Who Is He???
The God we want you to meet personally, directly, intimately, one-on-one, is the same God Who made the following promises. Receive them, because the "you" mentioned is YOU!!!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah, 29, NIV)
Be optimistic for a future you never thought possible! The "you" written above is YOU, the reader!!!
"They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water." (Isaiah 49, NIV)
Relief!
"The Lord is with you; never again will you fear any harm. .....do not let your hands hang limp, The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3, NIV)
Think of a mom or dad, trying to console a one-year old who just can't get to sleep at bedtime, holding the child close, reassuring, singing quietly..
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands....." (Isaiah 49, NIV)
What could be more personal?
"The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. (Isaiah 51, NIV)
Healing is coming!
"The Lord has anointed me to ..... bind up the brokenhearted ..... to proclaim freedom for captives ..... and release from darkness for the prisoners ..... to comfort all who mourn ..... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning ..... and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated." (Isaiah 60, NIV)
This is the "Job Description" of Jesus Christ!
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I have learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15, NIV)
The night before Jesus was crucified, He poured out His heart to His followers, and called them "friends". Yes, the Creator of the world looks on you and I as friends!
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings....." (Luke 13, NIV)
A heartbroken Savior who wanted to give so much, but the people refused His comfort! And He still "longs" even today for us to really know Him and receive comfort! What an insight into the tender heart of Jesus Christ! KNOW THIS: Jesus "longs" to make us whole, even far more than we do!!!
