1 Cor. 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
The brightness of His glory is an unusual name and one I had not thought about when reading Hebrews 1:3. I’ve never heard a message on this either. But I do know this: Christ in all His glory will be revealed at the Second Coming and every eye shall see Him and every knee shall bow to Him. There will be no mistake who He is and no one will mistaken Him for one of their own gods.
Isa 45:23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
The scripture, 2 Cor. 4:4, teaches us that the light of the gospel is what draws man to Him, amen?
2 Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Satan’s main goal is to put as much distraction in our path so that we do not wish to see that blessed light. The world has managed to distract man. But Christ will win in the end – EVERY person will see the King of Kings and EVERY knee shall bow to Him.
Jesus also displayed this brightness to Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17. Notice that everything about Jesus here reflects “light and brightness,” amen? Our King’s face was shining as the sun and His clothing was so bright, it would make any wife’s efforts of brightening her laundry jealous. Can you imagine His return to earth? This is what mankind will see. Praise Him!
Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
You cannot worship any thing or any one other than Jesus Christ! If you’re interested in learning more about the Christ, please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Fairest Lord Jesus! Ruler of all nature! O thou of God and man the Son! Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!
Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands, Robed in the blooming garb of spring; Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, who makes the woeful heart to sing!
Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight. And all the twinkling starry host; Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer, than all the angels heav’n can boast!
Beautiful savior! Lord of all the nations! Son of God and son of Man! Glory and honor. Praise, adoration, now and forevermore be Thine!
authorship Unknown
The History Behind the Hymn
I have to say, I’m a little surprised at how old this hymn is. For some reason, I thought it was rather new, perhaps late 19th century or even early 20th century, but some traditions say it’s as old as the 12th century, sung when Crusaders made their way to the Holy Land.
Others attribute the hymn to around 1620, when the followers of the reformer John Hus were driven from Bohemia in a bloody purge. They settled in Silesia, now part of Poland. This is said to have been a Bohemian folk song.
The first known appearance of the hymn was in the Munster Gesangbuch of 1677. Hoffman Fallersleben heard a group of Silesians singing this hymn, wrote down what they sang, and published it in his Schlesische Volkslieder in 1842. This is the version of the hymn we know.
The hymn appeared in English in Richard Storrs Willis’ Church Chorals and Choir Studies in 1850.
A notation about this hymn in that collection stated that it was, “sung by the German knights on the way to Jerusalem.” That may well be where the Crusader legend began. Willis was also the composer of It Came upon a Midnight Clear.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Isa 9:6 For 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Today’s hymn is like a love letter and song to our glorious Lord and Saviour, our King! Are there even enough words that totally describe Jesus? I dare say, no! When I meditate on when the Church is raptured and we face our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13), I cannot even imagine what I will do! Will I run into His arms and thank Him? Will I fall to the ground in adoration? What do you think you will do when you see Him?
Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight. And all the twinkling starry host; Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer, than all the angels heav’n can boast!
Message for today
Who am I that the Creator of the universe (John 1:1-3) would think of me? Why would He have time for me!? Why would He even think of me? The Lord’s love for His creation is so great that He gave His life and shed His own blood so we could spend eternity with Him. This is beyond my comprehension. If I try to use my intellect and logic, I dare say the enemy has a field day and tries to convince me that it’s a bunch of hogwash. But it is by faith that I believe. So what is faith?
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Everyone in their heart of hearts knows there is more than just life here on earth. There has to be something greater! When you think of every living thing and what each is comprised of, it is virtually impossible to believe in evolution. Look at the intricacies of a flower, a bird or the inner ear of man. A woodpecker’s tongue is not like any other bird – it wraps around the bird’s brain! Each part of creation has a specific purpose. It takes more faith to believe in evolution than it does that a wonderful Creator is responsible for it all!
We will surely find out one day. When the King of Kings and LORD of Lords appears! I would rather live my life worshiping this amazing Creator than to find out when I die that I was totally wrong! In fact, what have I lost if I lived a godly life? I’ve lost nothing, except eternity in Hell. What a glorious day it will be when I enter into eternity seeing my Fairest Lord Jesus!
Beautiful savior! Lord of all the nations! Son of God and son of Man! Glory and honor. Praise, adoration, now and forevermore be Thine!
Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (12) His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. (13) And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. (14) And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (15) And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (16) And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Job 19:23-27 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! (24) That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! (25) For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (26) And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (27) Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
Good morning, reader! Have you ever wondered which book of the Bible is the oldest or which one is the newest? Or who was the person who lived the longest? What I love the most is that I can always seem to find answers to my questions in my Bible. It is the book of knowledge and wisdom according to Proverbs 2:6, amen? God wrote the book through His Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:20-21) and therefore He provides us with both knowledge and wisdom when we read His Word.
Job is said to be the oldest book. Job doesn’t mention Moses and the Law so he probably lived during the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Furthermore, Job offered sanctified his children and offered a burnt offering for all of them. Only the priests did this so Job must have existed prior to the Law.
Just think of this for a moment, Job says how he wished that his words were written and printed in a book! Well they were! More than that, he wanted them written with an iron pen and lead in the ROCK for ever. Jesus is the Word of God (Revelation 19:13) – the Father in Heaven sent His Son to be the Father’s words in the flesh. Jesus is the spoken Word of God (John 1:1, John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3) and His Holy Spirit penned it on paper through His prophets and Apostles. (John 14:26, 2Peter 1:20-21)
Even at this early time in history, Job knew that he would see his Redeemer and that he would partake in the resurrection of life!
Prophecy of Messiah Fulfilled:
John 5:24-29 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (26) For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; (27) And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. (28) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Doesn’t this give you goosebumps? It sure does for me! These words were recorded for us in the Scriptures so we would be excited about the upcoming resurrection of life for all believers! Unfortunately, there will also be another resurrection: not unto life but unto death! I can’t imagine someone not caring about what happens to them after they die. If they only knew the pain and suffering that awaits them. If you knew that your house would catch on fire during the night on a specific day, wouldn’t you make sure that your smoke detectors were functioning and batteries were new? Of course you would. It’s no different with where you will spend eternity! We have the Bible, which is our smoke detector (no pun intended). In it are the words of eternal life for all who will believe in Jesus Christ, our Saviour! You can find out what that will be like by just reading the Scriptures! All the answers are there!
Do you know Him personally or do you only know of Him? I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
