Today, I would like to share a passage with you that I think will encourage all the hearts that feel downtrodden and depressed.  This passage has uplifted me because it speaks of God's incredible grace and compassion on His people primarily Israel and secondarily His Church; the body of Christ.  For those of us who are in God's family, can read this with great refreshment, worship, and awe of our wonderful God.  Please read carefully;

Isaiah 54:4-8 says, "'Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; and do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; but you will forget the shame of your youth, nd the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.  For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the LORD of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth.  For the LORD has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one's youth when she is rejected,' says your God.  'For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.  In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,' says the LORD your Redeemer." (NASB)

We have a great and wonderful God; let us not squander God's grace and mercy upon us.  Meaning, let us live our lives to the honor and glory of God's name; we need to not drag the grace of God through the mud.  We drage it through the mud everytime we sin and rebell against His holy name and purposes.  We all must strive to be true servants of the King; true worshippers of the King.  Let us strive to live our lives consistently and wholeheartedly for our King.

REJOICE IN THE MERCIES OF OUR KING!

Isaiah 53:10 says, "But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offering, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand." (NASB)

This verse and passage is a very powerful because of how vivid it pictures the sacrifice of God the Father and God the Son; also it demonstrates the incredible plan of God to bring glory to Himself.  In this verse, it says that Jehovah God was pleased or found pleasure in crushing the Servant (Jesus Christ).  The reason I believe that this is Jesus Christ because everything in this passage points to the gospel acocunts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.  If you want further help in understanding this concept, I challenge you to read Isaiah 53 and the gosple of John because the gospel of John clearly displays what Isaiah is talking about for a Servant.

Why did God find pleasure in killing His only son?  I think that He found pleasure because He knew that this would bring the greatest glory to Himself.  God is a jealous God and He demands that all the glory be given to Him.  How does Christ's death bring Him glory?  It brings God the Father glory by giving fallen mankind the only opportunity to come to Him; to have a relationship with Him.  The more people come to Him; the more true worshippers of God there are in this world.  Christ's death paid the penalty for our sins and it reconciled us to the God that we rebelled against.  We become the friends of God instead of the enemies of God.  This is why God desired to crush Jesus Christ and this is how it brought God the ultimate glory to His name.

If you have any questions about what I have just said, please feel free to leave comments and questions on my blog.  I will be happy to answer them.

Let us rejoice together as brothers and sisters in Christ in the wonderful gift of God's grace.  May we live our lives in worship of our great God; so that He may receive all the glory of our lives for He is the one who has purchased us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into His kingdom by crushing His own son on the cross!  Praise God!

Galatians 5:16-24 says, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (English Standard Version)

How are we doing in controlling the desires of the flesh?  If we don't get them under control, there could be some very serious consequences.  Our relationship with Christ would be hindered and our effectiveness to help other people will be limited because we are quenching the Holy Spirit when we follow the desires of our flesh.  For as this passage says, the Spirit and the flesh are against each other; they are totally opposite from one another.  Please consider the fruit of the flesh is; they are envy, anger, impurity, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, and many others.  Please consider now for a moment the fruit of the Spirit; they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and I think more that are referred to in other places in Scripture.  Consider the opposites in the two kinds of fruit; know that one kind leads to destruction and the other kind leads to life everlasting.  It is our choice as to how we live our lives; let us make the right one.  To live life eating and savoring the fruit of the Spirit; to portray these qualities in our lives everyday.  I believe that this is the ultimate answer to question of how do we quiet the desires of the flesh; we are to sink ourselves in the things of the Spirit.  If we do this then I believe that it is a lot harder for the desires of the flesh to take control of your life.

Hope this helps us all to live lives that will bring praise to God.  If you have any questions about this subject, please talk to me through this or go to a church or ministry organization that can help you sift through what are the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit.  God Bless!

I was reading today from a book called The History of the Christian Church:  vol. 2 by Phillip Schaff and found an excellent quote comparing Stoicism and Christianity.  I thought it was worth quoting and worth remembering the importance of who we are in Christ.

"Pride is the basis of Stoic virtue, while humility is the basis of Christian holiness; the former is inspired by egotism, the latter by love to God and man; the Stoic feels no need of a Savior, and calmly resorts to suicide when the house smokes; while the Christian life begins with a sense of sin, and ends with triumph over death; the resignation of the Stoic is heartless apathy and a surrender to the iron necessity of fate; the resignation of the Christian, is cheerful submission to the will of an all-wise and all-merciful Father in heaven; the Stoic sage resembles a cold, immovable statue, the Christian saint a living body, beating in hearty sympathy with every joy and grief of his fellow-men." (pg. 321)

I hope you are inspired by this quote to live for God; to have sympathy for your fellow man.  I hope we rejoice over this quote because we have victory over death and we have a sure dependence upon a Sovereign God in heaven.  Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 51:4-6 says, "Pay attention to Me, O My people, and give ear to Me, O My nation; for a law will go forth from Me, and I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.  My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly.  Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not wane." (NASB)

God's salvation and righteousness endures forever; we can rest assure that God's love will not fail either.  We are secure in God's salvation.  Truly, His salvation is strong enough to take a broken, dead worm and transform it into His children.  Bringing us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear son Jesus Christ.  We can rely on the fact that we are going to heaven when we recognize our sinful state and that Christ is the only solution for that sin.  Rejoice in the assurance of our salvation; know that we don't have to wonder whether we are loved and favored because we are in Christ.  There is no need for us to do anything to have His favor because we already have it fully.

One more thing about all of this, listen to Him; listen to the One who has saved you and secured you.  He has something to tell you everyday; don't forget to be still and know that He is God.  Know that He has your best in mind.  Praise God!

I hope this song encourages you as much as it encourages me.  Remember that there is a better place to be prepared for us after this old world and heavens have been destroyed and burned with fire.  Rejoice in the hope for a better future; this hope isn't wishy-washy it's the real thing.  It's something that we are eagerly waiting to happen in the future.

A Picture Perfect World (by Avalon)

We circle winter, spring and summer to fall
Spend a lifetime tryin' to make some sense of it all
Trip over questions raised by fallen men
As if there are solutions for the state we're in

In a picture perfect world, there would be no crime
In a picture perfect world, we'd be free
In a picture perfect world, we'd be colorblind
But it's all right, I know we'll be cared for
All right, a place is prepared for
All right, 'cause sooner or later we'll be
In the picture perfect world

Another summer, autumn, winter and spring
We grow accustomed to the nature of things
Do we chase the questions we can't figure out
And overlook what life is all about

In a picture perfect world, there would be no pain
In a picture perfect world, we'd believe
In a picture perfect world, love is not in vain
But it's all right, I know we'll be cared for
All right, a place is prepared for
All right, 'cause sooner or later we'll be
In the picture perfect world

We are here but a moment, then the moment's gone
So why spend precious time we can't afford, no, no
We have only one purpose before the curtain's drawn
So with all our lives, for the cause of Christ, we must glorify the Lord

Spend a lifetime trying to make sense of it all
Oh, I want to go there
I wanna go
I'll take you there
I wanna go
I wanna go
I'll take you there
I wanna go there
I wanna go
I wanna go
We're gonna go there

In a picture perfect world, there will be no pain
In a picture perfect world, we'll be free
In the picture perfect world, love is not in vain
And it's all right, I know we'll be cared for
All right, a place is prepared for
All right, 'cause sooner or later we'll be

In the picture perfect world
In the picture perfect world
In the picture perfect world
We will be free

HOPE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW!

Isaiah 49:22, 23 says, "Thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations and set up My standard to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.  Kings will be your guardians, and their princesses your nurses.  They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet; and you will know that I am the LORD; those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.'" (NASB)

God's blessing upon His people Israel is simply amazing.  Even though Israel has rebelled for thousands of years, they are still favored in God's eyes.  In fact, they are so favored that they will one day have every nation under their footstool.  "They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet;" says it all about how favored they are in God's eyes.  I believe that one day, after the completion of the Gentiles coming into the family of God, the nation of Israel will turn to their God and see Jesus as their messiah.  Their eyes will be opened to the fact that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ their messiah.

Even though we, as Gentiles, are not included in this blessing; we do have hope in the last verse of the passage.  God promises that those who hopefully wait or constantly trusts in the LORD for his or her life will not be put to shame.  We too will have a place of honor; although, I do believe it to be different from Israel.

I hope this encourages us all to trust in God and look to Him for our futures because it is He who will never let us down.  He will never put to shame those who live for Him and trust in Him for everything.

GOD'S BLESSINGS ARE RICH!  WAIT FOR HIM!  TRUST IN HIM!

Today, I'd like to reflect upon a quote from John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life.  The quote is found on page 72 of the book and it is powerful on the place we find our greatest joy.  Piper says, "But what I know even more surely is that the greatest joy in God comes from giving His gifts away, not in hoarding them for ourselves.  It is good to work and have.  It is better to work and have in order to give.  God's glory shines more brightly when He satisifes us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty.  The health, wealth, and prosperity "gospel" swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of His gifts and turns the gifts into idols.  The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God.  They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ's sake and count it gain."

This quote is so amazing because it redirects my focus from what I can get out of God to what can I do to glorify the beauty of Christ through my life.  I think our perspective changes when we think of the words of Paul in Philippians chapter 3 where he says that everything in life is counted as rubish in comparison to the knowledge of Christ's sufferings; or when he says that he would rather die and be with Christ than to be here on earth, but he recognizes as well that it is needful to remain here on earth for the sake of the brothers in Christ.  He views being with Christ so much more gain because of the supremecy of Christ in his life.

I hope that we, as believers in 2007, would choose to be with Christ and live for Christ rather than choose the health, wealth, and prosperity "gospel."    We need to change our perspective on our walk with the Lord; it is never about what we can get out of Him but what can we do to bring glory to His name.  This includes in our service, in our material, and the possessions that we claim to be ours but is truly God's gifts.

LET CHRIST RULE SUPREMELY IN YOUR HEARTS!  GLORIFYING GOD IS THE PLACE FOR THE GREATEST JOY!

Today, I would like to take another break from Isaiah and focus on a passae in Galatians.  I have been studying this NT book for a couple of weeks and have found it to be very eye opening to what we rely on for our lives and salvation.  This world is so caught up on the falsehood that we are justified by the works we do; this is a lie from the devil.  We can never rely upon the law or the works we do for justification because this requires perfection and we can never be perfect.  Humans can never be perfect because we are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1); and justification is being made right in the sight of God.  We can never do this oin our own; we need God's help to be pleasing in His sight.  God's help was provided through His son, Jesus Christ; He died so that we may live.

Galatians 3:10-14 says, "For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.'  Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident for, 'The righteous man shall live by faith.'  However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, 'He who practices them shall live by them.'  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'--in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (NASB)

Our justification is only found in what Christ did on the cross; He became a curse so that we could be redeemed from the curse of sin.  He delivered us so that we could be pleasing to His Father; when we accept this for our justification then there is nothing else we need for the favor of God.  We can rest assure that we will spend eternity in Paradise with God.

REJOICE IN THE GRACE OF GOD; HE REDEEMED US THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF HIS SON

REJOICE THAT WE HAVE FOUND FAVOR IN GOD'S EYES THROUGH JESUS!

Isaiah 46:5-11 says, "To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike?  Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh silver on the scale hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; they bow down, indeed they worship it.  They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; they set it in its place and it stands there It does not move from its place though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; it cannot deliver him from his distress.  Remember this, and be assured; recall it to mind, you transgressors.  Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.  I have planned it, surely I will do it. (NASB)

This passage echos my previous blog, but it has something more I want to point out.  For the last couple of chapters, Isaiah has been dealing with the futility of idols and comparing God to other things or persons.  May we recognize this foolishness as well.  There is nothing that can declare the end from the beginning; except our God.  There is nothing that has a purpose in mind and sees that it is fulfilled; except our God.  To put this kind of a responsibility on an inanimate object out of gold, silver, or even our imaginations is beyond foolish.  It does not work and it will not work ever to put that kind of trust in idols.  Only in God, can we have the assurance of His will and His sovereignty being supreme in all of life.  God is the only one who can save you from your pit; from your sin.  Trust in Him and He will take care of every need; life won't be easy but you will always have an Almighty God beside you.  Glorify Him for He alone is worthy of anything we have.  May we make Him known because He is the only hope for this world!

GOD IS GREAT AND GREATLY TO BE PRAISED!  TRUST HIM!