When we started this year off it was just too good not to think that this year’s word was gonna be “Vision.” But then it seemed the word would actually be something more along the lines of “chaos” or “Division”
Here we are seven months in, and I feel like I should watch things play out with my hands over my eyes and peeking through my fingers. The world is a train wreck right now! But in this week’s email, Pastor asked a question that I think brings us full circle. “What do you see?” He says,
“It is amazing how our perspective and attitude determine what we see in life.”
There's a theological term -progressive revelation. It means that while God never changes, our understanding of him unfolds over time. Not necessarily chronologically, but as we experience different things in our life, we come to see God in different ways.
Paul says it like this “Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance” Ephesians 1:18 (VOICE)
For all appearances our nation is goin’ to hell in a hand basket. It looks like all hope is lost. Or is it? What if I look at things from a different perspective? What if I pull my nose out of Facebook and Twitter, quit reading fake news, and start looking to God’s Word instead? What if I look at this world with spiritual eyes flooded with the HIS truth? What if God has a purpose for everything that is happening and I’m just not seeing things clearly yet .
You know what’s so awesome about the Bible? It’s full of God’s promises. When God makes a promise He always keeps it. The Bible says that when His word is preached and proclaimed and talked about and spoken out loud- that it never returns void.
Do you know what that means? That means that when you share God’s Word with your friends, when you text scripture, when you talk about the Bible, when you talk about what God has done in your life and you use Scripture, it does something.
God’s Word always does something, it never does nothing. God's Word never returns void.
You should get out a pen and write that down in the front of your Bible or scribble it in sharpie and hang it on your fridge where you can see it every morning when you reach in to get the cream for your coffee.
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.Luke 1:37 AMP
Regardless of what we see with our eyes, we have the hope of our salvation!
Romans 8:24-3024 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
We have hope because God, Himself, stands over and watches over His own Word, making sure it is fulfilled.
In Jeremiah 1:11, The word of God comes asking the prophet “What do you see?” He answers that he sees something pretty ordinary: an almond tree. Words are the tools of a prophet. God uses this ordinary sight to give him an extraordinary message.
Jeremiah 1:12 AMP says, “Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.”
The KJV says, “For I will hasten my word to perform it.”
The NKJV says, “For I am ready to perform My word.”
The NIV says, “For I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
The ERV says, “I am watching to make sure that my message to you comes true.”
We can be confident that all of God’s promises for His people will come to pass because He will bring it to pass. God does what He says. Keep that word fresh. Believe it. Proclaim it. Intercede over it. And wait for it – it will surely come!
We have Hope because God’s Word endures forever.
24 The Scriptures say, “Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground. 25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” And that word is the Good News that was told to you. 1 Peter 24-25
God’s plan is at work in our everyday lives. There is no space, no matter how big or small, where the Word of God is not already at work. Our job is to watch the Word and obey it. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”Romans 10:8.
The connections between the plans and purposes of God running through our lives and all creation are countless and amazing. We just have to learn to “see” them. We may see sin, evil, and suffering in this world, but we don’t have to lose hope. Jesus is our hope. The Lord will fulfill his promises. He is watching over his word to perform it. And because God is faithful, not one word will fail.
God’s Word always does something, it never does nothing. God's Word never returns void.
Progressive Revelation
When we started this year off it was just too good not to think that this year’s word was gonna be “Vision.” But then it seemed the word would actually be something more along the lines of “chaos” or “Division”
Here we are seven months in, and I feel like I should watch things play out with my hands over my eyes and peeking through my fingers. The world is a train wreck right now! But in this week’s email, Pastor asked a question that I think brings us full circle. “What do you see?” He says,
“It is amazing how our perspective and attitude determine what we see in life.”
There's a theological term -progressive revelation. It means that while God never changes, our understanding of him unfolds over time. Not necessarily chronologically, but as we experience different things in our life, we come to see God in different ways.
Paul says it like this “Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance” Ephesians 1:18 (VOICE)
For all appearances our nation is goin’ to hell in a hand basket. It looks like all hope is lost. Or is it? What if I look at things from a different perspective? What if I pull my nose out of Facebook and Twitter, quit reading fake news, and start looking to God’s Word instead? What if I look at this world with spiritual eyes flooded with the HIS truth? What if God has a purpose for everything that is happening and I’m just not seeing things clearly yet .
You know what’s so awesome about the Bible? It’s full of God’s promises. When God makes a promise He always keeps it. The Bible says that when His word is preached and proclaimed and talked about and spoken out loud- that it never returns void.
Do you know what that means? That means that when you share God’s Word with your friends, when you text scripture, when you talk about the Bible, when you talk about what God has done in your life and you use Scripture, it does something.
God’s Word always does something, it never does nothing. God's Word never returns void.
You should get out a pen and write that down in the front of your Bible or scribble it in sharpie and hang it on your fridge where you can see it every morning when you reach in to get the cream for your coffee.
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. Luke 1:37 AMP
Regardless of what we see with our eyes, we have the hope of our salvation!
Romans 8:24-30 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
We have hope because God, Himself, stands over and watches over His own Word, making sure it is fulfilled.
In Jeremiah 1:11, The word of God comes asking the prophet “What do you see?” He answers that he sees something pretty ordinary: an almond tree. Words are the tools of a prophet. God uses this ordinary sight to give him an extraordinary message.
Jeremiah 1:12 AMP says, “Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.”
We can be confident that all of God’s promises for His people will come to pass because He will bring it to pass. God does what He says. Keep that word fresh. Believe it. Proclaim it. Intercede over it. And wait for it – it will surely come!
We have Hope because God’s Word endures forever.
24 The Scriptures say, “Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground. 25 But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” And that word is the Good News that was told to you. 1 Peter 24-25
God’s plan is at work in our everyday lives. There is no space, no matter how big or small, where the Word of God is not already at work. Our job is to watch the Word and obey it. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” Romans 10:8.
The connections between the plans and purposes of God running through our lives and all creation are countless and amazing. We just have to learn to “see” them. We may see sin, evil, and suffering in this world, but we don’t have to lose hope. Jesus is our hope. The Lord will fulfill his promises. He is watching over his word to perform it. And because God is faithful, not one word will fail.
God’s Word always does something, it never does nothing. God's Word never returns void.