Food For Thought
Therefore, let anyone who thinks he is standing be careful not to fall!
I Corinthians 10:12

      Unless otherwise indicated, the collection of scriptures found in Food for Thought are quoted from the Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (The Old Testament) pub. by, the Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1988; and the Jewish New Testament, translated by David H. Stern, pub. by Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD, 1994.

~ ~ ~

~ Meditations ~
~ From the Word of God ~
(Meditations are meant to be
pondered carefully.)

~ A Wide and Pleasant Road ~

    "Before every man there lies a wide and pleasant road he thinks is right, but it ends in death.
(Prov. 16:25 LB)

    For "Where there is ignorance of God, the people run wild; but what a wonderful thing it is for a nation to know and keep His Saws!"
(Prov. 29:18 LB)

    

~ The Pathway to Life ~

    "A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance."
(Prov. 28:13 LB)

    Yes, "Anyone willing to be corrected is on the pathway to life..."
(Prov. 10:17 LB)

    And "The man who tries to be good. loving and kind finds life, righteousness and honor."
(Prov. 21:21 LB)

    For, "Happy (Blessed) is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or taken the path of sinners, or joined the company of the insolent (scornful)."
(Psalms 1:1)

 

~ Go on to Maturity ~

    So, "..trust and reverence the Lord, and turn your back on evil; when you do that, then you will be given renewed health and vitality."
(Prov. 3:7-8 LB)

    Know that "If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption and deceit of every kind." (And) "God doesn't listen to the prayers of men who flout the law."
(Prov. 8:13; 28:9 LB)

So, "Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged.
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow."
(Isa. 1:17)

    "...Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate--declares the LORD."
(Zech. 8:16-17)

    "Anyone who has to drink milk is still a baby, without experience in applying the Word about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by continuous exercise to distinguish good from evil. Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity..."
(Hebrews 5:13-6:1)

~ Beware ~

    Beware, for "...there will be false teachers among you Under false pretenses they will introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them... Many will follow their debaucheries; and because of them, the true Way will be maligned...
    "Presumptuous and self-willed, these false teachers... insult things about which they know nothing...
    "These people have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Bil'am Ben-B'or (Balaam, the son of Beor). who loved the wages of doing harm but was rebuked for his sin...
(2 Peter 2:1-2,10-12,15-16)

 

   Understand that "Every word of God proves true..."
(Prov.30:5 LB)

    And don't be misled, for it is the
"Truth (that) stands the test of time..."
(Prov. 12:19 LB)

    Yes, "Grass withers, (and) flowers fade--
    But the word of our God is always fulfilled!"
(Isa. 40:8)

    So "...don't let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Chosdesh (New Moon) or Shabbat (Sabbath). (For) These are a shadow of things that are coming..."
(Col. 2:16-17)

    For "In that day (the day of the LORD), ... All who survive, ..shall make a pilgrimage year by year to bow low to the King LORD of Hosts and to observe the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles- see Lev. 23)... In that day, even the bells on the horses shall be inscribed 'Holy to the LORD'..."
(Zech. 14:13-20)

For. "In the days to come,
The Mount of the lord's House
Shall stand firm above the mountains
And tower above the hills;
And all the nations
Shall gaze on it with joy.
And the many peoples shall go and say:
'Come,
Let us go up to the Mount of the LORD
To the House of the God of Jacob;
That He may instruct us in His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths,'
For instruction shall come forth from Zion,
The word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Thus He will judge among the nations
And arbitrate for the many peoples,
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks:
Nation shall not take up Sword against nation;
They shall never again know war."
(Isa. 2:1-4)

"O House of Jacob!
Come, let us walk
By the light of the LORD.
For you have forsaken [the ways of] your people,
O House of Jacob!
For they are full [of practices] from the East,
And of soothsaying like the Philistines,
They abound in customs of the aliens...
And their land is full of idols;
They bow down to the work of their hands,
To what their own fingers have wrought.
But man shall be humbled,
And mortal brought low—..."
(Isa. 2:5-9)

~ Get Ready ~

"For the LORD of Hosts has ready a day
Against all that is proud and arrogant,
Against all that is lofty-so that it is brought low:
Against, all the cedars of Lebanon,
Tall and stately,
And all the oaks of Bashan;
Against all the high mountains
 And all the lofty hills,
Against every soaring tower
And every mighty wall;
Against all the ships of Tarshish*
    (*Emendation yields "And their
        idols with them")

And all the gallant barks.
Then man's haughtiness shall be humbled
And the pride of man brought low.
None but the LORD shall be
Exalted in that day.
As for idols, they shall vanish completely.
And men shall enter caverns in the rock
And hollows in the ground--
Before the terror of the LORD
And His dread majesty,
When He comes forth to overawe the earth."
(Isa. 2:12-19)

"Assuredly, this is the declaration
Of the Sovereign, the LORD of Hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel'
'Ah I will get satisfaction from My foes;
I will wreak vengeance on My enemies"...
Zion shall be saved in the judgment;
Her repentant ones, in the retribution.
But rebels and sinners shall all be crushed,
And those who forsake the LORD shall perish."
(Isa. 1:24,27-28)

    Then "The many peoples and the multitude of nations shall come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD."
(Zech 8:22)

    "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one LORD with one name."
(Zech. 14:9)

    Now, "What God wants is that you be holy... For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one...''
(1 Thess. 4-3,7)

    As it is written:

    "You shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be mine."
(Lev. 20:26)

    "You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you."                             (Deut. 4:2)

    "Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness. against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around you waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate, and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom (peace). Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And lake the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God's people."
(Eph. 6:10-18)

    For "...perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua's faithfulness."
(Rev 14:12)

    Now, ..."May the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed, toward everyone... so that he may give you the inner strength to be blameless, by reason of your holiness, when you stand before God our Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all his angels."
(1 Thess. 3:12)

SAW

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

~ Chosen Vessels ~

    "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for lie is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel"
(Acts 9:15).

    The Lord here was speaking to Ananias concerning the apostle Paul, calling him a "vessel" that was to be filled with spiritual treasures for the nations. We may not be chosen for such a great work as that of Paul, but each of us is a chosen vessel to carry the message to someone.
    First, however, we have to be prepared as vessels by the great Potter, "that He. might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory" (Rom. 9:23). This verse speaks of God's mercy, for He must also endure "with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" (Rom. 9:22).
    We are only earthen vessels, at least to begin with, but God does entrust a portion of His heavenly treasures to us, especially "the light of the glorious gospel! of Christ" shining in our hearts. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (II Cor. 4:4,7).
    If we are faithful in the small things. He may one day entrust us with greater treasures. "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (II Tim. 2:20,21).
    Each one is a vessel in the master's hand. Some are vessels of wrath, suited only for destruction; some vessels in His house are of wood and dirt, vessels of dishonor. May God help us, however, to be beautiful vessels of great value, sanctified to the master's use, and to every good work. (Henry M. Morris)
    (From Days of Praise; June, July, August, 1998, pub. Institute for Creation Research, Santee, CA.)

Back

Next