| Passage: Isaiah 54-58 On Monday, August 18, 2014, Yujin wrote,
God spoke the universe into existence, and it was so. God brought a great flood to destroy all humanity except for one man, Noah, and his family, and it was so. God called out a people from the loins of one man, Abraham, and established them as His people, and it was so. God declared the rise and fall of the great kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, and it was so. God sent His own Son to provide substionary atonement and eternal salvation to those He would save through faith, and it was so. All of these things happened by the word of the Lord. Friends, we can have absolute confidence in God's Word. It never returns to God empty without perfectly fulfilling God's purpose in sending it. So also, the Lord Jesus declared, For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished (Mathew 5:18). Therefore, let us not be anxious about our present or our future, knowing this,
What is more, we can be confident that in everything, whether they be "good" or "bad," God is working to bring about His purpose in us, which is to make us like Christ and bring us to glory:
Friends, since we have this confidence, what room is there for any anxiety or fear in life. If we fear the Lord, we have nothing more to fear. Every other concern in life is insignificant next to the one concern of knowing Him. Let us, then, delight in Him, Who is for us on account of Christ. And if He is for us, who can be against us! Let us, then, make Him our deepest passion, our highest ambition, and our chief concentration. For He alone is our peace! |
| Passage: Isaiah 54-58 On Monday, August 20, 2012, Fernando wrote, Isaiah 58 13� �If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight�and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways,�or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14�then you shall take delight in the Lord, A repeated message of not going after "your pleasures." The Sabbath is holy to remeber God's rest. Something holy and punishable by death. Instead of working for pleasures the command was given to rest, inferring to take pleasure in the Lord - pleasing the Lord. Those in the body perpetually take pleasure in the lord, hoping in the rest to come. Those that do not, take pleasure in themselves which leads to death. Not because of a stoning but because of not being in the body of Christ. Rest! Be still and know the lord. Take pleasure in him through all things. It give your God great pleasure! Rest by taking his yoke, a lite burden. --------- Isaiah 56 3�Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,�The Lord will surely separate me from his people� There are no '2 peoples' of God, only one chosen people. Isaiah 56:6,7 ��And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord... these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices. We see this way of operating with Rahab, being grafted into the commonwealth of Israel; In the calling for the physically circumcised to be spiritually circumcised ('of the heart'). We see this in the conversion of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. Ephesians gives a new testament reminder of God's people as one. Ephesians 2:12,19� Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (but now) you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God We are not longer foreigners of God's nation. We are like the Jews we saw before us, we are 'Jews.' 'jews' are 'christians'. Erase the titles and replace them with 'God's people.' For: Ephesians 2:22� In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. We are also being built into one church, one body. The nation and nationals of Israel, should not receive blanket support if they are unjust and in particular are so against Christians. To reword, a national should not receive blanket support if they are unjust and in particular are so against God's people. I don't mean to make a political statement or address military strategic statements. I say this to incomplete discussions or discussions based on one of 'God's people' by another of 'God's people' rather than justice godliness. One God, One body of Christ, One Family of God. |
| Passage: Isaiah 54-58 On Sunday, August 19, 2012 (Last Updated on 8/18/2014), Yujin wrote, Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD? (Isaiah 58:2-5 NLT) Fasting, prayer and church attendance are singled out as empty rituals when God's Word is not obeyed. None of these things are commanded by God, but they are expressions of devotion. God is not interested in these expressions of worship if they are not accompanied by obedience to His Law. No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them,and do not hide from relatives who need your help. Then your salvation will come like the dawn,and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the LORD will answer. "Yes, I am here," he will quickly reply. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. (Isaiah 58:6-11 NLT) God desires justice and mercy. He counts this as true worship. It is not merely to fast but to share your food with the hungry. It is not simply to pray but to bring justice to the oppressed and help the helpless. Attending church and hearing sermons are an offense to God if all you do is return to the same old way of life, which is defined by worldy ethics. |
| Passage: Isaiah 54-58 On Friday, August 19, 2011, Unmi wrote,
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. (Isaiah 57:1-2)
Today, I received a link to a news article regarding the persecution of Christians in Iran.
When we read about the heavy persecution of the believing saints in countries like Iran, we are sadden by the evil that they face and the death that comes to so many of them. We ask God why He doesn't spare them from this evil. Why is there no deliverance for those who remain faithful to the point of death?
However, this passage tells us that God does remain in their midst and is merciful. Their death is the deliverance that is promised to the righteous for it is through their physical death that they enter into the eternal peace and rest God promises to those who remain faithful.
The LORD says:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
The sovereignty of God is a strong message within the book of Isaiah. God has a plan and his plan will prevail. When we think about Christian persecution it is somewhat ironic. More persecution means that more people are turning to Christ. If there were no conversions, then there would be no need for persecution. So there remains hope, a light is shining in the darkness...
The LORD declares:
"for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” (Isaiah 56:7-8) God is gathering believers from all nations, still others remain to be gathered. This is a spiritual battle, one that the evil one will not lose easily.
In the midst of this battle, we must remember what Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”...
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:55,58)
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| Passage: Isaiah 54-58 On Thursday, August 18, 2011, Matt wrote, God hates greed. Especially in those that are given authority over others. In Isaiah 56:9-12 a callous charge against the watchmen and shepherds who misuse their authority is given. When our service to those we are given authority and stewardship over is replaced by service to oneself then this charge is warranted. This urge of greed may be natural but fighting it is God's desire. In fact I would say we are all susceptible to greed no matter what our role in life and we all need God's strength to fight it. No matter who we are or what we do we should all do it for the same reason. Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Do Everything" says it well: Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie Maybe your shirt says your name You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers But at the end of the day Little stuff big stuff in between stuff God sees it all the same And while I may not know you I bet I know you Wonder sometimes does it matter at all We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you Cause He made you |