God's Spirit Rested Upon Jesus!

Reading:  Isaiah 11
My Verse:  "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
                        the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
                        the Spirit of counsel and might,
                        the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD."  (Isaiah 11:2)

This is so beautiful, LORD God.  That this was said of Jesus, our Messiah and Savior, Who was Your beloved son and God like You!  Your Spirit rests upon Him . . . Jesus.

"the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him"  - so amazing this prediction!  Matthew 3:16, 17 speaks of the actual physical event!

     "And when Jesus was baptized He went up at once out of the water and behold, the heavens were opened and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight!"

"the Spirit of wisdom and understanding"  - Jesus was to be and is wisdom and understanding itself.  I can rest assured that all that He does is done out of Love and compassion for all of humanity.

"the Spirit of counsel and might" - Jesus alone can carry out Your wise plans LORD God.  Job echoes this in Job 12:13.

                  "With God are wisdom and might;
                       he has counsel and understanding."

"the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD" - like how the Amplified Bible clarifies "fear."  It is "the reverential and obedient fear of the LORD."  I have always wondered at this - that even Jesus needed this kind of fear, how much more do I need it!

Psalm  14 speaks to this so powerfully.

     "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." . . . 

      The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
           to see if there are any who understand,
           who seek after God.
      They have all turned aside; together they 
           have become corrupt; . . .

     Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
          who eat up my people as they eat bread
          and do not call upon the LORD?"

In Matthew 4:19 You tell us "Come, follow after me,"  How do I do this?  Matthew 11:28 tells me to rest in You, and You will give me rest! Again, how do I do this LORD God?

This is a hard thing to understand.  Perhaps I go at it wrongly?  Oh, LORD God, am I trying to trust in my own ability to grasp this instead of allowing You to enable me?  I love how Oswald Chambers addresses this.

     "The one marvelous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you."  It is His wonderful life that is imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God's grace.  Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His word?
     Sanctification means the impartation of the qualities of Jesus Christ.
         It is His patience,
                His love,
                His holiness,
                His faith,
                His purity,
                His godliness, that is manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me.
     Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation.  Imitating is on a different line.
     In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all perfections of Jesus are at my disposal,
          and slowly and surely I begin to live a life 
          of ineffable order and sanity and holiness; 
          "Kept by the power of God."  -from "The Utmost for His Highest"

Help me LORD God to allow Your Spirit to "rest" upon me!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Woe To Those Who . . .

Reading:  Isaiah 10
My Verse:  "Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees
                         and to writers who keep writing oppression,
                    to turn aside the needy from justice
                         and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
                    that widows may be their spoil,
                         and that they may make the fatherless their prey!"  (Isaiah 10:1, 2)

I have seen numerous articles of late that expose this very thing.  While it is despicable to enrich one's self off the unfortunate situation of others, yet it seems many do this very thing, in so many ways - some even appear legit.  But, You, LORD God know the hearts of all those that do this awful thing - taking advantage of the down and out!

"The LORD knows all human plans; He knows that they are futile" (Psalm 94:11).

The first woe speaks to corrupt judges; judges who issue judgements that favor those that pay them off in money or favors.  They will pay dearly on judgement day!  Woe to them!

The second - "writers who keep writing oppression" are those magistrates that keep doing the same sort of thing, making oppressive decisions on the most needy for their own personal gain.  Woe to these corrupt leaders!

They do not meet the needs of those most in need of justice.  They do what will benefit themselves instead of dealing with rightful claims made by the poor.  They gain from the widows misfortune.  They do what is most despicable by making the children without fathers their prey!  These verses paint them as monsters of society!  LORD God, You will make them answer for their self-centered behavior.

Verse 3 states clearly and ominously what will happen to these corrupt judges and magistrates.

"And what will you do  in the day of visitation [of God's wrath], 
     and in the desolation which shall come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
     And where will you deposit [for safekeeping] your wealth
and with whom leave your glory?"

You tell us, LORD God to make this life you have gifted us with to count.  (Psalm 90:12)

We all must answer to You, LORD God.

"For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

"And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).

LORD God, I pray for those in leadership positions.  I pray they seek out You and Your wisdom in all they do, that they not have to face the dreadful wrath of Your Pure and Good judgement.  For You will not be scorned and You will not abide evil.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

"To Us A Child Is Born!"

Reading:  Isaiah 9
My Verse:  "For to us a child is born,
                        to us a son is given;
                    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
                    and His name shall be called
                         Wonderful Counselor,
                         Mighty God,
                         Everlasting Father,
                         Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

This is like, Wow!  Gives me chills!  So amazing!  As a child I would wonder if there was more to this world than what I saw with my eyes!  And there is!  And, You LORD God oversee it all!  This prediction occurred hundreds of years before it happened!  This little phrase "For to us a child is born" speaks to the incredible wonders of our universe!

Ephesians 6:12 points to these wonders!  "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  Does this not speak to the fascination the greater public has with all those dark movies about ghosts, spirits, and strange powers?  Few would acknowledge the truth of this but the spiritual world is very real.  We ourselves are not just flesh and blood! (Luke 10:27)

Daniel 10 addresses this as well.  "And behold a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.  And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you."  And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.  Then he said to me, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.  The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael one of the chief princes, came to help me. for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter day.  For the vision is for days yet to come."

The passage tells us so many things; God uses angels to speak to us, there is a hierarchy within the angelic realm, the dark spiritual "kings" are powerful, but mostly that You only,  LORD God are;  omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient!

Many think that becoming a follower of You, LORD God means shutting our minds to our world, to what is happening.  But really a veil is removed from our minds, our spirits are quickened and we are awakened to see more clearly what is really happening.

Our universe is far more complex and vast than we know.

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out" (Romans 11:33).

"Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us" (Psalm 40:5).

"How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts! (Psalm 92:5).

Yes, that tiny phrase "to us a child is born" holds a vast deep knowledge, so incredibly full of love, we cannot begin to fully understand - but we can be ever so thankful to You, LORD God, for sending that child - Jesus.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!