S) "16 Seek from the book of the LORD, and read:
Not one of these will be missing;
None will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded,
And His Spirit has gathered them."
Isaiah 34:16 (NASB)
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read Isaiah 34
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read Isaiah 34
O) After giving Isaiah prophecy about God's judgment on all the nations, He invites a sort of accountability with the people. He wants them to keep record, to test, to remember, to reflect. God knows that He is reliable, trustworthy, and sure. God also wants His people to know His character this way, so He tells them write it down, verify it, and remember that He told them beforehand.
A) There are two elemental things for me to do with this. I need to remember a danger, in that experiences can be explained away. God can move miraculously in my own life, and after time, my memory of it can fade, I can become cynical, it can seem to be more and more coincidental and less and less significant. This is the importance of frequent reflection on His goodness in my life. This is the importance of testifying to His grace and mercy, talking about it with my wife and kids, sharing my testimony to brothers and sisters, and bearing witness to unbelievers. Secondly, I need to give more credence to the words of God, than any experiential encounter with Him. The Bible is infallible, but I am not. As people, we have a remarkable ability to rationalize. My experiences can, unfortunately, be influenced greatly by preconceived notions, expectations, or understandings. But if I take my experiences back to the Word, and test them against what I know He has said, then I can see what is good and what is bad, what is a lie or what is me, and what is God. When I think God is telling me something, or prompting me in some way, I can seek from the book of the LORD and know what He has said.
P) Father, thank You for the Bible. I would be lost and hopeless without it. Open my eyes and ears, speak to me and lead my by the Holy Spirit. In everything, though, let me fully rely on the infallibility of Scripture, as I test every experience I have with You against what I know You have already said. Give me discipline and let me seek You diligently in Your book, God. Let me find truth and certainty in it, and by it recognize truth in my prayers. Develop in me a spiritual discernment that has holy Scripture as the baseline of spiritual truth. In everything, be glorified above all else. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
A) There are two elemental things for me to do with this. I need to remember a danger, in that experiences can be explained away. God can move miraculously in my own life, and after time, my memory of it can fade, I can become cynical, it can seem to be more and more coincidental and less and less significant. This is the importance of frequent reflection on His goodness in my life. This is the importance of testifying to His grace and mercy, talking about it with my wife and kids, sharing my testimony to brothers and sisters, and bearing witness to unbelievers. Secondly, I need to give more credence to the words of God, than any experiential encounter with Him. The Bible is infallible, but I am not. As people, we have a remarkable ability to rationalize. My experiences can, unfortunately, be influenced greatly by preconceived notions, expectations, or understandings. But if I take my experiences back to the Word, and test them against what I know He has said, then I can see what is good and what is bad, what is a lie or what is me, and what is God. When I think God is telling me something, or prompting me in some way, I can seek from the book of the LORD and know what He has said.
P) Father, thank You for the Bible. I would be lost and hopeless without it. Open my eyes and ears, speak to me and lead my by the Holy Spirit. In everything, though, let me fully rely on the infallibility of Scripture, as I test every experience I have with You against what I know You have already said. Give me discipline and let me seek You diligently in Your book, God. Let me find truth and certainty in it, and by it recognize truth in my prayers. Develop in me a spiritual discernment that has holy Scripture as the baseline of spiritual truth. In everything, be glorified above all else. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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