Hope

Hear the Word of God! (Part I)


– Scriptures to Live by –

Man Holding Bible

The International Christian Education
Auxiliary will be continually adding
scriptures to the current list and send
out more scriptures for you and your family.

(Man shall not live by bread alone)

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Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear (Isaiah 59:1)

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There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that
feareth is not made perfect in love. (I John 4:18)

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding. (Prov. 3:5)

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Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy (Jude 1:24)

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There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

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The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (Psalm 34:7)

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For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Rom. 10:13)

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This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6)

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Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

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The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  (Psalm 34:18)

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In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  (John 14:2)

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Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?  (Amos 3:6)

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Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  (Matthew 11:29)

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And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:7)

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The Ravens are Coming!


“You will drink water from the brook.
I have ordered some ravens to feed you there.”

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Most people will agree that ravens are ugly mysterious birds that we often associate with evil or the dark side! We don’t seem to know much about them, but researchers tells us that they are highly intelligent creatures. We understand that they can reason on the level of dolphins and chimps.

God’s prophet Elijah had an unexpected relationship with ravens. He came to evil king Ahab and told him God was punishing him, along with Israel, for their evil deeds! Elijah told Ahab that, according to his word, there would be no rain and all Israel would suffer as a result. Elijah walked away from that meeting and, as promised, Israel suffered for years while looking everywhere for water! We see Elijah was not exempt from the draught! How would he survive and where would he get water and food? God knew exactly where he was and his dire need, and commanded ravens to feed him and had a brook to supply him water! God sustains His people! God, in His mercy, is even sustaining the whole world (Ps. 145:16)! There’s coming a time when He will withhold His sustenance from the masses of people because of their rejection of Him (Rev. 18:8).

We have to understand that the people in the Bible are no different than us. God simply supplies the needs of those who trust in Him. He fed 5,000 people who had no means. He even clothed Adam and Eve when their eyes were opened concerning their nakedness. We who live by faith, believe that the ravens are near, and somehow God will keep us alive. Many generations have experienced diseases and famines. We just have to know our biblical history. Egypt experienced great famine, and God’s people, as well as the world, were delivered from it under Joseph’s leadership. The Lord sent pestilence in Israel during the reign of king David and 70,000 died in a short time (II Sam. 24:15). There was pestilence in the time of the prophet Amos. The new testament church at Jerusalem suffered famine. We also read that the psalmist had experience enough to write to us from his day: Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (Ps. 33:8-9). What a mighty God we serve!

If you have God’s Spirit abiding in you, and you believe in God, let the words in this article comfort you. (Suddenly, inspired biblical words you read should have more impact.) Let’s believe the words of king David, that great leader:  “I have been young, and now I am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his offspring begging bread.”

 

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Even When I Walk Through a Very Dark Valley…


“Even though I walk through the darkest valley…”
(Psalm 23:4 – NRSA)

 

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We are familiar with the signs that read, “You are Here”. All of us from time to time have found ourselves in a place where we have stood, wondering how to get from where we were to a better place. Some places have intimidating entrances, looming large as we enter. David, the psalmist, had great experiences with entering dark caves and weathering valleys. (Suddenly, he’s no longer just a character in the Bible, but someone we can identify with.) For years he was chased by king Saul. Those were uncertain years for David. He wrote in I Sam. 20:30 – “There is a step between me and death.” His visibility had diminished to what he could only see close around him. It was like a deep fog that surrounded him and there seemed to be no clearing to any brighter path. It was in that moment that he learned God from the shadows. In this deep darkness he sensed there was no need to be afraid — God was with him! David had great experiences with God, with a lion and a bear, and men similar to Saul.
Somewhere between here and there, the way to our destination is lined with uncertainties, doubts, and things that challenge us to fear. God is with us! He has never taken His eyes off of us — not for one moment. It takes being in a dark place to bring this truth to light. On the other hand, many of us are facing somewhere between here and where the enemy tries to tell us we will wind up being.  He often tries to project our future from where we currently stand. He mockingly tells us, “you are here and this is where you are headed!” Job, no doubt, was faced with similar voices after having lost so much. His response was, “He [God] knows the way I take; when He has tried me I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10). So — there is an intervening period — something that happens in the mean time! It takes place before the outcome of what has been negatively predicted. God is continually in that interim — watching and moving as we travel through the darkness.
We are somewhere between the place we have started and a destination. The forecast can be bleak, but God is familiar with each valley. While we travel, our destination is to see Jesus and to enter into a place of finality. He is the one who has gone on before us and now ever lives to make intercessions for us. Fear not little flock, it is our Father’s pleasure to give us the kingdom!

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Where is the Promise of His Coming?


“Where is the promise of his coming? For since
the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as
they were from the beginning of the creation.”
(II Peter 3:4)

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OFFICIAL SOUNDING VOICES
Have you been listening lately to all the “official” sounding voices in our world — everyone from neighbors and their opinions, to news, to talking heads, to agencies around the world. We are constantly being bombarded with voices about impending dangers and signs of what a new normal may look like.

THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT AND OTHER VOICES
If you take a moment to turn off all the chatter and sit in silence, there is another voice that is in the earth, and this voice also has the ability to speak. It is the voice of the Spirit! The Spirit of God can reveal to us signs of things to come, as well! These signs were first spoken of by the Old Testament prophets, and then by the Lord, and followed by New Testament teachers. These all spoke of the coming of the Lord! Those who are caught up in the affairs of this world will pay unnecessary attention to what the world says (I John 4:5). The world speaks in terms of politics and sports, and stocks, bonds, and investments, entertainment and pleasures. The world has little concern for a God and His Savior!

DOING BUSINESS AS USUAL AND THEN THE GREATEST CRISIS
The voices that are in the world just want to get a crisis over and let us return to normal to do business as usual. But…it is written: “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (I Thessalonians 4:16-18.) This worldwide event will change the course of the world and after that no one will be able to escape the things that will come on the entire world (I Thessalonians 5:3; Luke 21:34-35.) Many, including the majority of the church world, have not stopped to consider this. This great event could be tonight! The world does not fully understand this event and many have even mocked at it, nevertheless, the great resurrection will take place suddenly; faster than any sweeping virus (I Thessalonians 15:52)! Thank God, there is a part of destruction, disease, famine, and death that the church will not experience because those events belong to another day (time or season) (I Thessalonians 5:2-5).

There certainly is a difference between the resurrection of God’s people and Christ’s second coming. (The purpose of this article is not to discuss the two in detail.) Just note that both these events will happen suddenly and without warning (I Corinthians 15:51-52; Revelation 22:12)!

It seems that many think we have time to recover and things might get back to normal; and that may very well be true. But…what if the events that are currently taking place in our world is just a brief precursor to the great resurrection, which is Christ’s return for His church!

Will you be ready?

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