Even King Ahaz, a direct descendent of the house of David, put his faith in the powers of the world to provide his deliverance. God, speaking through Isaiah, provided him a reminder, and a sign that God is the only one who can give us salvation. The sign he provided was the birth of his Son, through a virgin birth. His name would be Immanuel “God with us.” Like Ahaz, we too can rely on this world and the things we think we control for our rescue. God reminds us that his sign to all of us is the gift of His son Jesus and that our salvation comes through Him alone. This Christmas season, we need to get rid of the noise in this world and make time to focus on God’s gift to all of us and the promise of salvation through Him. Have a blessed and joyful Christmas!
Day 1 | Wesley, Whittney, Wynston, and Wade Williams Isaiah 11:1-5
A New Branch
As we enter this season of Advent, let’s ask ourselves, where is our greatest delight? Here in Isaiah 11, we read an awe-inspiring prophecy of the coming Messiah. The actual Spirit of the Lord is said to be upon Him; one full of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. Given this, what would we expect His delight to be in? In Matthew 4: 1-11, we catch a glimpse of what Satan hoped it would be…the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, or maybe the lust of the eyes…all “worldly delights” that we find ourselves tempted to run after.
In stark contrast, Isaiah said that the Messiah’s delight would be in the fear of the Lord! We certainly observe this through Jesus’ coming from heaven to earth, dwelling among us, and dying for us on the cross, so that we can have the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life!
Christmas offers much to delight in: from time with family, giving and receiving gifts, beautiful decorations, and wonderful food and music! All of these are good gifts from the Lord, but they pale in comparison to the greatest gift: our Messiah, Jesus Christ! In step with the Holy Spirit, may we find our true delight in fearing the Lord this Christmas season!
We’re calling this ‘Soul Care September’ but, it doesn’t matter when you’re reading this. Whenever you’re going through a season of exhaustion, or you just feel constantly drained, look to Him who restores all things. Be intentional, putting your hope in He who is faithful, and He will be faithful to you.
Here are three means of grace that God can use to restore your weary soul over the next 30 days if you will let him.
1. Adjust Your Rhythm Of Life
It is easy to drift into hectic routines that leave no space for God. Rewrite your daily schedule and make adjustments for this month that will give you more unhurried time with Jesus in solitude and the Scriptures. Don’t make excuses. Cut out those time wasters. Remember what Jesus told us in Matthew 16: ‘What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?’
2. Begin A New Prayer Practice
Implement a new aspect to your prayer life that will strengthen your soul on a daily basis. Instead of doing all the talking, take a full five minutes to be quiet and listen and let God minister to you. Romans 8 tells us, ‘The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…when we don’t know what God wants us to pray for the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. The Father knows your heart and knows what the Spirit is saying. The Spirit is pleading for you in harmony with God’s own will.’
3. Confess A Sin
Confession is good for the soul. Read Psalm 32. It says something like this, ‘When I kept silent about my sin my bones wasted away and my strength was sapped. But when I acknowledged my sin to God, he forgave me. Now my heart is singing!’ Take a few minutes each evening as you prepare for sleep to let God search your heart. He will bring to mind an attitude, action, or inaction from the day that was not pleasing to Him. Confess it and be surprised by how good you sleep!
As I wrote in last week’s devotional, all believers are ‘overcomers’ in the sense that the part of us which has been born of God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ overcomes the world. It is because the Overcomer lives in us. Jesus said, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b) and the Apostle John assures us of the consequence of our new birth, “For that which is born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that overcomes the world-our faith” (1 John 5:4). Paul explains the dynamic of Christ living in us, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Our position in Christ defines us as ‘overcomers’.
In addition to our position as an overcomer, there is the practice of being an overcomer. That refers to the man, woman or student, who has willfully decided to present himself or herself to God as a living sacrifice as a logical response to God’s immeasurable mercies. While all believers are in one sense ‘overcome’, not all believers ‘overcome’ absolutely. “The overcomer passages are promises given to believers to encourage and kindle love and obedience in view of who they are in Christ and what they possess in Him. These are not warnings against the loss of salvation, nor necessarily warnings against false professions, though that could be one application of these promises. Furthermore, they are not statements affirming the preservation of saints. Instead, they are guarantees of special blessings or rewards for faithful service and lives of faith.” (Studies in Revelation, J. Hampton Keathly, III, 2013, Appendix 3, p. 11)
We know from the Scriptures that not all believers are overcomers in their particular lives. The Corinthian believers are an example of believers, who did not experience ultimate victory over sin in their lives. Paul admonishes them with these words, “And I, brothers [and sisters,] could not speak to you as spiritual people, but [only] as fleshly, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able [to consume it.] But even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like [ordinary] people?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) The Apostle John, in the same letter, where he said that all believers are overcomers, wrote these words, “If anyone sees his brother [or sister] committing a sin not [leading] to death, he shall ask and [God] will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not [leading] to death. There is sin [leading] to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that.” (1 John 5:16) “Believers may have more than temporary setbacks and bouts with sin. It is sadly possible for believers to backslide terribly and to remain in that backslidden state until death.” (Keathly, p. 8)
The letters to the churches, which were real churches, are indicative of churches in the 21st century. These churches had their own particular conflict or problem and there were specific rewards that are in keeping with or somehow related to the problem they faced. The promises were to individuals in those churches, not corporately to the whole church. “No two Christian’s lives are the same in terms of their struggles and triumphs. The basis of victory is the same, faith in the person and work of Christ and our blessings in Him, but the struggles are different and it seems that God tailors the reward accordingly…These promises are special rewards to believers who overcome specific conflicts in the Christian life through faith and obedience in their daily walk.” (Keathly, p. 13)
“These letters do not present victory as a certainty, but rather as an aspiration which each individual should pursue…Victory is not a collective right, but an individual attainment…Clearly, the promises to the overcomers are rewards for obedience to the command of the Lord of the Church.” (Keathly, 13) Next week we will examine the promise to the church at Ephesus as recorded in Revelation 3:7. Read Chapters 2 and 3 to familiarize your mind to the seven letters that Jesus wrote to those churches. I pray that you will aspire to earn those rewards as an overcomer in the power of the Holy Spirit filling you and empowering you.
According to the trending world view of progressive America, we should not state that this kind of lifestyle is contrary to Biblical truth. We are ‘intolerant’ if we do.
A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth
In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of...
Water You turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind there’s no one like You, none like You! Into the darkness You shine, out of the ashes we rise there’s no one like You, none like You! Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God!
Into the darkness You shine, out of the ashes we rise there’s no one like You, none like You! Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God! Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could stand against? And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
Then what could stand against? Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God! Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could stand against? And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
Then what could stand against?
Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God! Our God is greater, our God is stronger God, You are higher than any other Our God is Healer, awesome in power Our God! Our God!
[Verse 1: Tasha] You make me happy You make me whole You take the pain away I’m so in love with You You make me happy You make me whole You take the pain away I’m so in love with You
[Verse 1: BGV] You make me happy You make me whole You take the pain away I’m so in love with You You make me happy You make me whole You take the pain away I’m so in love with You
[Chorus: BGV] Everything about You is right It covers all my wrong Your life saved my life
Everything about You is right Covers all my wrong Your life saved my life With You is where I belong
[Verse 1: BGV] You make me happy You make me whole You take the pain away I’m so in love with You You make me happy You make me whole You take the pain away I’m so in love with You
[Chorus: BGV] Everything about You is right It covers all my wrong Your life saved my life
Everything about You is right Covers all my wrong Your life saved my life Everything about You is right Covers all my wrong Your life saved my life With you is where I belong
[Chorus 2: BGV] With You is where
[Bridge: Tasha] So in love with You Can’t make it without You I live to worship You Forever me and You
[Bridge: BGV] So in love with You Can’t make it without You I live to worship You Forever me and You
So in love with You Can’t make it without You I live to worship You Forever me and You So in love with You Can’t make it without You I live to worship You Forever me and You Forever me and You Forever me and You Forever me and You Forever me and You
Forever me and You Forever me and You
[Outro: Tasha] Everything about You is right And it covers my wrong Your life saved my life Your life saved my life
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Those were the first words that Jesus used when he began
to preach. He went throughout Galilee, teaching and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom.
He said that the Kingdom of Heaven was for the poor in spirit, for the meek, for the pure in
heart, and for the persecuted. He said that the self-righteous could never enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. He told us that the thing we should be seeking first and foremost in this life is the
Kingdom of God and his righteousness. If we do that, he will take care of everything else. Let’s
abandon our anxious pursuit of the treasures of this earthly kingdom and instead live as citizens
of the Kingdom of God.
The word ‘Advent’ comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning ‘coming’ or ‘arrival.’ As
Christians, we use the four weeks leading up to Christmas to meditate on the incarnation of
Christ; his first coming when he was born in Bethlehem. We should also be anticipating his
Second Coming; the time when our mighty King will return and every knee on earth will bow to
him. Let’s use this Christmas season to become more aware of what we are bowing down to.
What we are worshiping. Let’s make sure that our total allegiance is to King Jesus.
Praise and thanksgiving do not come naturally to us in our fallen condition. What comes to our
hearts and our lips with ease is complaining about what we don’t have and making excuses for our shortcomings. This happens because we forget who God is and what he has done for us.
