Verse of the Day 10/7

Through the Bible - Isaiah 38-40, Colossians 2 - 3:17   Good morning, Today's Old Testament Bible reading (outlined above) brought me to Isaiah 40, to one of the passages that has been a great source of comfort and strength to me over the years.    Isa 40:27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.  NLT   There are times in our lives that we feel that the Lord does not or has not seen our problems.  But He does, He knows of our problems and knows what we need and He is the source of our strength.  We need to turn to Him, keep turning to Him. The New Testament reading is from Colossians 2-3 and it is where we'll go for today's verse: Col 2:6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  NLT If we are His, if we are "in Christ" we need to follow Him and grow strong in His Truth.  Just like a seed that is planted first forms roots before anything is seen above ground, so it is with our faith.  We need a root system, a foundation.  Think of Psalm 3 or Matthew 7:   Matt 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.   NKJV The time to grow those roots or to build this foundation is "now" so that you'll be prepared for the storms, the challenges or simply the "weak days".  The firmer the foundation, the better the root system, the more assurance you can have that your strength will be renewed.   30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.  NLT    In Christ, Mike   Col 2:6-11 Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ 6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. Col 3:14-18 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.   NLT