Today's benediction is recorded in Isaiah 61:7. I have chosen the NIV (New International Version) for our consideration.
Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.
NIV (New International Version)
Notice that two times God says His people will receive a double portion. To say it once is great; but to say it again, it is time to take note, listen, and believe the Word of God, and that it is for you and me. Let us apply it to God's blessings in 2019. A year of Double Blessings. Satan will be required to give you back what he has stolen from you in 2019. Are you ready to receive this Word from God's Holy Word, the Bible?
The writer of the Book of Hebrews has this to say about Jesus and his passion:
Hebrews- 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
KJV (King James Version)
Notice in the Old Testament in the Most Holy Place, there was no chair for the High Priest to sit and rest. However, when Jesus Christ our eternal High Priest entered heaven with the complete sacrifice He made on the Cross once for all, He sat next to the Father where He now makes intercession for us.
The Apostle Paul speaks about our inheritance when he addressed the elders from Ephesus who came down to Miletus in Acts chapter 20. This is a remarkable passage of Holy Scripture that includes a saying of our blessed Lord that is not recorded in the Gospels, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Here is what I wanted to quote:
Acts 20:32
"Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
NIV (New International Version)
Nehemiah, God’s man of the hour, who lead the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem at a critical time in history, much like President Donald Trump is building a wall or barrier to secure our southern boarders of our great country, in spite of opposition. Nehemiah and Trump stayed the course:
Nehemiah 8:10
10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
NIV (New International Version)
Jacob in the Old Testament gives us an interesting statement in a vow he made to God. Let me quote for you:
Genesis 28:20-22
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
NIV (New International Version)
In closing, it was Joshua who made a statement that every husband, father, and grandfather should consider making too:
Joshua 24:15
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day Whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
KJV (King James Version)
In closing the second time . . .
In the first book of the Chronicles we are told about an amazing young man. He leaps off the pages of Holy Scripture seemingly out of nowhere. His father’s name is not mentioned at all. His prayer to God is bold and courageous. It is one of faith and a prayer that God answered and granted to this young man. Here is the Scripture passage, just one verse:
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me (indeed) and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
NIV (New International Version)
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. When he was born, he was delivered in great pain more than a normal birth with its intense pain. My mother’s last name was Payne. She was a daughter in a large home whose father was a builder and a farmer. Her bothers gave me a lot of pain. But I soon learned how to give it back to them. There is value in pain and suffering. It helps us to rise to a higher level in life with a greater appreciation for a more abundant style of living, free of pain and suffering.
Jabez asked God for four things:
1. Bless me (indeed) – a super blessing
2. Enlarge my territory – greater opportunities, more challenges
3. Let You hand be with me – wanted God’s hand to be on his head, guiding and directing him
4. Keep me from harm – keep me from evil, sinning, and a wrong path
And God granted Jabez his request. God will answer your prayers, too.
Let me share with you a great promise God has for you:
Jeremiah 29:10-14
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you.
NIV (New International Version)
Last of all, I would like to give you a blessing or a benediction that Billy Graham wrote. He was a great American evangelist and led hundreds of thousands of people to the Lord for salvation and eternal life. He died in 2018. He was 99 years old. But if you add the nine months he was in his mother’s womb before birth he was 100 years old. The Bible tells us that life begins at conception.
Here is the blessing Billy Graham wrote, and I trust it will be a blessing for you:
“May your troubles be less, your blessings more; and may nothing but joy, peace, and happiness come to your door. Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil: it has no point” (Billy Graham).
I hope this commentary helps to amplify this promise in Isaiah to you, and confirm from the Holy Scriptures what God has been speaking to you in your heart and inmost being.
Your friend in all seasons,
Hugh H. Morgan
Founder, CEO, Editor of Hugh’s News, Inc.
Evangelist, Christian Journalist, Retired Air Force Chaplain
Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.
NIV (New International Version)
Notice that two times God says His people will receive a double portion. To say it once is great; but to say it again, it is time to take note, listen, and believe the Word of God, and that it is for you and me. Let us apply it to God's blessings in 2019. A year of Double Blessings. Satan will be required to give you back what he has stolen from you in 2019. Are you ready to receive this Word from God's Holy Word, the Bible?
The writer of the Book of Hebrews has this to say about Jesus and his passion:
Hebrews- 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
KJV (King James Version)
Notice in the Old Testament in the Most Holy Place, there was no chair for the High Priest to sit and rest. However, when Jesus Christ our eternal High Priest entered heaven with the complete sacrifice He made on the Cross once for all, He sat next to the Father where He now makes intercession for us.
The Apostle Paul speaks about our inheritance when he addressed the elders from Ephesus who came down to Miletus in Acts chapter 20. This is a remarkable passage of Holy Scripture that includes a saying of our blessed Lord that is not recorded in the Gospels, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Here is what I wanted to quote:
Acts 20:32
"Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
NIV (New International Version)
Nehemiah, God’s man of the hour, who lead the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem at a critical time in history, much like President Donald Trump is building a wall or barrier to secure our southern boarders of our great country, in spite of opposition. Nehemiah and Trump stayed the course:
Nehemiah 8:10
10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
NIV (New International Version)
Jacob in the Old Testament gives us an interesting statement in a vow he made to God. Let me quote for you:
Genesis 28:20-22
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
NIV (New International Version)
In closing, it was Joshua who made a statement that every husband, father, and grandfather should consider making too:
Joshua 24:15
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day Whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
KJV (King James Version)
In closing the second time . . .
In the first book of the Chronicles we are told about an amazing young man. He leaps off the pages of Holy Scripture seemingly out of nowhere. His father’s name is not mentioned at all. His prayer to God is bold and courageous. It is one of faith and a prayer that God answered and granted to this young man. Here is the Scripture passage, just one verse:
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me (indeed) and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
NIV (New International Version)
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. When he was born, he was delivered in great pain more than a normal birth with its intense pain. My mother’s last name was Payne. She was a daughter in a large home whose father was a builder and a farmer. Her bothers gave me a lot of pain. But I soon learned how to give it back to them. There is value in pain and suffering. It helps us to rise to a higher level in life with a greater appreciation for a more abundant style of living, free of pain and suffering.
Jabez asked God for four things:
1. Bless me (indeed) – a super blessing
2. Enlarge my territory – greater opportunities, more challenges
3. Let You hand be with me – wanted God’s hand to be on his head, guiding and directing him
4. Keep me from harm – keep me from evil, sinning, and a wrong path
And God granted Jabez his request. God will answer your prayers, too.
Let me share with you a great promise God has for you:
Jeremiah 29:10-14
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you.
NIV (New International Version)
Last of all, I would like to give you a blessing or a benediction that Billy Graham wrote. He was a great American evangelist and led hundreds of thousands of people to the Lord for salvation and eternal life. He died in 2018. He was 99 years old. But if you add the nine months he was in his mother’s womb before birth he was 100 years old. The Bible tells us that life begins at conception.
Here is the blessing Billy Graham wrote, and I trust it will be a blessing for you:
“May your troubles be less, your blessings more; and may nothing but joy, peace, and happiness come to your door. Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil: it has no point” (Billy Graham).
I hope this commentary helps to amplify this promise in Isaiah to you, and confirm from the Holy Scriptures what God has been speaking to you in your heart and inmost being.
Your friend in all seasons,
Hugh H. Morgan
Founder, CEO, Editor of Hugh’s News, Inc.
Evangelist, Christian Journalist, Retired Air Force Chaplain