November 6, 2017

Restoring the "happy train" by Gary Rose

"The happy Train"? Not for this little girl! I marvel at the look on her face! What could have caused it? Was she punished for misbehavior? My guess is that she did something wrong and doesn't like her fate.

Nobody likes to be punished, but there is value in it.

Consider...

Job, Chapter 5 (WEB)

 17 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. 
Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. 

And..


2 Corinthians, Chapter 2 (WEB)
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be made to grieve, but that you might know the love that I have so abundantly for you. 5 But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I not press too heavily) to you all.  6 This punishment which was inflicted by the many is sufficient for such a one;  7 so that on the contrary you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his excessive sorrow.  8 Therefore I beg you to confirm your love toward him.


Job spoke correctly and Paul (in the 2 Corinthians passage, above) urges that the congregation forgive, comfort and show love toward the one who sinned. 

After awhile, there will be happiness again. And the happy train will take on its true meaning once again.

Bible Reading November 6, 7 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading November 6, 7
(World English Bible)


Nov. 6
Isaiah 41-44

Isa 41:1 "Keep silent before me, islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come near, then let them speak. Let's meet together for judgment.
Isa 41:2 Who has raised up one from the east? Whom called him to his foot in righteousness? He hands over nations to him, and makes him rule over kings. He gives them like the dust to his sword, like the driven stubble to his bow.
Isa 41:3 He pursues them, and passes by safely, Even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
Isa 41:4 Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he."
Isa 41:5 The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come.
Isa 41:6 Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their brothers, "Be strong!"
Isa 41:7 So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith. He who smoothes with the hammer encourages him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good;" and he fastens it with nails, that it might not totter.
Isa 41:8 "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,
Isa 41:9 You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you away;'
Isa 41:10 Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isa 41:11 Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish.
Isa 41:12 You will seek them, and won't find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
Isa 41:13 For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Don't be afraid. I will help you.'
Isa 41:14 Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you," says Yahweh, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 41:15 Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff.
Isa 41:16 You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in Yahweh. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Isa 41:18 I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isa 41:19 I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set fir trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert;
Isa 41:20 that they may see, know, consider, and understand together, that the hand of Yahweh has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isa 41:21 Produce your cause," says Yahweh. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.
Isa 41:22 "Let them announce, and declare to us what shall happen. Declare the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.
Isa 41:23 Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and see it together.
Isa 41:24 Behold, you are of nothing, and your work is of nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination.
Isa 41:25 "I have raised up one from the north, and he has come; from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name; and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads clay.
Isa 41:26 Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know? And before, that we may say, 'He is right?' Surely, there is no one who declares. Surely, there is no one who shows. Surely, there is no one who hears your words.
Isa 41:27 I am the first to say to Zion, 'Behold, look at them;' and I will give one who brings good news to Jerusalem.
Isa 41:28 When I look, there is no man; even among them there is no counselor who, when I ask of them, can answer a word.
Isa 41:29 Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nothing. Their molten images are wind and confusion.

Isa 42:1 "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights-- I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
Isa 42:2 He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
Isa 42:3 He won't break a bruised reed. He won't quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
Isa 42:4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will wait for his law."
Isa 42:5 Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it.
Isa 42:6 "I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations;
Isa 42:7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
Isa 42:8 "I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.
Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things have happened, and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up."
Isa 42:10 Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants.
Isa 42:11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains!
Isa 42:12 Let them give glory to Yahweh, and declare his praise in the islands.
Isa 42:13 Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
Isa 42:14 "I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.
Isa 42:15 I will destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.
Isa 42:16 I will bring the blind by a way that they don't know. I will lead them in paths that they don't know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.
Isa 42:17 "Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, 'You are our gods' will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.
Isa 42:18 "Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.
Isa 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is as blind as he who is at peace, and as blind as Yahweh's servant?
Isa 42:20 You see many things, but don't observe. His ears are open, but he doesn't listen.
Isa 42:21 It pleased Yahweh, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable.
Isa 42:22 But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become a prey, and no one delivers; and a spoil, and no one says, 'Restore them!'
Isa 42:23 Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
Isa 42:24 Who gave Jacob as plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Didn't Yahweh, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, and they disobeyed his law.
Isa 42:25 Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire all around, but he didn't know; and it burned him, but he didn't take it to heart."

Isa 43:1 But now thus says Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel: "Don't be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.
Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
Isa 43:3 For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Isa 43:4 Since you have been precious and honored in my sight, and I have loved you; therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.
Isa 43:5 Don't be afraid; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west.
Isa 43:6 I will tell the north, 'Give them up!' and tell the south, 'Don't hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth--
Isa 43:7 everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.' "
Isa 43:8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.
Isa 43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, "That is true."
Isa 43:10 "You are my witnesses," says Yahweh, "With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I myself am Yahweh; and besides me there is no savior.
Isa 43:12 I have declared, I have saved, and I have shown; and there was no strange god among you. Therefore you are my witnesses," says Yahweh, "and I am God.
Isa 43:13 Yes, since the day was I am he; and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?"
Isa 43:14 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing.
Isa 43:15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."
Isa 43:16 Thus says Yahweh, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
Isa 43:17 who brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty man (they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched like a wick):
Isa 43:18 "Don't remember the former things, and don't consider the things of old.
Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs forth now. Don't you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isa 43:20 The animals of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
Isa 43:21 the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise.
Isa 43:22 Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel.
Isa 43:23 You have not brought me of your sheep for burnt offerings; neither have you honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense.
Isa 43:24 You have bought me no sweet cane with money, nor have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened me with your sins. You have wearied me with your iniquities.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
Isa 43:26 Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified.
Isa 43:27 Your first father sinned, and your teachers have transgressed against me.
Isa 43:28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel a reviling."

Isa 44:1 Yet listen now, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:2 This is what Yahweh who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you says: "Don't be afraid, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring:
Isa 44:4 and they will spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
Isa 44:5 One will say, 'I am Yahweh's;' and another will be called by the name of Jacob; and another will write with his hand 'to Yahweh,' and honor the name of Israel."
Isa 44:6 This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: "I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
Isa 44:7 Who is like me? Who will call, and will declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? Let them declare the things that are coming, and that will happen.
Isa 44:8 Don't fear, neither be afraid. Haven't I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don't know any other Rock."
Isa 44:9 Everyone who makes an engraved image is vain. The things that they delight in will not profit. Their own witnesses don't see, nor know, that they may be disappointed.
Isa 44:10 Who has fashioned a god, or molds an image that is profitable for nothing?
Isa 44:11 Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed; and the workmen are mere men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They will fear. They will be put to shame together.
Isa 44:12 The blacksmith takes an axe, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.
Isa 44:13 The carpenter stretches out a line. He marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes. He marks it out with compasses, and shapes it like the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to reside in a house.
Isa 44:14 He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak, and strengthens for himself one among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir tree, and the rain nourishes it.
Isa 44:15 Then it will be for a man to burn; and he takes some of it, and warms himself. Yes, he burns it, and bakes bread. Yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it an engraved image, and falls down to it.
Isa 44:16 He burns part of it in the fire. With part of it, he eats meat. He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. Yes, he warms himself, and says, "Aha! I am warm. I have seen the fire."
Isa 44:17 The rest of it he makes into a god, even his engraved image. He bows down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, "Deliver me; for you are my god!"
Isa 44:18 They don't know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can't see; and their hearts, that they can't understand.
Isa 44:19 No one thinks, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, "I have burned part of it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals. I have roasted meat and eaten it. Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?"
Isa 44:20 He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can't deliver his soul, nor say, "Isn't there a lie in my right hand?"
Isa 44:21 Remember these things, Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant. Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Isa 44:23 Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
Isa 44:24 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: "I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself;
Isa 44:25 who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;
Isa 44:26 who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited;' and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be built,' and 'I will raise up its waste places;'
Isa 44:27 who says to the deep, 'Be dry,' and 'I will dry up your rivers;'
Isa 44:28 Who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,' even saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be built;' and of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.' "


Nov. 7
Isaiah 45-48

Isa 45:1 Thus says Yahweh to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
Isa 45:2 "I will go before you, and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of brass in pieces, and cut apart the bars of iron.
Isa 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel.
Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have surnamed you, though you have not known me.
Isa 45:5 I am Yahweh, and there is none else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;
Isa 45:6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me. I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.
Isa 45:8 Distil, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, that it may bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it. I, Yahweh, have created it.
Isa 45:9 Woe to him who strives with his Maker-- a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, 'What are you making?' or your work, 'He has no hands?'
Isa 45:10 Woe to him who says to a father, 'What have you become the father of?' or to a mother, 'To what have you given birth?' "
Isa 45:11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and I have commanded all their army.
Isa 45:13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward," says Yahweh of Armies.
Isa 45:14 Thus says Yahweh: "The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: 'Surely God is in you; and there is none else. There is no other god.
Isa 45:15 Most certainly you are a God who hid yourself, God of Israel, the Savior.' "
Isa 45:16 They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.
Isa 45:17 Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.
Isa 45:18 For thus says Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn't create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited: "I am Yahweh; and there is no other.
Isa 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness. I didn't say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I, Yahweh, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.
Isa 45:20 "Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can't save.
Isa 45:21 Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven't I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; There is no one besides me.
Isa 45:22 "Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Isa 45:23 By myself have I sworn, the word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and will not return, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Isa 45:24 They will say of me, 'There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.' " Even to him shall men come; and all those who were incensed against him shall be disappointed.
Isa 45:25 In Yahweh shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Isa 46:1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols are on the animals, and on the livestock: the things that you carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary animal.
Isa 46:2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
Isa 46:3 "Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borne by me from their birth, that have been carried from the womb;
Isa 46:4 and even to old age I am he, and even to gray hairs will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry, and will deliver.
Isa 46:5 "To whom will you liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
Isa 46:6 Some pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver in the balance. They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god. They fall down--yes, they worship.
Isa 46:7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands, from its place it shall not move: yes, one may cry to it, yet it can not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
Isa 46:8 "Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, you transgressors.
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me;
Isa 46:10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;
Isa 46:11 calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country; yes, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.
Isa 46:12 Listen to me, you stout-hearted, who are far from righteousness:
Isa 46:13 I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not wait; and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

Isa 47:1 "Come down, and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2 Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove your veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.
Isa 47:3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yes, your shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man."
Isa 47:4 Our Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5 "Sit in silence, and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.
Isa 47:6 I was angry with my people, I profaned my inheritance, and gave them into your hand: you did show them no mercy; on the aged have you very heavily laid your yoke.
Isa 47:7 You said, I shall be mistress forever; so that you did not lay these things to your heart, neither did remember the latter end of it.
Isa 47:8 "Now therefore hear this, you who are given to pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
Isa 47:9 but these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come on you, in the multitude of your sorceries, and the great abundance of your enchantments.
Isa 47:10 For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, None sees me; your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you, and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
Isa 47:11 Therefore evil will come on you; you won't know when it dawns: and mischief wil fall on you; you will not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come on you suddenly, which you don't know.
Isa 47:12 "Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth; if so be you shall be able to profit, if so be you may prevail.
Isa 47:13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels: let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from the things that shall come on you.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
Isa 47:15 Thus shall the things be to you in which you have labored: those who have trafficked with you from your youth shall wander everyone to his quarter; there shall be none to save you.

Isa 48:1 "Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Yahweh, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
Isa 48:2 (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; Yahweh of Armies is his name):
Isa 48:3 I have declared the former things from of old; yes, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they happened.
Isa 48:4 Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow brass;
Isa 48:5 therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, 'My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.'
Isa 48:6 You have heard it; see all this; and you, will you not declare it? "I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known.
Isa 48:7 They are created now, and not from of old; and before this day you didn't hear them; lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.'
Isa 48:8 Yes, you didn't hear; yes, you didn't know; yes, from of old your ear was not opened: for I knew that you did deal very treacherously, and was called a transgressor from the womb.
Isa 48:9 For my name's sake will I defer my anger, and for my praise will I refrain for you, that I not cut you off.
Isa 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
Isa 48:11 For my own sake, for my own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and my glory I will not give to another.
Isa 48:12 "Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Isa 48:13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens: when I call to them, they stand up together.
Isa 48:14 "Assemble yourselves, all you, and hear; who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
Isa 48:15 I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
Isa 48:16 "Come near to me and hear this: "From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I." Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me, with his Spirit.
Isa 48:17 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.
Isa 48:18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments! then had your peace been as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:
Isa 48:19 your seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of your body like its grains: his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.
Isa 48:20 Go you forth from Babylon, flee you from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare you, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say you, Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob.
Isa 48:21 They didn't thirst when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

Isa 48:22 "There is no peace," says Yahweh, "for the wicked."


Nov. 6
1 Timothy 6

1Ti 6:1 Let as many as are bondservants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and the doctrine not be blasphemed.
1Ti 6:2 Those who have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brothers, but rather let them serve them, because those who partake of the benefit are believing and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.
1Ti 6:3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and doesn't consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness,
1Ti 6:4 he is conceited, knowing nothing, but obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
1Ti 6:5 constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.
1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can't carry anything out.
1Ti 6:8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1Ti 6:9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1Ti 6:11 But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.
1Ti 6:13 I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,
1Ti 6:14 that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ;
1Ti 6:15 which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
1Ti 6:16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
1Ti 6:17 Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
1Ti 6:20 Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called;
1Ti 6:21 which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

Nov. 7
2 Timothy 1

2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,
2Ti 1:2 to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
2Ti 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day
2Ti 1:4 longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy;
2Ti 1:5 having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in you; which lived first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in you also.
2Ti 1:6 For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
2Ti 1:7 For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
2Ti 1:8 Therefore don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,
2Ti 1:9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
2Ti 1:10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.
2Ti 1:11 For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
2Ti 1:12 For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
2Ti 1:13 Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 1:14 That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
2Ti 1:15 This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
2Ti 1:16 May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,
2Ti 1:17 but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me
2Ti 1:18 (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord's mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well.

“The love of Christ compels us” 2 Corinthians 5:14 by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/049-compelledbylove.html

“The love of Christ compels us”
2 Corinthians 5:14
What does it mean to be compelled by the love of Christ?
A Christian serves God with heart and soul, moved by the love of Christ.
In this context, the word translated ‘compels’ [συνέχω] means to powerfully urge along a line of conduct. Force is not involved, but some impulse is so great that it evokes a strong intellectual and emotional inclination to respond appropriately. In this case, the impulse is the love of Christ, which is so immense that it demands a response as complete and radical as His love for us.
Paul is explaining the compelling force in his own life. His aim is to please God and to persuade others (verses 9-11). The motivating force is the love of Christ: “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15).
What if someone gave his life to save your life? Would you be thankful? Without his help, you would be dead.
What if He saved your life so you could live for ever? Jesus saved our life. In gratitude, we live for Him. We are compelled by the love of Christ.

How can we know the love of Christ?
We must know about the love of Christ before it can be a compelling force in our lives.
Paul prayed that his fellow Christians might truly know the love of Christ: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 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 surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).
As small children, many of us sang, “Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This song was written by Anna Warner in 1860 for a novel by her sister, Susan Warner. In the book, a Sunday school teacher sings ‘Jesus loves me’ to a dying child. The melody and refrain were added by William Bradbury two years later.
Yes, we learn about the love of Christ through the Scriptures.
How do we know someone loves us? By what he gives us and does for us. What has Jesus given us and done for us?

Because He loves us, Jesus gave Himself for us.
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2); “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24); “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:10).
The vicarious, substitutional sacrifice of Christ was the driving force in the life of Paul. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Because He loves us, Jesus died for us.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10). “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16).

Because He loves us, Jesus gave us the word of God.
When praying for His followers, Jesus said, “I have given them Your word” (John 17:14). “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (John 17:8). “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Because He loves us, Jesus gave us the right to become sons of God.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12, 13).
To become a child of God, one “must be born again” (John 3:7), “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).
This is not a physical birth. It cannot be achieved by man’s will in his own way.
It is a spiritual birth, accomplished only by the will of God in His way through His word. “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18), “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).
Because He loves us, Jesus gave us the word of God through which we can become children of God if we believe. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Notice that a believer is not automatically a child of God, but is given the right to become a child of God.
Many never perfect their faith by appropriate obedience. See James 2:22 where it says that Abraham’s faith was made perfect by works. “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue” (John 12:42). “Faith only” is dead faith (James 2:14-26).
To become a child of God, a believer must obey the gospel (Romans 10:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17) which includes publicly confessing Christ (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:10), repentance (Luke 13:3; Acts 3:19) and baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) to be saved (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21).
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6).
Because He loves us, Jesus gave us the right to become sons of God by being born again, “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

Because He loves us, Jesus intercedes for us.
“We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1, 2).
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:33, 34 ESV).
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 ESV).
What love can be greater than this? Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and now He intercedes with the Father on our behalf!
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:35-37 ESV).
Christians experience the hardships of life like everyone else. In addition, they are opposed and persecuted by the enemies of God in heaven and on earth.
Yet, we are never separated from the love of Christ: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39 ESV).

Because He loves us, Jesus wants us to be with Him.
“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:22-24).

The whole Bible helps us understand the love of Christ.
These passages about the love of Christ show only the tip of the iceberg. Read the Gospels, and study the New Testament to learn more about His love.

How are we affected by the love of Christ?
We no longer live for ourselves, but we live for Him who died for us. We walk in love, live for righteousness, and are zealous for good works. We accept the words of God. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Nothing can separate us from His love, and we will be with Him for ever.

Is the love of Christ the mainspring of our life?
May our motives and priorities enable us to say with Paul: “The love of Christ compels us!” Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers, unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)