"Kept by Might"

"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever." (Psalms 125:2)

  I think we take for granted what God has done for us, thinking it is just part of who He is, so there is really no sacrifice on His part to do what He does. I don't know if you realized it or not, but Jesus did actually live here for over 33 years, so I think that there is more to it than you might think. What is the meaning of sacrifice, and how is it demonstrated? Paul gives us a little glimpse of what it looks like in 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter of Love! Love is all about sacrifice, because it is all about putting others before ourselves; which, by the way, is not an easy thing to do, naturally; it must be something that we determine to do, and at times, it requires great strength and endurance. Do a little quick study in the Book of Hosea, if you don't think that it does; because our natural tendency is to discard one another, without giving it a second thought. Hence, the proper meaning of Isaiah 55:8-9, that God's ways and thoughts are far above our ways and thoughts; the way we think of others and the way we treat one another are so much lower that God's way of thinking about us and treating us. The verse that comes before those two, says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Don't think for a moment that it is not something that God does without sacrifice, because all throughout Scripture, He declares that He is Holy. There was so much power and might displayed when Jesus died upon that cross, that the whole earth shook, the heavens opened, and the dead came forth from their graves and walked the earth! Imagine what kind of power that sacrifice came with, and then think of the petty things we let get between one another. Odd to think about it, but there is more power in God's weakness and sacrifice, than there is in all of our strength and selfishness. To get the best view of what this might be about, we discover what was first, Jerusalem or the mountains, and then determine that the mountains were first; but it was God that established Jerusalem in the midst of the mountains. So there you have it; you are stuck, no where to go, and He is not letting go, ever...

""My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one."" (John 10:27-30)