post 11

Isaiah was a prophet and Bible-penner.
Isaiah had a vision.
It was a vision of Jesus in the temple.

"I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up;
and the train of his robe filled the temple. 
Above him stood the seraphim. 

Each had six wings:
with two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet, 

and with two he flew.  

And one called to another and said:

“'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!'” 

And I said:
“'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips;
but my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!'”

 

 It was quite majestic and holy.

 

[Hundreds of years later]

Simeon was a prophet.  And a Bible-translator.
He spent his life translating the book of Isaiah from Hebrew to Greek.
And waiting "for the consolation of Israel... And it had been revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ."

 

"Simeon came in the Spirit into the temple that day 

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

'Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.'”

 

It was quite simple, but still holy.

The vision of the Lord in the temple from Isaiah that Simeon had studied for so long was a royal, fantastic, glorious vision of a King!  But the moment where Simeon actually saw the Lord in the temple was so plain.  A baby with his parents, following religious customs.

But God had kept His promise. 

I need to expect Him to do that.

post 10

psalm | 136

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

 for His steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

 for His steadfast love endures forever.

To Him who alone does great wonders,

for His steadfast love endures forever.

To Him brought Israel out from among Egypt,

for His steadfast love endures forever;

with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for His steadfast love endures forever;

to him who divided the Red Sea in two,

for His steadfast love endures forever;

 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

for His steadfast love endures forever;

To Him who led His people through the wilderness,

for His steadfast love endures forever;
It is He who remembered us in our low estate,

for His steadfast love endures forever;

and rescued us from our foes,

for His steadfast love endures forever;

Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for His steadfast love endures forever"

To Him who genuinely cares about the details of my life.

To Him who thoughtfully plans my life.

To Him whose power able to execute, whose might is able to control.

To Him who wove me together and hemmed me in, behind and before.

To Him whose love endures - not for a moment, not for "just one more time," not for the past, not for "when I get it together" - but forever.

"Behold! This is my God."

post 9

john 14:15

"if you love Me, you will obey me."

sweet.

sometimes i make up my own version of john 14:15. but it's not what the Bible says.
but sometimes i think it.

"if you obey me, I will love you."

"if you do what I say, then I will love you.
"if you obey well, then I will look upon you with affection."
"if you mess up, I will be disappointed."
"if you disobey, I will not love you."

self, it's just not true.

"but these are written so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in His name." 

"so we have come to know and to believe 

 the love that God has for us. 

God is love."

"May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the steadfastness of Christ."

yes, Lord, may you direct my heart to the steadfastness of Christ, not the steadfastness of myself.
i believe You love me.
i believe that that is enough!