“I AM THE LORD!”

 Isaiah 42:5-8                    (ESV)

    “[5] Thus says GOD, the LORD,

        WHO created the heavens and stretched them out,

        WHO spread out the earth and what comes from it,

    WHO gives breath to the people on it

        and spirit to those who walk in it: 

    [6] “I AM THE LORD”; I HAVE CALLED you in righteousness;

        I WILL TAKE you by the hand and keep you;

    I WILL GIVE you as a covenant for the people,

        a light for the nations, 

    [7]     to open the eyes that are blind,

    to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

        from the prison those who sit in darkness. 

    [8] “I AM THE LORD”; that is MY NAME;

        MY GLORY I give to no other,

        nor MY PRAISE to carved idols.”

These verses tell me the MAIN TRUTH of SCRIPTURE that I can easily be in TOO BIG OF A HURRY to hear what I “want to hear” that I fail to recognize that ALL THINGS come from “I AM THE LORD”, to GLORIFY HIS NAME!!!  Too many times I try to figure out how I can enjoy HIS BLESSINGS when rejoicing that HE CHOSE ME (Ephesians 1:4) BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD should be my focus!!!  

Not because HE CHOSE ME should I be celebrating, but because “I AM THE LORD” saw the opportunity to save a wretch such as me!!!

“I WILL DO MARVELS!”

 Exodus 34:10                    (ESV)

The Covenant Renewed

“[10] And HE said, “Behold, I AM making a covenant. BEFORE ALL OF YOUR PEOPLE “I WILL DO MARVELS”, SUCH AS HAVE NOT BEEN CREATED IN ALL THE EARTH OR IN ANY NATION. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is AN AWESOME THING that I will do with you.”

As I saw Exodus 33:18 recently on a social media site, which says “Moses said, “Please show me YOUR Glory”, it caused me to research the verse more thoroughly.  I was drawn to Exodus 33:18, I went onto read Exodus 34:10 which was highlighted in my BIBLE, but I apparently hadn’t ever used it in my “writings”??  The phrase“I WILL DO MARVELS” especially intrigued me.  

Moses was the author of the first five books of the HOLY BIBLE, and ALMIGHTY GOD USED him to make HIMSELF known to anyone who would have an interest in HIM!  “I WILL DO MARVELS” could mean that GOD is doing something that cannot be understood by human minds???  One dictionary says that MARVEL means “to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity”!  We do not have the capability of understanding precisely WHO ALMIGHTY GOD is in our humanity!  

Immediately my brain damaged mind goes to my medical records for September 25, 2007 which say, “However, he has had a remarkable recovery THAT COULD ONLY BE DEFINED AS A MIRACLE FROM GOD”!!!  My doctor has since said that it was the only explanation he had for my recovery?!?  While it is true that my doctor is a BELIEVER, there apparently NO WORDS to describe how “critical” my condition was?  

Moses KNEW the MAGNITUDE of THE DELIVERER named I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14)!  When he descended from Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:19) his face “shone because he had been talking with GOD”!!!  When ALMIGHTY GOD does a WORK that ONLY HE can get credit for, “I WILL DO MARVELS” is the ONLY THING that will suffice for HIS HANDIWORK!!!

“LET HIM DENY HIMSELF!”

 Matthew 16:24-26                    (ESV)

Take Up Your Cross and Follow JESUS 

“[24] Then JESUS told HIS disciples, “If anyone would come after ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME. [25] For whoever would save his life WILL LOSE IT, but WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT. [26] For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

“LOT’S WIFE!”

 Genesis 19:26                    (ESV)

“[26] But “LOT’S WIFE”, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Luke 17:32                    (ESV)

“[32] Remember “LOT’S WIFE”.”

It is so very important that we are aware that THE CREATOR HIMSELF was trying to make a point to we who would HEAR HIS WORD!  Luke 17:31 says “On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, NOT COME DOWN to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field NOT TURN BACK.” 

“LOT’S WIFE” became a “pillar of salt” because of the love she had for “this world”!  It cost her EVERYTHING!  She never made it out of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorra.  Instead she was “memorialized” by her CREATOR as EVIDENCE of what selfish behavior will bring to those who cherish it before their LOVE for HIM!!

Our CREATOR was instructing HIS Disciples to “Remember “LOT’S WIFE”, not to fully make her an example, but I BELIEVE to remind us that our attention and focus should ALWAYS be on HIM, and NOT the things of “this world”!  “LOT’S WIFE” is the example that we need to REMEMBER!!!!

“IT WAS THE LORD’S DOING!”

 Joshua 11:20                       (ESV)

“For “IT WAS THE LORD’S DOING” to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order THAT THEY SHOULD BE DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION and should receive NO MERCY but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.”

The Sunday School lesson this Sunday was entitled GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES focusing on Joshua 11:16-21.  I couldn’t “get past” Joshua 11:20!  “IT WAS THE LORD’S DOING” would NOT leave my mind, so I decided I would “dig” a little bit and SEE with what THE LORD was trying to enlighten me?

While it is true that Joshua led the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, it is very important to remember that THE LORD was the ONE WHO told Moses (Deuteronomy 20:16-17) to “save alive NOTHING that breathes” and “you shall devote to them to TOTAL DESTRUCTION”!!!

When ALMIGHTY GOD has a PURPOSE to be COMPLETED, it WILL BE COMPLETED!  The PURPOSE and PLAN of GOD NEVER alters, even when “a man after HIS OWN heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) has been CHOSEN to serve HIM!  GOD uses the ”weakness” of that servant to accomplish HIS PURPOSE (Matthew 1:6-7)!  

GOD still uses imperfect people to accomplish HIS PLAN!  NONE of us are perfect, so we all QUALIFY to serve HIM!  But we MUST remember “IT WAS THE LORD’S DOING”, that is the only way our battles are 

“BROKEN AND CONTRITE!”

 Isaiah 66:1-2                    (ESV)

The “HUMBLE AND CONTRITE” in Spirit

    “[1] Thus says the LORD:

    “Heaven is MY throne,

        and the earth is MY footstool;

    what is the house that you would build for ME,

        and what is the place of MY rest? 

    [2] All these things MY hand has made,

        and so all these things came to be,

    declares the LORD.

    BUT THIS IS THE ONE TO WHOM I WILL LOOK:

        HE WHO IS “HUMBLE AND CONTRITE” IN SPIRIT

        and trembles at MY WORD.”

HUMBLE: Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; NOT ARROGANT OR PRIDEFUL.

CONTRITE: Thoroughly bruised or broken

Remembering coming home from church on Sunday evening January 08, 1978, I felt like I was TOTALLY inadequate to be CHOSEN by the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE to serve HIM!  BUT I surrendered to be ONE of HIS CHOSEN without really knowing what it meant, just trying to ease the pain of NOT being selected by HIM!  

Today as I was reading Isaiah 65:24 (ESV) “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear”, I then read the words that are shared above! Ephesians 1 reveals to me that ALMIGHTY GOD CHOSE me BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, and I am EXTREMELY “HUMBLED AND CONTRITE” to be apart of HIS PLAN!  Surely HE could have found a number of people to better reflect HIS LOVE than me?  But HE CHOSE ME to be HIS, and I am SO glad HE did!!!

There are SO MANY THINGS I could have done better over the years, but HE was ALWAYS there for me, even when I wasn’t LOVABLE!!  Noticing recently a testimony about the closer we are to GOD, the more inadequate we should feel about being CHOSEN by HIM causes me to STOP and PONDER my situation?  Then I read “BUT THIS IS THE ONE TO WHOM I WILL LOOK: HE WHO IS “HUMBLE AND CONTRITE” IN SPIRIT and trembles at MY WORD.”  Maybe I am getting closer to what HE is LOOKing for???

“PSALMS 88!”

 Psalm 88                    (ESV)

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

    [1] O LORD, GOD of my salvation,

        I cry out day and night before YOU. 

    [2] Let my prayer come before YOU;

        incline YOUR ear to my cry!

    [3] For my soul is full of troubles,

        and my life draws near to Sheol. 

    [4] I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

        I AM A MAN WHO HAS NO STRENGTH, 

    [5] like one set loose among the dead,

        like the slain that lie in the grave,

    like those whom YOU remember no more,

        for they are cut off from YOUR hand. 

    [6] YOU have put me in the depths of the pit,

        in the regions dark and deep. 

    [7] YOUR wrath lies heavy upon me,

        and YOU overwhelm me with all YOUR waves. Selah

    [8] YOU have caused my companions to shun me;

        YOU have made me a horror to them.

    I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 

    [9]     my eye grows dim through sorrow.

    Every day I call upon YOU, O LORD;

        I spread out my hands to YOU. 

    [10] Do YOU work wonders for the dead?

        Do the departed rise up to praise YOU? Selah 

    [11] Is YOUR steadfast love declared in the grave,

        or YOUR faithfulness in Abaddon? 

    [12] Are YOUR wonders known in the darkness,

        or YOUR righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

    [13] But I, O LORD, cry to YOU;

        in the morning my prayer comes before YOU. 

    [14] O LORD, why do YOU cast my soul away?

        Why do YOU hide YOUR face from me? 

    [15] Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,

        I suffer YOUR terrors; I AM HELPLESS. 

    [16] YOUR wrath has swept over me;

        YOUR dreadful assaults destroy me. 

    [17] They surround me like a flood all day long;

        they close in on me together. 

    [18] YOU have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;

        my companions have become darkness.”

Psalms 88:1-2

 Psalm 88:1-2                     (ESV)

    “[1] O LORD, GOD of my salvation,

        I cry out day and night before YOU. 

    [2] Let my prayer come before YOU;

        incline YOUR ear to my cry!”

“HE WILL DELIVER US!”

2 Corinthians 1:8-11                     (ESV)

“[8] For we do not want you to be UNAWARE, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so UTTERLY BURDENED beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. [9] Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on GOD WHO raises the dead. [10] HE delivered us from such a deadly peril, and “HE WILL DELIVER US”. On HIM we have set our hope that “HE WILL DELIVER US”. [11] You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

For someone who has journeyed the path I have been assigned, hearing “HE WILL DELIVER US” might seem a bit difficult to understand?  When the “brain hemorrhage” first revealed itself to me, I was seemingly dealt a minor setback?  ONE MONTH later I was released from the hospital and spent the next three weeks in Rehab where I was discharged to the applause of the entire staff!

It might have been “assumed” that my word recall would continue to improve, but it hasn’t!  I can carry on a normal conversation, but when it moves too quickly I sometimes have trouble “keeping up”!!

The Apostle Paul had possibly yet to experience his mindset of 2 Timothy 4:6-8?  For him to write “HE WILL DELIVER US” directly after his second letter to Timothy might have been misinterpreted by many.  The Apostle Paul seemingly KNEW that “HE WILL DELIVER US”, but HIS PLAN was different than it was in his second letter to Timothy ?  

I am now able to SEE that HIS PLAN was to slow down my speech so that I would be more selective with my word selection.  When the Apostle Paul wrote “HE WILL DELIVER US”, the PLAN for his life was probably different than in his second letter to Timothy.  GOD IS ABLE to DELIVER us from whatever position we find ourselves in, whenever we need HIM.  Some other day “HE WILL DELIVER US” into our eternal reward to celebrate JESUS around HIS THRONE!!!

“THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!”

 Acts 4:13-14                    (ESV)

“[13] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And THEY RECOGNIZED that “THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS”. [14] But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, THEY HAD NOTHING TO SAY in opposition.”

There are many words that humanity uses to describe precisely what exactly they have been through in an effort to describe to others the magnitude of their own experiences.  Peter and John ”were uneducated, common men”, but the fact that “THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS” was something that words were inadequate to describe!!!

Precisely who was the “they” that was mentioned Acts 4:13?  The Scripture in Acts 4:1 says “the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them”.  Indications are that these were some of the most educated and influential figures in current society.  So these WERE NOT people easily tricked into thinking something that wasn’t TRUTH!  They KNEW the “lame beggar” had been healed, but there wasn’t an explanation for his healing!  THEY HAD NOTHING TO SAY IN OPPOSITION!!!

From experience, when JESUS CHRIST performs a WORK in a life, simple words are INCAPABLE of describing what has transpired! The best response for his MIRACULOUS HEALING was to say NOTHING, while the FACT that “THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS” was being made known to ALL!  May my life be a testimony that “THEY HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS” to a lost and dying world???

“HAVE MERCY ON ME!”

 Luke 18:35-43                    (ESV)

JESUS Heals a Blind Beggar

“[35] As HE drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. [36] And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. [37] They told him, “JESUS OF NAZARETH is passing by.” [38] And he cried out, “JESUS, Son of David, “HAVE MERCY ON ME”!” [39] And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, “HAVE MERCY ON ME!” [40] And JESUS stopped and commanded him to be brought to HIM. And when he came near, HE asked him, [41] “What do you want ME to do for you?” He said, “LORD, let me recover my sight.” [42] And JESUS said to him, “Recover your sight; your FAITH has made you well.” [43] And IMMEDIATELY he recovered his sight and followed HIM, glorifying GOD. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to GOD.”

One definition of MERCY is “In the Bible, mercy is defined as compassion or forbearance SHOWN TO THOSE IN DISTRESS, often involving forgiveness and kindness. It reflects GOD's nature and is a key aspect of HIS relationship with humanity, emphasizing LOVE and COMPASSION even towards THOSE WHO DO NOT DESERVE IT.”  The blind man might not have been in distress, but my mind CANNOT COMPREHEND not being able to see!  

JESUS CHRIST was a little over a week from the time HE would pay the ransom for the sins of the world. Yet this Blind Beggar wanted HIM to interrupt HIS schedule and perform a MIRACLE so that his sight would be made whole!!  He DID NOT DESERVE to be healed, so he begged JESUS to “HAVE MERCY ON ME”…….and JESUS DID!!!

“A key aspect of HIS relationship with humanity, emphasizing LOVE and COMPASSION even towards THOSE WHO DO NOT DESERVE IT” is DEFINITELY shown by GOD IN THE FLESH as HE restores the Blind Beggars sight and said “Recover your sight; your FAITH has made you well”!!!  

Why did the Blind Beggar ask JESUS to restore his sight?  Could it be because his FAITH was sent to him by the Holy Spirit and JESUS KNEW that he would respond ONLY the way a BELIEVER could?  

I DID NOT DESERVE to be healed in July 2007, but JESUS took the time to RESTORE my life and gave me ABUNDANTLY MORE than I ever could have imagined!!  Did I request that healing?  NO, but HE might have heard a prayer or two from those who loved me!!!  I will FOREVER be BEGGING my LORD to “HAVE MERCY ON ME”, because I want to fulfill HIS PLAN for my life!!!