God knows that we are weak and frail and He knows that the testing of our faith can cause us to complain or murmur or to become unsteady in our Christian walk.. but God provides all the wisdom we need to maintain a steady heart, patient endurance, and an unwavering, uncompromised faith in Him. God delights to give generously to all who ask ~ but we must be prepared to ask Him, to listen to His voice, and to obey His Word.

I'm speaking at a one-day conference in Orangevale, CA on Saturday, April 20.
https://subsplash.com/calvarysolidground/lb/ev/+t8jfv9n

It is only as we grow in grace, become mature in the faith, and keep a short rein of sin in our lives, that we will produce the spiritual fruit that exemplifies the spirit~filled believer.

Only as we live and walk and pray in spirit and in truth, will our lives produce this singular fruit of God's Holy Spirit, and we will be equipped to say with Paul, "It is not I who live ~ but Christ, Who lives in me."

It seems to be a certainty that Israel will respond to Iran's attack in the near future. How severe will her response be? She needs to decapitate the snake. But the stronger her response, the stronger will be the opposition from her allies. Worse, the stronger Israel's response, the stronger Iran's response in turn. This could expand into regional conflict.

A strong response from Israel could also lead to Russia using a similar show of force in Ukraine, bringing that conflict to a sudden end and freeing Russia to allocate more military resources on behalf of her Middle East allies.

God Himself is the source of all spiritual illumination and He is the subject of all spiritual revelation, but the indwelling Spirit of Christ is the channel through Whom the Holy Scriptures are unveiled to us. The Spirit of God enlightens the eyes of our heart, when we willingly submit to His leading and guidance, and when we depend upon Him in all things. May we have ears to hear and eyes to see.

Although this is certainly a serious warning against treating this issue carelessly, or without understanding the tremendous responsibility incurred in teaching God's Word... this verse is also a great encouragement for us all to study the Scriptures daily, to show ourselves approved unto God, be in a position to tell others the good news of the gospel of grace ~ and to be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ.

And just as love begets love, so too provoking others to good works by our own demonstration, will promote good works in them as well. Good works can only by carried out in our Christian life through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And so we promote love and good works in others, in spirit and in truth. How blessed we are if we can reflect on our own lives and identify those that by God's grace, patiently and lovingly provoked us to love and good works, by grace through faith in Christ.

When fallen man can look beyond his rebellious, prideful myopia, and recognise that by God's eternal power the worlds were made, he can start to glimpse into the very character and heart of God Who loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the enormous price for your sins and mine. And His name is Jesus.

God will certainly perfect the good work He started in each of us ~ but may we live our lives in full cooperation with Him, as we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him... so that we achieve spiritual maturity in this life, and in the ages to come, will receive our glorified bodies and rich rewards. Hallelujah!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD: This is a remarkably fitting conclusion to this psalm and to the entire Book of Psalms. Everything that breathes should give its praise to the One who gave it breath. Every breath is the gift of God and praise is the worthy response we should make for that gift. Praise ye the Lord.

We are to be covered in His truth, covered in His righteousness, and rest in His peace and His salvation which is ours by grace alone through faith alone in His finished work alone. It is only as we dress ourselves in Christ and cover ourselves spiritually in the Lord, day by day and moment by moment, that we will we be enabled to make no provision for the evil cravings of our physical nature ~ for only as we are clothed in Christ can the power of sin and death be defeated in the life of a Christian.

The reaction of unsaved men or the carnal Christians to unjust treatment in this fallen world, is to demand immediate vindication here and now ~ but God works from an eternal perspective in the lives of His children so that when we truly entrust our lives into His hands, we know that the judge of all the earth will do right. But it will only happen at His appointed time and in His appointed way.

All who believe have the privilege of becoming part of the Bride of Christ, as members of the Church. By God's grace, Israel's rejection of their Bridegroom caused those that were outside of the commonwealth of Israel to be brought into the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd ~ Jew and Gentile alike. Praise God that we who believe are part of the Bride of Christ and Jesus is coming any day to take us to be with Himself.

The enormity of this truth staggers the finite and limited understanding of man. God in this simple verse is stating that ALL who freely choose to trust in Christ as Saviour can have an assurance that they will one day be glorified. And that will happen when we finally behold His face at the glorious resurrection: "For the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible." And after that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up into the clouds together with all the resurrected saints in this Church age, and at last "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him is He is."

Daniel's 70 'weeks' may be considered to be the backbone of prophecy by students of Biblical prophecy, but Jesus is at its center and its circumference, for He is the Alpha and Omega of prophecy, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, for ever and ever, Amen.