Greetings,
Wise words - consider carefully to whom we come, to whom we speak in prayer, Treat Him with respect, wonder AWE! It is wise to avoid making hasty promises! …. rather listen to what the Lord is saying to us …. then do it!
Our words once uttered cannot be taken back, therefore do not speak in anger! or jealousy, or rage …… we will regret words spoken thus!
Desire for more and more goods, wealth …. is unwise and an empty pursuit .. consider the words of the preacher in Ecclesiastes below, they contain much wisdom for us, and much insight, and they direct us to the Lord our God, to find our fulfillment in Him, and in Him alone.
He alone endures, and we with Him, by His grace, but all these things will crumble and perish …..
As someone wisely said:
“He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”
And the only thing I know of, which, once gained, cannot be lost, is a relationship with the Lord God Himself established through Jesus.
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Ecclesiastes 5
Stand in Awe of God
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.
3 As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
Riches Are Meaningless
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.
15 Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As a man comes, so he departs,
and what does he gain,
since he toils for the wind?
17 All his days he eats in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
Greetings,
The Lord our God is great beyond measure, He raises one up and destroys another, His ways we do not understand, but yet He is always faithful to His word. What He says, He will do and He always gives due warning if we are coming close to judgement.
He is able to make the hearts of people melt before His people, and we are His people, therefore do not be afraid as the Lord said to Joshua, and as was confirmed by the two spies.
If judgement is coming close to us and we repent as did Rahab, and turn to the Lord, we can be saved and restored, and many others with us … the Lord is as generous with His blessings as He is great and powerful and we all live only by His grace, and by His grace alone ….. were He to remove His grace from us for a moment our lives would be extinguished, and we would be brought before Him to give account of our lives …….
Consider Rahab, a prostitute, who turned from her previous way of life to the living God and not only had her life preserved, but also the lives of her entire family, but God did not stop there, His greatest blessing to her was that she became part of the lineage of king David, and of Jesus ……
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Joshua 2
Rahab and the Spies
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.”
14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.”
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 Now she had said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
Greetings,
Responsibility and consequences ……. These are two of the lessons God was teaching the nation of Israel through the Laws, penalties and offerings which He instituted in the book of Leviticus and throughout the Old Testament … others are that there must be a central, unified set of laws and standards of behaviour, otherwise there will be anarchy …. God instituted these laws and standards, and they were seen by the surrounding nations to be different, wiser, better, fairer than in any of the surrounding nations … they were just!
They were taught that we are responsible for our actions (or inaction where we should or could have acted) and for all the resulting direct consequences whether intended or unintended …. we are not however responsible for the actions of others …. each person is ALWAYS responsible for ALL their actions!
Likewise they were taught that there are always consequences for our actions …. consequences which affect others, and consequences which affect ourselves.
Compare this to today’s legal system where people are permitted to act with stupidity, without forethought, suffer injury, and then hold someone else responsible for not restraining them from the consequences of their own thoughtless actions! Onerous and often ridiculous stipulations are then placed on some people and groups in an attempt to prohibit the thoughtless actions of others, and in any case to avoid any resulting litigation! …… The prevailing refusal of many to take responsibility for their own actions and to blame someone else for the consequences of their own actions and thus impose inappropriate responsibility on others is an aberration, and eventually in God’s time and scheme of things the responsibility will be laid where it belongs, and those who have been unjustly blamed will be exonerated!
This does not mean that those who permit blatantly dangerous conditions to continue to exist when they have authority and ability to correct it will be deemed not guilty - they will be responsible for their inaction and resulting consequences!
Part of maturity is to accept responsibility for our actions …. God was training Israel towards maturity, just as He is continually training us towards maturity, as much as many in our society may want to return to immature behaviour, in the end they will find that immaturity is no excuse …. responsibility remains, regardless!
We have been called to maturity! To grow up into Christ…..
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Leviticus 5
1 ” ‘If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.
2 ” ‘Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean—whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the ground—even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty.
3 ” ‘Or if he touches human uncleanness—anything that would make him unclean—even though he is unaware of it, when he learns of it he will be guilty.
4 ” ‘Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil—in any matter one might carelessly swear about—even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty.
5 ” ‘When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned 6 and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the LORD a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
7 ” ‘If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD as a penalty for his sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not severing it completely, 9 and is to sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 10 The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
11 ” ‘If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering. 12 He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the LORD by fire. It is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.’ ”
The Guilt Offering
14 The LORD said to Moses: 15 “When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD’s holy things, he is to bring to the LORD as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering. 16 He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.
17 “If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible. 18 He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the wrong he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has been guilty of wrongdoing against the LORD.”
Greetings,
What great ages our ancient forbears lived to! Do you wish you could live to a similar age? Almost a thousand years, we rarely reach 100 …….
Of all the people mentioned here who impresses you most? Adam?, Methuselah?, Noah? ….. for me it is Enoch the ’shortest’ lived of all of them, a mere 365 years …. so why does he impress me? Read again the account of his life …. He did not die!!!! …. ‘God took him away’! Why? We are not told, but we are told that ‘after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years’, and then ‘Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.’
“Enoch walked with God” that statement is not made here of anyone else! - We know that Noah was a righteous man - we are told that in chapter 6 - in fact ‘the only righteous man’ so he also is special ….. but Enoch ‘was no more, because God took him away.’ He is one of only two people recorded to have never died, the other of course is Elijah - who was caught up to heaven in a chariot of fire - I believe that makes Enoch Very special in God’s estimation, and that is what counts!
Our opinions are really inconsequential …… God’s opinion counts, so if His opinion is so important, if walking with Him is so important, and it is! How do we measure up? ….. not to Enoch, or Elijah, or even to Noah, I am not saying that we should compare ourselves to anyone ……
Rather, how does the life we have lived compare to the life ‘walking with God’ which He had planned for us?
Enoch Walked with God ….. how closely are we walking with God? … Our path, our role is unique, but are we following it walking with God, or are we straying from it?
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Genesis 5
From Adam to Noah
1 This is the written account of Adam’s line.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.”
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. 7 And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Greetings,
We are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” - 1Pet 2:9, therefore do we set our hearts to honour and reverence God’s name and stand in awe of Him? Do we “walk with our Lord in peace and uprightness and turn many from sin”? Do our lips “preserve knowledge”? ……. or have we sinned as did the ancient priesthood as they are called to account in verses 8 and 9?
The Father requires that we first be faithful to Him and then to all our brethren …. neither is possible without the other!
How do we interpret verses 11 and 12? - What sanctuary? ….. that would be us… our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit
And how could we desecrate it? -
1. by sexual sins - immorality, adultery, homosexuality, licentiousness …..
2. by setting up other ‘gods’ in our lives in the place reserved for the Lord ….. money, possessions, loved ones, self, …….
Hhow does the Lord view divorce and violence done against a spouse? … He puts it very plainly in verses 13 to 16……
Tthe Lord abhors injustice and perverted justice ….. and how often do we see justice perverted in our land for money, gain, prestige, to avoid embarrassment or worse to a public figure, or a variety of other ‘reasons’ or rather excuses ……
These excuses do not please the Lord our God, nor will they be acceptable before His court when true JUSTICE is dispensed along with much mercy……
Where do we stand? ….. Faithfulness, Righteousness, Godliness, Love, Mercy, Grace, Integrity, Uprightness, Honesty, Purity, Forgiveness, Wisdom, Reverence, Awe, Peace, Justice ……Where?
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Malachi 2
Admonition for the Priests
1 “And now this admonition is for you, O priests. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.
3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. 4 And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the LORD Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
Judah Unfaithful
10 Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?
11 Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off from the tents of Jacob —even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty.
13 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
15 Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
16 “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself (alternate reading: his wife) with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty.
So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.
The Day of Judgment
17 You have wearied the LORD with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.
By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Greetings,
We are called to purity of life and action, honesty in all relationships, and availability to the Spirit of God to speak through us and declare the truth to those around us - the good news of salvation, of fullness of life in Jesus.
Our resilience in the face of difficulties, our own faults, frailties, inabilities and incompetence declares the glory of God as He works through us in spite of our obvious failings.
If we pretend that we have achieved anything by ourselves we take the glory away from Him and claim it for ourselves and thus deny Him!
This was not the example the apostle Paul set, He revealed his faults, and did not try to hide anything, therefore because of this humility, and His total dependence on God, God was able to use him.
Let us therefore recognise and acknowledge our limitations, commit them and our whole beings to God for His use this year, and give Him total freedom to do as He wills in us and through us for the glory of the Father and the Son and the Spirit
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
2 Corinthians 4
Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Greetings,
We are called to purity of life and action, honesty in all relationships, and availability to the Spirit of God to speak through us and declare the truth to those around us - the good news of salvation, of fullness of life in Jesus.
Our resilience in the face of difficulties, our own faults, frailties, inabilities and incompetence declares the glory of God as He works through us in spite of our obvious failings.
If we pretend that we have achieved anything by ourselves we take the glory away from Him and claim it for ourselves and thus deny Him!
This was not the example the apostle Paul set, He revealed his faults, and did not try to hide anything, therefore because of this humility, and His total dependence on God, God was able to use him.
Let us therefore recognise and acknowledge our limitations, commit them and our whole beings to God for His use this year, and give Him total freedom to do as He wills in us and through us for the glory of the Father and the Son and the Spirit
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
2 Corinthians 4
Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Greetings,
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and a safe one as you celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ - Rejoice in Him with thankfulness in your Hearts to the Father, I pray that all of your thoughts, words and actions would bring Him glory and exalt His Name.
John the Baptist’s preaching exposed the people’s sin, helped them to understand their position before a Holy God, and called them to repent of their sinful ways ….. Jesus came, John recognised who He was, and understood his subservience to Jesus, but at Jesus’ bidding baptised Him to ‘fulfill all righteousness’ - to do everything the right and appropriate way, and the Father revealed Jesus’ divinity in a very special way.
John’s call to repentance resonates down through the centuries - It is a call we all need to respond to - one that we all need to hear each day, and many times each day, as we stray and are gently returned to the path by the Lord’s grace, mercy and Love, and it is one that we also need to repeat to our family, friends, neighbours, workmates, acquaintances, to share with them the same grace, mercy and love which He has lavished on us … to rejoice In His blessings and to pass them on to others.
I am taking a break until the 14Jan, and will resume distributing the Passage then.
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Matthew 3
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ “4John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11″I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Greetings,
The best known promise of the Messiah’s coming ….. a great light - a Child, a Son, Government, Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace ….. such titles have never been applied to anyone else, and have never been so fitting, so appropriate Great promises, but immediately followed by a pronouncement of judgement against Israel for its persistent rebellion ….. What then of our nation? Rebellion against the Lord is rife …. to the left, to the right, ahead of us and behind …… the same goes for most if not all nations of the earth ….. God’s judgement will fall again ….. Let us be sure that we are found among the faithful, proclaiming the truth of God to those around us without fear or favour …… Now is the time to speak …. Now is always the time to speak for Him!
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Isaiah 9
To Us a Child Is Born
1 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 Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 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.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
The Lord ’s Anger Against Israel
8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
who say with pride
and arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the LORD has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouth.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the LORD Almighty.
14 So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
15 the elders and prominent men are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks vileness.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns,
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the LORD Almighty
the land will be scorched
and the people will be fuel for the fire;
no one will spare his brother.
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;
on the left they will eat,
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;
together they will turn against Judah.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
Greetings,
Yesterday we considered the Magi, Joseph and Herod, today we start with Jesus’ ‘legal’ genealogy, Joseph’s line back to king David, and further back to Abraham, this proving the fulfillment of scripture, that the Messiah would be born in to the line of David.
We saw yesterday how He came to His own people and they did not accept Him, but God provided those who would appropriately honour Him - firstly the shepherds - the unclean, rough, lowest rung of Jewish society, then strangers from far off, the Magi , but the religious leaders in Jerusalem, barely 8km from Bethlehem could not be bothered to try to seek Him out, and Herod tried to kill Him!
Now we look back at Joseph in a little more detail - of the line of David, a righteous man, a caring man (vs 19), a man open to God’s leading, and prepared to obey that leading and instruction (vs 20 -25).
How would we respond to such events ….. events and circumstances never seen before, and never to be repeated!
Angels, ancient prophecy fulfilled, a birth, surprise and unexpected visitors, valuable gifts, a villain, danger, an escape in the night to a strange land, and at length a return ….. Where would we fit in these events?
Do we, every day, give the LORD the honour due to Him by living in obedience to Him? By actively seeking His Will to do it?
In Him, by His grace, Blessings
Bill
Passage of the day
Matthew 1
The Genealogy of Jesus
1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23″The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
