being strong

July 31, 2012

Isaiah 6:9-13 7:1-4

V 4 …do not fear and do not let your heart be faint

This of course can apply to anything we have to do in our lives; Christ’s indwelling spirit assures us that we are not given a spirit of timidity. So, of course this can be used in lots of ways, but today my mind takes me to obedience. We don’t have to fear being obedient because of that same indwelling spirit. Being obedient can be hard, scary, and nerve wracking; yet, we can do it, we can be obedient. We can follow God’s will for our lives without fearing what others will say about us. We are able to do this not because of any strength we have but because God’s strength allows us to

Holy, Holy, Holy...

July 27, 2012

Isaiah 6:1-3

V3 Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory

May my life reflect this; may others look upon me and see that God is Holy!

wise decisions and feeling good...

July 26, 2012

Isaiah 5:21-30

V 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and shrewd in their own sight!

Being wise, well sometimes it’s easy for us to assume that we are wise because we “feel good” about a decision that we are making. However, many times the wisest decisions we can make, those decisions truly lead by God, are the hardest ones; the ones that wont leave you feeling “good.”

going where we really shouldn't...

July 25, 2012

Isaiah 5:14-20

V 20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

How easy it is for us to convince ourselves that something isn’t as bad as it really is. It’s easy to tell ourselves that we can keep ourselves safe; that the sin we are about to enter into will not lead us into deeper and darker ones. Psalm 9:14 says, “…the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.” The truth is that any sin we willingly walk into will always lead us somewhere we want to go and in the end it will never be worth it.

being thirsty...

July 24, 2012

Isaiah 5:13 Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge, their honored men go hungry and their multitude is parched with thirst.

I’m certain that this verse could be taken literally. Isaiah could be telling a tale of physical hunger and physical thirst. Yet, I don’t think so. I think that he is telling a tale of spiritual hunger and thirst. Which is of course due to the fact that they didn’t know God or His works; they never took the time to learn. Jesus says that He is the water that will never leave you thirsty. He says that He is the bread of life. Unless we are “ingesting” a steady diet of His words, we will find ourselves hungry and thirsty too. Or worse we will find ourselves becoming “full” on other things of the world.

remembering...

July 23, 2012

Isaiah 5:5-12

V 12 …but they so not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands

May this never be me. May I never become so concerned with me that I neglect to praise Him for His Works in my life. May I always remember what He has done for me!

doing all you can do...for real

Isaiah 5:1-4

V 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?

Can we say that? I mean truthfully. Many time, I think, or at least in my life this is the case, I will utter the words, “I’ve done all I can do.” But what is more truthful is probably “I’ve done all I’m willing to do.” Yet, in this passage the “beloved” did all the work and still didn’t get the results he desired. This is also a sad fact that’s hard for us to understand; even if we work hard and do all we can do, we may still not end up with what we want. This is the time when we must have faith that God’s plan is always the best plan. However, don’t use that knowledge as an excuse to do half the work in any given situation. We can only find comfort in this situation if we have truly done everything we can.

my stronghold...

July 16, 2012

Psalm 9:10 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble

How blessed I am that I can re-write that verse to read this…

    The Lord is “MY” stronghold for “WHEN I’M” oppressed, “MY” stronghold in times of trouble.

the right path...

July 13, 2012

Isaiah 4:1-6 V5 Then the Lord will creat over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day and smoke and shining of a flaming fire by night…

This verse is alluding to my very favorite verse in scripture. This verse describes how God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt. He lead them by surrounding them in a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night! He lead them; he guided them. He does the same for me. It might not be through a pillar of smoke and fire but His word instead; yet, I am no less lead. He guides each of my steps and I can be assured that I am on the right path.

nothing hidden...

July 9, 2012

Isaiah 3:12-26

V 17 …and the Lord shall bare their secret parts

How would we like that? How would we like God to come behind us and bare to the world our secrets, all our secret sins, desires, wishes, thoughts, everything? Personally, I think I’d rather pass on that Thank You very much. Yet, nothing we do is really in secret is it? For God knows the hearts of all men, including us. I think that we like to, for whatever reason, assume that God doesn’t see us; perhaps we tell ourselves that we and our sin are too insignificant for God to notice. Yet, that is not how God works; He sees everything. His word tells us that He looks too and fro all around the earth searching for the righteous. Don’t try to confine God to a box that He is way too big for simply because we don’t want to acknowledge that our sins are not done in secret.

using the right measuring stick...

July 6, 2012

Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him

What is wicked? That I think is the question we must ask ourselves. By whose measuring stick are we determining evil? Ours or God’s? If we are using God’s measuring stick then we should be careful to not assume our actions are not wicked; remember, Jesus said that even if you have hated a brother in your heart you are guilty of murder even if you have not killed anyone. He also said that if you have looked upon a woman with lust in your heart you are guilty of adultery even if you haven’t committed the actual act. As I have said before, I think that we have a broad definition of what is truly evil and wicked, and we are quick to underestimate how wicked or evil our actions may be. God has a narrower view of what He considers wicked and evil. Therefore, I think it would be smart for us to pay a bit more attention to our actions and ask ourselves this question…”Would we want to have happen to us what our hands had dealt out to others?”

walking the tight-rope...

July 5, 2012

Isaiah 3:1-10

V 10 Tell the righteous that it shall be will with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds

For nine whole verses I read things like, “…because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying His glorious presence,” and this “For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom, they do not hide it.” Isaiah is seriously giving the Children of Israel, God’s chosen people, a lecture. He is telling them that God is angry at them. Personally, I try not to think about God being angry with me; yet, I know that my sin makes Him so. Just verse after verse of how their flagrant sin offends their Holy God. Then as I’m sitting here thinking, “Oh, Wow;” I come to this verse. “Tell the righteous it shall be well with them…” So, I can assume that it is possible to be righteous in a world that is opposed to God. It’s a tight-rope act that we believers must walk; the living in the world but not of the world one. It can be difficult, it certainly requires daily contact with God, but it is possible. I want to be able to rest knowing that I will “…eat the fruit of my deeds,” but in order for that to happen my deeds must be good. That is what we must strive for in this lost world; having deeds that are worthy of a Child of God.

I sing praise...

July 3, 2012

Psalm 9:2 I will be glad and exult you I will sing praise to your name, O most High!

I sing praise because you answered my prayer. I sing praise to you because like You will always do, You kept the promise of Your Word to me! Thanks!

the battle...

July 2, 2012

Isaiah 2:11-20

V12 For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low.

“Yahweh Saboth” is God’s name in Hebrew that means “Lord of Hosts.” This is the name of God that signifies His being in command of the hundreds of thousands of angels in which He does battles. It’s a strong military name. One in which He is the top General in His army. This is the name in which Isaiah uses to describe what will happen to the proud. This is the way in which God will come after the proud; as a commander in His army. As we discussed in Sunday School yesterday, in the Old Testament we see the fierceness of God. Sometimes I think we, as believers and non-believers alike, choose to hide God’s fierceness behind His love. Is He loving? Yes, without a doubt, but He is also fierce in His desire to see His Word lived out and obeyed. It would do well with us to remember that.