Believing the Promises of God - in His Word

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… Without weakening in his faith… Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. ~ Romans 4 [selected 18-21]



Monday, February 22, 2010

HAND-FED HEARTS


TURN - REPENT - BELIEVE!
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him,
nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces
He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4 Surely He took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by His wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet He did not open His mouth;
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away.

And who can speak of His descendants?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of My people He was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in His death,
though He had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer,

and though the LORD makes His life a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring and prolong His days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 After the suffering of His soul,

He will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great,

and He will divide the spoils with the strong,
because He poured out His life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For He bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
_____________________

Luke 24

[selected]
25 He [Jesus] said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So He went in to stay with them.
30 When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
[all emphasis added]


"Come to the Table...
feast on the Bread..."
You've heard them........ phrases that mean more than the naked ear can hear.

It amazes me to see that Jesus' simple invitation to us - to


'come to the table and feast'


is so often rejected by many. Yet, He will Hand-Feed us if we do.


He will ...



  • dine with us

  • explain to us

  • reveal Himself to us

  • take up residence with us

[NOTE HERE: If you've read this far but skipped over the Scripture passages because they are long -PLEASE go back and read them Word for Word, or you will miss the entire point that God desires for you to hear. PLEASE.... let what Jesus did for you soak in! ....thank you.]


He will do that for any Jewish person as well, on the face of this earth today . I recently heard a testimony of a Jewish woman , who shared her story of coming to Christ. She was a widow at the time. Her husband was about 30 years old. She had a young daughter about 2-3 years old. Then.......her husband [who was a believer] died suddenly! After his death, her mother-in-law, who was also a believer, led her to Christ. She remained a widow for several years. During that time she poured her heart INTO Christ and He poured Himself INTO her life through the Scriptures. Jesus became her [husband]. Then a few years after that God brought a Jewish Believer to be her new [earthly husband] as well. They have served together in ministry ever since.


She explained in her testimony that as a young girl going to Hebrew school, no one was ever permitted to read Isaiah 53. And worse... they were not even allowed to ask, why?


It was through Isaiah 53 that her mother-in-law had shared Christ with her. She told us that, 'immediately her eyes were opened and she saw Christ for Who He Was'! It was there all along. She had questioned the Rabbi..... she had asked the right questions.......she even asked 'why?'.


She encouraged us that day to share this passage from the Old Testament with any Jewish people we know. Those of us who study the Scriptures daily, know that all of Isaiah is a prophesy of Christ. But , for the Jew, that chapter is the very key to unlocking the door where the Messiah is found.


I encourage you to share Christ with your Jewish friends and neighbors, co-workers, and even family members. The Jews awaited the coming Messiah - but they missed it. Why? For some, there was a link broken, missing and removed.........and it still is today. Let's tell them about it....let's give them back the KEY. Then, let GOD do the work in opening their eyes to see the TRUTH of [Yeshua HaMashiach] Jesus Messiah revealed.


Then... will come the day .... when they


TURN - REPENT - BELIEVE!


___________________


Choosing JOY, Stephanie


JESUS ONLY in 2010

13 comments:

Alleluiabelle said...

Oh My Precious Friend, I read every word of this and let it penetrate all throughout my being. It spoke volumes to me even though I have read Isaiah. Oh how beautiful is His Word.

Thank you for filling my heart with this today as I continue on my journey of loving, believing in Him, having Him reveal Himself more and more and more to me. The intense love for Him that I have and the desires of my heart for knowing all of who He is are strong, so very strong and every moment I find myself wanting, yearning for His presence to remain deeply within and around all of me and my entire life...He spoke to me today through through Scripture here and through you!! I thank Him with all of my heart for that and I thank you my sweet and precious precious friend.

Love you so much,
Alleluiabelle

TRUTH SHARER said...

Alleluiabelle:
Your heart was open and receptive to His HEART today sweet sister!I'm so glad that His Word soothed your weary soul. There is nothing
like drawing from the wells of His salvation that He has freely, willingly and sacrificially given us - to find JOY and COMFORT in His Presence! Let His Word fall fresh on all of us this day! ...[[hugs}}

Beth Herring said...

oh, wow - that was an awesome post!

I just love those scriptures. I want to dine with Jesus! I want Him to open my eyes so that I can know Him!! Oh, that we can recognize Him for who He is. Longing for more and more....


Love you Stephanie.

Patrinas Pencil said...

This is indeed interesting! I never knew that Isaiah 53 was not open for them to read. It is such a powerful selection!! He is my everything!!

This is nice to know ~ my son in law ministers to Jewish people sometimes, as he's a multi-cultural minister. I'm sure he already knows this but i'll be sure to share. thanks for always bringing forth the TRUTH. You're so very good at it!

Have a great week, my dear friend

Patrina <")>><

Yolanda said...

I don't want to fear or not believe. Father, I am choosing to fear only You and to BELIEVE.

Lovingly,
Yolanda

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

These are such strong scriptures Stephanie. My roomate in college in Califonia was a 'completed Jew', and she was one of the most joyful people I've ever known! When a Jewish person find Jesus... look out!!

Hugs!

Sonja

TRUTH SHARER said...

You are so right, Sonja! That is a heritage that we can never fully comprehend [we as "adopted" into the faith].
Once a Jewish person understands that Jesus IS the Promised Messiah of Israel - you're right -
LOOK OUT!

Praise God as we share that TRUTH!

Crown of Beauty said...

This is an awesome post.

I have always loved Isaiah 53, and the passage from Luke 24 that you shared about the conversation on Emmaus road. Such lovely words that I never get tired of reading.

One Bible teacher even tells us that we should read Isaiah 53 aloud every day! After reading your passionate words on this post, I think I will begin doing that!

I pray together with you that many Jews will come to know Jesus Christ through this beautiful passage.

Love
Lidj

Cherie Hill said...

Such a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness. Know that I am praying for your healing...that God's glory will be poured into you. You are such a blessing.
In Him,
Cherie

Deborah Ann said...

These scriptures seem to come alive as I read them. Beautiful are the words, and the nail-scarred hands that hold them!

I don't know any Jewish people, but my relative who is not Jewish, has started living the Jewish lifestyle. She knows and loves Jesus, but she started eating kosher food and honoring the Sabbath on Saturdays. So I guess that's the closest I come to knowing a Jew...

Wylie @ Shout A Joyful Noise! said...

AWESOME!!!! LOVE this!!! Just finished the EG week on the Crisis of Belief & have been in such a place of God speaking to my spirit about believing Him!

The whole "Yes, Lord, I believe you. Lord, help me with my unbelief." thing! I told my bible studies this week... I want us all to instead be saying {and believing}... "Lord, I believe you. AND Lord, I BELIEVE you!!!"

Hallelujah!!!
Wylie

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Thank you for the "history" lesson. I didn't know about the Jews not being able to read Isaiah 53. God's Word is so powerful; no wonder her eyes were immediately open to the truth. I will study this passage more thoroughly in my quiet time later on, but your thoughts here have impressed upon my a greater urgency for giving the truth of the kingdom to others.

Just this morning I was asking God for something to challenge me at a deeper level--I think this might be his answer. Isaiah 53...

peace~elaine

Edie said...

Wow what an incredible testimony! I loved this Stephanie!