Isaiah 66 : 1-2

Ω

ISAIAH 66 : 1-2

This is what Jehovah has said:

“The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

Where, then, is the house that YOU people can build for me,

and where, then, is the place as a resting-place for me?”

“Now all these things my own hand has made,

so that all these came to be,” is the utterance of Jehovah.

“To this one, then, I shall look, to the one afflicted and

contrite in spirit and trembling at my word.”

Humility is the key to oneness with God.

Consequently, it is also the key to oneness with our brethren.

God’s way of achieving oneness is for each person to be so

attuned to God that he is motivated to do everything possible

to ensure that the relationship (with God or fellow man) is not

only unbroken, but constantly becoming ever closer.

We should do this because we are striving to become like Him,

and that is how He is.

Each person is responsible

for cleaning up his character and

humbling himself before God.

*clipart from www.christart.com*

♣

♣

Each is not responsible for judging his brother so critically it

drives a wedge between them and separates them.

Such a person does not even see his own sin! In such a case,

he could not be in God’s Kingdom because that manner of thinking

would continue right on into it, and God will not allow it there.

♣

♥

♣

*John W. Ritenbaugh*

GOD’S LIBRARY_OLD TESTAMENT_PART TWO

“MAN MUST LIVE, NOT ON BREAD ALONE,

BUT ON EVERY UTTERANCE COMING FORTH

THROUGH JEHOVAH’S MOUTH” (MATTHEW 4:4) – NWT

66 books of the BIBLE : ALL SCRIPTURES ARE INSPIRED BY GOD

PART TWO

LAMENTATIONS – A SEQUEL TO JEREMIAH’S PROPHECY WHOM

LAMENTED SORROWFULLY OVER THEIR RUINS OF THE HOLY CITY

AND THE SACRED TEMPLE WHICH HAD STOOD FOR OVER 400

YEARS. JEREMIAH WEPT IN SEPARATE POEMS IN LAMENTATIONS

REGARDING WHY GOD HAD PERMITTED THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.

IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR

REJECTION OF THE ONE TRUE GOD, JEHOVAH.

EZEKIEL – PROPHET EZEKIEL APPOINTED BY GOD TO PREACHED

CAREFULLY CONTRIVED PROPHECIES REGARDING DOWNFALL

OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM; JUDGMENTS UPON NATIONS WHO

SEEK TO DESTROY HIS PEOPLE; THE FINAL CALL AT THAT TIME

FOR THE REPENTANCE OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND LASTLY,

THE GLORIOUS RESTORATION OF ISRAEL.

DANIEL – DURING THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY OF THE JEWS,

DANIEL AND HIS 3 FRIENDS [Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego]

HAVE DISPLAYED THEIR FEARLESS LOYALTY TO THE ONE FAITH

IN ONE TRUE GOD, JEHOVAH, OF THEIR FOREFATHERS AND

ALSO THEIR ADVANCEMENT INTO THE REALMS OF ROYAL FAVOR.

DANIEL INTERPRETED KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM AND

THE SYMBOLIC VISIONS THAT PORTENDS THE FOUR SUCCESSIVE

EMPIRES OF THE WORLD : BABYLON, PERSIA, GREECE AND ROME.

THE LAST EMPIRE WILL BE SUCCEEDED BY THE COMING OF THE

KINGDOM OF GOD.

HOSEA – A PROPHET OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL

CALLED REPENTANCE FROM THEM AS HE FORESAW THE DOOM

THAT WERE TO BEFALL THEM IF THEY CONTINUED IN THEIR

SINS. THE REBELLIOUSNESS OF THE CHOSEN ONES WITH

THEIR UNGRATEFULNESS SOUGHT HELP FROM THE ASSYRIANS

AND THE EGYPTIANS RATHER FROM THE ONE TRUE GOD,

JEHOVAH, WHO HAD BEEN SHOWING THEM HIS LOVING

KINDNESS AND MERCY TIME AND TIME AGAIN. HOSEA ALSO

FORETOLD ABOUT THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH, JESUS CHRIST,

700 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE.

JOEL – A SYMBOLIC VISION FROM JOEL AS HE WARNED JUDAH

AND ISRAEL REGARDING THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS AND SEVERE

FAMINE OF THE LAND IF THEY DO NOT REPENT.  JOEL PLEADED

WITH THEM TO HUMBLE THEMSELVES BEFORE THE GREAT LORD

GOD JEHOVAH AND TO ASKED FOR HIS FORGIVENESS THROUGH

FASTING AND PRAYERS.  JOEL WAS PROSNOSTICATING OF THE

COMING OF THE “DAY OF THE LORD” WHICH GOD WILL SMITE

ALL THOSE WITH A REBELLIOUS AND UNREPENTANT HEART AND

HIS JUDGMENT WILL BE HARSH AND SEVERE, THOROUGH AND

MOST CERTAIN!

AMOS – A SHEPHERD FROM TEKOA, A SMALL TOWN FROM JUDEA;

WHOSE NAME MEANT “BURDEN BEARER” WAS CALLED BY LORD

GOD WITH A MISSION TO SEND THE MESSAGE OF DOOM UPON

ISRAEL AND THE SURROUNDING NATIONS. THEIR PRACTICES

OF IDOLATRY, PAGAN WORSHIPS, GREED, OPPRESSION OF THE

NEEDY AND ALSO THEIR CONTINUAL NEGLECT OF GOD’S

WORDS IGNITED GOD’S WRATH UPON OTHER NATIONS AND

JUDAH BUT ISRAEL SUFFERED THE HARSHEST OF PUNISHMENTS;

MORE SEVERE BECAUSE OF THEIR DEPTH OF THEIR SINS. AMOS’S

CHASTISEMENTS  WENT UNHEEDED AND SO ISRAEL WERE

EXILED INTO CAPTIVITY.

OBADIAH – HIS NAME LITERALLY MEANS “SERVANT OF JEHOVAH”.

THIS BOOK IS THE SHORTEST OF PROPHETICAL WRITINGS IN

JUST ONE CHAPTER WHICH FORETOLD ON THE DOOM OF EDOM,

WHO ARE DESCENDANTS OF ESAU AND THE PROMISE OF

DELIVERANCE FOR ZION, JERUSALEM.

JONAH - A LIFE OF PERIL LIVED FOR THE RELUCTANT RUNAWAY

PROPHET FROM DUTY ORDAINED BY JEHOVAH GOD. HIS MISSION

WAS TO DELIVER A MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF

NINEVEH FROM DESTRUCTION IN FORTY DAYS.

MICAH – HIS NAME INJECTS A MIGHTY STATEMENT “WHO IS

LIKE JEHOVAH”. HE FORESAW THE INVASION FROM FOREIGNERS,

THE DISPERSION OF THE ISRAELITES FOR THEIR SINS AND THE

INEVITABLE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM BUT THE MOST

SIGNIFICANT OF ALL IS THAT HE IS THE ONLY PROPHET WHO

FORETOLD ABOUT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST IN BETHLEHEM [5:2]

NAHUM – A NATIVE OF GALILEE WITH A NAME “COMFORTER”

TO HIS CREDIT.  NAHUM’S PROPHECY WAS UNLIKE JONAH

WHICH WAS THE CERTAINTY OF DOOM FOR THE CORRUPT

PEOPLE OF NINEVEH WHOM HAD RETURNED TO THEIR SINFUL

WAYS. APART FROM NINEVEH, HE FORESAW JUDAH’S FUTURE

DELIVERANCE.

HABAKKUK – A PROPHET WHOSE NAME GOES BY “ONE WHO

EMBRACES” LIVED 600 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST IN TIMES

WHERE THE CHALDEANS CONQUERED NINEVEH OF THE

ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. THE “WHY” PROPHET WITH HIS

EXPECTANT  REPLY FROM HIS SINCERE PRAYER TO

JEHOVAH; LEARNT THAT WE NEEDED TO TRUST IN GOD

IMPLICITLY AND ALSO THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY

HIS OWN FAITH IN THE ONE TRUE GOD JEHOVAH.

ZEPHANIAH - HE PROPHESIED DURING THE REIGN OF KING

JOSIAH AND WHOSE NAME MEANS ‘DEFENDED BY JEHOVAH”.

HE FORETOLD OF UNIVERSAL JUDGMENT AND DIVINE WRATH

TO FALL UPON ALL NATIONS INCLUDING JUDAH TOO IF ALL

DEFY GOD’S LAW. ZEPHANIAH PLACED EMPHASIS ON SPIRITUAL

WORSHIP AND PREACHED THAT WORSHIP TOWARDS GOD NEED

NOT BE A PHYSICAL SANCTITY BUT IN THE QUIET SOLITUDE

OF OUR HEARTS. HE FURTHER STRESSED ON GOD’S SALVATION

AND JUDGMENT FOR MANKIND, AND ALSO THE PROMISES OF

NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH.

HAGGAI - THOUGH HE PROPHESIED FOR ONLY A SHORT TIME;

HAGGAI WHOSE NAME MEANS “MY FEAST” WAS THE FIRST

VOICE TO BE HEARD AFTER THE EXILE; HE RICOCHETED STERN

REPROOFS TO THE RESTORED PEOPLE OF GOD. HE TOLD THEM

OF THEIR DUTY TO RESTORE AND REBUILD GOD’S HOUSE OF

WORSHIP, THE TEMPLE, WHICH WAS BUILT BY KING SOLOMON

AND DESTROYED BY INVADERS. ZERUBBABEL, GOVERNOR OF

JERUSALEM AND JOSHUA, THE HIGH PRIEST AND THE PEOPLE

SET UPON THAT ENORMOUS TASK BUT WAS DISCOURAGED

EASILY. HAGGAI PIPED IN AND ENCOURAGED THEM THAT

GOD WAS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES AND JEHOVAH

WILL BLESS JERUSALEM WITH A MUCH GREATER TEMPLE

ARRAYED SPLENDOR AND GLORY.

ZECHARIAH – “JEHOVAH REMEMBERS” IS THE MEANING OF

HIS GIVEN NAME. HE JOINED HAGGAI IN AROUSING AND

ENCOURAGING THE RETURNED CAPTIVES IN BUILDING

THE SANCTUARY OF JEHOVAH GOD. THE TEMPLE WAS

FINALLY BUILT IN FOUR YEARS AND DEDICATED TO GOD.

HIS PROPHESIES LOOKED FAR BEYOND INTO THE FUTURE,

TO THE COMING OF OUR MESSIAH AND THE DAWN OF A

BETTER AND BRIGHTER TOMORROW.

MALACHI - THE LAST MINOR PROPHET OF THE OLD

TESTAMENT AND HIS NAME BEARS “MY MESSENGER”.

HE REBUKES THE SINS AND FOLLIES OF THE JEWS. HE

PREDICTED THE PREPARATION OF HIS WAY [MESSIAH]

BY JOHN THE BAPTIST. HE ALSO REPROVED NEGLECTFUL

PRIESTS AND WARNS STERNLY ABOUT THE JUDGMENT

TO COME UPON THE NATION THAT HAD TURNED BACK TO

SINFUL WAYS AFTER BEING PROVIDENTIALLY RETURNED

FROM EXILED IN CAPTIVITY.

*keziah boey*

Dirty Oven

”If we (freely) admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just

(true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins (dismiss our lawlessness)

and (continuously) cleanse us from all unrighteousness (everything not in conformity to

His will in purpose, thought, and action)”

(1 John 1:9)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us our

sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – NWT

Ω

Cleaning the oven is not my favorite thing to do. In fact, it slides down to bottom of my

“to do” list several times before I actually make it a priority. I know I am not the only

person who feels this way. The owner of the house we moved into obviously disliked

cleaning ovens even more than I do. It was very dirty and hadn’t been cleaned for a

long time. I put it through the self-clean cycle then used SOS pads to clean the build

up around the edges. But the build up on the front bottom part of the oven and door

were so caked on that I had to take a screwdriver to scratch it off.

let not our hearts be like a dirty oven with crusts of ungodly habits

ζ

Finally it was clean.

As I was scrubbing the oven, I compared the dirty oven with our hearts. People can’t

see inside our ovens, or our hearts, but God can and it can be pretty dirty. I remember

so vividly the time when I asked Jesus into my life at the age of 12. I asked Him to

forgive my sins. He cleansed me and I felt so clean. At the age of 30, I learned about

spiritual breathing (confessing our sins and appropriating the Holy Spirit). I learned

I could be “clean” all the time – moment by moment.

However, sometimes we become so busy that we don’t spend time daily with the

Lord and His Word. We become sloppy and accumulate ungodly habits that are like

the caked on grease at the bottom of my oven. You have to work at getting rid of those.

Worry, ungratefulness, critical attitudes, etc. We need to confess them immediately

and begin thanking the Lord for all His blessings, start thinking “good, pure thought”

and focus our thoughts on God and His sufficiency.

If we spend quiet time with the Lord and His Word, He will point them out to us.

Many, many times a day, we have to do this to change our ungodly habits.

Purify our hearts Daily

Don’t let your oven (heart) get dirty – keep it clean.

What are your “caked on” habits?

Admit your sins and He will cleanse you.

*** Katherine Kehler ***

TEN BIBLICAL RULES FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE

Our Marriage Prayer

♥ ♥ ♥

TEN BIBLICAL RULES FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE  

♣

Never bring up mistakes of the past. Stop criticizing others or it will come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven.

(Luke 6:37)

Neglect the whole world rather than each other. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process?

(Mark 8:36)

Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled. And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.

(Ephesians 4:26)

At least once a day, try to say something complimentary to your spouse. Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

(Proverbs 15:4)

Never meet without an affectionate welcome. Kiss me again and  again, your love is sweeter than wine.

(Song of Solomon 1:2)

“For richer or poorer” – rejoice in every moment that God has given you together. A bowl of soup with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.

(Proverbs 15:17)

If you have a choice between making yourself or your mate look good, choose your mate. Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.

(Proverbs 3:27)

If they’re breathing, your mate will eventually offend you. Learn to forgive. I am warning you, if another believer sins, rebuke him; then if he repents, forgive him. Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, forgive him.

(Luke 17:3,4)

Don’t use faith, the Bible, or God as a hammer. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

(John 3:17)

Let love be your guidepost. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

(1 Corinthians 13:4,5)

JUDGE GENTLY

Judge Gently .. for you have not worn his shoes

Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong but still the blows
That was his if dealt to you
In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time
Might cause you to stagger too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man that sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure – yea, doubly sure -
That you have no sins of your own.

For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter’s voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too.

*author unknown*

IF …

Jesus our Shepherd and Savior

♣

If Satan had not desired to be on equal status and wanted to be God; Jesus would not have to be the atonement for mankind’s sin.

If Eve had not been tempted and Adam being influenced; mankind would not have to toil and toil and spin and spin.

If one third of the angels have not followed the Devil and mated with humans; magic and sorcery would not have emerged.

If humans have listened to the words of God; He would not have wanted humans purged.

If God wasn’t a merciful and full of loving-kindness God; He would not have kept Noah and his family safe from the Big Flood.

If the scribes and Pharisees weren’t eager for man’s glory and Judas’s blatant greed, Jesus our Lord would not have to spill His precious blood.

If not for the power and miracle work of God; Israel would not have birthed in 1948, as prophesied, as a nation again.

If time of the end is upon us soon and humans do not feel the need to repent of their sins, Jesus’ sacrifice in death would have been pointless and in vain.

If God and Jesus have not fought and battled hard with the Devil for our souls, we humans would have ceased in our own raging wars and sins.

If this present wicked violent world ends, it would be Jesus and His armies from the heavens having conquered the Devil and on that note, God wins.

Ω

© Keziah Boey January 16 2008

Ω

This poem may not be reproduced on any website or other medium without consent.
If you wish to use this poem, please request permission first.