The third week of Advent is upon us; time is running away in
anticipation to Christmas Day; the special day that Christ appears. Just a few
readings from the Word to encourage you for the week: Rejoice! The Lord will
fill you with Joy.
“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and
not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He
has become my salvation.” Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs
of salvation. And in that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord,
call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember
that His name is exalted.” Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent
things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O
inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah
12:2-6 NASB).
Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph,
O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of
Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away His judgments against
you,
He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
“I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts—They came from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors, I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the Lord (Zephaniah 3:14-20 NASB).
He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
“I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts—They came from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors, I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the Lord (Zephaniah 3:14-20 NASB).
So he began saying to the crowds who were going
out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from
the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do
not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I
say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed
the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds were
questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and
say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has
none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax
collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall
we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been
ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what
about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from
anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content
with your wages.” Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all
were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the
Christ, John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with
water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the
thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing
fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the
wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people (Luke
3:7-18 NASB).
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let
your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7 NASB).
Dabbling In Ink...
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