These Things I Have Spoken Unto You, That In Me Ye Might Have Peace

His Word gives comfort and light:

Psalm 119:105

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

He knows everything about us:

Psalm 139: 1-6 

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Psalm 139:16-18

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

He knows us better than we know ourselves and He has compassion on us:

Psalm 103:13-14

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

He promises to be always with us: 

Hebrews 13:5b-6

For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

He values us and tells us there is more than just this temporal life: 

Mathew 10:28-31

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

In Him only is peace in any situation:

John 16:33

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

The Holy Spirit comforts and teaches us: 

John 14:16

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Our times are in His hands; we can’t add a single moment to our lives: 

Psalm 31:14-15a

But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand:

Psalm 104:29b

Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

He is trustworthy:

Job 13:15a

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:

Our citizenship is not of this earth: 

Phil 3:20

For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 11:13-16

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

God is preparing a place for us:

John 14:2

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

He is a very present help in trouble:

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

He promises to be with us always, even until the end of the world:

Matthew 28:20b

And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

He is with us even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death:

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

He tells us not to be afraid:

Isaiah 41:10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

He holds us by His right hand:

Psalm 73:23

Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

Our deaths are precious in His sight:

Psalm 116:15

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

He is the lifter up of our head:

Psalm 3:3

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

He will guide us and receive us into glory:

Psalm 73:24

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

He will wipe every tear from our eye:

Revelations 21:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

To be with Him is far better:

Phil 1:23b

Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

In His presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore: 

Psalm 16:11

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Death

Death was on my mind today. In the last few days at least 4 people I know of, both young and old, exchanged time for eternity. But the reality is that there were many more people that I didn’t know, who died too. According to the world birth and death rates, nearly 2 people die each second, 105 people die each minute, 6,316 die each hour, and 151,600 people die each day. Now I’m not posting statistics to trivialize death in anyway, but rather to point us to the sobering reality of it. Death is real, and unless Jesus returns in our lifetime we will all experience it for ourselves one day.

Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

And as I thought about death, and the sadness and pain, and tears and grief that go along with it, God reminded me of the words of the first question and answer in our Heidelberg Catechism.

Lords Day 1 

Question 1: What is thy only comfort in life and death?

Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with His precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.

Where did that first sentence come from? I wondered, and quickly found the answer in the Bible verses underneath.

Romans 4:7-8

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

Did you know that none of us can add a single moment to our lives?

In Job 4:5 it says: Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

As a child of God we need not fear death. Instead we can say with David:

But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.

My times are in thy hand: Psalm 31:14-15a

Jesus Himself comforts all who believe in Him and follow Him with these words:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:1-3

And further in Revelations, John tells us more about this beautiful place:

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelations 21:1-4

And although we may feel sorrow and pain over the loss of a loved one, if they sleep in Jesus, we will be reunited once again.

1 Thes 4:13-18

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life and he or she that believeth in Him though he is dead, yet shall he live. 

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25

Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thes 4:18

Abide in Him

We all want to be happy.  No cost or expense is spared on our quest for happiness. Satan, the world and our own sinful flesh try to seduce us with all kinds of tantalizing promises; but if we follow them we won’t find happiness. No, instead, at the end of the day, at the end of our lives, we will come to the realization it was all a lie and all we’re left with is sin and guilt, shame and pain.  Yet our craving for happiness can’t be stifled.  We search, we blindly grasp, we waste our time, we waste our lives, but the truth is, this world has nothing for us. Although it may come in glittery wrapping, its promises prove to be empty and worthless and ultimately end in death.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: 1 John 2:17a

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:14-15

So where is the only place where true happiness, real joy, can be found?

In the One who made us.

In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11b

Jesus commands us not only to come to Him (Matt 11:28) and believe in Him (John 6:29) but also to abide in Him.

 

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. John 15:4

And we can know we are abiding in Him because He has given us His Spirit.

Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. 1 John 4:13

And when we abide in Him we bear fruit. Out of Him flows the love and joy and peace and patience and gentleness and goodness and faith and meekness and self-control that we’ve been missing in our lives. As we abide in Him we finally experience the true happiness our souls crave.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

But abiding requires obedience. We need to deny ourselves, say no to sin and keep His commandments.

If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. John 15:10

And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us. 1 John 3:24

He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. 1 John 2:6

And it might seem hard sometimes, this denying ourselves and obeying God, but it is so worth it!

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:17

How awesome it is to know the love of Christ that passes all knowledge and be filled with the fullness of God! Now that is true happiness!

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

And think about our future. We know we all must die, unless Jesus returns first, but either way we all have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 1 John 2:28

An Undivided Heart

Do you ever struggle with a divided heart? I do. I want to serve and love God but then slowly, sneakily, sin creeps in. It may be just little things that are easy to excuse. Respectable sins. Everyone does that. It’s no big deal. Does it really matter if I just eat whatever I want without exercising self-control? It’s my money right? It’s okay to buy whatever makes me happy! I’m tired, I just want to relax and watch a video, there’s nothing that bad about this one; a few little things? Well I can overlook that. And the list goes on and on. But the truth is. You can’t serve two masters. 

Jesus Himself says this very clearly in Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

And Joshua states: And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Who are you obeying? The lusts of your flesh? The world? Satan? In Romans 6:16 it says: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Everything you do, say, think about, eat, and spend your time on matters. Are we walking in obedience in every aspect of our lives or are we giving the devil a foothold? In Ephesians 4:27 Paul warns us by saying: Neither give place to the devil.

Are you feeling convicted? Jesus calls all those who feel burdened by sin and enslaved to Satan to come to Him.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

And when we come to Him and put our faith in Him, He never turns us away.  Instead He makes us new. 

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

Romans 6:6

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Romans 6:18

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

But following Jesus means saying ‘No’ to sin, saying ‘No’ to the world, and saying ‘No’ to our own selfish lusts.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24

Following Jesus means we need to deny ourselves, and that’s hard sometimes. And the more we give in and compromise, the harder it gets. But remember, all the tantalizing pleasures this world and Satan have to offer lead to death.

For the wages of sin is death; Romans 6:23

Satan is a liar and a thief. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: John 10:10a Will we fall for his tricks? Will he be our Master? Will we pledge our allegiance to him?

Jesus came so that we might have life.  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (Jesus) John 10:10b

Come to Him. Believe in Him, Follow after Him and you will find rest for your souls. You will found hope and peace, joy and love, and an abundant life that you could never dream of.  You may experience hardships and struggles, impossibilities and trials, but He will guide you through it and nothing can ever separate you from His perfect, all encompassing, incredible love! (Romans 8:31-39)

So look to Him. Come to Him. Believe in Him. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6b

Yield yourselves to Him. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6:13

Submit to Him. Draw near to Him. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. James 4:7-8a

Ask Him to teach you and give you an undivided heart. Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. Psalm 86:11

You will never regret it.

Look to Him

I haven’t written for a while. I wanted to but simply couldn’t, or wouldn't; I don't know. This morning when I was reading through my Bible study book I was suddenly very convicted. One of the things I read about was the sin of wasting time. When I read it, it felt like a slap on the face. I really had been wasting my time lately on useless things. I had also become very good at excusing my time wasting. But there was no excuse. And the truth is that time wasting is a sin and:

Sin steals joy (Psalm 51:12)

Sin removes confidence (1 John 3:19-21)

Sin brings guilt (Psalm 51:3)

Sin gives Satan the upper hand (2 Cor 2:9-11)

Sin quenches God’s Spirit (1 Thes 5:19)

Sin brings physical damage (Ps 38:1-11. 31:10)

Sin causes an ache in the soul (Ps 32:3-4)

Sin breaks God’s heart (Eph 4:30)

Sin opens the door to other sins (Isaiah 30:1)

Sin breaks fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2)

Sin produces fear (Proverbs 28:1)

Sin makes me its slave (John 8:34, Romans 6:16)

Nancy L.DM

Things needed to change. Now.

So after lunch instead of turning to other sources of entertainment I turned on my audio Bible and felt compelled to start with the book of Revelations.  God knew exactly what I needed to hear.

Revelations 3:19

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Revelations 2:4-5

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Revelations 1:3

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Revelations 1:7

Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Getting up, I quickly went to my computer and found the verses God had directed me to weeks ago, but I never finished working on. The verses about how Jesus compares Himself to the brazen serpent in the wilderness.

John 3:14-15

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Jesus)

Numbers 21:4-9

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

“The people were saved not by doing anything, but by simply looking to the bronze serpent. They had to trust that something as seemingly foolish as looking at a serpent on a pole was enough to save them. Surely, some perished because they thought it too foolish to do that.” David Guzik

As it says in Isaiah 54:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

“We might be willing to do a hundred things to earn our salvation, but God commands us to only trust in Him - to look to Him.” David Guzik

So I beg you, don’t waste your time. Time is precious and you don’t know how much time you have left. Look to Jesus and be saved. Come to Him, He will never turn you away. If you aren’t sure, be like the Bereans. Search the scriptures for yourself and see if these things are so.

Acts 17:10-11

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

For, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; (Hebrews 2:3a)