I recently finished a study with the Life Group that Carol and I lead for our church. Five or six months ago the group was discussing what our next study would be and when there was no clear consensus, I rather rashly suggested, “Why don’t we do a brief study on the book of Daniel?” I was thinking we could do three or four sessions and go on to something else.
It took twelve sessions to do a “brief overview” because Daniel is both a very rich and very complicated study. The first six chapters are historical and faith building. We meet Daniel and his friends and watch as God uses Daniel’s gifting to elevate him to leadership in Babylon. We are inspired and our faith is built as we follow Daniel’s friends into the fiery furnace. In chapter six we read the famous account of Daniel in the lions’ den—great, faith-inspiring reading.
The last six chapters of Daniel present his four prophetic visions. The prophecies describe different periods of world history before the first advent of our Lord Jesus. The final prophecy in chapter eleven starts in the period before Christ but then suddenly makes a leap to the final portion of the great tribulation and describes in some detail the character and behavior of the Antichrist before he meets his final end.
The prophecy of Daniel 11 is considered by many to be one of the most important in the Bible. Others consider it to be too accurate in detail to be a prophecy at all. The critics assail this chapter and suggest that with all the accurate detail of what Daniel saw several hundred years before the events occurred, it was written after the fact and inserted as a way to fool people into believing it was prophecy. Their criticism underscores the importance of this prophecy!
Daniel 12 opens with Daniel as a very old man—over 90 and probably in some kind of retirement. It says that he was by the river and I see him sitting in a comfortable chair out in front of his riverfront villa. Sitting there, Daniel had a vision and saw two angels with whom he conversed. A part of the conversation (12:8) was, “I’ve heard everything you’ve said but I don’t understand it. How is this all going to end?” Daniel, like most of us, wanted to know what was on the last page of the book! (One of my daughters almost always reads the last page of a novel first! To do this is almost sacrilegious!)
One of the angels said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end” (12:9). The angel talked briefly about the closing of the great tribulation and then spoke again directly to Daniel, “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (12:13).
The words, “Go your way” seem rather curt, dismissive, but they are not, as the angel really was instructing and reminding Daniel that he had a God-given life and a purpose that he was to fulfill. Daniel was being instructed not to get so captivated by the intricacies of prophecy that he had to have an answer and be absolutely clear on every detail.
One of the potential downsides to those who become oversaturated with end-time prophecy is that they lose sight of the primary purpose and focus of the church. We are not called to be end-time prophecy experts but to be watchful and aware and to let those understandings fuel our efforts to share the gospel with the whole world. The unalterable focus of the church is to reach out to the lost and needy with the gospel, and acts of service and anything that replaces that focus, including prophecy, is error!
The angel twice said to Daniel, “Go your way.” The angel was emphasizing, “You are never going to have a complete understanding of the end times—the books are closed for now—what you have is enough. You have a purpose in life that you are to pursue and fulfill. If you die before the end of time then you will be resurrected for your eternal inheritance. You won’t miss anything that’s really important.”
I believe we are to be aware of but not consumed by end-time prophecy. When we allow any area of teaching to consume us, we become a part of the “occupy movement.” This movement did not begin on Wall Street a couple of months back. No, it was birthed in hell and assigned to a religious spirit that took it to lazy churchgoing pew sitters who brought it into the church. The church has been loaded up with “occupiers” for decades—people who breathe the air, take up space, and contribute very little to the forward progress of the church. Occupiers are manifesting a form of unbelief because unbelief brings blindness and inactivity but generates lots of talk and criticism.
“Go your way” was the angel’s instruction to Daniel and is also the Holy Spirit’s message to us. Stay focused, stay active for Him, stay in love with Him and follow Him. He is not an “occupier” because He is always on the go, always moving ahead. And He says to us, “Follow me!”
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
A NEW SEASON
A few weeks ago during my early-morning devotional time, I had a very strong impression from the Lord. It was just three words: a new season. I pondered that phrase and then the Lord directed my attention to the first chapters of 1 Samuel and the birthing of a new season in Israel.
As a nation, Israel was at a very low point. Chapter 3:1 tells us there was no open revelation of the Word and there were only a few true prophets who would preach righteousness and repentance and bring the Word to the people. The priests were typified by Eli, who was passive and did little to turn the people away from their sin. Eli’s two sons, also priests, were blatantly corrupt. Israel was in a pathetic state with its sinful, immoral religious leaders. At this time, the center of national worship was in Shiloh.
Elkanah and his family lived a distance from Shiloh and each year they traveled there to worship and offer sacrifice. One of Elkanah’s wives was a godly woman named Hannah. Hannah’s husband loved her dearly but she was desperately unhappy because she had no children—and that broke her heart.
During one of the family’s visits to Shiloh, Hannah went alone to the tabernacle to pray. She poured out her brokenness and pain to the Lord and also made a vow that if God would bless her with a son, she would give him to the Lord for His service all the days of his life (1:11).
Eli, the priest, saw Hannah silently praying and rebuked her because he thought she was drunk. When Hannah corrected Eli’s misunderstanding, he quickly backpedaled and muttered a blessing.
Hannah wanted a son and Eli was so misguided that he did not recognize her desperate hunger. However, God used this occasion to usher in a new season for Israel and sweep out the corruption that had built up from the past. There is much for us to learn from this story, told largely in 1 Samuel 1 through 4.
Hannah represents the hungry saints who even now are praying into existence the new thing God is doing. Hannah recognized that she was barren and refused to accept it as status quo. She took her burden and sorrow to the Lord in prayer. She was persecuted by her husband’s other wife for being barren and chided by Eli for her intensity in prayer. However, these acts did not deter Hannah but seemed to strengthen her resolve to see God’s answer.
My dear friends, please understand that if you begin to pursue the heart of God for a new season in Him, you will be persecuted, not by the world but by the religious establishment. “He who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now” (Galatians 4:29).
Eli, who was simply going through the motions of being a priest, represents the old corrupt, broken-down religious system. He did not quickly recognize the voice of the Lord when He spoke. He was extremely passive toward sin even when it was being carried on within the tabernacle grounds. His sons were highly immoral to the point of forcing themselves on women who came to worship and sacrifice. ”They did not know the Lord” (2:12). Eli saw it all, knew about the sin, and did nothing.
Hannah was not the only one whose heart was broken and open to the Lord. There was a small remnant of faithful men and women of God. One of the men, most likely a prophet whose name we never get to know, came to Eli and prophesied what was about to happen. The prophecy established that Eli’s family (his house, including both of his sons), would be destroyed (see 2:31) and that God would raise up a new and faithful priest. “I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house . . .” (2:35).
God was about to sweep out the old and bring in the new!
Samuel represents the new thing God is doing. Into the religious and political confusion that was so clearly seen at this time comes a miracle of God in the person of Samuel. Samuel was a miracle child born to a barren mother and the renewal and joy that his birth brought to Hannah prefigures the renewal and joy that this godly man brought to Israel.
Dear friends, don’t be discouraged by the mess of the moment. God is still in charge and a new day is about to dawn. Thank God that there is a praying remnant in our land whose garments are white and unsoiled by sin. They are not deterred by the political and religious confusion that reigns in our land. The remnant is “pouring” itself out to the Lord in prayer. It was the broken-hearted prayer of one woman that God was waiting for and a new season dawned in Israel—and so it will be in our day!
A new day, a new season is coming!
As a nation, Israel was at a very low point. Chapter 3:1 tells us there was no open revelation of the Word and there were only a few true prophets who would preach righteousness and repentance and bring the Word to the people. The priests were typified by Eli, who was passive and did little to turn the people away from their sin. Eli’s two sons, also priests, were blatantly corrupt. Israel was in a pathetic state with its sinful, immoral religious leaders. At this time, the center of national worship was in Shiloh.
Elkanah and his family lived a distance from Shiloh and each year they traveled there to worship and offer sacrifice. One of Elkanah’s wives was a godly woman named Hannah. Hannah’s husband loved her dearly but she was desperately unhappy because she had no children—and that broke her heart.
During one of the family’s visits to Shiloh, Hannah went alone to the tabernacle to pray. She poured out her brokenness and pain to the Lord and also made a vow that if God would bless her with a son, she would give him to the Lord for His service all the days of his life (1:11).
Eli, the priest, saw Hannah silently praying and rebuked her because he thought she was drunk. When Hannah corrected Eli’s misunderstanding, he quickly backpedaled and muttered a blessing.
Hannah wanted a son and Eli was so misguided that he did not recognize her desperate hunger. However, God used this occasion to usher in a new season for Israel and sweep out the corruption that had built up from the past. There is much for us to learn from this story, told largely in 1 Samuel 1 through 4.
Hannah represents the hungry saints who even now are praying into existence the new thing God is doing. Hannah recognized that she was barren and refused to accept it as status quo. She took her burden and sorrow to the Lord in prayer. She was persecuted by her husband’s other wife for being barren and chided by Eli for her intensity in prayer. However, these acts did not deter Hannah but seemed to strengthen her resolve to see God’s answer.
My dear friends, please understand that if you begin to pursue the heart of God for a new season in Him, you will be persecuted, not by the world but by the religious establishment. “He who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now” (Galatians 4:29).
Eli, who was simply going through the motions of being a priest, represents the old corrupt, broken-down religious system. He did not quickly recognize the voice of the Lord when He spoke. He was extremely passive toward sin even when it was being carried on within the tabernacle grounds. His sons were highly immoral to the point of forcing themselves on women who came to worship and sacrifice. ”They did not know the Lord” (2:12). Eli saw it all, knew about the sin, and did nothing.
Hannah was not the only one whose heart was broken and open to the Lord. There was a small remnant of faithful men and women of God. One of the men, most likely a prophet whose name we never get to know, came to Eli and prophesied what was about to happen. The prophecy established that Eli’s family (his house, including both of his sons), would be destroyed (see 2:31) and that God would raise up a new and faithful priest. “I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house . . .” (2:35).
God was about to sweep out the old and bring in the new!
Samuel represents the new thing God is doing. Into the religious and political confusion that was so clearly seen at this time comes a miracle of God in the person of Samuel. Samuel was a miracle child born to a barren mother and the renewal and joy that his birth brought to Hannah prefigures the renewal and joy that this godly man brought to Israel.
Dear friends, don’t be discouraged by the mess of the moment. God is still in charge and a new day is about to dawn. Thank God that there is a praying remnant in our land whose garments are white and unsoiled by sin. They are not deterred by the political and religious confusion that reigns in our land. The remnant is “pouring” itself out to the Lord in prayer. It was the broken-hearted prayer of one woman that God was waiting for and a new season dawned in Israel—and so it will be in our day!
A new day, a new season is coming!
Friday, November 11, 2011
I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS YOU BLESS ME!
Genesis 32:22-32 is one of the more famous passages in the Old Testament. It is often referred to as the night Jacob “wrestled” with God.
This was not wrestling as we think of it today. We are too influenced by images of “professional wrestling” and to think that Jacob was going to put God in a headlock and force a blessing out of Him is ludicrous. God could have ended this wrestling match at any time—one flick of His little finger and Jacob would have been far into eternity. So what was going on here? And why did God allow this grappling to continue all night? The term wrestling means to get down in the dirt and grapple.
Jacob was afraid of his brother Esau and he had every reason to be. Jacob had taken advantage of his brother and stolen away the “birthright of the firstborn” that rightfully belonged to Esau. Under Jewish law the firstborn son would get double the inheritance of each of the rest of the children and Jacob took that for himself by exploiting his brother’s weakness. On top of that, Jacob then deceitfully took the blessing that their father had prepared for Esau. Prior to a father’s death, it was traditional for him to speak a blessing over each of the children and through trickery Jacob inserted himself into position to take Esau’s blessing. I would say that Jacob had plenty of reason to be afraid of his brother.
The brothers had been apart for twenty years when the day finally came for them to meet and Jacob was nervous and afraid. I am sure he was having some second thoughts about his “bad behavior” as a younger man—and then came the wrestling encounter with God.
I believe in persistent, prevailing prayer but we need to understand some things about what that means. We will learn more about that as we go through this story.
Verse 24 says that Jacob and God wrestled all night long and when He (God) saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He put his hip out of joint. Wait a minute! That’s not fair! There was no way Jacob was going to grab God’s arm and put His arm out of joint so why would God do that to Jacob?
The Bible says that even though Jacob was in pain, he was not about to quit. God said to him, “It’s coming to the dawn and I know you’re hurting, so stop this fighting and I’ll be on My way.” Jacob responded, “This is not over and I will not let You go unless You bless me” (v. 26).
This wrestling match was not about God’s triumphing over Jacob or Jacob getting God to yell “Uncle! I’ll give you what you want!” This match was about Jacob, a man I believe was disgusted with himself, afraid of what was ahead, sick over the mess he had made with his life and sick over what he had done to his brother.
God could have ended the match at any moment, as I said earlier, but He is the God of the second chance and He wanted to give Jacob a chance to come to the end of himself. Jacob continued to try to prevail even though he was hurt, because he was desperately hungry—but hungry for what? What was driving him?
God said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for the day breaks” (v. 26). Finally through the pain and weariness of the night-long battle came the answer God needed to hear from Jacob. Jacob’s answer was the beginning of the end of what the match was all about: “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
Why does Jacob request a blessing? He is insisting on something from God that he cannot provide for himself. He treacherously took Esau’s blessing but he can receive this blessing only by holding on in prayer, by prevailing!
Jacob had come to the end of himself and realized that what he had done through trickery and deceit had not achieved what he thought it would and unless God blessed him, he would not have what he was longing for.
God said to Jacob, “What is your name?” Did God forget who this despicable person was? Was He tired from the fight and suffering temporary memory lapse? Why would God ask Jacob what his name was?
It wasn’t because God forgot, it was because God wanted to hear Jacob finally admit who and what he was. The name Jacob means deceiver, supplanter, to takes by force or trickery. Jacob never hesitated in answering God, not for a second. Out of his mouth came, “Jacob,” to which God replied, “Not anymore; from now on your name will be Israel [Prince with God]” and He blessed him there (v. 28).
The whole night of wrestling had been about this moment when the old Jacob died and the new Jacob was born. Prevailing in prayer is not about getting God cornered so we can get what our miserable little hearts want. Prevailing prayer is about us, about our finally getting in line with what it is that God has in store for us. The silly idea that we can get in God’s face and demand of Him that He measure up to our standard is just that—a silly, childish idea that has found a home among the childish.
At the final bell, the end result of this wrestling match was more spectacular than Wrestlemania!
This was not wrestling as we think of it today. We are too influenced by images of “professional wrestling” and to think that Jacob was going to put God in a headlock and force a blessing out of Him is ludicrous. God could have ended this wrestling match at any time—one flick of His little finger and Jacob would have been far into eternity. So what was going on here? And why did God allow this grappling to continue all night? The term wrestling means to get down in the dirt and grapple.
Jacob was afraid of his brother Esau and he had every reason to be. Jacob had taken advantage of his brother and stolen away the “birthright of the firstborn” that rightfully belonged to Esau. Under Jewish law the firstborn son would get double the inheritance of each of the rest of the children and Jacob took that for himself by exploiting his brother’s weakness. On top of that, Jacob then deceitfully took the blessing that their father had prepared for Esau. Prior to a father’s death, it was traditional for him to speak a blessing over each of the children and through trickery Jacob inserted himself into position to take Esau’s blessing. I would say that Jacob had plenty of reason to be afraid of his brother.
The brothers had been apart for twenty years when the day finally came for them to meet and Jacob was nervous and afraid. I am sure he was having some second thoughts about his “bad behavior” as a younger man—and then came the wrestling encounter with God.
I believe in persistent, prevailing prayer but we need to understand some things about what that means. We will learn more about that as we go through this story.
Verse 24 says that Jacob and God wrestled all night long and when He (God) saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He put his hip out of joint. Wait a minute! That’s not fair! There was no way Jacob was going to grab God’s arm and put His arm out of joint so why would God do that to Jacob?
The Bible says that even though Jacob was in pain, he was not about to quit. God said to him, “It’s coming to the dawn and I know you’re hurting, so stop this fighting and I’ll be on My way.” Jacob responded, “This is not over and I will not let You go unless You bless me” (v. 26).
This wrestling match was not about God’s triumphing over Jacob or Jacob getting God to yell “Uncle! I’ll give you what you want!” This match was about Jacob, a man I believe was disgusted with himself, afraid of what was ahead, sick over the mess he had made with his life and sick over what he had done to his brother.
God could have ended the match at any moment, as I said earlier, but He is the God of the second chance and He wanted to give Jacob a chance to come to the end of himself. Jacob continued to try to prevail even though he was hurt, because he was desperately hungry—but hungry for what? What was driving him?
God said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for the day breaks” (v. 26). Finally through the pain and weariness of the night-long battle came the answer God needed to hear from Jacob. Jacob’s answer was the beginning of the end of what the match was all about: “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
Why does Jacob request a blessing? He is insisting on something from God that he cannot provide for himself. He treacherously took Esau’s blessing but he can receive this blessing only by holding on in prayer, by prevailing!
Jacob had come to the end of himself and realized that what he had done through trickery and deceit had not achieved what he thought it would and unless God blessed him, he would not have what he was longing for.
God said to Jacob, “What is your name?” Did God forget who this despicable person was? Was He tired from the fight and suffering temporary memory lapse? Why would God ask Jacob what his name was?
It wasn’t because God forgot, it was because God wanted to hear Jacob finally admit who and what he was. The name Jacob means deceiver, supplanter, to takes by force or trickery. Jacob never hesitated in answering God, not for a second. Out of his mouth came, “Jacob,” to which God replied, “Not anymore; from now on your name will be Israel [Prince with God]” and He blessed him there (v. 28).
The whole night of wrestling had been about this moment when the old Jacob died and the new Jacob was born. Prevailing in prayer is not about getting God cornered so we can get what our miserable little hearts want. Prevailing prayer is about us, about our finally getting in line with what it is that God has in store for us. The silly idea that we can get in God’s face and demand of Him that He measure up to our standard is just that—a silly, childish idea that has found a home among the childish.
At the final bell, the end result of this wrestling match was more spectacular than Wrestlemania!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
FEEDING ON HIS FAITHFULNESS
Recently I have been drawn to Psalm 37; each time I read it I am encouraged and then I return to my regular pattern of devotional reading. A day or two later I am drawn again to Psalm 37 and a few days later it happens again. There is something in this outpouring of King David’s heart that is pertinent for this hour and the Lord doesn’t seem to want me to get very far away from it.
This psalm was written because David was going through a difficult time. The psalm begins, “Do not fret because of evildoers.” The word fret means to be hot, to be furious, to be angry, and the psalmist is saying to us, “You must not let this happen! Do not allow the circumstances of life and the evil you see in the land fill you with anger.” God is telling us, “I am still in charge and you are to walk in My peace . . . so fret not!”
The psalm goes on to tell us, “Do not be envious of those who work evil, for they will soon be cut down like the grass. You are to trust in Him and do good works; be fruitful where He has planted you and (this is really important) feed on His faithfulness” (vv. 1-3).
There are at least two ways to look at the statement, “Feed on His faithfulness.”
1. Some commentators suggest that we are to see this as a commitment by God to provide for His people who have faith in Him.
Faith pleases God and He always responds to the faith of His people. Carol and I know this to be true and we have experienced it afresh in just the last months. But I also think the psalmist was challenging us to see this statement in another way.
2. I believe David was encouraging us to feed, literally to ingest, to have meals of faithfulness, by remembering and rehearsing God’s faithfulness to us and to all His people.
As we feed on His faithfulness and remember what He has done, we are released to believe for what He is going to do! So how can we feed on His faithfulness?
It’s easy to make the mistake of thinking this is something complicated—this idea of feeding on His faithfulness—and it is not. It’s really quite simple. I think it may be its simplicity that causes us to often ignore its great potential.
We learn God’s faithfulness and we feed on it by answering our calling to stay in fellowship with Jesus. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). As believers, Jesus is the center point of our life. As we enter into and stay in that fellowship, we are fed by the intimacy, by the communion, we have with Him.
His faithfulness is revealed to us when we feed on His Word because the Bible is packed full of powerful stories of God’s faithfulness to His people. You cannot read through Hebrews 11 and not have your faith stirred and encouraged. Read through the book of Acts, or Genesis and Exodus, the first six chapters of Daniel, and see if your faith is not fed and your understanding of God’s faithfulness expanded. This will build your faith.
His faithfulness is refreshed in us when we praise and worship Him. Praise is the response of the righteous for what God has done. Worship is the response of the righteous unto God for who He is, the admiration of His person.
We feed on His faithfulness when we give thanks for what He has done in our lives. Give Him thanks for His provision, thanks for all the answers to prayer, thanks for your salvation, thanks for His leading and guiding in your life. Thank Him for the infilling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. There is so much to give thanks for because God is so faithful!
It is as we feed on His faithfulness that we find ourselves “delighting in Him.” Delighting is an outflow of our feeding on His faithfulness.
Here are a few passages of Scripture that speak of His faithfulness.
“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 7:9).
“His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds” (Psalm 36:5).
“Your faithfulness endures to all generations” (Psalm 119:90). I love the way the New Living Translation puts this verse: “Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.”
“God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
This psalm was written because David was going through a difficult time. The psalm begins, “Do not fret because of evildoers.” The word fret means to be hot, to be furious, to be angry, and the psalmist is saying to us, “You must not let this happen! Do not allow the circumstances of life and the evil you see in the land fill you with anger.” God is telling us, “I am still in charge and you are to walk in My peace . . . so fret not!”
The psalm goes on to tell us, “Do not be envious of those who work evil, for they will soon be cut down like the grass. You are to trust in Him and do good works; be fruitful where He has planted you and (this is really important) feed on His faithfulness” (vv. 1-3).
There are at least two ways to look at the statement, “Feed on His faithfulness.”
1. Some commentators suggest that we are to see this as a commitment by God to provide for His people who have faith in Him.
Faith pleases God and He always responds to the faith of His people. Carol and I know this to be true and we have experienced it afresh in just the last months. But I also think the psalmist was challenging us to see this statement in another way.
2. I believe David was encouraging us to feed, literally to ingest, to have meals of faithfulness, by remembering and rehearsing God’s faithfulness to us and to all His people.
As we feed on His faithfulness and remember what He has done, we are released to believe for what He is going to do! So how can we feed on His faithfulness?
It’s easy to make the mistake of thinking this is something complicated—this idea of feeding on His faithfulness—and it is not. It’s really quite simple. I think it may be its simplicity that causes us to often ignore its great potential.
We learn God’s faithfulness and we feed on it by answering our calling to stay in fellowship with Jesus. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). As believers, Jesus is the center point of our life. As we enter into and stay in that fellowship, we are fed by the intimacy, by the communion, we have with Him.
His faithfulness is revealed to us when we feed on His Word because the Bible is packed full of powerful stories of God’s faithfulness to His people. You cannot read through Hebrews 11 and not have your faith stirred and encouraged. Read through the book of Acts, or Genesis and Exodus, the first six chapters of Daniel, and see if your faith is not fed and your understanding of God’s faithfulness expanded. This will build your faith.
His faithfulness is refreshed in us when we praise and worship Him. Praise is the response of the righteous for what God has done. Worship is the response of the righteous unto God for who He is, the admiration of His person.
We feed on His faithfulness when we give thanks for what He has done in our lives. Give Him thanks for His provision, thanks for all the answers to prayer, thanks for your salvation, thanks for His leading and guiding in your life. Thank Him for the infilling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. There is so much to give thanks for because God is so faithful!
It is as we feed on His faithfulness that we find ourselves “delighting in Him.” Delighting is an outflow of our feeding on His faithfulness.
Here are a few passages of Scripture that speak of His faithfulness.
“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 7:9).
“His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds” (Psalm 36:5).
“Your faithfulness endures to all generations” (Psalm 119:90). I love the way the New Living Translation puts this verse: “Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.”
“God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
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