(1) Because They Have No Dawn

Isaiah 8:22 - 9:2  To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.   And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

Remember my post about Nehemiah and how then God stopped speaking for 400 years? Four hundred years of silence.  His people wandered in darkness for centuries because they would not listen to God's warnings against idolatry.
Isaiah is giving them hope that a Savior is coming - a Messiah.  The Light will shine on the Israelites again, but will they 'see' it?  It would come, never to be extinguished again.  Never again would God's voice be silent.  The Light would come for those that lived for so long in darkness.
God kept His promise to His people.  He always does.
As we begin to look forward to the celebration of Christ's birth, let's ponder the lives of those wayward ones, without hope and without purpose and without God's guidance.  What would we do with this prophecy to come?  How dark is our world?  How wayward are we? There is a dawn for us. There is a Light...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

BIONIC

My brother in prison has been moved.  It happened in the middle of the night without expectation. He told them it was a mistake, but they assured him it wasn't.  What was going on?
He had been teaching three Bible studies a day in the prison he was in.  Even though he was deeply depressed, he knew this was what God wanted him to do.  Suddenly he was removed from those surroundings and placed in a pre-release unit.  Yes.  A pre-release unit.
Tommy and I visited him this weekend.  It's a bit further for us to drive, but less traffic, and we like riding in the car together anyway.  So, we made the trip.
The prison is nestled in the pine trees and often deer are seen.  There are no towers with guns.  The guards are friendly and kind.  He can attend bible classes all day if he chooses.  He begins seminary in January. God has shown him favor, to say the least.  His bunkmate is a Christian with whom he can fellowship and pray.  While we were visiting, lunchtime approached.  A guard asked him if he would like a tray of food held for him until he finished his visit.  My brother just looked at me in amazement and said, "Yes, that would be very nice."
In orientation he was told they had a kind of watchword - BIONIC - which stands for "Believe It Or Not, I Care."  This is a privately owned facility, owned by one man. The man said that when his prison is no longer needed for lack of prisoners, then he will have succeeded in his endeavor.
May God bless him.
I'm not sure how long my brother will be there, but it is limited.  While waiting, he will study, learn, drink coffee outside, get a glimpse of a deer or two, and be blessed.
This is a gift from God to him. On his behalf I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

In My Reading of Isaiah....

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with my post below.  I just like it.

Isaiah 10:5-6  Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!  Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 
What??  Assyria - one of the worst, barbaric nations ever - is the tool that God is using to discipline His people?  Yikes!  God chose one of the worst nations to bring about pain on those He loves the most.  Hmm.  What would He choose to use on me?  What would it take to get my attention when I stray from the path of righteousness and choose (yes, choose) to sin?
Okay, let's see...
1. Don't take my children or grandchildren.
2. Don't take my husband - actually this should be first.
3. Don't ruin my reputation.
4. Don't give me cancer...again.
5. Don't make me blind, deaf, lame, etc.
My list is much longer, but as I am typing it, I am struck by the fact that I would want to tell God how to discipline me.  I don't want Him to choose my tormentors. No way.
Let's move down the passage.
Isaiah 10:10-13  "As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?" When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.  For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
Okay, again...
He used the Assyrians to bring about repentance in His people (Israel and Judah.) Therefore, He will use whatever means He sees fit to bring about our repentance and then He will turn to punish those He has used as they are gloating over our weakened conditions and bragging about their (?) accomplishments. For by the strength of MY hand I have done it and by MY wisdom...not the hands/wisdom of the tormentors. God is Sovereign over all. Period. Do not doubt it.
People watch believers when they fall and are quick to make judgments. Respond well.  Look to the Lord in repentance and keep pressing on in the faith.  God did not save perfect people...I promise. That is not a requirement.  All He wants are yielded, repentant hearts that will live for Him, for His glory alone.  Whether or not He removes the tormentor, we can know He does all for our good.
Isaiah 10:24-25  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did.  For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.
I realize that this is written in the Old Testament and Christ has come and conquered death for us. Nevertheless, we are to be repenters of sin.  We are to strive for holiness. We will answer to God for what we do, and what we say.  This life is no longer about us if we are believers, but about the One Who gave His life for us.  God chastens those He loves.  And that in itself is a gift of love.
And with that I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Hallelujah

I came across this You Tube video a couple of years ago, and I just love it.  The words are

different from the original, but the tune is beautiful and this message even more so.

                  I just wanted to post it for the holidays ahead.  Enjoy.
https://vimeo.com/55641900
AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Life.

It seems the older I get, the more I forget things, lose things, and make big blunders...but I care less about them than when I was younger.  Why couldn't I be this old when I was little? You know what I mean: Things that mattered so much before have found their proper place through time - at the back of the line.

Absentmindedness when you are in your twenties is inexcusable, but when someone asks me to do something now, I simply say, "I am writing it down, but do you mind calling, texting, emailing me because I will forget?"  If they can't be my reminder - I simply set my phone alarm and hope it will ring a bell.  

There are just so many things that will fit into my brain, and the rest spills over and leaks out my ears onto the floor.  My notebook is my constant companion.  Making lists has helped me enormously, but checking off the items sometimes happens at a snail's pace.
Last week I lost my glasses.  I looked everywhere.  They say that things we lose are in the last place we look.  Well, that's dumb.  Why would I keep looking for something after I found it? Anyway, I had them that morning, but suddenly poof!
I was talking with my daughter as I made my search. The frames are clear and easy to miss. I finally had to get off the phone and get real about this. No glasses, no driving.
Switching gears, I grabbed my mop bucket to throw out the water.  Yep, there they were. How? Who knows.  This is my life now.  I put keys in the freezer, forget if I have taken my meds for the day and so repeated the process (I now have a pill holder), and I regularly leave ingredients out of recipes.
Yesterday I worked in the yard, front and back.  I love doing this in the Fall, getting ready for these harsh south Texas winters that encourage weeds.  Anyway, as I sat down on the back patio, I looked down at my feet...and, yes I have another pair just like this one in my closet.

By the way, have you seen my notebook?