Compelling Love

David rejoices in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

David knew and walked with the Messiah, the Son of God, who was yet to be born on earth. This is seen in Psalm 110 where he declares, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’”

Just before Jesus, Yeshua, laid down his life as an atonement for the sins of His people, he explained he was doing this out of love, and that he would be risen from the dead:

John 10 (Complete Jewish Bible)
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. ”

17 “This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life — in order to take it up again! 18 No one takes it away from me; on the contrary, I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”

Those who value this supreme sacrifice, and truly receive Jesus Christ as Lord, obey his commands out of love. He describes this intimate and dynamic relationship in John 14:

John 14 (NKJV)
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

Knowing we are loved, we freely choose to revere God and obey Christ’s commands out of love. Obedience is our only right response to this compelling love, as Paul explains:

2 Corinthians 5 (NKJV)
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Those who receive and walk with Jesus as Lord honor the Father who sent him. We are commissioned to live with the mindset of humility that he exemplified, being doers of the word and not hearers only.

Phil. 2 (NKJV)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Matthew 7 (NKJV)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

James 1 (NIV)
Doers of the Word —Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

For those walking with Jesus as Lord, all our fountains and springs (sources of life and joy) are in him, in a loving communion that grows ever deeper.

Psalm 87:7, New International Version (NIV):
As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in you.”

Psalm 87:7, Amplified Bible (AMP):
The singers as well as the players on instruments shall say, All my springs (my sources of life and joy) are in you.

Psalm 42 (NKJV)
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.

The Lord whom we love and obey is the soon coming King whose salvation will be known among all nations, and all the peoples will praise him!

Psalm 67 (NKJV)
1 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 8/19/2012

The person giving himself or herself completely to the true and living God, through the Son of God who is the gate of our salvation, becomes a new creation in the Messiah, as Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

2 Corinthians 5 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!

In Romans 12, Paul exhorts believers to not be conformed to this world, but to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”.

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Being the persons God created us to be is the ultimate freedom. In John 8, Yeshua, Jesus, promises that if we hold to his teachings, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.

John 8 (NIV)
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Charles Wesley may have been moved by this great promise of freedom in the Messiah when in 1738 he penned this stanza:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

In addition to making each believer a new creation in the Messiah, God will soon be bringing forth a new heaven and new earth, in which he is making all things new.

Revelation 21 (NIV)
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”

In Isaiah 65, God describes the glory of this new creation in which he will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in his people.

Isaiah 65 (NIV)
17 “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

Believers in the Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, comprise the believing remnant of Israel to which these promises belong.  In Romans 11, Paul compares the latter to branches from a wild olive tree being grafted into the cultivated olive tree. Yeshua describes his mission to all nations in John 3:16 (NKJV), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Believers who are new creations in Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, will fulfill the new covenant described by the LORD Yehovah in Jeremiah 31:

Jeremiah 31
3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’”
7 This is what the LORD says:
“Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’
8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 7/6/2011

Gentiles who believe in Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah of Israel are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel, as explained by Paul in Romans 11.  They are part of Israel’s posterity, the believing remnant of the nation.  Yeshua, Jesus, described his atoning sacrifice for all nations in John 3:16.

John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The believing remnant of Israel is precious in God’s sight.  In Deuteronomy 32, Moses describes the children of Israel, beginning with Jacob himself, as “the apple of His eye”.

Deuteronomy 32 (NKJV) ⁸ When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the  peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.  ⁹ For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.  ¹⁰ “He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling  wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

The heart of the believing remnant of Israel is expressed in David’s prayer in Psalm 17, “Keep me as the apple of Your eye”.

 Psalm 17 (NIV)  ⁶ I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.   ⁷ Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.  ⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings ⁹ from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.

Zechariah 2:8 also refers to the believing remnant of Israel as “the apple of his eye”, and verse 11 declares, “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people.”

Zechariah 2 (NIV)  ⁷ Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” ⁸ For this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— ⁹ I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.”  ¹⁰ “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD. ¹¹ “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. ¹² The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. ¹³ Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”

In Proverbs 7, Solomon exhorts those who believe in the God of Israel to guard his teachings “as the apple of your eye”:

Proverbs 7 (NIV) ¹ My son, keep my words
and store up my commands within you.
² Keep my commands and you will live;
guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
³ Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Isaiah 10 describes how the LORD [Yehovah’] has determined that Israel will have a faithful posterity, a believing remnant, who “depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth”, and who follow him in righteousness.  We are today seeing the believing remnant of Israel beginning to be gathered from the nations of the world where they have been scattered.

Isaiah 10 (NKJV) ²⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day
That the remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
Will never again depend on him who defeated them,
But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
²¹ The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.
²² For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,
A remnant of them will return;
The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
²³ For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a determined end
In the midst of all the land.

Isaiah 11 continues this prophecy, describing how the Messiah, “a Rod from the stem of Jesse” will “recover the remnant of His people who are left” and “set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Isaiah 11 (NKJV) ¹ There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

¹⁰ “ And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
¹¹ It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush,
from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.
¹² He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.

Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is our banner and shield in this tumultuous world, as he declares in John 16:33.

John 16:33 (NKJV) These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 7/11/2011

As in the days of the Bible, God is calling his people today to be a set-apart nation for Him.  Genesis 12 describes God’s call to Abram (later to be named Abraham) to go out from his country, and God’s promise that all the peoples of the earth would be blessed through him.

Genesis 12 (NIV)
¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Through Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob the nation of Israel was born.  In due time from the tribe of Judah the prophesied Messiah of Israel entered the world to bring blessings both to Israel and to all nations.  Isaiah 52 and 53 describe how the Messiah would suffer an atoning death for his people and bring redemption to the believing remnant.

Isaiah 52 (NIV)
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy.  When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there!  Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
¹³ See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
  his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him.   For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 53 (NIV)
¹ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
⁴ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 11 identifies the Messiah as arising from the roots of Jesse (King David’s father), and describes how there will be a glorious second Exodus of the scattered tribes of Israel back to the Promised Land.

Isaiah 11 (NIV)
¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD…

⁵ Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
¹¹ In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[ the upper Nile region] from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
¹² He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
¹³ Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.

In Ezekiel 36, God describes this redeemed and set-apart nation:

Ezekiel 36 (NIV)
²⁴ “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.
²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Gentiles who are faithful  followers of Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, are included in this believing remnant, as Yeshua declares in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  Today God is calling people of faith to support this second exodus of the scattered remnant of Israel to the Promised Land.  Jewish and Gentile believers in Messiah are together “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  (1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV)

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com,7/16/2011

It is a wonderful thing to realize that everything you have experienced in your interactions and dealings with Yahweh up till now has been to prepare you for the glorious walk that still lies ahead.  R. Abraham, native missionary to India, humorously referring to Amos 5:4-6 as the “gospel of Amos”, notes that in this passage Yahweh tells Israel not to seek Bethel, Gilgal and Beersheba – glorious signposts of the past – but to continue seeking Him.

Amos 5 (NIV)
⁴ This is what the LORD says to Israel:
“Seek me and live;
⁵ do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
⁶ Seek the LORD and live…”

The heart cry of bond-servants of Yahweh is to continue walking in the light as he is in the light, and their prayer is, “Let Your light shine through my life and let all the glory be to You.”  Having received Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, we desire to walk in his light giving ever increasing glory to the Father who sent him.  1 John 1 describes walking with Messiah in his light:

1 John 1 (NIV)
⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. ⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Yeshua declares in John 8:12 (NIV), “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  His desire is for us to know him in all of the ways described in Isaiah 9:6-7.

Isaiah 9 (KJV)
⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  ⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

David as the bond-servant of  the LORD [Yehovah’] knew Him in each of these ways.  For example, he celebrates Yahweh as the Mighty God in Psalm 18, written on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul:

 Psalm 18 (NKJV)
¹ I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
² The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
³ I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Solomon like his father David came to know Yahweh as the mighty God.  He writes in Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV), “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”  Paul in Romans 10 likewise advises those seeking salvation to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved:

Romans 10 (NIV)
⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” [Isaiah 28:16]
¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In this last verse, Paul was paraphrasing Joel 2:32.

Joel 2:32 (NKJV)
And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

This “remnant whom the LORD calls” is described in Psalm 84 as “those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”  Verse 7 declares, “They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”

Psalm 84 (NIV)
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.  Selah.
⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka [weeping],
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools [blessings].
⁷ They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
¹² LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Isaiah 60 describes a soon coming time when the light and glory of the LORD [Yehovah’] will shine forth from Jerusalem to the entire world.

Isaiah 60 (NKJV)
¹ Arise, shine; For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
² For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
³ The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

In Matthew 5:16 (NKJV), Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, commands those walking in his light, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com,7/18/2011

What was God’s purpose in creating the world, and why did He send his Son to lay down his life for those who would believe in him?  He did this all out of love, as described by Isaac Watts in the famous hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, concluding with the words: “love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul my life my all”.

The Biblical revelation is that the Father sent his unique Son, who was with Him in a family love relationship before anything was made, to enter the world as the Son of Man, to live a sinless life, and to suffer and die to pay the full judgment for the sins of all who would believe in him.  Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, describes this supreme sacrifice in John 3:16 (NKJV): “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

YHWH has betrothed himself to the believing remnant of Israel, which includes Gentiles grafted into Israel through faith and loving obedience to Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  The redeemed who enter into this love relationship with YHWH through the Messiah are described as his wife.  The Father is preparing through the Holy Spirit this bride who will be His gift of love to his Son, and the bride is making herself ready!  (Revelation 19:7-8)

In Hosea 2:19-20, YHWH declares His betrothal and promise to the believing remnant of Israel:

Hosea 2 (NKJV)
¹⁹ “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
²⁰ I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD [Yehovah’].

God’s faithfulness to His people Israel is described in Isaiah 54, including the memorable words, “For your Maker is your husband”:

Isaiah 54 (NKJV)
⁴ “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
The LORD of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth.
⁶ For the LORD has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
⁷ “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
⁸ With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

In Isaiah 56:6-7, YHWH describes how people from all nations are invited to come and be included by faith and loving obedience into His covenant with Israel:

Isaiah 56 (NKJV)
⁶ “Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
⁷ Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Part of Israel’s covenant with YHWH as noted in verse 6 above is to keep the Sabbath (the seventh day) holy, a day of rest, specially devoted to Him.  Yeshua, Jesus, did not abolish this or any other commandment of the law. In Matthew 5:19 (NKJV), he cautions against breaking any of the commands: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Faith in YHWH and in Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is expressed and nourished through loving obedience to His commands, as Yeshua emphasizes  in the following verses:

John 14:15 (NIV) “If you love me, keep my commands.”

John 15:10 (NIV) “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

John 17:6 (NKJV) “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

YHWH’s bride is the redeemed house of Israel made up of redeemed Judah, Israel and those of the nations who are grafted into Israel by faith and loving obedience.  This believing remnant of Israel is comprised of those who believe in Yeshua the Messiah and truly follow him.  Revelation 14:12 (CJB) describes this company, “This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God’s people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua’s faithfulness.”

The betrothal of YHWH to His people provides insight into His motive in creating the universe, and in sending his Son to suffer and die on our behalf.   As the Son of Man, Yeshua, Jesus, willingly laid down his life as he promised he would do in John 10:17-18 (NIV): “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

To be part of the bride means that one is in relationship with the Father through the Messiah, with living faith expressed through loving obedience to his word.  Step one is to receive Yeshua as your Savior, the one who gave it all for you.  He loved each of us so much that he laid down his life that all who believe in him can have eternal life.

Now he is risen and alive forevermore!  The remnant of Yahweh’s born again nation is also arising and coming into her own.  The joy of the Father will soon be fulfilled as He presents this faultless bride to His Son!  (Jude 1:24)  She will in essence be married to the Father and to the Son, sharing in their unity, love and glory that brought the universe into being.  (John 17:20-26)

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com,7/25/2011

Living faith and loving obedience are the mark of God’s people in whom his joy will be fulfilled.  Yahweh is preparing such a people who will together be the bride for His Son.  To be part of this bride means that one is in relationship with the Father through the Messiah, with living faith expressed through loving obedience to his word.  In regards to living faith, James teaches that faith without deeds is dead.  Living faith is expressed through loving deeds.

James 2 (NIV)
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

John describes in 1 John 3 how living faith is expressed by loving, Spirit-led obedience to God’s commands.

1 John 3 (NIV)
²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, teaches about the need to be born of the Spirit in John chapter 3.

John 3 (NKJV)
⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5 that those who are in the Messiah through this new birth are new creations in him.  Old things have passed away; all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5 (NKJV)
¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The descendants of Israel who put their trust in Yeshua the Messiah will be a part of this great company, and their faith will be expressed in both word and deed.  Also, those who are not physical descendants of Israel who put their trust in Messiah, expressing their faith by loving obedience to his commands are grafted into this remnant of Israel.

Paul describes this believing remnant of Israel in Romans 11, and explains how God will bring together the natural branches and those who are grafted in by faith.  Together they are His people Israel.  He will put his law in our minds, and write it on our hearts.  He will be our God, and we shall be his people, as promised in Jeremiah 31.

Romans 11 (NIV)
¹ I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
² God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”?
⁴ And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
⁵ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
⁶ And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.  ⁷ What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, ⁸ as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”  [Ref. Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10]
¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,²⁶ and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. ²⁷ And this is my covenant with them  when I take away their sins.”  [Ref. Isaiah 59:20,21; 27:9; Jer. 31:33,34]

Jeremiah 31 (NKJV)
³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com,8/2/2011

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:14-15 that Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has broken down the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles so as to create in himself “one new man from the two, thus making peace”. To understand the context and full import of this teaching it is helpful to look at the whole chapter. Paul begins by describing the personal salvation of individuals who are made alive in Christ, redeemed by the blood of Messiah.

Ephesians 2 (NKJV)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Paul then describes God’s mercy and love in making us alive together in Messiah; this is a free gift to us through faith by grace, for which the Father and the Son of God paid a supreme price.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

He declares in verse 10 that we are to walk in the works that God ordained beforehand for each of us.

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared [ordained] beforehand that we should walk in them.

In verses 11-13, Paul describes how by Messiah’s blood Jew and Gentile are brought near and reconciled in Him.

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

The outer courts of the temple in Jerusalem had a section for Israelite men and another for Israelite women. Surrounding these outer courts was a “wall of separation” forbidding the Gentiles from coming any closer. This prohibition had not been commanded by God; it was strictly the work of men. Spiritually speaking, Messiah Yeshua, Christ Jesus has now removed this wall of separation so that Gentiles can come into the covenants of promise and hope in a renewed Israel that is walking with her Messiah. Together Jews and Gentiles become the “one new man” created in Messiah Yeshua to represent Him in the world.

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances [law of injunctions by dogma], so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Because of the removal by Messiah of this dividing wall of partition, Gentiles can now enter in and be part of the Commonwealth of Israel. On this score we recall how Yeshua cried out in Mark 11:17, quoting Isaiah 56:7, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’?”.

Paul then describes how the Messiah is the cornerstone of the spiritual temple God is building, with each of us as living stones.

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints [the holy ones who are near to him] and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Psalm 148:14 describes Yahweh’s “saints” or holy ones who are near to him:

Psalm 148 (NKJV)
14 And He has exalted the horn of His people,
The praise of all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
A people near to Him.
Praise the LORD!

Yahweh fits together the stones into a holy temple. Each believer is meant to be one of the stones of that Temple, all “built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit”.   Jesus, Yeshua has broken down the “middle wall of separation”, and is creating of both Jews and Gentiles the “one new man” in Himself.

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 8/9/2011

When Jesus, Yeshua rose from the dead, the “Sun of righteousness” arose with healing in His wings as Malachi had prophesied:

Malachi 4:2a (NKJV)
But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;

Dr. Henry Morris writes in his commentary on Malachi 4:2, “The ‘Sun of righteousness’ clearly refers to the coming Savior, for He will come ‘with healing in his wings.’ … ‘It is as though the sun is rising rapidly on great wings, dispelling the world’s darkness with its light, dispensing healing to its sin-sick soul.’ (ICR Days of Praise, March 30, 2010)

Psalm 84:11 declares,

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

In Malachi 3, Yahweh promises to those who reverently fear the LORD and who meditate on his name, “They shall be Mine, … on the day that I make them My jewels [special treasure]”:

Malachi 3 (NKJV)
16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name.
17 “ They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,
On the day that I make them My jewels [special treasure]
And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

Ian Potts posts this commentary on his September 9, 2008 online blog:

But did Christ, the “Sun of righteousness” remain in the grave? Did He who is the light of the world remain buried under its surface, held fast by the bonds of death and the grave? No, thanks be unto God, He did not! Christ “the Sun of righteousness” arose “with healing in his wings”! On the third day He rose again from the dead, having conquered sin, death and hell and having brought in everlasting righteousness to the account of all His people. Yes, the “Sun of righteousness” arose – and the grave could not hold Him! (http://thesunofrighteousness.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/christ-the-sun-of-righteousness/)

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s confirmation that those who believe in him are made alive in him as Paul declares in Ephesians 2:

Ephesians 2 (NKJV)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Charles Spurgeon wrote in a sermon dated November 12, 1871:

He is the center and King of all truth. He is the center of the Church too. Not the pastor, not the church itself, not any rule or government, no bishop, no priest, and no Pope can be our center. Christ alone is our central sun. We follow as planets where he leads the way: around him we revolve, but we own no other Lord.

Let it be so in the world that even there Christ governs and is the center of all history. You will understand history better when you know this, for this is the key of the world’s story, the reason for the rise and fall of empires. You shall understand all things when you know Immanuel, God with us.

And let him have this place in your hearts. There enthrone him! Establish him as the central sun, and let him rule your entire being, enlightening your understanding, warming your hearts, filling all your powers, passions, and faculties with the fullness of his presence. To have Christ in us, the hope of glory—oh, what blessedness! But let us take care that it is so, for we know not Christ aright unless we give him such a place in our hearts as the sun occupies in God’s world.

In this sermon about Christ as the Sun of Righteousness, Charles Spurgeon also encourages believers to “bask in his beams” by doing these things:

(1) Realize that he is, “he shineth still, he blesses still”;
(2) Lay your souls beneath his divine influence; Christ Jesus is yours for ever and forever.
(3) Imbibe the joy of his strength. He is like a bridegroom rejoicing to run his race.
(4) Reflect his light whenever you receive it. He is the sun, and you are the planet, but every planet shines, shines with borrowed light. Cast back on men the light which Jesus gives you.

Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV):

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Jesus declares in John 8:12 (NKJV),

I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

In Revelation 22, Jesus, Yeshua declares that he alone is the “bright and morning star”,
the star of the early dawn, the harbinger of eternal light and life.  Christ is the true Day-Star, Son of the morning. The Spirit and the bride respond saying, “Come!”

Revelation 22 (Hebrew Names Version)
16 I, Yeshua, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 8/16/2011

Psalm 122:6 exhorts, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Jerusalem is the city described in the Bible in which God’s presence and glory will continually dwell and shine forth over all the earth. Zechariah chapter 14 describes the coming day of the LORD in which He will intervene against the armies of the nations that have converged upon Israel, culminating in His victorious reign over all the nations of the earth. Isaiah 60 likewise prophesies that the light and glory of God will one day shine forth from Jerusalem to the entire world, declaring , “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Isaiah 60:3 NIV)

God’s love for people of all nations is likewise expressed in John 3:16 (NKJV):

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Jesus, Yeshua reigns in the hearts and lives of all who believe in him, and he will one day physically reign from the New Jerusalem when he returns to judge the earth.

In Psalm 87, the sons of Korah describe Yahweh’s love for the “gates of Zion”, the glorious city of God. Those who know him amongst the nations will also be declared citizens of His holy nation.

Psalm 87 (NKJV)
1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God! Selah
4 “I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’”
5 And of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
6 The LORD will record,
When He registers the peoples:
“This one was born there.” Selah

In Psalm 117, the exact central chapter of the King James Bible, the Psalmist exhorts people of all nations to praise the LORD [Yehovah’]:

Psalm 117 (NKJV)
1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD! [Hebrew Hallelu Yah]

In Psalm 48, the sons of Korah likewise describe Jerusalem as “the city of our God” in which He dwells.

Psalm 48 (NKJV)
1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.

In Psalm 91, Yahweh promises to be the refuge and deliverer of those who set their love on him and dwell with him:

Psalm 91 (NKJV)
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Psalm 46 describes the glorious joy that will be reigning in God’s city:

Psalm 46 (NKJV)
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Revelation 21 gives details of the New Jerusalem from which Yahweh and Yeshua, Jesus will reign:

Revelation 21 (NKJV)
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

Ezekiel 11 describes the citizens of this reborn nation of Israel, led by the Spirit, united in heart with Yahweh and with one another, walking in His statutes and doing them. They will be his people and He will be their God.

Ezekiel 11 (NKJV)
17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. 19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 8/23/2011