65.3 Christ's Humility And Greatness

(Philippians 2:6-11)

He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force

he should try to become equal with God.

Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,

and took the nature of a servant.

He became like man and appeared in human likeness.

He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--his death on the cross.

For this reason God raised him to the highest place above

and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.

And so, in honor of the name of Jesus,all beings in heaven, on earth, 

and in the world below will fall on their knees,

and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

65.2 The Wicked Will Be Destroyed

(Daniel 8:23-27)

"When the end of those kingdoms is near and they have become so wicked that they must be punished, there will be a stubborn, vicious, and deceitful king.  He will grow strong--but not by his own power.  He will cause terrible destruction and be successful in everything he does.  He will bring destruction on powerful men and on God's own people.  Because he is cunning, he will succeed in his deceitful ways.  He will be proud of himself and destroy many people without warning.  He will even defy the greatest King of all, but he will be destroyed without the use of any human power. This vision about the evening and morning sacrifices which has been explained to you will come true.  But keep it secret now, because it will be a long time before it does come true."

I was depressed and ill for several days.  Then I got up and went back to the work that the king had assigned to me, but I was puzzled by the vision and could not understand it.

65.1 Obedience Is The Keeping Of The Covenant

(Exodus 19:3b-8)

The Lord called to Moses from the mountain and him to say to the Israelites, Jacob's descendants: "You saw what I, the Lord, did to the Egyptians and how I carried  you as an eagle carries her young on her wings, and brought you here to me. Now,if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people.  The whole earth is mine., but you will be my chosen people, a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests."  So Moses went down and called the leaders of the people together and told them everything that the Lord had commanded him.  Then all the people answered together, "We will do everything that the Lord has said," and Moses reported this to the Lord.

64.4 Sing A New Song

(Psalm 96)

Sing a new song to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord, all the world!
Sing to the Lord, and praise him!
Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us.
Proclaim his glory to the nations,
his mighty acts to all peoples.

The Lord is great and is to be highly praised;
he is to be honored more than all the gods.
The gods of all other nations are only idols,
but the Lord created the heavens.
Glory and majesty surround him;
power and beauty fill his temple.

Praise the Lord, all people on earth;
praise his glory and might.
Praise the Lord's glorious name;
bring an offering and come into his Temple.
Bow down before the Holy One when he appears;
tremble before him, all the earth!

Say to all nations, "The Lord is king!
The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with justice."
Be glad, earth and sky!
Roar, sea, and every creature in you;
be glad, fields, and everything in you!
The trees in the woods will shout for joy
when the Lord comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the peoples of the world with justice and fairness.

64.3 A New Heart

(Ezekiel 36:25-32)

"I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.  I will give you a new heart and a new mind.  I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.  I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.  Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors.  You will be my people, and I will be your God.  I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be plentiful, so that you will not have any more famines.  I will increase the yield of your fruit trees and your fields, so that there will be no more famines to disgrace you among the nations.  You will remember your evil conduct and the wrongs that you committed , and you will be disgusted with yourselves because of your sins and your iniquities. Israel, I want you to know that I am not doing all this for your sake. I want you to feel the shame and disgrace f what you are doing. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken."