Isaiah 56

¹Thus says the LORD:"Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
²Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil."

³Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
"The LORD will surely separate me from his people";
and let not the eunuch say,
"Behold, I am a dry tree."
⁴For thus says the LORD:"To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
⁵ I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
^(H) I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.

⁶"And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples."
⁸The Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
"I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered."

it's ironic that my first post began with the words,

"Without any hesitation".

i read through my old xanga yesterday,

i wrote what is to be my last post.

i was shaken by how sad and self-centered i used to be.

how worldly i was,

how much i lied,

how i was so scared of being alone.

if only i had known that God was preparing a wonderful life for me.

i could never live with the joy i have now if God didn't put me through what he did.

i wish i could go back and talk to the boy that i once was,

that strange little boy,

and tell him the only person that could make him happy is Jesus.

because that is what rings true today.

Christ is my cornerstone that keeps me from falling apart

he is my sustainer.

this blog shall have new life,

whether anyone is still out there to read it or not

this is astoneinzion.

you can read my last xanga post here

a much needed beginning

Welcome to my new blog, astoneinzion!

Without any hesitation, i would like to come out with the reason for the creation of this new blog: spiritual growth. Earlier today i was looking back through my old xanga blog, and realized how much an Internet blog resembles a spiritual journal, and even more apt, a spiritual journal that is open to others.

Lately, a public spiritual journal seems to be exactly what i need to grow as a believer and the idea is only intensified when i think of the encouragement and edification that it could bring to others. Therefore this blog's purpose is to grow you as the reader and myself as an author, as well as to bring about zeal and passion towards God. All together i want this blog to be as much yours as it is mine, i would encourage feed back even if it's only a word or two (a little bit goes a long way). And even if no one reads my posts, i will continue blogging, because this as a spiritual journal after all.

In regards to the name of my blog, "a stone in Zion" refers to Christ being the cornerstone of our lives; to be the foundation of everything we do. If there is one thing i have learned it is that God must be the center of everything in our lives, anything less and everything falls apart; just the same as a building without a sturdy foundation. That is why Christ will be made the foundation and center of this blog.

i hope this has spurred your interest!