Isaiah 52:1-56:8
“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord , who has mercy on you.” Isaiah 54:10
I don’t think there’s a smile or a heart in this sandwich that you can see with your eyes, but I can taste it with my tongue and feel it with my heart every morning when my sweet hubby makes me one! I am blessed.
“See, I have written your name on the palms of My hands.” Isaiah 49:16
My friends, I’m exhausted. Physically, mentally, spiritually you name it, I’m exhausted. So. I’m taking today off and taking a nap. Besides, yesterday I posted the video about spending more time reading your Bible, so today I’m giving you the opportunity to do so! 😀 Enjoy your alone time with Jesus my friends! I love you!
“Come closer, and listen to this. From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.” Isaiah 48:16
So, today I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to do something a little different. Something that, literally, has taken me ALL DAY LONG to work on. It ended up being at 20 minute video when it all was said and done. A twenty minute video that took, about 30 minutes to save the “rough draft” onto my computer, an hour and a half to save the final draft to my computer, and honestly, I’m not going to stay up to time how long the upload to YouTube takes! So, since I’m finishing it in the morning, this one is going to make it into your inboxes a little later than usual, but I pray that it will be worth it to you. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
And so my Friends, without further ado, I give you my first (this year) Vlog, or video blog for those who know what that means.
“Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel.” Isaiah 44:5
When I read today’s Word of the Day I was at work on break and this verse just jumped out at me! So much so that I had, and I mean HAD to do exactly what it said,
This picture is a little faded, I’ve washed my hands a “couple” times since then; try what feels like a million! (I’m a mom.) But every time I look at it, it makes me smile. I am Yaweh’s, I belong to Him. I am His beloved daughter, prized and dearly loved. I am favored and cherished and held in high esteem in His court. I’m His baby girl!
And it’s so nice to have all of that right in front of my face all day long because it’s literally written on my hand!
I love the Word of God! It is alive and active in me today!
So what do you think? Would you write the name of Yaweh on your hand and wear it all day long at work? Do you think I’m crazy? Maybe I am, but if I’m crazy, it’s for the LORD!
“Who else has held the oceans in His hand?
*1
Who has measured off the heavens with His fingers?
Source: Hubblesite.org*2
Who else knows the weight of the earth
*3
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
*4
He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.” Isaiah 40:12 & 15
*5
And yet He knows YOUR name.
He counts your steps.
He knows the number of hairs on your head. (Luke 12:7)
He calls you “friend”. (John 15:1-17)
He calls you Child of God. (1 John 3:1)
You are His Beloved.
Who else has held the oceans in His hand… and your hand in His while saying, “Don’t be afraid I’m here to help you.” (Isaiah 41:13)
Who else has measured off the heavens with His fingers and allowed fingers to touch the nail-holes in His hands? (John 20:27)
Who else knows the weight of the earth and the heaviness that weighs down your soul?
Who else has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale AND the molehills you’ve made into mountains in your mind?
He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand and yet picks you up and clutches you to His heart like a favored daughter with a skinned knee and a broken heart.
My dearest Beloveds, our Father who lives in heaven cares for YOU! Take heart Dear One because you are dearly loved by none other than the creator of the heavens and the earth. And while He knows the name of each and every star, He LOVES YOU.
*1: Image courtesy of Brandon Doss through Creation Swap.
*2: Image courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope. Interesting fact, this image is a picture of stars being born! The clouds are the “womb” that holds the star while it is forming! Click the link for more details, but I thought that considering the verse of the day this was an AMAZING picture to find to go with it!!!!! Oh, and those clouds, they’re about 4 LIGHT YEARS tall. That’s about 24 TRILLION miles! Our God is so AMAZING!!!!!
*3: Image courtesy of NASA and Apollo 17.
*4: Image courtesy of Charl Christiani through Creation Swap.
*5: Image of Earth from under Saturn’s rings courtesy of NASA.
“Tell her that her sad days are gone…” Isaiah 40:2
Parenting is hard! I remember watching my daughter learn how to walk. I wanted so much to keep holding her hand to prevent her from falling, but I couldn’t. If I did so, I would succeed in keeping her from falling, but I would also be hindering her ability to walk on her own – which IS the ultimate goal. And so to achieve that ultimate goal I had to let go. I had to watch her struggle to take those steps on her own. I had to watch her fall over and over again, occasionally hurting herself – although not usually. I had to stand by and let her fall, BUT I was ALWAYS there to pick her back up again. If she cried, I was ALWAYS there to cheer her back up and let her know it was going to be ok. If she hurt herself, I was ALWAYS there to clean her up and make it all better. I was always there for her.
Just like Jesus is always here for you.
Stand firm Dear One! “Stand firm in your faith or you will not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:9 HCSB Stand firm and know that while you may not be able to feel Him in this moment that doesn’t mean that He’s not still there. A teacher is always quietest during the test. 😉
Hear this today my friend; by NO means does God’s silence equate an indifference to your struggle!!!!!
Trust me when I tell you that He is never more attentive to you than in those moments when He is testing you for “done-ness”. God is a master chef in the kitchen of life sticking His Almighty finger in the soup to see if it needs more salt. If God is testing you today, take heart that it’s not a matter of passing or failing the test. It’s a matter of God testing to see if you need more butter or salt, patience or joy. He’s not testing to see if you’ll do the “right” thing, He’s testing to see what He needs to do next to make YOU more like Jesus.
And maybe like Isaiah 40:2 says, He’s decided to turn down the heat a bit so that you don’t burn. I don’t know about you, but seeing those words penned to Jerusalem brought a prayer springing to my heart that begged for them to be for me today too. I want so much for the “sad days” to be gone! He does that you know; turn down the heat. He is such a wonderful Creator, I’m sure you’ll taste WONDERFUL when He’s all done making you!
“But the LORD says: ‘Now I will stand up. Now I will show my power and might.'” Isaiah 33:10
“Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.” Isaiah 29:14
A couple days ago I noticed that I hadn’t taken hardly any photos this summer. Those of you who have been following this blog for long know that this is so uncharacteristic for me!!! So today, instead of spending all my writing time inside at my desk staring at a wall, I hopped in the car and went for a drive through the country. It was poetry for my eyes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 😉
“Soon it will not be very long – the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through gloom and darkness. The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the LORD. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 29:17-19
“Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say. ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21
“Only in returning to Me and resting in Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
“So the LORD must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.” Isaiah 30:18
“The breath of the LORD, like fire from a volcano, will set it ablaze.” Isaiah 30:33
“Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest. Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the LORD will greatly bless His people. Wherever they plant see, bountiful crops will spring up. Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.” Isaiah 32:15-20
* Out of the 140+ pictures I took today, those are the ones you get. 😉 It was a really great day. Thank you for your prayers this week my friends. They were greatly needed and dearly appreciated!!!!!
“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.” Isaiah 28:16
So yesterday we talked about the heavenly banquet and how Jesus is quite possibly the banquet since He refers to Himself as the bread from heaven. So today I want to talk more about this delicious banquet that serves bread.
Are you familiar with the law of first mention in the Bible? Basically it’s the idea that the first time the Holy Spirit mentions something in the Bible it’s a clue to its significance and meaning throughout the entire Bible. A quick Biblegateway.com search for “bread” pulls up Genesis 14:18,
“And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine.”
I about fell off my chair when I read that! Oh! Maybe I should share with you why! Check out John 6:51-55, only a few short verses from where we left off yesterday!
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” Then the people began arguing with each other about what He meant. “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” they asked.
So Jesus again said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”
Did you catch that? The flesh of Jesus is true food and His blood is true drink. Now, if that grosses you out (and I can’t blame you there), then stick with me for Luke 22:14-20!
“When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before My suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
He’s pointing to that “Delicious Banquet” mentioned in Isaiah that started our whole journey!
“Then He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
Another nod to our upcoming nuptial banquet in heaven!!!
“He took some BREAD [real, actual, physical bread] and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.”
After supper, He took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people – an agreement confirmed with My blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”
Huh! Pretty cool right! He used both bread and wine to symbolize the breaking of His body and soul on the cross and the shedding of His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. These are the exact same two elements that Melchizedek presented to Abraham in that verse in Genesis that was the first mention of bread in the entire Bible.
You see, Jesus is the bread from heaven because His body was broken on the cross for us – for the forgiveness of many. That one act of ultimate obedience and faith paid the price for each and every one of us to attend that priceless Heavenly Banquet. And when we build our lives on the firm foundation of the cornerstone of the cross of Christ then we who believe will never be shaken because that cornerstone has been tested and found firm. It has overcome this world and because of that one Truth we can take heart and know that we too can overcome it as well.
Stand firm dear one; you are amazingly loved by the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You have been redeemed by the Prince of Peace who is from the order of Melchizedek. Who gave up His body and lifeblood for YOU so that you could be free from the sin that so easily entangles and hinders us in this rat race of life. Throw it all off, and run to the Cornerstone – the firm foundation upon which to build your life so that you can say:
“Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation. Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.” – Isaiah 26:1-4
He is faithful and good my friend.
He will NEVER forsake you.
“You are a tower of refuge to the poor, O LORD, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled. In Jerusalem, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There He will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever!” Isaiah 25:4-8
There is SO MUCH in this passage that I would love to dwell on all day! But I have to point out the thing that grabbed my attention enough to make me scramble to collect my reading materials and dash back inside to my computer. The delicious banquet.
You see, as I was hand writing the verse from above I had a revelation. The banquet isn’t a physical meal. Well, at least, it’s not only a meal – let’s put it that way. (Because I really love food and I’m seriously looking forward to heavenly meals.) As I wrote the word banquet my mind was immediately transported to Jesus in the gospel of John. He had just turned five loaves and two fishes into a meal that fed five thousand men and ALL their (uncounted) wives and children. The next day He’s across the lake when these same men come to find Him in order that He might feed them again. And it’s Jesus’ response that I fast forwarded to with the mention of our upcoming heavenly banquet:
“I tell you the truth, you want to be with Me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given Me the seal of His approval.” They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in You. What can you do?…”
Now keep in mind folks, these are the SAME people who ate multiplied bread and fish just the day before!
“… What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now He offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” – John 6:26-27, 30-35
Jesus is our daily bread. He is the very thing that sustains us through the daily grind of life.
To Be Continued tomorrow……
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