Hope and Blessings In The Lord

“Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.”

[1]

“Your sun shall no longer go down,

Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;

For the Lord will be your everlasting light,

And the days of your mourning shall be ended.”

[2]

“For as the earth brings forth its bud,

As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,

So the Lord God will cause righteousness

And praise to spring forth before all the nations.”

[3]

For since the beginning of the world

Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,

Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,

Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”

[4]

[1] Isaiah 55:6-7

[2] Isaiah 60:20

[3] Isaiah 61:11

[4] Isaiah 64:4

Law & Grace

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” [1]

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.” [2]

“…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.” [3]

Our Lord Jesus cherished and obeyed God’s laws. He contended with evil. He poured out His soul to save sinners. He was numbered with transgressors while dying between two criminals. He took the sin of humankind upon Himself. He gives His righteousness to us who believe in Him. This is grace immense and free. He lives. Daily, He makes intercession for us. O to be like Him, cherishing and keeping God’s laws and yet full of grace and forgiveness towards all people.

Our Lord Jesus cherished and obeyed God’s laws. He contended with evil. He poured out His soul to save sinners. He was numbered with transgressors while dying between two criminals. He took the sin of humankind upon Himself. He gives His righteousness to those who simply believe in Him. This is grace immense and free. He lives. He makes intercession for us who daily cross lines that God does not want us to transgress. O to be like Him – cherishing and keeping God’s laws and yet full of grace and forgiveness towards all people.

[1] Psalm 1:1-3
[2] Proverbs 28:4
[3] Isaiah 53:12

Determined

To do right, to sing, to rejoice, to share good news, to declare, “Our God reigns!” Because all the earth shall see the salvation of our God

“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation.” [1]

“Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” [2]

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” [3]

“The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” [4]

Praise the Lord!

[1] Isaiah 51:7-8
[2] Isaiah 51:11
[3] Isaiah 52:7
[4] Isaiah 51:10

In God We Trust

“The Name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. Before a down fall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” [1]

The Lord’s Name is an impenetrable shield for the righteous, but the riches of the wealthy is a wall that can be overcome. Humility leads to honor whereas pride precedes a fall.

“Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is He who will save us.” [2]

Salvation is of the Lord!

“Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” [3]

This is why we trust in the Lord and not in worldly riches.

[1] Proverbs 18:10-12
[2] Isaiah 33:2, 22
[3] 1 John 5:4-5, 12, 14

Standouts because of Him who Stand with Us

Standouts...
Because of Him who stands with us.
Standouts…
Because of His Spirit in us.
Hope-filled...
because He shall return.
We shall behold Him...
And we shall be like Him

“Dear Friends, we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: we know it by the Spirit, He gave us.” (1 John 3:2-3, 16, 23-24)

Expecting The Lord To Return

“My Dear Children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

“We know that we have come to know Him (Christ) if we keep His commands. Whoever says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His Word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” [1]

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” [2]

“And now, dear children, continue in Him (Christ), so, that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He (Christ) is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.” [3]

[1] 1 John 2:1-6
[2] 1 John 2:9-11
[3] 1 John 2:28-29

Happy The Lord Is My God

“Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” [1]

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” [2]

“All that we have accomplished, You have done for us.” [3]

“Even in darkness light dawns for the upright (see note), for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.” [4]

“Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes, with the princes of His people. He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.” [5]

Note: God has shined His light in dark places for me. He has given me grace when burdens were too heavy. He has lifted me up from the dust and ash heap. He has made me happy when no one else could.

[1] Isaiah 25:9
[2] Isaiah 26:3
[3] Isaiah 26:12
[4] Psalm 112:4-5
[5] Psalm 113:5-9

Fight the Good Fight with Might

Why? Because: “Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’” [1]

My son-in-law shared with me the results of a survey that was taken recently. The survey wanted to determine if people deemed faith better than doubt. The result was negative. The people who were surveyed felt that doubt was better. Better to be analytical! Better to be skeptical! Faith was not viewed positively.

Rejecting the Biblical view of God and His Law allows for freedom to live lust-filled lives.

The Lord calls us His Church to hold to the Christian faith amidst skepticism. He says, “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” [2]

“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.” [3]

The Lord urges us like a good coach does for his team, saying, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” [4] We need to depend on God’s grace to overcome in these last days. We need to fill our minds with the knowledge of God in these last days. Otherwise, we too, will descend into the drain of despair and debauchery.

We are in a war for the salvation of souls… both for our own and for the souls of those who are apt to believe in God with us.

Let us fight for the glory of Christ and for the salvation of souls. “To Him (Christ) be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” [5]

[1] 2 Peter 3:3-4
[2] 2 Peter 3:8-9
[3] 2 Peter 3:13-14
[4] 2 Peter 3:18
[5] 2 Peter 3:19

Revelation of Christ's Kingdom

“(You) are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” [1]

“Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” [2]

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” [3]

“Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” [4]

[1] 1st Peter 1:5-7
[2] 1st Peter 1:13
[3] Isaiah 9:6-7
[4] Revelation 11:15