SUNDAY
As White As Snow
Do you ever do something wrong and you feel dirty inside? The Holy Spirit convicts our heart when we sin. God can take that dirty sin in our heart and wash it white as snow. Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, was perfect and without sin, but He died on the cross to pay for our sin. We have this promise in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” After King David committed his great sin he prayed, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7) In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul explains how to be saved.
Accept that you are a sinner -- "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23) -- with no other way of salvation but by Jesus. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ -- "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Confess your sin to Jesus and trust in Him --
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
Jesus will wash you as white as snow.
Monday
The Wise Men Gave Jesus Their Treasures
We began with, “Treasures Of The Snow” and looked several days at “snow” in the Bible. Now, let’s search for treasures in the Bible. Christmas was less than a month ago, so we will begin with Matthew 2:11. “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” The Wise Men followed the star to offer their treasures to the Christ child. Their treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, were of great value. We may not have gifts of such great price to give to the Lord, but, we can give Him our love and service. We can give Him our obedience and honor. We offer up praise and worship to our God. Instead of offering sacrifices as they did in the Old Testament, we are told to give Him our love!
“28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.” (Mark 12:28-34)
Tuesday
The Treasures Of Sweet Memories
My three sisters and I used to sing together when we were young. It wasn’t like it is today, with pictures and videos recorded on cell phones. We sometimes recorded songs off the radio with cassette tapes, but stopping and starting, and going forward and backward, would wear them out, and sometimes break the tapes. Last week, I was wishing I had a tape recording from 50 years ago, so I could hear our songs. I didn’t know that Betty Key, my mother-in-law, was cleaning out some of her old cassette tapes. She gave us a box of some old church services that she had recorded many years ago. And she gave me a tape and told me that it had me and my sisters singing. I thought maybe it was a recording of us singing during a church service. I put it in the player and played the tape where she had it stopped. Hearing the song brought back so many sweet memories. Then, there was another song, and another, and another. There may be eight songs of precious, treasured memories of us singing, on the tape. Fifty years ago we didn’t go to the same church as she did. I barely even knew Michael when we began singing. I asked her where she got the tape and she said that she didn’t know. Michael is going to try to copy the songs so that I can share them with my Mom and my sisters. Treasures don’t have to be silver and gold, or precious stones. Sweet memories can be great treasures. There have been so many times in my life when I thought about something that I would like to have, and the Lord gave it to me. Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” This was something that I had not told anyone about, yet the Lord knew it was something that I desired, and He gave it to me. God is so good!
Wednesday
God Gives Snow And Rain In His Great Mercy
I am so thankful for the mercy of God. I was walking down the brick steps yesterday and my foot slid off of the bottom step. I landed hard on the tile floor. I am thankful that God kept me from getting hurt. There is some soreness in my wrist from how I landed, but it’s not broken. I may have turned the top of my foot, but I can easily walk. I will have some bruises, but I am thankful that the Lord was with me. We experience the mercy of God over and over, from His wonderful saving mercy, to His watchful care over us every day.
Think of how hard it would be if God withheld rain from the land. God gives us rain and snow in His goodness and great mercy, to “give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.” (Isaiah 55:10) “He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.” (Job 37:13) “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
“6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:6-11)
Thursday
God Sends Snow, Rain, And Hail In Battle
Let’s continue with Job 38:22-24 and see how God used snow, rain, and hail in battles.
“22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?”
“12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.” (Psalm 18:12-15)
“11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.” (Joshua 10:11-14)
“30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.” (Isaiah 30:30)
Jesus warned of things that would come in Luke 21:10-11. “Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”
“17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” (Revelation 16:17-21)
Friday
Three Things In Every Storm
After the snow and ice from last weekend, it was good to worship together at church Wednesday night. Pastor Rick Byerly preached a great sermon on Noah. He reminded us that everyone goes through storms, and God used storms to fulfill His will. He began with a couple important verses to remember. “And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.” (Genesis 5:7) We can do all that God commands and still go through storms. “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;” (Genesis 8:1) God remembered Noah. God doesn’t forget us in the storms. Storms are dark, they’re long, they are fierce, and they can change everything in our lives. After the storm, everything that Noah had known was gone.
Here are the three sides to every storm.
The Omnipotent Side – God is all powerful. He is still in control. God had a plan to destroy the earth, and He had a plan to save Noah and his family, and animal life on earth. “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1) God used a storm to fulfill His plan.
The Occupant Side – That’s us. We are the ones going through the storms. We are looking at the storm from our side, the pain, the fear, and the uncertainty. Noah prepared by obeying God’s Word. We can prepare for the storms by obeying God’s Word. Noah built the ark, according to God’s Word, and that’s what kept him safe. Keep doing what God says and that will keep us safe.
The Other Side – God is watching from the other side. The last storm we face will be death, unless we go home in the rapture. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” (Psalm 23:4 & 6) We need to keep our eyes on the Lord when we are going through the storms. When Peter took his eyes off the Lord, and looked at the storm, he began to sink. “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30) Always remember that God is with us in the storms.
Saturday
“She Is Not Afraid Of The Snow…”
Some of the weather reports are forecasting more snow next week. I’ve seen reports that we may get anywhere between 2 inches and 10 inches of snow, or ice. Even if we don’t get that much precipitation, the temperatures are predicted to dip down in the teens for a few days. Since it was a little warmer Friday than it has been, I put some more firewood under shelter. I want to be prepared for a storm. Most stores will probably sell out of milk and bread. We like to be prepared in times like this. Proverbs 31:21 tells us, “She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.” Like anyone, we want to be ready for a storm. It would be wonderful if people would prepare their household to be ready to meet the Lord. We look at the present, and near future to be prepared, but are we focused on eternity? We want to give our children the best education, and sign them up for all kinds of extracurricular activities, but are we teaching them to spend time in prayer and in God’s Word? We are taking them from one place to another to keep up with the busy schedules, but are we taking them to church? The most important thing we can do to prepare our children is to teach them that Jesus is God’s Son, and He died to save them. It is good to be prepared for storms, but it is of the greatest necessity to be prepared for eternity.
