“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Luke 2:25-26 There are many people who are only mentioned once in the Scriptures, but each one has a special place in God’s plan for mankind. Each one had a purpose to fulfill. Such a man was Simeon. Luke describes him as a devout man,…
“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11 Sarah is one of the greatest examples in the Bible of someone patiently waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. We can all learn so much from her. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for her to pack up her belongings and start out on a journey not knowing where she was going? Abraham had direction from God, and even though she may have disagreed with his plans, she was submissive to him. God promised Abraham that he would make of him a great nation and that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Because Sarah was his wife, she was part of this promise, even though there is no record of the Lord speaking to her at this time. As time passed, she probably looked forward in anticipation of becoming a mother. But as years rolled by and this did not happen, I can imagine that she questioned the Lord many times. She experienced some difficult times, but she was…
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:7-9. I love the Autumn. The days are cooler and there is a feeling of expectancy in the air. The farmers are busy harvesting their crops. The seeds that they planted so carefully in the Spring have produced bountifully. It has been a busy time, cultivating, weeding, watering, and whatever else they had to do to ensure that things grew as they should, and now they are seeing the results of their labour. The stores and market stands are filled with fresh produce for us to enjoy. Just as the farmer has a waiting period between sowing the seed and reaping the harvest, there are times in our life when we ask the Lord for something, and He allows us to go through a waiting time before we receive what we have asked for. For most…
“Let her own works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 31:31b KJV) Whatever we DO—what we create and accomplish—should be of such quality and skill that it is always our BEST effort. Shouldn’t what we do for others be done so well that we would be delighted to receive it ourselves? Certainly, whatever it is, it is worth doing WELL as unto the LORD. This is actually an attribute of God. He made us with so much love and care that He DELIGHTS to look at us! He watches us, thinks about us, cares for us, and has sacrificed so…
“Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 31:31 KJV) One of the best reasons to have a cat is to watch them play with light. I remember watching our cat Camai—she was so haughty and aloof by nature. But all of her aloofness would suddenly evaporate in the presence of a moving speckle of light on the wall. Whether caused by a flashlight or the refraction of sunlight off a watch crystal, Camai would suddenly get that look in her eye, make that funny sound in her throat, and off she’d go—endlessly trying to capture the glimmer for herself. I would keep it moving just out of her reach, and she would stretch her bony paw across the floor or up the wall to apprehend it. Sometimes I would let her think she actually did “catch it.” Hilarious! She would lay on the light to subdue it—only to discover that it wasn’t hers to control after all. Seeking praise is like that. Attempting to claim and possess it is always futile. When praise itself is the commodity we strive for, even when we give sacrificially to obtain it,…
“In the beginning, GOD …” In our last study, we noted that the story of the beginning of all things started with a RIGHTeous GOD. Like Hebrew reads from RIGHT to left, our life story would do well to be read from the perspective of “RIGHT FIRST.” In everything we do, it’s RIGHT to put GOD in the beginning—to consider His Ways, His Word, His Will … FIRST. Over one hundred years ago, Charles M. Sheldon, through the characters in his fictional story, “In His Steps,” posed a similar challenge that, before making any decisions, of first asking “What would Jesus do?” The particular social reforms that Sheldon sought to promote in his early 20th-century novel may since have morphed to our current times, but the suggestion to always ask “WWJD?” is still powerful and RIGHT. Modern technology and the ongoing “enlightenment” of Man’s thinking can never—and WILL NEVER—make the Word of God obsolete. It speaks and should guide us in every decision we make—and it WILL if we seek God FIRST. Start RIGHT. Anything worth doing is worth starting RIGHT. To be truthful, a sense of RIGHT or “righteousness” did not even really exist in the beginning since there…