Trust and pour out your heart to Him (Psalm 62:8)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 65-66 & Psalm 62 & John 3)

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him for God is our refuge.”  Psalm 62:8

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

Who do I trust when the going gets tough?  In God I must trust.  In fact, I must trust Him at all times.

Only a fool would rely on himself in a world created by God.

God is a jealous God.  He doesn’t want my affections to be anywhere else.

I need to come to Him aggressively.  There must be only one place that I go to in every situation…..and it’s to Him.

I must proclaim His Love in the morning and His faithfulness (to me during the day) at night.

He has proven Himself to be my refuge.  He has given me comfort.

When I am clean and in His will, there is no better feeling.

Potter and clay (Isaiah 64:8)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 63-64 & Psalm 107 & John 2)

“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”  Isaiah 64:8

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

I am not in charge.

I am a lump of clay that God, the potter, will have His way with.

Within His hands I can become something that pleases Him.  Something that reflects the greatness of the potter.

I must be perpetually surrendering to Him.

I must beg Him to keep removing my unshapely features.  Features that can cause others to miss the Creator.

I have so much to learn about this potter/clay relationship. I often choose to venture out on my own. What a fool!  The clay has no reason to wander away from the potter.

I want the Potter’s Hands on me.  I want to feel the comfort of His presence.

“O Lord, You are the potter, I am the clay.”

His grace (John 1:16)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 60-62 & John 1)

“From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”  John 1:16

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

Everything I have is a gift of God so why do I have such a limited vision of His goodness to me?

I must “proclaim His love in the morning and His faithfulness at night.” – Psalm 92:2

He comforts me in time of need.  He encourages me when I am struggling.  He loved me enough to provide a way for me to have an eternal relationship with Him.

I should be forever grateful.  His praises should be continually on my lips. I have done nothing to deserve His love.

He has the capacity to bless all of His children…at once!  There is no one like Him……and He loves me.

Don’t forget (Psalm 103:2)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 57-59 & Psalm 103 & 2 Peter 3)

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”  Psalm 103:2

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

Being thankful must be the natural response of a Godly person to everything.

Even in difficulties my thankfulness should be about the assurance that He knows me and is with me.

There are so many “easy” thanks possibilities.  I have nothing good that wasn’t a gift of God.

If I forget to praise Him I start to take credit for the good things that happen.  I start to think that I am somehow in control.  At such moments of foolishness, I should examine what I have and as a result realize that God is part of everything.  He is the Creator.

I must look around me with His eyes and ears and let the praises flow.

My thoughts and my ways (Isaiah 55:8)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 53-56 & 2 Peter 2)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the Lord.  Isaiah 55:8

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

Not for one second should I assume that I can function spiritually on my own.

I must beg God to teach me His Ways.

I must declare my dependence on Him.  There is no other deserving of my affections.

To go solo is to slide down the slippery slope to nowhere in a hurry.

I need to have the closest relationship with Him possible.  Then I will be in a position to pick up His Thoughts and His Ways.

I can catch His Thoughts and Ways by reading His Word.

I must start each day relishing His love and finish each day rejoicing in how He has provided for me.

Old age care (Isaiah 46:4)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 46-49 & 1 Peter 5)

“Even to your old age and gray hair I am he, I am he who will sustain you.”  Isaiah 46:4

What lessons are there for me from this Scripture?

My relationship with God is forever.

I have never been worthy of anything from Him.

In old age, my earthly contributions begin to dwindle but my relationship with God does not change even then.

As I become less able to take care of myself the Lord tells me in this verse that He will take care of me.

Whether young, old, or somewhere in between, I need to rely on His promise to sustain me.

I must declare at any age, my need for Him. I need to be dependent on Him.

There is no other who can give me the peace and comfort that He can.

I will never be alone because His Holy Spirit is here with me.

I am delighted that my eternal life is already underway.  The heaven part is the one in which I will be healed and whole.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

A tiresome burden (Isaiah 43:24)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 43-45 & 1 Peter 4)

“You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.  But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.”  Isaiah 43:24

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

My sins are against the ways of God.  It was my sins that nailed Jesus to the cross.

Besides being thankful that He died for my sins, I am repulsed by my continued sinning.

How can I show Him that I love Him?  By the way I live.

I want a tight relationship with Him, yet I so often do things that mar that relationship.

I can do all things in His strength.  I can do nothing of spiritual value apart from Him.

I must declare my dependence on Him.  I have proven over and over that apart from Him I can make a complete mess of things.

This sort of behavior is a tiresome burden to Him Who loves me, according to this verse.  In His strength I can do better.

Why would I continue to mess up our relationship if I love Him?

Do not fear (Isaiah 41:13)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 40-42 & 1 Peter 3)

“For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’”  Isaiah 41:13

What lesson is there for me in this Scripture?

God is great.  He is my Savior.  He loves me.

God is promising here to take action on behalf of those who belong to Him.  He’s reaching out.  He wants me to be fearless.

Peter walking on the water relates to this verse.  When Peter’s eyes were on Jesus He was fine.  When He became fearful in his surroundings he started to sink.  But as this verse says, God/Jesus reached out to rescue him from his fear.

My trust also must be completely in Him. I must be saturated with the Holy Spirit so that in Him I will not fear…I will trust.

Time reversed (2 Kings 20:11)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – 2 Kings 20 & Isaiah 38-39 & 1 Peter 2)

“Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down in the stairway of Ahaz.”  2 Kings 20:11

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

There is nothing that God cannot do.  There is just nothing beyond His capabilities.

In order to send a shadow in the opposite direction the earth would have to revolve differently…..which it did to assure Hezekiah.  Amazing stuff!

How can I limit God in my prayer life after reading this story?  There is no situation He cannot remedy.  There is no life He cannot change.  There is no government or government official he cannot bring down.

My God is often too small!  My God must be the God of miracles small and large.

As I learn the stories of the Bible I have a lengthy history to remind me of His greatness.

May I never limit Him.

I know you (Isaiah 37:28)

(Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading – Isaiah 36-37 & Psalm 76 & 1 Peter 1)

“But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me.”  Isaiah 37:28

What lessons are there for me in this Scripture?

God reads me like an open book.

There is nothing that is a secret to Him.  He can even read my mind and therefore know my intentions.

The king of Assyria thought otherwise.  He thought that Hezekiah’s God was just like the gods of the other places he had recently captured.  How wrong he was!

The angel of God killed 185,000 of the king’s army by himself.

I must function in the realization that God is over all and that I am blessed to be loved by Him.  I am also put on alert that I must be doing His will with clear, Godly intentions and that He knows if I’m not.