Category: Prophecy

Shake Off the Gloom

It was a very dark period in the history of the children of Israel. Despite warning after warning, they had hard-headedly developed a longstanding habit of idolatry and rebellion. This led to God sending various nations against the children of Israel intended to shake their faith in their false gods and erroneous, deceptive beliefs.

God’s intent was that the children of Israel would notice how little their false gods could protect them. He wanted them to repent of their sins and be renewed in their trust of his promises. Most of all, he wanted them to turn around, and return to him.

God’s discipline led to periods of gloom and despair for the children of Israel. This teaches us that God does not always keep us from trouble and sorrow — in fact, sometimes they are part of his discipline, his attempt to get us to think!

If we have rejected God over and over again, is there not some point where he is going to try and get us to connect the dots? Will a loving God not demonstrate for us where our sinful choices will eventually lead us?

He does that to shake things up and lead us back to him. He does that to get us to realize the choices we are making are leading to failure, not success.

We may sometimes fear that our period of gloom and distress will never end. We begin to believe that we are doomed to failure, trouble and sorrow. But God assures us that this is not his goal. His goal is to get us back into the light.

And that goal becomes clear when we remember that our Father sent us Jesus, his one and only Son, to make it possible for us to be forgiven, restored, and reunited with him. Jesus is our true light. You might recall that Jesus made this claim about himself: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8;12, NIV).

If you’re going through a period of distress right now, it may be that God is trying to teach you something. Step back, look carefully at what the Bible teaches about God’s holy will for your life, and ask yourself, “What changes is God asking me to make? Do I need to return and place my faith in Jesus? Is it time for me come back and walk in the light of his truth and love?”

Then remember that God does not intend to leave you in distress forever. So, take your sins to Jesus. In him, you are forgiven. You are free. Stand up and walk into the light of Jesus’ love for you. Shake off the gloom and experience the peace that the Prince of Peace has for you!

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

“The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned…

… For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:1-2, 6, NIV).

Lord, grant me a humble heart. Help me to willingly and regularly examine myself — my heart, my mind, my words and my actions, too — to see where there are changes that need to be made. Where there is gloom and distress, direct my eyes to your Son, Jesus. He is the true light. He is my forgiveness, my peace, and my joy. He is the One and Only who can help me turn my life around — with eternal benefits!

Our Bible reading for Saturday, September 5, is Isaiah 8:11 – 10:19, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 and Proverbs 21:27 – 22:6.

Header image based on "Gloom Clouds" by Joel, CC By-SA 2.0

David Called It

David called it. More than a thousand years before it even happened, David tells the story of Jesus’ arrest, death and resurrection.

“Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. But may you have mercy on me, Lord; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever” (Psalm 41:9-12, NIV).

If ever there was a convincing argument for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this is it. If ever there was a solid case for God having a plan to redeem mankind, well, this is definitely it.

And what more beautiful time of year to celebrate both of these than Easter?

David’s words in Psalm 41 let you know two things for sure. First, you have a God who loves you enough to communicate his love to you. Over and over again for thousands of years. And second, you have a God who values you so much that he would send his one and only Son to be your substitute.

And here’s a third. As a bonus. That one and only Son won an eternal victory for you. And his name is Jesus.

Happy Easter!

Our Bible reading for Easter Sunday, April 5, is Deuteronomy 2:24 – 4:14, Luke 10:25 – 11:4 and Psalm 41:7-14.

Lord, thank you for your death and resurrection. Because of these, I am assured of forgiveness and salvation. I have a new life to look forward to. You have given me a future!

Header image based on "Bluebell Heaven" by Nana B Agyei, CC By 2.0

Faulty Assumptions

What we’ve experienced up until now leads us to develop certain expectations about the future. The problem with this is that we might just make faulty assumptions, if they’re based solely on what we’ve learned from our own limited experience.

Some of these faulty assumptions aren’t too damaging. Others are life-threatening. But making all our assumptions about the future on what we alone have experienced in the past is foolhardy at best.

Jesus, for instance, encourages us not to assume that life will always go on the way that it does for us today. He issues a reminder that when the people of Noah’s day made that assumption, they lost sight of God. And though God was extremely patient with them, hoping they would turn away from their sin and unbelief, their faulty assumption finally cost them their lives.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:36-39, NIV).

If we can get outside the limits of our own experience, we might just begin to understand that everything we see today will one day come to an end. Then we can be prepared for Jesus’ return. Watchfulness will be the end result of that understanding.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42, NIV).

There are many ways to be “watchful” for Jesus return. Here are five types of watchfulness for us to adopt as we wait:

  • The “watchfulness” of knowing that Jesus has put things in order for us through his death and resurrection
  • The “watchfulness” of Spirit-bred faith in our hearts
  • The “watchfulness” of repentance over our sins
  • The “watchfulness” of knowing the grace and forgiveness we’ve been given
  • The “watchfulness” of joyfully, expectantly waiting for the life to come in heaven–the life that far surpasses anything we’ve experienced up till now

So be careful with your assumptions. And stay watchful, my friends.

Lord, help me to not make faulty (even deadly) assumptions. I do not want to drift from you. Keep me watchful for your return every day, realizing that I do not know when you will come to take me to heaven.

Our Bible reading for Friday, February 6, is Job 38:1 – 40:2, Matthew 24:32 – 25:13 and Psalm 18:37-42.

Header image based on "Huguenin Vintage Watch" by Sie, CC by-SA 2.0

More than a pinkie promise

The entire Bible is really the story of God blessing mankind by sending his Son Jesus to rescue us from sin and wickedness.

66 books. Over 40 authors. One story.

The Old Testament is the set-up of God’s plan to send Jesus. The New Testament is the story of Jesus’ arrival, and the aftermath of that arrival.

To put it another way, the Bible is the story of God making and keeping a big promise.

After Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command and brought death into the world, God immediately gave them a promise of rescue. He looked directly at Satan and told him that he would send someone to crush him and his evil rebellion: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15, NIV).

In Genesis 11, we read another account of God promising to bless sinful mankind. He tells Abraham and his descendants that they would serve a great purpose in the world. They would be God’s messengers to mankind, and God’s way of shining light into a very dark world.

Most importantly, one of Abraham’s descendants would become the one to fulfill that promise made previously to Eve that one of her offspring would crush Satan.

Do you need someone to help you crush Satan’s power and influence in your life? If you read Abraham’s story, you’ll see that he needed it. And so do we.

That’s why God promised a Savior from the very beginning. And that’s why God delivered on that promise. He delivered so that you and I could be blessed with forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

And that’s way more than a pinkie promise.

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you'” (Genesis 12:1-3, NIV).

Our Bible reading for Tuesday, January 6, is Genesis 11:10 – 13:18, Matthew 5:21-42 and Psalm 5:1-12.

Header image based on "Promises" by Ditaputratama, CC by-SA 2.0