Tag: restore us

The Branch

Psalms 80:14  Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,   the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.  They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face!    But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalms 89:21    so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.

Isaiah 11:1    There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Isaiah 49:5   And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—

Jeremiah 23:5     “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

Ezekiel 17:22     Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.  On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.  And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Zechariah 3:8    Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.

Zechariah 6:12     And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD

I have not counted but there are numerous scripture that God confirms by saying “I will do it”.  In these verses today we see the prophetic foretelling of Christ.  The Branch from which all fruit of God’s mercy, grace, and love originates.  It is through Christ those who believe are redeemed/forgiven.  There is no amount of good will (being good) that would ever be able to cover our sin – only the blood of Jesus.  Many try to be good and hope this is enough for eternal life with God.  His word is clear “there are none righteous, no not one”,  and again “there works are but filthy rags” and again “it is not by works less any man should boast”   His arms are wide open for all who come to Him for salvation.

Shine Your face upon us

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us”

“Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.”

“LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Psalms 80:3  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalms 85:4    Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!

1 Kings 18:37    Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

Jeremiah 31:18  I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God.  For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

Lamentations 5:21    Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

Psalms 4:6     There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

How do we know if our hearts are not in line with God and His plans and purpose?  What does it take to turn our hearts back to God?  How far do we have to drift away from Him before we realize the need to turn back to Him?  Tough questions to answer.  Let’s look at it another way.  What if we chose to stay close and continually grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him, Jesus Christ.  What if we determined to commit each day to humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying Him.  What if we devoted time each day to know Him more.  What if we listened for His whispers of guidance and leading?  What if we ?????  There is so much we can and should do to keep from drifting away.  The first of which is to have a heart desire each day to know and love and honor and obey and listen and follow Him.

Requested Blessings

“The LORD bless you and keep you;  the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”

Psalms 67:1   May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,  that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.  Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

2 Corinthians 13:14    The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Psalms 28:9    Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalms 4:6    There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

Psalms 80:3     Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalms 119:135     Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

2 Corinthians 4:6    For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Acts 9:31   So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Psalms 43:5    Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Titus 2:11    For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

Malachi 4:2   But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Acts 13:26    “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

Acts 13:47   For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

“God bless us.  Shine Your light upon us. Let light shine out of darkness. Be our shepherd. Give Your  peace.”  These are all positive requests from men of the past who were asking for God’s blessing for mankind.  These men believed in God and His sovereignty over all.  It is in His hands alone to bless, lead, and correct the actions of man and nations.  When our heart’s desire is to know God, to honor, follow and obey we seem to see life through a different lens.  This lens allows us to pray for others.  It allows us to pray for nations because our God is awesome in power and might.  He is able to do more than we ask and much more than we think.  How often do we want to the person who makes the change in people?  Our efforts sometime do nothing to bring others closer to God.  Yet if we pray for God to bless them and to change their heart our thoughts about that person change from one of condemning to one of hope and love for them.  Keeping our eyes on Him and patiently waiting for His perfect plan to take place in the lives of those we pray for is so much better than fretting, stewing, and being angered by others.