Shalom,
Psalm 73:24-26:
24 You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to honor and glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my portion forever.
That should be our mindset as believers in Jesus of Nazareth! True prosperity is being where God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to do! When HE is our first priority, we will follow HIS leading, guidance and direction. We will fulfill His plan for our life on earth, and then He will welcome us into Heaven - for eternity! When that is our mindset, then we can declare verse 28:
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the LORD God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.
Look at all of these verses in the Message Bible:
24 You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then You bless me. 25 You're all I want in Heaven! You're all I want on earth! 26 When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, GOD is rock-firm and faithful. 27 Look! Those who left You are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again. 28 But I'm in the very presence of God - oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord GOD my home. God, I'm telling the world what You do!
Hebrews 7 speaks of Jesus as our High Priest. NOT as those of the line of Aaron, who were appointed as priests according to the Law, and were men who failed and sinned themselves; but after the order of Melchizedek. Verses 2b-3:
2b He is primarily, as his name when translated indicates, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, which means king of peace. 3 Without [record of] father or mother or ancestral line, neither with beginning of days nor ending of life, but, resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest without interruption and without successor.
Jesus is no ordinary High Priest! The Message Bible explains it in very simple terms! Verses 15-17:
15 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life - He lives! 17 "priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.
Verses 19-22:
19 the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way - Jesus! - a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place. 20 The old priesthood of Aaron perpetuated itself automatically, father to son, without explicit confirmation by God. But then God intervened and called this new, permanent Priesthood into being with an added promise:God gave His Word; He won't take it back: "You're the permanent Priest." 22 This makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God - one that really works! A new covenant.
Verses 26-28:
26 So now we have a High Priest Who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God's presence in Heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, He doesn't have to offer sacrifices for His own sins every day before He can get around to us and our sins. (He was/is sinless!) He's done it, once and for all: offered up Himself as the Sacrifice. The Law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, Who is absolutely, eternally perfect.
The job has been done! Jesus did it! He paid the ultimate price for OUR sin, so that we don't have to! Have YOU received Jesus of Nazareth as YOUR Lord and High Priest? If not, I invite you to find out more about this by going to our website through the link at the left. Don't wait! TODAY is the Day of Salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)!
Isaiah 59:1-2:
1 BEHOLD, the LORD'S hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, nor His ear dull with deafness, that it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
This is the condition of mankind without Jesus! GOD is still GOD, but without having my sin dealt with, I have no access to Him! That's where Jesus comes in! He has already paid the price for our Salvation, but that gift must be accepted by us! The only prayer that God will hear from an unbeliever is the prayer to receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour! Once you have prayed THAT prayer, then His ears are open to YOU! You can come boldly into His presence as a child of the Living God (Hebrews 4:16)! AMEN!
Isaiah 60 is God's promise to Israel, some of which is already happening, and some of which will happen at the Second Coming of Messiah Jesus! Verse 1 is also true of the Church of Jesus Christ!
1 ARISE! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the LORD), for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you!
Continue meditating on who YOU are In HIM! He IS the Light of the world, and He lives IN YOU! All of the power and authority of the King of kings, and the Lord of lords is available to YOU! The purpose? To set the captives free! Make THIS declaration that Jesus made in Luke 18:
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME!
He HAS anointed YOU to do the works that Jesus did, and even greater works (John 14:12)! Let's at least be doing what Jesus did! AMEN! Here is an old song: Arise, Shine:
Shalom in Him!
