These posts highlight when God speaks to us and what His words mean for us

Not a Word Failed

By Paula Wiseman

Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. Joshua 21:45

Not a word failed. All came to pass.

God had spoken three major promises to Israel:

He promised to give them an inheritance.
He promised to give them rest.
He promised to give them victory over their enemies.

They received all three. Joshua 21:43-45 summarizes this. Genesis through Joshua gives more details.

Now consider…

God has given us an inheritance that cannot be taken away.
God has given us rest body and soul.
God has given us victory over our enemies, chiefly sin and death and hell.

Not one word has ever failed of any good thing God has ever spoken.

Ask God to show you the evidence. Resolve to give Him due praise.

God’s Words
Whose words?

Faithfully obey these laws. This will show the people of the world your wisdom and insight. When they hear about all these laws, they will say, “What wise and insightful people there are in this great nation!” Deuteronomy 4:6

Can you even imagine the people of the world saying what a wise and insightful people believers are?

I’ve watched the news.
I know what they typically say.
We’re narrow-minded, intolerant, bigoted.
Hypocritical. Uncaring. Judgmental.
And those are the nice things.

We have little or no control over what the rest of the world thinks or says about us.
But, our own thoughts and actions are a different story.

Faithfully obey these laws.

But we’re not under the law.

True, we follow Jesus.
We imitate Him, try to live like He did.
So, what did He do?
He faithfully obeyed these laws.

When asked, He distilled these laws down to two commandments.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

How wise and insightful we would be if we faithfully obeyed those laws.

Conducting Ourselves as Priests

By Paula Wiseman

Read what God says about the Levites, the ones He chose to serve Him as priests.
The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. Malachi 2:6

As believers, we have become part of a royal priesthood.
How do we measure up?

Is the law of truth in our mouths?
Do we know it?
Does it guide our thoughts, our speech, our actions?

Is injustice found on our lips?
Are we self-seeking?
Do we show partiality?

Do we walk with God…?
Do we seek Him in our goal-setting and decision-making?
Do we enjoy close communion and fellowship?

…In peace and equity?
Are we peaceful and gentle toward everyone?
Do we promote honesty and integrity?

Do we turn many away from iniquity?
Are we actively carrying out the gospel?
Are we living out the gospel in a way that impacts others?

What would God say about our conduct as priests?

Wow, these last couple of weeks have been something else. Windows 10 problems, Microsoft Office problems, internet issues, power outages … and traveling. I think everything is lined out, updated, properly configured, and squared away at last! Oh, and for the record, I have a privacy policy update too.

The Final Word

By Paula Wiseman

The final word is called that because it is the most authoritative. It ends all arguments, silences all objections. With that in mind, consider these words in Jeremiah:

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3

Under the social media microscope is a horrible place to grow up. I talked to a young woman last week who experienced it in all its ugliness. She stumbled into an online conversation in which people she thought were her friends turned on her and berated her. They proved yet again the stupidity of that little rhyme about sticks and stones. Words can hurt. Sometimes irreparably. But words can also give hope and encouragement and life. We have the ability to choose whose words we will believe. In the swirl of voices around us, it’s critical that we choose correctly who will have the final word.

We could choose to listen to a well-meaning liar who tells us we’re the best at everything when we’re not, and we’ll end up an arrogant fool or a disillusioned brat. We could choose to listen to hurtful liars who tell us we’re no good, hopeless and useless and so we never embrace the beauty that God designed into us.

The only voices worth listening to come from those who know us and love us with a love that’s not lip-service, but demonstrated and reliable. Do they know me? Have they demonstrated that they love me? These are the questions to ask when hurtful words are hurled our direction. If the answers are no, then don’t give the words a weight they have no right to. Don’t allow them to be the final word.

Simple … but not always easy.

Sometimes, it helps to begin by giving the most weight to the words of the One who loves us best. It is God who says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” “I have called you, chosen you, redeemed you.” “I have made a way for you to be with Me for all eternity.”

If we grasp those words with all their fierce reality … then it won’t matter, really, what anyone else says.

God’s word is the final word.

Whose words?