10/29/12

When in fear....


What makes you afraid? Once you recognize your fear, what do you do about it?  Today, with so many Americans facing "The Storm of the Century", it is a very good question indeed!!!  The cat is depicted as saying an excerpt from this psalm and I think it is an excellent path to follow.  Below, please find the Psalm in its entirety.

Psalm 23

A Psalm by David. 

  1 Yahweh is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.


  2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.


  3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.


  4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.


  5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.


You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.

  6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.

In church we sing the song "anywhere with Jesus", but what about living it?  And you don't even have to be a cat!!!!

Bible Reading Oct. 29


 
Oct. 29
Isaiah 9-12

Isa 9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
Isa 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.
Isa 9:3 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Isa 9:4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian.
Isa 9:5 For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
Isa 9:8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel.
Isa 9:9 All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart,
Isa 9:10 "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place."
Isa 9:11 Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies,
Isa 9:12 The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isa 9:13 Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Armies.
Isa 9:14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.
Isa 9:15 The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
Isa 9:16 For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed.
Isa 9:17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isa 9:18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
Isa 9:19 Through the wrath of Yahweh of Armies, the land is burnt up; and the people are the fuel for the fire. No one spares his brother.
Isa 9:20 One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:
Isa 9:21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
 

Isa 10:1 Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees;
Isa 10:2 to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
Isa 10:3 What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
Isa 10:4 They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isa 10:5 Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!
Isa 10:6 I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Isa 10:7 However he doesn't mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations.
Isa 10:8 For he says, "Aren't all of my princes kings?
Isa 10:9 Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus?"
Isa 10:10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
Isa 10:11 shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
Isa 10:12 Therefore it will happen that, when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his haughty looks.
Isa 10:13 For he has said, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers.
Isa 10:14 My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, have I gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped."
Isa 10:15 Should an axe brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.
Isa 10:16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire.
Isa 10:17 The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
Isa 10:18 He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints.
Isa 10:19 The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.
Isa 10:20 It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isa 10:21 A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
Isa 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
Isa 10:23 For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will make a full end, and that determined, in the midst of all the earth.
Isa 10:24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, says "My people who dwell in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, as Egypt did.
Isa 10:25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction."
Isa 10:26 Yahweh of Armies will stir up a scourge against him, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. His rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up like he did against Egypt.
Isa 10:27 It will happen in that day, that his burden will depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
Isa 10:28 He has come to Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage.
Isa 10:29 They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Isa 10:30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth!
Isa 10:31 Madmenah is a fugitive. The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
Isa 10:32 This very day he will halt at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Isa 10:33 Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.
Isa 10:34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
 

Isa 11:1 A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.
Isa 11:2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
Isa 11:3 His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears;
Isa 11:4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
Isa 11:5 Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.
Isa 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them.
Isa 11:7 The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 The nursing child will play near a cobra's hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
Isa 11:9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
Isa 11:10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
Isa 11:11 It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won't envy Judah, and Judah won't persecute Ephraim.
Isa 11:14 They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them.
Isa 11:15 Yahweh will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals.
Isa 11:16 There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Isa 12:1 In that day you will say, "I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me.
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation."
Isa 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Isa 12:4 In that day you will say, "Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name. Declare his doings among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted!
Isa 12:5 Sing to Yahweh, for he has done excellent things! Let this be known in all the earth!
Isa 12:6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great in the midst of you!"


Oct. 29
2 Thessalonians 1

2Th 1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th 1:3 We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you towards one another abounds;
2Th 1:4 so that we ourselves boast about you in the assemblies of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure.
2Th 1:5 This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.
2Th 1:6 Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you,
2Th 1:7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,
2Th 1:8 giving vengeance to those who don't know God, and to those who don't obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus,
2Th 1:9 who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
2Th 1:10 when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired among all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day.
2Th 1:11 To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire of goodness and work of faith, with power;
2Th 1:12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John, Chapter 5, Mark Copeland

                      "THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN"

                              Chapter Five

John writes of faith in Christ, loving God, and overcoming the world
(1-5).  He then reviews God’s witness that gives us certainty regarding
eternal life in Christ (6-13), and concludes with teaching on prayer
(14-17) and the sure knowledge found in the Son of God (18-21).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  The importance of faith, love, and obedience

   *  The nature of eternal life as a present possession

   *  Sin which does not lead to death versus sin which does lead to
      death

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - Faith, love and obedience as children of God - 1Jn 5:1-5
   - The sureness of God’s testimony - 1Jn 5:6-13
   - Confidence and compassion in prayer - 1Jn 5:14-17
   - Concluding remarks - 1Jn 5:18-21

2) To be born of God, what is absolutely necessary? (1)
   - Believing that Jesus is the Christ

3) How can be sure that they love the children of God? (2)
   - When they love God and keep His commandments

4) How can one overcome the world? (4-5)
   - Being born of God and believing that Jesus is the Son of God

5) What three things bore witness concerning Jesus Christ? (6-8)
   - Water (Jesus’ baptism?), blood (Jesus’ death?), the Holy Spirit

6) What does one receive as they believe in the Son of God? (10)
   - The witness in himself (cf. Jn 7:17)

7) What has God give us?  Who has this? (11-12)
   - Eternal life; he who has the Son

8) Why did John write these things in his epistle? (13)
   - That we might know that we have eternal life, and continue to
     believe

9) What confidence do we have in prayer? (14-15)
   - That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us

10) What is described as the true God and eternal life? (20)
   - To know Him who is true, and that we are in Him who is true, in His
     Son Jesus Christ