I will make you strong and will help you. I will support you
with my right hand that saves you. – Isaiah; 41:10 (NIV Life Application Study Bible)
Jesus says: You are in training, and I am your coach. I am training you to keep your thoughts on Me. You live in a world filled with sights and sounds. Some are good, and some are bad. But I don’t want even the good things to take your attention away from Me. This kind of focus takes training—just like practicing for a sport or a spelling bee. Just as some days you’re in a zone where you almost can’t miss a shot or misspell a word, some days your thoughts are on Me. Other days, nothing goes right, and every little thing distracts you from Me. Don’t let this throw you. When something grabs your attention, that’s okay.
Jesus concludes: Talk to Me about it. If it’s a good thing, we’ll rejoice together. If it’s a problem, we’ll work it out together.
The key is together. When you’re together with Me, you will have My Peace.
Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 112:7 Study Notes
Footnotes Isaiah 41:8-10 God chose Israel through Abraham because he wanted to, not because the people deserved it (Deuteronomy 7:6-8; 9:4-6). Although God chose the Israelites to represent him to the world, they failed to do this, so God punished them and sent them into captivity. Now all believers are God’s chosen people, and all share the responsibility of representing him to the world. One day God will bring all his faithful people together. We need not fear because (1) God is with us (“I am with you”); (2) God has established a relationship with us (“I am your God”); and (3) God gives us assurance of his strength, help, and victory over sin and death. Are you aware of all the ways God has helped you?
Passage Psalms 112:7 7They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
Footnotes 112:7-8 We all want to live without fear; our heroes are fearless people who take on all dangers and overcome them. The psalm writer teaches us that fear of God can lead to a fearless life. To fear God means to respect and revere him as the almighty Lord. When we trust God completely to take care of us, we will find that our other fears—even of death itself—will subside.
THE WORLD…we see history
BIRTH OF AMERICA, GENESIS 49
The Passage Containing the Blessings of Jacob to His Twelve Sons
Who Were Destined to Become a Great Nation?
April 30, 1789: The Invisible Hand 1:00 p.m. The Virginian, stepped onto the crowded second-floor balcony of the old Federal Building in lower Manhattan and took his place beside a large decorative Bible. He was about to take the oath of office as the first president of the United States of America. General Washington, The Bible before him, it was opened to Genesis 49, the passage containing the blessings of Jacob to his twelve sons who were destined to become a great nation. After placing his hand on the Bible, the general listened to the oath of office, which was quoted by Robert Livingstone, chancellor of New York. After hearing the final words “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States”—Washington said, “I do,” and then he did something extraordinary. To the thrill of the crowd and in full view of posterity, he removed his hand from Genesis 49 then reverently bent down and kissed the Bible.1 “It is done!” Livingston cried to the crowd. “Long live George Washington, president of the United States!”
The WORD…we see Jesus, His Story!
President Washington in his inaugural address to members of Congress. In that speech, Washington said what was in his heart. “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”
On that spring day in 1789, hundreds of eyewitnesses saw Washington lay his hands on God’s Word and kiss its pages. And those who heard his remarks took notice of his reverence toward the God of heaven who has revealed His “eternal rules of order and right,” an unmistakable reference to Scripture. The founders of the United States of America revered the Bible because it reflected their awareness of God’s authority over the nations. Washington did not place his hand on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States, as hallowed as those documents are. Nor did he kiss the pages of any other religious or secular tome. It was the Bible that sanctified the moment. The Bible, he knew, had ushered American history to this point.
Washington’s Inaugural Bible has been carefully preserved as one of the nation’s prized possessions. Other presidents have borrowed it from time to time, placing their hands on it as they repeated the oath of office. I’m writing from a conviction that the Bible is unique in human literature: a Book breathed out by God, recorded by those who were borne along by the Holy Spirit, and remains unerring in its teachings. Its message can change your life—your emotions, your situation, your mind, your heart, your family, and your future. The Scriptures can make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. “My words are few and plain,” George Washington once wrote. “Listen well to what I tell you and let it sink deep into your hearts. You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life and above all—the religion of Jesus Christ. This will make you a greater and happier people than you are.”