Isaiah 52:  ¹⁰ The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God…

¹³ Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

Isaiah 50:  ⁹ Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

¹⁰ Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God

There are many who have a type of reverence for God and who believe that they even obey and follow Christ who is the voice of God having come as a servant to pay the price for sin.  There are those who only have a head knowledge yet still walk in darkness and have not the light of salvation because they have never trusted in the name of Christ as their savior.  They believe themselves to be "good" within their estimation and believe that by doing the works set out in the teachings of Christ that they are followers of Christ.  There were many in the crowds that followed Christ during His ministries on earth who were there for the miracles; but did not believe and became a part of the crowd that cried out "Crucify Him".   John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  Do you believe that or do you believe there are many ways to find God?  John 3: 16 "¹⁶ 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."  Do you believe that Christ died to pay the penalty for your sin or do you believe that you can work hard enough to gain God’s favor?  If you could, then why would He allow Christ to suffer, be rejected, and to die on a cross bearing the sin of the world?  Can you like Paul proclaim, "⁵ For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.⁶ For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4.

Do you see Christ as a prophet or as your hope of salvation?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcCEVTb7Z3w

Mark 13:  ¹⁹ For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

²⁰ And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

²¹ And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

²² For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

²³ But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

²⁴ But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

²⁵ And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

²⁶ And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷ And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

²⁸ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

²⁹ So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

³⁰ Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

³¹ Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

³² But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

³³ Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

³⁴ For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

³⁵ Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

³⁶ Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

³⁷ And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

When we look around us we are confronted by sorrows, tragedies, and moments in which pure evil surrounds us.  The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, the suffering left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the financial demise within our country, the greed that lead us there, the anxiety among those who don’t want to give up their current luxuries pressing down upon those who work under them, drug addiction, drug cartels, earthquakes, tsunamis, war breaking out, and closer to home the thieves that entered my house Monday and terrorized all  my neighbors as they brazenly entered 4 homes.   Yet, I am certain of this one fact–God is on His throne and Christ will return to take His Elect (All of those who have accepted Christ as their Savior).  There are moments in this life that I would wish to cry out, "Even now come Lord Jesus".   But, if God tarries, it is because His Grace is allowing you that don’t know Him one more day and one more chance to be saved.  God speaking in Deuteronomy 32 said: ³⁵ To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Do you know Him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9ZtP6db8AI&list=PL2937182F502CC5CA

EVIL SURROUNDS

Evil surrounds

Evil abounds

Pressing my life throughout each day

Quickening Sounds

Blaring around

Bidding my heart within to sway

Lord, let your light shine in my heart

Command all darkness to depart

Let Your love shine forth through me

That all evil is forced to flee

Evil Surrounds

Evil Abounds

Firm in Your Grace I cannot sway

Quickening Sounds

Blaring Around

Your still voice drives them away

It is Your love that presses on

When my strength is fully gone

Remove from me each selfish thought

On that cross my life You bought

Faith now Surounds

Hope now abounds

Your Righteousness gives way

Glorious Sounds

Praise all Around

Sin’s chains are gone away

Let your love reach through these hands

Feet firm set on this grace in which I stand

Let your glory shine through me

A light a darkened world might see.

Hebrews 10: ¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

¹⁷ And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

¹⁸ Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

¹⁹ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

²¹ And having an high priest over the house of God;

²² Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience (our guilt removed), and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³ Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Recently, I was reminded of sins of the past and sorrow began to fill my heart; guilt and the feelings of failure began to creep in.  Satan’s attempt again to steal my joy.  The truth is as written by God–He has made a covenant with me which includes all my sins and iniquities are forgotten never to be remembered  again  Past, present and future sins have been covered by the blood of Christ.  "No guilt in life, No fear in death–this is the power of Christ in me."   It is Grace born out of so much love that I am compelled to renounce sin and hate that sin which is in me; yet, I stand on the second part of that covenant in that He is transforming me, changing me each day and has promised that one day I will look like Christ.  I long for that day!!  As my love and faith continue to grow, I desire to serve Him in a manner that brings honor to His name.  I renounce my sins and lay them at the cross.  I pray that He forevermore continue to transform this wicked heart into a heart that is true and I stand firm upon this profession of faith without any fear or wavering; not because of who I am, but rather because of who He is and the truth that He who promised this covenant is always faithful and true.  He will accomplish in me that which He so desires and He will finish the work He began in me the day I accepted Christ as my Savior 53 years ago at the age of 5.  My faith, my hope, and my joy are anchored "in Christ Alone."  Listen closely to the words of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=INlghIQhsi4

John 16: ²⁰ Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. ²¹ When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.²² So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Yesterday, Haley Elise Barba was born.  I truly wish to thank Sarah Barba for enduring the months of pregnancy and the delivery to bring us this beautiful bundle of joy.  I thank God for His blessings as they shine down upon us.  We rejoice at the wondrous works which God has performed.  No one can steal our joy from us; though, Satan may try.  Last night when I came home rejoicing over this marvelous miracle of a baby being born to find my house broken into and a TV stolen.  They did not get more because the dog awoke and frightened them off (he can be fierce if he is not too sound asleep to hear them).  The alarm was set; but they chose to enter through a bathroom window that had not been armed because it was too high and small for me to even dream of someone entering there.  Good try Satan; but God is my protector, provider and my avenger who will avenge the thief who entered my house.  I do pray that the thief is apprehended; but, I also pray that he find Christ—just as the thief that hung on the cross beside Christ.   The evil that is this world  reminds me ever more that as a grandmother and as a mother my greatest gift that I can give my grandchildren and children is Christ Himself.  It is important that I teach them of Christ’s love. 

Proverbs 22: ⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I dedicate this song to Sarah, Ronald, Haley, Aiden, Melissa, Alex, Alberto, Lindsey and Pedro the third as this remains the prayer for my children, their loves, and my grandchildren.  I hope this becomes the prayer of every mother, father, grandmother and grandfather that hears this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mtGp-hpJJs

I Chronicles 4: ⁹ And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

The name Jabez means born in pain and sorrow; yet, the man bearing this name loved God.  We know nothing more of Jabez than these two verses.  He was a virtual no body; much like many of us feel.  His mother named him "born in pain and sorrow"; wow not the most endearing name that one could be given.  Yet, his name became recorded in scripture and his legacy is one prayer that was answered.  Yesterday, I happened to go in search of another scripture in Chronicles and my memory lapse led me not to the verse I had heard on the broadcast yesterday morning; but rather to this verse.  As I read it I realized that this too was the desire of my heart.  I write the books I have written, write these emails, and post to my website with one purpose–that is to proclaim the name of Christ to the world.  My greatest desire is that His message continue to go out to the world and that "my coast is enlarged" by an ever increasing number of readers who are encouraged in their Christian walk or those who come to know God and the salvation He offers through Christ’s atonement for our sins.  All of the money spent and all of the effort worth it if one person’s eternity is changed.  I pray that His hand guide me; providing the wisdom I need to continue to write.  I pray that He keep me from evil because the most important thing is that I want to be always guided by Him so that I might be always doctrinally sound. My greatest trepidation would be to ever misinterpret or misrepresent God’s word.  I do not want to ever dishonor Him by my writing or by my life.  I pray that He would bind this covetous heart so that it cannot bring Him shame; though there are times that I still stand in wondrous awe that He could ever have chosen me.    How wondrous is our God and with a sense of humor as well.  I prayed this prayer yesterday morning for those ministries which He has placed in my keeping and that perhaps He will move me into opportunities to speak for Him as well.  So off to work I ran and suddenly became so overwhelmed with consults that for a weekend total Dr. N. Bajaj and I had 38 consults plus 20 to 30 follow ups, 16 Nuclear Stresses and too many echos to count.  Guess that was God’s way of saying, "Don’t worry I’ve got this.  I can multiply your numbers at work, provide you grace to get it done, and if I can do that, I can expand and protect the ministries I have entrusted to you"  I have before asked God to make me a Joseph at work so that everyone in my company would know that God is Able to provide blessing even through His most unlikely servant–as my doctor and I finally finished at 9:30 last night, I praised God for His Omnipotence and Grace while thanking Him for this incredible doctor that I work with. 

Added note, this morning bright and early I left to go to Ron’s house to watch my grandson, Aiden, while Sarah (my Daughter in law) goes to the hospital to give birth to Haley Elise Barba.  What an incredible God I serve.  I praise God for who He is as the words of this song say so well. Let us praise Him today and forever worship Him for who He is, the Giver of life, hope, joy, peace, and Glory by His presence and Grace. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B3ta9FmSVQ