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St. Paul School of Leadership & Discipleship Lesson 215 - GOD'S "PERSONAL PROFIT PLAN" FOR YOUR LIFE (God's Plans and Promises for You from the Book of Isaiah) By Frank Eiklor and the Shalom Team "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go." Isaiah 48:17 The principal object of most of the wonderful promises found in Isaiah is the nation of Israel. Don't ever forget that—as some Christians do who have surrendered to the error of "replacement theology" by assigning all the biblical curses to Jews and all the blessings to the Church. Of course, they have no better explanation for the miracle of 4,000 years of Jewish survival and the 1948 rebirth of Israel than to say, "What marvelous coincidences." Nor can they explain the incredible contributions of the Jews to society as God has brought forth wondrous and life-saving discoveries through them. He has truly taught the Jews to profit and has enriched the world through their gifts. But these encouraging words are also for you and me. We also need God's promise to teach us how to profit and to guide us to His choice of pathways. It's easy to only visualize dollar signs after the word "profit." But that would be a big mistake that could cause us to miss a greater meaning of "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Of course God cares about our physical needs and delights in teaching us ways to profit materially. But even that is to give us the means to bless others through greater generosity rather than build bigger barns only for ourselves. Let the Lord Jesus teach you how to profit spiritually by loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Then you can be sure He will teach you how to profit materially in a way that will demonstrate integrity in you and bring glory to Him. My prayer: "Thank You that You are my Lord, my Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel. Teach me the true meaning of the word "profit" that I might be first enriched spiritually and then witness Your hand in material supply.” "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
Related Articles · More Articles Jesus said many would come in His name and deceive the hearts of the simple, sinful and proud. Eastern mysticism and meditation is a big thing in the gullible West. And one day a “world leader” will appear on the scene with the persuasion of a god and the heart of a devil. Jesus warns His children to know the Scriptures, live in obedience to the Father’s will, and stay alert to the signs of the times. They laugh no more. Now God’s description of how He will destroy the old earth and create a
new one makes perfect sense. The splitting of the atom turned many skeptics into believers.
After all, look what man himself is capable of doing with the atom and hydrogen bombs. Now
the fear is that nuclear weapons are being placed in the hands of madmen who wish to annihilate
their enemies. God has blessed man with incredible genius. We stand in awe as we watch men and women in a room full of computers and high-tech instruments guiding and landing spacecraft on distant planets. At that moment, we appear invincible. But then a mammoth tornado comes—or a terrifying hurricane—or rains that flood whole regions and never listen to our shouts to “Stop!”—or the shake that removes from under our feet any confidence or pride we carry, and leaves us numb with hardly enough breath to even utter the paralyzing word “EARTHQUAKE!”. And man is helpless in the face of it all! |
