Grace in the Old Testament.

Zerubbabel  was a governor of the Persian Province of Yehud Medinata, and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia. The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC. Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after. 
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerubbabel - abridged)

I was reading Zechariah, and came upon a vision God was giving to him. God wanted the people to build a new temple in Jerusalem. This was one of the visions:

Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lamp stand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"    Zechariah 4:1-6

What the Lord said in these verses moved me. "Grace, grace..." I thank God for his mercy and grace.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
"with shoutings, crying, 'Grace, grace unto it'. As the people of the Jews shouted, when the first stone was laid in the foundation of the temple, so it is here intimated that their acclamations would be very great when the last stone would be brought in, and the building finished; which they would ascribe to the grace, favour, and good will of God to them.

So likewise, as the work of conversion is wholly owing to the grace of God, an abundance of which is displayed in it; when it is finished in the hearts of all the Lord's people, and the last man designed to be called by it is converted, and so the spiritual building of the church finished; this will be attended with the shouts of angels, who rejoice at the conversion of every sinner, and much more when all the elect are gathered in; and the acclamations of all the saints, for the marriage of the Lamb, will now be come, and the church be ready, as a bride prepared for her husband; see Revelation 19:6. 

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts": that is, that as the candlestick was supplied with oil, from the two olive trees by the side of it, without the help of any man, to pour in the oil, and trim the lamps; so the temple should be built by Zerubbabel, not through the multitude and strength of men, but through the Spirit of God, animating, exciting, encouraging, and strengthening them to go through the work." 

"The temple was a type of the church, and Zerubbabel a type of Christ; he was so in the high esteem he was had in by the Lord; he was chosen by him; made as a signet, and was precious to him, in his titles and characters, a servant of the Lord, and governor of Judah, and in his work, in bringing the Jews out of captivity, and in rebuilding the temple. 

So Christ is the chosen of God, and exceeding dear and precious to him; is his righteous servant, and Governor of the church, or King of saints; and who has redeemed and delivered his people from the captivity of sin, and Satan, and the law; and is the builder of his church; who has laid the foundation of it, and will bring in the headstone; and which church is built up in all generations through the conversion of sinners; and that is done, not by external force, by carnal weapons, or moral persuasion; but by the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; and not by the power of man's free will, but by the efficacious grace of the divine Spirit..."

(http://biblehub.com/niv/zechariah/4.htm)

Murder in My Heart.

Who am I?

A great big sinner.

I'm reading a biography of a woman who was a Christian. I was shocked when I read her mother-in-law twice tried to kill her. She hated her daughter-in-law because she felt she took her son away.

I was horrified, but then I remembered when I once wanted to kill someone: my first husband. He had cheated on me with the young woman who lived below us. I told him to choose between us, so he went downstairs to tell her he was staying with me.

They started laughing, and I could hear them. I was filled with rage and thought about getting a big knife and going down there and stabbing them both to death. Then I looked at my baby. I couldn't do it because I would go to jail and lose my children. But boy, did I want to do it.

I was a Christian then, as I am now. I talked with God and told him how sorry I was to want to do such a thing. But it was then I realized I was capable of murder and every other kind of sin. I had thought I was free from all that, but I've learned we will always have temptations to do wrong.

After my husband and I divorced, he had his new girlfriend over to sleep at his apartment when my oldest daughter was there. I said to myself, "I would never do that." Obviously, I still had a lot to learn because I did do that a year later with my boyfriend.

I remember when I was in bed with him one night, I said to God, "Could I please marry this man?" I didn't really expect an answer since I was living in open sin. But God did answer me. He quoted the Bible to me. He said, "What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"  (Belial means wickedness)

I was amazed God still thought of me as a believer! I felt I was a big mess and not worthy of being called that. My boyfriend was not a believer, although he went to church with me a few times. I kept dating him, but soon realized he was a wicked person. A very wicked person. I couldn't see that at first, but God knew.

Who is God?

Someone who isn't surprised by our sins. Someone who loves us as we are sinning. Someone who wants to help us.

So, the reason I write about this is to help people who think they are too awful to be Christians. You can't get much worse than I am! I am tempted all the time to think wrong things and do wrong things, but thanks be to God I can take these thoughts and feelings to him and he takes care of them. He throws them into the depths of the sea.

"You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."  Micah 7:19

"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."

If You Love Life; Love the Lord.

Who is God?

Someone worth knowing.

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Fear the Lord, you his holy people,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days,

keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from telling lies.

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to blot out their name from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The righteous person may have many troubles,

but the Lord delivers him from them all;

he protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;

the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord will rescue his servants;

no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned."

Psalm 34

"For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light."  Psalm 36:9

Who am I?

Someone who has tasted and found that the Lord is good. Someone who has had many troubles, but the Lord delivered me from them all. Someone who knows the Lord always hears me, which gives me great comfort and joy.

Daily Audio Bible

I just finished listening to Daily Audio Bible for January 2, 2016. Brian Hardin reads through the Bible online all year. Today, he spoke after the reading. He spoke about the fall of Adam and Eve and why there was a tree in the garden they could not eat from. This was so moving and helpful to me. I hope you will give him a listen. You will find him here:

https://dailyaudiobible.com/

God's Help in Time of Need.

I wrote earlier about my mother and husband. My husband had a growth on his back that looked like melanoma. He already has carcinoid syndrome and tumors, so we were praying this would not be another cancer, and it isn't! We are very thankful and happy about that.

My mother was starting to lose her short-term memory and I finally talked her into moving in with my husband and myself. She is here now, and I'm very glad. She had been forgetting to take her medication and had gotten weak and sick. Now, I make sure she takes everything. She is too weak to cook, so I'm cooking for her.

I am thankful that God has given me  the strength to do this. I have fibromyalgia and feel tired all the time. But as I pray for strength, God has supplied it. I'm so happy Mom is here.

We had a lovely Christmas because all the family was together. Two wonderful things has happened in our family; my nephew, Ian, has come to God and so has my grandson, Jordan. I thank the Lord he has been working on their hearts and given them the desire to know him.

We wait in hope for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

even as we put our hope in you.   

Psalm 33:20-22

Google+

Hello Everyone, Google wrote me and told me only those people who join Google+ will be able to read my blog. I'm sorry about that. Google+ is free however, and is kind of fun. I just thought I would let you all know. Thanks, Belle

A God of Peace.

Phillip Medhurst

Who is God?
He is a being filled with peace.

“Don't worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”
Philippians 4:6,7

 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  John 14:27


“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful”  Colossians 3:15

Who am I?

This verse has always helped me have peace. But I only realized lately that it is peace that will guard our hearts. It makes perfect sense because when you are at peace you will not lose your temper, harm someone, covet anything, be afraid of anything. Peace is a guardian against any sin.

Remember when Jesus was in the boat with his disciples and a storm came up. Jesus was asleep at the bottom of the boat. The disciples were battling the storm but the ship was in danger of sinking. They woke Jesus and said, "Don't you care we are going to die?"

Jesus calmed the storm, but then asked, "Why were you afraid?"
I remember thinking, "Of course they were afraid!" But, what if the peace of God was in their hearts. Would they still have been afraid? No.

I think the lack of fear is believing that no matter what is happening in your life God can deal with it. If you are in a  storm on the ocean, it is up to God if you live or die, so why worry about it? If your husband leaves you with two children, God will help you, so why be afraid and worried. Peace of mind, no matter what is going on. Yes, that is my goal.