We pick back up in the studies today, and I hope that you took time every day to read and study and pray and worship the Lord no matter what!

Today’s verse is one I have to remind myself often actually. We see the Lord explaining to us WHY He tells us things! The Lord also makes it very plain and clear that He knows how we are. He knows we can be rebellious and hard headed and stiff-necked (meaning we don’t want to turn our heads to another way). This is the problem with having a sin-nature. Blame Adam and Eve! . . . Kidding, we can only blame ourselves for the sin we decide to commit. The wonderful thing is, through Christ we have been set free from this sin-nature! We actually do NOT have to give in anymore to sin. We can really live a sin-free life from the day we get saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem is . . . that during our life outside of Christ we developed bad habits and our flesh was in control and got to do whatever it wanted. And now that we get saved, it still wants that control! So . . we struggle against sin because our flesh loves it and wants to boss us around instead of letting us be led by the Holy Spirit! This is why we need to remind ourselves to do as Paul had to: crucify the flesh every single day in Galatians 2:20 and 1 Corinthians 15:31. So if your flesh wants to use this verse as an excuse to be hard-headed and all that, remind it that it is DEAD to you so it has no power or control anymore. Put it under your feet where it belongs!

Today’s verse though is a great reminder of something: Why does God tell us certain things in advance?

I remember a good while back being told quite often by some Christians, that they wish God would just stop telling us things so far in advance because they hate having to wait to see it come to pass. I can definitely understand that. However, there’s a very good reason He tells us things in advance: He knows how we are! If God didn’t tell us something would happen, then more than likely when it happened we would just take it with a grain of salt and say, “Ah, well” and wouldn’t give it much thought. We may even give credit to either your own works saying YOU did such a great job, or the works of others. But if God foretells us that this or that thing will happen, then when it happens we remember that God told us it would be this way long ago, so let’s glorify God for upholding His Promises, and causing this to happen. If He warns us in advance of something troubling that will happen, then instead of getting discouraged when it happens, we can realize “Hey, God knew this would happen, He saw it ahead of time and even warned me about it! So . . . God really DOES watch out for me and He must know that I am able to go through this!” Why did Jesus forewarn that the disciples would suffer tribulation and hardships? So that they would have peace and joy in Him to know that He knew it in advance, and since God knew it would happen then obviously it’s something God can handle.

I have to remind myself this often. Not because of the troubles I go through or anything like that. I know God warned me from the very start that the path I was choosing and asking Him to place me on would be the most difficult thing I’d ever experience. No, what I have to remind myself is that when God tells me to say something, I need to say it. If I don’t speak what God wants me to speak, then I am giving someone the chance to not realize that God knew it in advance and when it happens they will either not know to glorify God for His Promise, or else in the realm of troubles they will be discouraged and perhaps even fall away. I have used this example before, but I’ll say it again of how years ago, I did not say and warn a dear brother about something God wanted me to tell Him. He ended up turning away from the truth and today is in a cult.

If God tells us to say something, or even write something down, or even tells us something for our own selves, we NEED to remember to obey and say, write, or remember it because God has a very good reason for telling us. We will NEED that reminder, and others will NEED to know it for their own walk with God! Don’t take it lightly, and don’t dismiss it. Hold tight to what the Lord has said! Remember, God is worthy of being trusted too, so when He says something, we can most certainly put our confidence in what He has said!

I love you dearly and pray for you daily. Please let me know if I can pray for you for anything. I pray that you continue to read the Word every day and study and pray every day. I pray also that you don’t neglect getting into the Presence of God through worship every day too! May God continue to bless you, and may you bless Him in return!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 119:89 “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.”
#784

Today we look at something the Lord was saying in rebuke to the “virgin daughter of Babylon” the “daughter of the Chaldeans” who was allowed for a time to come against the children of Israel in order to rebuke and correct Israel. Isn’t that truly loving of our God to allow the children of the world to correct us when we get out of line and go astray and refuse to listen to His Voice directly? Some may read that and refuse to believe it’s loving, but you know if I ever go astray or mess up I would much rather be corrected right now by any means necessary, instead of when I appear before the throne of God and find out I missed the mark . . . and by that time there is no “try again” like there is right now. We need to learn to love the chastening of the Lord, and seek it as a way to find out where our weak spots are so that we can try to grow as much as possible. But to learn that, we have to have a heart that is fully devoted to the Lord, and desires to be more like Him and realizes it won’t be easy, but we want it more than we want to stay the same!

Today’s verse is speaking of the one who came against Israel, and not in a brute force type of way. This chapter in Isaiah reminds me of what we see in Revelation when the Lord rebukes the church in Thyatira who allowed “that woman Jezebel” to enter into the church and cause many brothers and sisters to fall away through subtle compromise (Revelation 2:18-29). Now the Word here isn’t speaking of a single, particular person. It is merely characterizing the type of spirit behind someone (or a group of people) who have done these things. He describes and calls it in terms that we are able to better understand because we have seen it present in this or that person. It’s like someone acting like me, and they know me and you know me, and you say “You’re being a ‘Michael’ today.” They’d understand without you having to list precisely what you’re talking about. God is speaking of those who enter into HIS people, and corrupt them through compromise and subtlety. We see that running rampant in the Body of Christ today. Instead of teaching the Word of God without compromise, there are many who will twist things around and cause people to believe something that is not true, or that is only partially true. (What is a partial truth? It’s a lie, just like partial obedience is still disobedience.) There are too many examples to list them all but unless we study the Word for ourselves, and let the Holy Spirit guide and teach us the unchanged Word of God the fact of the matter is we are open prey to such who would turn us astray through slight subtlety!

Today’s verse though touches on an interesting topic. God mentioned that one can end up trusting in their own wickedness. We see that quite often today. People will often trust in their own works, their own wickedness and say things like, “I won’t get caught, I’m too good at doing wrong to get caught!” Just as God continues in the verse, that the one who trusts in their own wickedness truly reaches a point where they believe no one knows or they won’t get caught. There are many who even say this of God: “God Himself doesn’t see what I’m doing, so I’m safe.” They continue on with their lives, living in sin and believing they will never face the consequences because God gives them room for repentance before they hit rock bottom and be broken! We need to remember, and watch ourselves, that we NEVER trust in our own works or our own experiences or whatever, that tell us it’s okay and nothing can happen that would hurt us. There is only ONE person that can be trusted and that is the LORD. Everything else is like trying to stand on single thin board in the middle of a storm at sea and believe you won’t get wet.

The second part of the verse for today talks about wisdom and knowledge perverting! This is actually very interesting to me and I’ve yet to fully understand the “why” as to how such things honestly do tend to pervert a person. It’s often touted among Christians that when someone gets smart they tend to fall away from God. (It’s partially true. We do need to watch what we “learn” because there are many things we often regret learning, and wish we could un-learn!) Many tend to hold to the belief that no one who is smart can also be full of faith and believe in God. Yet that’s not true. Most of the geniuses throughout history who have given us so many things in the realm of science and physics and biology and even machinery, all held a firm belief in the Lord God who created them. In fact, I truly hold to the fact that true knowledge and wisdom will be grounded in the knowledge of God and the fact that we CAN learn and analyze things solely due to the fact that there is a Creator who made it possible. Random chaos cannot create order–it’s impossible. Impersonal cannot create personal. The fact that we can think logically is proof of a Logical Creator. Today there are very many who have been blessed with knowledge and wisdom and use that knowledge and wisdom to serve the Lord. Even in my own life, as I’ve mentioned before, God had allowed me to graduate High School in the top .15 % of the nation of the United States. Think about that: Well within the top 1% . . . and proof that God alone was in charge of that, is the fact I never studied or even took school too seriously. What I did take seriously, was studying the Word of God and learning what God wanted me to learn. I believe that is why God took care of me in other areas of my life, because I spent the time with Him.

But I’ve run into several people who have stated things like, “I can’t believe you can be so smart, and believe in God.” To which I reply, honestly, “I can’t believe you can be so smart and NOT believe in God!”

Knowledge and Wisdom is not something evil that should be avoided. What needs to be avoided, is making it to be your god. That is where I believe the problem lies, especially in the western countries like the United States. The culture glorifies knowledge and wisdom. It’s just as God says in 1 Corinthians 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:” We are like those Greeks, who glorified knowledge and wisdom to the point that it really becomes one’s god. The problem arises that worldly knowledge and wisdom (Which is what we’re speaking of all this time), has the tendency to increase pride and haughtiness. It causes one to gain more and more and believe that if he or she gains enough, he or she will be like God. Just as the very first temptation in the Garden . . . And is also why in today’s verse we see God warning that the knowledge and wisdom perverted them to where they ended up claiming God’s glory and saying “I am, and none else beside me.” Pride, haughtiness, cause them to be lifted up so high they believe they are indeed God. We see this in today’s society especially, as people truly believe that knowledge has proven God does not exist and they believe they are a god unto themselves honestly. It’s actually extremely foolish when you look at it, and reminds me of what Romans 1:22 says, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,”

The key to breaking that is realizing that God is the one who allowed you to obtain any knowledge and wisdom and understanding. We need to learn to submit to God, and stop believing that we know better. We also need to realize that we may say we submit to God with our mouths . . . but do our actions prove that? Do we rely on God and TRUST that when God says something, no matter how hard or strange or impossible it sounds, HE KNOWS BEST. Take however big of a sigh we need to make, and submit to Him. Remember the first part of the verse for today: that they TRUSTED in the wrong things.

So daily, check out who and what it is you Trust in . . .

I love you dearly and continue to pray for you. If you have anything specifically you wish for me and others to pray for please let me know! We are a body, and are called to uphold and edify one another. May God continue to bless you, and may you in return, bless God!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 118:8 “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”
#783

Today we have another short study and look at the last verse in Isaiah chapter 45. We’re reminded again, that in the Lord alone will Israel (and all those adopted, through Christ Jesus), be justified and glory! There is only one place we can go, only One we can turn to, in order for us to be justified, and glory. That is the Holy, Almighty God!

We see on TV shows and movies, and in real life, that most often in the world, people believe they can justify themselves. If they do enough good, then perhaps the good will outweigh the bad they’ve done and they will receive justification, is what they believe. But what does the Word of God say? “Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) Why? Because how do you think we can compare to a perfect God? Our God is perfect, and His Righteousness and standards of righteousness are beyond our imagination, much less beyond our reach! When we present our own righteousnesses, they are so far below that standard that they are like filthy rags! Some might take that as an insult or to mean God is horrible for having such high standards. He is not. The reason He is not, is because even though our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, He knows this and therefore provides a way: through Him. It all boils down to whether someone is too proud to go through Him and believe they can present their own tainted deeds as retribution. God sees and knows and shows us that we are not able to do anything. However, because of that, He provided a way through Jesus. It’s not God’s fault that we cannot do anything on our own, it’s the fault of sin that has tainted and separated us from Him! Yet, He makes the extra effort and provides a way for us to get back to Him and be able to be justified, and glory!

Let’s look at the verse before today’s as well: “Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.”

One of the biggest lies the devil causes the children of God to believe, is that they are worthless, filthy worms! The truth is . . . without Jesus we are. WITH Jesus however, we are far beyond that and to call ourselves that would be insulting and spitting in the face of God Himself! God shows us in the verse above that in Him we have righteousness and strength! We are MADE to be the righteousness of God, as He tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21! God has cleaned us up, set us on the right path, and made us HOLY people (I’ve had studies in the past, and have taught before, that to be Holy doesn’t mean without sin, but rather to be Holy means to be separated unto God). To believe the devil when he puts us down and makes us believe we’re filthy and unworthy, will cause us to believe God cannot use us because we are dirty! Yet, the truth of the matter is that if you have a relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, you are MADE clean and righteous and holy. The only part left up to us is: are we going to continue to make sure we stay clean, walk in righteousness, and strive to perfect holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1)?

We need to remember that when the enemy begins making us think or believe that we are too filthy for God, or if our minds just begin thinking these things, let us put our thoughts under submission to the Truth of the Word of God (2 Corinthians 10:2-6) and remind us and the enemy that while we used to be that way, we are no longer that way and are now so much more through Christ Jesus! To doubt that, is to say God is not able to clean us up and make us righteous and holy and justify us and make us to glory in Him! I serve a God who is more than able, and has done what He says He has done in His Word!

I love you all so much and keep you in my prayers that God continue to grow you, and teach you and cause you to trust more and more in Him and His Word every single day! Please pray the same for me and the rest of the Body of Christ as well! Thank you for your faithfulness, and I shall see you all tomorrow!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
#782

Today we pick back up in the studies, being reminded that when God says something, it is as good as done! As Jesus our Lord says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35/Mark 13:31/Luke 21:33)

I’ve stated this before, and let’s be reminded of it today: The Word of the Lord is more sure, more solid and trustworthy than everything we see and trust as we go throughout our day. When you sit down in that chair you sit in every day, do you doubt the chair will hold you? When you take your next step, do you doubt that gravity will continue to work, and worry instead that you’re suddenly going to float up into space? Not at all, we’ve learned that these laws of nature and physics are pretty trustworthy and good and sound, right?

Well, all these things we see, smell, feel, experience in our lives every single day, that we have learned to trust so much, will all be done away with. All these things will pass, will fade, will be burned with fire as the Lord says! However, God’s Word, will not! These things are temporary, but the things of God are eternal! So this gravity we trust so much, is less trustworthy than the Words and promises of God!

This is something to consider as well when we are struggling with overcoming a particular thing in our lives. When we are struggling, we need to fight with the Word of God. We need to speak the Word of God and His Promises to us throughout the day, to our own selves and to the enemy. If you struggle with fear, you need to write down scriptures that speak about how God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind, and that with God for us who can be against us, and that God has overcome the world, and that we have no reason to fear what people can do to us. We need to speak His Word, to ourselves every single day, throughout the day! Guess what happens when we speak His Word to ourselves every day throughout the day? We grow. We grow even faster than bamboo pumped full of miracle grow. When God sees us doing this, He also upholds His Word and changes us, and renews our mind, cleans us up. Before you know it, you’re a mighty man or woman of God, standing tall and strong in the Lord. How does this happen? Because, we are speaking the most powerful things to ourselves: the Word of God, which is more powerful and sure than gravity even. It’s like we’re pouring the power of God over our lives, and we can truly rest assured that it will work!

Today’s verse reminds us of what God has said in Isaiah 55:10-11, Just as the rain and snow come down to the earth and waters the ground and gives growth to the trees and plants, to bring forth fruit and seeds to the sower, God’s Word will be the same and will do what it was sent forth to do. His Word, will prosper in the thing whereto He sent it! If any are not yet fully trusting in God’s Word, then it’s important to learn that you need to trust what God has said, and speak what He has said, every day of your life, to yourself and the enemy and the friend, and the brother and sister alike! In Ephesians 4 it speaks very often about speaking the Word of Truth to each other, so that both the one we’re speaking it to, and we ourselves, can grow in the Lord! It’s of such great importance that I cannot express it in text at all, but feel like jumping and waving, shouting out how absolutely important this is!

Truly, also, as sure as God has said it, every knee shall bow and tongue shall swear unto the Lord God most High! There’s a movie out there called Megiddo (sequel to the Omega Code), and I remember seeing at the end of the movie, the devil himself being forced to bow the knee and admit that the Lord most High is indeed Lord! When I saw that, I thought it was pretty nice they included that. The Lord doesn’t say that every knee will willingly bow down and serve the Lord, He says that it will just happen. I’m reminded again of Job, and how the devil must ask for permission before he attacks one of God’s children. The devil knows that God is God, and Jesus is Lord. Even though the devil will not submit and follow and serve Him, he still ultimately is under that authority as much as he fights against it. The same is with people. They can fight all they want against God and His Word and His Son Jesus, but they are ultimately still under Him. If God says something, they can fight against it all they want, but it will happen. When God says you must follow Jesus to get to heaven, it doesn’t matter how much they fight against that, it IS true. So let’s trust in God’s Word, always!

I love you all dearly and continue to keep you in my daily prayers. Please continue to study His word, and SPEAK His Word every day, and spend that much needed and much appreciated time in prayer, with the One who wants a relationship with us! God Bless you all mightily, and I shall see you all tomorrow!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 17:15 “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”
#781

Today we’re reminded yet again, that through God alone is salvation! We are reminded also, that it’s God’s will that everyone be saved and not have to go to hell. Hell was never created for the lost souls in the world. Hell was created “for the devil and his angels” as Jesus says in Matthew 25:41. The problem is, that He also loves us enough to let us choose whether we wish to love Him, or reject Him. We have the choice to love and choose the Way to Life, or do nothing and continue walking on the path that leads to death.

The biggest thing I am reminded of when I read today’s verse, is that of Ezekiel 18:23, which shows just how much God truly yearns that the world turn from their sin and choose life! We read there that God says, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? said the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” The Lord says to the entire world, “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.” He desires that every single soul turn from their current ways and look upon Him from whom salvation comes! He also knows that there are so many false gods out there that will lead people to their death, and wants to show the world that there IS no other God beside Himself.

We need to be the same way when it comes to the lost in this world. No matter how rebellious they may look or act, or whatever they have done to us or to God Himself, God wants them to reject that path to destruction and turn to Him! We tend to get upset when people come against us or our God. I’ve grown up with that, I would be beaten up just because I called myself a Christian and wouldn’t stop. Not longer than a mere week into my walk with God I found myself surrounded by nine boys who shoved and pinned me against a wall and began threatening me because they heard I became a Christian and wasn’t afraid of anything. These things happened to me repeatedly for simply standing with Christ Jesus. I’ve been punched in the face hard enough to throw me across a room, I’ve been shot, stabbed, run over by a vehicle, threatened constantly, and continually beat on for the name of Christ. However, would I like to condemn those people to hell for what they did? Not at all! To this day I would LOVE to see them come to Christ. I’d rather rob the REAL enemy of souls, than damn a blinded soul to eternal death. God is the same way. This is why even after experiencing the most brutal beating and scourging, and being hung on a cross, feeling the weight of all the sins of the world, watching as those who said they loved Him fled, people He tried to help spit at Him and mocked Him hanging there . . . He wanted them forgiven because they were truly blind as to what they were really doing. (Though not all are blind. When one is told the truth, they are no longer blind, which is why Jesus told the Pharisees they were not blind like the others in John 9:40-41.)

This doesn’t mean we are doormats to be walked all over. This means we must be as eager to forgive others as the Lord is eager to forgive. We must be as eager to see people come to Christ no matter their past, as God is eager to see them saved from destruction. And we must talk to them like that as well. We can’t argue with them and fight and bicker and yell at them, “Turn or burn you vile, hell-bound HEATHEN!!!” We have to speak the truth in Love, as Ephesians 4:15 says we ought to do!

God tells the world to turn their eyes and look unto Him, from where they can receive salvation. We need to keep our eyes on Him no matter what we are going through, and we need to have the life-long goal of telling and showing the world that they need to turn their attention to God so they can receive true help!

I love you all dearly and do pray for you! May God continue to bless you mightily, and may we always keep our eyes on the Lord instead of the shadows all around us that try to get us off track! Please keep me and the rest of the Body, as well as the world who needs salvation, in your prayers every day! Have a very blessed rest of the day today!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 119:114 “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”
#781

Today’s verse shows we are still on the topic of Trusting God, That God is the Almighty, and that it’s utterly foolish to believe one can strive against God. We see in other places in the Word how people have thought they were able to fight against God, and had to be rebuked, sometimes by even the lost who know better, as in Acts 5:38-39 when they were coming against the apostles, and Gamaliel, a respected Pharisee, stood up and was wise enough to say, “And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” It is not hard to understand, that it’s foolish to believe you are even with God, and able to fight against Him. And we know what happened with Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 and Jesus relates fighting against the Lord to kicking against the pricks.

We live in a world with such moral decay, that this current generation may look at today’s verses and see nothing wrong with the questions posed by the clay to the potter, the child to his mother or father. However, this isn’t a simple “Hey, whatcha makin’?” type of question being asked innocently. The Lord is painting a picture of someone who is questioning the authority and work of the person. It’s as I’ve often run into at work. In management I’ve often run into employees who have questioned me in highly disrespectful manners. I would give them a job to do, and they would reply “Well, just what are YOU going to be doing” or “And while I worked, what did YOU do today?” It’s not the innocent, curious question. Rather they are asking it in contempt as though to question the authority of someone else. Let me ask, would you question your own bosses at work the same way? This is what God is saying, that some people would go to God the same way a child would go to his or her parent and ask them, “Just what do you think you’re doing?” Or the way a clay pot would tell the potter that the potter has no hands/ability to create it. It’s absolute foolishness and haughtiness to act such ways. Unfortunately, we see this more and more in the world, and we will see an increase of it as the years go by the time grows short.

God loves us, gives us a ton of grace and mercy every moment of our lives, wants a close relationship with us, forgives us of all our sins, and is patient with us. However, we have to remember that even though God is very patient with us and is eager to help us, that doesn’t mean we tempt Him and His Grace! Tempting God, is doing something we know we shouldn’t with the expectation that God will get us out of it because He promised. It would be the same as walking out in front of a car and telling God to save you according to His Promise. This is what the devil tried to get Jesus to do when he tempted Him to jump off the top of the temple because God promised the angels would keep even His foot from being dashed against a stone.

God has called us friends. Yet He is still a Sovereign God who deserves the utmost respect from us. He is Lord of All, God of all, King of all kings! The world has caused the body of Christ to forget this, and has told them “Oh, God is cool! You can do whatever you want, He’s cool with it” and teaches people to go to God in a “Yo, whassup daawg!” type of manner. It sounds somewhat harmless at times. However, what does the Word of God say about things, when we are to see if it is of God or not? Test the fruit. And unfortunately . . . the Body of Christ has begun lacking in that good fruit, and has largely fallen asleep and worse. We need to realize to Love God, and still know that He is a Sovereign, Holy, Just, Righteous God!

Most, if not all, of us reading these studies know without a doubt that it is foolish to believe we, mere people, can fight against Almighty God. So today let’s remember not to be equally foolish by forgetting that God is a Sovereign God who, loving us and forgiving us and caring for us and patiently teaching us, is worthy of our devotion and humble respect. In fact, it is BECAUSE of God’s Great Grace and Mercy and blessings, that we should show Him that reverence . . . and again be God-fearing people.

I love you all dearly and pray that the entire body of Christ see God for Who He is and How worthy He truly is of our respect and reverence and trust. May God teach us to love Him the way He loves us, and grow us closer in a relationship with Him. I pray that He guides and teaches you as you spend time in His Word today! Have a very blessed day today

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 37:34 “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”
#779

Today’s verses are best understood if you read and understand the verses before. God here, is speaking of those who make idols and worship them. God is speaking of how people make idols from trees and measure out and draw out the image, put it in the fire to melt the metal down, and do all this work with their hands, and then they turn around and worship it as an actual god!

It sounds quite foolish to us today because we know how a man-made idol is not an actual living god. However, this is what today’s verses are speaking of: how their eyes have been shut and they cannot seem to grasp the common sense that this “god” of theirs, was fashioned with the hands of a man! How can it be a god, when it comes from a tree and was created by man?!

We are shown today, what 2 Corinthians 4:4 says “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” There are a lot of times we may look around us at the people in the world and wonder how or why they could believe what they do, and how and why they could seem to reject the glorious gospel of Christ. It’s sometimes frustrating and makes you want to grab some by the shoulders and ask them how they can’t get it. But the Word of God makes it very clear, that their hearts have been blinded by the enemy. I often have to remind people not to get irritated at the actions of others who are not at a level they may be. One thing God has had to teach me, is that I cannot force other people to have the same standards that I have (That is, until they have been taught it in the Word of God). God has taught me and grown me and raised me. I can’t expect other people to act or think the same way I do, without being told anything! God has to speak to these people. We can’t hold a lost soul responsible for having the same moral standards as someone who has been grounded in Christ. We can’t yell at them and get upset with them because they don’t, either! In fact, if you think about it, unless God had changed you, you most likely would right now be at their level, or worse! So don’t let pride make you forget that it is God’s Grace which opened the eyes of your heart and mind to help you believe and bring you to the level you are at right now!

A very important part of witnessing to the lost in this world, is that we have to pray that the Holy Spirit open the eyes and ears and hearts of those we are witnessing to. This doesn’t mean that we pray and then we wait until we think someone’s heart has been opened. No, we pray, and then we trust God who hears and answers prayer, and we let that person know the wonderful news of our Lord Jesus. When you tell someone about the Lord, they are accountable for what they have heard and are responsible for knowing the Truth. However, this doesn’t mean they understand it and get the full revelation until the Lord takes the blinders off their heart and shows them. This is what planting seeds is all about: we plant the seeds of the Word into someone’s heart, and then perhaps water it or let someone else water it, but always remember that God is the one who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6)! We simply do our part of professing the Word of God, and let God be the One who makes it happen!

We need to remember how it is all by God’s grace that we are where we are, and that this world has not gone completely to Hell yet! God is still sustaining this world until we do our job and reach all the people in the world. This is also why it’s foolishness when people say God does these bad things in the world. (Such as the common, “Why did God take my baby away.” When a precious child dies. God didn’t take the child away, death did. And God calls death an enemy that will be cast into the Lake of Fire.) The Lord doesn’t do these wicked things we see going on in the world. He doesn’t have to! We live in a sin-cursed world where the consequences of sin happen! Just as we don’t always need the devil in order for us to do wrong, we have a sin nature that fights to be in control, and we can manage to mess up all by ourselves! The Lord is the reason this world is still here and not completely destroyed the moment Adam and Eve sinned.

Next comes the question of, if God is in control and sustains the world, then why does He allow these things to happen. The fact is, two things: Free Will. God loves us enough to let us choose, even if that choice means destruction and hell. And the second thing is that God will do all He can to try to convince and show people the Truth. Yet because they have free will, there comes a time when He has to say, “Fine, if you want to believe the lie, then believe it.” And He steps back. When God removes His sustaining grace from the picture, then that person is free to be blinded by the devil to the point that they will believe the Earth is flat if they so wish. This is what we see mentioned in Romans 1:20-32

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

We need to remember to be thankful, ALWAYS, to God, for His Wonderful grace that He has shown to us, that He opened our hearts to know and understand and receive the Lord Jesus our Saviour. We need to pray for the lost in the World, that they too have their hearts opened, so that the Light of Christ which we shine, will be seen and they can truly understand so they can make a fully understood choice instead of being blinded by the enemy into automatically making the wrong choice!

I love you all and continue to pray for you, for healing, and wisdom, and that God grow you closer to Him every single day. May God continue to bless you, and may we see those blessings and remain thankful to Him and never forget that it’s all by God’s Wonderful grace, that we are not going to hell! Have a blessed day today!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 56:10-11 “In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”
#779

Today we look at the next verses after the one we saw yesterday and are reminded that the Lord our God is He that blots out our sins! It is God who forgives us. And we can and should always run to Him to receive that forgiveness when we do stumble and fall.

Notice in the second part of the first verse for today, that we are clearly reminded that God forgives us, for His OWN SAKE! We were shown that yesterday, but if you ever doubted that what was said yesterday was true, and you didn’t search the scriptures (like you should always do), then this verse is quick proof that God forgives us not because of anything we have done, but for His Own Sake!

There is nothing we can do that will make God refuse to forgive us when we come to Him. No sin is too big for God to forgive us . . . beside the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But trust me, if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit you will have gone so far that you will have no intentions of going to God for forgiveness. That is what is called having a reprobate mind. So if you are going to God for forgiveness, rest assured that He will forgive us. As His Word says in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Being faithful means that God keeps His Promises to us. He entered a covenant relationship with us through the blood of Jesus. It is, as I often say, just as a marriage. God is faithful, and just, to keep His promises to us that He will forgive us, and write His Word on our Hearts so that we can walk in His Word and in His Spirit! So no matter what lie the devil may put in your head that makes you believe that you can’t run to the Father for forgiveness, or that you’ve run out of mercy from God and God is tired of forgiving you, or that you’ve sinned more than 490 times today and cannot be forgiven . . . You stand on the Word of God and remind that Liar that even if all he said were true, God doesn’t forgive you based upon your actions or sins or whatever. God forgives you for HIS Sake! And therefore, God cannot deny Himself, He cannot go against His Word, and He WILL be Faithful and Just to forgive you of your sins small, large, or innumerous!

The key though to God’s forgiveness, is first of all Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the only way to receive salvation and receive forgiveness because He is the sacrifice given for our place, and He is the door to the Father. Second, is that we must repent of our sins. We cannot get saved and then believe that we will automatically be forgiven of all our sins without us ever needing to CONFESS our sins to God as it clearly says in 1 John 1:9. Some ministers will teach that, but it is not biblically true. We have to go to God, humbly admit that we know what we did was wrong, and repent. Repent means that we must turn from that sin and start walking in the opposite direction. Repent doesn’t mean “I’m sorry” but rather “I’m sorry, and I’m going to walk away from this sin, into the other direction.” As we go to God and ask Him for forgiveness, we need to trust that He is not just able to forgive us, but WILLING to forgive us because He promised that He would, and He will NOT be called a liar!

The second verse for today reminds us of this fact, that we must turn to God and repent. God will not automatically forgive us without us even acknowledging what we did was wrong and we need to stop doing it. We have to remember God, and go to Him so we can reason and plead together in a sense. The reasoning and pleading has been done on the cross for us today in Christ. So we don’t really reason and plead with Him in that sense, but we go to Him through His Son Jesus to ask Him to forgive us of this or that sin we committed, and we ask Him to cleanse us, wash us clean, and help us to walk uprightly and not fall into this same temptation again in the future. God will do this for us. If we doubt that, then ask yourself if God would deny Himself, or lie, or be counted among the unfaithful as someone who cheats on his or her spouse? He most certainly is NOT that way. God does not lie the way we do. God will not deny Himself, and He is ever faithful!

Let’s never forget this truth, because the enemy would love to confuse us, and lie to us, and cause us to forget it!

I love you all dearly, and I do apologize for this study being quite short, but I believe to go on would take away from the simple truth that we see in His Word here and can simply understand it and stand on His Promises. Please study the Word, read these chapters surrounding the verses we are covering, and spend time in prayer and His Word every single day. I continue to pray for you and thank you also for your prayers. May God continue to bless you abundantly, and I shall see you all tomorrow!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 39:7-8 “And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.”
#778

Today we take a moment in somber realization of what we touched on in the past. God has given us the great gift of His Spirit. He has promised to come to dwell IN us while we walk on this Earth. He isn’t next to us, or across the world, or as the lie says, watching us from a distance. No, God is IN us. As we know also in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” This is a HUGE blessing beyond anything else we can imagine! That the God of the Universe, would look upon us, and wish to have a relationship with us is beyond amazing! Yet such a closeness with God also comes with the realization that what we do, affects Him.

If you are walking with someone, and talking with them, every moment of every day, and they decide to roll around in some garbage, do you believe that you would be unaffected by it? Even if somehow you decided not to go jump in the garbage with them . . . until they cleaned themselves up, their stench would make its way into your nose while you spend that time with them. One of the things that Christians tend to think and believe, is that when they sin it affects only them and perhaps other people who may be involved with that sin. We tend to believe we are somehow separated from God in the sense that we can do as we please and then go back to being with God whenever we want. We also tend to believe that when we sin, God leaves us and we can do as we please until we decide to go back to Him. However, His Word does not say this at all. His Word tells us that He is with us always, that He has come to dwell in us, and that He has joined Himself with us just as a man joins his wife. And today, we see that we can very well make God to serve with our sins and can weary God with our iniquities!

Remember that God made the concept of marriage as an example to explain the relationship He wants with us. When you marry a person (and I’m speaking of a good marriage relationship, not one where each person does his and her own thing without caring about the other), when one person in the marriage does something, it affects both people. When one person says something to someone, it’s as though the other says it too. The two people are linked together in a relationship and even though they are still two people, when one of them does something, the other is tied to that person’s actions in the eyes of the couple, in the eyes of society, and even for many things: legally. The same is with God! God has entered a covenant with us, a committed relationship with us, and when we do something, He is being involved right alongside us! God is with us for the long haul. He won’t walk away from us, but it’s still possible for us to walk away from Him!

Today’s verse reminds us that when we sin, we are dragging God right along with us. When we fall, we are dragging Him through whatever muck we are falling into. This should truly get us to realize how important it is that we avoid sin like the poison it is! We need to begin seeing sin as the vile, disgusting, vomit that it really is! If we got that stuff on us, we’d want to get it off as fast as possible, right? The same thing should be in our minds about sin. If ever we find ourselves tainted by sin, we need to run to the Father, wash ourselves with the Word of God, and get it off of us as soon as possible! When we sin against our Lord, we are honestly not just hurting ourselves, but we are dragging God through the worst smelling stuff He could ever smell.

I remember not too long ago I was tempted to sin, and at that moment I realized just how much God grew me because in that temptation, I didn’t argue against it, or even put much of a fight up. Normally I would argue and wrestle and perhaps even come up with some pros and cons as to whether I should give in. Yet, this time, I responded to the temptation with a simple: “No, because God doesn’t deserve that!” Praise God! God doesn’t deserve to have to deal with my sin! After all God has done for me throughout my life, the countless times He has blessed me even today alone . . . God deserves better than for me to drag Him along in my sin! So let’s learn to say this, when temptation rears its ugly head!

This subject however, believe it or not, is also an encouragement to us. I remember the several times growing up when I would become so tired of messing up that I told God that I didn’t want to ask for forgiveness any more, that I deserved to go to hell and I didn’t deserve His forgiveness. After a while God finally spoke to me, and revealed to me, that He does NOT forgive me because of me, or anything I have done. He forgives me, for HIS SAKE! He reminded me of the Israelites and how they tried His patience to the point where He told Moses in Numbers 14 that He was going to destroy them all and then raise up a people out of Moses’ descendants instead. But He didn’t. He forgave them, and was always there to try to get them to grow. The reason? Not because they deserved it, but because of His Name’s Sake. He made a commitment to them, a Promise. He entered into a covenant relationship with them, and therefore whatever they did was tied to Him. Therefore, if He destroyed them, the world would sit back and say “Oh, He wasn’t able to deliver them and help them out, so He just destroyed them instead.” So God kept His promise, not because of them, but because His Name and Glory were involved.

God forgives us, not because of anything WE have done, but because His Name is involved! God not only forgives us, but heals us, and GROWS us and helps us to be molded into the image of Christ not because of anything we have done, but because He has promised us, and made a commitment to us! That commitment, that promise, is what we can count on!

I know I don’t deserve forgiveness, and I don’t deserve any of the blessings of God. However, I know now that God will forgive me if I merely repent and run back to Him after messing up; I know that God will also help me to not do it again if I so ask Him and do as He says to do in order to be helped. I know God will do these things, Because He will not allow the world to say that the He was unable to deliver me from the devil’s grasp. And God promises the same thing to you. It doesn’t matter how bad you are or whatever lies the enemy says to you. The fact of the matter is, God will forgive you, and God will help you reach a place in your life where you can brush any temptation off like a speck of dust . . . because He made a promise, and He keeps His promises!

I love you all dearly, and do pray for you. Thank you for your own prayers, and for giving me the opportunity to pray for you as well. May we never forget that the enemy is defeated, and God is more than capable of helping us, and not only capable, but He WILL do it! May God continue to bless you, and you have a wonderful rest of the day today!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
#777

We see today, another reminder of just how wonderful and powerful and mighty our God is! Before the day was, Our God is! Before time itself was ever created, our God is! It’s not our God “was,” no, I’m not being grammatically incorrect, it’s simply as our Lord says in His Word, He is unchanging, and is not dead but alive forever more!

Today’s verse reminds me of the book of Job. I’m sure everyone has heard of Job and knows the account of what happened. For those who may not, or may need a reminder, we see in the book of Job that Job was a righteous man who served God. The devil tells God that Job only serves Him because God has blessed Him and that if God would simply take those blessings away, Job would curse God. So God, knowing that Job could prove the devil wrong, told the devil to go right ahead but that he wasn’t allowed to kill Job. So the devil more than happily piles on the trouble for Job. Job was pretty rich, but ended up losing all his livestock, servants, and even his children, and became sick and covered in sores. Job goes from being very blessed, to looking perhaps like a very sickly homeless man sitting against a wall wishing he would have just died at birth. His wife tells him to curse God and die, and then his friends come along and they end up telling him that he must have done something wrong, and that he was a sinful man that was being punished by God! The conversation goes on for some time with Job and his friends, and Job never curses God. He does believe that God was being unfair for doing this to him (how often do we see this today? People blame God, ignoring the fact that first: there is a devil, and second: in this sin-cursed world we have consequences to our OWN actions), but he never curses God and forsakes Him like the devil tries to make him do. Eventually God speaks to Job and scolds his friends and Job for speaking without knowledge. God then goes on to explain and question Job with questions like, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:4)

God continues to remind Job that it is God who created all the heavens and the Earth and all the creatures therein. It is God who was here BEFORE these things were made and it is God who will be here after they wax old. Can man understand the way all these things are made? Can man understand the ways of the earth, or the ways of the heavens? Can man have dominion and tell the stars to shine or stop shining? It is God who does all this, and people dare say God is being mean and unfair when troubles come? They are without understanding, just as we spoke of yesterday when we see people blame God and believe He is mean for providing only One Way to Salvation, and telling us how the wages of sin is death. Men cannot go up against the Mighty God. When God does something, and He says it is for our Good (Romans 8:28) that we continue to call upon His name, then instead of doubting and arguing against Him, we need to realize that even if it makes no sense to us, God knows how it makes perfect sense and we have to trust in Him.

Do you who read these, see a pattern to these studies, which God has been teaching us and reminding us this month? We went from consequences of rebellion and disobedience to God, to repenting of that disobedience, to God blessing us, how God will take care of us and watch over us and protect us, and that we need to learn how to completely and absolutely TRUST God! God is trying to tell us and teach us something here. Let’s pay attention.

Lets be reminded also what God says toward the middle of the verse, that NONE can deliver out of His hand! This is a two-fold promise. This is a promise to us, and a promise to those who come against us without repentance! The promise to those who are against God and His People, is that no one will be able to escape judgment. If God warns them to stop or there will be consequences, then no amount of human might or power or will, can deliver them from it! We covered this in past verses, and let’s be reminded that God is Spirit, how is it possible that man can think they can fight against God and win!

That is actually a promise to us as well, that we need not worry when anyone comes against us because God will indeed take care of us. The battle is not ours, but the Lords! We should merely STAND strong and unwavering in our trust and obedience to Him while He takes care of us! The other part to the promise toward us is that WE are in His Hands, who can take us from His Hands?! Remember that God has called us HIS, who in their right mind can believe that we can be pulled or snatched out of the hands of God? Just as Romans 8:37-39 says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The enemy cannot pull us out of God’s hands no matter how hard he pulls and tugs at us, or pushes us. Man cannot take us out of God’s hands, not even the angels themselves can take us out of God’s hands! So whatever we are going through, no matter how close to hell the valley we may be walking in is, let’s be reminded that there is absolutely NOTHING that can pull us out of the hands of God. I don’t care what the enemy says or whispers in your ears or shows in front of your eyes or puts in your mind . . . . he is a liar, and God is more than capable! Oh Praise God for such never-ending Love He has for us, and His Strong arms to hold us and draw us closer to Him!

I love you all with godly, brotherly love and do pray for you. Please let us know if there is anything specifically you’d like prayer for. We are the body of Christ, family meant to uphold one another and be there for each other, so let’s make sure we aren’t isolating ourselves from one another! May God continue to bless you, and let’s never forget that God is most powerful, and who can believe they can deliver from His Hand. What He says, He will perform!

Love always in Christ,
Your brother,
And friend,
Michael

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Psalm 37:4-5 “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
#776