QT - May 1st, 2008

Do you guys even do these QTs that I send out? hahahaha

anyways, here's tomorrow's QT:

Wednesday, April 30^th, 2008

Compassion and Judgement

Isaiah 14:1~17

1 The LORD will have compassion on Jacob;

once again he will choose Israel

and will settle them in their own land.

Aliens will join them

and unite with the house of Jacob.

2 Nations will take them

and bring them to their own place.

And the house of Israel will possess the nations

as menservants and maidservants in the LORD's land.

They will make captives of their captors

and rule over their oppressors.

3 On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage,

4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has come to an end!

How his fury has ended!

5 The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked,

the scepter of the rulers,

6 which in anger struck down peoples

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subdued nations

with relentless aggression.

7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;

they break into singing.

8 Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon

exult over you and say,

"Now that you have been laid low,

no woodsman comes to cut us down."

9 The grave below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—

all those who were leaders in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.

10 They will all respond,

they will say to you,

"You also have become weak, as we are;

you have become like us."

11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,

along with the noise of your harps;

maggots are spread out beneath you

and worms cover you.

12 How you have fallen from heaven,

O morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,

"I will ascend to heaven;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High."

15 But you are brought down to the grave,

to the depths of the pit.

16 Those who see you stare at you,

they ponder your fate:

"Is this the man who shook the earth

and made kingdoms tremble,

17 the man who made the world a desert,

who overthrew its cities

and would not let his captives go home?"

Think:

Is it okay to be proud of your gifts that God has given you? Can you go too far in being proud of the gifts that God has given you? How?

Pray:

Father, open our eyes and hearts to see and be thankful that all our gifts and abilities come from You. Help us to use them wisely for the good of the people around us and for Your glory.

vv. 1~7

The chapter before this one focuses on Babylon, a major enemy of the tribe of Judah – a part of Israel that remained after the nation split up under Solomon’s son; the rest of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians, who were people from an empire nearby. God eventually uses Babylon to punish Judah – however, in chapter 13, it is revealed tat Babylon will eventually be punished as well. Chapter 14, which we’re stating today, begins with comfort for Judah (in verse 1, the name Jacob is another name for Israel, of which Judah is all that’s left). Their punishment, exile in Babylon, will end. They will get to go home, and the tables will turn. Babylon, which has many sins of its own to answer for, will be punished instead. After the short section of comfort, the focus is back on Babylon and its king.

vv. 8~11

This isn’t just a humbling experience for the king of Babylon or for the nation of Babylon, but a prediction of defeat and of death. The forests will continue to grow, and the world will continue without Babylon or its king. It was believed often in ancient cultures that the king of a nation was a god, or at least, the son of a god, and would be glorified after death. The king of Babylon, however, will die like all other men. And all those other men, those other kings who were thought to be divine by their people, will say, “Aha! Now you know the truth! You’re just like us! You’re just like everyone else, and in no way divine!” The man who was king, and was thought to be a god now knows that there is only one God, and it isn’t him.

vv. 12~17

The king of Babylon had been shown that his ambition of being a god was wrong. He assumed that his power carried him to victory in battle, made him the king of a mighty nation, worthy to be considered a god. But now, the man who was God’s instrument, failed to recognize God as the Lord Almighty and is punished. One can be both comforted and warned by this. The comforting part is that God is in control; people in the world or in our own lives who try to use their power to dominate and hurt people instead of leading them and helping them don’t get to stay in power for too long. The warning is that if we forget about God and start to get prideful, we are plotting our own downfall in a way since God is watching, and God is just.

Sorry if some stuff sounds weird or awkward.... bad translating skills...x_x

prayer requests?

i put this up on the other one 2 but does NE1 have any specific prayer requests?
this is kinda 4 kristie: xD yeah... it got worse. lol.
hmm.. i wonder what it would be like without time... =P
my stomach hurts. oh boy. i cant eat NEthing in this school though O_o bc its deesgusting :) jp. ty sang-a for the QT thingy. ^_^

oh man i need to write the $$ letters >.<>
if i like random txt 1 of you outta nowhere, dont b too surprised, k? KK =D
my stomach... ? whats going onnn

oh yeah. this isnt really my thing to do this, but i have a prayer request.
i didnt see this kid since junior high, and we dont see each other at all, but its on my mind.
um so in jhs there was this guy named Alan and he's all atheist, but i cant be sure?
yeah. anyways, one day i was just praying & he came up in my mind
so i started praying for him, and stuff, but every time we'd talk religious stuff wed always argue xD
bc i dont think he cares about evolutionism but he uses w/e he can to say there is no God.
ever since like 8th grade ive been praying.. it doesnt seem long but it feels long. hmm interesting,
towards the middlish endish of 8th grade he was like "oh im emo" and all that stupid stuff
and i was like "no youre not" but the point is he would seriously hurt himself. not to the verge of trying to end his life or w.e but its not... idk. good? is that a word? its not healthY?
well my prayer request is for him. he comes up in my mind sometimes, and whenver i think of evangelism or all that kinda stuff he pops up. so yeah. uhoh g2g my free's almost over bye!!!!

Quiet Time

:) i like this one a lot

oh and ty sang-a! shes gonna post up QT's as often as she can ^_^ bc shes cool

>> and i am NOT a dongseng D'=

Anvil Time by Max Lucado

On God's anvil. Perhaps you've been there.

Melted down. Formless. Undone. Placed on the anvil for...reshaping? (A few rough edges too many.) Discipline? (A good father disciplines.) Testing? (But why so hard?)

I know. I've been on it. It's rough. It's a spiritual slump, a famine. The fire goes out. Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears. We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing.

Passion? It slips out the door.

Enthusiasm? Are you kidding?

Anvil time.

It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless. The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens. "All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I'm still hurting, wondering....."

On the anvil.

Brought face to face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go. Jesus in the garden. Peter with a tear-streaked face. David after Bathsheba. Elijah and the "still, small voice." Paul, blind in Damascus.

Pound, pound, pound.

I hope you're not on the anvil. (Unless you need to be, and if so, I hope you are.) Anvil time is not to be avoided; it's to be experienced. Although the tunnel is dark, it does go through the mountain. Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We shouldn't try to escape it. To escape it could be to escape God.

God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it's in the right shape. A dull ax or bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God.

Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you're still worth reshaping.

am i posting this right? lol i thought i posted yesterday -_-;;