The New Year is only a few days old. Let's commit ourselves afresh to reading the Word of God day-by-day. Here are some links which I hope you will find helpful.
Read a specific comment online
Print a booklet containing monthly readings
Monterey is a picturesque community, 100 miles south of San Francisco. It is situated on the great Monterey Bay.
The Monterey Bay, gave to the city of Monterey all the bounty of the ocean. For decades Monterey fishermen brought back the fruit of the sea, the fish, that fed millions of people in America.
The backbone of this great fishery, and therefore of the economy in Monterey, was the annual catch of sardines.
These sardines were captured, brought to port, and then to Cannery Row – a row of fish canning operations lining the Monterey beach. There, of course, the sardines were packed into silver cans, wrapped in a red and black paper seal declaring them to be high-quality sardines from Monterey, California. They were then shipped throughout America and the world.
And the economy was good.
But, in the summer of 1905, something terrible happened. An economic disaster of unprecedented proportions happened to this bustling fishing town.
The disaster was this: the fishermen and their many boats, and many employees, simply over fished the sardine population. They did it to such a degree, that the sardines couldn't reproduce their stock – and, suddenly, sardines simply disappeared from the fisherman's nets! They were gone! And with them, were also, apparent to everyone, the good times for people in Monterey.
But – and this is a very important but – this was not the end of the story. A very great and ominous disaster had happened on their watch, but now something wondrous and hopeful, also took place on their watch.
Here is what, actually, happened: first, the people of Monterey and their churches, prayed. Now, whether you believe in prayer or not, that is secondary to the story. My duty is just to give hope and tell you how the story turned out, in actual history.
Most of the ship owners in Monterey doubled as their own ship captains. There were no big corporate fleets. It was mostly private fishermen who had built their fishing business to the level of having a ship or two, and going out daily and bringing the fish back. They worked hard at it, and they became better and better at what they did, and therefore became more and more successful.
But the sea had always helped them. Now that the sardines were gone, what next? What would happen to the economy, to the ship owners and captains, and to all the crews and their families?
The captains of the ships talked among themselves. As they talked, they told tales that they had heard long ago, about schools of great fish, that a Monterey fisherman and his ship and crew had once found.
But, these great fish, which were only known by the thin thread of perhaps a tall tale, were caught as far out as 200 miles from the shore! No Monterey fisherman and his crew, at least for decades, had gone beyond 20 miles!
No one ever dared to go that far! It had not yet entered the imagination of the people.
They had the vessels for it, and the crews. Now what they needed was some bold and intrepid captains, who would dare to go farther into deeper waters, than anyone ever had before.
And, in a true to life story, several believing captains, with their valiant ships and willing crews, set out to find out if the tales of these great fish had any truth to them.
They went fifty miles. Then eighty miles. Then over a hundred miles. But approximately one hundred and fifty miles out, they saw "boiling water" – a strange occurrence on the surface of the water that far out in the middle of the sea.
The captains and their crews, decided to fish these "boiling waters." For their efforts, they began to pull in yellowfin tuna anywhere from 100 to 300 pounds! And there was no end to them!
Now, dear reader, understand that until this date in history, no one in the entire world had ever eaten tuna. Well, maybe some long ago sea captain and his crew had. But for the most part, tuna had never been known before. It had never been seen or eaten!
So, the intrepid sea captains and their fishermen returned home to Monterey with great good news – and a big load of great fish!
Think about it. Sardines were only 4 to 8 inches long, and now the fishermen replaced them with tuna that were 4-8 feet long! The sardines weighed a half-pound at best, and the tuna weighed up to three hundred pounds. In fact, later, as fishermen found the will to go farther, they caught bluefin tuna, that weighed up to 1500 pounds!
Thus, by being willing to go further than anyone had gone before and by choosing to act in new ways rather than just sit and suffer, although the economy went down with the sardines – now it went up with the tuna! Following what might have been just a tall story by an old salt, turned out to give the people of Monterey a true, and much greater, story. They introduced tuna and tuna fishing to the world. Their ships got bigger. Their crews got paid more. More tourists came to Monterey. The little bustling fishing didn't go down with the sardines!
Somehow, the town, its people, and its economy all got a new lease on life. They grew. They prospered. And – they fed the whole world to a far greater degree.
In that summer day of 1905, when the sardine stock fell and the bottom dropped out of the sardine business, it shook everybody up. But, they said their prayers, decided to go further than ever before, chose to "seek a greater story" – and, however combined elements made it happen – tuna, much larger than sardines, and a tuna catch, much greater than the total sardine catch had ever achieved, was brought into the history, and to the palates, of the entire world.
The economy recovered and boomed.
My friends, could it be possible that right now, this very day, that even as you experience the loss of something you long felt secure and that you built your hopes on, just a little farther ahead, with a little willingness to keep your chin and morale up, exploring a little further, pursuing a greater, not lesser, story for you and yours, we might ourselves see our "sardines" not just gone, but our own kind of new, far greater, "tuna" right in front of us replacing our loss with something much better?
I believe that people with the American dream, don't just get better dreams. They get a better story. It comes complete with the faith, the new vision, the will to try, the solid meat of the fish, the adventures, and the tale to tell all our children about.
The measure of something great is that greater things still come out of it.
Say your prayers, stoke the embers of your dreams and visions. Listen to wise stories. Make your minds and ships go further into the ocean of the Spirit – and I believe either you yourself, or some intrepid captains, are going to come back with the equivalent of boatloads of silver tuna in our time – together with directions how you can get a lot more of them.
Copyright 2008 E.Zehnder
http://theeverlastingkingdom.blogspot.com
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The time of the prophets - this was the time of expectation. The time of Christ’s birth - this was the time of fulfilment. We rejoice in the event of Christ’s birth - All this take place to fulfil … ” (Matthew 1:22). We read the words of the prophet Isaiah. He speaks of “the Wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (9:6). He speaks of “Emmanuel, God with us” (7:14). In the birth of Christ, we see the fulfilment of Isaiah’s words of prophecy. Christ’s birth was just the beginning of the fulfilment. There is still more to come. We still live in a time of expectation. We await the Lord’s Return. He will come with great power and great glory. When He comes, the Kingdom of God will be revealed in all its fulness.
The promise has been fulfilled. Christ has come to us as Emmanuel (God with us).
The pardon has been given. Through Christ, crucified for us, we have received the forgiveness of our sins.
The power has been given to us. Christ lives in us. He enables us to live for Him.
In His resurrection, we see Jesus as God in us. We recall His promise concerning the Holy Spirit: "He will be in you" (John 14:17). Christ comes to us. He gives us strength to love God. He gives us power to do God's will.
In His death, we Jesus as God for us. Here, we have the reason why "God did it". Why did God give His only Son? It was for us. For us - these two words can be written over page after page of the New Testament. How can we doubt that God is for us when we know that Jesus died for us?
In his birth, we see Jesus as God with us. God has not kept His distance from us. He has come near to us. He has become one of us. He is God with us. This is how we know that God sympathizes with us in our suffering. He has suffered. He is the suffering God. We think of the question of suffering. We ask, "Why does God allow it?". We look at the Cross of Christ and we say, "God didn't allow it. God did it." He sent His Son to suffer death that we might receive life. Seeing our suffering in the light of Christ's suffering assures us that we are not left to go it alone. Jesus is there beside us. He is God with us.
Here are a few articles you may find helpful.
The Child Who Learned Dreams Come True is dedicated to children and the child deep within us all. That child who loves to dream, that loves adventure, that believes and hopes for great things.Use wisdom, be prepared, and make plans to endure weather situations regardless of where you live. From mudslides, to heaven rains, to flooding, to snow and ice storms, to tornados and yes hurricanes.
The prophecy has been spoken - ‘To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given...’. The prophecy has been fulfilled - ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you: He is
Just imagine spending 40 days and 40 nights in the Teton Mountains and surrounding areas. The beauty, nature, peace, wonderful moments, beautiful sunsets and endless hours of being far from the hustle bustle of life.Pray for freedom.
inhisgloriousnameministriesonline.blogspot.com
New Book Release!2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
None of us can ‘escape the judgment of God.’ None of us can ‘presume upon the riches of His kindness’(Romans 2:3-4). We dare not come to God like the Pharisee, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men...’. We can only come to Him with the prayer of the tax collector, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ (Luke 18:11-13). We must not pretend that we are ‘righteous’. We must confess that we are ‘sinners’ (Luke 5:32). Sinners, lost, dead - We must hear this ‘bad news if we are to come to a true appreciation of the Good News: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), ‘The Son of man came to seek and save the lost’ (Luke 19:10), ‘God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved’ (Ephesians 2:4-5).
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This is the thirty-third post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Rahab (Matthew 1:5) was a ‘prostitute’, yet, by the grace of God, through faith, she also takes her place with the people of God (Hebrews 11:31; Ephesians 2:8). The story of David and Uriah's wife (Matthew 1:6) is a story of deceit (2 Samuel 11) - ‘where sin increased, grace increased all the more’ (Romans 5:20)!
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This is the twenty-ninth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Blessings, in Christ inhisgloriousnameministriesonline.blogspot.com
Regardless of what change may come forth through the Office Of The President and his administration. May the ending of your 2008 be blessed and may 2009 bring you new beginnings, blessings and the favor of God as you seek His ways.
Blessings, in Christ
inhisgloriousnameministriesonline.blogspot.com
http://www.christian.tv/channels/details/video/21/mediapage/6964
New Book Release!Blessings, inhisgloriousnameministries.blogspot.com
Order it online or at your favorite bookstore. Sayings From The Teton Mountains. A fun collection of great sayings.When God looks on us, He does not see our sin. He sees our Saviour, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks at us, and this is what He sees: ‘The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). Through faith in Christ, we are sinners, saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). This is the beauty the Lord sees in us: ‘There is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). This is not our beauty. It’s His beauty!
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This is the twenty-second post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
What a wonderful thing God has done for us in Christ. He has ‘called us out of darkness into His marvellous light’. Let us ‘declare His praises’, rejoicing in His great love, His rich mercy and His saving grace (1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 2:4-5). Keep on rejoicing! There is light at the end of the tunnel - even when you have ‘to suffer grief in all kinds of trials’. Don`t lose sight of ‘the goal of your faith’ - ‘the salvation of your souls’ (1 Peter 1:6-9).
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This is the twenty-first post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
In Christ, we are ‘being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:22). The Lord draws us to Himself. He brings us into fellowship with His people. He calls us to worship Him: ‘Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving’. He ‘blesses’ us through ‘His Word’. He ‘blesses’ us in ‘the Spirit’: ‘He sends His Word... and the waters flow’ (Psalm 147:7, 12-13, 18; John 7:37-39).
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This is the nineteenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
‘You are God’s temple… God’s Spirit lives in you… God’s temple is holy… you are that temple… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you… We are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will live among them…’(1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16). ‘A dwelling place of God in the Spirit’ - That’s what you are (Ephesians 2:22)!
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This is the seventeenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
In ourselves, we are not ‘mighty men’ (2 Samuel 23:8-9). How can we be changed? - ‘The Lord wrought a great victory’ (2 Samuel 23:10, 12). Which of us can be described as ‘a valiant man… a doer of great deeds’ (2 Samuel 23:20) - apart from the grace of God? ‘By grace you have been saved…’ (Ephesians 2:8-10).
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This is the sixteenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
In ourselves, we are ‘lost’. In Christ, we are ‘found’. In ourselves, we are ‘dead’. In Christ, we are ‘made alive’ (Luke 15:21,24; Ephesians 2:1,5). In Christ, we see God’s love. Through Christ, we receive God’s forgiveness. Christ does not leave us ‘out on a limb’. He is preparing a place for us - in His Father’s House (John 14:1-3). This is love - without limits!
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This is the fifteenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Learning from ‘the apostles and prophets’, we build on God’s Foundation, ‘Jesus Christ’ (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 3:11).
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This is the fourteenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
We are not saved by grace apart from faith. We are ‘saved by grace through faith’. We are not saved by faith without grace. We are ‘saved by grace through faith’. Saved by the Lord, let us press on to a life of ‘good works’ (Ephesians 2:8-10).
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This is the thirteenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Maintain your high calling - Don’t get dragged down to the level of those who ‘will not come up’ to where God wants them to be - and remember: ‘By grace... not your own doing... the gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8).
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This is the twelfth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
'The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly... in Christ Jesus' (1 Timothy 1:14). This is the pathway to holiness: 'By grace you have been saved through faith... for good works' (Ephesians 2:8-10).
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This is the eleventh post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
‘Dead in trespasses and sins’, we have been ‘made alive’ in Christ (Ephesians 2:1). We dare not look back (Luke 17:32; Genesis 19:26; Luke 9:62; 2 Peter 2:20-22). We have been purified ‘from dead works to serve the living God’ (Hebrews 9:14). Christ ‘saves to the uttermost’. How dare we ‘shrink back’ from Him? ‘Have faith. Be saved’ (Hebrews 7:25; 10:39).
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This is the tenth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
A ‘Moabitess’, Ruth was brought into the house of
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This is the ninth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Consider your own weakness. Rejoice in God’s power. Never say, ‘My own hand delivered me’. Our testimony must always be this: ‘...God has given...’ (Judges 7:2, 14). ‘It is the gift of God...lest any man should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
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This is the eighth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Our sin had separated us from God, hiding His face from us (Isaiah 59:2). When Christ died, ‘the curtain of the temple was torn in two...’ (Mark 15:37-38). He has changed everything (Hebrews 9:7-8,11-12). Once, we were ‘separated... alienated... strangers... far off’. Now, we are ‘in Christ Jesus’ - ‘brought near in the blood of Christ’ (Ephesians 2:12-13; Hebrews 10:19-22).
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This is the fifth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
We come to the Father through Christ and in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). We come on the basis of Christ’s blood shed for us (Hebrews 10:19-22). We come as those to whom the Spirit has been given (John 1:33; 3:34). With ‘the Spirit of God’ living in us and helping us as we pray, let us feast on Christ, the Truth, the living Word, to whom the written and spoken words point us (Romans 8:9,26; John 14:6; 1:1,14; 17:17).
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This is the fourth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
Through Christ, we have received ‘mercy’ (Ephesians 2:4-7; Titus 3:4-7). Those who have received ‘mercy’ are to shine brightly for Christ, who ‘came... to save sinners’ (1 Timothy 1:15).
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This is the third post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
We are ‘saved by grace’ (Ephesians 2:8). There is one way of salvation - God’s way (John 14:6). Jesus says, ‘I died and... I am alive for evermore’ (Revelation 1:18). He says, ‘I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also’ (John 14:3). Christ saves ‘to the uttermost’ (Hebrews 7:25).
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This is the second post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
There can be no ‘salvation by works’. We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our giving must always be a heartfelt expression of thanksgiving to the God of grace: ‘Loving Him who first loved me’. We are saved ‘to do good works’ (Ephesians 2:10) - not because we do good works!
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This is the first post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.
We find the same pattern in Numbers 2.
The pattern is also repeated in Numbers 3 and 4. Both of these chapters begin with
When we read so much that is unfamiliar to us, we must look for the Word that comes to us in our present day as a Word from the Lord, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Hear and obey. Listen to what
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This post is taken from my notes on Numbers.
On reading the book of Leviticus, we are struck by the strangeness of it all. It all seems so different from anything we have ever known. Are we, then, to conclude that we have nothing in common with those who worshipped the God of Israel in these far-off Old Testament times? Are we to abandon the Old Testament, especially the most difficult parts, as a waste of time?
Many people have done exactly that. They hardly ever read the Bible. When they do read the Bible, they restrict themselves to a few favourite passages. The treasures of art, architecture, music and literature are not discovered by the casual observer. It is precisely the same with the treasures of God’s Word. We must not settle for the passing glance. If we are to find treasure, we must dig for it. We must dig deep.
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This post is taken from my notes on Leviticus.
