IT TRAVELS

READING: 2 CORINTHIANS 1:1-7

Verse 4: “who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

This verse gives a sense of the enduring nature of comfort. It names the Heavenly Father as the God of all comfort who comforts us. We don’t establish, manufacture or create comfort. We just receive the comfort He provides for each, and then we respond as He directs that comfort to the benefit of others. This reminds me of a movie I saw long ago. The focal point of the movie was a car. Early in the story the car was purchased by a wealthy family as its first owner. Experiences with the car were then traced from family to family as its owners changed. As it passed along, the character of the car provided just what was needed for each successive owner. It was on time and in season in each case. It seems that comfort is passed in the same manner. Each person who receives the comfort of the Lord from another is able to pass it along as something of value that is designed for the next. This process of conveying comfort is one that honors the Lord. It respects the value of God’s comfort as something each of us can share just as He has granted it to us in our time of need. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What is the difference between being comforted and being comfortable?

2. What do you suppose would happen to someone who only received comfort but did not comfort others?

HE IS MAKING READY

READING: EXODUS 23:25-33

Verse 30: “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.”

God is thorough and complete, anticipating our situations to the very most minute details. He uses His perfect knowledge of what is to come in order to provide for our good. An example of this is found in Exodus 23. In that chapter, God was told the Israelites of the preparations He would make for their conquest of the Promised Land. The Lord promised His people that He would gradually drive out the tribes who occupied the land. He knew that disaster would result if He suddenly drove out the occupants of the land. The beasts would become too numerous and the area would become a wilderness. Therefore, His plan was to drive them out little by little as the number of Israelite increased. In that manner He would preserve a balanced environment for them. That example of what the Father promised and fulfilled should encourage every Christian. Here is why. We can rejoice to know that the Lord has given the same level of detailed planning to our lives and our times. He is the same and has not changed. Just as His plan was perfect for them in that day, it is no less perfect now as He provides for us in these days. That’s a thought – about God’s word.

RESPONSE

1. What awareness do you have regarding what the Lord is preparing during these times?

2. Are you experiencing the Lord’s personal preparation in your life?

HE IS COMING

READING: MATTHEW 24:27-31

Verse 30: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven withpower and great glory.”

Let’s direct some thought to the last two words of that verse. What is great glory? To your mind and to your way of seeing things, what appears to you as glorious? Would it be a brilliant sunset? Maybe it would be the Grand Canyon or a resplendent castle on a mountaintop. Would it be the wonder of childbirth, or possibly the expanse of an ocean? Many different images would come to individual minds as people have their own impressions of what constitutes glory. In spite of all this personal variety, there is something that is true for us all. Nothing that any person can conceive, or even that the total of all people combined can imagine, that will match the glory of the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. We can praise the Lord because that day is coming! That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. If you knew He will be arriving on those clouds tomorrow, what would you want to do before then?

2. What will you do with that thing or those things if He doesn’t come tomorrow?

BELIEVING THAT’S AS GOOD AS SEEING

READING: JOHN 20:24-29

Verse 29: “Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

The Book of Genesis devotes several chapters to the life of Joseph. He had dreams and expectations of being the greatest in his family. Early in his life contrary to that, he was rejected by his brothers and sold away into slavery. However, Genesis 39:2 informs us that the Lord was with him and granted him stature in his environment. Then after a few years, circumstances reversed that stature and Joseph was imprisoned. Even there in prison, according to verse 21, the Lord was with him and he had favor. Next, Genesis 41:16 describes how God was again with Joseph to give him the interpretation of one the king’s dreams. Then at last, the king’s gratitude established Joseph in the position where he was fulfilled as the greatest in his family. During his 13 years of trials and  challenges, Joseph could not see evidence that his vision was being fulfilled, yet he believed in God.  Just as today’s verse says, he did not see but he believed. Joseph practiced that form of faith through his years of hardship. We too have victory when we, in our difficulties, accept what he practiced in his. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What is one belief you have but do not yet see?

2. What causes people to stop believing when they don’t see?

WORTHY VESSELS

READING: LUKE 10:13-16

Verse 16: “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent me.”

It is sometimes difficult for us as Christians when the best we have to offer is not received. It can be a time when we share the gospel with someone who does not choose to accept our faith. It can be a situation where a fellow Believer does not share our enthusiasm about something godly. It can even be a season of life when a family member constantly refuses our offerings of ministry and truth. In these cases, and others like them, it is possible to feel that we have failed. Much of the time, that feeling of failure may very well not be accurate. In reality, our responsibility is only to present God’s truth. We are not held responsible to make others receive it. That is where today’s verse applies. We are simply messengers. We are vessels that contain and then pour out the message of the gospel. Once we have been poured through as those vessels, we cannot control the result and are not expected to do so. It is sad when someone rejects the message of the Lord, and therefore also rejects Him. However, when equipped and called by the Holy Spirit we have offered gospel truth, we have succeeded and not failed. At those times, we can receive the comfort and commendation of the good and faithful servant. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. As you consider the Lord being heard through you, what is your reaction?

2. What causes people to be good and faithful servants?

WHO GETS WHAT & WHY

READING: EXODUS 20:1-6

Verse 5: “...I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,”

This is a verse that should be very carefully quoted and used in a manner that, with care, avoids misunderstanding. It is important to not overlook its last five words. That part of the verse establishes that the destiny described by the first part, applies only to those who hate God. There is no reason for those who do not hate the Lord to fear the frightening destiny that He declares. In fact, the following verse in this chapter goes on with a statement that is fully the opposite of a punitive response. In verse 6, the promise is made that the Father shows mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments. It is possible that either mercy or iniquity can be dispensed. The result obtained depends on how a person regards the Lord. People wrongly charge God with being uncaring, unjust or even cruel. Verse 6 refutes those erroneous conclusions. It informs us that the Lord’s responses to people are formed by peoples’ attitudes toward Him. There is either human hate that results in iniquity, or human love that results in mercy. The choice has been left to our selection. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What is the danger that can cause this verse to be misunderstood?

2. How does the Lord know what is in our hearts?

SHINE JESUS SHINE

READING: JOHN 1:1-5

Verse 5: “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

It is clear that this passage is referring to the Lord Jesus as the source of the light of mankind. Of course the reference to darkness represents the iniquity, rebellion and wickedness that results from the rejection of the Lord and His truth. Considering the two preceding statements, it is logical to perceive this verse to be stating that the darkness did not comprehend (the word “comprehend” meaning to understand) the light. Stated in other words, understanding the light is beyond the capacity of the darkness. While that is true, further consideration of the Greek word which is translated as “comprehend” –then becomes more revealing. This word extends the meaning to include the terms: appropriating, seizing, and possessing. The truth of the word of God in this verse is not merely that darkness cannot understand the light. It is telling us that darkness will never overcome the light. That is obvious in the physical. Where light exists, darkness cannot invade. Opening the door between a dark room and a lighted one will result in light entering the dark room; never the opposite. That is also true in the spiritual. In response to this victory of the light of the Lord over darkness, we say along with the Apostle Paul: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. In what way do you see light overcoming darkness?

2. Darkness can only occur when light is removed.
__True __ False