The Prayer of an Old and Gray-Headed Man for Rescue

Scripture: Psalms 71: 18

And even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not abandon me,
Until I declare Your [mighty] strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.

Scripture Commentary: You are never too old and gray-headed to serve God

A person is never too old and gray-headed to serve God, never too old to pray. As we face the sunset years, we recognize that God has been the constant help in our lives.

Remembering God’s lifetime of blessing will help us see the consistency of his grace throughout the years, trust him for the future, and share with others the love he has for us.

God has no limitations

Although age may stop us from certain physical activities, it needn’t end our desire to tell others about all we have seen God do in our lives. We must never despair, but keep on expecting his help no matter how severe our own limitations become.

When your situation seems hopeless, remember that in your long life he kept you safe from harm even when you did not acknowledge him. Do not leave this earth without sharing the love of God.

Exalt God

He is our security; we must cling to him. Take the time each day to be still and exalt God.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalms Chapter 71

Living for God In A Deceitful World Can Be Difficult

Scripture: Psalms 12: 1-5

Save and help and rescue, Lord, for godly people cease to be,
For the faithful vanish from among the sons of men. They speak deceitful and worthless words to one another; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things [in boasting]; Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord and master over us?” “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

Scripture Commentary: Do not speak wicked and deceitful words

Living for God in a deceitful world can be a difficult and lonely battle. We may be tempted to believe that lies are harmless, even useful at times.

God does not overlook lies, flattery, deception, or boasting.

Each of these sins originates from a bad attitude that is eventually expressed in our speech. The tongue can be our greatest enemy because, though small, it can do great damage. Be careful how you use your tongue.

God loves and cares for the weak and needy.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalms Chapter 12

Meditate on God’s Word Day and Night

Scripture: Psalms 1: 1-2, 4-6

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (1-2) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.(4-6)

Scripture Commentary: Meditate on God’s Word to Learn His Ways

Our friends and associates can have a profound influence on us, often in very subtle ways. If we insist on friendships with those who mock what God considers important, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God’s will.

The more we allow those who ridicule God to affect our thoughts and attitudes, the more we will begin to separate ourselves from our source of nourishment.

True friendships will help, not hinder, our walk with God.

Those who diligently try to obey God’s will are blessed. In contrast, those who don’t trust and obey God have meaningless lives. There are only two paths of life before us: God’s way of obedience or the way of rebellion and destruction.

Learn how to follow God. Meditate on His Word. We must know what He says in order to follow him more closely. The more we know the scope of God’s Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily life decisions.

Be sure to choose God’s path because the path you choose will determine your eternity.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalms Chapter 1

What You Do in the Dark Eventually Comes to Light

Scripture: Ezekiel 8: 11-12

And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Ja-az-a-ni’-ah the son of Sha’-phan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.

Scripture Commentary: God sees all the dirty deeds we do in the dark.

Why do people do in the dark what they conceal from the light? People hide their actions in shame of their wrongdoing. There is no hiding from God. What we do in the light or dark, good or bad, God sees.

Those who recognize their error but continue practicing it embrace idolatry and wickedness. Are you allowing sin to control you?

Identify your weakness and turn to God for strength.

In this chapter, God reveals to Ezekiel the extent to which people embraced idolatry and wickedness. Look at yourself and see where you went wrong. Let God’s spirit work in you to reveal the sin lurking in your life. Learn from the Bible, identify your weakness and turn to God for strength.

The Bible continues telling us how people lost their way and how God, in mercy, accepted them again.

It is not too late to repent.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Ezekiel Chapter 8

The Lord Will Answer You

Scripture: Ezekiel 14: 6-7

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself…

Scripture Commentary: Go to God with a pure heart for the Lord will answer you.

People today behave in a manner similar to the Israelites in the Bible. We go to the Lord for things instead of worship. Sometimes we seek advice from ministers, but we have ulterior motives. Of this, God says, “I the Lord will answer him by myself.” He tells us to repent and turn from our idols.

If you do not go to God with a pure heart, you are placing idols between you and God. Do not go to God until you repent and ask for his mercy and forgiveness. Humble yourself before him, be sincere.

You can’t fool God.

God knows what is in your heart, so you cannot fool him at all. You can’t have idols in your heart when you pursue God. Things like reputation, acceptance, wealth, and sensual pleasure are held in our hearts with the intensity and commitment that should be reserved for serving God.

We are weak and have the potential to fall into idolatry.

Let God replace your sinful wants. He will be your pillar of strength. You are responsible for your own relationship with God.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Ezekiel Chapter 14

Wealth Won’t Save You on the Great Day of the Lord

Scripture: Zephaniah 1: 14-18

The great day of the Lord is near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.

Scripture Commentary: The great day of the Lord is near and coming quickly

At the time of Zephaniah’s prophesy, the great day of the Lord was near. The Babylonians would soon come and destroy Jerusalem.

The day of the Lord is also near us. God promises a final judgement, a day of worldwide destruction. The Babylonians’ conquest occurred just as surely and horribly as Zephaniah predicted.

God’s final day of judgement is also sure, but so is his ability to save. Recognize, you have sinned. Know that your sin will bring judgement and that you cannot save yourself. God alone can save you from damnation.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Zephaniah Chapter 1

Honor the Father so That It May Go Well with You

Scripture: Malachi 1: 6-7

“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ “By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible.

Scripture Commentary: Give the Lord the honor he deserves

Are you worshipping the lord out of faith; giving him honor, thanking him and giving him praise? Or, are you worshipping him in hopes of getting something in return?

In your offerings, do you give God what is his, or are you giving him the smaller portion?

Keep in mind, all is God’s. What you have, he has given to you. God’s law requires only perfect goods from you, not your leftovers. If you give God your leftover time, money, and energy, then you repeat the same sin as those worshipers in Malachi’s time. They didn’t want to bring anything valuable to God.

What you offer to God reflects the honor you give Him.

Your way of giving shows your real Christian self. Give God only the best you have, not only the material things but also your time. God gave you his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, because he loves you. In return, give the best of yourself and love Him.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Malachi Chapter 1

Man Despised and Rejected Jesus

Scripture: Isaiah 53: 1-3

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Scripture Commentary: God will cut off those who despise his son.

Jesus doesn’t “fit” into the mold of our narrow expectations of who the Messiah would be. People despised and rejected him. God chose to save the world through a humble servant, not a glorious king. Jesus, the Messiah, suffered for the sins of all people. God revealed this to his prophet, Isaiah.

The idea of a humble servant being the hero is contemptible to our human pride.

We create super heroes who fit worldly definitions of beauty and strength. We do not acknowledge the unbeatable and most awesome deed Jesus did for us. He, who was faultless, died for our sins.

We can’t understand how God works.

We don’t recognize what God is doing in our lives. There was nothing beautiful or majestic in the physical appearance of God’s servant. Israel miscalculated the servant’s importance and considered Jesus an ordinary man. Jesus is no ordinary man. God sent him to open the doors of his kingdom to us. Jesus gave us the possibility of an eternal life in heaven.

Do you despise Jesus? Are you living a life where Jesus is ordinary?

Read the Entire Chapter:
Isaiah Chapter 53

Other Posts from the Book of Isaiah:
The Pit of Corruption is Dug for the Wicked
Jesus Is the One and Only
Value Others As You Do Yourself

Seek to Learn and Understand the Words of the Lord

Scripture: Amos 8: 11-14

“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. In that day, the lovely young women and the strong young men will faint because of thirst. They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives,’ they will fall, never to rise again.”

Scripture Commentary: Place the words of the Lord in your heart

When Amos brought his teachings, the people had no appetite for the words of the Lord. God took away the opportunity to hear his word as a consequence for their apathy.

Help those in your life turn to the Bible to answer their questions and needs

We have God’s word, the Bible. Many people still look everywhere for answers to life’s problems except in scripture. You can help by directing people to the Bible. Show them the verses – the words – that speak to their special needs and questions. God’s word is available to us. We have a duty to help others find it before the time comes when they cannot.

When you give time to God, are you devoting your heart to worship or is your religion a front for unethical practices? Do not turn a blind eye to the truth of God’s word.

There will come a time when you will not be able to turn to the Word. Seek him before it is too late.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Amos Chapter 8

Have you considered the Testimony in the Trial?

Scripture: Job 2: 2-3

And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

Scripture Commentary: Have you considered why there are obstacles in your life?

God shines a spotlight with the question, “Have you considered my servant Job?” Throughout our lives we become Job. When things happen to us, good or bad, we question God’s reasons. We like the spotlight when we are the recipient of something that we want. Why does he think we are deserving of gifts? But when it’s something we don’t want, we ask why has he let something bad happen to us? When things happen to us, it may be a message from God to us, a family member, or even our friends and coworkers.

Have you considered that your obstacles are the blessings that help you grow?

Some people are only faithful to God when they feel his blessings. They do not consider the obstacles he gives us blessings because of the work and struggle they entail. Some believe that being a follower of God makes them immune to trouble, but that is not true.

If you thought you were losing everything, would you draw nearer to God or blame him for your pain? Satan believed that if Job lost everything he would curse God. It is common that when calamity strikes, people question God’s justice. That was not the case of Job, and it is not the case of those who stand by their faith.

God did not allow Satan to destroy Job, and he will not allow Satan to destroy you.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Job Chapter 2