14 June 2016
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that
publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7
When Isaiah wrote this book, there were no radios or telephones or Internet. A man
ran with the news. He came from where something had happened. He came to the
people that wanted to know about it.
There is a story about this in 2 Samuel 18:24-28. When the man brought good news,
people praised him.
They even said that his feet were beautiful! They really meant that they were happy
to see him. We can imagine the runner as he shouts this news: ‘*Peace! Safety!
God is King!’.
By this we are encouraged to share the Good News by reaching people personally…preferably
on foot!!
May God help you.
15 June 2016
God will be with thee, HE will not fail thee. Deuteronomy 31:8
When Moses wrote this book he had finished his work. He was now
120 years old and he could not continue to lead them.
Moses appointed Joshua as the new leader, although God was their
actual leader. God had caused them to defeat Sihon and Og. In the future, he
would cause them to defeat other enemies.
God had helped them to *destroy enemies when Moses led them.
In the future, God would help them to destroy enemies under the
leadership of Joshua. Both Joshua and the people should be strong and have
courage. God would be with them. They need not be afraid.
Paul talks about the Christian’s war against evil things in
Ephesians 6:10-18. He encourages Christians. He says to them, ‘Be strong in the
Lord and be strong in his great power.’
18 June 2016
Every place where on the soles of your feet shall tread shall be
yours: Deuteronomy 11:24
The promise of Canaan to Israel was a
perpetual promise, but also a conditional one. The land God has promised will be granted to
them and possessed by them, on conditions of obedience:
Let all be directed by the three rules here given.
1. Let our hearts be filled with the word of God. There will not be good practices in the life, unless there be good
thoughts, good affections, and good principles in the heart.
2. Let our eyes be fixed upon the word of God, having constant regard to it as the guide of our way, as the rule of
our work, Ps 119:30.
3. Let our tongues be employed about the word of God.
19th June 2016
To the only wise God our, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 1:25
Most of Jude’s letter has been about the
wicked behaviour of evil people. And about the danger that such people are to
true believers.
But now Jude ends his letter on a much happier subject. He reminds his readers that their God is always their
all-powerful guard. He will defend them against every evil attack.
Jude wants to shout his final words to his Christian friends. God is so
wonderful! He has done so much to prepare his loyal people to share in the
family home in heaven.
This has always been God’s great purpose from the beginning (Ephesians 5:25-27).
A happy human family share love and joy with each other at home. That gives us a little glimpse of what our home in
heaven will be like. We are members of the family of God the Father. We will
know all the love and joy of that family in our future home.
Jude gives a list of four of God’s qualities.
God’s glory :
is the splendid beauty and wonderful light of his most holy character.
God’s majesty :
refers to his royal rule, which is universal.
God’s power :
is that of absolute control over his world. That power makes it certain that he will overcome all
his enemies.
God’s authority :
refers to the way that he provides for his people. He provides everything that his people need.
God passed on this authority to Jesus (Matthew 28:18).
Jude uses the words ‘before all ages’ and ‘now’ and ‘always’. These words are the best that we have to refer to the
past and the present and the future (Hebrews 13:8). The words emphasise God’s
total and complete command of everything.
The final ‘*Amen’ is the *Hebrew word of agreement. It means ‘Yes, certainly, let it be so’. From the earliest days of
the church, ‘*Amen’ has regularly ended words of prayer and *praise to God.
21st June 2016
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; Isaiah 32:17
Verse 17 The Hebrew word for ‘peace’ is ‘shalom’. It
means more than ‘no war’. It means this. Everybody will work well together and they
will live well together. People will not argue. There will be ‘harmony’ among
them. As harmony in music produces pleasant sounds, so harmony among people
produces a pleasant society!
28th June 2016
Thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. Deuteronomy 28:12
God promised all these blessings to the Israelites if
they obeyed his commands. God did not give the covenant to the Israelites
because they deserved it. (See Deuteronomy 7:6-7.) But they would receive the
blessings of the covenant only if they obeyed it. The *blessings were for the
nation, the family and each person. The blessings involved their work in the
city and in the fields. The blessings affected the Israelites’ children, their
crops, their cattle and their daily food. God would protect and provide for his
people. He would make them the leaders of other nations. But to enjoy those
*blessings they must continue to obey God.
30th June 2016
The Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, Genesis 49:25
Verses 25-26 Joseph received a special blessing because he had the birthright. Jacob said that God would give many good things to Joseph. God had been very kind to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the good things that God would give his people had not ended. In fact, the opposite was true. God would do even greater things for Joseph’s descendants.
The son who had the birthright used to receive a double share of his father’s possessions. The descendants of each son of Jacob became a *tribe. But Joseph’s descendants became two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh. And they were both large tribes.
the God of thy Father, i.e. who hath chosen and loved they father, and made a league with him, and blessed him with all manner of blessings.
Blessings of heaven above, i.e. the sweet and powerful influences of the heavenly bodies, and the dews and rains which fall from heaven, whereby the fruits of the earth are produced in great plenty. See Leviticus 26:4 Deu 28:12, Deu 33:14.
JUNE Bible verses