Isaiah 53:2b he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

I went to the King Tut exhibit and was told that the statures and images of ancient Egyptians were modeled after what the rich considered beautiful. They did not look like their statures. It was important to them that history thought of them as beautiful people.

Images of Jesus Christ in art were fashion after what Alexander the Great considered beautiful. They do not look like Jesus as He was described in Isaiah 53:2. All throughout history outward beauty has been given priority. It wasn’t important to God.

Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

My wife found my high school photograph and made a fuss about how good looking I was back then. By outward appearances perhaps that was true. Inwardly I was a youth in turmoil, I lacked self-control and I did not like the inner man-boy. If only the first manifestation of the Holy Spirit could have been self-control. But it wasn’t, at least not for me.

Love is the first manifestation of the Holy Spirit. All those who gathered around Jesus when He walked this earth were attracted to Him because of the love He showed because God is love. He wasn’t beautiful on the outside and He wasn’t attracted to beauty. He went to the lepers and healed them. When He saw me, He saw the leper inside me, the ugliness I felt about myself. He had compassion for me and healed me of my affliction. Now I do not care about my outward appearance. I have come to a point of self-control were I can love myself for who I am and not what I think my image should be to the world.

Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Before Christ)

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (After Christ)

He makes all the difference.

“Illumination is obvious in a place of darkness.”

Ever heard that quote before? I start my daily devotionals with bible quotes, but today I chose to use a different source. Don’t bother with google, you won’t find it anywhere. I said it. Short and to the point. Quotes are best if easily said, easily remembered, and hold at least one point of interest.

I dare say that most Christians have at least a few well remembered bible quotes laid up firmly in our memory. “Judge not…” “I am the Way…” “Faith small as a …” “For God so loved…” “Our Father which art in heaven…” I am sure that I have tickled some memory cells with these words. It doesn’t take a great bible scholar to memorize meaningful quotes.

2 Corinthians 3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

There is the address, there is the quote. Let me ask you this pointed question. How do you read a person? If we are a living epistle what message is sent without the written word? Do people read us by our ability to quote the bible accurately? They know less about the bible than you do, even if you can only quote one or two verses.

Illumination does not come to those in dark places by obscure quotes from a book they have never read. It come from your heart, that dwelling place God has made within you.

Job 41:18 By his neesings (from the root) a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.