Effie Darlene Barba

PSALM 103 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

³ Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

⁴ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

⁵ Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

¹⁴ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Have you taken a moment this morning to remind yourself to Bless the Lord from the depths of your soul?  We tend to jump up get ready and rush off to our lives and our work.  We many times take a moment to hand God a list of our needs; but do we stop to praise Him for His Mercy.  We often look at all the stresses and worries that we are facing and give little moment for the peace and comfort of knowing that He has shown forth His Mercy and Kindness.  If you have accepted His gracious gift of salvation through Jesus Christ; you can be assured that your transgressions have been removed as far as the east is from the west.  How many billions and trillions of light years is that?  For God, the east and the west expand beyond all the galaxies.  If I bless the Lord with the depths of my soul will not my body and spirit be commanded to follow?  The more I see and learn of His Glory, the more I realize my own depravity; yet, the more I desire to empty this covetous heart before Him so that He might shine forth His Glory and use this vessel.  How Gracious and Merciful is God, so bless the Lord Oh my Soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

Colossians 2: ² That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

³ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

2 Corinthians 4:  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.

This past week I have spent my vacation pretty much locked within my own house with my own thoughts.  Little did I realize what a treasure that was, a gift from God.  Emotionally, physically I had been exhausted throughout this year.  Frequently I was prone to beating myself up for not be more efficient, not getting everything done with greater speed, and not always representing Christ as fully as I wanted to.  Aloneness (my own word as not in the dictionary) has been my shield; yet, at times my arch enemy as I am prone to be very harsh on myself.  This week, I have had time to spend with God.  I have not rushed to get anything else done nor beat myself up for being who I am (maybe at first I did-but by the end of the week; a peaceful acceptance and deep seated joy fills my soul.)   I have slept a lot, listened to hymns of praise and just spent much of the time listening to God’s comforting voice.  I am safe because God is my protector.  The thieves that entered my home took a TV; but that is not my treasure.  This stuff that we surround ourselves with is worthless.  My treasure is the "the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."  This is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge of the mystery of God who is one and at the same time three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  The treasure of how God (the son who Himself is God) could come to earth and pay the penalty for our sins taking on the fullness of God’s wrath against us (a wrath that I perhaps felt only in tiny degree in comparison this week toward my invaders) and in service and obedience, humbly die on a cross that I might become a daughter of God and heir of His love, companionship, and Joy.   This great treasure He placed in earthen vessels.  Vessels with no particular beauty of their own, fragile and easily broken or chipped, that the excellency of the power may be of God and I can never claim it as mine.  Amazingly, I have not had any fear; for I know who is my protector.  Neither have I gone to bed without having my house secured to the maximum possible and intend to add more security as soon as my alarm company and a landscaper come to review things.  Listen very closely to this incredible hymn and whatever trial you face today ask God to "Let the treasure of the trial form within me as I go"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5_HMgMwQ7Q

Hebrews 10:  ⁷ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

⁸ Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

⁹ Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

¹⁰ By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

¹² But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

¹³ From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

¹⁴ For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

¹⁵ Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

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.

Christ came to do the will of the Father and to offer one sacrifice for sins for ever and sat down on the right hand of God.  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  Let us all stop our Christmas hurrying about for one moment to say "Thank you, Lord Jesus.  What gift can I give you this Christmas, Lord?  I give you my life, my heart, my soul; Use it to do thy will, O God.  Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKSU9Dbxvrw

Isaiah 7: ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 53: ² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Luke 2: ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Did you ever consider or realize that as Mary gave birth to her son and she gently kissed the forehead of God, Himself; she knew that He was born to be the Savior of the world.  She had studied the scriptures in the synagogue.  Did she remember Isaiah 53? Did she fully understand the cross to come?  Or did she just savor that moment and the miracle that she held within her arms? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QywDEmb1clk

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