Month: <span>June 2004</span>

“.. and I will fulfill my intention.” So says the Lord God Almighty in Isaiah 46:10.

God’s Word through Isaiah is clear: only the I AM created the heavens & the earth, only He is the living God, only He acts for His Name’s sake & for the benefit of His people.

His plans stretch back beyond the beginning of the entire created universe and they stretch forward beyond the discarding of this same universe like an old garment and into the Kingdom to come.

So, when He promises that His purpose will stand I can believe 100% that He His purpose for me will stand and that He will fulfill His intentions for me because He is God and there is no other, and His glory He will not give to another. God is glorified as He brings to pass what He has planned and as we see His will done in our lives.

So, trust Him. He has plans for you and His plans will stand and His intention will be fulfilled in your life!

General

No, it’s not a spelling mistake! Isaiah 29: 24 states:

And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.

These are two aspects of the new kingdom life that every believer should exhibit. Both involve change. Somewhere in our recent Christian past we seem to have lost the idea that coming to Christi involves change. We are willing to accept Him, accept His love, but us, change? Never!

We need to be very clear that our faith is based on repentance. In other words, stopping the doing of our own deeds, and the willingness to commence the doing of God’s deeds.

The errers and grumblers are two classes of people who need to change.

Those who err in spirit are those who have at heart their own thinking, their own ways, their own reasoning rather than God’s. To those who err must come an understanding of God’s Word and will, that our understanding must always be subject to His revelation. It is only when we once again humble ourselves to God’s unsearchable understanding that we put right what Adam put wrong in the Garden of Eden when he chose to do what he thought right.

Those who grumble need to learn to accept instruction. Again Adam got it wrong. He chose not to accept instruction, and Eve grumbled:

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” Genesis 3:2-3

How often do we whinge and grumble about what we can’t do rather than enjoying the abundant life that God has freely given us? How often do we complain about our pastors rather than seeking to learn from those who have given of themselves that we might learn?

When we see these attitudes changing in our churches, then we will be seeing the beginnings of God’s Kingdom as God intends, not merely what we will put up with.

General