" IMMANUEL - GOD WITH US "

     There are many who look at Christmas as a day of gifts and presents and sports and eating.  But GOD created and spoke of what and WHO would and should be the center of our Christmas celebration. Gifts are fine but we need to stress the original reason for giving those gifts. Scripture is replete with verses pointing to the coming of the ONE WHOM we should be celebrating and I feel the need to show them to you. Scripture gives us prophecies 100's and 1000's of years before the " fullness of the time had come "  for GOD to send forth HIS only begotten SON, born of a virgin, born under the law.  Let us see some of them.

Genesis 3:15   " And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her SEED, HE shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise HIS heel. "

Galatians 4:4   " But when the fullness of the time had come, GOD sent forth HIS SON, born of a woman, born under the law. "

Numbers 24:17   " I see HIM, but not now;  I behold HIM, but not near;  a STAR shall come out of Jacob;  a SCEPTER shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. "

Matthew 1:2   " Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. "

Genesis 49:10   " The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to HIM shall be the obedience of the people. "

Luke 3:33   " ...the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah. "

Isaiah 9:7   " 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. "

Luke 1:32, 33   " HE will be great, and will be called the SON of the HIGHEST; and the LORD GOD will give HIM the throne of HIS father David.  And HE will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of HIS kingdom there will be no end. "

Micah 5:2   " But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to ME the ONE to be RULER in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. "

Luke 2:4, 5, 7   " And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary , his betrothed wife, who was with child .... And she brought forth her firstborn SON, and wrapped HIM in swaddling cloths, and laid HIM in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. "

Daniel 9:25   " Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until MESSIAH the PRINCE, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;  the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. "

Luke 2:1, 2   " And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. "

Isaiah 7:14   " Therefore the LORD HIMSELF will give you a sign:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a SON, and shall call HIS name IMMANUEL. "

Luke 1:26, 27, 30, 31   " Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by GOD to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary .... Then the angel said to her,  ' Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with GOD. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a SON, and shall call HIS name JESUS.' "

Jeremiah 31:15   " Thus says the LORD:  A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. "

Matthew 2:16-18   " Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the Wise Men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the Wise Men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  ' A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more.' "

Hosea 11:1   " When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called MY SON. "

Matthew 2:14, 15   " When he arose, he took the young CHILD and HIS mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called MY SON.' "

     There are of course many other prophecies about the LORD but they pertain to HIS ministry and crucifixion which is not part of this study.  Mary and Joseph were both in the line of David.  JESUS will one day return and sit on the throne of David forever and of HIS reign there will be no end.  Mary and Joseph were the human vessels that GOD used to bring HIS SON into this world in human form and to care for him.  Joseph was given the responsibility of naming the boy CHILD as was the custom in those days and once JESUS was born,  Mary and Joseph came together as husband and wife to have many children (Matthew 1:25).

     Many times you hear the phrase,  " JESUS is the reason for the season " and such a truer statement is rarely heard these days. So much of what we see surrounding Christmas has very little to do with the reason and miracle of HIS coming into this world.  HE is the only BABY that was strictly born to die for the sins of ALL mankind.  HE Is the only BABY born without a sin nature.  HE is the only BABY every born that came out of the glories of Heaven and set aside HIS glory to come humbly to the foot of a Roman cross, scourged and mocked and beaten nearly to death;  because of HIS great love for you and me.

     If you have not yet taken time out of your busy schedule to think about WHO the CHRIST CHILD was and is;  then stop and drop to your knees in humble adoration of the greatest CHILD ever born;  the greatest SAVIOR WHO died and rose again for your sins;  and the ONE and only GOD WHO loved you more than HIS OWN life and comfort.  HE came and HE is the great  I  AM !

Your servant in CHRIST,

MERRY CHRISTMAS,

Julie

" A Measure of Faith "

     The LORD JESUS talked about faith with many different analogies, stories and parables.  HE referred to some faith that was as small as a mustard seed; and even at that size it could move mountains.  I was studying the other night and a phrase jumped out at me and I knew then that I was going to be doing a blog about that phrase. When the phrase jumped out at me, I knew then it was time for a new blog and it is about faith.

     The phrase I am referring to is found in the book of Romans, chapter 12 verse 3 which says,   " For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as GOD has dealt to each one  ' a measure of faith.' "   This phrase, as I said, struck me over and over again.  I reread it and reread it ! How many times do you study Scripture and there it is, a verse that you have read, how many times and this time it jumps off the page as if to say,  " See this, I want you to really see this ! "  Well that phrase is the title of this blog and the LORD spoke to me, not with audible words, but an intense need to understand what those wonderful words really mean.

     Faith, as you might imagine, is a very large and massive subject in Scripture. There are so many areas we can look at, so many people that the LORD has written about, with their faith or lack of faith as a glaring reminder to us of our own shortcomings and strengths.  One of my favorite men of the Old Testament was Joseph. WOW !  Think about it, he had 10 stepbrothers that hated him and GOD gave him dreams and he would tell the family about them and that made things even worse for him;  so bad in fact that his brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery.  But GOD doesn't leave us and HE didn't leave Joseph either. No matter what Joseph did and where he went as a slave, in prison or in the house of Pharaoh,  " the LORD was with him;  and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper." Nowhere in Scripture, within the story of Joseph, was there any mention of his blaming GOD, or being angry with GOD over his circumstances.  Even when he came face to face with the brothers that faked his death and sold him into slavery he had nothing but compassion on them.  They were so afraid that he would have them killed out of spite but instead he spoke to them these words,   " Joseph said to them,  ' Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of GOD ? But as for you, you meant evil against me, but GOD meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.' "

     Joseph was a young man of about late teens to 20 years old when he was sold by his brothers as a slave.  It was nearly 20 more years before he would see them again and the LORD strengthened his faith, little by little, trial by trial. Joseph could have become bitter against GOD but as I said, nowhere in Scripture when it talks about Joseph, did he lay the blame for his situation at the LORD's feet. Joseph may have not known what the " big picture " was but he knew the ONE WHO did and that was enough for him !

     We could look at so many of the Old Testament people and their walk with GOD. Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Noah, Abraham...... too many to name or go individually to each one and give their story in this post. But I do know of a chapter in the New Testament that summarizes the walk of faith for many of the people in Scripture.  Hebrews 11 is known as the " faith " chapter to those who study Scripture.  Let us take a look at what it has to say about faith and those who walked by it........

Hebrews 11-12:2   " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the WORD of GOD, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to GOD a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous. GOD testifying of his gifts;  and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death,  ' and was not found because GOD had translated him ', for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased GOD.  BUT without faith it is impossible to please HIM, for he who comes to GOD must believe that HE is, and that HE is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with Godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;  for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is GOD. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged HIM faithful WHO had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude -- innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore GOD is not ashamed to be called their GOD, for HE has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,'  accounting that GOD was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child;  and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith Moses, when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of GOD than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of CHRIST greater riches than the treasures in Egypt;  for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seeing HIM WHO is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest HE WHO destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say ? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:  who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness,  obtained promises,  stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,  escaped the edge of the sword,  out of weakness were made strong,  became valiant in battle,  turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mocking's and scourging's, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned,  they were sawn in two, were tempted,  were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented -- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains,  in dens and caves of the earth. And all these having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, GOD having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of GOD. "         Hebrews 11 - 12:2

     As I said,  " faith "  is such a huge subject to study in Scripture and without faith, as we saw, it is impossible to please GOD.  As Truly Born Again Believers / Saints in the LORD, we are in grand company;  but if you are like me, I feel very unworthy of even being mentioned in the same breath with those of Scripture.  They went through so much for their walk with the LORD and we, if we get a hangnail can't seem to get ourselves to a comfy church pew. Remember I am including myself in this scenario. As we see the Day approaching of our LORD's soon return, things may get a bit messy and uncomfortable for the child of GOD. We need to get our spiritual houses and our actual homes cleaned up. Get rid of anything that would defile your testimony for the LORD. Keep short sin lists. Also remember WHO the AUTHOR of your faith truly is; even our faith in the LORD is from HIM.

     Get right and get ready for whatever the LORD has coming our way whether it is to be the home going of HIS Bride the church  or  staying here  as witnesses to HIS grace and mercy through trials and testings.  The Apostle Paul was hard pressed between the two;  whether to stay here which was more needful for the new churches or to go and be with his LORD, which would be better for him. But that is something that we need not concern ourselves with because we will be here til the LORD deems it time to go home either by death or by the rapture.  Our job is to keep and contend for the  the faith, tell people about HIM and the Gospel of Salvation, teach, rebuke, exhort'  but the future is HIS to work out.  Remember:  " Faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (confidence) of things not (yet) seen. "  Hebrews 11:1

     I hope that you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed doing it. When I post a blog, for and about the LORD, I learn right along with you.  I am so glad that I have not yet attained perfection !  Hah, Hah, Hah, not in this life but in the one to come we will know as we are known, isn't that a grand thought !  Blessings !

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

" ASCENDED ! Absent from the body - present with the LORD. "

     Many years ago I came across a short Bible study that was written with verses in 2nd. Corinthians 4:16 thru 5:8 in mind.  I will give you the verses and then share with you the short study that I recently found again in an old Bible that I had gotten out to use.  The study was tucked within the pages and as I read it again, the reasons for my keeping it became apparent.

2nd. Corinthians 4:16 thru 5:8   " Therefore we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction,  which is but for a moment,   is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,  while we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary but the things which are not seen are eternal.

For we know that if our earthly house (physical body), this tent,  is destroyed, we have a building from GOD,  a house not made with hands,  eternal in the heavens.  For in this we groan,  earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation (new heavenly body) which is from Heaven,  if indeed,  having been clothed,  we shall not be found naked.

For we who are in this tent groan being burdened not because we want to be unclothed,  but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now HE WHO has prepared us for this very thing is GOD,  WHO also has given us the SPIRIT as a guarantee.  

Therefore,  we are always confident,  knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the LORD. For we walk by faith NOT by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the LORD. "     2nd. Corinthians 4:16 - 5:8 NKJV

     We all have trepidation when it comes to death;  but the child of GOD should look at it as it is,  ' Our faith becoming sight. '   All that we have put our eternal hope into will become visual.  We will see the LORD as HE is; we will have bodies that no longer give us grief;  our loved ones who have died, in CHRIST, will be there;  our mansions will be finished;  all the saints that the LORD had written about will be there for us to meet;  and so many other things that are not written but I am sure GOD has much for us to do, and we will love every second of it for ALL eternity !

     The short Bible study that I came across was called  ASCENDED !  Here it is in its entirety:

Joseph Parker (1830 - 1902) was a beloved English Preacher in the Congregational denomination.  When his wife died,  he didn't have the customary wording inscribed on her gravestone.  Instead of the word  died  followed by the date of her death,  he chose the word  ASCENDED.

     Joseph Parker found great comfort in being reminded that though his wife's body had been placed in the grave, the  " real " Mrs. Parker had been transported to Heaven, into the presence of her SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. When Parker himself died,  it's no wonder that his friends made sure that his gravestone read: ASCENDED  November 28, 1902.

     When a loved one dies in the LORD,  or when we face dying ourselves,  there's great comfort in the fact that  " to be absent from the body "  is  " to be present with the LORD. "  Death for us is NOT a dark journey into the unknown. It is not a lonely walk into a strange and friendless place.  Rather,  it is a glorious transition from the trials of this earth into the joys of Heaven,  where we will be reunited with our loved ones in CHRIST who have gone on before us. Best of all,  we will enjoy the presence of our LORD JESUS,  forever !

     YES,  when a believer dies,  the body is buried but not the soul.  

It  has  ASCENDED ! -- R.W.D

                    Oh,  how blessed is the promise

                        When our spirit is set free:

                       To be absent from the body

             Means to live, O LORD, with THEE ! -- H.G.B.

     " Absent from the body and to be present with the LORD. "  Now that can come through death, but we as children of GOD are also looking for the next great thing in the LORD's timeline;  the " rapture "  of HIS Bride the church before the Tribulation period.  If this happens before death, we will be called up into the clouds by the LORD and the dead bodies of the saints will be changed and reunited with their souls and all this  " will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. "   Does anyone know how fast light makes a twinkle in the eye ? Well that is how fast the  " rapture " of the LORD's Bride, will happen and it can be any day,  even right this moment as you are reading this !

     So chin up, eyes up, spirit's up, hearts lifted, and your soul ready for the coming of the LORD;  whether by death or the rapture our  " faith will become sight. "

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

" Restore to Me the JOY " The Prayer of David in Psalm 51

     " Joy ",  such a simple word, easy to spell but not always easy to keep.  King David knew all too well how easily the true joy, that only comes from the LORD, can be lost or in his case sinned away.  Many people believe that their sin hurts no one but themselves;  that their sin is fun and they don't want to give it up, after all everybody is doing it !  As we will see sin does require a payment not only in eternity but also in this life. King David's sin caused the death of 2 people and the loss of his integrity to many of his men.

     Many people know the sin of King David.  He was not out with his army as he should have been, but was in his palace.  He opened the window and gazed out at the city and spied a women (Bathsheba) undressing on the rooftop, readying herself for a bath (as their custom was). David should have closed the window and talked to the LORD about what he saw and asked for strength to resist, but he did not.  Instead David had the woman brought to him and he had his way with her.  It soon was told him that she was with child and since her husband (Uriah) was away in King David's army there was no chance that it was his.  King David had Uriah brought back home under the guise that he could rest and refresh himself for a couple of days.  Of course David was hoping that Uriah would have relations with his wife (Bathsheba);  but Uriah was an honorable man and would not take a short vacation while the army was out fighting King David's battles.  So Uriah lay outside of King David's palace and slept and did not see his wife.  Now this upset King David so he had his most trusted commander send Uriah out in the front of the fiercest battle and then have David's Army silently retreat; which left Uriah alone and of course he was killed.   

     Now all of this was done to hide the sin of adultery which produced a child; the murder of one of King David's most trusted men by the Kings own command;  and also, when the child was born, he was sick and eventually died. So what did sin cause ?  Did sin only effect King David ? Were there no long lasting consequences of his sin ?   GOD sent Nathan the Prophet to King David to confront him about the sin.  Now GOD told Nathan to tell King David about a poor farmer that had only one small ewe lamb; that the farmer loved and nourished and it grew up together with the farmers children.  Then a rich man came and would not take of his own flocks but had someone go and take the farmers beloved ewe lamb to serve to a traveler.  When David heard this story he was greatly angered and told Nathan that  "surely  as the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die ! "  King David also said that the man shall restore four-fold  "because he had no pity."   Then Nathan said to King David,  " You are the man ! "  Nathan proceeded to tell King David all that GOD had done for him and how much more GOD would have given if David would have asked or needed anything. GOD gave a sad description to David through Nathan the Prophet, of those things that would befall his family including the death of the child.

     So David's sin did not just affect him.  Like a flat stone that a person tries to make skip across the pond and the stone sends out ripples in all directions;  so does sin.  It alters the beautiful course that our lives could have taken if we would stay in GOD's walk.  It steals our  " joy "  as King David's joy was taken from him because of his sin that rippled across so many families, including his own. We shall now see the agonizing prayer of King David that he prayed after Nathan the Prophet confronted him about his sin.  Psalm 51:1-19 is as follows:

Have mercy upon me, O GOD,

According to YOUR lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of YOUR tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity;

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

Against YOU,  YOU only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in YOUR sight--

That YOU may be found just when YOU speak,

And blameless when YOU judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold,  YOU desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part YOU will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness,

That the bones which YOU have broken may rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O GOD, 

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from YOUR presence,

And do not take YOUR HOLY SPIRIT from me.

Restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation,

And uphold me with YOUR generous SPIRIT.

Then I will teach transgressors YOUR ways,

And sinners shall be converted to YOU.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O GOD,

The GOD of my salvation,

And my tongue shall sing aloud of YOUR righteousness.

O LORD,  open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth YOUR praise.

For YOU do not desire sacrifice,  or else I would give it;

YOU do not delight in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of GOD are a broken spirit,

A broken and contrite heart --

These,  O GOD,  YOU will not despise.

Do good in YOUR good pleasure to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Then YOU shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,

With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then they shall offer bulls on YOUR altar.

                                                             Psalm 51:1-19

     King David had lost that close fellowship that he once had with the LORD.  He acknowledged his sin before GOD and asked for HIS forgiveness.  He also asked the LORD to cleanse him from the sin that had darkened and dirtied deep into his very soul. He asked the LORD to give him back the ability to  " hear joy and gladness. "  His sin had hurt King David to the bone and caused him great physical pain and the very thought of GOD seeing his sin caused David shame.

     King David asked GOD to clean up his heart;  to renew his spirit;  and to "restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation. "  David's fellowship with GOD had been broken by his sin. He asked the LORD to restore that joy he had when GOD was in perfect fellowship with him.  As long as there was this sin festering between him and GOD,  there was no joy. First came acknowledgment of his sin, then confession of it;  which means to agree with GOD about what HE says about your sin;  then to be cleansed of it and then restoration of fellowship and the joy that surpasses all understanding.

     Many times people think that their sin is fun and it may be, for a season. But sin always requires a payment. It always requires a payment of more than we are willing to pay;  and it never just affects the person who sinned. Remember the ripples in the water !  Sins tentacles are far reaching and if you read the complete story of King David you will see that it reached through not only his generation but the next and the next.  There is a phrase that I once heard and the longer I live the more obvious its meaning, " Be sure your sin will find you out ! "

     This may be a strange image for you to think upon but there is an old black and white movie called,  " The Portrait of Dorian Gray. "   It involves a wealthy, young, good looking man and his desire to stay that way.  He made a deal with the devil that if he did anything evil / sinned that instead of the consequences falling on him they would show up in the portrait that he had done of himself. Now this portrait was nearly life size and it showed him gloriously young and vibrant.  As the years went by he stayed young, wealthy and good looking, but as he had his way in life with many women, gambling, drinking and doing such horrible deeds as murder,  his portrait changed with each hideous sin until the portrait was hidden away and covered so that no one would see his true self that the portrait showed.  The end of the movie was his agonizing with himself over how awful he had been in his life and he asked for forgiveness, the evil left the portrait and he died in peace;  his body showing what his portrait had been hiding.

     " Joy " the joy that only a life lived for CHRIST can give. " Joy "  that can be easily lost by sin and shame in the life of a Born Again Christian.  True joy that an unbeliever has never really experienced outside of CHRIST.  If you have never come to JESUS for Salvation;  today is still the day of grace and HIS desire for you is that you accept HIS most gracious gift of Salvation before it is too late.

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

But the WORD of our GOD stands forever !

     Many people have their doubts about WHO GOD is and if HE ever existed or if HE exists;  does HE have anything to do with us here on earth ?   GOD is the GREAT  I  AM and has always existed.  When GOD created this world and all that is in it HE did it for HIS good pleasure.  When HE created mankind,  HE did it because HE desired to have a relationship with one of HIS created beings;  so HE created mankind in HIS image as Genesis 1:27 states.

     There is a section in the Book of Isaiah that talks much about what GOD has been up to and is still doing even today.  There has never been a time when HE just went off fishing and left us to our own devices.  There has never been a time when HE has not been involved with HIS creation.  WHY ?   Because HE created us to be in fellowship with HIM and HE only wants our very best.  I am going to write those sections in Isaiah that really give us a glimpse of WHO GOD is and how very much HE is involved in everything then and now.

Isaiah 40  " Comfort, yes, comfort MY people !  Says your GOD.  Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. The voice of one crying in the wilderness (this was a reference to John the Baptist): prepare the way of the LORD: make straight in the desert a highway for our GOD (JESUS).  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The voice said, Cry out ! And he said, What shall I cry ?  All flesh is as grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the WORD of our GOD stands forever.  O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings; lift up you voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah,  Behold your GOD !  Behold, the LORD GOD shall come with a strong hand, and HIS arm shall rule for HIM;  behold, HIS reward is with HIM, and HIS work before HIM.  HE will feed HIS flock like a shepherd; HE will gather the lambs with HIS arm, and carry them in HIS bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure ?  Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance ?  Who has directed the SPIRIT of the LORD, or as HIS counselor has taught HIM ?  With whom did HE take counsel,  and who instructed HIM, and taught HIM in the path of justice ?  Who taught HIM knowledge, and showed HIM the way of understanding ?

Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the balance; look, HE lifts up the isles as a very little thing, and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.  All nations before HIM are as nothing, and they are counted by HIM less than nothing and worthless.

To whom then will you liken GOD ?  Or what likeness will you compare to HIM ? The workman molds a graven image, the goldsmith overspreads it with gold, and the silversmith casts silver chains.  Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that will not totter.

Have you not known ?  Have you not heard ?  Has it not been told you from the beginning ?  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth ?  It is HE WHO sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, WHO stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.  HE brings the princes to nothing;  HE makes the judges of the earth useless.  Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when HE will also blow on them, and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

To whom then will you liken ME,  or to whom shall I be equal ?  says the HOLY ONE.  Lift up your eyes on high, and see WHO has created these things, WHO brings out their host by number;  HE calls them all by name, by the greatness of HIS might and the strength of HIS power;  not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel:  My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my GOD ?  Have you not known ? Have you not heard ? The everlasting GOD, the LORD, the CREATOR of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.  There is no searching of HIS understanding.  HE gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might HE increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.  BUT those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 41  " Keep silence before ME, O coastlands, and let the people renew their strength !  Let them come near, then let them speak;  let us come near together for judgment.  WHO raised up one from the east ?  WHO in righteousness called him to HIS feet ?  WHO gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings ? WHO gave them as the dust to his sword, as driven stubble to his bow ?  WHO pursued them, and passed safely by the way that he had not gone with his feet ?  WHO has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning ?  I, the LORD, AM the FIRST; and with the LAST I AM HE .

The coastlands saw it and feared.  The ends of the earth were afraid; they drew near and came.  Everyone helped his neighbor, and said to his brother,  Be of good courage ! So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, saying,  It is ready for the soldering;  then he fastened it with pegs, that it might not totter.

But you, Israel, are MY servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham MY friend.  You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you,  You are MY servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:  Fear not for I AM with you.  Be not dismayed for I AM your GOD,  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you,  I will uphold you with MY righteous right hand.

Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced;  they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them--Those who contended with you.  Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.  For I, the LORD your GOD, will hold your right hand, saying to you,  Fear not, I will help you.

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel !  I will help you, says the LORD and your REDEEMER, the HOLY ONE of Israel.  Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;  you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff.  You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them;  you shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the HOLY ONE of Israel.

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongues fail for thirst,  I,  the LORD,  will hear them;  I,  the GOD of Israel,  will not forsake them.  I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys;  I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.  I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree;  I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together, that they may see and know and consider and understand together,  that the hand of the LORD has done this,  and the HOLY ONE of Israel has created it.

Present your case,  says the LORD.  Bring forth your strong reasons,  says the KING of Jacob.  Let them bring forth and show US what will happen;  let them show the former things,  what they were,  that WE may consider them, and know the latter end of them;  or declare to US things to come.  Show the things that are to come hereafter, that WE may know that you are gods;  yes,  do good or do evil,  the WE may be dismayed and see it together.  Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing;  He who chooses you is an abomination.

I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun he shall call on MY name;  and he shall come against princes as though mortar, as the potter treads clay.  Who has declared from the beginning, that WE may know ?  And former times,  that WE may say, He is righteous ?  Surely there is no one who shows, surely there is no one who hears your words.  The first time I said to Zion,  Look, there they are !  And I will give to Jerusalem ONE WHO brings good tidings.  For I looked, and there was no man;  I looked among them, but there was no counselor, WHO, when I asked of them, could answer a word.  Indeed they are all worthless;  their works are nothing;  their molded images are wind and confusion. "

Isaiah 42:1-9  " Behold ! MY SERVANT WHOM I uphold, MY ELECT ONE in WHOM MY soul delights !  I have put MY SPIRIT upon HIM;  HE will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.  HE will not cry out, nor raise HIS voice, nor cause HIS voice to be heard in the street.  A bruised reed HE will not break, and smoking flax HE will not quench;  HE will bring forth justice for truth.  HE will not fail nor be discouraged, till HE has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for HIS law.  

Thus says GOD the LORD, WHO created the heavens and stretched them out, WHO spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,  WHO gives breath to the people on it,  and spirit to those who walk on it:  I,  the LORD,  have called YOU in righteousness, and will hold YOUR hand; I will keep YOU and give YOU as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles,  to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison,  those who sit in darkness from the prison house.  I AM the LORD,  that is MY name;  and MY glory I will not give to another,  nor MY praise to graven images.  Behold,  the former things have come to pass,  and new things I declare;  before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Isaiah 43  " But now thus says the LORD, WHO created you, O Jacob, and HE WHO formed you O Israel;  Fear not, for I have redeemed you;  I have called you by your name; you are MINE.  When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you;  and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire,  you shall not be burned,  nor shall the flame scorch you. For I AM the LORD your GOD,  the HOLY ONE of Israel,  your SAVIOR;  I gave Egypt for your ransom,  Ethiopia and Seba in your place.  Since you were precious in MY sight you have been honored,  and I have loved you;  therefore I will give men for you.  And people for your life.

Fear not,  for I AM with you;  I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west;  I will say to the north, Give them up !  And to the south,  Do not keep them back !  Bring MY sons from afar,  and MY daughters from the ends of the earth--Everyone who is called by MY name,  whom I have created for MY glory;  I have formed him,  yes I have made him.

Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.  Let all the nations be gathered together and let the people be assembled.  Who among them can declare this,  and show us former things ?  Let them bring out their witnesses,  that they may be justified;  or let them hear and say,  It is truth. You are MY witnesses, says the LORD, and MY servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe ME, and understand that I AM HE, before ME there was no GOD formed,  nor shall there be after ME.  I,  even I,  AM the LORD,  and beside ME there is no SAVIOR.  I have declared and saved,  I have proclaimed,  and there was no foreign god among you, Therefore you are MY witnesses,  says the LORD,  that I AM GOD.  Indeed before the day was,  I AM HE;  and there is no one who can deliver out of MY hand;  I work,  and who will reverse it ?

Thus says the LORD,  your REDEEMER,  the HOLY ONE of Israel:  For your sake I will send to Babylon,  and bring them all down as fugitives--The Chaldean's, who rejoice in their ships.  I AM the LORD,  your HOLY ONE,  the CREATOR of Israel, your KING.

Thus says the LORD,  WHO makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty water, WHO brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power (they shall lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):  Do not remember the former things,  nor consider the things of old.  Behold,  I will do a new thing,  now it shall spring forth;  shall you not know it ?  I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  The beast of the field will honor ME,  the jackals and the ostriches, because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,  to give drink to MY people, MY chosen.  This people I have formed for MYSELF: They shall declare MY praise.

But you have not called upon ME, O Jacob;  and you have been weary of ME, O Israel.  You have not brought ME the sheep for your burnt offerings, nor have you honored ME with your sacrifices.  I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings,  nor wearied you with incense.  You have bought ME no sweet cane with money, nor have you satisfied ME with the fat of your sacrifices;  but you have burdened ME with your sins,  you have wearied ME with your iniquities.  

I,  even I,  AM HE WHO blots out your transgressions for MY own sake;  and I will not remember your sins.  Put ME in remembrance;  let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.  Your first father sinned.  And your mediators have transgressed against ME.  Therefore, I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;  I will give Jacob to the curse,  and Israel to reproaches.

Isaiah 44:24-28  " Thus says the LORD,  your REDEEMER, and HE WHO formed you from the womb:  I AM the LORD, WHO makes all things.  WHO stretches out the heavens all alone,  WHO spreads abroad the earth by MYSELF; WHO frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners mad;  WHO turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolishness;  WHO confirms the WORD of HIS servant,  and performs the counsel of HIS messengers; WHO says to Jerusalem,  You shall be inhabited,  to the cities of Judah,  You shall be built,  and I will raise up her waste places;  WHO says to the deep,  Be dry ! And I will dry up your rivers;  WHO says of Cyrus,  He is MY shepherd,  And he shall perform all MY pleasure,  even saying to Jerusalem,  You shall be built,  and to the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. "

     If you just read these few short chapters in the Book of Isaiah you can see that the LORD is very busy with the affairs of men.  There is nothing that is not within HIS purview nor will HIS plans be thwarted by mere men.  HIS timing is perfect as is HIS ways.  You may be one of those who doubt HIM, you may even be one of those who do not believe in HIM at all;  but one day  " Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that HE (JESUS) is LORD to the glory of GOD. "

Have a blessed evening and Sunday.

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie