Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near[.]..But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Revelation 4-8:1

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near[.]..But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Zephaniah 1:7, Habakkuk 2:20

I resumed my D-Group's study of Revelation using Stephen Witmer's commentary and study guide.  My focus this morning is the conclusion for this week's look at Revelation 4-8:1. One of the key takeaways and "personal implications" from this week is the importance of silence as a spiritual disciplines.  The study shares that: "[t]he silence in heaven at the opening of the seventh seal is sudden and shocking. Throughout Revelation 1–7, we have heard a joyous cacophony of sound reverberating throughout heaven (e.g., 1:10; 4:5, 8, 11; 5:9–10, 12–13). But now, suddenly, silence for half an hour. What’s the meaning of this unexpected silence? The Old Testament background helps us understand. In the book of Zephaniah, God announces his coming terrible, worldwide judgment (Zephaniah. 1:2) and Zephaniah 1:7 tells us the proper response: “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near.” In the Old Testament—and in Revelation—silence is the horrified, awe-filled, stunned response to the sheer weight of God’s judgment (see Habakkuk. 2:20).*" 

This post from Renovare.org (which I have valued in my journey with Christ) defines the spiritual discipline of silence as "closing off our souls from ​“sounds,” whether noise, music, or words, so that we may better still the inner chatter and clatter of our noisy hearts and be increasingly attentive to God."  This definition convicts me because there are many times when I don't "close off my soul" from the outside world (people, noises, distractions, etc.) and this severely impacts the quality of my time spent with God.  God please help me with the spiritual discipline of silence!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and I know You love me - You have given me the gift of salvation and I have Your Word and the Holy Spirit to help me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sins of worry, etc. persist.  Please help me.  Please help me overcome these sins and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

*Witmer, Stephen. Revelation (Knowing the Bible) (p. 14). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain.

Isaiah 14-17 and 34 

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain. Isaiah 17:10-11

Day 181 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues my study of the prophecies of Isaiah. This morning my focus is Isaiah's judgement of Israel and Judah's neighbors. My commentary* reminds me how King Ahaz of Judah (2 Kings 16) "[became] "a vassal to Assyria, paying tribute and doing in effect whatever Assyria demands".  It also goes on describe the implications of Judah's dependence on Assyria and how God uses Isaiah to deliver a judgement and warning to neighboring nations: "[d]ependence upon Assyria has become necessary because Judah is once again vulnerable to the Edomites and Philistines. Although Isaiah knows that invasions by foreign nations are part of God’s plan for punishing Judah, he is also aware that these nations are acting from their own wicked motivations, and that God will ultimately bring about their destruction as well. Therefore Isaiah pronounces God’s judgment against several nations at this and later times".

Isaiah delivers judgements and warnings to "all nations" (Isaiah 34), including Assyria (Isaiah 14), Moab (Isaiah 15-16), and Syria (Isaiah 17).  

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Once again, as I posted yesterday, I am reminded how important it is to worship and go to God daily so that we can remember all that God has done for us and maintain a heart of gratitude.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has paid the ultimate sacrifice - for me - and You continue to and always will be there for me doing so much for me.  I know that You will never leave or forsake me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God.  I worry, am full of anger and often harsh with others.  PLEASE forgive me Jesus.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

"I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 10-12, 2 Kings 16, and 2 Chronicles 28 

"I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:1-2

Day 180 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues my study of the prophecies of Isaiah.  This morning my commentary* describes Isaiah's prophecies (1) God's anger against those who claim to follow God commands for justice but don't in practice (Isaiah 10:1-4), (2) God's anger for Assyria who has overrun the northern kingdom of Israel (Isaiah 10:5-19), (3) how God will save the few faithful in Israel and Judah - referring to them as the remnant (Isaiah 10:20-23), (4) how God will help Israel and Judah overcome captivity (Isaiah 10:24-34), (5) of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 11:1-16), and (6) how Israel and Judah will praise God for deliverance from captivity (Isaiah 12:1-6).

My commentary also discusses King Ahaz's (Judah) response to Isaiah's prophecies: "Ahaz must surely consider Isaiah a crazy dreamer. He probably does not even begin to understand Isaiah’s message regarding the coming Messiah. Moreover, he does not have enough faith in God to believe that he could actually defeat Israel and Syria (and even Assyria, if necessary) simply by trusting God. Foolishly, Ahaz will trust his own military strength instead".

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Because Ahaz does not fully trust in the Lord - Judah is defeated by Israel and Syria (2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28) and taken captive by Israel.  What is remarkable about this turn of events is how God convicts the hearts of Israel to return the Judean captives:

But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.”  Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war. “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.” 2 Chronicles 28:9-13

Ahaz's unfaithfulness and how he led Judah into sin is summarized:

The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord. Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help. Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him. 2 Chronicles 28:19-21

This morning I see God's message how we must  maintain a heart of worship and gratitude towards Him as a core spiritual discipline.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who HAS and IS ALWAYS doing great things for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God.  I worry and have other sin. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

1 Corinthians 9

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. v24

Paul wants believers to stay focused and to press on towards the prize - which is eternity in Heaven with Jesus.  He likens the Christian journey to that of an Olympic race and the training required for such a race.  We should be focused and self-disciplined.  John Piper helps breakdown what that means for us.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who strengthens me as I run my race - thank You Jesus.  I am unable to run without You.  Thank You for such love and care.  I am undeserving of such love and care.  I worry and my sin is great.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.

Mark 4

Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown. v20

I desire to bear fruit - to be good soil - and desiringGod.com indicates that with respect to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8), there is only one good soil where faith takes root, and that for faith to take root - we must be authentic and real in our faith.  For others to see us as real we must bear fruit (see Matthew 7:15-20, see New Testament references here).

While a fruit-bearing faith requires many sources of nutrients, relationships are key - check this out.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who died for me; I know that You are always with me - thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love - I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my faith towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven....Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven....Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. v21, 24

As Jesus proclaims in 7:15-23, there are both false prophets and false disciples.  The broader point I see is the superficial nature of our faith.  Verse 24 reinforces this point by stating that faith is built upon a strong foundation of practicing spiritual disciplines, such as Bible study, prayer time, fellowship with other believers, service, corporate worship, etc.  We must not have paper thin faith.

This is demonstrated further in the Parable of the Sower which stresses the need for "good soil".

I know the dangers of building a house on sand - I've done it myself.  

Jesus, please help me build my faith on a strong foundation.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has given me faith, and helped strengthen my faith.  You have transformed my heart and life and I experience life to the full - thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessing.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord.

Ezekiel 22

And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord. v12

We all want to experience God and His goodness.  The best way to experience God and not forget about God is to practice spiritual disciplines.  For me the key spiritual discipline is to read my Bible daily. 

God promises that if we seek Him (i.e. though Bible study), we will find Him.  We will also experience God and He will change us - by transforming our hearts and lives to be more like Him. 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and who is full of compassion, mercy, and kindness, etc. for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Isaiah 58

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? v6

Fasting is just one spiritual discipline, and we can't pretend to assume that because we sufficiently practice one we are doing what God wants us to do - God wants us to continue to grow.   We also do not want to be guilty of hypocrisy or of not being in action as James 1:19-27 describes for us.  See also post here.

My Prayer Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who lives in me and I have seen how You have produced fruit in my life and in the lives of others.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worthy of such love as I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

[T]he Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 147

[T]he Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. v11

We exist to glorify God.


Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. Psalm 60:21

So HOW do we glorify God?  

We glorify God by 
- loving, respecting and fearing (out of respect) Him.
- praise and worship (see also posts here)
- putting our hope and trust in Him (peace, prayer)
- serving Him and others

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God full of love, compassion, mercy, patience, etc. for me even though I know I am not who You intend me to be.  Thank You Jesus for how You bless me but please forgive me for my worry and stress.  Help me overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength. Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. v26

Building on what he wrote in James 1 (see post here) faith and action work hand in hand.  The examples provided such as Abraham and Rahab are illustrative and clearly reinforce the key message - be in action, not only to reinforce understanding of scripture but also to demonstrate faith.  Spiritual disciplines work together and if we lack one our drive towards spiritual maturity and greater faith is incomplete.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God full of love (indescribably so!) and mercy for me...all of this knowing everything about me, including my brokenness and sin!  Thank You Jesus!  I am undeserving of such love and mercy because of my sin...I know the wages of sin is death and that is what I deserve yet You have mercy.  Thank You again Jesus!  I need You desperately in my life - I often fail to be content.  Please forgive me Jesus!  Help me overcome and turn from such sin and towards You.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me more fully and completely practice spiritual disciplines.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa comfort, strength, and freedom from pain.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Thank You Jesus for a good appointment with the surgeon-praise You for the great news and progress driving out this cancer!  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.