God Speaks Today
Have you ever asked God to speak to you? It can be tempting to think that we could have more faith if God would simply speak to us. If God would just speak, then we would know that He is real and exists.
While at one time God spoke through prophets, He has spoken to us through His Word. Scripture is God’s means of communicating with His people. Every time we open up God’s Word, we are listening to the words of God Himself.
That’s why Scripture says the word of God is alive and active. It is the primary way that God speaks to His people to guide our thoughts and direct our ways. God’s Word actively refreshes us and provides us with wisdom for living.
The author of Hebrews also tells us that Scripture is like a sword that can cut and divide our innermost places. God’s Word reveals our true heart. It exposes our emotions and thoughts, and then guides us toward what is right.
God’s Word is full of refreshment for our weariness. He speaks encouragement to those who follow Him and listen to His voice. Scripture is also full of God’s truth that guides us into right-living. It shapes our hearts and minds toward loving God and loving those around us.
One of the best things you can do for your life is to engage in Scripture daily. If we rarely read God’s Word, then we will rarely hear His voice speaking to us. The more that we develop regular habits of engaging with God, the easier it will be to hear and follow His guidance.
So take some time to consider how you can create a daily habit of engaging in God’s Word and spending time in prayer. God wants to speak to you, but we must come to Him ready to listen.
His Pain, Our Gain
Isaiah 53 is a stunning chapter in the Bible—in what is now commonly referred to as the “Old Testament.”
Approximately 700 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied about a suffering servant who would also, somehow and in some way, be exalted. A coming Savior, a future Redeemer, the long-awaited Messiah—whose death would ultimately bring life.
A portion of Isaiah 53 says this:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
So, who was this man who would be pierced, crushed, and wounded because of someone else’s sins? Whose undeserved punishment would be the catalyst for healing? Whose life would be given as an offering—so that others might live?
Jesus Christ not only fits the description of the suffering servant who paid the ultimate price to buy His people back, redeem them, and set them free—He ...
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge...