Thursday, December 3, 2015

2015DBRP_338 Joel3 Is44b 2Tim3


An attack by an army of locusts must be so frightening! What descriptions! And even worse when God is bringing the attack as an act of judgement. Yet Joel offers hope. He encourages the people to come back to God and beg for the Lord’s help. And then the famous part of Joel 2 is this:

28e“Then, after doing all those things,

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your old men will dream dreams,

and your young men will see visions.

29In those days I will pour out my Spirit

even on servants—men and women alike.

30And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—

blood and fire and columns of smoke.

31The sun will become dark,

and the moon will turn blood red

before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives.

32But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD

will be saved,

for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,

just as the LORD has said.

These will be among the survivors

whom the LORD has called.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/jol.3.nlt

 


 

Turning now to Isaiah 44, God said in the first part of that chapter:

3For I will pour out water to quench your thirst

and to irrigate your parched fields.

And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,

and my blessing on your children.

4They will thrive like watered grass,

like willows on a riverbank.

5Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the LORD.’

Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’

Then God gave a lecture on the futility of idols. I love the irony in these verses:

19The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,

“Why, it’s just a block of wood!

And,

20The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.

He trusts something that can’t help him at all.

Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,

“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.44.nlt

 


 

We turn to 2Timothy 3. We heard the wonderful encouragements to Timothy in chapter 2. Note that Paul did not explain everything to Timothy, but invited him to ponder what he had said. I urge all of us to similarly ponder and spend time meditating on what Paul said.

Note what Paul says about God’s Word in contrast to his being in chains: “The word of God cannot be chained.” Yay, God! May your Word accomplish what you have sent it to do!

Translation note:

15You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by [believing/trusting] in Christ Jesus.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/2ti.3.nlt


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