Dec 4, 2022
JOEL 2:28-3:
An
attack by an army of locusts must be so frightening! What
descriptions! And even worse when God is bringing the attack as an
act of judgement. Yet Joel offers hope. He encourages the people to
come back to God and beg for the Lord’s help. We will pick up today
re-reading the famous part of Joel 2.
ISAIAH 44b:
In
the first part of this chapter God said:
Is.
44:3 NLT For I will pour out water to quench your
thirst
and
to irrigate your parched fields.
And
I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,
and
my blessing on your children.
4
They will thrive like watered grass,
like
willows on a riverbank.
5
Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the LORD.’
Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of
Jacob.’
Then God gave a lecture on the futility of idols. I love the irony in the verses we read today:
Is.
44:19 NLT The person who made the idol never stops to
reflect,
“Why, it’s just a block of wood!
2TIMOTHY 3:
We
heard the wonderful encouragements to Timothy in chapter 2. Note
that Paul did not explain everything to Timothy, but invited him to
ponder what he had said. I urge all of us to similarly ponder and
spend time meditating on what Paul said.
Note what Paul says about God’s Word in contrast to his being in chains: “The word of God cannot be chained.” Yay, God! May your Word accomplish what you have sent it to do!
GNT Translation
notes:
2Tim. 3:8 As
Jannes and Jambres were opposed to Moses, so also these people are
opposed to the truth—people whose minds do not function and [what
they believe doesn’t even make sense//who are failures in the
faith].
10 But you
have followed my teaching, my conduct, and my purpose in life; you
have observed [how I believe//my faith], my patience, my love, my
endurance,
15 and you
remember that ever since you were a child, you have known the Holy
Scriptures, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to
salvation through [believing//faith] in Christ Jesus.