J.A. Matteson
How may we know our path is acceptable and pleasing to the LORD? "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prv. 4:23). Listen to the words from your mouth, do they dispense blessing or bitterness? Inspect the meditations of your heart, are they inclinations of trust in God or doubt? From the heart we may examine the the condition of our soul, all pretense is gone before the eyes of Him with whom we will give an account. The word of God reveals the state of the inner man. Confronted with sin he either confesses it and repents or hardens his heart by turning away to his own harm. Goodness, thankfulness, hope, mercy, faith, truth, gentleness, these are the things which spring forth from the wellspring of a heart dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty. The presence of the antithesis of these things indicates we have wandered from the straight and narrow way of life. Forsake the way of death and return to the path of life. Humble yourself before the mighty king of glory and He will lift you up and establish you as a firmly planted tree beside refreshing waters, whose leaf shall never wither and whose fruit will forever endure.
Copyright (c) 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever."). Isa. 40:8
Monday, September 8, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
The Hand of the LORD
For a time the upper hand of the enemies of Israel may appear to prosper, but the hand of the LORD will, in due time, crush those committed to the harm of His chosen ones. "Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish" (Isaiah 41:11). Bleak as the darkness of a moonless night, silent as the grave, cold as the heart of the man of wicked intent, all is temporal. The brilliance of the moon will again shine forth, dispersing the gloom of night. The inhabitants of the grave will leap forth with joy. Mercy, goodwill and compassion will replace the unbelieving heart of stone, hoping in Him who opens blind eyes and unstops deaf ears. The times and seasons of God's mercy and wrath belong to Him; who can counsel or direct Him? It is He who governs he affairs of men and who fights for the ones in whom His soul delights. Foolish are the enemies of Israel who boast in the conquest of their habitation, who delight in idols, profaning the name of the living God, even the Holy One of Israel. His vindication is swift, who can escape from the terror if His fury? But those who trust in the name of LORD most high will never be disappointed, even Jacob, with the righteous inhabitants of Israel, in whom His soul delights.
Copyright 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Copyright 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Thursday, July 17, 2014
In Times of Turmoil
J.A. matteson
On any particular day and in times of turmoil this is one truth satan presses to have you doubt or forget. "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all" (Ps. 103:19). In every disappointment, God rules over it. In moments of weakness, when temptations abound, the LORD is sovereign over them. During sickness and confusion God is calmly controlling all things from the throne of His grace. When you are maligned and unjustly accused, Jesus Christ is your advocate, ruling the universe with truth and righteousness. His ways are higher than the heavens and His thoughts beyond the farthest points of light. Nothing comes to pass apart from His sovereign will. Whether light or darkness describe your circumstances the LORD Almighty is King, being well pleased with all who place their hope and trust in Him. You may not know why, but you know Who. Give honor and glory to the King of glory, let the nations tremble before the throne of His righteousness. Firmly in His right hand are the saints of His choosing, whose redemption is secure by the power of His love.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
On any particular day and in times of turmoil this is one truth satan presses to have you doubt or forget. "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all" (Ps. 103:19). In every disappointment, God rules over it. In moments of weakness, when temptations abound, the LORD is sovereign over them. During sickness and confusion God is calmly controlling all things from the throne of His grace. When you are maligned and unjustly accused, Jesus Christ is your advocate, ruling the universe with truth and righteousness. His ways are higher than the heavens and His thoughts beyond the farthest points of light. Nothing comes to pass apart from His sovereign will. Whether light or darkness describe your circumstances the LORD Almighty is King, being well pleased with all who place their hope and trust in Him. You may not know why, but you know Who. Give honor and glory to the King of glory, let the nations tremble before the throne of His righteousness. Firmly in His right hand are the saints of His choosing, whose redemption is secure by the power of His love.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Monday, July 14, 2014
Stronger and Sweeter
J.A. Matteson
Seasons change and the flesh of man returns to the earth from which it came, but the word of our LORD endures forever. His precepts are from everlasting to everlasting and fools trifle with the word of His testimony, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil" (Isa. 5:20). Like wild beasts depraved souls sneer at the seed of the woman, throughout history the saints have been torn asunder, slandered, reviled, mocked, marginalized, condemned, made a laughing stock, and in all ways unjustly impugned. Darkness hates the light, wicked men who plot evil and practice deplorable acts hate God's saints, being convicted by their righteous deeds and the testimony of their lips of the moral code of God. "Silence!" they scream. Working tirelessly the wicked purpose to mute the testimony of the saints legislatively. If they fail legislatively, with violence they isolate the saints of God, inflicting death to silence the divine message of condemnation they know is just. Were it not for the grace of God ordinary men would shrink back from the fire, but by grace the faith of the afflicted saints grows stronger and sweeter in the face of personal danger, prevailing to the praise and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Alas, the saints of God cannot but stand as sentinels in the hurricane of Satan's devices. And stand they will, for the LORD of Hosts is with them and able to make them stand.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Seasons change and the flesh of man returns to the earth from which it came, but the word of our LORD endures forever. His precepts are from everlasting to everlasting and fools trifle with the word of His testimony, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil" (Isa. 5:20). Like wild beasts depraved souls sneer at the seed of the woman, throughout history the saints have been torn asunder, slandered, reviled, mocked, marginalized, condemned, made a laughing stock, and in all ways unjustly impugned. Darkness hates the light, wicked men who plot evil and practice deplorable acts hate God's saints, being convicted by their righteous deeds and the testimony of their lips of the moral code of God. "Silence!" they scream. Working tirelessly the wicked purpose to mute the testimony of the saints legislatively. If they fail legislatively, with violence they isolate the saints of God, inflicting death to silence the divine message of condemnation they know is just. Were it not for the grace of God ordinary men would shrink back from the fire, but by grace the faith of the afflicted saints grows stronger and sweeter in the face of personal danger, prevailing to the praise and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Alas, the saints of God cannot but stand as sentinels in the hurricane of Satan's devices. And stand they will, for the LORD of Hosts is with them and able to make them stand.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
To Know Him
J.A. Matteson
Our confidence in what we purport to believe about God will be tested by God. "But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed" (Job 4:5). With great assurance we may strengthen others in the days of plenty and pleasure, espousing the greatness and tender mercies of God, and yet, that to which we speak is lacking the veracity of personal experience. To acknowledge is fundamentally different from knowing, it is a lower level. God intends for His children to know Him as we know the heart of a close friend. The test comes when that which we confidently acknowledge is placed in the fire of affliction. Days may turn to weeks, and weeks may turn to months, and months may turn to years, and your suffering continues, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" is our cry (Ps. 22:1). In reply to our cry is silence, deafening quiet. And then it happens, after a protracted period of time we become spiritually depleted, exhausted, virtually unable to continue another second acknowledging the truth of God's mercies. We consider ourselves as dead, without future. It is in that moment, in that place, that it comes, when self is dead and all that remains is Jesus Christ, then we hear it, "a gentle whisper" (1 Kgs. 19:12). The end of self in merely our mental assent is what God is after, replacing acknowledgement with knowing, and the way is narrow, difficult, but glorious in its treasures. Now our words of counsel and exhortation to others possess a fresh vitality, spiritually infused with the life giving presence of one who has walked with Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:3-5). God restored Job and his words of wisdom became sweeter and more tender as a result of what he personally knew to be true of God and His gracious dealings with His children.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Our confidence in what we purport to believe about God will be tested by God. "But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed" (Job 4:5). With great assurance we may strengthen others in the days of plenty and pleasure, espousing the greatness and tender mercies of God, and yet, that to which we speak is lacking the veracity of personal experience. To acknowledge is fundamentally different from knowing, it is a lower level. God intends for His children to know Him as we know the heart of a close friend. The test comes when that which we confidently acknowledge is placed in the fire of affliction. Days may turn to weeks, and weeks may turn to months, and months may turn to years, and your suffering continues, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" is our cry (Ps. 22:1). In reply to our cry is silence, deafening quiet. And then it happens, after a protracted period of time we become spiritually depleted, exhausted, virtually unable to continue another second acknowledging the truth of God's mercies. We consider ourselves as dead, without future. It is in that moment, in that place, that it comes, when self is dead and all that remains is Jesus Christ, then we hear it, "a gentle whisper" (1 Kgs. 19:12). The end of self in merely our mental assent is what God is after, replacing acknowledgement with knowing, and the way is narrow, difficult, but glorious in its treasures. Now our words of counsel and exhortation to others possess a fresh vitality, spiritually infused with the life giving presence of one who has walked with Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:3-5). God restored Job and his words of wisdom became sweeter and more tender as a result of what he personally knew to be true of God and His gracious dealings with His children.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Grace Transforms our Hearts
J.A. Matteson
The road is not always smooth nor the grass green. Bitter cold replaces the warmth of summers sun and a friend returns evil for good. "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). The times and seasons of our existence are for the good pleasure of God. The earth is His, we are His creation to dispose of as He chooses. And unless we are vigilant we may delude ourselves into concluding our lot deserves nothing short of feather beds and roses. Underlying this mindset is a fundamental misunderstanding of who God is and what He after as He infuses the life of His Son in us. And until we recognize the pleasant and unpleasant as both being under the sovereign control of God to disperse as He pleases, we will trod along our way being tossed hither and yon by every circumstance. What God is after is that His children, as with His Son, will put on a heart of wisdom and obedience, emptying the last vestiges of self into the eternal ocean of God's perfect will. Whatsoever comes to pass, Job understood, is from the hand of God. And as such ultimately it is for our good, even though in the moment we may not understand. So we trust in Him who is faithful, defer to Him who is omniscient, and rest in Him who will never leave nor forsake us. Satan incites us to curse God in our affliction. Grace transforms our hearts completely, where affliction becomes the affirmation and witness of our lips to the everlasting love of Him who died that we might live.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
The road is not always smooth nor the grass green. Bitter cold replaces the warmth of summers sun and a friend returns evil for good. "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). The times and seasons of our existence are for the good pleasure of God. The earth is His, we are His creation to dispose of as He chooses. And unless we are vigilant we may delude ourselves into concluding our lot deserves nothing short of feather beds and roses. Underlying this mindset is a fundamental misunderstanding of who God is and what He after as He infuses the life of His Son in us. And until we recognize the pleasant and unpleasant as both being under the sovereign control of God to disperse as He pleases, we will trod along our way being tossed hither and yon by every circumstance. What God is after is that His children, as with His Son, will put on a heart of wisdom and obedience, emptying the last vestiges of self into the eternal ocean of God's perfect will. Whatsoever comes to pass, Job understood, is from the hand of God. And as such ultimately it is for our good, even though in the moment we may not understand. So we trust in Him who is faithful, defer to Him who is omniscient, and rest in Him who will never leave nor forsake us. Satan incites us to curse God in our affliction. Grace transforms our hearts completely, where affliction becomes the affirmation and witness of our lips to the everlasting love of Him who died that we might live.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
God Knows Us
J.A. Matteson
In our pilgrims journey we at times loose sight of God, but God never looses sight of us. "How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!" (Ps. 139:17). We do not know ourselves, but God knows us. We fail to understand His leading so as to bring to pass what He has ordained this day. We misinterpret difficulty as His displeasure when more often it is His kindness redirecting our way to bring us back to the path He has ordained for us, for our good and His glory. And depending on how far we have wandered from His way the journey back may appear daunting. Had we known ourselves as He knows us we would have recognized early on we were off the path and self-corrected our way. This is the perseverance of the saints who continue on their journey toward glory, and that by the grace of God. Had it not been for grace they would have remained in a desert place to the destruction of the soul. The loving kindness of the LORD is a sure foundation, a river springing forth into life eternal. If the day is cloudy obscuring the mountain peaks of His majesty, and the path uneven and precarious, rest in the knowledge that God is making perfect sense of your circumstances. And if He brings you to your senses where looking down at where your feet are standing you discern you have strayed from His path, simply acknowledge that which you know to be true and ask Him to guide you back. His good thoughts towards you are never ceasing in guiding you to your heavenly dwelling, giving you the desire of your heart.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
In our pilgrims journey we at times loose sight of God, but God never looses sight of us. "How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!" (Ps. 139:17). We do not know ourselves, but God knows us. We fail to understand His leading so as to bring to pass what He has ordained this day. We misinterpret difficulty as His displeasure when more often it is His kindness redirecting our way to bring us back to the path He has ordained for us, for our good and His glory. And depending on how far we have wandered from His way the journey back may appear daunting. Had we known ourselves as He knows us we would have recognized early on we were off the path and self-corrected our way. This is the perseverance of the saints who continue on their journey toward glory, and that by the grace of God. Had it not been for grace they would have remained in a desert place to the destruction of the soul. The loving kindness of the LORD is a sure foundation, a river springing forth into life eternal. If the day is cloudy obscuring the mountain peaks of His majesty, and the path uneven and precarious, rest in the knowledge that God is making perfect sense of your circumstances. And if He brings you to your senses where looking down at where your feet are standing you discern you have strayed from His path, simply acknowledge that which you know to be true and ask Him to guide you back. His good thoughts towards you are never ceasing in guiding you to your heavenly dwelling, giving you the desire of your heart.
Copyright © 2014 Immutable Word Ministries ("…the word of our God stands forever.") Isa. 40:8
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