November 15, 2024

His Word Endures

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Your Word, O Lord, is eternal it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations,
You established the earth and it endures.
Psalms 119:89-90

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The word of God is eternal.  All things shall pass away but the Word of God stands firm.

Long ago I learned from Your statutes that You established them to last forever.
Psalm 119:152

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the Word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8

The Word of God stands forever.  All created life is frail and weak and will ultimately come to an end (see Psalms 103:15-16).  God does not do things to please us but to please Himself.  He does that for the glory of God to be manifested as we stand trusting in His Word and it comes to pass in our lives.  Loved ones, the Word of God is truth and nothing can compare with it.  Men will say words and and break their promise but with our God what He says He shall do.  He is not man to lie nor son of man to change his mind (Numbers 23:19). When He says, “I shall neither leave you nor forsake you…” (Deuteronomy 31:6), He means it.

Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will never pass away.
Matthew 24:35

For all men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field,
the grass withers and the flowers fall
but the Word of the Lord stands forever.
1 Peter 1:24-25

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Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word that stands firm eternally.  May this Word be firm also in our lives eternally that we sin not against You.  Thank You for the privilege to be called Your very own.  In Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen.

The Spoken Word

Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations;

You established the earth, and it stands.

Psalms 119:89-90

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Growing up in a small town, nothing is ever hidden for long.  People love to talk.  They often do not realize their words can hurt and cause irreparable damage to others.  No one knew (other than one or two) my secret.  But I felt I needed to tell my brother and sister-in-law when I found out they were letting their daughter spend the night at my parent’s home and her sleep in the bed with my dad.  Little did I know when I did share with them that my sister-in-law would go around telling everyone in the town I had lived in.  I was trying to protect my niece…not hurt mom and dad.  Mom asked me about it, and I told her I told my brother to protect my niece; and she was angry.

Was I wrong?  I don’t think so.  It did, however, change a few things.  Dad did say he was sorry for what he had done to me, but said he would never have hurt my niece.  How was I to trust that?  I pray he never did.   The secret was out and I did not have to hide that any longer.  What did hurt though was the words my sister-in-law spread.  My brother and she are no longer married due to some other things, but I believe God is just and merciful in all situations, because He said we are not to exact revenge on others.

Genesis chapter 1 tells us how God created everything with His spoken Word.  He spoke and it was.  And in just six days.  Genesis 2 tells us God rested on the seventh day. After He rested He created man, Adam, in His own image.  Can you imagine how lovely Adam was?  Perfect in every way.  Then God gave Adam charge over the Garden of Eden.  From the beginning of time God has given us work to do.  And He also gave us rules.

But the LORD God warned him,
“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden
— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.
Genesis 2:17
Adam did not have a problem obeying.  God then created Eve, from Adam’s rib, to be a helpmate in the perfect world God created and placed them in. God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve…walking with them and talking with them everyday.  Then a serpent entered the scene.  He thought he would tempt the woman with the fruit growing on the tree in the middle of the garden—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
He was very sly.  He told Eve she would not die and made her look at the fruit and observe how appetizing it looked.  He also told her she would have knowledge just like God of good and evil.  We do not know what truly enticed her to eat, but the serpent caused her to look at the fruit and want it.  Then she shared with Adam after he observed that she did not die.
God gave them consequences for disobeying.  He knew they would but He was disappointed all the same.  Their disobedience (as well as our own sin) has separated us from God.
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Father, we thank You for telling us You love us. Thank You for grafting us into Your Kingdom when we accepted Your Son, Jesus, in our hearts.  Send Your Holy Spirit to show us when we stray and go off course.  Let us seek Your Word, grow Your Word in our hearts and be able to share Your love and grace with everyone…even family.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Faithful Promises

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Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven.
Your faithfulness extends to every generation,
as enduring as the earth You created.
Psalms 119:89-90

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The thing I love about God’s Word is that no matter how I am feeling, no matter what is going on around me, no matter what other people say, and no matter what my mind or eyes see God’s promises take rank over all of it.

God’s promise is always true. Sometimes it is hard to see this, but it is true. You know, when bad things happen God does not cause them.  He is a good God, therefore, He is incapable of doing wrong or bad.  He can only do good. It is hard for us to understand because we, as humans, can do both. However, God is not like us in this aspect.  He can only do good.

Let me say it again, He can ONLY do good.

God’s word says that He has come to give us life and that He has come to give us that life abundantly (John 10:10).  Here are a few of my favorite promises:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary
and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you.
Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart
and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29

And this same God who takes care of me
will supply all your needs from His glorious riches,
which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world can’t give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27

Knowing God’s promises isn’t enough…we have to believe them no matter what.

Hebrews 10: 23 (my favorite verse) says,
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”

Faithful

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Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable].
Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;
Psalms 119:89-90

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You know my future
like You knew my past
Your word concerning me
was made to last forever

I know Your Word is Your integrity
And that You’ll do
just what You said You would
You are faithful

Heaven and earth will pass away
But Your Word will remain
Your Word will remain faithful
Though all I have is stripped away
To You I remain
To You I remain faithful

I know that Your love is forever strong
And I will sing about it
All day long, forever

I know that there is
no one else like You
No one else can do the things You do
You are faithful

Hillsong United

God’s Promises Last Forever

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The grass withers and the flowers fall
but the Word of God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8

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To everything there is a season.  Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, there is life and there is death.  All of creation is under that curse.  The grass has a life span; then it withers and dies.  The flowers open with beauty and sweet fragrance; then they fade and die. There are storms that break the stems of the plant, and there are floods that drown the grass.  There are also droughts that kill the grass, flowers, and other vegetation.

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NLT

This summer, as I walked beside a nearby creek, I discovered a single plant that had the most beautiful little red flowers growing along its stem. I had never seen it before and I have no idea what its name is, but I enjoyed its beauty.  That is until the flowers one by one started to fade and die.  That made me sad.  I’m so hoping I will find it growing along the bank next year, but I have no promise of that.

What I do know is that I/we have the promise, as our devotional Scripture says, that God’s Word will stand forever.

For that is what God is like.
He is our God forever and ever,
and He will guide us until we die.
Psalm 48:14

All He does is just and good,
and all His commandments are trustworthy.
They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
He has paid a full ransom for His people.
He has guaranteed His covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name He has!
Psalms 111:7-9

But You are near, O Lord,
and all Your commands are true.
I have known from my earliest days
that Your laws will last forever.
Psalms 119:151-152

The very essence of Your words is truth;
all Your just regulations will stand forever.
Psalm 119:160

For each of us, there is life and there is death.  For each of us, we will have storms that try to break us, floods that try to drown us, droughts that try to kill us.  Perhaps you are going through one of those periods right now in your life.  If you are grounded in the Word of the Lord—as the flower is rooted in the rich soil along the creek bank—rest assured that the hard times are for a season but God’s Word lasts forever.  The sun will come out, Spring will come again, the grass will grow and the flower will bloom in your life.  We have that promise when we trust in His Word.

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Dear God, we, Your children, thank You for Your Word.  We know You are from everlasting to everlasting, therefore so is Your Word.  You and Your Word are one.  When we are going through seasons of storms or droughts, please remind us by Your Holy Spirit that Your promises are true everyday no matter what.  You will see us through the stormy times, and we will grow and bloom again and be stronger than before.  Thank You, Lord, that Your Word stands forever.  In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.

The Word of our God will Stand Forever

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The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8

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from the folks over at Fighter Verses.com
click through to go to their website;
an excellent source of great Scripture memorization tools

Our Words

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The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8

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Words.  How do you use your words?  Do you build up or do you tear down?  When you are angry do you say hateful, hurtful things?  As we have grew up, we may have heard words spoken in anger, tearing us down.  But  we can come back from those words.  We can heal from the hurtful words spoken to us.  James spoke of our tongue, saying:

The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do.
James 3:5

When we believed that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, we were made new.  As we read and study the Word of God, our hearts are recreated.  Our past experiences have told us that life can be uncaring, unfriendly.  But our life with Jesus as our Lord  will be vastly different if we choose to learn and discover more of God’s love.

The beauty of God’s Word is it has existed for thousands of years… it ‘stands forever’.  There is nothing which has prevented it from existing.  His words are so powerful, it has been translated to many languages and dialects, enabling people in most all nations to have the opportunity to learn and grow.  God has created pastors to lead us, to teach us, to encourage us.  We just need to sit and learn; then go into the world and share the goods news of the sacrifice Jesus made.

Remember the first time you accepted Jesus as your Savior…the elation, the empowerment you felt when you realized your life was going to be forever.  Do you still have the same passion, the drive to share?  I pray you do.  I pray someone was able to come alongside you and disciple you; and to encourage you with the words of our Father. And that passion within you would grow so you could share His good news with others.

Keep pursuing your passion.  Keep learning, discovering who you are in Christ and you will be rewarded.

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Father, I pray for those who may have lost their passion for You. I ask that they begin to seek You with a renewed fervor to tell others about Your love.  I pray for a light to shine forth, and that we share with others so we can tell them what You have done for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If God Says It Will Be…It Will Be

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The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
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I read this verse in preparation for doing my devotional and I was excited like “This is going to be super easy to write about!  I can write this long, elaborate, detailed devotional about God and how He never changes and how awesome this is…”.  And although this statement is very true…well, that is not what my devotional is going to be about.  Instead my devotional will be about God’s word and how He has the final say.
No matter what we face in life, if God says it will be…so it shall be.  Often we can find ourselves depressed or stressed out when we face difficult situations, and our default response is to first freak out.  You know, like when you get a flat tire and payday is four days away.  Or your car just stops working and you know you don’t have the funds to get it fixed.  Or your friend accuses you of something you didn’t do and won’t give you the chance to explain.  Or life just doesn’t make sense; and you don’t know what you to do or if you ever will  know what to do.  
I’m talking about those moments when what you have just does not equal what you need.  God says,
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Philippians 4:6
And then we read in His Word,
Then you will experience God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.
verse 7
Have you ever stopped to wonder why God’s peace surpasses our understanding?  I believe it is because the way God makes things work out for us so often is not the way we expected.  We often don’t see it coming—but we know that He said He has us covered—so it has to be true!  God’s peace surpassing all our understandings reminds me of the children at the preschool I work at. When they are on the changing table, after they have been changed, some of them like to jump, but not all of them. You can tell that some of them get scared if offered. Maybe it’s because they are afraid of heights or maybe it’s because what they see with their eyes is telling them that if they jump they are going to fall.  They often look down in fear and then glance at me in confusion. (Now, mind you, the gap I leave is rather small, not even enough for them to really jump at all.)  But to them it looks big.  I always tell them, “I got you. I won’t let you fall.”  More times than not, they jump, and then it becomes the funniest thing in the world.  They may not know what gravity is by name, but they understand if they are up then they can be down.  However, my words of assurance override their understanding.
And that is how it is with our God.

Your Word Endures

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The grass withers and the flowers fall
but the word of God stands forever. 
Isaiah 40:8

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The word of God stands forever.   All created life is frail and weak and will ultimately come to an end, as we read in Psalms 103:15-16…

As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passes over it and it is no more,
And its place knows it no longer.

But the word of God stands forever.  God’s promises will be fulfilled, His redemptive truth cannot be annulled or changed.

Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will never pass away…
Matthew 24:35

For all men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field,
the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever.
1 Peter 1:24-25

The above Scriptures indicate that, like the earth itself, all human glory and attainments come and go…but God’s Word abides forever.  All human endeavours and the prevailing spirit of the world must be constantly judged by the Bible rather than the Bible being judged by them.  Those who bend God’s Word to conform to the intellectual trends and diluted standards of their generation betray the living and enduring Word of God.

Verse 23 of 1 Peter chapter 1 says,

For you have been born again not of perishable seed
but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.

And in Matthew 5:18, Jesus said,

I tell you the truth—until heaven and earth disappear—
not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen
will by any means disappear from the law
until everything is accomplished.

Meditate on the Word; cling to it. Do not let it disappear.

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May the blessing of our Lord Jesus, and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us now and forever more!  In Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen.

Your Words

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The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.
Isaiah 40:8

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Third Day along with Harvest Parker
writers: Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, Mark Lee, David Carr

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Let me hear Your words
Above all other voices
Above all the distractions in this world

For Your words bring life
And Your voice speaks promises
Lord, Your love offers more
Than anything else in this world

Your words give us life that’s never ending
Your words bring us love that never fails
Everything else will fade away
But what will remain
Are Your words

Let us speak Your words
More than ours, more than ever
Let us share Your love with all the world

The grass will wither and the flowers will fall
But the word of our God will last forever
The grass will wither and the flowers will fall
But the word of our God will last forever