An Even Dozen!

Today is the 12th anniversary of Kindling for Candles! This is the 981st post. I haven’t blogged every day, but I’m still amazed when I look at that number.

In my very first post, Welcome!, I explained I chose the name for this blog from Matthew 12:17–21, and Isaiah 42:1–4, and that my purpose here was to encourage you in your times of feeling like a battered reed and a dimly burning wick.

I also wrote that any encouragement I give is not rooted in who I am, but in who God is, and all that He has done for us through the Lord Jesus. That’s why the Bible is, and always will be, the backbone of what I write. I’ve shared some of my own suffering, and there’ve been times when I’ve “bled all over the blog,” from pain, so that you would know the encouragement and strength we find is in Jesus.

Over the years I’ve edited and tweaked that post a little, but my purpose is still the same. As I look back at what I’ve written on the Christian life, I’ve found there are two things I’ve written about over and over again: truth and love. That’s why the tagline for this blog is Truth For The Heart.

A blog is built post by post in small increments. These are the Bible passages I go back to again and again:

¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
¹⁸“BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN;
MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED;
I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM,
AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
¹⁹HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT;
NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.
²⁰A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF,
AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT,
UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.
²¹AND IN HIS NAME THE NATIONS WILL HOPE.”¹

Matthew 12:17–21

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¹“Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him,
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
²He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
³a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
⁴He will not fail or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.”

Isaiah 42:1-4 RSV

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Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23–24

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“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36–40

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If you’re new here or if you’ve not looked at them before, read the posts I’ve linked to above.

Thank you for reading. My prayer is that God will encourage you, and you will find hope and help in the Lord Jesus as you read.

Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

2 John 3

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With love in our Lord Jesus,

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Featured image: Candle: ChristianPhotos.net – Free High Resolution Photos for Christian Publications. (Site has been deleted since posting). I used this candle in my first site header that’s at the bottom of the post.
Anniversary PR: Henrykus. GFDL-1.2-or-later. Cropped, color changed.
¹In the NASB New Testament quotes of Old Testament passages are in all upper-case letters. Matthew 12:18–21 refers back to Isaiah 42:1–3.

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