Category: Thought For The Day

Isaiah 9:6
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

Contrary to what Handel says, I think that this is one thing, not two… and it’s a BIGGIE.

Jesus is listed as our helper, our comforter, and our advocate… all tasks f a counselor.

In man-made religions, man works to appease and appeal to their gods.

In distinct contrast, Jesus helps us find Him…. and he came here to DIE so that we can come face to face with God the Father.

King Jesus works on our behalf, doing the things we CANNOT do.

Wonderful indeed.
I’ll JOYFULLY take it.

Colossians 2:6,7
Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so WALK in Him, [7] having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith

Not a lot of subtlety here.

• ” You’re deeply rooted in Him.
• well constructed upon Him.
• You know your way around the faith.

Now quit studying the subject and start living (That’s from “The Message”)

I like the stark shock of it… Almost like a 2×4 across the head.

Sometimes I need that!

Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Joseph is talking to his brothers who:

• first planned to kill him,
• then sold Him into slavery,
• Now, he is the ruler of Egypt and about to save his whole family.

Great story (Genesis 37-50 – Careful, it is a page-turner!)

The takeaway is this:
No matter how dark or scary the moment, God can redeem it.

• Slaves become kings
• Shepherd boys slay giants
• Scraps feed multitudes

Whatever you’ve got going in your life, in His hands,

• little becomes much
• dark becomes light
• despair becomes hope

It’s who He is

Give it to God
Stay close
Stay faithful

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The fear here is “reverence”… but fear is a big part of reverence.

The essence of fear is being OUT OF CONTROL.

Whether we’re talking rollercoasters, or stuff jumping out at us, or things that go bump in the night, it is the lack of control that raises our hackles.

Put that into this verse.

WISDOM begins with realizing I am NOT in control of anything.
He is.

THAT’S where wisdom begins.
… and yes, it is scary.

I need to let go, and let Him be the Sovereign of my life.

I need to give up the control that gives me comfort. Because that comfort is false, and I am setting myself up for failure.

Sometimes:

• I’m afraid I can’t trust Him
  (I can)
• I think I know better
  (I don’t)
• I think He won’t help.
  (He will)

Get out of control
Get wisdom

Psalm 14:7
Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge.

Run Away! (An attempt at a Monty Python reference…)

An Old Friend… and my Grandmother’s favorite advice. It came with a follow-up comment. Don’t be the fool that everyone else avoids.

Good advice…. don’t hang out with fools or you will become like them.
(apparently stupid is contagious)

The problem is, WHERE do you run?

• To the Word (Ps 119:9, 11)
• To wise men (Pv 27:17)
• To solitude (Ps 46:10)

Lacing on my running shoes…

Psalm 1:1-2
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

The two Paths.
This Psalm is an old friend.

It begins with THE SECRET of HAPPINESS… Meditating on the Will of the Father.

It seems like the world’s greatest goal is to find happiness. You’d think they’d be better at it.

Yet it seems we are more anxious, more fractious, angrier than ever.

That’s because the world looks in the wrong place.

The first word, normally rendered “How Blessed” in English, of this verse (as well as the first word of the Sermon on the Mount) could be translated “How Happy”… How happy is the man…

Two steps:

1. Watch whom you hang out with
   (You start to look and think like them)
2. Pay attention to the manufacturer’s handbook.
   (He made you/He knows how you work)

Striving to avoid the world and meditate on God’s will… because that is where Happy is found.

Psalm 116:1,2
I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1,2
I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

It’s a fundamental truth:

• I called/ He heard me
• I asked/ He answered
• That’s why I trust Him
• That’s why I always will.

I’m reminded of the song….

🎵🎵
I called, You answered
And You came to my rescue
And I, I wanna be where You are
🎵🎵

Simple enough…
Enough for me.
Simply HIS.

Psalm 116:1,2
I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

It’s a fundamental truth:

• I called/ He heard me
• I asked/ He answered
• That’s why I trust Him
• That’s why I always will.

I’m reminded of the song….

🎵🎵
I called, You answered
And You came to my rescue
And I, I wanna be where You are
🎵🎵

Simple enough…
Enough for me.
Simply HIS.

Ephesians 2:3-5
Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. (4) But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

CHILDREN of WRATH
(What a great description of our angry culture)

“But God”… so simple, but SO profound.

Brokenness, MERCY, LOVE, GRACE
This verse is the Gospel in a nutshell.

Note who I WAS.
Note who HE IS.

We are made whole not by what we have done or are doing…. but by GRACE through FAITH.
If we cannot earn it, how can we lose it?

Like John MacArthur and RC Spraul used to say…. If I COULD lose it, I would. Thankfully, in his great love with which He loves us, he gives us MERCY and GRACE.

All in one verse.

Gotta love it.
Gotta have it.

1 Samuel 17:47
… that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the BATTLE IS THE LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.

The words are David’s (to Goliath just before he takes him out)

David has his sling, five rocks, unbelievable courage and eventually Goliath’s own sword.

Yet the BATTLE IS THE LORD’S.

Still looking for my sling.
Still looking for stones.
Still trying to figure out Which one is Goliath.

But still believing THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S.