Isaiah 30:1-5

I love how the LORD is a jealous being. If there's a party, He wants to be the center of attention. If there's a problem, He wants to be the answer. If there's a sadness, He wants to be the comforter...

This morning I read this passage that was passed on to me by both my parents.. So I listened and read...

1-5 "Doom, rebel children!" God's Decree.
"You make plans, but not mine.
You make deals, but not in my Spirit.
You pile sin on sin,
one sin on top of another,
Going off to Egypt
without so much as asking me,
Running off to Pharaoh for protection,
expecting to hide out in Egypt.
Well, some protection Pharaoh will be!
Some hideout, Egypt!
They look big and important, true,
with officials strategically established in
Zoan in the north and Hanes in the south,
but there's nothing to them.
Anyone stupid enough to trust them
will end up looking stupid—
All show, no substance,
an embarrassing farce."

Isaiah 30:1-5 (The Message)

---LORD, let this not be us. It will NOT be us. For as me and MA HOUSEHOLD... we will serve da LORD! (Joshua 24:15). LORD I feel that this could very well be from you, but I'm scared to go against You. Well, I'm scared... but what am I scared about?

(sitting and thinking)

I'm scared that I have not prayed hard enough, that I have not looked to Him hard enough. I think of people that pray day and night and they put me to shame. Bu I have prayed... maybe not with wailing and fasting, but I have prayed. And I have prayed constantly, every day, at meals, with my wife at night, on the way to work with her, randomly... I guess I have prayed a lot... or at least like the Apostle Paul says... I have prayed constantly. So maybe this fear is a healthy fear. A healthy fear that I should always have. Of course it is!

LORD, I neeeeeeed You! I neeeeeed you to be the focus of my family. Not a single step do I want to take without You. And I repent for getting caught up in the hype and leaving you out of the center of attention. LORD I feel that this Young Life opportunity is from You and I remember you telling me right after I left SF that I would be involved in Young Life in the future... My Triune God, I know it's not time to party yet as You have not melted Your Holy Spirit wax to pour on the document of acceptance on this opportunity, but I look forward to the day when You do, and I also look forward to seeing Christ Jesus' ring seal the document by pressing it against the deep red wax. Father I look forward to hearing the Your voice declaring that this ministry and others are now a covenant between You and my family. Oh how I look forward to that day... The day of rejoicing. And I rejoice now thinking about the covenant fulfilled. I can do nothing else than thank You LORD. Thank You while I jump and thank You while I kneel.

Isaiah 55:8-12 - My God is an Awesome God

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This is so cool because it always reminds me that whatever I’m thinking, dreaming, planning, the LORD’s has higher purposes than I can possibly imagine and dream up. So, this part always inspires me to think and dream bigger as I seek Him for HIS plans instead of my measly human-centered plans 

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

This was the second thing that impacted me in this Isaiah chapter. I LOOOOVED the descriptive metaphor that the LORD uses because it also shows that the Bible could NOT have been inspired by people, but from God Himself! Verses 10-11 specifically show an understanding of how the cycle of rain works. First it rains, then the water touches the ground and nourishes the earth, and then that same water goes through a process where it becomes a gas and returns to the sky having done its job! I love the LORD and how His understanding really IS above ours as verse 8-9 say. In the same way that the LORD nourishes the earth with water, He nourishes our souls and spirits with His Word… either directly to us, through His written Word, or through the ministry that He has done through His people. His Word always achieves His purpose… ALWAYS!! How crazy is that! Talk about sovereignty!!

12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

Verse 12 also touched me because it’s so true!! I have gone out with joy and have been led forth in peace in SO many occasions that I shouldn’t have had that peace and joy. But, when I did, I felt as if the mountains and hills before me and everything in them burst out in a song of praise along with me!! It’s so nice when I have an experience with the LORD that I later find written in His Word. It makes my relationship with Him SO much better!!

Blessed is my King, my Husband, my Protector, and Redeemer!!

Isaiah 54 and His promises to me

The Future Glory of Zion

1 "Sing, O barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.

2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.

3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.

6 The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.

7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

9 "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.

10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise, ^[a]
your foundations with sapphires. ^[b]

12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be your children's peace.

14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.

15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD.

Do I NEED to say more? I love it how the LORD uses things that He has said before-hand to others in the Bible to directly tell us basically the same thing! I will serve Him forever and ever and NO weapon forged against me will succeed!! My GOD is so good to his lowly servant. I do not deserve to be spoken to by Him but praise JESUS that He gave His previous untainted life so that the Father could see me clothed in white!! I am speechless!! I cannot describe the emotions and feelings that I deeply experience in my quiet times with the LORD... Especially when He speaks to me directly. However, I also love those times when He places thoughts in my head that He wants me to meditate on so that I can know Him deeper! HE is SO perfect!!!! Praise God!! And even if he never spoke to me and I was always in trouble, praise Him in the midst of all that as well because my strength literally... LITERALLY... is in the joy (not happiness) in the LORD!!! Praise HIM forever!!

Isaiah 51:12-16a - La palabra de Dios

Aca esta la palabra de Dios para Anna y mi:

12 "I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mortal men,
the sons of men, who are but grass,

13 that you forget the LORD your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?

14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.

15 For I am the LORD your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name.

16 I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of my hand—


El dia anterior a que Dios nos dio esto Anna y yo estabamos un poco bajoneados por lo que esta pasando con los padres de Anna. Nosotros oramos y le pedimos al Senor que nos responda y nos respondio! El senor basicamente nos dijo que paremos de estar como prisioneros a la depre y nos recordo que El esta en control y de que las palabras que nosotros tenemos en nuestras hacia ellos son de El! Bendito sea el Senor. El dia siguiente, los padres de Anna nos escribieron un email diciendo que ellos dijeron lo que querian decir y que nosotros somos adultos que vamos a decidir y hacer lo que queramos. Finalmente Anna y yo sentimos que nos repotan :) Finalmente Anna y yo sentimos que aunque les duela a ellos, ellos nos estan tratando de amar.

Bendito sea El Senor y Su Palabra!!!!!!!!

Praise God - Isaiah 51

22 This is what your Sovereign LORD says,
your God, who defends his people:
"See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you,
'Fall prostrate that we may walk over you.'
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked over."

Isaiah 44 - Idols and the LORD's Proclamation

I was reading Isaiah 44 today and two things struck me: what the LORD says about Idols and the LORD's proclamation to not forget us.

In verses 15 and 16 the LORD says this:

15 It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."

The part that struck a cord with me and gto me thinking was the last quoted part of verse 16. It states that a person uses part of the wood that they used to make an idol to also make a fire and feed and warm themselves. This part of the verse struck me because it reminds me of sin. We use sin to feed our sinful desires and to comfort us. And, since we can see and feel our sin physically a lot of times, it seemst that we have more faith in something that we see that in God, which we do not see (well most of us do not see Him). I can really relate to times where, in my sin, I said, "Ah, I am warm; and I see the 'goodness' of my actions." It is such a sickening feeling that I get when I look back at sin in my life... sin yesterday... sin today... We get a momentary satisfaction while we are "burning." But in no way is sin good. The mark is to be holy, to be in God's will and without sin. And sin literally means to miss the mark. What a perfect word for missing God's purpose for us generally and specifically. I don't want to miss the mark that the LORD has pre-ordained since He called me. As a matter of fact, I KNOW that I will sin and miss the mark here and there, but I also KNOW that I will continue to have a repentant heart and attitude about any and all of my sin. Thank the LORD that He said that He is faithful to forgive and to restore and to not forget.

The second part that stuck out to me was verses 21-22 which say this:

21 "Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

I like these verses because right after having the Spirit convict us and Israel of idolatry in our lives, the LORD reminds us that HE has called us and that He will not forget us. I especially like the part that says that He will not forget us because it means so many things that He will not forget:

His plans for us eternally and on Earth

He sees the pain that we are in

He will not forget the promises that He made to us

He will not forget the future that He sees

I love the LORD and how when I ask Him to speak to me through His word, He never fails to tell me something beautiful - - whether it's something hard that I need to hear or something that He is delighting in me.

LORD I praise you always and I thank you for everything that you have done, and are doing, and will do in my life. There are no wordst that I can say to describe the feelings in my heart. But I rejoicein knowing that you see and know my heart better than I know myself...

Isaiah 43

God is good!

I love it that every time that I ask the Holy Spirit to open my spiritual eyes and ears before reading the Word, He does!!

verse 18: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."

Dwelling can be SO bad! It can stop you from moving forward; it can stop you from doing the things that the LORD wants you to do! It can stop you from becoming the person that the LORD created you to be!

Good thing that the LORD does not want that for me and has continually said so with His word, with His Word through people in my life, and by him literally saying it to me in my quiet times. Praise God... just simply Praise God!

Isaiah Chapter 40

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

I grew tired and weary and I stumbled and fell. BUT I have hope in the LORD and He will renew my strength. I know that this verse is primarily speaking eternally, but the LORD can and does speak to people using any verse at any time. And in my case, today, just a few minutes ago, the LORD told me that because I trust in Him, He will renew my strength more and more each day. And He said that I will soar on wings like eagles; and when I run, I will not grow weary. And even when I walk I will not be faint. I will walk when He desires things to go slower, and it will not be because I am tired of running, but it will be as I learn the things that He wants me to learn for the next vision and plan that He has for me. I will not allow anyone or anything to stop the plans that the LORD has for me or for the people that will be with me. And even if Satan attempts to stop me using supernatural or natural circumstances, he won't be able to because the LORD is the eagle that I will on, and it is the LORD's strength that keeps me running and walking vigorously in this marathon race that I am running for the Him.

I am so tired of explaining myself to people and for continuing to feel like I have to prove myself. However, the LORD is in control of me and that includes the strength that He is giving me through everything that I have faced, that I am facing, and that I will face. Satan, it's not about challenging you, and it's not even you challenging me. Because when you challenge me, it is the LORD that you are challenging and you WILL LOSE!

Throw anything at me that you desire, but my desire for the LORD's will is stronger than your hatred for Him!! I will stumble and dabble here in there in your darkness, but guess what?! That darkness will become light!! And you WILL LOSE!

How good it is to be loved by You my God and to learn more and more about your mercy and wisdom...