From: "Beverly French" <frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us>
To: "Heritage" <gheritage@juno.com>
Subject: Joyous Greetings
Date: Sunday, January 07, 2001 9:13 AM

"The Lord reigns..."  Psalm 97:1; 99:l

Our Lord is the reigning Lord and King of the whole earth.  For it is said
of Him,

"And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones of dominions or rulers or
authorities --all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is
before all things, and in Him all things hold together."  Colossians 1:15-17

"He is the image of the invisible God":
Did not Jesus, say to His disciple,Philip, "...He who has seen Me has seen
the Father..."?
John 14:9
"And He is the radiance of His [God's] glory and the exact representation of
His nature."
 Hebrews l:3
"...Christ, who is the image of God."  2 Corinthians 4:4b

"For by Him all things were created."
"All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into
being that has come into being."  John 1:3
"...one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through
Him."  1 Corinthians 8:6b

It is He, the Creator of all things, who is in control of all things!  Does
it not say in
the Scripture above that 'in Him all things hold together'?  Knowing these
things, how can we not embrace Proverbs 3:5-6,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
 And lean not on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
 And He shall direct your paths."

No matter what the circumstances are (I know there are some very difficult
ones) we have the Creator of all things, the One who holds all things
together, who directs our paths as we acknowledge, trust and rely on Him.
Remember, though the valley is deep we are never alone, He is there with
us -- walking through, never taking up residence there!  It is through these
experiences that we know the truth of Romans 8:28!  I know you all know this
verse by heart and experience, but I will write it for anyone who may not.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

"Know that the Lord Himself is God;
 It is He who has made us, and  not we ourselves;
 We are His people..."  Psalm 100:3

Hallelujah!  Amen!