For this is what the LORD says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—

He says:
“I am the LORD,
and there is no other.

I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain.’

I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
- Is 45:18-19

God has led me to Is 45 and the subsequent chapters a lot this week. The story of Cyrus speaks to me deeply.

GIVE (Mark) [knowledge of] Your [way of] judging, O God, and [the spirit of] Your righteousness to (Mark) [to control all his actions].

Let him (blog to) Your people with righteousness, (about) Your poor and afflicted ones with judgment and justice.
- Ps 72:1-2 (Note: my italics)

Wouldn’t it be awesome if YOU prayed for Him to give YOU the knowledge of His way of judging and a sense of His judgment and justice for the poor and afflicted in this world?

Imagine if He granted you that request… then you would be able to write or teach with greater accuracy and in alignment with His heart for the poor and afflicted.

He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.
He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them.
He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are precious to him.
- PS 72:12-14

Once again God is reinforcing for me that the poor and needy are His priority. They rank zero on the world’s scale, but to Him, their lives are precious.

2 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
- Ps 73:22-26

15 When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

16 Wash yourselves and be clean!
Get your sins out of my sight.
Give up your evil ways.

17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

18 “Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.

19 If you will only obey me,
you will have plenty to eat.

20 But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Isaiah 1:15-20

Unless we learn to love… we should not expect to be heard on high. It’s right there, we only need to read it and accept the truth.

I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. – Rev 21:9

I love this verse.

He who was seated on the throne said,

“I am making everything new!“

Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me:

“It is done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. – Rev 21:5-7

He made everything new… for those who believe.

Surely, as I have thought and planned, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand

For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who can annul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? – Is. 14:24-27;

I am very grateful and relieved that God doesn’t depend on me or my faith to get what He wants done. It was a big burden for me to carry, when I thought that I was God (in a sense) and I controlled God’s ability to do things in my life. The pressure was enormous.

But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God. – Matt. 19:26

That’s another post that causes me to pause and breathe a sigh of relief. It reminds me that this is HIS show and HE’S the one who is able and capable.

In Him we also were made [God's] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will, – Eph. 1:11

HE works it out. HE does it. It’s HIS idea. Phew. For a while there I thought that my faith controlled the whole show. No wonder I threw a wobbly and things stopped working.

For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. – Luke 1:37

Ok! So I can rest assured that if HE says it… then it will happen? Phew. Relief.

I am so grateful that God spelled this out to me. I had become confused because of the modern theology that I had been hearing over the last few years. This simple statement returns me to balance.

God tells his people that intimacy will result when their estimation of him increases. He is also saying that if I will humble myself, I will receive more of Him… which is quite different to how I had begun approaching Him.

Contrite: A contrite heart is one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt.