Psalm 9:10

Psalm 9:10
Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.

Name, in this context, means so much more than just something we call another person. I make a motion to state that the words "Your name" can be substituted with "who You are." So then, the verse reads as follows.

Psalm 9:10
Those who know who You are will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.

Hallelu Yeshua.

2 Peter 1: 1-11

2 Peter 1

¹ Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Making One’s Calling and Election Sure

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Wow. This absolutely is the living Word of God. I needed to hear that. Thank You Lord. God, by his glory and goodness, has given me His promises so that I can partake of the divine nature (look into what "the divine nature" really means) and "escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (verse 4). Evil desires, in my situation, include a desire for the self to be the center of worship; a desire to usurp the position that belongs to God. Also, it includes the desire to make God fit into our lifestyle and what we think is a better version of who He is. How dare I. This evil desire leads to corruption in the world, evident through many world views and religions. In Hinduism, we can choose the gods that we want to worship, in Buddhism, there is no God. How dare we!

I love this passage, because through it, God has told me to do something that I have not been doing; I have not been seeking to know Him. I have been ineffective and unproductive in my knowledge of Jesus the Christ and I am nearsighted and blind and have forgotten that God has cleaned me of my sins (I have forgotten what He is has done for me, how He has healed me). No wonder why my doubt is so great! How can you trust somebody you don't know? And I'd like to say that I know Jesus because of the experiences I have with Him, but I don't really. I don't read His Word!!

Lightbulb. I have been praying for deeper faith and trust in God this year. And as I just wrote the sentence about trusting somebody you don't know, the Lord showed me that in order to trust Him, I have to know Him. And the way that I will know Him, is by reading His word. And if I pursue the qualities in verses 5-7, qualities of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, they will keep me from being ineffective in my knowledge of Jesus. I love how the New American Standard Version puts it: "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (verse 8). Hallelu Yah. Thank You Jesus for meeting me. PLEASE, Holy Spirit help me to abound in these qualities that I may honor and glorify You! I want to make my calling and election sure and not take Your grace and mercy for granted. Please help me Lord. For Your glory may my life be lived. Help me to engage with You meaningfully DAILY in Your Word and through prayer. Make me far-sighted and give me great insight and may I not forget what You have done for me. Hallelu Yah Jesus! Please help me grow and get through.

In the Name of Christ Jesus I pray,

Amen.

The Word is my Weapon of Warfare

The Lord spoke to me through Mrs. Ilene yesterday. He was telling me that I HAVE to get into His Word if I want to fight and emerge victorious. I will discover my identity in the Word, and the gates of Hell will shake when my eyes are opened. So, I've made this blog, and it is my desire to log everyday some of the scripture verses that I've read. God, please make it happen. Satan will try to get in my way, but who is he compared to You?
I want to get to know You more God and I want my questions to be answered. And through Mrs. Ilene, you told me that I will find those answers in Your Word, Amen!

Isaiah 55:8-11
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Amen, praise God. I've been questioning God lately and trying to put logic behind this whole Christianity thing. But God is not logical. At least not by human standard. He knows more than I could ever know, so even though I'm confused and at times feel like I'm doing something that's beneath me, take heart that He knows what He's doing Janell. You don't need to know everything. God is omniscient. And He the only person who needs to know, 'cause He's the only One who can be trusted with all that knowledge. Imagine if humans had such power and knowledge? Hah!
About the versses 10 and 11, I find them very comforting. It gives me hope in the ministry of evangelism. When I tell people about Christ, it won't be for nothing. Through me, the Holy Spirit will saves souls and reconcile them with God. That is truly an honor. And very comforting.

Father, help me to trust in You and believe that You will honor your Word. Help me to let go of the need to know why, to let go of the desire to know the answer to everything. For You know better than I know and I can only trust and believe in You. Please give me the strength to do so. I pray this in the name of the Christ, Amen.