A Prophetic Portrait of Messiah

Inspired by God and recorded by Isaiah more than five hundred years before Messiah became flesh and dwelt among us…

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” [1]

Unbelief is the problem. Messiah’s arrival is good news. He came to save us from our sin. But when His messengers reveal this miracle to others, they doubt it.

“He (Christ Jesus) grew up before Him (God) like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.” [2]

God came down from His glory and lived among us even as a defenseless baby. He depended on his father, Joseph, to rescue Him from a king’s plot to kill Him. He lacked attractiveness. No one would save Him due to His good looks. His suffering began long before the cross. He suffered rejection throughout His earthly life. He experienced pain. Some people did not want to look at Him. He was despised, not esteemed, by people. The good news is that He is able to relate well with the lowliest of people.

“Surely, He (Christ) took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him (God), and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” [3]

Messiah went through this humiliation for us. Even so, we tended to misunderstand and mischaracterize Him for it. God allowed His Son to be pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for us. He took our punishment so that we could enjoy peace. The wounds that He received were so that we could experience healing.

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (Christ) the iniquity of us all.” [4]

We distance ourselves from God as a sheep tends to roam from its shepherd. God loves us. We tend to forget to love Him in return. It is an unequal relationship. Iniquity is a sin of unequal exchange. Goodness for evil! Praise God that Messiah took our iniquities.

“He (Christ) was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” [5]

He did not open His mouth to halt the injustice. He willingly became a speechless for us.

“By oppression and judgment He (Christ) was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was punished.” [5]

Messiah was dreadfully treated by the human race He created. Yet, no one protest about it. “Cut off from the land of the living means that He died for our transgressions. A transgression is to cross a legal boundary line that God set up. It is to disregard His commandments.

“He (Christ) was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer (for our sakes), and though the LORD MAKES HIS LIFE an OFFERING for SIN, He (Christ) will see His offspring (Christians) and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord (the Church) will prosper in His hand.” [7]

Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man. He loaned Jesus his grave. Jesus died between two criminals. He was innocent. He committed no sin. After He died, Jesus resurrected. He lives to see His offspring, and God’s will prospers because of Him.

“By His knowledge my Righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.” [8]

Our just status before God is a direct result of our faith in the shed blood of Christ for our sins.

“Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” [9]

While on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” [10]

He was counted as a transgressor by false accusers. He died bearing the sins of the world. And Messiah resurrected, and Jesus Christ is still making intercession for us in heaven now. God painted this beautiful picture of redemption for us through His servant Isaiah. It’s all true!

[1] Isaiah 53:1
[2] Isaiah 53:2-3
[3] Isaiah 53:4-5
[4] Isaiah 53:6
[5] Isaiah 53:7
[6] Isaiah 53:8
[7] Isaiah 53:9-10
[8] Isaiah 53:11
[9] Isaiah 53:12
[10] Luke 23:34

Make the Most of Every Opportunity

“Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place but rather THANKSGIVING.

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. LIVE AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise. Make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.”

Ephesians 5:3-8, 14-16

No To Sin ! Yes to the Holy Spirit!

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the nations do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” [1]

Futile thoughts, darkened understandings, separated from God, hardened hearts, insensitive, etcetera. Don’t live this way! Jesus died on the cross to deliver us FROM sin. He did not die on the cross to deliver us TO sin. What’s more, Jesus has given us His Spirit.

“Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” [2]

Indulging in wine, gorging oneself with meat, and excessive sleep are ways to cope with the pain and unhappiness in this world, but these methods only send one’s life into a tailspin downward.

“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways, for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.” [3]

The Lord urges His sons to give their hearts to Him. Fix your eyes on Jesus! The evil one wants to use the lure of sexual pleasure to destroy God’s sons. The sexual pleasure coping mechanism turns out to be a robber. It sets a man’s trajectory on a path of unfaithful behavior.

“Who is woeful? Who is sorrowful? Who is striving? Who is complaining? Who is needlessly receiving a bruising? Whose eyes are bloodshot? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ‘They hit me,’ you will say, ‘but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?’” [4]

Alcoholism is very hard to escape. The alcohol snake bite causes quarrels, tears, bodily wounds, confusion of mind, numbness, and enslavement to a life of misery.

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” [5]

The Lord urges us to be filled with His Spirit. Holy Spirit comfort! Holy Spirit power!

[1] Ephesians 4:17-19
[2] Proverbs 23:20-21
[3] Proverbs 23:26-28
[4] Proverbs 23:29-35
[5] Ephesians 5:18

Hope, Strength & Rejoicing in the Lord

“The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him; all those who are upright in heart will glory in Him!” [1]

We glory in Him because the Lord makes righteous and upright people out of us. We rejoice in Him because His plans bring us to the safe haven of His eternal kingdom.

“He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” [2] Jesus is our good shepherd.

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” [3]

The Lord is our hope. The Lord is our strength. With Him, we do not run out of energy. Praise the Lord!

[1] Psalm 64:10
[2] Isaiah 40:11
[3] Isaiah 40:31

God embodies His Word in the lives of Believers

During lecture number six lectures on the book of Jeremiah, Dr. Gary Yates states that the prophet Jeremiah embodied the Word of God. Insomuch, that the way the people treated Jeremiah was a reflection of their feeling towards God’s Word. In the final analysis, their country suffered defeat at the hand of a pagan nation because they had the Word of God but treated it with contempt and did not heed it. God’s Word was sent to save them but they chose to reject it to their own destruction.

“Lord, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your servants who embody it by the way they live. Please help us to listen to You and to the servants of Your Word that we might not end up as the people did in the days of Jeremiah.”

Our Lord Jesus perfectly embodied the Word of God. He never diverted from perfect obedience to it. Christ is the ultimate example of a prophet (a speaker) for God. All the prophets that went before Him were only types or imperfect representations of Him. He is the fullness of God’s image. That is why true followers of God are called Christians. We are types of Christ. We seek to embody the Word of God by the power of Christ’s Spirit living in us.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPmBtnFmyZg

Praying for Nearness to Our Lord

“Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You, Lord, are good.” [1]

Let us pray for the Lord to forgive our sins and rebellious ways. Such behavior creates distance in any relationship. Let us pray that the Lord will remember us in accordance with His love and goodness. His love and goodness brings us near to Him.

May integrity and uprightness protect me because my hope, Lord, is in You.” [2]

Let us pray for integrity and uprightness from the Lord to replace our sinful and rowdy ways. Why? Because we hope to see the Lord in the beauty of His holiness.

“Lord, I love the house where You live, the place where Your glory dwells. Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with those who are bloodthirsty, in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.” [3]

Again the issue is nearness with God. We love the place where God’s glory dwells. We don’t want our soul joined to sinners who like to kill, deceive, and exploit people.

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” [4]

O to be near to God, even to live in His house all our days! To see Him in the place of beauty!

My heart says of You, ‘Seek His face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” [5]

As the Holy Spirit prompts us to seek God’s face, let us immediately seek Him.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” [6]

Let us pray confidently about enjoying God’s goodness among those who are alive.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” [7]

Don’t be impatient! Be strong! The Lord will answer your prayer to be near to Him.

[1] Psalm 25:7
[2] Psalm 25:21
[3] Psalm 26:8-10
[4] Psalm 27:4
[5] Psalm 27:8
[6] Psalm 27:13
[7] Psalm 27:14