This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. —I Chronicles 17:7 What has the Lord taken you from and what has He selected you for? Well, we know He took us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:12-14). We also know that He saved us from sin to a relationship with Him. He wants us to continually be in communication with Him through prayer (Luke 18:1-8) and through His Word (II Timothy 3:16-17). It is clear He also selected…

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise, for the Lord is coming…

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then he spit on the ground, made mud…

The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!” At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. —John 8:57-59 Again the Jews wanted to kill Jesus because of what He claimed. He had just said He existed before Abraham. The Jews understood what He was saying and wanted to kill Him for it. Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all life. “His is before all things.” (John 1:1; Colossians 1:17). Jesus existed before Abraham.…

The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. These two were killed trying to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath. Their father, Ephraim, mourned for them a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. Afterward Ephraim slept with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah because of the tragedy his family had suffered. —I Chronicles 7:20-23 Two brothers killed for trying “to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath.” Their actions caused mourning for a long time to their father as “his relatives came to comfort him.” Such heartbreak…

The Holy Spirit— God’s Grace Upon Us On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) —John 7:37-39 It is all about grace— God’s favor upon us which is unearned and undeserved. The Father is the…

The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. —John 7:7 Jesus was not convicted of doing anything wrong. Pilate, the governor, had told the people after interrogating Jesus that he “found no basis for your charges against him” (Luke 23:4, 14, 22). Still, Pilate handed Jesus over to be executed because that is what the people wanted (Luke 23:23-25). He caved in to their desires and handed the innocent Jesus over to be executed. Killing someone is the pinnacle of the hatred that starts in a man’s heart— Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality,…

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.” —II Kings 20:19 Because of Hezekiah’s lack of wisdom in security “Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord: The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king’” (II…

That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. —II Kings 19:35 The Assyrian army boasted greatly of its strength and of not being able to be defeated. Woe to the nation that puts its trust only in its military for defense. Wise is that nation that trusts in the Lord God Almighty for its defense. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). The Assyrians were defeated. God sent one angel to deal with the Assyrian army. Just one angel eliminated 185,000 season soldiers and an angel’s…

This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. —II Kings 17:7 So disaster will come upon any nation that worships other gods and not the Lord God Almighty. It can come in many forms, but it will come. How can a nation offer its children on the satanic altar of abortion and think it will escape God’s judgment? Our nation worships the gods of sexual promiscuity and sexual perversions of all sorts. It worships at the feet of godless education and family redefinition. This nation flames the god of violence among the youth while it also bows the knee to the engulfing god of debt.…