Isaiah 25:1-8 (NKJV)
1 O Lord, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You;
The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
6 And in this mountain
The Lord of hosts will make for all people
A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
Canto de Alabanza Al Señor
Isaías 25:1-8 (NVI)
1 Señor, tú eres mi Dios;
te exaltaré y alabaré tu nombre
porque has hecho maravillas.
Desde tiempos antiguos
tus planes son fieles y seguros.
2 Has convertido la ciudad en un montón de escombros,
la ciudad fortificada en una ruina.
Ya no es ciudad la ciudadela de extranjeros;
nunca más volverá a ser reconstruida.
3 Por eso te glorifica un pueblo poderoso;
te teme la ciudad de las naciones crueles.
4 Porque tú has sido,
en su angustia,
un baluarte para el desvalido,
un refugio para el necesitado,
un resguardo contra la tormenta,
una sombra contra el calor.
En cambio, el aliento de los crueles
es como una tormenta contra un muro,
5 como el calor en el desierto.
Tú aplacas el tumulto de los extranjeros,
como se aplaca el calor bajo la sombra de una nube,
y ahogas la canción de los tiranos.
6 Sobre este monte, el Señor Todopoderoso
preparará para todos los pueblos
un banquete de manjares especiales,
un banquete de vinos añejos,
de manjares especiales y de selectos vinos añejos.
7 Sobre este monte rasgará
el velo que cubre a todos los pueblos,
el manto que envuelve a todas las naciones.
8 Devorará a la muerte para siempre;
el Señor omnipotente enjugará las lágrimas de todo rostro,
y quitará de toda la tierra
el oprobio de su pueblo.
El Señor mismo lo ha dicho.
Love Fulfills the Law
Galatians 5:7-15 (NKJV)
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
El Amor Cumple La Ley
Galatas 5:14 (NVI)
7 Vosotros estabais corriendo bien. ¿Quién os estorbó para que dejarais de obedecer a la verdad?
8 Tal instigación no puede venir de Dios, que es quien os ha llamado.
9 «Un poco de levadura fermenta toda la masa».
10 Yo por mi parte confío en el Señor que no pensaréis de otra manera. El que os está perturbando será castigado, sea quien sea.
11 Hermanos, si es verdad que yo todavía predico la circuncisión, ¿por qué se me sigue persiguiendo? Si tal fuera mi predicación, la cruz no ofendería tanto.
12 ¡Ojalá que esos instigadores acabaran por mutilarse del todo!
13 Os hablo así, hermanos, porque habéis sido llamados a ser libres; pero no os valgáis de esa libertad para dar rienda suelta a vuestras pasiones. Más bien servíos unos a otros con amor.
14 En efecto, toda la ley se resume en un solo mandamiento: «Ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo».
15 Pero, si seguís mordiéndoos y devorándoos, tened cuidado, no sea que acabéis por destruiros unos a otros.
Points to Ponder – Greater Things!
Here’s a bite-sized piece of encouragement from your Bible. Also included is a featured song that is sure to lift your spirit. May your heart and soul be blessed. –G–
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
Continue reading “Points to Ponder – Greater Things!”The Safety of the Faithful
Psalms 4:1-8 (NKJV)
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2 How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? —Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
4 Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. —Selah
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?”
Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
7 You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
La Seguridad de Los Fieles
Salmos 4:1-8 (NVI)
1 Responde a mi clamor, Dios mío y defensor mío.
Dame alivio cuando esté angustiado,
apiádate de mí y escucha mi oración.
2 Y vosotros, señores,
¿hasta cuándo cambiaréis mi gloria en vergüenza?
¿Hasta cuándo amaréis ídolos vanos
e iréis en pos de lo ilusorio? —Selah
3 Sabed que el Señor honra al que le es fiel;
el Señor me escucha cuando lo llamo.
4 Si os enojáis, no pequéis;
en la quietud del descanso nocturno
examinaos el corazón. —Selah
5 Ofreced sacrificios de justicia
y confiad en el Señor.
6 Muchos son los que dicen:
«¿Quién puede mostrarnos algún bien?»
¡Haz, Señor, que sobre nosotros
brille la luz de tu rostro!
7 Tú has hecho que mi corazón rebose de alegría,
alegría mayor que la que tienen los que disfrutan de trigo y vino en abundancia.
8 En paz me acuesto y me duermo,
porque solo tú, Señor, me haces vivir confiado.
No Return to the Law
Galatians 2:11-21 (NKJV)
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!
18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
No Hay Vuelta a La Ley
Gálatas 2:11-21 (NVI)
11 Pues bien, cuando Pedro fue a Antioquía, le eché en cara su comportamiento condenable.
12 Antes que llegaran algunos de parte de Jacobo, Pedro solía comer con los gentiles. Pero, cuando aquellos llegaron, comenzó a retraerse y a separarse de los gentiles por temor a los partidarios de la circuncisión.
13 Entonces los demás judíos se unieron a Pedro en su hipocresía, y hasta el mismo Bernabé se dejó arrastrar por esa conducta hipócrita.
14 Cuando vi que no actuaban rectamente, como corresponde a la integridad del evangelio, le dije a Pedro delante de todos: «Si tú, que eres judío, vives como si no lo fueras, ¿por qué obligas a los gentiles a practicar el judaísmo?
15 »Nosotros somos judíos de nacimiento y no “pecadores paganos”.
16 Sin embargo, al reconocer que nadie es justificado por las obras que demanda la ley, sino por la fe en Jesucristo, también nosotros hemos puesto nuestra fe en Cristo Jesús, para ser justificados por la fe en él y no por las obras de la ley; porque por estas nadie será justificado.
17 »Ahora bien, cuando buscamos ser justificados por Cristo, se hace evidente que nosotros mismos somos pecadores. ¿Quiere esto decir que Cristo está al servicio del pecado? ¡De ninguna manera!
18 Si uno vuelve a edificar lo que antes había destruido, se hace transgresor.
19 Yo, por mi parte, mediante la ley he muerto a la ley, a fin de vivir para Dios.
20 He sido crucificado con Cristo, y ya no vivo yo, sino que Cristo vive en mí. Lo que ahora vivo en el cuerpo, lo vivo por la fe en el Hijo de Dios, quien me amó y dio su vida por mí.
21 No desecho la gracia de Dios. Si la justicia se obtuviera mediante la ley, Cristo habría muerto en vano».
I Never Knew You
Matthew 7:21-29 (NKJV)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,
29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
