At Your Word

"When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."--Luke 5:4-6

As believers, we love the stories of Scripture because in some way we relate. Or we love the stories because the ending is so great that it inspires our faith and increases our hope in God!

The verse above helps us see why Peter cast the net in faith. He says, "Nevertheless at Your word..." There's our answer, at God's Word. Take His Word for truth because it is. Act on His Word because God does. Celebrate His Word because it is living and active. Share His Word because it is life!

God is Already There

“This covenantal relationship is understood to be obtained between God and future generations of Israelites, not yet born at the time the covenant was established. God, being eternal, has the ability to enter into a relationship which transcends the time limits of individual human lives, or even of whole generations.”--Louis Newman (In reference to the covenant given in Exodus 19:1-9)

God entered into a covenantal relationship with us BEFORE our lifetimes on this earth. That's HUGE! He pledged His Son before our fall. We're told in Revelation 13:8 that Christ is the "lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."--Isaiah 65:24

He provides before we're in need, atones before we sin, loves before we're born, answers before we ask, knows before we see, hears before we speak.

So, "Fear not tomorrow, God is already there."

Things That Bring Me Joy #7296

I love looking beside my desk and seeing Scriptures that make my heart beat faster!

On the left: A piece of art I made that features Revelation 19:11-13
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called FAITHFUL and TRUE. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe DIPPED IN BLOOD, and His name is the WORD OF GOD.

On the right: Exodus 14:14 in Hebrew
The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.

Gather the Manna

“The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much [manna], some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.”—Exodus 16:17-18

I was listening to a Bible study on the way to work this morning and was amazed at two things:

1) It was a study that I picked up within the first few weeks of working at the State Board of Missions. I knew I would have a long commute and so I began buying audio Bible studies for the road. I listened to the first two sessions and then put it aside. No particular reason I put it aside, I just did. Then today, I picked back up on lesson three. Wow! For such a time as this. 2) The passage of focus is contained in the context of my exegesis paper focus. So, I’m very intimately familiar with it. But, like I’ve said before, the Word of God is living and active and you can read the same passage every day and find something new every time.

So many times we see someone going through a trial in life and we think to ourselves and say to God, “I could never survive something like that.” Even recently I’ve had someone say that to me, “Lydia, if I were in your shoes, I don’t know that I would have survived.” Well, the point is, we’re meant to stay faithful and trust God in our OWN trials, not in someone else’s. In the passage above we see God giving grace according to each one’s needs. My needs are very different from your needs. Your needs are very different from my needs. But, the answer is always the same: Grace given by God in the person of Jesus Christ.

“So they asked Him, ‘What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”—John 6:30-35

God still gives us our daily bread. Even in the desert in the book of Exodus, God provided the daily bread. But, the bread appeared on the ground, not on the table. God provided, but the Israelites were required to gather it. God will provide not only our physical food, but He provides our spiritual nourishment as well. But, we have to be willing to go out in the morning and glean in His field. Open the Word and have your fill! THAT’S where you turn. That’s where I turn. He has provided all we need in the person of Jesus Christ revealed in the Word of God.

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”—2 Corinthians 1:20

Resistance in the Midst of Trials

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”—2 Timothy 4:3-4

Last night’s sermon was a tough one to hear. Sometimes we can get so caught up in something that is contrary to what we know to be God’s plan. If instead of leading us closer to God and encouraging us to be faithful to His call, it distracts us and causes us to forget His tasks then we know it is not of the Lord. It can be hard to determine when something IS His will, but it can be simpler to determine when something is NOT. But, we don’t want to hear “no.” Do we?

Maybe you know something isn’t His plan. Maybe you’re watching someone walk down a path and you hardly recognize the person they’ve become. “Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”—2 Timothy 2:25-26. Last night I was reminded that when we allow ourselves to fall to temptation, we become imposters of the faith, “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”—2 Timothy 3:5. So convicting. I needed to hear that word of warning!

 

It’s so tempting when you’re going through a trial to let it eat at you, let it steal your joy or let it lead you to a path of rebellion and destruction. Been there. Even now, fighting. But if God has made a promise, He keeps it. Hold on to it. If Satan is whispering, enticing you to give up on the impossible, shut him up with the WORD. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”—Ephesians 6:12.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.”—2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Resist the devil, hold on to hope, fight for faith. Trust in the Lord, He delivers!