“For the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39)

The Lord is continually looking for people who will live for Him and serve Him faithfully. Are you one of His special servants? You can be!

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

The Lord is on your side if your heart is loyal to Him, if you walk in His ways and keep His commandments. The Lord has spoken His Words to you and has invited you to join Him in His holy mountain.

“For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?…Then the LORD said… “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!…Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left…that you may live and that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days in the land…” (Deuteronomy 5:26, 29, 32-33)

Oh, that we all may have this heart in us that fears the Lord and follows His Word!! Oh, that we all may live well and enjoy the blessings of the Lord!! And how can you find this heart that pleases God?

“Give unto the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness…The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:2,11)

Don’t give up. Keep pressing forward toward the Lord in your daily work and walk. May you be blessed with peace today.

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Lot took the lush, well-watered plain of the Jordan River Valley and left Abraham with the dry, barren, rocky hills of the wilderness that surrounds the valley. But, “All that glitters is not gold” is an old saying that sums up Lot’s choice in Genesis 13:10-11.

“And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere…like the garden of the LORD…Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan…and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.”

My grandmother had a cow named Brownie who would stand at the gate and bellow and moo for the lush, thick, green grass that grew over the septic tank just outside her pasture fence. One day my Dad let her out and she immediately started nibbling on those juicy tufts of grass. But after a few mouthfuls, and the scent that wafted up from under the ground, she realized that the grass inside the fence tasted much better and was happy to return to her enclosure.

Sometimes what looks like the most obvious choice is not what is best for us. But if we trust God, even if the way seems hilly and stony like the land Abram received, He will not only lead us to the good pastures, but He will also give us a great inheritance that exceeds all we could ask or think. The Lord told Abraham, “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are–northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:14-15) Do you understand that Lot’s “choice” land was included in that promise? Abraham could see all the good that Lot chose when he looked around himself. This meant that God was going to give Abraham all he could see, what he couldn’t see beyond the hills in front of him and even what he thought he had given away.

God has great promises to all those who are content to dwell with Him in the inheritance He delights to give them. He is telling you, too, to look wide and long and deep and high at what He has awaiting you, for He has the ability to grant you what you can see, what you can’t even dream of, and even what you thought you lost.

“…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height–to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)

And indeed, He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us...” (Ephesians 3:20) Claim His promises today! Stand confidently in your faith with a smile on your face because you know that He has a good inheritance in store for you and nothing the devil can do will snatch that away from you.

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Yesterday, I talked about how we are like the sheep in the Lord’s flock. Ezekiel 34 portrays many promises that the Lord God made for His sheep, His people. Some may argue that this chapter talks exclusively about Israel and God’s Chosen People. But don’t feel excluded. The Lord Yeshua, Our Good Shepherd, also declared many perks He offers to His sheep. I counted at least seventeen great assurances He affords to His own in John 10:1-30. Here are a few of those amazing promises:

1. He calls His own sheep by name.
2. He leads them out and goes before them.
3. He gives them life more abundantly.
4. He lays down His life for His sheep.
5. No one shall snatch any of them out of His hand.

How many more promises did you find in John 10? Write them down on sticky notes to add to the tidbits you found yesterday as tasty tufts of grass to feed your soul.

Our Good Shepherd loves us and takes care of us. He knows all those who are His, both Jewish and Gentile, in the past, present, and in the future. He will make sure all His sheep are brought safely into His fold. He promised,

“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16)

And when we are all brought into our eternal home, the blessed security of the Lord’s pastures, we too shall rejoice and sing and dance as jubilant lambs before him for the sheer joy of being alive in Him.

The post The Sheep of His Pastures appeared first on Rock of Revelation.

“Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pastures.” (Psalm 100:1-3)

So many times in the Bible the Lord refers to His people like sheep. You are like one of the Lord’s valued lambs. He is a good and faithful Shepherd who will take care of you. Even the Lord Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10:14,

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”

Do you know all the good ways that the Lord has promised to care for His flocks? Ezekiel 34 gives one of the most lovely descriptions of God the Shepherd and His sheep. I counted at least forty good promises in 31 verses that our Good Shepherd made for His precious flock. I encourage you to take a look at this chapter today and make a list of all the good the Lord has planned for those who follow Him. Hint: Look for how many times God said, “I will…” or “They (His sheep) shall…” and write that on your list. Here are just a few of my favorites from Ezekiel 34:

1. I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
2. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down.
3. I will bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick.
4. I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey.
5. I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.
6. They shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.

How many good promises did you discover in Ezekiel 34?  Take a few minutes to write each of these promises on a sticky note and hang them all over your house or in your car or at your workplace. Each time you see one it will be like a tasty little tuft of grass for you to feed on all throughout your day.

“’You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,’ says the LORD God.” Ezekiel 34:31.

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We, as believers, are also awaiting that day when our Bridegroom will come and take us to His wedding feast. He has called us to be watching and ready for His return. Even though the day seems to be waning and times are growing darker, it is good to be reminded now and then to,

“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.” (Luke 12:35-38)

The second watch of the night would be from 9:00 PM to midnight; the third watch was from midnight to 3:00 AM. It seems like the times are getting very late and many are growing weary. The evil of this world seems to be growing darker and darker. But God’s promises still pierce through the darkness like stars in the sky, reminding us that He is faithful and that we should always be looking for His appearing. What a blessing it will be when our Master comes to catch His bride away! Even at such a late hour and after a long and exhausting day, the Master will gird Himself and serve us, His faithful servants, a banquet of unequaled splendor. What a lively celebration that will be!

Our Master is coming SOON!!! Are you watching or are you dozing off? It is getting late and darkness is spreading over the world, but that means we are closer than ever to His return. Be vigilant! Keep your eyes open and your ears tuned to the sound of His coming so you will be ready to open the door to welcome Him at His trumpet call. For He comes with great blessings for those He finds faithful until the end.

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“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15)

So…when did God leave Jacob? Curious?

Flip to Genesis 35:9-15. When Jacob returned from Padan Aram, he returned to the same place at Bethel where he met God twenty years before. And God spoke to Jacob and renewed the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac and now Jacob. In verse 13 it says, “Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him…”

First of all, I want to be clear that God NEVER abandoned Jacob! But I believe that what we see here is a special dispensation of God’s presence that came down that ladder, stayed with Jacob all those years, and went back up the ladder when He had fulfilled all He had promised to do in Genesis 28. God never LEFT Jacob in life or in death, but that part of God that went with Jacob for twenty years simply lifted.

What a beautiful thought that God was with Jacob in such a special anointing for all those years, and didn’t lift until He fulfilled every promise!!! He was with Jacob through the good and the bad. Jacob told Laban,

“There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus I have been in your house twenty years…and you have changed my wages ten times.” (Genesis 31:40-41)

And during all of those hot days and cold nights of ho-hum sheep watching, God was right there with him, doing a work in Jacob to transform him from a deceiver into a mighty man of God.

God has also promised to NEVER leave us NOR forsake us. His Holy Spirit is on us with the same anointing that He was on Jacob. He is working within us too, even through our ho-hum days, to transform us into sons and daughters of God. And He will fulfill ALL the promises He has made to each one of us.

So…step out in faith and act on the Word He has spoken to you today! Revisit your Bethel–the time when God met you and promised to help you, the turning point in your walk with the Lord. And see if He hasn’t been faithful to keep His Word to you. He is not finished with you yet; your best is yet to come!

The post When Did God Leave? appeared first on Rock of Revelation.

Well, here’s part two of that story…

“So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around…and not a man of all their enemies stood against them…not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” (Joshua 21:43-45)

What made the difference between those who gave in to allow the Canaanites to dwell with them and those who took the land of their inheritance and enjoyed rest all around? It was their obedience to get up and go claim what was rightfully theirs! Joshua told those tribes who had not settled their portion of the Promised Land,

“‘Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.’ So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities; and they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh.” (Joshua 18:8-9)

These men got up and walked through the land and saw the good inheritance that the Lord had promised them. That was enough to motivate them to move forward and claim their portions. Their obedience destined their victory.

How’s that for results!?! If God did it for them, He will do it also for you! Don’t sit in your situation letting the enemy dwell with you. Don’t settle for anything less than God’s best–full and complete victory and possession of all God has promised you. Get up and Go! Walk through and survey the good plans and provisions the Lord has already designated for you. As you take that step of faith, you too will be energized to go forth and claim what is rightfully yours as a child of God.

Be encouraged and be of good cheer. God is on your side. Not one word of His promises will fail if we are faithful to follow His commands.

The post The Rest of the Story appeared first on Rock of Revelation.

“I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.”

These are valuable and precious gifts that we can depend on. He will ALWAYS do right for us! He will stand in our defense with justice when the enemy tries to accuse us, but He will also treat us with mercy when we ourselves have gone astray. He will never stop caring for us and showing us His kindness–His undeserved grace– just because He loves us so dearly. And finally, we never have to worry about Him not keeping the promises of His marriage covenant! He has betrothed us with His gift of faithfulness, that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. We will never be shut out from His presence (unless we ourselves are unfaithful to Him and turn our back on Him–yet even in this the Lord will still love us and will woo us back to Him). The Lord hates divorce, so when He betroths Himself to us it is FOREVER. He can never lie or break His promises.

Be assured today that you can trust the Lord completely to keep His word to you. This is your key to having total peace of mind in whatever situation you may face. Keep holding on to His promises to you. Don’t give up!
May you be blessed today as you revel in all the good gifts the Father has lavished on you because He cares for you.

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