PROVERBS 21:1 IT'S ALL IN GOD'S HANDS

IT’S ALL IN GOD’S HANDS

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord,

 as the rivers of water:

he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Proverbs 21:1

Then saith Pilate unto him,

Speakest thou not unto me?

knowest thou not

that I have power to crucify thee,

and have power to release thee?

Jesus answered,

Thou couldest have no power at all against me,

except it were given thee from above:

therefore he that delivered me unto thee

hath the greater sin.

John 19:10-11 (KJV)

Pilate thought he had the power of life and death over Jesus. However, God is ultimately the One who places people in the position of authority: Romans 13:1b “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” Jesus informed Pilate of this truth. Jesus did not fear Pilate because He knew that His Father controlled Pilate’s actions and was allowing Jesus to be subject to his judgment for the purposes of God’s Kingdom. Jesus had the benefit of knowing God’s plan for certain, knowing He had to face death and abandonment to redeem us, but knowing He would be restored to His rightful throne.

We do not have the ability to know our future. However, we can trust in God with the same certainty Jesus had. The truth is that God controls even the highest earthly authorities just like He controls the waterways and the winds. God is sovereign over the earth and all who reside upon it. If you know Him as your Father, this is a comfort. If you are not in right relationship with Him, you may find this truth terrifying. Wouldn’t you rather be on the side of the One who controls the hearts of earthly rulers?

Father, we thank you that we can rest assured that You are directing our paths. We are safely held in Your hand. Though storms of life will assail us, we know our lives our built on the firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. 

PROVERBS 16:1 ETERNAL FATHER HAS FINAL WORD

ETERNAL FATHER HAS FINAL WORD

People go about making their plans,

but the Eternal has the final word.

Proverbs 16:1 (VOICE)

      It would be best to say,

“If it is the Lord’s will and we live long enough, 

we hope to do this project

or pursue that dream.”

James 4:15 (VOICE)

In order to achieve “success,” we are told we must have short-term and long-term goals. We make business plans detailing what we hope to achieve this month, this year, or this decade. We engage in financial planning to ensure we can bring these plans to fruition. It is not that we should give up marking out a path for ourselves, but that we realize all our best laid plans are dependent upon the Lord. The Lord uses “circumstances” which we may perceive as good or bad to direct us exactly where He wants us to be. It is far better to recognize this reality from the beginning and surrender to His control than to be dragged kicking and screaming along the stepping-stones of life. When we seek first God’s will and ways and ask Him to guide us in the way that furthers His kingdom and glorifies Him, He provides for our needs (Matthew 6:33). When we evaluate our earthly “failures” in the light of God’s control, we can rest assured that He will set us upright as we trust Him. God’s having the final word in our lives can sound ominous or glorious depending on our relationship to Him. If we have trusted Jesus as our Savior and have been adopted as God’s children, we can rest easy in His sovereignty. If one rejects the Lord, that person will forever be struggling to stay on even ground. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV).

Father, we trust in You to keep us on Your path. When our short-term or long-term goals conflict with Your plans for us, light the path, making it clear where we need to re-direct. (Psalm 119:105)

Week off

We need to take this week off to handle some family and household matters. Take this time to check out our archived posts that you may have missed! We will be back next week, so stay tuned! We appreciate all of our viewers and pray for you. Remember, you can submit specific prayer requests on our website: www.PreciousJewelsMinistries.org

JOHN 8:36 FREE INDEED!

On this Independence Day when we celebrate our nation's freedoms, may we remember to celebrate the freedom we have in Christ! Have a happy and safe 4th of July! May God bless you richly!

Fireworks photo by Richard Wayne

LUKE 22:49-51 PORTRAITS OF PEOPLE

Portraits of People

By Karen Sue Hale

The boy was so controlled by demons

That he threw himself in the fire.

His father came and begged the Master

To save his precious boy’s life.

Jesus didn’t say, “Clean him up

and bring him into the church.”

Instead He cast those demons out

And touched him right there in the dirt

Portraits of people for whom Jesus cared.

He’s called us to follow Him

and His compassion share.

The woman had been bleeding

For twelve terrible years.

She touched the hem of His garment

As her hope conquered her fears.

Jesus didn’t rebuke her for touching Him

Although she was unclean.

Instead He said, “Your faith has healed you,

Daughter, you may go in peace.”

Portraits of people for whom Jesus cared.

He’s called us to follow Him

and His compassion share.

He was just the servant

Of the man who’d have Christ killed;

But when Peter tried to defend our Lord,

It was the slave’s blood he spilled.

Jesus did not say to him,

“You got what you deserved.”

Instead He put that ear back on

Healing every vessel and nerve.

Portraits of people for whom Jesus cared.

He’s called us to follow Him

and His compassion share.

Perhaps he may be dirty

Or maybe she has AIDS.

Someone whose been in prison

Or a homeless renegade.

How would Jesus touch them

If He were here today?

In my heart, I can’t believe

He’d turn and walk away.

Portraits of people for whom Jesus cares.

He’s called us to follow Him

and His compassion share.

He’s called us to follow Him

And His compassion share. 

FATHER'S DAY

LUKE 22:42 THY WILL BE DONE

THY WILL BE DONE

And he was withdrawn from them

about a stone's cast,

and kneeled down, and prayed,

Saying, Father, if thou be willing,

 remove this cup from me:

 nevertheless not my will,

but thine, be done.

Luke 22:41-42 (KJV)

From the beginning, Jesus was set upon doing God’s will. From leaving Heaven to be born of a virgin to His death on the cross, Jesus was being obedient to His Father (Philippians 2:6-8, John 5:30). At twelve years old, Jesus told His earthly parents that He must “be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). When He taught His disciples to pray, He instructed them to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In John chapter 17, Jesus prayed for His disciples and all who would follow Him in the future that they would be “one” with Him and the Father, that we would seek God’s will. The ultimate test of Jesus’s willingness to surrender to the will of the Father was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He agonized in prayer over the ordeal He knew awaited Him, a temporary separation from the love of His Father as He bore the weight of our sins upon the cross. Luke records the intensity of His prayer: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). However, in the end, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will knowing it was the divine plan to rescue us from sin and death. Do we, too, have the courage to pray, “Not my will, but Yours be done”. It is only possible when we are infused with the strength and power of Jesus (Philippians 4:13).

Father, please reveal Your will for us in each decision we face. Then give us the strength to carry out Your will rather than resorting to our own ways.

LUKE 22:31-32 FROM FALTERING FAITH TO FEEDING THE FLOCK

FROM FALTERING FAITH

TO FEEDING THE FLOCK

And the Lord said,

Simon, Simon, behold,

Satan hath desired to have you,

that he may sift you as wheat:

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:

and when thou art converted,

strengthen thy brethren.

Luke 22:31-32 (KJV)

He saith unto him the third time,

Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?

Peter was grieved because he said unto him

the third time, Lovest thou me?

And he said unto him,

Lord, thou knowest all things;

thou knowest that I love thee.

Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

John 21:17 (KJV)

Sifting does not sound like a very comfortable process. The Adversary wanted to shake Peter up and see what fell out. Note that Jesus did not say, “But the Father told that old Serpent, ‘No way!’” Instead, he assured Peter that He himself had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Satan had to ask permission to put Peter through trials just as he had done with Job. Therefore, we must surmise that God gave the Devil permission to sift Peter. Just as the refiner uses fire to purify silver by removing the dross, the sifter removes the unwanted parts of the wheat to leave the edible parts. Peter was asked point blank three times whether he was with Jesus or not and denied knowing him all three times. However, note that in the Lord’s warning to Peter, there is the hope of restoration. When the resurrected Jesus called Peter and some of the other disciples in off the lake, He took Peter aside. Peter had denied Jesus three times, so Jesus gave him the opportunity to affirm his love for Jesus three times. Then He gave Peter the assignment of “feeding His sheep” or shepherding His flock, in other words “strengthening his brothers” as the Lord had instructed him to do after his time of sifting. Peter’s faith faltered the night of Jesus’s arrest, but the Lord did not leave him in despair. In fact, Peter was empowered mightily to serve in the leadership of the early church AFTER he had denied knowing Jesus. Have you gone through a time of testing, of being sifted, and feel like you are now unworthy to serve the Lord? Do not despair. Turn to the Lord, receive His forgiveness, be assured of His love and reaffirm your love for Him. Then stand back and see how He raises you up to do things you could not have done with all the unnecessary chaff weighing you down!

Father, may we honestly pray Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Sift away any impurities and leave only that which will bring glory to You.

LUKE 22:26 SUPERIOR SERVANTS

SUPERIOR SERVANTS

But this is not your calling.

You will lead by a different model.

The greatest one among you will live

as one called to serve others without honor.

The greatest honor and authority is reserved

for the one who has a servant heart.

Luke 22:26 (TPT)

Everything in our world tells us we must be first—valedictorian, most valuable player, chief executive officer, etc. We want to be “top dog,” the one in charge, the boss. There is nothing wrong with having positive goals. However, sometimes we end up with too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Or we have someone who scrambled to the top on the backs of coworkers. And when a person gains that top position, there is a real temptation to “lord it over” those on the lower rungs of the ladder. Yet all these are praised as over-achievers, hard workers, super sharp. Jesus turned this model on its head. When the disciples argued about who was the chief person in Jesus’s inner circle, He told them they were not to be like this world’s idea of leadership. He informed them that the true leaders in His family were to be the ones who willingly served their brothers and sisters. It is a love that sacrifices our wants to meet the needs of others. We are to aspire to be superior—the most excellent at serving others. You may still be the CEO of a company but seek ways to make the lives of your employees and your customers better and be a servant in your church and community. We often think of church leadership as the people on the platform, but the church is really built on the people visiting the sick, the needy, and those who desperately need Jesus. The beautiful thing about Jesus’s design is that a person can be both the one singing the soaring solo and working behind the scenes in other ways. We may never see the ways people serve, but Father sees and knows whether we operate from the place of a servant’s heart or only in our own interests. May we be superior servants.

Father, please keep us humble. Make us like Jesus who “took on Him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7b). May we seek to lead by the example of “Treat men exactly as you would like them to treat you” (Luke 6:31 Phillips). 

1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-26 A LOVING MEMORIAL

A LOVING MEMORIAL

For I have received of the Lord

that which also I delivered unto you,

that the Lord Jesus the same night

in which he was betrayed took bread:

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you:

this do in remembrance of me.

After the same manner also he took the cup,

when he had supped, saying,

this cup is the new testament in my blood:

this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,

ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Something we had not really noticed before in this passage was that the Lord Jesus personally gave Paul instructions regarding observing communion, or as we call it, “The Lord’s Supper.” Therefore, even though Paul was not present on the night Judas betrayed Jesus, he knew exactly what had transpired around that table. Many scholars believe Paul wrote this description of Jesus’s last Passover meal with the twelve even before any of the gospel accounts were written. Why do we call this memorial meal “communion?” Susan breaks down the word as “come into union.” By reminding ourselves of the fact that Jesus our High Priest offered Himself as the final sacrificial, Passover Lamb, we are coming into union with Him. We are symbolically re-enacting the death of the Lord on our behalf. By sharing this meal with other believers, we are coming into union with each other as we corporately testify to the truth of God’s grace in providing Jesus to die in our place. Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is a solemn but joyful memorial. We solemnly reflect on the agony of our Lord as His body was nailed to the cross, and His blood flowed down from His nail-pierced hands and feet and His side pierced by the soldier’s spear. Then our sorrow turns to joy as we recall what happened on the third day—our Savior rose triumphantly from the grave having conquered sin and death!

Father, let us never forget all Jesus has done for us. Let us feel the pain we experienced when the realization of the cross and the agony of Jesus’s temporary separation from You was first made real to us. Let us eat the bread and drink the cup as a memorial to Your love and grace!