*July 1, 1973 Isaiah 1-3, Titus 3

Today is the Day that the Lord has made. It’s the day of our meeting and we need you, Lord Jesus—your strength, confidence and power.

Is. 2:17 – “The Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

Is. 3:7 – HEALER – “binder of wounds.” Talks about healing, disease. Is healing just “binding” the devil?

Lord, I’m just not concentrating. I have my mind on so many other things.

Lord, I don’t feel worthy or worth anything, or even able to lead. May I claim in faith today the power and work of your Spirit in our midst. Jesus is the only way we’ll make it.

July 2, 1973 Is. 4-5, Ps. 115-116, Jude

Is. 4 – Talks about Jesus here and the eternal record book in heaven. This is a neat little chapter. I’m going to enjoy this book.

Is. 5:13 – The prophecy of the Babylonian exile. “My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge – failure, frustration. Good example of the Christian life.

+ Man’s cause of failure: Is. 5:24 – Unbelief in and rejection of God’s Word and law. Same as in the beginning.

*Ps. 115:1 – This is great after yesterday’s neat meeting – “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy Name give glory, because of Thy lovingkindness, because of Thy truth.”

(v. 17) – Hell is Silence. Interesting.

Jude – This is an interesting little book. A lot of things about judgment, the fallen angels and other side-lights. Good book to research the examples.

July 3, 1973 Is. 6, 7, 2 Chr. 26-27, Philemon

Is. 7:9 – “If you do not believe, you surely will not last.” (v. 14) – This is that neat prophecy about Jesus – the virgin birth. There’s a lot here, but it’s hard to understand.

2 Chr. 26:5 – King Uzziah – “And he continued to seek God is the days of Zechariah who had understanding through the vision of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him.”

*Uzziah then became proud and died a leper—Pride – What a terrible thing. 

(I’m going to put up that sign on my door. I need humility desperately—everyday.)

Philemon – (v. 14) “that your goodness should not be, as it were by compulsion, but of your own free will.” Good principle of giving here. Giving in the Christian life is a voluntary love response—exercising faith through using our free will.

+ Onesimus = Useful.

July 4-5, 1973 2 Kings 15-16, Hosea 1-5, Heb. 1-2

2 Kings 15 – I’ve got to find out the significance of the “high places.” This really interests me. They sacrificed and burned incense there.

2 Kings 16 – “My people are rejected for a lack of knowledge.”

*HOSEA – I can really feel this book. God is so tender and loving here. When you really love someone, and they hurt you, or are unfaithful to you, it hurts bad. It takes SO much to forgive, forget, and continue to love them. God is sure giving us a picture here of real love expressed in His concern for his people, Israel.

Hebrews 1:14 – angels – Are they our invisible helpers in everyday life?

+ I think God wants me to return to studying and meditating on the basics of salvation. I’ve got to keep dwelling on the Cross—JESUS. “But we see Jesus…”

July 6, 1973 Hosea 6-9, Heb. 3

Hosea 6- God wants our love—a growing relationship with Him (6:9. Oh to be IN LOVE with God!!

Hosea 7 – Man, I can just feel the pain of God’s rejection here. “They turn away from Me although I trained them and strengthened their arms” (v. 14-15). “I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.”

Hosea 9-10 – “And they became as detestable as that which they loved.”

*We will BECOME as that which we love. We must love God with all our hearts.

Heb. 3 – The Lord is really driving home the point to me about eternal security. We are as secure as we are of faith.” For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” (v. 6 also.)

+ God wants our love from the will. A love that last—is faithful—yeah!

July 7-8, 1973 Hosea 10-14, Ps. 73, 10, 102, Heb. 4-5

*Hosea 10:12 – “Sow with a view to righteousness. Reap in accordance with kindness. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord.”

These verses really hit me – Hosea 12: 6 – “Wait for God continually.”

Ps. 73 – I can really relate that Asaph had the same kind of doubts that I have sometimes – “like a dream when one awakes.” – The Judgment.

+ Our source of anxiety in life is a wrong perspective.

Heb. 4-5 – There must be reason why Heb.4:12, about the “word of the Lord is alive and active,” follows directly after the verses about entering the rest of God. The Sabbath rest of the believer. Does the source of the believers’ “rest” in the Spirit come directly from the Word? Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word then you are truly disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. That’s it!

July 9, 1973 Micah 1-4, Heb. 6

Micah 1: 5 – Sin = REBELLION.

Micah 2:1 – “Woe to those who scheme iniquity, who work out evil on their beds! When morning comes, they will do it, for it is in the power of their hands.”

*This is for me. All these thoughts of naked girls and sex that I fight in my thoughts in bed. Here is the warning. These thoughts and dreams are tricks of Satan.

Micah 3:8 – “On the other hand, I am filled with power—with the Spirit of the Lord.” Micah 4:5 – Though all the peoples walk, each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

Heb. 6:11,12 – “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

STICK TO IT, RON. IT’S WORTH IT!!

July 10-11, 1973 Micah 5-7, Is. 8-10, Heb. 7-8

“My people, what have I done to you, how have I worried you? Answer Me” (Micah 6:3).

*Lord, is this what you want me to speak on Friday? How we have grieved you?

Micah is a beautiful book. 

Is. 8:19 – “Should not a people consult their God?” Talks about not turning to occult practices. Isaiah – so many pictures of Jesus! Every chapter…So much future prophecy involved here.

This in Heb. 7-8 is good too. I’m tired and my mind is wandering. Forgive me, Lord. I must go to bed.

July 12, 1973 Is. 11-14, Heb. 9

Is. 11:6-9 – What a beautiful picture of the world of peace to come! All tension today, even in the animal world, is a result of sin. End of chapter: Prophecy of the Israel-Egypt conflict now?

Is. 12:3, 4 – “Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation. And in that day, you will say, give thanks to the Lord, all on His Name.”

Heb. 9 – This is heavy and enlightening. This is a vivid account of what the death of Christ meant, the blood offering, as pictured int eh sacrificial offering in the tabernacle under the old covenant. Gives an allusion to the “real” or “true” tabernacle or Holy of Holies which Christ has entered once for all to pay for sins.

This chapter really came alive to me tonight as a whole.

July 13-14, 1973 Is. 15-21, Heb. 10-11

Jesus is not only our Savior, but our judge. (Great White Throne.)

+ Basis of sin is PRIDE (Is. 16:6,7).

*God wants us to love Him and look to Him—not our sanctuaries and articles of worship (Is. 17:7,8). (Hosea 6:6).

Lord, I don’t understand much of this. A lot of history and prophecy here. I can really see, though, how you are the God of history and behind all the surges of the nations.

I spent this quiet time sharing with C. and showing her how I am learning from the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity. I pray that it will bless her in her walk with You…

July 15, 1973 Is. 22-24, Heb. 12

These oracles in Isaiah are very mysterious and vivid—Lord—give me SOMETHING out of them.

Thank you. Look at Is. 24—what a vivid description of the world scene: “the world is also polluted his its inhabitants” (v. 5). What a picture of the judgment of the world. [the earth] “it will fall, never to rise again…” (v. 20).

Heb. 12:10,11 – the beauty of discipline – “But He disciplines us for our good that we may share His holiness. All discipline seems for the moment not to be joyful, yet to those who have been trained by it, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

These are my verses today. DISCIPLINE – OBEDIENCE – Lord, train me.

Our destination: Heb. 12 :22-24 – These are neat verses. I know where I’m going!!!

July 16-17, 1973 Is. 25-31, James 1, Heb. 13

July 17^th—Tues night—Praise God. Last night after the Bible study C. received the baptism in the Spirit and spoke in a beautiful tongue. What a release!! We were really united in love and spirit. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for answering that prayer.

Now, I’m behind. I’ll read the last two days and slow down.

July 18, 1973 Is. 32-35, James 2

Here’s neat verse about the Holy Spirit. Is. 32:15 – “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high and the wilderness becomes a fertile field.” *Last night was an out-pouring!!

Here’s an appropriate verse for the times we live in and economic crises, political scandals and unrest: “And He shall be the stability of your times” (Is. 33:6).

Song—“Therefore the redeemed…” (Is. 35:10.

Lord, you’re speaking to me a lot about FAITH today aren’t you. I talked to my dad about faith. You gave me those verses in Isaiah (26:4 and 30:15) about it, and now here in James 2 you say it again.

Lord, help me to believe you about the future. I’m wretchedly human and scared of failure.

“Trust in the Lord forever.”

July 19, 1973 2 Kings 17, 2 Chr. 28, Ps. 46, James 3

The Assyrian conquest of Israel. A Lot of detail is given here in 2 Kings 17 about WHY Israel fell. I think Verse 14 sums it up for all time – “They did not believe in the Lord their God.

*This is for me today. Ps. 46:10 – “Let go, relax and know that I am God.” Thank you, Lord. I’ve got to slow down and quit worrying.

James 3:1 – Lord, do I have a teaching ministry? I think that I do.

My tongue and speech have got to shape up. I’m not consistent. My words are not peace…

July 20-21, 1973 Is. 36,37, Ps. 76, 1 Peter 1

I have been thinking about prayer and the importance of pure motives, and here in Isaiah is a good example of a prayer by King Hezekiah and his motive for asking. Is. 37:20 – “that all the kingdoms of the world may know that Thou alone art God.”

+ Prayer Motivation: God’s praise and glory.

1 Peter 1:13 – Therefore gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

*I’ve got to keep going! Gird myself for action! Dynamic, not stupid…but aflame.

A disciple is a revolutionary. His sights are set, his sword is in hand, and his faith stepping forward—with all his movements controlled by God’s Spirit.

July 23, 1973 2 Kings 20, Is. 38-39, Ps. 75, 1 Peter 2

God heals Hezekiah of his sickness in answer to his prayers (God the Holy Spirit).

*Someday the enigma of disease for me will be done away by my FAITH.

Isaiah prophesied of the Babylonian conquest and exile.

Here is another verse on healing – 1 Peter 2:24 – “And He Himself bore our sins on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For by His wounds you were healed.”

I know that you are talking to me about healing, Lord, but I lack “light.” What I probably lack is faith, but it just hurts to admit it.

*Lord, teach me the secret of power in your Spirit. That is the desire of my heart.

July 24, 1973 Is. 40-42, 1 Peter 3

*Right when I started reading Is. 40. Beginning with the words, “Comfort, O comfort My people,” the Lord said to me that tonight I must encourage and exhort and comfort the group in what we’re doing. No more criticism—POSITIVE—words of inspiration. Thank you, Lord.

I’ve got a real strong sense of personal security here in Is. 41. I felt like God was talking right to me. “Do not fear. I will help you” (v. 13).

1 Peter 3 – Man, I think of C, as I read this. The Lord is really working miracles in our relationship. We’re developing sacrificial love and care and a real joy in the Lord. Amen!

Sorry, Lord. I’m hurrying. You know. Doing your work.

July 25, 1973 Is. 43-45, 1 Peter 4

I’m so tired and hurrying through this tonight, but I thank the Lord that I am tired because I’ve been doing His work. That makes it worthwhile.

Despite my haste, the Lord gave me a real lesson on agape love tonight, and tomorrow I’m writing C. a letter—especially with the following verses: Is. 43:4, 1 Peter 4:8.

July 26, 1973 Is. 46-49, 1 Peter 5

Again, Lord, you’re telling me to trust you. “Truly I have spoken. Truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”

*Lord, you have promised C. to me, haven’t You? It seems so clear here. Why do I doubt? Why do I play-act and hide sometimes?

+ Lord –Have You promised that we will be together next year?

+ Wow – what a verse here: Is. 48:16 – “Come near to me, listen to this. From the first I have not spoken in secret. From the time it took place I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit.” – Father. Son-Jesus. Holy Spirit. What a revelation here!!! 

1 Peter 5:1-4 – I have got to be an EXAMPLE to the kids that I lead who look up to me. EAGERNESS. (v. 5-6) – I must “clothe” myself with humility. My verse for today: 1 Peter 5:5.

July 27, 1973 Is. 50-52, Ps. 92, 2 Peter 1

Inspirational!

I just kind of mellowed out and relaxed and listened to the Lord. He said some neat things. 2 Peter 1:3 – Happiness through faith by knowledge.

July 28-29, 1973 Is. 53-59, Ps. 103, 2 Peter 2-3

Is 53 – Jesus, our Redeemer! What an inspired chapter. 53:5 – “by His scourging we were healed.”

+ Is. 54:5,6 – The Lord just revealed this to me. There probably are more women that are Christians than men because girls are more easily accustomed to responding to love, being made that way for their husbands. Yeah…

Is. 58:11 – “And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones. And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

Ps. 103:3 – “Who pardons all your iniquities and heals all your diseases.”

+ The Lord is really speaking to me about healing. I keep wondering if He’s going to call me into a ministry of this.

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

July 30, 1973 Isa. 60-62, John 1

Is. 60: 1,2 – “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you…And His glory will appear upon you.” As I read these words I thought of the blessings and joys Jesus has given me by filling me with His Holy Spirit, and how I must begin tapping His resource of power and glory. Arise, shine by FAITH.

I’m getting thoughts from this chapter of Isaiah on God’s promises to support me financially as I walk in faith before Him.

John 1 – What an awesome chapter! What an awesome thought that the God of this entire universe would visit the tiny planet Earth in the way that He did. I can just see Jesus, His love, His goodness.

I really felt like I was a part of John’s book as I read this tonight—that I was a Philip to whom the Lord had said, “Follow Me,” and he did. Lord, I’m going to FOLLOW YOU.