The Simple Life

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)   "They are poor and needy. God must have room in which to work. Emptiness to receive Him; weakness to be empowered by Him. It is into the empty branch that the vine-sap pours; into the hollowed basin that the water flows; the weakness of the child gives scope for the man's strength." (F. B. Meyer)   The principle of "weak being strong" is clear and consistent throughout the Scriptures. As in all true things, we can observe this principle manifest in various ways. A mind that is full, or already made up, cannot accept new ideas and cannot learn. The one who perceives themselves as strong will not ask, seek, or desire help.   False perceptions of ourselves often make us "God," independent, needing no one, and all-powerful, when in reality, we are just the opposite.   We need to live i...

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV) The weak and weary do not lose strength if their strength is dependent upon God, for God never grows faint or weary. He is never overtired, never loses His temper, and never loses sight of His purpose. Humans are frail and dependent by design. When we strive for independence, we strive to be something we cannot be, thereby magnifying our weaknesses and losing any strength that has been offered to us. Those who wait on the Lord, who trust in Him, will never be disappointed, ...

A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:6-8 (ESV) We must keep life and death in perspective. We all know that people live and die. We understand that all people die, and those who have some terminal illness are, in some ways, specially gifted in that they get a chance to better prepare for the inevitable. You would think, since we all know that we will die and that we will be dead a whole lot longer than we are alive, that we would all be ready for such a time. Yet, for most of us, death is a surprise, a moment for which we were not prepared. Perhaps we should live in the context of reality and be prepared for the things of which we are certain. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” Isaiah 37:14-20 (ESV) Good leaders have a singular purpose — to make it known that God alone is God. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern. Isaiah 36:16 (ESV) Those in political power often tell us to listen to them and ignore the "Christian" leaders who obviously are against national unity. Those in political power are constantly trying to gain a majority vote to validate their belief system. To do this, they spend tremendous amounts of time, money, and energy to convince us that the lies they believe are actually the only way one can live. Truth defeats lies and requires no exorbitant resources to do so. A crooked politician will spend millions of dollars to convince the world that something like abortion is good for society. Special interest groups may spend millions trying to convince us that same sex marriage is acceptable. Yet, all the resources in the world canno...

Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, "The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’"” Isaiah 36:13-15 (ESV) Whoever tells you to trust in the only living God is not deceiving you. Trusting in God is all we have and will ever have. Trusting in God allows one to live a life of purposeful peace. Trust in God is always rewarded well, whereas trust in anything or anyone else is always met with discouragement and defeat. When we read Rabshakeh's decree, we can fret or relax and live by faith. If we know God, we live by faith and allow our quiet confidence to rule. If we do not know Him, we focus on the ever-present dangers and live anxious-filled lives. For now, the c...