Stubbornness Iced in GRACE

Isaiah 48 (selected)

Stubborn Israel

3 I foretold the former things long ago,

My mouth announced them and I made them known;

then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn you were;

the sinews of your neck were iron,

your forehead was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;

before they happened I announced them to you

so that you could not say,

'My idols did them;

my wooden image and metal god ordained them.'
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.

Will you not admit them?

8 You have neither heard nor understood;

from of old your ear has not been open.

Well do I know how treacherous you are;

you were called a rebel from birth.
9 For My own name's sake I delay My wrath;

for the sake of My praise I hold it back from you,

so as not to cut you off.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I do this.

How can I let Myself be defamed?

I will not yield My glory to another.

12 "Listen to Me, O Jacob,

Israel, whom I have called: I am He;

I am the First and I am the Last.

20 Leave Babylon,

flee from the Babylonians!

Announce this with shouts of joy

and proclaim it.

Send it out to the ends of the earth;

say, "The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob."
21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts;

He made water flow for them from the rock;

He split the rock and water gushed out.
22 "There is no peace," says the LORD,

"for the wicked."

John 15:5

[Jesus speaking]

"I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. [all emphasis mine]

Both then and now - it's still about....

GOD'S GRACE!

Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

[Taking Possession of the Land]