Category Archives: Word of God

Shalom Shalom

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In Hebrew the phrase Shalom-Shalom, means perfect peace. It is yours if you keep your mind on the Lord. ~ Lisa Blair

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ (bible.com)

Note: I extracted the following commentary from EnduringTruth.com commentary on verses 3-4.

My prayer is that each of us will experience Shalom Shalom, the perfect peace of God.

I also encourage you to pray before reading Isaiah 26:3-4, followed by reading the extract (and the full commentary). Taking the time to pray and prepare your heart can deepen your understanding and connection to the scriptures. Inviting God into your reading makes you more likely to gain insights and peace.

A good method to gain understanding is to:

  1. Always pray and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the passages
  2. Read the Passage(s) in the Bible
  3. Read the commentary(s) with more understanding

Let God speak to your mind. Don’t just skim over the text to read a devotion.

Shalom Shalom is yours when you put God first.

Partial Commentary explaining verses three and four.

  1. (3-4) The LORD is our source of strength.
    You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.

a. You will keep him in perfect peace: This is a wonderful promise: perfect peace. God promises that we can have perfect peace, and even be kept in a place of perfect peace.

i. In Hebrew, the term perfect peace is actually shalom shalom. This shows how repetition communicates intensity in Hebrew. It is not just shalom; it is shalom shalom, perfect peace.

ii. “Understand, dear soul, that it is thy privilege to live inside the double doors of God’s loving care. He says to thee, ‘Peace, peace.’ If one assurance is not enough, He will follow it with a second and a third.” (Meyer)

iii. Some can have this perfect peace, but it is fleeting, and they are never kept there. Others can be kept in peace, but it is not a perfect peace, it is the peace of the wicked, the peace of spiritual sleep and ultimate destruction. But there is a perfect peace that the LORD will keep us in.

b. Whose mind is stayed on You: This is the place of perfect peace and the source of it. When we keep our minds stayed – settled upon, established upon – the LORD Himself, then we can be kept in this perfect peace.

i. To be kept in this perfect peace is a matter of our mind. This isn’t so much a matter of our spirit or of our soul or of our heart. It is a matter of our mind. We are to love the LORD our God with all of our mind(Matthew 22:37). We are transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). We can have the mind of Christ(1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5). We are not to set our mind on earthly things(Philippians 3:19), but to set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:2). The Christian life is not an unthinking life of just doing, or experiencing, but it is also about thinking, and where we set our mind is essential in our walk before the LORD.

ii. To be kept in this perfect peace, our mind must be stayed. According to Strong’s Dictionary, the Hebrew word sawmak comes from the root “to prop,” and has the idea “to lean upon or take hold of…bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain.” In other places the same word is translated sustained(Genesis 27:37, Psalm 3:5), or when the priest would put their hands on the head of a sacrificial animal (Exodus 29:10, 15, 19), or of the laying on of hands in other circumstances (Numbers 27:18), of being upheld (Psalm 71:6), to stand fast upon (Psalm 111:8), of being established(Psalm 112:8), of leaning upon (Isaiah 36:6, 48:2). It is fair to ask the disciples of Jesus Christ: What sustains your mind? What do you lay your mind upon? What upholdsyour mind? What does your mind stand fast upon? What is your mind establishedupon? What does your mind lean upon? To have this perfect peace, your mind cannot occasionally come to and lean upon the LORD; it has to be stayed on Him.

iii. To be kept in this perfect peace, our mind must be stayed on the LORD. If our mind is stayed on ourselves, or our problems, or the problem people in our lives, or on anything else, we can’t have this perfect peace. This is the heart that says with the Apostle Paul, that I may know Him (Philippians 3:10). In his spiritual attacks against us, Satan loves to get our minds set on anything except the LORD.

c. Because he trusts in You: This is another way of expressing the idea of keeping our minds stayed on Him. Almost always, you keep your mind stayed on whatever you are trusting. When we trust the LORD, we keep our mind stayed on Him.

i. Proverbs 3:5 expresses this same idea: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. The word for lean in Proverbs 3:5 comes from the same root as the word stayed in Isaiah 26:3. When we trust in the LORD, we do not lean on our own understanding. To lean on the LORD is to trust Him. To be sustained by the LORD is to trust Him. To be established by the LORD is to trust Him. To be upheld by the LORD is to trust Him.

ii. The battle for trust in our lives begins in our minds. If we trust the LORD, it will show in our actions, but it will begin in our mind.

d. Trust in the LORD forever: Because of the promise of Isaiah 26:3, we are encouraged to trust in the LORD forever – and therefore to receive the blessing of the promise, perfect peace.

e. For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength: If the LORD calls us to rely on Him completely with our mind, He appeals to our mind with a rational reason why we should trust the LORD – because He is everlasting strength. It isn’t that the LORD has everlasting strength, He is everlasting strength.

i. Clarke’s comment on Isaiah 12:2 applies here also: “The word Yah read here is probably a mistake; and arose originally from the custom of the Jewish scribes, who, when they found a line too short for the word, wrote as many letters as filled it, and then began the next line with the whole word.”

Peace be with you.

Source: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/isaiah-26/

Scripture: bible.com

Photo: LABphoto

The Sound of God’s Love is Quiet

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One definition of ‘sound’ is the vibration transmitted through the air or other medium. (Dictionary.com) The sound is noisy, loud, and resounding. But in the Bible, John tells of a vastly different sound, one that reverberates through the body and throughout the world. I call this sound the sound of God’s love and this sound reverberates in the form of inner peace.

God loved us so much that He sent His Son to earth to take away our pain of living in eternal sin in exchange for His Son’s death. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us.

During His three years in ministry, He taught His disciples to love as the Father loves Him and He loves us. This type of love, agape love, is free of condemnation. He teaches us to listen beyond the words of those who betray us, hate us, and have disdain for who we are in Christ. He taught us to love regardless of personal interactions.

In the Old Testament David slayed Goliath hurling a stone that killed him to save his people. This young boy relied on his faith in God to slay a giant. It was not the noise of the stone jettisoning towards the giant’s head that he heard, it was the love of his Lord that spoke to his heart and gave him the confidence to take on an unimaginable task. Most of the stories in the Old Testament reflect quiet sounds when God communicated with His people, during other times it was verbal and often loud, as the Holy Spirit had not yet entered our hearts. All of the stories demonstrated the love of God for His people that reverberates in us and around the world today.

In the New Testament, we no longer audibly hear God’s voice, instead, He speaks through the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, and instructs us in the quiet still sound of His voice. His voice is the voice of God., God’s love emanates His Glory. His Glory reverberates in the hearts of believers and gives new life. God’s love is quiet yet reverberates throughout the world, calling all to join His family. God’s love is the love of a Father calling out to His children. the sound of God’s love is quiet, intense, profound, and peaceful, all in the same moment.

Associated Scriptures

John 10:27 ESV, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Hebrews 4:12 ESV, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of would and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

John 10:16 ESV, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock.”

Hebrews 3:7 ESV, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,”

Psalm 85:8 ESV, “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people…”

1 John 5:14 ESV, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him (faith), that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

John 3:16 ESV, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

“God loves each of us as tho there is only one of us.” St. Augustine

Scriptures – biblegateway.com, ESV; Itakeoffthemask.com

Images – The God of Love – NIV; Michael Dudlash, Pinterest; spreadinghopeeverywheretalks.com

Is It Enough to Rejoice and Be Glad?

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We know so many partial scriptures and tend to recite them in daily conversations, but part is never the whole. Let’s dig deeper into Psalm 118.

Top-Bibleverses.com

We will begin with Verse 1, “Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, because His mercy endures forever.” ‭Psalms‬ ‭118:1‬ ‭MEV‬‬ https://bible.com Each morning we are to give thanks, why, because the Lord’s mercy endures forever. That means everyday until the end of time.

Seedsfamilyworship.com

There is so much to unpack in this scripture, it would become a thesis, so let’s focus on verses 1, 24, 27, 28, and 29 today.

“This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Palm 1818:24. It is the day the Lord has made and, yes – we are to rejoice in it. But as we read further we find that Paul is encouraging Christ’s followers to thank God for this day and rejoice in it. You see it doesn’t matter what you have lived through. It doesn’t matter who you were before Christ entered into your life. It doesn’t matter the crowd you followed, all that matters is that you are now a child of God and should be thankful for all of His blessings.

Verse 27 stresses that God is Lord, and He has given us “light”. Christ is the light. His light is nestled inside us and radiates out to those around us. The light much like a beacon, is a guiding light drawing in the lost bringing them closer to our Lord. They poise the question, what is it about you that makes you different? Our acts should represent the same characteristics as Christ. Our behavior should emulate His. Our language and disposition should reflect what we are told in Galatians 6. We should walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. We should demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in our walk, and it begins with recognition of the new day as a gift from God.

Verse 27: AlivetoGod.com

Being like means that on dismal days, do we present a grey attitude or do we rejoice in the day? This day too was created by our Lord and we should rejoice. Often, I find myself complaining and have to reflect restructure my thinking to rejoice in the day, Why? It is simple, He loves me, woke me up, and gave me new mercies. I should be glad in it and rejoice. My focus should be on the things above and not on the earth which is full of sin. If I reflect on the things of this earth, it changes my inner atmosphere by giving over to the present evils.

When we look at the news, do we grumble and sink into the malaise of the day, or do we focus on the Lord? Do we get lost in the thoughts of negativity, or do we, instead, rejoice in the fact that no matter what is going on around us, our Lord is still King and remains on the throne? Do we praise Him for who He is, or cower down to the evil, consumed by what we see, experience, or feel?

Verses 28 and 29 refocuses our thoughts on our purpose. We are to continually give praise and thanks for the day, knowing that in the best of moments and the bleakest, God is still in control.

“You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.” Psalms‬ ‭118:28-29‬ ‭MEV‬‬ https://bible.com

When digging deeper we see we are blessed to awake to a new day. We are to give thanks, rejoice, and be glad (grateful). We are to recognize who God is in our life and behave in a way pleasing to Him. We are to look for God in all things and reflect on them and not what we lies before us. The Lord is the lamp that guides us through this life. We are nestled in His love and His mercy endures forever.

9News Nigeria. 9newsng.org

A False Message Gives False Hope, by Greg Laurie

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To promise Heaven and not warn of Hell, to offer forgiveness without repentance, to preach the gospel without the Cross is a false message giving false hope. ~ Greg Laurie.

Visit this site and read the Devotional. We are all guilty of sugar coating the Word from time to time.

A False Message Gives False Hope

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/a-false-message-gives-false-hope-2/?utm_campaign=daily-devo&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=221592990&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_tG4kqFC_WZZGFfSfzTiK3YLxjcya0cTx8UJpgUfenp8_kDvXkjrRWWyHunwB_cokKIOJzgFWMznY-cWHqIMxvDMd1Cg&utm_source=hs

No Forgiveness Without Repentance

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Micah 6:8 is a short verse, and is packed with instructions to become a better person. This post could be entitled, ‘How to become a better follower of Christ’, or ‘Improving our walk with Christ.’

“…there is no forgiveness without repentance, and that repentance is but a name, unless there be a ceasing to do evil, and learning to do well…” (Benson Commentary. Biblehub.com)

I have written many posts that focus on forgiveness. There is no end to the process. With each reading we learn more about forgiveness and repentance. They are tied to justice, compassion, kindness, mercy, humility, and sacrifice. These are traits Christ modeled during His walk on earth.

If we want to walk with Christ, it requires more than simply testifying that we forgive, we mush repent and as Benson wrote, cease to do evil. We must replace evil, e.g., being self-righteous, and self serving and become servants, and ambassadors of the Lord. This type of action does not determine salvation. We cannot acquire it to what we do, it is not by our work, salvation is a gift from God. HOWEVER, it is through our work, actions, and practices that we become closer to God because we must think on these things before we act, this links us to God’s instructions in a deliberate way.

We cannot expect justice until we act justly; we cannot expect compassion until we have compassion for others; we cannot expect kindness until we demonstrate kindness through our actions; we cannot expect a merciful society and world until we demonstrate mercy in our daily walk; we cannot expect the world to be a humble place until we demonstrate humility towards others; we cannot expect others to sacrifice until we work to strip ourselves of being self-righteous. Walking with Christ is more than trying to keep in step with His walk. He was sent to earth to model what it means to possess God in our hearts.

We are one people, culture and race create diversity, but does not negate oneness. We are all God’s children. A friend put it this way, Christ came to earth, modeled His purpose, was Crucified, said to the thief, ‘on this day you will be with me’. He did not take time to evaluate if the thief was worth saving, no, He takes us as we are, that is our salvation. The way in which we choose to live life demonstrates that receiving Christ is more that reciting scripture, it is acting the intentions set forth in scriptures in our daily walk. Our faith is demonstrated through our actions.

If our actions do not align with our faith, it is incumbent upon us to ask for forgiveness, repent, and cease doing evil. We are asking God to forgive us. This happens when we experience the need to repent from the heart, not the mind, meaning we truly experience the sorrow our actions we committed that are not aligned with God’s Word. This is Godly sorrow, heartfelt sorrow, not a sorrow we experience momentarily before we repeat the act we are seeking forgiveness for.

You can ask for forgiveness, but until we truly repent, the forgiveness is fleeting (because) there is no heart felt godly sorrow. Godly sorrow creates the process of change. It weakens and eliminates the evil we demonstrate in our walk, we continually become new creatures in Christ as we strip away our carnal behavior.

Resources: Bible hub.com; Photo – Vikas Nirmal, Twitter

Easter More Than A Holiday

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We will celebrate Christ rising and fulfilling the first part of God’s promise of our salvation within hours depending upon where you are in the world. Hallelujah! We are redeemed and saved.

This year deeply contemplate what your salvation means. There is so much going on in our lives and in the world, how can we be better stewards to all of it? What little things can you change in your life at this very moment. It may be a smile to a stranger or a loved one. It may be seeking out homeless services and supporting it in someway. It may be helping a single parent, reaching out to those around you. It could be picking up a piece of trash on the street and throwing it away. And most importantly, it may be reestablishing or strengthening your relationship with Christ, reading the Bible, attending Bible study, going to church, or sitting and discussing a scripture with someone else. (Important note: you must receive Christ as your Lord and Savior before you can begin a relationship with him. Recite Romans 10:9-10 with an open heart. …that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. biblegateway.com) If you are not yet comfortable with the above suggestions you may begin an internal conversation with the Holy Spirit whom Christ left with us.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 dailverses.net

We should all let this season have purpose in our lives, it should inspire us to become more mature Christians. Others should see the light of the Holy Spirit flowing through us. We should stand out. We are different.

So, Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28. Daily verses.net

This is not a seasonal event. It is a recognition of our Savior being crucified in the worst way to save us from our mortal sin.

Wellspringchristianministries.org
Pinterest.nz. Mrs. Karen Grosse

Times of India, 2019
https://wiirocku.tumblr.com/post/176688157522/romans-109-nkjv-that-if-you-confess-with