help you then he will. Just be open to the way out that God provides. It may not be the solution you were looking for. But, trust God and the path will become clear in front of you.

Bible Verse of the Day: Matthew 6:25-34

Anxiety is a huge problem in the United States. Pharmeceutical companies earn billions each year by selling us anti-depressants or other anxiety medications. Regularly we hear about someone who has committed suicide. We even see suicides among our younger children. Today's Bible Verse of the Day will shed some light on anxiety.

Matthew 6:25-34, "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26  "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27  "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28  "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29  yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30  "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31  "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32  "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34  "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus is telling us here that we should not worry at all. If we have the proper faith then we should realize God created us all. If God created us all then isn't he capable of taking care of us? Jesus specifically tells us not to worry about what we will wear or eat. This takes faith. Not the type of faith that comes from simply sitting in church, listening to the sermon, singing some songs, and getting a "good feeling". This requires the type of faith that comes from studying God's word. From realizing that God is capable of keeping his promises to us and will do so for his children. hopefully this verse will help you curb your anxiety.

Why is Christianity Really Under Attack?

Over the last 50 years, attacks against Christianity have increased. Initially, I believed that it wasn’t just Christianity. I thought that all religion was under attack. I blamed this on a general trend for society to belief that it did not need a higher power. People were simply deciding to go it alone. However, a recent scan of “religious news” headlines shows a different trend. It is not religion at all that is under attack. It is Christianity. Why is Christianity really under attack?

What prompted me to ask this question? A search of today’s tweets made me start questioning why Christianity is under attack while other religions are not.

• Religion News tweeted, “What to do if Westboro hate group shows up on your doorstep: http://bit.ly/1hjTPPf #religion +http://bit.ly/WestboroHateCult …” In fact, Westboro Baptist were mentioned in multiple news stories.

• Religion News also vilified Christian Counselors, “Christian counsellors ban therapy aimed at 'converting' gay patients: http://bit.ly/1hjTFY8 #religion #LGBT +http://bit.ly/LGBTandReligion” They didn’t even spell counselors right.

• Huffington Post decides that a Christian preacher cutting church short for football is news. “WATCH: Pastor leads fastest Sunday service ever because of. what else.. football http://huff.to/1cX1rFw”

These stories did not surprise me. Christianity has been under attack for awhile. What got my attention were other religions being reported in a positive manner.

• Religion News reports a positive story about Wicca, ” Not a broomstick in sight: Meet the modern-day witches: http://dailym.ai/L3EEPi #religion +http://bit.ly/WiccaWitchcraft”

• Huffington Post reports about observing the birth of the prophet Mohammed. “Observing the birth of the Prophet Muhammad http://huff.to/1djqxPW”

• While open Christian prayer is being vilified in schools and workplaces, Huffington Post will help you learn from a Buddhist. “WATCh: Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg shares how to find real happiness at work http://huff.to/19TktyJ”

Why is Christianity being treated so differently then other religions? Answering this question requires that we look at the teachings of these different religions.

Christianity teaches personal responsibility. It teaches that we all have the right and the freedom to make our own choices. At the same time, we have the right and the freedom to live with the consequences of our choices. It is not anyone else’s responsibility to bail us out. It is especially not the government’s responsibility to hold a gun to someone else’s head and make them bail us out.

Christianity teaches that we should care about our fellow man. Many commandments given by God are meant to instill in us a love for our fellow human beings. We are told to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We are requested to give of our means freely. That money is then used to help people in the community.

Christianity teaches us that right and wrong are not abstract concepts. Right and wrong are set forth by our creator. Morality is not determined by the whims of society at any moment in time. Right and wrong have been the same for centuries. This will not change. What was right and wrong yesterday, will be today, and will be tomorrow.

Now, let’s compare these teachings to some of the religions that are being portrayed positively.

• Wicca uses a very loose moral code. One Wiccan that I used to work with described his moral code as “Do no harm but do whatever you want”. I warned our boss at the time that such believes leads to an unstable person. They are left with being able to do anything they can justify in their own minds. Humans can justify a lot of things.

• Muslims believe that religion and government should go hand-in-hand. All laws should be used to further Muslim beliefs. If you are not Muslim then you are an infidel. Infidels should either be killed or taxed into submission. Or in other words, they believe in big government.

• Among their many beliefs, Buddhists believe that we should turn back the clock on progress. To quote one of their websites, “In the process of producing the things we feel will make us happy, we have polluted our environment to such an extent that the very air we breathe and the water we drink now threaten our health and well-being. We love the freedom and independence a car can give us, but the cost in accidents and environmental destruction is enormous.”

Contemplating on these different beliefs, I saw the real reason that Christianity is under attack. Christianity stands in the way of humans that simply want to gain power. A person that does not answer to anything of this world is not afraid of humans that simply want to rule over him. A central welfare system allows people to continue behaving badly. If someone is more worried about how many times he can get laid then being productive then he is more controllable. Christians believe in freedom. This leads us to believe in the smallest government possible. In short, if you are in power and want more power then you need to get Christians out of your way. Could this be the real reason that Christianity is under attack?

Daily Devotional: What is Faith?

Faith is one of the most talked about items in Christianity. There is only one verse that gives us a definition of faith. Heb 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Is all faith the same? To answer this question, we need only look at Jesus’s words. Mat_6:30, "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”  On several occasions, Jesus rewarded people with a large amount of faith. Mat_9:22, “But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.”

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Heb 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

In Hebrews 11, we find out that faith is what justified our forefathers. Noah was justified by following God’s wishes. Heb 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

By faith Abraham followed God’s wishes. Heb 11:8-10, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9  By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

By faith Moses followed God’s wishes. Heb 11:24-29, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25  choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26  considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27  By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. 28  By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29  By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.”

The list goes on but you see the point. Our ancestors faith led them to follow God’s wishes. It was not their works that justified them. Their works were produced out of their faith. It was the faith that justified them. Faith is what leads us to trust that God will keep his promises to us. Without faith then it is impossible to cultivate the traits that allow us to lead a God centered life.