Month: August 2022

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Decisions

Which direction will you choose

Jeremiah 6-8 Jeremiah told the people to pay attention, watch closely, and listen carefully. They were standing at the crossroads and must decide. Will they follow God’s way or the world’s way? But the people said that is just old-fashioned; we know better, we will sacrifice more. Jeremiah reminded them to take God’s warning, or He would abandon them. [Jer 6:8] Like then, today, many call the ways of our forefathers old-fashioned. Instead of being the blessed man of Psalm 1, many say we will add more programs, devise climate change plans, or even abort precious lives. But, those are ideas that never entered God’s mind, and He never commanded that! [Jer 7:31] God only asks this of us: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ [Matt 9:13]

Indeed as it happened before, it will happen again because we are slow to listen and learn.

Remember the story of Balaam? Balaam was deaf and blind to the wisdom of the donkey until the angel opened his eyes. The story illustrates that if we fail to follow God’s way, we may find ourselves in a narrow place, just like Balaam and the donkey, with nowhere to turn.

Standing at the crossroads, we need to listen to God and His word, which is given to us to teach, reprove, correct, and train us in righteousness. [2Tim 3:16] Wisdom says: “Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it.”

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The God I serve!

God inspects before He judges

Jeremiah 5/Gen 18 Have you ever felt the deepness of a heart’s sadness? The world seems shattered, and the residents see death all around them. At times like this, our words lay fallow in our prayers—or so we think. We wonder, as Jeremiah did, Is there any good news, or Is it all bad news? But step aside and listen: God asks Jeremiah to go and “See if you can find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. If you can, then I will not punish this city.” [Jer 5:1] Does this ring a bell about another story with a similar thread? In Gen 18, Abraham and the Lord God conversed about Sodom and Gomorrah. Our merciful God had quietly shared with Abraham: “I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests; if NOT, I want to know.” [Gen 18:20-21]

By definition, we say one of God’s characteristics is His omniscience. God is “compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” [Ps 145:8] Because He is that and more and not an arbitrary idol god, He always thoroughly investigates a situation before passing judgment and sending calamity. He judges the evidence just as a judge does in a courtroom. God does the same for each of us. Are you thankful today that God judges righteously and not capriciously?

How grateful I am to serve God with these character qualities; How about you?   

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God’s Plans, Promises & Our Excuses

God calls ...will we go

Jeremiah 1-2 Long ago, Jeremiah, a priest of Anathoth, was called by God to preach and prophesy God’s word. When God called him, He said: Before I formed you, I chose you; before you were born, I set you apart. Before you were born, I appointed you to be a prophet. Our perfect God plans ahead of time for the service He has designed with our gifts in mind. Where you are now is not just a coincidence or fate, but His perfect plan just for you. You may not be called to be a priest or a prophet, but God planned in eternity past for your role. It may be a parent, teacher, bus driver, pastor, or neighbor. Wherever you find yourself, stop and praise God for His plan for you.

Yet, Moses had his excuses: “I am not an eloquent man, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” [Ex 4:10] So too, Jeremiah’s excuses were. “Oh, Sovereign Lord, really, I do not know how to speak well enough for that, for I am too young.” [Jer. 1:6]

How like Moses and Jeremiah we are! What excuse are we using? Jesus reminded the disciples: “Go and Tell,” but we drag our feet with lots and lots of reasons why someone else is better qualified.  We say, like Moses, choose someone else.[Ex 4:13] But, beloved, God has chosen you and me in eternity past! He not only formed you, but He also chose you, and He has ordained you–not someone else!  Will you step and “go and tell?” 

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We need to be saved!

Isaiah cries as we do today: how then can we be saved?

Isaiah 64 A recent Nat’l Geographic article related the sad trajectory of the nation of Afghanistan. The warlords are raving mad. They cry, “women are a distraction.” They relish living in the days of long ago, in darkness, depravity, and violence. They see the evidence of a holy God yet deny His presence and power.

Isaiah saw it as well.

Isaiah cried as he looked at the sin-drenched world before him. Do we cry for the lost who are blind to the Savior? The truth is that our arch-enemy, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unsaved lest they see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the image of God. [2Cor 4:4]Today, just as then, they cry: Is there a God, and if so, where is He? Why is this happening?

Isaiah perceptively saw spiritual blindness, deafness to the truth of God, and hardened hearts. The psalmist wrote that they collaborate to undo what God has ordered. [Ps 2] They refuse to yield to God and deny the Lord God Almighty. Isaiah cried: Oh, you would rend the heavens so that men would see Your power. But…He has done that before, like when Jesus cried, “It is finished!” Or when Paul and Silas were in prison. Even with the physical evidence of a mighty earthquake, men still refuse to bow the knee. But one day, they will not only bow but confess Jesus as Lord. [Phil 2:11] Until then…they sadly cry rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne…[Rev 6:16]

They know but refuse to acknowledge Him and repent. 

Perhaps that is why Isaiah’s cry then and today should be: “How then can we saved?” [Is 64:5] Oh God, may your mercy be ever before us; may we recognize that You are God and there is no other. Pray for the salvation of the lost.

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Go and Tell

We have the good news

Isaiah 61-63, Luke 4:17-19 Jesus quoted part of this chapter as he stood in the synagogue in Nazareth. He knew that God had anointed him to speak of the gospel’s good news and not of the vengeance of the Lord. So when Jesus stopped reading at the end of verse 2, the listeners were first praising God but also wondering why he did not read about God’s vengeance. Why did he not finish that verse? It was because vengeance was not on God’s calendar at that time. Many prophecies needed to be fulfilled before God would exact His vengeance against His enemies.

We, too, often wonder why God is waiting. We are impatient people who want God’s justice NOW! But, as Isaiah so eloquently reminded the reader: God’s plans and timing are not like ours. [Is 55:8-9] He is a patient Father, not willing any should perish. [2Peter 3:9] Thus, He waits for the perfect moment, and as we wait, we should be busy with the Master’s business. And what is that business? Isaiah reminds us that it is to “tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds; tell about all the Lord did for us, (and yes) the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness.” [Is 63:7]

The Master wants us to be busy going and telling the good news: God loves! Jesus saves!

Are we going? Are we telling?

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Authentic or Fraud?

Authentic or Fraud?

Is 58 The prophet Isaiah speaks to the heart of the matter when the people ask why God is not blessing them, and that same question is one we often ask as well. We say I  go to church, tithe, and help out where needed, yet I still struggle with peace. God answers that question by doing as Jesus did; he asks a question back. Let’s see, are you offering your tithe to please me or to get recognition from others? Are you serving to get a checkmark in My book of another duty fulfilled, or are you doing it out of a heart of compassion? Are you attending church out of rote duty, or are you attending church because you desire to meet Me there?

What is it that God desires? He desires a servant heart, a pure heart, and a clean heart. God desires that we offer our body as a living sacrifice ready to do His will. [Rom 12:1] He desires the fruit of our lips praising His Name. [Heb 13:15]. He desires that our right hand does not reveal to our left hand what we do. Mat 6:3 “But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

Challenging questions; are we authentic or a fraud? God uses the “if-then” clauses to help us decide.

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Just another Murphy’s Law Day

How did your plans go today?

Isaiah 55-57 Murphy’s Law states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Today after dinner, we stopped to get gas and waited and waited in line. When it was our turn, the gas pump froze, and the attendant had to close the line. 🙁 It was a Murphy’s Law day: sometimes plans go astray. Why does this happen?

We, like the Israelites, are a people who make plans for today, tomorrow, and beyond, but often, just as today, our plans go astray. But, God’s plans never do because, as He says: “my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds and my plans are superior to yours.” [Is 55:8] Later, the Prophet Jeremiah would again remind them that He knows what He has planned for them, “I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.” [Jer. 29:11]

But too often, we face this fact: “there are many plans in a person’s mind, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.” [Prov 19:21] And, if truth be known, not always do our plans prosper. Again the words of Proverbs remind us: “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” [Prov 16:3]

Did you have Murphy’s Law day, or were your plans successful? Did you include God in your planning?  

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Jesus our Redeemer

Christ is our Redeemer

Isaiah  52-54 Redeemer!

Isaiah  echoes the voice of Job: As for me, “I know that my Redeemer lives and
that as the last he will stand upon the earth].” [Job 19:25] Over and
over, Isaiah reminds the children of God that they are redeemed. “You
shall be redeemed without money.” [Is 52:3 NJJV] “He has redeemed
Jerusalem.” [Is 52:9 NKJV]  The redemption price was exorbitant; it was
the very life of Christ, the Servant, who bore the iniquities of us all upon
his body.

We stand redeemed because of His sacrifice; He bore our iniquities that we might stand
righteous in His sight. The crucifiers made His grave with the wicked, but
Joseph of Arimathea, the rich man, offered his tomb for Christ to fulfill the
words of God. [Is 53:9-11 NKJV] “But with everlasting kindness, God says, He
will have mercy upon them because he is the Lord their Redeemer.” [Is 54:8
paraphrase]

In 1775, Samuel Medley captured this thought in his hymn: “I know that my Redeemer
lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, he lives, who once was
dead; he lives, my ever living head!”

Stop and praise Him for His marvelous work of redemption. “The Lord of Hosts is His
name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” [Is 54:5 NKJV]

Scriptures today from NKJV.

 


	


	





		

		
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Your Name is Written…
	


			

			
				Your name is engraved on the palm of God's hand			
		

	
	

		

Is 49 Engraven or Inscribed





Isaiah quotes the words of the Lord to those who feel God has abandoned them: “Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms;” [Is 49:16] Inscribing or engraving is done with a tool that makes it permanent, much like a tattoo. God is saying to Israel, no matter where I send you or what your life will be like, I am there and will not abandon you. This visual illustration had to be comforting to them in this time of discipline by the hand of God.





Remember Thomas as he stood before the risen Christ? He had said, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it! [Jn 20:25] Jesus lovingly came to Thomas and said: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” [Jn 20:27]





Sometimes the trials of life are challenging, and they seem to be long and arduous, but God’s engraving tool has etched your name on His palm, and the nail holes of Jesus are a reminder that He has us on His mind daily, moment by moment. He has not forgotten you.





Take a moment and look at your palms and envision God’s palm and your name written there.

	


	





		

		
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God is God!
	


			

			
				God is God			
		

	
	

		

Is 46-48 Heavy Hearts? Look Up!





Isaiah, as God’s prophet, tells his audience to remember this key point: “Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me,” [Is 46:9] “I will not share my glory with anyone else!” [Is 48:11]





Yes, Jehovah, Yahweh is the supreme God of heaven and earth. There is no other, and men who plan and execute idols to represent Him are anathema to Him. He will not share His Name or His glory with another. So when you seek peace and contentment, look no further but to Yahweh, who sees all and knows all. He reminds them of this promise: “Even when you are old, I will take care of you; even when you have gray hair, I will carry you. I made you and will support, carry, and rescue you. [Is 46:4]





So when your heart is heavy, recall these promises of comfort.

	


	



	
		

	

	





		


		
	









	





























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