lean on Him...

September 13, 2012

Isaiah 10:14-20

V 20 …but lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel

 

I was sitting here today thinking of all that God’s strength has lead me to accomplish in my life and I am amazed. When God convicted me and Terry to Home-school our children, I had no idea how much God would strengthen me. I was really clueless of what would be expected of me, but through it all He has held me up. The thing about God giving you strength is that you don’t realize it, really, at the time it’s happening. It’s after everything is over that you come to understand that apart from His strength you would have failed! I am thankful that I can lean on Him!

God's guiding hand...

September 12, 2012

Isaiah 10:12-13

V 12 By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding…

 

I love knowing God is in control. I mean it gives me great comfort, even in the midst of pain and scary moments. God’s control is the one thing I can constantly turn to and rely on. It is always there and He is always the same. I know that even in the darkest moments He guides my steps.

following the light through the darkness...

August 16, 2012

Isaiah 8:18-22, 9:1-2

V2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; whose who dwelt in a land of deep darkness

Many times while we are in the midst of great trouble we forget that we are also in midst of His great mercy, love, and faithfulness. In those times, we forget that though darkness surround us the “light” protects us and leads us through. We can hold on to it. We can be lead by it, but mostly we just concentrate on the darkness!

waiting...

August 14, 2012

Isaiah 8:15-17

V 17 I will wait for the LORD…I will hope in him

Waiting on the Lord is one of the hardest things ever; I think. I think that we want to hurry up and make what we think should happen occur that we run ahead. Now we will always mess things up when we do this but that doesn’t seem to stop us. When God just wants us to wait, to rest, to learn from our waiting, many times there are great lessons to be learned while we are waiting. Yet, we are always so busy trying to find our way out that we miss those lessons. We should rest and hope knowing that God will deliver us. But do we wait like we know He will deliver us?

a refuge...

August 13, 2012

Isaiah 8:11-14

V 14 And he will become a sanctuary…

One of the several definitions of “sanctuary” is, “any place of refuge.” Verse 14 of Isaiah chapter 8 is talking about Jesus. Jesus is our sanctuary, he is our place of rest. Jesus said come to Him all who are weary and He will give them rest. He said that His yoke was easy and His burdens were light. He is our place to rest. He is our place to run to. He will always be there. He is our sacturary…

having God...

August 9, 2012

Isaiah 7:17-25, 8:1-10

8:10 …speak a word, but it will not stand for God is with us

Ever looked as certain aspects of your life and been totally surprised because you never thought you would find yourself here? Well, it can catch you by surprise trust me. So can the actions of people for that matter; those that you think you know, maybe you don’t. Or perhaps what they go through in private doesn’t allow them to fulfill what you would have assumed they should. This is when those who are there for you shine even brighter. This is when you realize that God is there with you in His Word, in His providing others to come along and strengthen you when you are down, and in His Spirit filling you with what you need. This is when you find yourself not quit as tired and rundown or scared as you would have assumed you would be because God is with you!

being honest...

August 7, 2012

Isaiah 7:5-16

V 16 …knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good

Isaiah is speaking of Jesus here; so naturally He will be much better at this than we will ever be. However, He is our model. How easy it is to lie to ourselves that we do this. As I have said many times we put to high a definition on what is evil. Anything that does not bring God glory is evil. Anything we choose to do that is not worshipping or obeying His word is evil. If we get honest with what constitutes as evil; I think that we would see that we more often than not choose evil over good. We want to do good, there’s not doubt yet, it is very hard for us to do so! We must constantly battle our flesh, and the first, and perhaps hardest battle, is learning to recognize what is evil and what is good!

no fear...

August 6, 2012

Isaiah 7:1-4

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

This is so hard to do, isn’t it? To not fear, and really it could mean anything. We as humans fear all manner of things, but clearly here in Isaiah we are told not to. We are also told that God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of strength. This is of course not because we are powerful in ourselves but that God is the power in us. It is because of His Holy Spirit that we do not have to fear. We can be strong in our conviction, we can carry out what He has put on our hearts to accomplish, and we can walk the hard path that is sometimes set before us simply because He lives in us!

faith...

August 1, 2012

Isaiah 7:5-9

V9 …if you are not firm in faith you will not be firm at all

Faith—one of the biggest foundations in our Christian belief system, it sets us apart. Yet, it is so very difficult to get and maintain. We think we are doing well then something happens and we lose it. To have faith is something that we must cultivate daily, well, really every minute. It’s what makes us able to follow paths set before us that the world will never understand. Faith gives us the strength to walk through the valley of shadow and death. Faith tells us that the eagle will lift us on His wings and carry us. It only takes just a little bit of faith to move mountains; this is how powerful faith is. This is how important faith is.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

giving credit where it's due...

June 29, 2012

Isaiah 2:1-10

V8 Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their won fingers have made.

We can look around at the things we own, or our bank accounts, or our pantrys and think we have it made. We are doing ok. Yet, we never acknowledge that all good flows from God’s hand to ours. We assume that “we” have amassed all this, and that “we” have made sure we have enough. Yet, if God had not willed us to have it we would not. It’s a pretty vain statement for us to make that gives us any credit to what “we” have achieved. But that’s exactly what Isaiah is talking about here. The Children of Israel were basking in all the things that had achieved and had forgotten the God that gave it to them. Sounds familiar right?