Over the years I have heard Christians say the Bible is too much I can’t understand it all. You are not going to learn it all in one sitting. This is not a novel that you read from chapter one to the end and you have the story. There are important passages and the Bible confirms the Bible through Scriptures. You are to read it over and over again and then the Holy Spirit will reveal to you what you need to know and understand.
Perhaps in your daily reading you might like to tackle Isaiah 40 all the way to Isaiah 48:22. You might say that is quite a bit of reading but sometimes it is good to read things in a group so you get what the Lord is trying to tell you.
Isaiah’s prophecies and messages shift many years into the future.When we come to Isaiah 40, I want to remind you that prophecies are not to frighten you but to get you prepared for what lies ahead so that you could be prepared. You must understand that Isaiah is speaking to a people who have gone through difficult times- Israel. They were a rebellious people and they went through captivities by the Babylonians. They suffered the horrors of defeat and slavery. Most of them had been deported or exiled. Many of them lost everything: their homes, property, wealth, communities, cities, nations, worship centers, and their beloved temple in Jerusalem. Many of them were hit with piercing grief, because many of their husbands and sons would be slaughtered by invading armies.
But in the middle of all this hardship and sorrow, the Lord gives Israel a wonderful promise. The day was coming when they would be comforted and set free from their captivity and from their sin and death. God had made a promise to His people and He would keep His promises
A key message for believers today is that God has the future all pre-programmed. He knows the exact moment Christ will return. The final tribulation, the judgment, and the battle of Armageddon are all on His calendar.
The God who controls all of heaven and earth said: “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales…. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless” (Isaiah 40:15, 17, NKJV).
God wants us to keep working until the return of Christ. That simply means that we are to work as though the end will never come and live as though it were coming tomorrow.
God is still keeping count of the hairs on our heads. He is still counting the sparrows that fall, still hearing petitions before they are asked, and still answering before being called. He is still giving abundantly more than we can ask or think (See Matthew 6:25-34). So why be afraid?
Prepared Christians, wake up! Everything is under control, and God is at work. He is saving, healing, baptizing, and getting his house in order. To fear is to blaspheme. We are commanded to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to begin to sing and rejoice as we see the final hour approaching. Someone may ask, “How can I rejoice when I see this old sin-cursed world falling apart?”
My answer is the Bible’s answer. “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23).
A woman in labor may scream because of pain, yet in her heart she rejoices because of the new birth taking place. The kingdom of God is coming. The kingdom of Satan is falling. So the Christian can say with confidence, “God has everything under control!
Do you believe it? I do.
You may ask, why do you believe it? Because the peace of God gives believers perfect assurance that if we commit to Christ, our [past sins and failures have been taken care of by Christ and His death on the Cross. We also have the blessed assurance that our present situation is being looked after by God Himself. And that our future will be taken care of by the presence and guidance of the Lord. For the believer he or she knows that he has eternal life, never again to be alienated or separated from the Lord. We believers know that our salvation is due to the redemption found in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Perhaps in your daily reading you might like to tackle Isaiah 40 all the way to Isaiah 48:22. You might say that is quite a bit of reading but sometimes it is good to read things in a group so you get what the Lord is trying to tell you.
Isaiah’s prophecies and messages shift many years into the future.When we come to Isaiah 40, I want to remind you that prophecies are not to frighten you but to get you prepared for what lies ahead so that you could be prepared. You must understand that Isaiah is speaking to a people who have gone through difficult times- Israel. They were a rebellious people and they went through captivities by the Babylonians. They suffered the horrors of defeat and slavery. Most of them had been deported or exiled. Many of them lost everything: their homes, property, wealth, communities, cities, nations, worship centers, and their beloved temple in Jerusalem. Many of them were hit with piercing grief, because many of their husbands and sons would be slaughtered by invading armies.
But in the middle of all this hardship and sorrow, the Lord gives Israel a wonderful promise. The day was coming when they would be comforted and set free from their captivity and from their sin and death. God had made a promise to His people and He would keep His promises
A key message for believers today is that God has the future all pre-programmed. He knows the exact moment Christ will return. The final tribulation, the judgment, and the battle of Armageddon are all on His calendar.
The God who controls all of heaven and earth said: “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales…. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless” (Isaiah 40:15, 17, NKJV).
God wants us to keep working until the return of Christ. That simply means that we are to work as though the end will never come and live as though it were coming tomorrow.
God is still keeping count of the hairs on our heads. He is still counting the sparrows that fall, still hearing petitions before they are asked, and still answering before being called. He is still giving abundantly more than we can ask or think (See Matthew 6:25-34). So why be afraid?
Prepared Christians, wake up! Everything is under control, and God is at work. He is saving, healing, baptizing, and getting his house in order. To fear is to blaspheme. We are commanded to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to begin to sing and rejoice as we see the final hour approaching. Someone may ask, “How can I rejoice when I see this old sin-cursed world falling apart?”
My answer is the Bible’s answer. “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23).
A woman in labor may scream because of pain, yet in her heart she rejoices because of the new birth taking place. The kingdom of God is coming. The kingdom of Satan is falling. So the Christian can say with confidence, “God has everything under control!
Do you believe it? I do.
You may ask, why do you believe it? Because the peace of God gives believers perfect assurance that if we commit to Christ, our [past sins and failures have been taken care of by Christ and His death on the Cross. We also have the blessed assurance that our present situation is being looked after by God Himself. And that our future will be taken care of by the presence and guidance of the Lord. For the believer he or she knows that he has eternal life, never again to be alienated or separated from the Lord. We believers know that our salvation is due to the redemption found in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
RSS Feed