The Maker's Mark

 

THE MAKER'S MARK

I bear the Maker's Mark on my heart

 (2 Corinthians 3:2-3 "You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone. It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.")

but someday His Mark will be on my forehead 

(Revelation 3:12 "The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.")

But before the second mark can be made, the one desiring such an honor must first surrender to God fully. Our hearts must be given over willingly to God that He might transform our hearts and our lives for His glory. We have to go to the cross where He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in our place. Sin was not just laid on Him, Jesus became sin: 2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.").

How do we come to the cross of Calvary when the cross no longer stands? The cross we come to is spiritual; it is an act of believing and submission. When we face this 'cross', we are compelled to fall on our knees, believing in our hearts that Jesus Christ Is God's only begotten Son, who surrendered His will and obediently did what His Father asked Him to do: pay the penalty for our sins. We could never pay as completely or as fully as Jesus did. He paid it all. He paid a debt, our debt, that He did not owe. Because God the Father loves us He sent God the Son to die for us, and He sent God the Holy Spirit to lead us out of the darkness of this world system into the light of God's Love at the foot of the cross. 

There we leave our shame. There we leave our sorrows. There we leave our baggage. And we pick up our cross to follow Him wherever He may lead us. We surrender our will and obediently do as God asks us to do. Because we love Him and we want to please Him. We spend time with Him in prayer, open and constant communication with our heavenly Father, Who has adopted us into His family through our belief on the name of the only One who can save us, deliver us, from condemnation and judgment. 

We kneel in submission, giving Him everything we have. Which to us may not seem like a lot, but to God it is everything He wants; because He wants  us. He calls our names and when we respond to His call to come near, He rewards us immensely. We receive eternal life for Christ did not stay on the cross, nor did He remain in the grave: He walked out of the tomb and into eternity. When we believe on His name, this wonderful Word of Life which God has given to us, we, too will carry our cross and be persecuted for His name's sake. These bodies God has seen fit to place us in will be buried in the ground or scattered into the wind and waves, but God will immediately take our 'hand' and bring us to heaven with Him. 

Because I believe I bear the Maker's Mark. Both Now. And Later.

Stand My Ground

 

STAND MY GROUND
Ephesians 6:13

I take up the full armor of God, 

so that when the day of evil comes,

I am able to stand my ground, 

and having done everything,

to stand.

And just so we know what that full armor looks like, Paul compares it to the armor of the Roman soldier of his time. 

Verse 14 Belt of Truth buckled around the waist

Verse 14 Breastplate of Righteousness arrayed ( put on )

Verse 15 Shoes/Sandals of Peace: Feet bound (wrapped) and ready (firm foundation/prepared) to go out and preach the gospel of Peace

Verse 16 Shield of Faith, which extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the evil one

Verse 17 Helmet of Salvation

Verse 17 Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Zechariah 4:6; John 1:1-14)

Verse 18 Praying in the Spirit at all times, for everything and everyone 

Verse 19 Pray for the delivered persecutors, for wisdom to preach the gospel boldly

Verse 20 Pray for the delivered to speak freely and fearlessly

James 4:7-8

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses.

While Ephesians 6 outlines most of the armor we put on as Christ's elect, there are others which are woven into the Breastplate of Righteousness: 

1 Thessalonians 5:8

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the Breastplate of Faith and Love, and the Helmet of our Hope of Salvation.

Good Morning Praise God with the Harp

 

PRAISE GOD WITH THE HARP

Psalm 43:4

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God. 

In this verse the psalmist recognizes several things:

1. God Is

2. God has an altar (a place of worship)

3. Going to God's altar is a joyful thing 

4. God likes music

5. God is the personal God (my God)

6. The psalmist emphasizes to God that God is his God

Are we recognizing God and declaring that He is our God? Are we worshiping God at His altar? the way He wants to be worshiped? 

A Place At His Table

 

Luke 22:24-30

 A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them would be considered the greatest.

  So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors.

  But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.

  For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.

  You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials.

  And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me, 

  so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Jesus speaking at the Last Supper he had with His disciples before His death and resurrection)

WHO WILL SIT AT THE LORD'S TABLE?

John 21:12

  Jesus said unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are You? knowing that it was the Lord.

Isaiah 55:1

  “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God]."

Joel 2:32

  And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

Matthew 5:6

  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Jesus speaking at the Sermon on the Mount)

John 7:37 & 38

  On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink,

  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ” (Jesus speaking at the Feast of the Tabernacles)

John 4:14

  "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” (Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well)

Acts 2:21

'And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Romans 10:13

  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 22:17

  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

While there are a couple other tables (notably, Psalm 23:5) mentioned in the Bible, the table referred to here is the one being set up for the marriage supper of the Lamb and His Bride.

Luke 14:15

  When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

Revelation 19:9

  Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

I'm a "Whosoever Will". God sent out His invite through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ and I accepted His invitation. I am saved by the blood of the Lamb! And when God calls me name for the last time here on this earth, I will join Jesus and the saints who have gone before me. 

I heard God's 'call', God's invite, to Come & Dine with Him. And I R.S.V.P.'d by giving Him my heart, my spiritual heart, for Him to live in. Have you done this? Do you believe?

The Lord Is....Month of June

 

JEHOVAH ELOHIM

THE LORD IS MY GOD

Zechariah 13:9

"And I will bring the third part through the fire. Refine them as silver is refined. And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name. And I will listen and answer them. I will say, 'They are My people.' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

Leviticus 26:11-12

And I will make My dwelling place among you, and My soul will not despise you.

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.

Jeremiah 30:32

"And you will be My people, and I will be your God."

JEHOVAH NISSI

The LORD Is My Banner

Exodus 17:15

And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.

Psalm 20:5

We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

Psalm 60:4

You have raised a banner for those who fear You, that they may flee the bow. Selah.

Song of Solomon 2:4

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

JEHOVAH SHALOM

The LORD Is Peace

Judges 6:24

So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezerites.

Because of Gideon's visit with the angel of the LORD, the messenger from God, he knew the message he had just received was True. (Judges 6:11-22)

In Judges 6:23, the LORD spoke to Gideon and said, " “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.” 

In wisdom he built an altar to God and worshiped there. For the LORD had given him peace (Peace be with you)

God was with Gideon and Gideon knew immediately the Peace that only God can give.

Is the LORD with you today? Have you received His Peace?

JEHOVAH TSEDEQ

The LORD Our Righteousness

Jeremiah 23:6

In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

The Law Reveals Sin

 Romans 7:6-13

But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died [through Christ] to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law].

What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

So I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life actually brought death.

For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death.

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

JEHOVAH ELOHIM

 

JEHOVAH ELOHIM

THE LORD IS MY GOD

Zechariah 13:9

And I will bring the third through the fire.

Refine them as silver is refined.

And test them as gold is tested.

And I will listen and answer them:

I will say, 'They are My people'. 

And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

Say His Name

  

His Name is Jesus

His Name is Wonderful

His Name is Power

Prince of Peace

Say His Name

Say His Name

His Name is Jesus

His Name is Beautiful

His Name is Glorious

King of Kings

Say His Name

Say His Name

His Name is Counselor

His Name is Wisdom

His Name is Righteousness

Lord of Lords

Say His Name

Say His Name

His Name is Yahweh Shammah

His Name is Yahweh Jireh

His Name is Yahweh

God of All

Say His Name

Say His Name

His Name is Yahweh

His Name is Yahweh

His Name is Yahweh Rapha

His Name is Yahweh Ro'i

His Name is Yahweh

The Lord Is Here

Say His Name

Say His Name

His Name is Yahweh

His Name is Yahweh

Your Name is Yahweh

Yahweh Shalom

The Lord is Peace

Yahweh Shammah

The Lord is There

Yahweh, Yahweh

Yahweh Jireh

The Lord Provides

Yahweh Ro'i

The Lord is Healer

Yahweh Rapha

The Lord is Shepherd

Yahweh, Yahweh

Say His Name

Say His Name

Yahweh

Yahweh

Yahweh