August Quotes

There can be no participation in Christ’s life without a participation in his death, and we cannot enjoy the benefits of his death unless we are partakers of the power of his life. We must be reconciled to God in order to be holy, and we cannot be reconciled without thereby becoming holy.

-Charles Hodge

No matter how hard Satan tries, he cannot dim the glory of Jesus. People may close their eyes or turn their backs, but neither of those actions reduces Jesus' divine stature. 

-Woodrow Kroll

A Sovereign Protector I have, unseen, yet forever at hand. 

-Augustus M. Toplady

To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss.

-Elisabeth Elliot

“Loving someone requires maintaining a measure of optimism on that person’s behalf. Hope is an attitude that good will eventually come to those who may now be failing. Failure invades every Christian’s life, and it often causes others to give up on the one who fails. Yet, Christians who love continue to hope for the best. This optimism encourages others to keep moving forward. This hope is based not on the Christian, but on Christ. The hope of each Christian is that Christ will preserve him to glory. When a brother falls, it is Christ who picks him up and makes him stand (Rom. 14:4). Christ is the one who promised to finish the work he began".

-(Pratt, R. L., Jr. (2000). I & II Corinthians (Vol. 7). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

Yet, just as the soil patiently endures the frigid hand of frost and snow and bitter cold, the soul's
winter is only a curving bend to the fair meadows of spring. Only through mourning can one know the exhilaration of joy. Beauty is the by-product of burnt, ash-dust. God looks at a field of stinky, dead earth and says, "This is my garden." I have learned never to begrudge winter, for in her wake lie all the trees of Eden.

-Unknown 

But did the clouds rain free, and the earth open beneath me, I would not stir; for I know who planted me here, and as long as He wills me to stand, neither men or devils can move me hence.
~William Wallace

Mercy is never free. Mercy is very expensive. Mercy requires paying the cost of justice, and that is the cost of our Savior’s life. But that mercy is beautiful to behold for those whom God has given eyes to see it. Mercy changes lives. And the offer of mercy can also harden. 

~Tony Reinke

Hold your ground! Should a Christian flee? Should a Christian be afraid? You are not going anywhere—Hold fast your position! You are not changing the things that God has set. You heed God’s lead, not the Enemy’s! The Enemy will not define the terms of your life. The Enemy will not dictate where you go, what you say, what you don’t say, or what you do, or don’t do. God set you here. Stand firm. Don’t move from this position. Be still and watch what your God will do for those who trust in His Almighty Name! 

~Eric Ludy

What we offer unto God? Stubborn, sinful, rebellious rejection. But unto us? A Child is born. A Son is given.

 ~James MacDonald

September Quotes

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable. 

-CS Lewis

Christ clothes us with the cloak of His righteousness, covering our nakedness and shame, and says to us, “Neither do I condemn you.

-R.C. Sproul

What makes a warrior is not his ability to escape fear, but to look death in the face absolutely terrified and still move forward. 

-Unknown

We work for a glorious future which we are not destined to see. We are only morning-stars shining in the dark, but the glorious morn will break.

-David Livingstone

If we are not in Christ, we are born losers. If we are in Christ, we are reborn victors.

-R.J. Rushdoony

God wants to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we would see our need for a relationship with him as well as with others. Every painful thing we experience in relationships is meant to remind us of our need for him. And every good thing we experience is meant to be a metaphor of what we can only find in him.

-Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp

No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

There are endless treasures of grace waiting for those who will make even the most feeble attempts to pray. The weakest prayers yield grace.

-Paul Washer

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he shall become as he can and should be.

-Johann von Goethe

By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Don’t ignore the Spirit’s attempts to engage you, my friend. The conviction, the stirring, is the call of your Father, drawing you back to Himself, inviting you to put an end to your running, to start what needs to happen for things to get turned back around. 

-Priscilla Shirer

The truth is that the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you’ll see their flaws. That’s just the way it is. This is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don’t last. You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they’re out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness’ sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it’s seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship. 

-Unknown

The high noon of God’s glory will be the second coming of Christ. And that is where the sun will stay forever. 

-John Piper

Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame.

-movie quote, unknown

If you know why you believe what you believe, then leadership is inevitable. 

 -Dr. Jeff Meyers

June Quotes

You feel now that you have no reason to hope. But the night is darkest before sunrise. Christians believe that the dawn will come. Faith can be put in two words: “though” and “yet”. In the Book of Job we read, “Though the Lord slay me, yet I will trust Him.” Many times these words come together in the Bible. They tell us to have faith in the darkest moments.

-Richard Wurmbrand

Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.

-Norton Juster

Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right. 

-Charles Spurgeon

You ever heard that saying 'He's so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good'? Well, most people are so earthly minded, they're no heavenly good.

-Paul Washer

Oh restless heart, that beat against your prison bars of circumstances, yearning for a wider sphere of usefulness, leave God to order all your days. Patience and trust, in the dullness of the routine of life, will be the best preparation for a courageous bearing of the tug and strain of the larger opportunity which God may some time send you.

-Oswald Chambers

What is sin? 

It is the glory of God not honored. 

The holiness of God not reverenced. 

The greatness of God not admired. 

The power of God not praised. 

The truth of God not sought. 

The wisdom of God not esteemed. 

The beauty of God not treasured. 

The goodness of God not savored. 

The faithfulness of God not trusted. 

The commandments of God not obeyed. 

The justice of God not respected. 

The wrath of God not feared. 

The grace of God not cherished. 

The presence of God not prized. 

The person of God not loved. 

That is sin. 

-John Piper

Peace is not absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. 

-Ronald Reagan

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend. 

-Robert Louis Stevenson

You don’t need to hoard today what you can expect God to supply in his mercy on the morrow. 

-Dr. Bob Jones Jr.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never tasted victory or defeat.

-Teddy Roosevelt

For those of us who are in trouble and are trying to keep our eyes on Christ our refuge, a word of encouragement:

The day is coming when we will be in the presence of the Lord. Fully, finally, forever delivered from all trouble. But until then, we have a God who is our refuge, our strength, and a very present help in trouble, amen.

-Nancy Leigh DeMoss

When people are deeply affected by the Word, they tell it to other people. God has willed that we should seek and find God’s living Word in the testimony of other Christians, in the mouths of human beings. Therefore, Christians need other Christians who speak God’s Word to them. They need them again and again when they become uncertain and disheartened. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like You, Lord Jesus. 

-Jim Elliot

The same God which had brought us thus far, would not forsake us even now. 

-John Geddie

Legalism says “what a shame”.

Grace says “that could be me”.

Humility says “that IS me”.

-Unknown

April Quotes

Find updates about my puppies HERE.

Doctrine is important, but to fight over the smallest things as the world perishes without the gospel is tragic; a waste of gifts and strength.

-Paul Washer

The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?

-Elisabeth Elliot

Friendship is the nearest thing we know to what religion is. God is love. And to make religion akin to Friendship is simply to give it the highest expression conceivable by man. 

-Henry Drummond

No man ever really finds out what he believes in until he begins to instruct his children.

-Unknown

The mills of God grind slowly; yet the grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.

-Fredrick Von Logau

If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones! 

-C.S. Lewis

We can stop pleading with God to show us the future, and start living and obeying like we are confident that He holds the future.

-Kevin DeYoung

We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out. 

-Winston Churchill

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. 

-C.S. Lewis

There is a vast difference between failing and becoming a failure. We become a failure when we give up—when we stop trying. But as long as we are working on those sinful habits, regardless of how often we fail, we have not become a failure, and we can expect to see progress.

-Jerry Bridges

Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Bible is of such universal and perennial interest that it will call forth comments and sermons without number, to the end of time. This of itself is sufficient evidence of its divine origin and character. It is now more extensively studied than ever before, and goes on conquering and to conquer in the face of all enemies. It is inexhaustible. It never grows old, but increases in interest and value as time flows on. Human books have their day, but ‘the Word of the Lord endureth forever.’

-Philip Schaff

Either you be governed by God or by God you’ll be governed.

-Benjamin Franklin

In order to give thanks when the sky is falling, you have to remember that it’s Jesus’ sky, and that He never promised it wouldn’t fall. 

-R.C. Sproul

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith; and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. 

-George Müller

March Quotes

Better suffer anything than do wrong.

-C.H. Spurgeon

Do you want honest, upright, able men to guide our country's future? Those men are sitting in high chairs today in your dining room.

-Jenny Chancy

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

–C.S. Lewis

God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.

-Elizabeth Elliott

If God is for us, then the opposition, which inevitably comes against us, is ultimately of no account. 

-Alistair Begg

Why would we want fame, when God promises us glory? Why would we be seeking the wealth of the world when the wealth of heaven is ours? Why would we run for a crown that will perish with time, when we're called to win a crown that is imperishable?

 -Paul Washer

He comes to the dry and thirsty land of the human heart in its wild and desperate struggles for survival. He comes to the wilderness of our lives, and a furrow at a time he reclaims the land, restoring something of the Paradise that has been lost. He comes to the weary heart to give it rest. To the lonely heart to give it friendship. To the wounded heart to give it healing. To the sad heart to give it joy. And if no joy, at least the companionship of someone who has known what it's like to be sad, wounded, lonely and weary. 

-Ken Gire

True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie.

-A.W.Tozer

Lord, I give up all my own purposes and plans, all my own desires and hopes and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take a second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever. 

-Betty Stam

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” 

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike. 

-John Piper

Godly households are the greatest martial assets of the Kingdom of God. Establishing and maintaining them is a matter of spiritual warfare. 

-Andrew C. Romanowitz

The day is gone from us--and is with You. We leave it in Your hands. Whatever we have done that was not according to Your will--may You graciously forgive. The things that pleased You--may You bless. 

-J.R. Miller

Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

-C.S. Lewis

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest.

-C.H. Spurgeon

Star of Jacob, Scepter of Israel

My Bible reading plan for this month has taken me once again through the first five books of the Old Testament. Having taught through these books and read through them about 18 times now, they have become increasingly familiar to me. But yet there always has been something to learn or remember from the stories and history of God's Word.

Numbers 22 brings us to the story of Balaam, a man we often remember because he talked back to a donkey. But that's not the only important thing that happened in his life.

In the previous chapter, Numbers 21, the Israelites just finished defeating the king of Bashan, added him to the list of conquered nations, killed all the inhabitants, and took over the land. Needless to say, the king we find in Numbers 22, King Balak of Moab, is rather terrified as to what will happen to him if he's next on the line. In fact, the whole nation of Moab was overcome with fear because of the Israelites. What they didn't know was that God had commanded the Israelites not to attack Moab because they were given that land by God and they were descendants of Lot.

So Balak calls on Balaam. Balaam is noted in Scripture as being a false prophet. He practiced magic and divination, but Balak acknowledged that Balaam's blessings and curses actually worked at times. Therefore, Balak sent messengers to Balaam with money and a plea for him to come and pronounce calamity on Israel. Though Balaam did not have any relationship with the Lord God of Israel, God did speak to him. Twice Balaam refused to go with the messangers Balak sent, telling them that God commanded him not to go. The third time, the Lord permitted Balaam to go with the condition that he could only speak the words God gave him. So Balaam went...and that's when the story of the talking donkey comes in. ;) Balaam went to Balak, but for the wrong reasons and with the wrong motives. Through the angel and the mouth of the donkey Balaam is brought into submission to God's command. Three times Balaam seeks to do as Balak requires of him and curse the Israelites, but three times God prevents this and causes him to bless them instead. So here you have a false prophet, who is involved in magic and contact with spirits, but he's blessing Israel through the words God gives him. Balaam proclaims that Israel wasn't like all the other nations of the world, that she was blessed greatly by God, shown mercy because God was with her, and she would have victory over her enemies.

Balaam's fourth blessing on Israel holds an important prophecy. God uses a false prophet to foretell the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, Israel's future King!

I see him, but not now; I behold him,  but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities! (Numbers 24:17-19)

This Star of Jacob and Scepter of Israel was none other than the Lord Christ Himself. Jacob, the patriarch, in blessing his sons before his death, pronounces this blessing on Judah:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him. (Genesis 49:10) 

The wise men inquired of Herod where the Christ was for they had seen "his star" and had come to worship Him. The star in that night sky at Christ's birth overshadowed the place where the eternal Star of Jacob was residing. John records the words of Jesus as He fulfills Balaam's prophecy:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. (Revelation 22:16)

And so, despite the fear of a king and the words of a false prophet, God chooses to use these men to proclaim His future Messiah who had come once before, and who would come again to rescue His people from spiritual bondage. Hope did indeed prevail despite what God's enemies tried to plan.

But that is not the end of Balaam's life, for though he failed to curse the Israelites, he caused the women of Moab to seduce the children of Israel, inciting God's anger on the nation. The Israelites engaged in immorality and idolatry with Baal forgetting the command to have no others gods but the Lord of Israel. Yet from this wickedness, hope did indeed come again for the Israelites, for Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, displayed his zeal for God in executing a man and the Midianite woman as they came near the tabernacle. For this action, the plague that had broken out on the Israelites because of their sin was stopped, and to Phinehas was granted a "perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel". (Numbers 25:13) From the line of Phinehas would come all future, legitimate high priests.

Though one day, the Israelites' Messiah did come, the High Priest who ended animal sacrifices with His one perfect sacrifice. Hope was born even out of wickedness, and vengeance was meted out to the Midianites who had incited the anger of the Lord and caused the Israelites to sin. In a similar way, Christ will return for a second time to those who look for His coming, and He will provide justice over the earth. Sin and death will reign no more, and we will fellowship together with the Giver of hope. This promise is sure and steadfast, and it will be accomplished.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprighteness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. (Psalm 45:6-7a)

At the Close of 2015...

This has been my theme verse for the year of 2015, and as the days of this year draw to a close, I find myself still reminded of it.

The believer's life is sure to bring joys and trials, but there is a promise that once we are in Christ, we are secure in him. Nothing can move us from the Father's love, the Son's protection, or the Holy Spirit's guidance. Christ Jesus has made me His own, and nothing can separate me from the love of God. It's not because we've obtained spiritual maturity or because we're perfect. We continue on in working out our own salvation because it's God who works in us and because Christ Jesus has made us His own. A people of his possession, the chosen ones, sent to live Jesus to the world and share His love to other believers.

I've been reading through all four Gospels as part of my reading plan, and I've almost finished John. John 14-17 especially have been some of my most favorite chapters in the Gospels. Jesus talks with His disciples shortly before He will be arrested and He provides them with the comfort and teaching they need in that moment. They don't understand it all until His ascension, but because the words were penned for us also, we, as the 21 century believers, benefit from it today.

We were made the possession of Jesus when He purchased our ransom by paying for our sins on the cross.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15, ESV)

He chose to remove the legal record against us, and not only did he just satisfy the requirement for a perfect blood sacrifice, but He also gloried and triumphed in it. He was pleased to do it. He set aside the majesty to heaven to be born, to die, and to rise again for the people He created. Our past, present, and future is nailed to the cross with Him. That's why we are in Him--He made us His own.

We are now citizens of a new country, a heavenly one, and we await a Savior, who, though is tarrying long in His return, will come again for He has promised. We're not of this world anymore. Scripture commands us to forsake the world and its desires and walk worthy of the Lord. We're saints saved by His grace through faith in Christ Jesus for His glory. Our life is hidden with Christ in God, and when our Life appears, we also will appear with Him in glory.

2015 gave us another year to walk as saints of God's kingdom. Perhaps we did, but in many ways we probably did not. Lord willing, 2016 will give us another year and through its challenges and blessings, we will be offered another season of spiritual growth to use for Christ. Let us not grow weary or fall by the wayside, but let us have courage to do what God has called us to. Not because we've obtained anything in and of ourselves, but because we forget what lies behind and we strain forward into what lies ahead. Let us press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. May our work for the Savior keep us humble but confident, weak but strong, patient but waiting. And wherever He calls us to go may we know that our time spent for God is not in vain, for it is done in the power of Jesus Christ. We are more than just conquerors. We're will reign with Christ as saints. Let us live like it. Let us thank Him for the days ahead in which we will be given opportunity to demonstrate our love for Him and for others.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement as friends and as readers of Facing the Waves. You are appreciated. May God go with you all and may you know His peace, comfort, and love in the days to come.

November Quotes

Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. The forgiveness of Jesus not only takes away our sins, it makes them as if they had never been.

-Corrie ten Boom

My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good.

-Robert E. Lee

For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ.

-Robert Murray McCheyne

You are what you want to become long before you get there.

-Steve Riddell

If you let something steal your thanksgiving, you let something steal your joy, and if you let something steal your joy, you let something steal your strength.

-Unknown

The choice before us is: Do we only give glory to God for the part of our lives that's going the way we want? Or do we worship Him, trust Him, and GIVE HIM THANKS, just because He is God—regardless of the painful, incomprehensible places we encounter in our journey?

-Nancy Leigh DeMoss

When you love those who hurt you by praying for them, in that process you are being washed by the love of Christ and no unforgiveness is allowed to stay.

-Jim Staley

The thought that there beats a heart in heaven that is always loving us, that there moves a tongue in heaven that always pleads for us; that there is an arm in heaven that always fights for us; and that there is a foot in heaven that will be swift to run for our defense--oh! this is a precious consolation.

-Spurgeon

Grace that cannot be seen, like light, and tasted, like salt, is not grace, but hypocrisy. 

-J. C. Ryle

We are the people who can't distinguish between doctrine and application, in terms of saying one thing and doing another.

-Albert Mohler

Although it is very right to think about the future, it is very wrong to be controlled by it.

-Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The clouds must break somehow, and the sun is always behind them!

-George MacDonald

Tough Faith

I've been reading through the Psalms for the past four days, and I will finish it in three days. Spending a week in the Psalms is one of the parts of my Bible reading schedule that I look forward to the most, as they are the praises and pleadings of God's children.

One phrase from the notes from my study Bible summed up one of the themes of Psalms: Tough faith will not let go. We see examples continually of the Psalmists when they're in the deepest valleys struggling with depression, despair, and discouragement. Their fears are real, and God knows that. He doesn't condemn them for their sorrow and hurt, but rather responds to their faith that would not let go. God brings them comfort and relief in Him--not necessarily relief and comfort by removing the difficult circumstances.

One of the first examples comes in Psalm 3, when David flees from his son Absalom.

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. 

David was often in physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional trouble, and this setting is no different. Yet in the next two verses, he is instantly reminded of who God is, and he finds his salvation in God. Tough faith doesn't let go, but consciously reminds oneself of God's faithfulness. God met David where he was and provided strength even in the presence of his enemies.

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. 

Psalm 13:1-2 gives another example of David's pleas to God when he feels like he can't endure any longer:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long mustI take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

 That's how David begins the Psalm, but because tough faith doesn't let go but rejoices in trusting God, he ends the Psalm very differently.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. 

Psalm 27 shows the contrast of fear and faith in almost each line. Tough faith takes courage in God's past, present, and future protection and rests in the knowledge of a glorious future with Christ.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ...Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident...For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock....I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Psalm 35 is one of David's pleas to God for vindication from those who maliciously accuse him, but again David's tough faith won't let go, but chooses to rejoice in a God who will restore justice and righteousness for him.

Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft....But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth....Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! ...Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Psalm 71 is another lament by an unknown author. Here tough faith doesn't let go, and chooses to hope in a God who has always been greater than the discouragement of fear. 

O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! May by accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. Wiht the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

But it was from on of the Psalms written by the sons of Korah that this phrase ("tough faith will not let go") comes from. Psalm 88 describes a person who is consumed with troubles so much so that even his closest friends avoid him. This isn't a Psalm that even "ends well", but rather describes the severe sorrow, pain, and discouragement that God's people often face. But even in the suffering tough faith will not let go, but chooses to continually cry out to God for mercy, refuge, and healing. 

You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. 

Even in the troubles that overwhelmed his soul, tough faith chose to relentlessly pursue God through prayer. Each day he called upon God pleading with him through the darkness for salvation. 

Tough faith never gives up. 
Tough faith never loses heart. 
Tough faith never breaks faith. 
Even in the valleys. 

October Quotes

He doesn’t promise an explanation, but He does promise to walk with us through the pain. 

-Courageous

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote was never lost.

-President John Adams

It’s sometimes in the storm, sometimes in the desert, sometimes in the agony, an’ sometimes in the calm, whaure’er he gets them right by themselves, that the Lord visits his people—in person, as a body might say. 

-George MacDonald

If we win, we praise Him. If we lose, we praise Him. 

-Facing the Giants

If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all; and the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us. 

-Charles Spurgeon

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. 

-Winston Churchill

To become another’s friend in the true sense is to take the other into such close, living fellowship that his life and ours are knit together as one. It is far more than a pleasant companionship in bright, sunny hours. A genuine friendship is entirely unselfish. It seeks no benefit or good of its own. It does not love—for what it may receive—but for what it may give. Its aim is “not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45)....As he [Christ] loves us, he would have us love others. We say men are not worthy of such friendships. True, they are not. Neither are we worthy of Christ's wondrous love for us. But Christ loves us—not according to our worthiness—but according to the riches of his own loving heart! So should it be with our giving of friendship—not as the person deserves, but after the measure of our own character.

-J.R. Miller

Too often, people want what they want (or what they think they want, which is usually “happiness” in one form or another) right now. The irony of their impatience is that only by learning to wait, and by a willingness to accept the bad with the good, do we usually attain those things that are truly worthwhile.

-Joshua Harris

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love is extravagant in the price it is willing to pay, the time it is willing to give, the hardships it is willing to endure, and the strength it is will to spend.

-Joni Eareckson Tada

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity. 

–Ulysses S. Grant

He Reigns!

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:13-14)

I read through 1 Corinthians last week, and it was good to get the big picture of the whole book again, as we are going through 1 Corinthians 15 in our church's morning services right now. And though I’m not going to dig deeply into the whole chapter, these verses have often stood out to me when reading through this passage.

They might not seem particularly encouraging at first glance, as they’re written in a “negative” tone. But both verses start with “if”, too. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ hasn’t been raised. If Christ hasn’t been raised, then preaching Christ and faith in Christ would be senseless. But it’s because of that little word “if”, that these two sentences take on a new meaning.

There is a resurrection of all the dead.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Christ has been raised.
When I [John] saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)

There is a resurrection of all the dead, as Jesus promised, and Christ has indeed been raised, as He said He would be. Therefore, those who preach Christ, preach not in vain. They have staked their lives on the promise that their Savior is risen and that His promises hold true. And those who place their faith in the promise of a risen Christ, don’t believe in vain, for though faith is based on the unseen, faith in the Son of God is a secure faith, an unshakeable faith.

Christ is risen and seated at the right hand of the Father. He lives to intercede for us. He prays for us. He prays that our faith wouldn’t falter. We can have faith in our faith, not because we able to keep faith perfectly, but because there is One who never breaks faith—that same One is our faith. So we must hold fast to that hope without wavering, because the Christ who promised a resurrection is faithful. The King and His Son reign, and we will reign with Him one day!

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)

We have a resurrection, because Christ triumphed over death by His resurrection. “He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:15) “Jesus paid the debt you owed, so you could live the life He lived.” (Chris Kouba) Live your faith so that others know that your life is based on the Cornerstone of a heavenly foundation. His resurrection secured your future resurrection.

So read His Word. Live for Him. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians15:58) Not in vain, because He reigns. 

The Love of God

Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 

In my Father's house are many rooms...And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth who the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends...You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth...and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me.

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours....and I am glorified in them.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one... so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

The glory that you have given me I have given to them...so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

[verses from John 14-17, emphasis mine]

See what kind of love that Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

(1 John 3:1-2, 4:16)

I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
(Philippians 3:12)

Blessing on Obedience

Perhaps the Israelites understood the meaning of these words better than many. Living in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God: Coram Deo. They lived in the shadow of the glory of God in the tabernacle. As a nation they were directly accountable to God, for they had no king at first, and the leaders they did have communicated with God. They were commanded to live to the glory of God because they were a chosen nation set-apart for Him: Israel--the nation from which the Christ would be born.

Sometimes we forget that Israel was an obedient nation. They were often wayward and rebellious, but they were also obedient. There was a remnant preserved who always walked by faith. They were the nation who verbally committed to the Lord that they would serve Him and Him only, teaching their future generations to do the same. And from the nation of Israel came many of the righteous men and women that we still look back on today, remembering their dedication, faithfulness, and sacrifice to God.

In the beginning of Numbers, the Israelites assembled to receive instruction from God through Moses before they begin to conquer Canaan. The 12 tribes (excluding the Levites) were arranged, in obedience to the Lord's commands, around the tabernacle. The Levites were given their duties in the tabernacle, and were reminded of their distinction as servants in the Lord's house. After other commands and instructions were given, God instructed Moses to have Aaron, the High Priest, and his sons bless the people for their obedience.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them. (Numbers 6:22-27)

Here, the Lord pronounced blessing on them in the present for their obedience. He also promised to bless them in this way if they continued in their obedience. His presence would shine on them, and watch over them for their good. He would keep them safe, and show kindness to them, and give them peace. His name would be known in Israel, and other nations would know that the Israelites were God's people. Deuteronomy 28:10 confirms this: And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.

Many of the Psalms speak of these same blessings. Psalm 121 describes the Lord as the God who doesn't sleep--continually watching over Israel, preserving them from evil and death. In Psalm 31, David requested that the Lord apply the blessing in Numbers 6 to him personally. Make your face to shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! [Psalm 31:16] Psalm 67:1 requests a similar blessing: May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. 

The principles of these blessings also apply to those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, as well. Our obedience to the Lord will always be blessed. We, too, live in the presence of the Lord, as the Holy Spirit indwells our hearts, causing us to live under the authority of God, to the glory of God. We're people set-apart, sanctified, and holy for the Lord. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should walk blamelessly before Him. He promises to preserve us, to protect us, and to give us peace as we walk with Him. And as we live to the glory of God, under the authority of God, and in the presence of God, others will see our lives and will be pointed to the God who saved us and to the Savior who died and rose for us.

The Eternity We Await

On Monday, I finished my 16th time through the Bible, and because my reading plan takes me through Scripture canonically, I start with the creation of the earth and I end with the destruction of the earth. It's not a particularly pleasant picture if you leave the story there, however. And God doesn't.

Revelation presents the new heaven and new earth in its closing two chapters, and this eternal picture is one of glory, victory, perfection, and majesty. This was the revelation God gave to John, while he was in exile away from all other human companions. And here, on the isle of Patmos, the Lord provides His presence to John and commands him to write what he sees and hears.

Revelation 22 describes some of the characteristics of the new heaven, and I found it interesting to compare and contrast them with the newly created earth of Genesis.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need to light of the lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5, ESV)

Here, the angel shows John what this new Jerusalem looks like. The water of life flows from the throne of God, representing eternal life given to all God's children. In the Garden of Eden, God provided water as a source of nourishment for people, plants, and animals. He used it later as a means of judgment. Christ, in His ministry on earth, proclaimed Himself to be the living water--whoever drinks from it lives forever. "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) In eternity, Christ will be our eternal life, physically and spiritually, and we will reign with Him forever. This water of life will never end.

The tree of life, once resting in the Garden, now is pictured here providing satisfaction and life by its fruit. Once inaccessible because of man's sin, the tree of life's blessing and healing is now freely available to all who believe. Sin's presence, too, will be nonexistent, for Jesus bore that curse on the cross, and in the new heaven and earth it is completely gone. God will never need to judge sin, forgive sin, or remove it from our lives because it will have no hold over us again, and it's curse will have vanished.

There won't be a physical temple in the new heaven and earth, but His children and the angels will worship Him nonetheless, for Christ is our temple. We will worship at the throne of God and the sacrificed Lamb, and we will praise Him for all eternity. We will see His face. Adam and Eve were once banned from direct communication with God, but as citizens of His kingdom, we will be completely holy and able to look on the face of a holy God without fear of consequences. And He will know all His people, for His name will be on and in us. We are His possession, bought with a price--His blood--and no one can pluck us out of His hands.

Night and day, created at the beginning of this world, to give us time for rest, growth, seasons, months, and years--this will be gone, also. The darkness of the night will be scattered, for the Lord's glory will fill the earth and heaven. Lamps or the sun's light would not help, nor could they compare, for the brightness of God's glory reaches further. Jesus is light, and in Him is no darkness at all; therefore, darkness will flee, and light will reign. We will reign with Him, for as His servants, we are also His citizens. Citizens of the better country--the heavenly country that the faithful of Hebrews 11 earnestly desired. There will be no more hoping for eternity, no more faith in that which we can't see, because we will be there and we will see Him and live in His holiness. We will love and serve Christ in a state of perfection for all of time. That will be glory. That will be victory.

C.S. Lewis summed it up well in his last book in the Chronicles of Narnia:

Aslan: "The dream is ended: this is the morning."And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginnig of the real story. All their life in this world...had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. 

So I will drive these roads in thunder and in rain
And I will sing your song at the top of my lungs
And I will praise you, Lord, in glory and in pain
And I will follow you till this race is won
And I will drive these roads till this motor won't run
And I will sing your song from sea to shining sea
And I will praise you Lord, till your kingdom comes

Till there’s no more faith and no more hope
I’ll see your face and Lord I’ll know
There’s no more faith, there’s no more hope
I’ll sing your praise and let them go
‘Cause only love, only Your love remains
Only love
("No More Faith", Andrew Peterson)

The Promise of Salvation and Resurrection

This week I read from Mark 10 to Acts 16. Acts is a book that recounts much of Jesus' ministry as the disciples proclaim the gospel to the Jews and Gentiles. And many times in their preaching, Paul, Peter, Philip, and many others, take their listeners back to the Old Testament Scriptures, pointing out that Jesus was the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.

In Acts 2, Peter is preaching to the people Jerusalm and Judea on the Day of Pentacost. Standing with the eleven other disciples, Peter defends the inerrancy of Scripture and the deity of Christ using the words and life of Jesus, as well as the words from OT believers such as Joel and David.


One of the passages Peter quotes comes from Psalm 16:

For David says concerning him [Christ], I saw the Lord always before me, or he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence. (Acts 2:25-28, ESV)

 Going back to Psalm 16:8-11, we read:

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

David, in this psalm describes his confidence in the Lord in the past, present, and future. Past, because he has consciously placed the Lord at the forefront of his mind, knowing that this will cause him to be steadfast regardless of people and circumstances around him. Present, because the core of his being ("heart" and "whole being") rejoices in God and is secure in the love of God. And future, because David knew that God removed the immediate threat of death, and would keep him safe in His will until the day he was resurrected into complete joy and pleasure.

Peter then takes these words of David's and brings them into his sermon defending the Lordship of Christ, especially that of the resurrection. For the resurrection was the event that proclaimed that Christ was who He said He was. David words--For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption--while speaking of his own physical death and resurrection, also spoke prophetically about Christ. And indeed, Peter uses these words to describe Christ's resurrection. David's body had never been raised, as of yet, but Peter goes on to say that Jesus was the fulfillment of these verses, in that He was raised from the dead and exalted at the Father's right hand. God kept His promise in preserving His Son's soul from corruption, and the disciples were witnesses of that fulfilled prophecy. Peter pointed to the crucified Christ and proved that He was exactly who He claimed to be--the Savior of the world and the long-awaited Messsiah of the Jews.

Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Acts 2:29-33)

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2:36)

And so, this same promise was given to us, also: that the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and exalted by the Father, and through Him we have the forgiveness of sins, the promise of a resurrected body, and the expectation of "fullness of joy" and "pleasures forevermore" when we enter Christ's presence.

For this promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. (Acts 2:39)

That promise should give us hope.

Prophecy Fulfilled and Unfulfilled

I'll have finished reading through Isaiah by tomorrow, and it was interesting to read the prophecies foretold of Jesus' first coming. With the help of my Bible notes, I'm going to list a few of them here. Isaiah repeatedly speaks of the supremacy of Christ, and in the rest of Scripture we can see that the Lord God fulfilled His spoken Word, just as He said He would.

Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose'. 
(Isaiah 46:9)

The Virgin Birth

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

Fulfilled

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6-7)

Revival of the David dynasty

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1)

Fulfilled

...he [God] raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.' Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. (Acts 13:22-23)

Jesus' physical healing of the deaf and blind

In that day shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah 29:18)

Fulfilled

The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raise up, and the poor have good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:5)

The preaching of John the Baptist

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Fulfilled

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:2-4)

Jesus beaten and spat upon

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)

Fulfilled

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. (Luke 22:63-65)

Israel failed to recognize her Messiah

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

Fulfilled

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:36-38)

The Lamb of God

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

Fulfilled

The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

The Triumphal Entry

Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” (Isaiah 62:11)

Fulfilled

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:4-11)

Crucified between criminals

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

Fulfilled

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (Luke 22:32-33)

*****

But Christ didn't stay crucified, and Isaiah 35, one of my favorite chapters, describes what some of the Millennium is going to look like when Christ returns to the people who rejected Him and rules on earth. For though He was despised at His first coming, every knee shall bow at His Second return, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord! The prophecy of His Second Coming is, as yet, unfulfilled, but just as He completely met all the requirements of the Old Testament prophecies, Christ will return again and fulfill the Scriptures that speak of His next return. His Word is sure. He will come to claim His own. 

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.

Isaiah 48:12-13