Tag: vindication

11.f. “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God”

Micah 7:8  Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets.

Isaiah 60:19-20    The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.  Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Psalms 97:11    Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Psalms 112:4     Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

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.

John 8:12    Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Acts 26:18    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Revelation 21:23    And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Talk about faith and power through Jesus Christ – “when I fall, I shall rise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me”!!  How many times have you been in darkness?  Not the light associated with light and dark but darkness in your soul.  I am sure you can relate to this type of darkness when your heartaches, your mind can’t seem to get out of the rut of some rejecting or negative thought, and no matter how hard your try the light of resolve for the darkness seems out of reach.  Days seem to drag on and you hope tomorrow is better somehow.  this is how it goes when we are looking from within our own self-reliance to overcome the darkness that is robbing light from our days.  Maybe we could learn to trust Jesus Christ more.  Maybe we could rely on Him more.  Maybe we could call out to Him more.  Maybe we could believe in Him more.  Maybe we could claim His promises more.  I am confident that if we did we too could say, “when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.”

9.j. “Fear not, O land;  be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

Joel 2:18  Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

Joel 2:21  “Fear not, O land;  be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

Joel 2:23  “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication;

Joel 2:26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied , and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

I am sure we have not seen the full impact of Covid-19 in the US.  Listening to people and their anger, fear, and worry seems to be placed on the measures put in place to slow the spread of the impact, how it has impacted their lives, hoarding that makes it hard to get supplies and their employment.  I heard someone say if he looked at this within his own family is seems almost unfair but that we are all in this together and what impacts him impacts others as well.  I think he had the right mind for the situation we are all in.

God is in control and His plans are never wrong.  I don’t understand what the world is going through but I wondered if this could be a call or final calling to all the people of the world to return to Him, seek Him, and trust in Him.  We seek and want to believe this is a “one-off” thing in nature but this is nothing of the sort.  If it is God’s final call for people to turn to Him, know that the return of Christ is very near.  The day of tribulation is very near.  Think about the measures that are in place across the globe.  Would you ever think the nations of the world could agree on anything, but here we are.  All doing virtually the same thing to try to stop spread of this disease.  How long will it be is yet to be determined, no one knows but God.  Yet outside of Christian circles there is no sounding of the trumpet calling people to gather and seek God with repentant hearts.  How bad does it have to get before our eyes look to heaven?  It is only when we do that we will be glad and rejoice for the Lord’s removal of this disease among us.

So while we await the hand of God to do wondrous works over this situation we can still rejoice in Him, we can be kind to one another, we can do acts of kindness, and we can spread hope through Jesus Christ.

132. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us

2 Samuel 24:10  But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

Psalms 32:5     I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

1 John 3:20-21    for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

Proverbs 28:13     Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Micah 7:8-9     Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.  I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

1 John 1:9     If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Sin sure has a way into our lives.  It can sneak in through the doors of pride, lust, greed, and anger.  It comes at us with subtle little morsels that entice self-indulgence, self-importance, self-want, and selfishness.  Are we to think we are immune to these attacks?  Are we able to even see them for what they are?  Do our eyes and ears of our mind see and hear them coming and are they able to form a defense to fight the attacks?

(1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”)   (Ephesians 6:14 “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance,”)

Every day is a battle against sin and we certainly need to be prepared for battle.  Stay in His word.  Have a humble heart toward God.  Live to honor and glorify, serve, follow, and obey Him with your eyes on eternity and not on things of this world.

Psalms 97:11  Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Psalms 18:28     For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.

Psalms 112:4    Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

Job 22:28     You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.

Proverbs 4:18     But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

Isaiah 60:1-2     Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

Micah 7:9    I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

John 12:46     I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Revelation 21:23    And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Revelation 22:5     And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

James 5:7-11     Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.