There is hope in God, the fountain of living waters. Those who forsake the fountain of living waters will be ashamed; but those who seek to the fountain of living waters will be healed. “13) O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. 14) Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. (Jeremiah 17:13,14) Even today, that fountain of living waters is available to those who would come and be healed. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17) This is a time of year when many people think about Jesus and His birth. He came to earth and was born, but was he just a little baby in a manger? Was He simply the son of Mary? Who is Jesus? Isaiah chapter nine and verse six tells us who Jesus is, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” This verse gives five titles to the child Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem. 1. Wonderful This refers to Jesus’ nature. Jesus is wonderful in relation to God’s people. No matter what you are going through, you are not alone. God knows. Jesus is our High Priest passed into the heavens for us. When He came here to earth, He suffered for us. He knows all the pains we go through and understands all our feelings as we experience them. “14) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:14,15) 2. Counsellor There is no problem that God cannot solve. He knows all the instructions. All of our care can be cast upon Jesus, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (I Peter 5:7) When our care is cast upon Jesus, we can have rest, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:28,29) It is comforting to know that you can “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22) There will be times in your life when you will not be able to go on. Those will be the times when God will carry you. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27a) 3. The Mighty God There is no power or enemy or might that God cannot overcome. God is the Almighty, all powerful God. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (I John 4:4) “8) The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel… 11) The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” (Psalm 68:8 & 11) God is so great in power that even His voice can shake the earth. We can have peace and overcoming power because Jesus has overcome the world. He said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) 4. The Everlasting Father God is not limited by time. Isaiah 46:10 says, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” This title assures us that God is always the same and Jesus never changes, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) 5. The Prince of Peace There is not a soul that God is not able to save. Hebrews 7:25 says this regarding Jesus, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Romans 10;13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” II Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” You have to have the Prince of Peace before you can benefit from the other attributes of the One who is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father. When the Prince of Peace dwells in you, then you have all the benefits that God gave to us through His son Jesus Christ when He gave that Son to make a way of salvation for lost mankind. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) ~Note: Much of this is not original with me. It was based on notes taken from a sermon preached by our pastor on December 20th. Because God will destroy the wicked and uphold the righteous, He encourages, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2) For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3) Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” (Psalm 37:1-3) It looks like the wicked are multiplying and prospering now, but they will soon be gone. Their day is coming. God is taking care of the righteous. One day, “He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.” (See Psalm 37:6,7)
It can be hard to shine as lights in a dark world.
But God can help us be good reflectors of the Light of the world, that is, Jesus Christ. No matter how deeply a person may have
sunk into sin, there is a remedy. That remedy is the Lord, the fountain of living waters. Are there hard times in your life? Do your eyes flow over with tears? Is there an ache in your heart? You are not alone. The God who knows the number of hairs on your head and calls all the stars by name, also sees everyone of your tears, and He thinks on you and remembers you. God takes care of His own. Isaiah describes what it will be like when God restores Israel and the remnant is preserved and the wicked are judged. First, God will purge away anything that distracts His people from Him. “24) Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: 25) And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.” (Isaiah 1:24,25) When all the dross is purged away, God will rest from chastising His people, “So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.” (Ezekiel 16:42) When God takes vengeance on His enemies and on those that hate Him, He will preserve His own, “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.” (Deuteronomy 32:43) The second thing God will do is put righteous people back into places of leadership. He will cause Zion to be known as a righteous and faithful city, “26) And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. 27) Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” (Isaiah 1:26,27) The third thing God will do is judge and destroy the wicked. None of the wicked will fight against God and win. The strongest of them will be like tow. Tow was something that was shaken or thrown away, like the broken part of hemp or flax when it was separated from the fine, fibrous parts. Flax was broken down by hatcheling or combing. A hatchel was a board with long iron teeth in it used for combing the flax. The fibrous parts of the flax would be processed so they could be spun like cotton. Tow was the part of the flax that was thrown away after combing. The wicked will be just like tow, thrown out and burned up because of sin and an unrepentant heart. “28) And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29) For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30) For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 31) And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.” (Isaiah 1:28-31) It is a frightening time when God pours out His hand of judgment. But God’s people do not need to be afraid because He will preserve them. In Zephaniah 2:2,3 God pleaded with Israel, “…before the day of the LORD's anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger.” Seek God. Seek His hiding place when you see the hand of the Lord ready to fall on the wicked. Find in Him your hiding place, “7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9) Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” (Psalm 91:7-11) |
About the Author
Hello! My name is Connie, and I live in North Carolina. The Lord has blessed me with wonderful parents, a wonderful sister, and a great church family . The past few years have been difficult in many ways, but God has been with me all the way. Much praise goes to the Lord for His guidance and wisdom in starting this website. I would also like to express my thanks to Valerie who has joyfully and willingly given of her time to help design this website and do much of the technical work. She and her family are faithful servants to the Lord. They also have gone through many trials in the past few years, but they have allowed God to use these trials to make them sweeter and more like His Son Jesus Christ. Rights:
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