Jesus is Sovereign and in Control Isaiah 60

Jesus is Sovereign and in Control; when God the Father signals to God the Son, the time is now, Then God the Son will Stand up in His Triumphant Return; when He stands up to Call us home; be found awake and ready to be received by Him on His glorious Throne!

Isaiah 60

The Glory of Zion

1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

2 See, darkness covers the earth

and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the LORD rises upon you

and his glory appears over you.

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In Light of all this Evil around us, how then shall we live? Luke 13:1-9

We do not live in a perfect world, this world is cursed and people are sin cursed. Therefore, when tragedy happens, this is a reminder that there is a promise of a New Heaven and New Earth in Christ. This world in which we live is not a perfect world, and behold Jesus in His Shed Blood on the Cross came to Make all things new and redeem His Chosen and elect Children.

The Mass murder and injury of 70 people in the Theater at Aurora Colorado; and The Bus bombing that killed Israeli Jews who were taking a Vacation tour of Turkey. The News of Evil and mass murders by the hands of two evil men: the gun man at Colorado and the bomber of the bus in Turkey.

How do we make sense of it all? Basically, you don't. Life is fragile and you can be here today and gone tomorrow.

The real question to ask is not, Why did this happen and innocent victims end up dying? but the heart of the issue is to Repent or you too will likewise perish. Life is short, and behold now is the Day of Salvation, do not ignore the call to repent and turn to Christ now, then when unexpected tragedy Strikes you will be found in the Arms of Jesus. But if you ignore the Call to Repent, then when death does strike, you won't be eternally ready, but then it will be too late. Indeed the desensitizing of Evil and it's consequences thereof, indeed of Eternal consequence--the shooter will indeed suffer such eternal consequence in the hardness of his heart. But what about those who ignore the call to repentance today--when the un-expectancy of the grim reaper strikes in one deadly blow, it will be too late to repent in the pit of eternal death.

Jesus speaks to tragedy in His day, and His Basic message is Repent or you too will likewise perish.

In Luke 13The evil intent of peoples heart that commit such acts will be held accountable by God's Holy justice and Eternal Wrath. For the Wrath of God continually abides upon the unbelieving and unrepentant heart.

Repent or Perish

"1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

The Great Infinite Patience of God is seen in the parable of the fig Tree that the owner of the Vineyard wanted to cut it down for it was not bearing any fruit. But the care taker of the vineyard, replied to the owner, let me take care of it one more year and if it does not bear fruit then cut it down after a year.

Here, the Infinite wrath of God abides upon the unbelieving, and if you fail to believe and bear fruit, but instead, you fill up the cup of your own sin then all hope for repentance is abandoned then according to God's Divine wrath, it will be revealed and when death strikes, all hope is indeed abandoned and there is no more second chances in death, but an eternal torment of the gnashing of the teeth and the smoke of their torment rises for all eternity.

God is Omnipresent and He is Omnipotent! and In His timing He will making everything right in the Scales and balance of His Justice. For those in Jesus, Eternal life, for those outside of Christ, God's eternal wrath abides upon them.

Proverbs 19 3 "A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD". Here a person's sinfulness is revealed yet unwilling to take responsibility for their folly, and is quick to blame God for their sinfulness. But you cannot blame God for your sinfulness. God is Holy and in Him there is no darkness at all. God is Light and His eyes are too pure to look on Evil. and God will punish every sin and will not let the guilty go free. But the arrogance and audacity of man to sin and think he can blame God for His sin, and not repent of his own sinfulness and eternal darkness.

You cannot blame God when evil men strike with their Evil. Though it was permitted, the evil that is displayed was done by the evil person controlled by their sin cursed self; this is a reminder to me that the vengeance of God will punish the evil person with the evil acts. The glory of God will be revealed in that God will make it right, and when you look to the Cross of Jesus, indeed the Justice and Mercy of God makes my heart right with God, through Jesus' Blood.

Fail to look to the cross of Christ to make things right and you will find the Wrath of God abides on you and for all eternity; His Wrath, Holiness and Eternal Justice will reveal all things Right, but to your demise without Jesus a Christ less eternity to suffer eternal punishment for not repenting of your sin and sin cursed self and not turning to Christ in this life

Loose sight of sin, loose sight of your Need for the Cross!

The minute I fail to see my own sin, the cross loses it's meaning"-
-Charles Spurgeon

Genesis 3:7-11
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Indeed, how we are prone to wonder, prone to leave the God we Love, to dress in fig leaves and Hide in the bushes from His presence. Yet the Cross of Christ indeed exposes such folly in us; we cannot hide our nakedness from His Sight, it is foolishness to think otherwise, but that we may come out from behind the bushes and believe on Jesus to remove our fig leaves and cloth us in the righteousness of His Blood!JV

I flee to Jesus Christ because there is no righteousness found in me! Romans 8:1-4

I Flee to Christ because there is no Righteousness found in Me:
Romans 8:1-4

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a s...in offering.And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[d] 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

I cannot be clothed in Christ Righteousness, unless I find myself emptied of self-and realize that there is no righteousness of my own that I can claim to find God's Favor and Acceptance, I am only Accepted and Loved By God through the Righteousness of God's only Begotten Son credited and imputed to my account in God's Eyes, when He sees me He sees the Righteousness and perfection of His Son in me!


John Calvin: for we shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own"


John Calvin: "You then see that we are wholly excluded from the righteousness of works, and must therefore flee to Christ for righteousness, for in us there can be none, and to know this is especially necessary; for we shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own"..."We flee to Christ because there is no righteousness found in us:
first that Christ was sent, in order to remind us that righteousnessby no means dwells in us, for it is to be sought from him, and that men invain confide in their own merits, who become not just but at the pleasure
of another, or who borrow righteousness from that expiation which Christ accomplished in his own flesh"

The pursuit of the Supremacy and The Sufficiency of Jesus Christ In My Life!

 

 

Colossians 1:14-23 The Supremacy of Christ:

I will be well content to pursue The Sufficiency of Jesus Christ unto my Salvation, The sufficiency of Jesus Christ found in His righteousness in my Sanctification and The Sufficiency of Jesus Christ found in my endurance unto Glorification-- is all I will ever need! Jesus, my Immanuel God with me!

Colossians 1:14-23

14 in whom we... have redemption,the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Regardless, God is with me and that is all that Matters!

The Gift of God's Presence with me in His Son is the best Gift I can have!

Isaiah 43:1-7 Israel’s Only Savior1 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
 give Egypt for your ransom, Cush[a] and Seba in your stead. 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

 The promises found in Scripture are not there for us to just claim, so that our quality of life would be better with material blessing, and or, relationship blessing in Marriage, with Family and Friends. As Bill Systma points our in Today's Devotional, "If you treat the Bible like little more than a list of promises, you can slip into thinking that life is supposed to be easy for Christians.For example, you might think that if you are having trouble in your marriage, God has a promise that will make your marriage better. If you are struggling financially, God has a promise that will make your bank account swell. All you have to do is pick and choose the verse that contains your favorite promise, and life will get better.The problem with that way of thinking is that the primary promises in the Bible are not that you will be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Instead God promises that he will be with you."

This way of thinking and treatment of the Bible puts God's Word under your feet as a spring board to pick and choose your demands to make your life easier.

But it is through hardship that we find the Blessing of God's presences and provision. As in the Book of Proverbs 30: 6-9:
"6 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7 “Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

The promises of Scripture are not meant for us to use the Bible as a Faith pill to make everything all better in our life. Even Jesus did not know the Glory of His Resurrection, until He under went the glory of His Passion in His sufferings!

Isaiah 43, the prophet does not say that God will prevent fire and floods. Instead, God promises that he will be with us as we pass through fire and as floods overwhelm us. But for some, since the Greatness of God is so small in their minds, this promise of God being with us in His only begotten Son, is not enough; apart from Christ, we are wired to rebel against God and  demand of God what we think we need for our sufficiency, and in the end, we find out that our sufficiency is indeed, insufficient.

But to understand the Greatness of the Sovereignty of God in our lives, is to understand that the promise of God being with us, is all we will ever need to help us endure to the end; as we rest in the Sufficiency of  Christ Jesus' provision, we will discover His many blessings along the way of  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, Gentleness, faithfulness and Self-control! and Indeed blessings of His presence and full contentment and enjoyment of His life with us.

The problem with many people today, is their eyes are never satisfied with seeing nor their ears with hearing nor their the hands with touching; apart from the Sufficiency of Christ in our lives, we are always wanting.

But Let us remember that Jesus in His Great commission, promises that He will be with us even to the end of the age! He promises His sufficiency is all we will ever need to fulfill His Great commission and endure to the end! The Great Commission stated in Matthew 28:16-20:

"16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the"

We need to repent of the error of thinking that uses God's Word to claim promises of our own utopia of being healthy, wealthy and wise. Instead, come to the point in our lives that David did when He cried out in Psalm 23:1, " the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" Indeed the point to realize that the Lord is our Sufficiency, and apart from Him, we have no good thing! Psalm 16: 2"I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

I will be well content to pursue The Sufficiency of Jesus Christ unto my Salvation, The sufficiency of Jesus Christ found in His righteousness in my Sanctification and The Sufficiency of Jesus Christ found in my endurance unto Glorification is all I will ever need!Jesus, my Immanuel God with me! Isaiah 7:14  ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you^[c] a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and^[d] will call him Immanuel

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

How would we know the great power of God's Deliverance, unless we are brought low to our Helplessness! Psalm 3

How would we know the great power of God's Deliverance, unless we are brought low to our Helplessness!

Psalm 3 A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah 3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift[b] up my head. 4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. 7 Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah

Until I am brought helpless and brought low and paralyzed by the enemies who surrounds me, I would not know the greatness of God's power to deliver me from my enemies.
To the details of my life God's Sovereign plan and will would reveal that my enemies surround me on every side; that I may seek the face of the Lord and behold His great deliverance on my behalf through His Holy and only begotten son! Otherwise, I would be either consumed by my enemies, or be overweening prideful that I would not seek the face of the Lord for my great deliverance and not rely on the face of my God and not rely on the name of the Lord for my Salvation. He put the obstacle there to the details of life that I may see His Sovereign plan and His great and mighty Act of deliverance to break the enemies stronghold and power that I may go free and dwell in safety and peace in the presence of the Lord! I would not know His deliverance Unless I was trapped, helpless and surrounded by the enemy to see my need for Him to deliver me!

In such circumstances, to the details of my Life, He brought me to see my need that I may seek His help And see His great power to deliver me.
In this thought, I do see Moses and ancient Israel before God split the Red Sea.

In This thought I see Jesus in His Death splitting the veil of the temple in two and open the way of access into the presence of God Mark 15 and I see His resurrection splitting the sea of death that I may walk through the valley of death and be resurrected unto Eternal life; because I am helpless to death and unable to cleanse myself of sin, I need His great shed blood to cleanse me and Adopt me into His Kingdom and establish me in a relationship with Him in the new covenant in His blood! Indeed the covenant if Grace.