Life in its beginning displays spring
When nature awakens from the cold
Of gray of winter months
A time when all creatures express life
Nature shows colors in their flowers
Little birds fluff their wing trying to fly
Rabbits leave their holes
The whole world is in celebration of colors
(Isaiah 7: 1-9)
“If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7: 9b). The confederacy planned against Ahaz King of Judah could not succeed because the Lord emphatically had said that it would not happen; It was emphatic because He had it said it twice. Two, or three, even four against one is powerless when the Lord God is not on their side. No king is saved by the great size and power of his army; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength, a horse is devoid of value for victory; neither does he deliver any by his great power. Behold, the Lord’s eye is upon those who fear Him, who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving kindness (Ps. 33:16-18). The Lord assured King Ahaz of his deliverance with a warning: If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all (vs.9b). Faith was the factor for King Ahaz to succeed, and it is for us today. Faith, the Word of God says, Is the victory that overcomes the world. It is the victory that overcomes any challenge that comes to us. Standing in faith is having a shield covering to protect us against the enemy. Paul admonishes us to lift up the shield of saving faith, upon which we can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. When the plans from the evil one against us are without basis, they will not succeed, for we are secured in God’s shelter.
The Word of God said, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all!” It is faith that assures us the equilibrium we need to stand firmly in place. YAHSHUA assured Peter His prayer for him, when the devil asked Him permission to sift Peter, as wheat is sifted. He said, I prayed for you that your faith will not fail. These words from YAHSHUAconnect well with the words we read above. Faith is a very important factor in our daily lives for us to see the results we are looking for. When we approach our Lord, we must approach Him in faith, believing that He exists and there is nothing impossible for Him. Faith that moves mountains does not have to be big; YAHSHUA describes it as big as a mustard seed. Faith is very powerful when exercised by the believer in his prayer. The Bible says that the earnest prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available. Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months (James 5:16b-17). Faith is an active part of the armor of God, for it is the weapon that will quench the flammable darts of the enemy. Faith makes things move in direction to God and compels Him to act in our favor. Without faith, we cannot apply the full armor of God, which is essential for us to take the first step against the enemy. And without it, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).
You are the light of the world; a city situated on a hill cannot be hidden; no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house; Let your light so shine, says the Lord, so that men may see your good works and glorify the heavenly Father; (Matt. 5:14-16).
YAHSHUA told the disciples, You are the light of the world. That means, live truthfully, speak truthfully, and act truthfully. In other words, live in such way that your light will point to God and men’s eyes will be opened to see God in you, and the glory will be given to Him, as a result. In our actions and words, the light in us must reflect the source, not our doings. The fact of the matter is in whatever we say and do there must be the reflection of the LIGHT of His Holy Spirit in us.
(Genesis 22; Job 1:8-9; I Peter 1: 7)
Blessed is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).
“For when he has stood the test and been approved” there will be a crown waiting for him, the crown of life which has been promised by God Himself to those who love Him, shown in action of obedience and endurance. The crown of life is the crown that will be given to those who endure trials and martyrdom for their faith. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
In his testing of faith, the Patriarch Abraham answered the Lord’s calling by saying, Here I am! This is such a gesture of submission it cannot be ignored. Abraham had a friend’s relationship with God. His walk of faith confirmed it, and the fact that God Himself so expressed in Genesis 18:19: For I have known him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord and to do what is just and righteous, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what He has promised him. Abraham did not know about the test of faith he was about to go through at God’s calling his name. “Here I am” he answered. The Lord then commanded him saying, Take your son, your only son, whom you loveand go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you ( Gen. 22:2).
(John 16:21; Matthews 24)
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that you shall weep and grieve, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy, a woman, when she gives birth to a child, has grief because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers her pain, because she is so glad that a man has been born into the world (John 16:20-21).
YAHSHUA’S analogy is well fitted to the subject of end times. There are no pains worth going through that do not produce a result and relief. When Eve sinned, God punished her with pain in childbirth (Gen. 3:16) He said to the woman, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children…. A woman’s labor pain is caused by contractions of the uterus’ muscles and by pressure on the cervix. It affects several parts of the body, for the entire body has to accommodate to the change that is happening for the sake of giving birth. Labor contractions are necessary for the body to push the baby out. They grow in intensity and constant as the baby nears the birth canal. But the woman is relieved after it is all over. She rejoices when she hears her baby crying, which is a sign of life. And as YAHSHUA said, she no longer remembers her pain because joy floods her soul with the thought of have given birth to a child. So the end time or the end of ages pains are compared to birth pain, because it gives birth to the fulfillment of prophecy of the Scriptures. YAHSHUA advised us to look up when we see those things are happening, because our redemption is on its way.
Intrinsically knitted
By the hands of God
Who can understand
The complexity of
The human body
Being formed in
The womb of a mother?
Embroidered with many colors
The human body
Is a wonder of the mind!
God’s infinite wisdom
Traced every detail
Men can not touch
In his limited mind
(A tribute)
Walking day and night
Hidden from human eyes
Eyes of hate and despair
Against God, against her faith
She lives holding unto
The strength of Him whose
Strength is all sufficient to
Carry on her journey heaven bound
History untold holds
The windows closed
For the world not to see
Her suffering beyond human mind
Buried and burned alive
Forsaken and raped
For the cause
Many dare not to die!
And Israel said to Moses, you speak to us and we will listen, but let not God speak to us, lest we die… And the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was (Exodus 20:18-24).
When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from the presence of God, at the sound of His voice while walking through the garden (Gen.3:8). A routine of the day when God would come to commune with them in the cool of the day, became a fearful experience. Peace was replaced by fear and guilt, when they made the decision to believe the serpent, instead. Sin had taken them away from the presence of God and robbed them of their relationship with Him. No longer could they feel comfortable in the presence of the holy God. What was so important to them, they lost in the decision they had made. Now, instead of welcoming God in their midst, they hid from Him as if to tell Him, leave us alone. When Israel experienced the holiness of God marked by thunders, smoking mountain, lightning, they feared Him and begged Moses to speak to them, instead. It had been three months since Israel had left Egypt in a supernatural and powerful way, when God expressed His love, His faithfulness through miracles and signs, when He walked ahead of them providing shelter from the sun and light for the night through a pillar of clouds and fire, when He opened the Red Sea and guided them through it in dry land and at the same time killing their enemies. But seemly, Israel lacked God’s holiness, and in their sinful condition, they acted like Adam and Eve – fearful.
(Luke 17:15-19)
As He was going into one village, He was met by ten lepers…and they raised up their voices and called, YAHSHUA, Master, take pity and have mercy on us! Vs.12-13. That was a cry that came deeply from the hearts of those ten lepers. Leprosy is an infection caused by the bacteria called, myocardium leprae. This bacterium causes damage to the nerves, respiratory tract and to the eyes. It is a slow, and progressive disease. Leprosy overshadows their victims for long period of time, depraving them from the joys and normality of life. They have no life at all; their isolated life defines them as rejected and forsaken by society and the world. Away from family, friends and society, they live in caves, while they watch their bodies deteriorate one limb at a time. Every morning they wake up to a hopeless day. These lepers were in desperate need of the Lord’s touch. A day had finally come for these ten lepers with shinning hope; hope found only in the One Who could heal them. These lepers were in desperate need of the Lord’s touch. However, their pain was not hidden from YAHSHUA, Who on His way to Jerusalem, He took the route that would lead to them, which was through the border between Samaria and Galilee. Going to a certain village, YAHSHUA was met by these ten lepers. Not being able to approach Him, they cried loudly in desperation, YAHSHUA, Master, take pity and have mercy on us! The cry of these ten lepers echoing through the waves of time, with just a few words, was heard in heaven, as they directed it to YAHSHUA, Master. That was the most important prayer of their lives in connection with their health situation. That reminds me of another cry and this time from a blind man when he heard that YAHSHUA was nearby. Although censured and reproved, he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me! (Mark 10: 46-52) In his cry this blind man proclaimed YAHSHUA to be the Messiah when he shouted, “Son of David!” It was Amazing! This blind man was physically blind, but he could see beyond with his spiritual eyes. His faith sparkled brilliantly when He announced YAHSHUA to be “Son of David.” At that, the crowd rebuked him, but he would not stop shouting the tittle, “Son of David” have pity and mercy on me!
When YAHSHUA saw the ten lepers, He said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cured and made clean (Luke 17:14). At YAHSHUA’S command, Go, they went. That was the step they had to take to receive their healing. No hesitation, no doubt and then they were clean! Something was missing in their lives however, when they did not return to thank YAHSHUA, except one, who upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice; and falling prostrate at YAHSHUA’S feet, thanked Him and he was a Samaritan (Luke 17:15-16). Interesting observation YAHSHUA made, when He asked the question, Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise God except this alien? That was a rebuke to the Jewish nation, represented by those nine lepers. Out of ten, only a Samaritan turned around to acknowledge his healing; praise and thank the Lord.
(Ruth)
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons. But Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and so did her two sons.
In this apparent voided of happiness story there is a prophetic and beautiful end. We see in this story not only the picture of God’s love embedded in His plan for the Gentile nations, but also Ruth as a type of the gentile bride of Christ. Call me not Naomi, she said, call me Mara [bitter]. While Naomi was drained in her unhappiness, God had a beautiful future for her life; one that would make her forget all her past losses. It all started when her family moved from Bethlehem duo to a famine. There, she lost her husband and her two sons. After she had lived in Moab ten years, she decided to go back home. Apparently, she had had enough However, both her daughters-in-law showed the desire to follow her to Bethlehem, but when she persistently refused the idea, one of them left her and went back home. Ruth however, firmly said, “urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, and where you lodge will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God,” Naomi finally agreed to let Ruth go with her. In her words “Your people shall be my people,” Ruth showed great faith. There was more to her words than she realized. There was a prophetic meaning by being part of the nation of Israel she could never fathom. That would be a beautiful plan God had for her life. So, what compelled a young woman to give up her family, culture, and religion to follow her Mother-in-law, whose culture and religion were different from hers? Perhaps Naomi, as her mother-in-law had a good influenced in her life, and as a result, a good relationship between them to compel Ruth to leave all behind to follow Naomi. But beyond the tangible, God was working His plan through Ruth’s life, to bring His Son into the world many years to come.
Light from the Word 