[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY JULY 22

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY JULY 22

WORD OF WISDOM

IF ONLY SNOOZE MINUTES WERE AS LONG As MICROWAVE MINUTES

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DAILY DEVOTION

Everyone Has Something to Contribute

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may
grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom
the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint
supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:14-16

 For hundreds of years, the folk tale of "stone soup" has been told across
Europe. When a group of hungry travelers reached a village, they found that
no one was willing to share food with them. So they announced they were
about to make a delicious stone soup. They selected a large rock and put it
in the cooking pot. When the villagers asked, they described how wonderful
the soup would be-and how much better it would be with a few carrots. When
someone donated carrots, they mentioned that salt would help as well. One by
one the villagers contributed different ingredients to make the soup better.
By the time they were done, the soup was indeed delicious, not because of
the stone, but because of what had been added.
The body of Christ does not work if only one or two people are trying to
provide all the ingredients for the ministry. God designed it so that each
one of us has something to contribute. When anyone holds back and does not
do his part, something will be lacking. Whether it is the use of talents or
the investment of time or the gift of money, what we have to add to the work
of the church is vital. It may seem small and meaningless to us or to
others, but it is not. God takes all that we give, large and small, and uses
it to accomplish His purpose in our world.
Every contribution whether large or small is necessary for the body of
Christ to function as it should.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Isaiah 7-9 New King James Version
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
7 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of
Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of
Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but
could not [a]prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David,
saying, "Syria's forces are [b]deployed in Ephraim." So his heart and the
heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the
wind.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and
[c]Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on
the highway to the Fuller's Field, 4 and say to him: [d]'Take heed, and
[e]be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking
firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of
Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted
evil against you, saying, 6 "Let us go up against Judah and [f]trouble it,
and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them,
the son of Tabel"- 7 thus says the Lord God:

"It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be [g]broken,
So that it will not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son.
If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established." ' "

The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 "Ask a sign for
yourself from the Lord your God; [h]ask it either in the depth or in the
height above."

12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!"

13 Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to
weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself
will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and
shall call His name Immanuel.[i] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He
may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child
shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread
will be forsaken by both her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of
Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house-days that have not
come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah."

18 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will whistle for the fly
That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,
And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 They will come, and all of them will rest
In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks,
And on all thorns and in all pastures.

20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor,
With those from beyond [j]the River, with the king of Assyria,
The head and the hair of the legs,
And will also remove the beard.

21 It shall be in that day
That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,
That he will eat curds;
For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.

23 It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
It will be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns.

25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,
You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen
And a place for sheep to roam.

Assyria Will Invade the Land
8 Moreover the Lord said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a
man's pen concerning [k]Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself
faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of
Jeberechiah."

3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the
Lord said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; 4 for before the
child [l]shall have knowledge to cry 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches
of Damascus and the [m]spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king
of Assyria."

5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:

6 "Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah's son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of [n]the River, strong and mighty-
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will [o]go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
8 He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will [p]fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.[q]

9 "Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For [r]God is with us."

Fear God, Heed His Word
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with [s]a strong hand, and instructed me
that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

12 "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,'
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their [t]threats, nor be [u]troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 He will be as a [v]sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of [w]offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and [x]taken."

16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
>From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.

19 And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who
whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek
the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If
they do not speak according to this word, it is because there[y] is no light
in them.

21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen,
when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse [z]their king and
their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see
trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into
darkness.

The Government of the Promised Son
9 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.

3 You have multiplied the nation
And [aa]increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
5 For every warrior's [ab]sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel [ac]of fire.

6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
>From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Punishment of Samaria
8 The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
9 All the people will know-
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria-
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 "The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars."
11 Therefore the Lord shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is [ad]stretched out still.

13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks [ae]folly.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

18 For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall [af]snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

Footnotes
Isaiah 7:1 conquer it
Isaiah 7:2 Lit. settled upon
Isaiah 7:3 Lit. A Remnant Shall Return
Isaiah 7:4 Be careful
Isaiah 7:4 be calm
Isaiah 7:6 cause a sickening dread
Isaiah 7:8 Lit. shattered
Isaiah 7:11 Lit. make the request deep or make it high above
Isaiah 7:14 Lit. God-With-Us
Isaiah 7:20 The Euphrates
Isaiah 8:1 Lit. Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty
Isaiah 8:4 knows how
Isaiah 8:4 plunder
Isaiah 8:7 The Euphrates
Isaiah 8:7 Overflow
Isaiah 8:8 Lit. be the fullness of
Isaiah 8:8 Lit. God-With-Us
Isaiah 8:10 Heb. Immanuel
Isaiah 8:11 Mighty power
Isaiah 8:12 Lit. fear or terror
Isaiah 8:12 Lit. in dread
Isaiah 8:14 holy abode
Isaiah 8:14 stumbling over
Isaiah 8:15 captured
Isaiah 8:20 Or they have no dawn
Isaiah 8:21 Or by their king and by their God
Isaiah 9:3 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., Vg. not increased joy; LXX Most of the
people You brought down in Your joy
Isaiah 9:5 boot
Isaiah 9:5 for the fire
Isaiah 9:12 In judgment
Isaiah 9:17 foolishness
Isaiah 9:20 slice off or tear