11 Dec (Hebrews 11-13)

Hebrews 11

(v.1) Here is a great definition of faith...we don't see God physically, but we see His handiwork in His creation, and by how He works in our lives!

(v.6) This is such a great verse! Without faith, we don't enter heaven. Without faith, we don't learn to know God. With faith, we are blessed abundantly!

(v.7) Remember, Noah was building this huge ark when the people had not experienced rain before! He looked like a fool, and was no doubt being ridiculed for his faith. But what did his faith give him? It saved him from the wrath of God! This is the same typology of the last days...those of us who have faith will be removed from experiencing God's Wrath.

(v.12) If we have faith, we are the Seed of Abraham...he was the first Hebrew (which means crossing over) and we are Hebrews in the sense that we have left our love for this life and this world for a new love of Christ and heaven!

(v.13) Before Jesus paid for our sins on Calvary, the faithful were holding in Paradise, or Abraham's Bosom, until that debt for sin was paid. Once Jesus did that, He went to free the faithful and take them to heaven. Every day after that, we who die in faith go immediately to heaven with Jesus!

(v.27) We are all faced with that same dilemma in our lives...obeying God, or obeying man. It's easy when man's laws and God's laws are the same, but when man's laws contradict God's laws (abortion), then we must stick with God and endure the worldly consequences. The reward is far too great to give it up for a moment in eternity for peace.

Hebrews 12

(v.9) God set up the family unit to train us to obey Him. We are to obey and respect our parents, so we can learn to obey and respect God.

(v.11) We never ask for trials to come into our lives, but they always make us better, and we will reap the rewards for overcoming, in heaven.

Hebrews 13

(v.2) This is a heavy verse! God puts angels into our paths to see where our hearts are. Just think of that the next time we see a bum asking for money. Or when we have a person who rankles us, and instead of responding with anger, we show love...that is what God is looking for!

(v.17) We have no idea the work our pastors do for us...they pray for us, they look out for us, and they motivate us. Give them respect, and most of all, pray for them. Satan likes to make pastors sin, so the whole flock will become discouraged. John 18:14

5 June (Isaiah 41-42)

Isaiah 43

(v.4) This is an important verse for two reasons...first, we need to realize that God always existed and always will. Second, there are cults out there that only worship the Father, and not the Son as God. If we follow the verses that mention either the title First and Last, or Alpha and Omega, which is Greek for first and last, we see that Jesus is God:

We see in Isaiah 41:4, 44:6 and 48:12, that God is saying that He is the First and the Last. Jehovah Witness belief is that this is the Father, Jehovah. By the way, Jehovah is the German translation for Yahweh, which is YHWH...the name of God at the burning bush with Moses. Exodus 3

But in Revelation, we see Jesus say the following:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last ~ Rev 1:11

But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last." ~ Rev 1:17

So who is the First and the Last? Is it Jehovah or Jesus? The answer is both. For we see that Jesus is God and definitely the First and the Last in the following verse:

And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write, "These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life."

~ Rev 2:8

So the question is, when did Jehovah, or the Father die? The answer is never...it was His Son, who is God, part of the Holy Trinity. Please use this as a tool to witness to the Jehovah's Witness people who come to your door.

(v.10) This is a great verse...if we have the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty God, and the Savior of the world on our side, then what do we really have to fear? Rom 8:31

Isaiah 42

(v.1) If we read Matt 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22 and John 1:32 we see that Isaiah is foretelling the Baptism of the Son of God. The Son had the Spirit upon Him as He ministered, and He had the power of the Father at all times...except that dreadful three hours on the cross where He became sin for us.

(v.6) God chose the people of Israel to be a light to the rest of the world, but after they rejected God so many times and ultimately at the cross, it's the Gentiles who are the light to the Jews. God says in Rom 11:11 that He will use the Christians to bring the Jews back to Him. This is happening at a more rapid pace than ever before...our LORD is coming soon!

(v.24) I remind my kids that God wants our obedience. This seems controlling, but in reality, if we walk in God's ways, we live more joyful and peaceful lives. Sure, we'll have troubles, but we have the calming knowledge that God is there with us, and He will take care of us.