Category Archives: Savior

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The First Prophecy – Enmity

Genesis 3:15

TEMPTATION

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The first prophecy of the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15 and foretells that Satan’s head will be bruised by Eve’s seed which have their heel wounded or bruised.

satan’s seed = the devil’s spiritual offspring

Eve’s seed = her offspring (Lineage of David we are blessed with John 3:16 the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ our Savior!)

bruise = Genesis 3:15 is shuph (Strong’s #H7779)

Reference also 1John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 20:10

 

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God helps the poor

God helps those who help the poor

2 Corinthians 1:3-(KJV) 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

Does God really care about the poor?

Who else protects the poor and needy from those who want to rob them?

Psalm 35:10

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord is thinking of me right now.

Psalm 40:17

He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.

Psalm 72:12

“I’ll just have to go blind”

A man was having a lot of trouble with his eyes. His doctor examined him and recommended the name of another doctor he should visit, saying, “I would advise you to go at once and take plenty of money with you, for it’s going to cost a lot.”

The man had eighty dollars in the bank, so he got his money and went to see the other doctor. After examining him, the doctor said, “I never accept less than five hundred dollars for this particular operation.”

“Well, then,” said the man, “I guess I’ll just have to go blind, because I have only eighty dollars.”

But the good doctor said, “There is one other way to solve our trouble. You don’t have enough to pay the bill, and I can’t charge you as little as eighty dollars, but there is another way open to us — I will do the operation for nothing.” And that is just what he did.

adapted from a story by Kenneth N. Taylor, quoted in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes by R. Kent Hughes (Tyndale House) p 180

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

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Good News

The whole earth will hear

To those who have not heard

My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.” Romans 15:20-21 

Under a haystack

John 6-51 – Harvest Time

Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, was just twelve years old in 1805 when the Second Great Awakening reached the school. In the spring of 1806 Samuel Mills joined the freshman class with a passion to spread the gospel around the world. He began leading a group of four other students, who met three afternoons a week in a nearby maple grove.

One sultry day in August 1806 a violent thunderstorm interrupted their prayer time, and they took refuge on the sheltered side of a large haystack. God spoke to them as they prayed, and four of the five committed themselves to serving God overseas if he so led. The Haystack Prayer Meeting was not only the beginning of the first American student mission society but also the beginning of the American foreign missionary movement itself.

Two years later many of the group enrolled at Andover Seminary where they were joined by Adoniram Judson and others interested in foreign missions, but there was no foreign missions board in America to send them. Acting on the advice of a teacher, the students wrote a letter to the General Association of the Congregational Church. Two days later, on June 29, 1810, the association responded by forming the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

From that humble beginning the foreign missions force of the United States has grown to over sixty thousand missionaries sent out by hundreds of mission boards.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003), entry for June 29.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

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Skills

Read today’s devotional on Bible Gateway.

Exodus 31:1-11

God calls two men to help build the Tabernacle and the furniture that will go into it.

Got Skills?

Read

Then the Lord said to Moses, Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!

And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make.
(Exodus 31:1-6)

Reflect

God values the skills of all his people, not merely those with theological or ministerial abilities. We tend to value only those who are up front in leadership roles. We believe the notion that having influence is what really matters. But God gave Bezalel and Oholiab Spirit-filled abilities in artistic craftsmanship. Their work would outlast both Moses and Aaron’s leadership.

But neither influence nor longevity is anything. Instead, Moses, Aaron, Bezalel, and Oholiab submitted their skills to God and committed them to doing his work. When we do this, our skills are given great meaning and purpose.

Take notice of all the abilities God gives his people. Don’t diminish your skills if they are not like Moses and Aaron’s. Remember, the one you serve is more important than what you do.

Respond

What skills do you have? Have you found a way to use them? Spend time improving the skills you have and talking with God about them. As you do, you may find new opportunities open up for using them.

 

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Tribulation and Help

Morning

PS. 24:1-2
1 The earth is the LORD’s,1 and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;2
2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

“In the world ye shall have tribulation.”
John 16:33

Art thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to his image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect? Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes thou hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone? No, he will be always at thee, for he “goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Expect trouble, therefore, Christian, when thou lookest beneath thee. Then look around thee. Where art thou? Thou art in an enemy’s country, a stranger and a sojourner. The world is not thy friend. If it be, then thou art not God’s friend, for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou sleepest, think that thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou walkest, suspect an ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you. Lastly, look within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there. Sin and self are still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no enemies to fight thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Expect trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee to help and to strengthen thee. He hath said, “I will be with thee in trouble; I will deliver thee and honour thee.”

Evening

Return unto the Lord thy God

“A very present help.”
Psalm 46:1

Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do. When thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell him all thy grief? Has he not a sympathizing heart, and can he not comfort and relieve thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom of thy Lord. Art thou burdened with this day’s sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood: use it, saint, use it. Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Come to him at once for cleansing. Dost thou deplore thy weakness? He is thy strength: why not lean upon him? Dost thou feel naked? Come hither, soul; put on the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. Stand not looking at it, but wear it. Strip off thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear. Dost thou feel thyself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will revive thee. Thou art poor, but then thou hast “a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth.” What! wilt thou not go to him, and ask him to give thee of his abundance, when he has given thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with him, and has made over all that he is and all that he has to be thine? There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for his people to make a show-thing of him, and not to use him. He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we put on his shoulders, the more precious will he be to us.

“Let us be simple with him, then,

Not backward, stiff, or cold,

As though our Bethlehem could be

What Sinai was of old.”

All rights belong to the collections of Charles Spurgeon(C)

 

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“Messiah’s Reign” Jesus Christ (Prophecy Yet to be Fulfilled)

Psalm 72

THRONE-VISION-IN-THE-COLOR

Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.

2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. (Emphasis added)

12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.

14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.

16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.

19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Notes:

Ps. 72:11  Prophecy YET to be fulfilled for it is “Messiah’s Reign” Jesus Christ

The law of Christ, written in the heart, disposes men to be honest and just, and to render to all their due; it likewise disposes men to live in love, and so produces abundance of peace. Holiness and love shall be lasting in Christ’s kingdom.

1 Chronicles 5:20
And because they cried out to God in battle, they were helped against their enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were delivered into their hands. Because they put their trust in God, He answered their prayers. 

Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. 

Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off. 

Psalm 91:14
“Because he loves me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him. 

Psalm 94:14
For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage. 

Treasury of Scripture

And they that know your name will put their trust in you: for you, LORD, have not forsaken them that seek you.

know

Psalm 91:14
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

Exodus 34:5-7
And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD…

1 Chronicles 28:9
And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

put

Psalm 5:11
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Psalm 57:1
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Psalm 146:5,6
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: …

hast

Psalm 105:3,4
Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD…

Isaiah 45:19
I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

Isaiah 46:3,4
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: …

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