Saturday, January 11, 2020

“PROGNOSTICATORS” OR “A MORE SURE WORD”

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 47-48

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

A young man embraces God’s Word while standing in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Over and over in recent readings, the words, “Thus says the Lord,” appear. God desires to communicate with His human family. Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verses: Isaiah 48:17-18

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,

The Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

Who teaches you to profit,

Who leads you by the way you should go.

Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

And your righteousness like the waves of the sea…”

 

Chapter 47 prophesies the fall and humiliation of Babylon years before it rose to become a world power. The polar opposites of God’s Prophetic Word are the efforts of astrologers, stargazers, and monthly prognosticators (47:13). The horoscopes in our newspapers contain clever generalities, as does the slip of paper inside a fortune cookie, but, as Isaiah points out, these things cannot “stand up and save you.” Babylon’s eventual destruction is inevitable as prophesied by Isaiah.

Chapter 48 prophesies that God, who has allowed His people to go through the “furnace of affliction” in order to refine them, will not forsake them. When these prophesied events come to pass, as they did, God’s people will know that their God is the “First” and the “Last” and is the One and Only God!! Isaiah 48:16 gives us a glimpse into the nature of God, One God in three Persons, “Lord God” (the Father), “His Spirit,” and “Me” (the One sent by God, God the Son). The Hebrew scholars point out that in 48:16 the singular verb, “Have sent,” is used with the plural subject. Is this a mistake in grammar or is this the verbal inspiration of the Word of God pointing to the Trinity? We see this in other places in the Hebrew Scriptures. For example, in Genesis 1:1, God, (Elohim, a plural word) “created” (a verb which is singular). Isaiah says that “The Lord your God”…”teaches” and “leads.” We should experience the result, “peace… like a river” and “righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Again today, Lord God, I ask for continued effectiveness in doing as Isaiah 48:20 urges me to “declare, proclaim…With the voice of singing,” and to “utter it to the end of the earth.” I pray that this blog, along with a multitude of other ministries, will be more and more effective than ever in convincing people everywhere that You exist and that You “are a Rewarder of them that diligently seek” You (Hebrews 11:6). I ask for these opportunities in the Name of the One Who has fully communicated Who You are, Father God, Your Son and my Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

A while back Norma-Jean and I had dinner at a Chinese food buffet restaurant in Brantford, Ontario. I opened the fortune cookie and discovered a generality on the paper inside which could apply to anyone. It said that I would meet someone that would change my life for the better. Actually that has happened many times during my many years on earth, but the most far-reaching and forever change happened when I met Jesus Christ through believing His Word (John 6:37-40), and my life was forever and ever altered! When I saw the word “prognosticator” in today’s reading, I thought of that cookie. I also thought of what the Apostle Peter has written to us in 1 Peter 1:15-21. He declares, “We also have the prophetic word made more sure!”

Yours for reading, underlining, understanding, digesting and then with the spiritual energy derived from all this, proclaiming God’s message to the “end of the earth,”

David

P.S. Over 25 years ago, Crossroads began working with a group of Toronto Pastors from Chinese language churches. We produced, financed, and released weekly telecasts on Toronto’s multilingual TV station. After about two years, we encouraged the pastors to incorporate, raise their own finances from the Chinese churches, and strike out on their own, with God’s enablement. Today, this television ministry, called “Showers of Blessing Evangelistc Ministry” (SOBEM), is reaching multiplied millions all over the world, providing a mighty utterance to “the end of the earth” to all those who understand the languages of China. At the 20th anniversary of that great ministry, I was given the plaque pictured below. Here is a musical sample of this ministry. The song is called “There is a God!” With the official atheism of the People’s Republic of China, this message is so very powerful! (click here).

Click on photo to enlarge.

9 thoughts on “Saturday, January 11, 2020

  1. What a beautiful song (@ the end of David’s post, sung by a young women who has a lovely voice). I did not know about the ministry to the Chinese church begun by Crossroads! Amazing. Weather here in southern Ontario is expected to be bad this weekend but no sign of it yet. It seems to be mild & sunny with unusual cloud formations. Have a blessed day all.

  2. -22 here this a.m. and calm.

    “Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.” George Muller.

    A friend sent me this song by Toby Keith, inspired by Clint Eastwood: https://youtu.be/SmlmrBwA98k

    Have a blessed day all dear saints.

  3. Here is a list of videos of “God In Ancient China”.The ones I watched are fascinating as they show/prove that our God was also their God….the proof is embedded in the characters of their language.You will be amazed what these Christians teach us:
    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=god+in+ancient+china
    The Farmers’ Almanack is another ‘prognosticator’ (I had to copy and paste that one,lol.) along with horoscopes which only present a very vague but rosy picture.I stopped reading those long before I became a Christian;they made me uncomfortable because I was aware that the bible warned against them.
    I keep forgetting the “Dr” in front of David’s name because he was,like all true Christians,too humble to use it (unless necessary).I have a friend in PEI who taught in a Korean university and was a member of the Yoido Full Gospel Church.She has a Christian doctorate degree but I never knew until our mutual friend told me.
    Were not forgetting to pray for Ann and Eunice G.(a former 100 Huntley St guest) phoned me from he new home in Hamilton yesterday.I asked how John K. was doing (given only months to live).She had asked us friends on the Atlantic to pray for him.He has been given a ray of hope with a new treatment and I feel this may be an answered prayer.God can bring about whatever changes He so desires and we do not have to understand them.We just need to have faith;He does the rest.( We “do what’s right and God will do what’s left.”)
    I have borne witness to the ‘fact’ that ‘if one earnestly/diligently seeks God,He will find them.’If you are blessed enough to have been used by Him then you can never deny the truth of His existence.Yall be blessed
    Can’t Be Bought

    May happiness be yours to share
    And joy be your constant kin,
    So you have peace beyond compare
    As He cleanses the temple within
    And as the world sees your face,
    Will be seen what they have not,
    For this gift is an unearned grace
    From a Love that can’t be bought.
    GW(Bill) Marshall 24 Aug, 2015

  4. Thank You, Lord, for the many chances You give us to turn to You. You are truly the Good Shepherd who calls, cares for, and keeps his sheep. By name. Amazing. Bless all your workers today, Father. Help each one of us to not give up or give in to the things that call us away from You. Help us all to share your Word with others, both in word and in the things we do in obedience to You. In Jesus’s name, amen

  5. Oh amen to our blog, today! The scripture, message, prayer, links. Praise God we are alive in Him! Raining here all day, which I love. A different scent to the air and it is warm; fall like weather. For friends who are experiencing the cold (Lynda), hope you are warm and cozy inside. Stay safe today, beautiful saints in the Lord and thank you for your prayers for me. I have felt them. God bless you all.

    The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7 ESV

    I’d Rather Have Jesus – Selah
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt_1sAg-Q40

Leave a Reply to Eleanor M. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.