Taught by God

As followers of Jesus Christ, we can’t forget that Jesus came, in obedience to His Father, in order to save people and to reconcile them back to our Heavenly Father. God is constantly ready to forgive and to save all who believe in Jesus.

Today we’re concentrating on Scriptures that tell us that all of our children shall be taught by the Lord.

All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. (Isa 54:13) We are drawn closer to the Lord by submitting to His teachings. Our relationship grows deeper and stronger the more we read, meditate upon, and study the teachings of the Bible.

It is written in the Prophets, and they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from Him comes to Me. (Joh 6:45 CEB) All who receive the internal, spiritual illumination concerning Jesus Christ, the Savior, is drawn to God and to the teaching that comes from God through His Word, His Spirit, and His ministers.

The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. ¹⁵Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you. (Joh 16:14-15 CEV) The Holy Spirit is our helper and our teacher. He gives us wisdom, insight, and illumination into the teachings of the Bible.

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another . . . (1 Thes 4:9 ESV) This is a confirmation by the Scriptures that those who belong to the Lord are taught by the Lord and are influenced daily by what they have learned.

All those who are taught by God (those who accept and act upon what they learn) will always turn to Jesus and receive Him as their Savior and Lord. And once they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, they will continue serving Him and obeying His leading and guiding through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. We are not only the servants of God, but we are the children of God. All glory to God most High!

Recognize God’s Involvement

When good things happen in our lives—promotion; a raise in pay; an unexpected lump sum of money; success in business—we must recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven. (Jas 1:17)

Don’t think to yourself, my own strength and abilities have produced all this prosperity for me. (Deu 8:17 CEB)

He answered me: “This is the Lord’s word to Zerubbabel: Neither by power, nor by strength, but by my spirit, says the Lord of heavenly forces.” (Zech 4:6 CEB)

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. (2 Cor 4:7)

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

Nothing is ever accomplished solely through human might or power! We must never try to grab the glory that belongs to God alone. We don’t ever want to be like the rich fool that Jesus taught about in Luke 12:13-21 where God said to the man: ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

We can see from the Bible verses that I have shown above that:

Anything good that is accomplished is not by might or power but by the Spirit of God.
The power that we have to work and to accomplish good things is from God and not us.
Even our faith is a gift from God!

Acknowledge the Lord’s goodness to you whenever you receive praise, or awards, or blessings in any form. All glory to God!

God-Ordained Sights & Sounds

Why do some believers hear things and see things that others do not hear and see?

“And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. ¹⁰So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ (Ac 22:9-10)

In the above instance, the people who were traveling with Saul (who later became Paul, the apostle) saw the supernatural light that appeared to Saul but they did not hear God’s voice speaking to him. God was giving Saul directions to follows. So the only one who needed to hear the Lord was Saul.

And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. (Ac 9:7)

In this verse, those who accompanied Saul heard the Lord’s voice speaking to Saul but they didn’t see anything. In Acts 9:7, Saul was again being told what to do next but we don’t know why God allowed the others to hear God’s voice in this instance.

“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.” (Ac 26:12-13)

This account in the Bible is where Paul is telling King Agrippa about the heavenly light, brighter than the sun, which he and his friends saw on the road to Damascus. This was a genuine physical AND spiritual encounter that Paul had with the Lord.

As we diligently work to serve the Lord, and spend time studying the Word and drawing near to God’s presence, we may experience God-ordained sights and sounds which other people don’t experience. Such things are out of the ordinary for most believers, but they are clearly controlled by God.

Ask God to give you His wisdom and insight into understanding such an event if it should happen to you. Don’t be afraid of it, but diligently seek the Scriptures and God’s wisdom to make sure that it lines up with the teachings of the Lord in the New Testament. Determine what God’s wants you to do or to change as a result of your experience. If it does not agree with Biblical teachings, then simply put it out of your mind and heart.

For those of us who do not experience these types of incidents, it doesn’t mean that we are any less of a follower of Jesus Christ than any other believer. It simply means that every individual person’s relationship with the Lord is unique and special. Value your relationship with the Lord and draw near to Him through prayer, Bible reading, meditation on the Word, and fellowship with other believers. You are blessed!

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Some Bible verses discuss the lifespan of human beings. Why is this important to followers and servants of Jesus Christ? That’s what we’re considering today.

Our time on earth is brief; the number of our days is already decided by you. (Job 14:15 CEV)

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Ps 90:12)

I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. (Ps 109:23)

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. (Ps 144:4)

One thing that we have to remember is that our time on earth is limited, and so it’s good to learn to value each day enormously. Once we accept the brevity of life, we will be more inclined to seek God’s wisdom, leading and guidance for living rich, meaningful, and eternally significant lives that will bring glory to God.

We don’t want to take the gift of life for granted. We don’t want to waste our days on foolish, selfish pursuits that have no real value. Those would be pursuits that eventually, at their conclusion, can bless no one else but ourselves and that bring pleasure to and minister to no one other than ourselves. Some such ventures might even be sinful or evil.

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord, all that we need for daily sustenance will be given to us by the Lord according to Matthew 6:33.

The Lord wants His people to learn, to grow, and to seek His wisdom.

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. (Pro 2:1-11 NIV) As we learn to number our days, we regard each day as a precious gift as well as an opportunity to store up treasure in heaven that will please God. Glory!

God Makes Wars Cease

Jesus is the Prince of Peace referred to in Isaiah 9:6. It makes sense that the Prince of Peace, sent by His heavenly Father, is opposed to war. Instead, He chose to make changes on earth through His love and His self-sacrifice even to the point of dying on the cross for us.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. (Ps 46:9) God’s mighty power extends all over the earth in every country, region, and land. He has power to demolish weapons and bring an end to war anywhere on earth.

Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. (Ezek 39:3) The Lord can cause weapons to be forcefully removed from human hands and to fall out of a person’s strongest hand! Wow!

He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isa 2:4) In God’s perfect timing, He will cause nations to destroy their weapons and cease from attacking one another.

Until that time, Christians are to “make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14) The gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News for all human beings. It establishes peace between God and man through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

We should always promote peace instead of discord, and be instruments of God to demonstrate His love, mercy, and forgiveness to all. We are blessed!

God Controls “Random Chance”

The Bible informs us in several different places that the Lord controls random chance. Does that surprise you? He limits evils and redeems traumatic situations when we enlist His aid, and ask for His intervention. However, people of faith simply trust God to cover them with His mercy and protection on a daily basis.

Here are the relevant Scriptures for you:

The dice settle conflicts and keep strong opponents apart. (Pro 18:18 CEB) The casting of lots (throwing the dice) can be helpful in times of conflict and stiff opposition. The people involved must trust that God is the one controlling the outcome of the toss of the dice.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Pro 16:33 NKJV) This verse clearly states that the way the dice land is controlled every time by the Lord. Can you believe that?

The leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine stayed in the other towns. (Neh 11:1 CEB) The people of faith in the Old Testament trusted God to control the outcome of this casting of lots. In this instance, the result determined who was appointed to live in the holy city of Jerusalem.

In these current times, we who follow Jesus do well to trust that however people are chosen for blessings and benefits, whether by district; by names thrown into a drum; or random computer algorithms; etc., God is involved in each and every detail.

For nothing will be impossible with God. (Lk 1:37 ESV) Nothing is impossible with God.

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? (Ps 56:8 ESV) The Lord keeps a record of when we toss and turn in the night, and of our tears! He knows about every single thing that we experience daily.

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Mt 10:30 NIV) God is involved in even the smallest details of our lives. Let’s rejoice in God’s goodness and in the fact that He affectionately watches over all of the myriad intricacies of our lives. Hallelujah!

Whiter Than Snow

Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isa 1:18 NIV)

This Scripture verse is a type of ultimatum from God full of grace and mercy. The Lord is offering forgiveness and cleansing for the repentant soul. The color red signifies the deep-rooted nature of sin, and the white indicates purity and innocence which only the Lord can impart.

Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. (Ps 51:7 CEB)

Purge me with hyssop, with the blood of Christ applied to my soul by a lively faith, as the water of purification was sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop. The blood of Christ is called the blood of sprinkling, Heb 12:24. (Source: Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on Psalm 51:7)

. . . and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves. ⁷We have been ransomed through his Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overflowing grace, ⁸which he poured over us with wisdom and understanding. (Eph 1:6-8 CEB)

The passage above suggests that the blood of Jesus, our Savior, has freed us from the grip of sin, and immersed us in the forgiveness and glorious grace of God. What an eternal gift of God from the heart of our living God!

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 Joh 1:7, emphasis added) All who have accepted Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior have had their souls made whiter than snow. All we need to do, going forward, is to walk in the light of God’s Word and in fellowship with our fellow believers. All glory to God!

Pleasing All Men in All Things

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. (Rom 15:1 NIV)

Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, ³³just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (1 Cor 10:32-33, emphasis added)

Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. ⁴Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. (Phil 2:3-4 CEB)

We’re instructed by God’s Word to watch out for what is best for others and pleasing to others. We’re also urged to avoid selfishness and encouraged to care for each other. That’s a tall order, right? The apostle Paul said that he pleased all men! Wow, he is a righteous example to us all.

So why did Paul ‘please all men’? He did it so that many people would be saved. By his pleasing and caring behavior toward others, he won many, many people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. All of those people accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Paul didn’t do it in order to be a man-pleaser but in order to win souls to the Kingdom of God. His motivation was pleasing in God’s sight.

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (Gal 1:10)

. . . not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart . . . (Eph 6:6)

Our assignment as followers and servants of Jesus Christ is to please God first, but also to demonstrate God’s love to all people. That means doing top-notch work in our jobs (even those who are self-employed). It also means finding ways to cooperate kindly with our earthly neighbors whether we have a house, condo, apartment, or a tent.

We also, as servants of Jesus, represent Him in our families, with our friends and within our communities and churches. As ambassadors for God’s Kingdom, we have the honor and privilege of being ‘the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.’ (2 Cor 2:15) May our conduct and our conversation be as a pleasant perfume to the lost and the hurting as well as to the Lord Jesus. Praise the Lord!

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You are the Deciding Vote! In your life, you can make decisions that will help you and bless you.

Month: October 2021