A New Year's Resolution

“Unto You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth, and teach me:

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You do I wait all the day.” [1]

“My foot stands in a level place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.” [2]

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.

Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.” [3]

“Open your mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” [4]

[1] Psalm 25:1, 4-5
[2] Psalm 26:12
[3] Psalm 27:4, 14
[4] Proverbs 31:8-9

Devotion During Days of Wrath

“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” [1]

“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.

This (wrath) is what they (who insulted, taunted, and threatened) will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty.” [2]

“Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.” [3]

“Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God.” [4]

“Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.’” [5]

“The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.” [6]

[1] Proverbs 21:15
[2] Zephaniah 2:3, 10
[3] Zephaniah 1:18
[4] Zephaniah 3:1-2
[5] Revelation 14:6-7
[6] Psalms 145:13, 146:5

The Lord Is Good

“When a man's folly brings his way to ruin his heart rages against the Lord.”

[1]

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.”

[2]

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression…

He (God) does not retain His anger forever,

because He delights in steadfast love.

He will again have compassion on us;

He will tread our iniquities underfoot.

You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

[3]

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;

He knows those who take refuge in Him.”

[4]

[1] Proverbs 19:3

[2] Micah 7:7

[3] Micah 7:18-19

[4] Nahum 1:7

Glory to You Lord for Your Love & Faithfulness

“Not to us, Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.” [1]

“May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” [2]

“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” [3]

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” [4]

[1] Psalm 115:1
[2] Psalm 115:14-15
[3] Psalm 116:5-7
[4] Psalm 117:1-2

Pouring Out His Spirit

“Multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”

[1]

“’Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.’

Rend your heart and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for He is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

and He relents from sending calamity.

Who knows?

He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing.”

[2]

“And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

Even on My servants, both men and women,

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

[3]

[1] Joel 3:14

[2] Joel 2:12-14

[3] Joel 2:28-29

Remaining Ready For The Lord’s Return

By:

Shunning ungodliness,

Sunning complaining,

Shunning faultfinding, 

Shunning exploitation,

Strengthening faith in God

Praying in the Holy Spirit

Loving God

Expecting mercy in Christ for eternal life

Rescuing others

“See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” [1]

[1] Jude 1:14-16, 20-23

Trinity

The Trinity is one God revealed in three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Hebrews were living among pagans who worshiped many gods. Our fatherly God warned them against such worship. Therefore, they memorized and frequently recited these words, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” [1] The Hebrew word for “One” in this passage is not “yachid” that means a solitary one. It is the Hebrew word, “echad” which is used most often as a unified one.

“The two shall become one flesh.” [2] The one here is echad. Jesus declared, “I and the Father are one.” [3] Jesus said to the Father, “The glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” [4] God’s desire is to bring us into oneness with Him. We talk about the body of Christ as being one.

Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon wrote, “The Son the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are like two hands of God to mold us into His image.” The Father uses His Word and Spirit to mold us into His likeness.

The Father sends His Word [Jesus] by His breath [the Spirit]. The Hebrew word for Spirit can also be translated as breath. The Bible connects God’s breath with His Spirit. [5] Jesus breathed His Spirit on the disciples. [6] The breath of God brought the first Adam to life. His breath brought the new Adam to life: the Church.

Jesus is referred to as the Word of God twice in the New Testament. [7]

The Triune God is revealed to us in the three Old Testament “US” verses: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.” “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” [8] This is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit conversing within Himself.

The Triune God is revealed to us in the Hebrew name for God [Elohim]. Elohim occurs over 2,500 times in the Old Testament. Elohim is grammatically plural rather than singular. The -im suffix in Hebrew indicates the plural form.

The Triune God is revealed to us in an Old Testament prophecy: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” [9] The Holy Spirit is the Wonderful Counselor. The Everlasting Father is our Heavenly Father. Jesus the Son is the Prince of Peace. Three-in-One the Mighty God!

The Triune God is revealed in the Great Commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” [10]

We should teach people about the Triune God because He is relevant to their life. We have a clear mandate from God to reveal Him to others. There is no eternal life apart from a revelation of God.

The Trinitarian message is God revealing Himself to us as a community for our sake. The Trinitarian message is about God graciously opening His heart and home to us. The Triune God is relational.

Our Triune God helps us exist as people in communion with Him and His followers. God is a Community-in-Love, where each of the three Persons pours His life out for the other. Jesus honored the Father and Father honored Him. Jesus spoke of the Spirit as His Spirit and also the Spirit of the Father.

We should only trust those who profess faith in the Trinity:

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

This is how we know that we live in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them, and they in God.” [11]

Jesus is called the Savior of the world. God says there is no Savior besides Him, meaning that Christ and the Father are One. “I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.” [12]

Jesus Christ is both God and man: “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead).” [13] Paul regards Jesus has more than a man and also equal to Father God. Paul met Jesus after He ascended to the Father. He met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

The Trinity is one God revealed in three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[1] Deuteronomy 6:4
[2] Genesis 2:24
[3] John 10:30
[4] John 17:22
[5] Genesis 2:7
[6] John 20:22
[7] John 1:1; Revelation 19:13
[8] Genesis 1:26; 3:22; Isaiah 6:8
[9] Isaiah 9:6
[10] Matthew 28:19-20
[11] 1 John 4:1-3, 5-6, 13-15
[12] Isaiah 43:11
[13] Galatians 1:1