Trust God and serve others

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post in the archives, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog.

Saturday, December 19, 2009
Devotions: Ps 55, 138, 139:1-17; Zech 8:9-17; Re 6:1-17; Mt 25:31-46

Lord, heed my prayer; I am helpless without You! My heart is in anguish, and I tremble in anxiety. Destroy the plans of my enemies and those of the adversary. And keep me from the treachery of false friends. I will depend only on YHWH. Let us cast our burdens on YHWH, Who will sustain us. He never permits the righteous to be moved. I will trust in You, my God! And I will praise You before all sentient beings; let all rulers praise You; let all, the high and low, sing Your praises. Though I wall in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life. YHWH will fulfill His purpose for me; He does not forsake His handiwork; Lord, Your steadfast love endures forever. YHWH has searched me and knows me altogether! Wherever I may go, there You are; Your Spirit meets me everywhere. You planned me from eternity; You shaped me from conception onward. You know me thoroughly, Lord; how precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!

YHWH Sabaoth spoke through Zechariah:’Let your hands be strong, you who build God’s house! I will deal with you all in a new and holy way: peace will be sown; the vines and fields will be fruitful; you’ll have sufficient rainfall, and I will make your name a blessing for everyone. Don’t be afraid; let your hands be strong! I have judged and punished the sins of your fathers; now I will bless you and your children, Jerusalem and Judah. Speak truth to one another; love no false oath, for I hate them!'

When the Lamb opened the first of seven seals on the great scroll, one of the living creatures spoke with a voice of thunder: ‘Come!’ A white horse appeared, and its rider held a war bow; a crown was bestowed on him, and the rider went forth to conquer. The second seal was opened, and the second living creature spoke: ‘Come!’ And a rider on a red horse appeared; this rider was commissioned to take peace from earth, so that men would kill one another; and he was given a great sword. When the Lamb opened the third seal, the third creature said ‘Come!’ And a rider on a black horse came forth, holding a balance in his hand. A voice from among the four living creatures said this: ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barely for a denarius; but do not harm oil and wine!’ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, the fourth creature said ‘Come!’ And forth rode Death, riding a pale, greenish horse; Hades followed him; and the two were given power to kill one fourth of earth’s people, with weapons of war, with famine, with pestilence, and by wild beasts. When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, John saw under heaven’s altar the souls of those who had been slain for their witness to God and His word; they cried out together, ‘Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You judge and avenge our blood on those who live on earth?’ Each was given a white robe; they were told to rest a little longer, until the full number of martyrs would join them. When the Lamb opened the sixth seal, a great earthquake shook the planet; the sun was darkened and the full moon became like blood; stars fell to earth as the leaves and fruit are shaken shake from the tree by winter gales. The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was displaced. Earth’s great leaders and all its people, free and slave, hid in caves and among the mountain rocks, begging for the earth to fall upon them and hide them from God’s judgment, and from the Lamb’s wrath—the day of God’s wrath has come, and none can stand before it!

Jesus described the great judgment to His disciples: ‘When the Son of man comes in His glory, with all His angels, He will sit on a glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them as a shepherds divides sheep and goats; He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left. To those on His right, the King will say, “Come, you blessed of My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed Me; I thirsted, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me; I was naked and you clothed Me, sick and imprisoned and you visited me.’ The sheep will reply, ‘Lord, when did all these things occur?’ And the King will answer, ‘Truly, I tell you, as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to Me.’ And then the King will turn to those on His left: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and imprisoned—and you did nothing to help Me.’ The damned will respond, ‘Lord, when did we fail in these things?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I tell you, you did none of these things for any of the least of my people—and so in that way, you also did nothing for Me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’