Effie Darlene Barba

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

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