“My rightness and justice are near, My salvation is going forth, and My arms shall rule the peoples; the islands shall wait for and expect Me, and on My arm shall they trust and wait with hope.” Isaiah 51:5 ->me: On the human side – righteousness is the conformity to the revealed character and claims of the Lord; the mark of His genuine people. On the divine side – righteousness is the quality and standard of all that the Lord does, for His Servant (Jesus), or what the Servant does. Salvation is what the Lord does and righteousness is the quality which infuses it…His saving work satisfies His righteous requirements. Through the Servant (Jesus) – My [the Lord’s] Arm – life will become life indeed (John 10:10). I wait for and expect the Father; in the mean time I trust in and wait with hope in the strength of Jesus.
QTVOTD: More truth!
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25 IOW – Putting stake or making decisions based on the opinions of men will eventually trip you up. In line with yesterday, seeking the LORD’s truth is the only safe bet.
[QTVOTD] Promise of Comfort
“Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him when he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. For the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song or instrument of praise.” Isaiah 51:2-3 ->me: As a follower of Jesus, God asks me to look back at what He has accomplished in fulfilling His promise to Abraham in making one into many. Interesting how Isaiah does not focus on the miracle of birth from barrenness in Sarah (or old age in Abraham) but on the fulfillment of the promise of a great and mighty nation. Because I see what the Lord has done in this, I can trust that He will comfort me in trial – He will make even the most foreboding circumstances a place of joy and gladness.
[QTVOTD] Chose to be lit
“Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God. Behold, all you [enemies of your own selves] who attempt to kindle your own fires [and work out your own plans of salvation], who surround and gird yourselves with momentary sparks, darts, and firebrands that you set aflame!—walk by the light of your self-made fire and of the sparks that you have kindled [for yourself, if you will]! But this shall you have from My hand: you shall lie down in grief and in torment.” Isaiah 50:10-11 ->me: On this cursed earth, in these failing bodies, and surrounded by the options and activity of satan we will have times where we will walk in darkness. I can conduct myself in 2 ways during those times: 1) I can lean on, trust in, and walk confidently in my faith in the One True God and allow His light to pool around me as I walk through this darkness. 2) I can search and conjure up my own copes and attempt to feel my own way through the darkness; but the end is to find and crawl into a bed of sorrow, grief, and pain. There is no third option given. I am either walking this life trusting in the Lord for what I need or I am not.
[QTVOTD] A resolute Savior
“He (the Father) is near Who declares Me (the Servant[Jesus]) in the right. Who will contend with Me? Let us stand forth together! Who is My adversary? Let him come near to Me. Behold, the Lord God will help Me; who is he who will condemn Me? Behold, they all will wax old and be worn out as a garment; the moth will eat them up.” Isaiah 50:8-9 ->me: My Savior is perfect. He did not recoil or shy away from what would happen to Him when He came to give His life to save mine. Jesus rested in the fact that His Father is just and because He Himself had no sin, there was never a fear of being charged by His accusers. He knew what He would have to experience before the fact, but because of ‘the joy set before Him’ (looking ahead to an eternity with you/me) He was able to endure on the cross without shame (Hebrews 12:2). If I am IN Him and He is IN me then what do I have to fear when He (my Savior) is backed by a loving and just Father? Why should I be worried about, question, or fear any hardship here?
[QTVOTD] Let go and let God
“Why, when I came, was there no man? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink because there is no water, and they die of thirst.” Isaiah 50:2 ->me: God in His strength and power is frustrated when He knows what we have in Him yet do not answer when He comes knocking. He makes His case here stating His control over creation and the heavens as well as His resources, which are endless. How is it that we can see His work in our lives, and see Him do amazing things yet consistently grab control away from Him? I need to let go and let God. I need to be available for His call when He comes to my door, not consumed with striving with making my own way. God teach me to be a responsible steward of what You have given me and open my eyes to see and ears to hear your hand and voice. Help me to have the courage to take the risk of following You down a path I see You leading me; a path I know I can not control.
[QTVOTD] To God be the Glory
“And I will make those who oppress you consume themselves [in mutually destructive wars], thus eating their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 49:26 ->me: My Quiet Time verses continue to end with some thing like ‘…then all will know that I am God’. God’s plan always seems to conclude with bringing glory to Himself. That is why I was created…to bring glory to the Almighty God of the Universe. At the end of every day, are people around me looking at my actions and how I treat others and coming to the conclusion that “this Jesus in Whom Ben believes, must be great!”? When I live my life behind the doors of my home, is God being glorified? My mission is to bring glory to God. If I am doing this then I WILL BE following all God asks me to do.
[QTVOTD] No Shame
“…and you shall know [with an acquaintance and understanding based on and grounded in personal experience] that I am the Lord; for they shall not be put to shame who wait for, look for, hope for, and expect Me.” Isaiah 49:23b ->me: [THEY SHALL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME…] being the operative phrase here. Today the Lord is telling me that I need to WAIT FOR…Live each day as if Jesus is coming back tomorrow. LOOK FOR…constantly seeking to know the character of the One True God. HOPE FOR…having a peace about the future because my hope is not secure in anything temporal; it is secure in the eternal future I hold on to. EXPECT THE LORD…I should have an unshakeable faith that transcends the popular thinking of the ungodly world I live in today. —When I do these things, God promises that I will not be put to shame.
Ben’s Quiet Time Verses of the Day (QTVOTD)
Starting today I will be putting my QTVOTD and writeup here on our new site. A link to these posts will also go to my twitter feed at @benbobenbo. For awhile I was sending these as texts to a few who were holding me accountable throughout all last year to do a Quiet Time with my Savior everyday. This seems like the best next step to not only record my Quiet Time life applications but to also share what God is telling me. In that light these write ups are strictly what the Lord is teaching ME. These are not direct interpretations of each verse, rather what the Lord is telling me through the reading of the verses…so please don’t response with corrections. 🙂
QTVOTD: Throw the instruments away…
“Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness (anything counter to God). But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness. For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].” Romans 6:13-14 IOW – These will be my memory verses to commit to memory next month. Simple truths to live every day by.