Testimonies of Jesus

Thursday and Friday, December 23 and 24, 2010
Devotions: Ps 45, 46, 80, 146-47; Isa 29:13-24; 35:1-10; Rev 21:22-22:21; Lk 1:39-80

How I praise the Lord Jesus: fairest of men, mighty in battle, majestic in rule; righteous and pure. God has anointed You with the oil of gladness above all other men. The Church, Your Bride, is decked in bridal robes, attended by her companions. Your offspring will celebrate Your name in every generation. God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Helper in trouble. A river gladdens God's city, His holy habitations. Let us wonder at His works; let us be still and bow in knowledge of the High and Holy One, exalted over all the universe. Let Your face shine on us, O Lord God of hosts; restore us and save us. You have created a nation and people for Yourself, and through Israel, You brought forth Your Anointed, the Messiah. Give us life in His name, that we may praise You forever. Trust in the Holy One alone; happy are all whose help is in the God of Jacob. He frees prisoners, gives sight to the blind, lifts up the downcast, and loves the righteous; the Lord watches over sojourners, widows and orphans; and He brings the wicked down to ruin. It is good to praise our God; great is YHWH, His understanding is beyond measure. Sing to God with thanksgiving, who manages nature and cares for all the living. Praise the Lord!

YHWH declared: Because this people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me, and their 'faith' is merely mouthing holy words, their wisdom will perish and I will do wonders against them. Woe to those who wield darkness; the clay cannot mock the Potter, or the creation try to overthrow the Creator. I will turn things upside down, and the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and the eyes of the blind shall see; and the meek will celebrate joyfully in the Lord and the poor exult in the Holy One of Israel. I will cut off the scoffer and the ruthless, and lay a snare for those who love to argue in the city gates. The children will sanctify My name; those who err spiritually will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept godly instruction!

The desert will rejoice and bloom; the desert places will see the glory and majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands and feeble knees, and encourage the faint-hearted. Your God comes with vengeance, to save the lost. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped; the lame will leap like a stag, and the dumb will sing for joy. Waters and streams will break forth in the deserts; the sands will become pools of water, and a highway will be there, the Holy Way. The unclean will not pass over it, nor fools enter into it. No wild beasts can come upon it—the Way is for the redeemed; and YHWH's ransomed ones will return and comme to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away forever.

In his vision, John saw no temple in the new Jerusalem, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. There is no need of sun or moon, God's glory gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp. By these light the nations will walk and earth's kings bring their glory into God's city. Its gates will never close by day, and night will never fall. Nothing unclean can enter, nor any who practice abomination or falsehood—only those who are recorded in the Lamb's book of life. An angel showed John the river of the water of life flowing bright as crystal from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the street of the city. And on either side of the stream were trees of life, with twelve kinds of fruit, yielding a fruit each month and the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will remain; the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be within it, and His servants shall worship Him and they shall see His face; and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night—the Lord God will be their eternal lifht and they shall reign forever and ever. The angel told John, 'These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord has sent His angel to tell His servants what must soon take place. Behold, I Am coming soon.' Blessed are they who keep the words of prophecy in this book. John tried to worship the messenger, but the angel prevented him, and said, 'Don't seal up the words of this prophecy, for the time is near. Let all continue as they are—the evildoer, the filthy, the righteous and the holy. I Am coming soon, bringing My recompense, to repay everyone for whatever they have done. I Am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are all who wash their robes, that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter the city. Outside are the dogs, sorcerers, idolaters, and those who love and practice falsehood. I Jesus have sent My angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I Am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.' The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears also say, 'Come!' And let all who are thirsty come; let all who desire take the water of life without price. I warn all who hear these words of prophecy: don't add to them, or God will add to you the plagues described here. Don't take from these prophecies, or God will take away your share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this obok. The One Who testifies to these things says, 'Sure, I Am coming soon.' Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of othe Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

After Gabriel visited her, Mary hurried into the hill country of Judah, to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and exclaimed in a loud voice, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Behold, when the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.' And Mary responded, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has regarded the lowly estate of His handmaid. Behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed; for He Who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name! His mercy is on those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts, and He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.' And Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, then returned home. Elizabeth's labor began, and she delivered a son, and all her friends rejoiced with her. On the eighth day, they gathered to circumcise the child. The assembly intended to name the boy Zechariah after his father, but Mary demurred: 'No, he shall be called John.' The group inquired of his father, and Zechariah wrote, 'His name is John.' The group marveled, and immediately, Zechariah's tongue was loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And all the community wondered and rejoiced. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesied: 'Blessed be YHWH the God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people; He has raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of His servant David, just as God spoke by the holy prophets of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from those who hate us. God will deliver the mercy promised to our ancestors; He will remember and keep His holy covenant, the oath He swore to Abraham our patriarch, to grant that we might be delivered from our enemies to serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness all our days. And you, my son, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.' And the child grew and became strong in the Spirit. And John was in the wilderness utnil the day of his manifestation to Israel.