7-25-18 Today in the Word

Today in the Word
July 2018
The Book of Isaiah: Seeing the Glory of God
PROVIDER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 | Isaiah 51:1–8, Isaiah 49–51
Gelotophobia (literally, “fear of laughter”), sometimes also known ascatagelotophobia, is the fear of being ridiculed or laughed at by others because of a mistake, miscue, or malfunction. It is a social disorder affecting millions of people, keeping some from speaking or performing in public settings. As everyone knows, the pain from ridicule can be great.
In a similar though nonclinical way, the fear of being ridiculed keeps many believers from proclaiming the gospel to others. Some hesitate to even practice their Christianity at work or in their social settings. Many do not want to be laughed at for living counter to cultural mores, or for not having answers to the questions of skeptics.
In our reading today, the Lord tells Israel that the righteousness He provides takes away their need to fear reproach by mere mortals (v. 7). His righteousness provides everlasting salvation (v. 6), so what is there to fear?
When Christ summons us to salvation, He calls us to believe and practice what seems foolish to the people of this age. It starts with believing that He is the Creator of all things and that we are too sinful to save ourselves. We experience salvation by trusting in the work of Jesus rather than self-reliance. We believe that Jesus died but is now alive from the dead. We further believe Jesus Christ is the only way to be in a saving relationship with God (John 14:6). As the apostle Paul said, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
The righteousness of God will never fail (v. 8). We can have this encouragement to ward off the pain from any reproach of man. We have the approval of God.
APPLY THE WORD
No one enjoys being mocked. But if we do experience ridicule for the sake of following Jesus, we know we are in good company. Jesus has said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matt. 5:11). What a privilege to be able to identify with our Lord!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Little-Known Prophecies of Christmas, Pt 3: Genesis 17:19

Little-Known Prophecies of Christmas, Pt 3: Genesis 17:19 :: By Paul J. Scharf Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles The Messiah was a descendant of Abraham. More than that, we considered last time how He was, in fact, promised within the covenant that God made with Abram (Gen. 12:1-3). According to the Apostle Paul in Gal. 3:16 and 19, He is the ultimate recipient of that covenant! Our Savior Jesus Christ is finally the One through whom “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Paul also quoted and discussed that portion of the covenant in Gal. 3:8-9. We ended last time with the realization that the promised Messiah would be the final Davidic king over Israel. As declared then, however, there are several intermediate steps, with accompanying prophecies, which are given between the times of Abraham and David and speak about His coming and the offices He would hold as the greatest prophet, priest, and king. And there are also more ance
Read more

9-17-23 Christians Using Science Badly: Part 2

Christians Using Science Badly: Part 2 :: By Wilfred Hahn Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles, Wilfred Hahn Christians Using Science Badly: Part 2 :: By Wilfred Hahn Reviewing the “facts” that we cited in Part 1, we noted the hyperbole and downright dishonesty in some instances to support global warming claims. Why is there such bias? Money Precedes Truth Global warming has become big business. Armies of global consultants are peddling false information because it is profitable to do so. Many claimed urgencies are exaggerated by factors of 10X … indeed, 200X in some instances and more. Governments are particularly susceptible to this hype, promising infrastructure programs estimated to cost upwards of trillions of dollars. According to a new report,1 an estimated $3.4 trillion will be invested in renewable energy during the next decade, including $2.72 trillion in wind and solar. By 2030, 54.1% of installed capacity will be renewable (including hydropo
Read more

9-16-23 It Is Coming

It Is Coming :: By Daymond Duck Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Daymond Duck, General Articles On Dec. 17, 2022, it was reported that Rep. David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island, has introduced legislation to permanently bar former Pres. Trump from running for president again, and 40 Democrats have signed on. Cicilline is accusing Trump of orchestrating an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. At the time of this writing, it is debatable as to whether Cicilline’s legislation will get voted on before the new Congress takes office in 2023, but some conservatives have said from the beginning that the main purpose of the Jan. 6 fake show-trial was to stop Trump from being elected again. Some, including this writer, have said there is no telling what the U.S. shadow government will do to prevent making America great again (MAGA) because they want to surrender the sovereignty of the U.S. to the New World Order (coming world government). It was easy to see this coming, and
Read more