Today I just wanted to quickly share what Abba Abba spoke to my heart this morning ...
Hold on tight!
There is a key to His unmerited favour (Grace, Jesus).
... its verse 11 of Isaiah 48.
God says He knows where we come from, but now He has done something that was not there from the beginning (declaring new Things in Jesus, His Complete Plan). It was never God's plan that man fall in sin ... but now ...
In Isaiah 48 verses 6-8 Abba says:
Thou hast heard,
see all this;
and will not ye declare it?
I have shewed thee new things from this time,
even hidden things,
and thou didst not know them.
They are created now,
and not from the beginning;
even before the day when thou heardest them not;
lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
Yea, thou heardest not;
yea, thou knewest not;
yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened:
for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously,
and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
It only came to pass now
... He delayed Himself from completely severing man from His eternal glory and Grace. He took ALL our punishment and guilt upon Himself. The wrath of sin and death came on His Son ...
Instead of anger, He went all-out
He goes on declaring His good in Isaiah 48:9-12:
For my name's sake will I defer mine anger,
and for My praise will I refrain it from thee,
that I cut thee not off.
Behold, I have refined thee,
but not with silver;
I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
For mine own sake,
even for mine own sake,
will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
He says for mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it ...
He did it! He did it!
Should anyone else have attempted to take up this enormous weight of sin, it would have surely failed!
So, now we can receive the beautiful exchange
Hearken unto me,
O Jacob [replacement - He became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God]
and Israel [those prevailing in God],
my called;
I am he;
I am the first,
I also am the last.
... and declare
All Power,
All Glory,
All Honour,
All Praise,
forever ...
..................belongs to Jesus!