Isaiah 29:13-24.
The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish." Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?" You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me?" Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?
In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field and the fertile field seem like a forest? In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down - those who with a word make a man out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.
Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob:
"No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale. When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; those who complain will accept instruction."
As I type this I still don't know what is going to be written about this Scripture. Today I fell to a sin I struggle with and spent the day in repentance while reading from Isaiah 29:13 - 44:5. I now see why Paul was willing to call himself the worst of sinners. The more I find is sinful compared to the Holy example set by God's desires, I see myself as worse and worse of a sinner as I find the things I knew but ignored when God told me not to do them. Now I consider myself as Paul, the worst of sinners around me. I read through the judgment of the people who did not follow God's ways and felt discouraged over and over today, but the summary of what I read is in this passage alone. With the judgment always came the mercy that abounded for God's people.
God frustrated my wisdom and called me out because I would still commit the sins that I didn't think meant anything and I ignored so many others. I was like the pot telling the Potter, "He knows nothing." But He knew it all and laid it out for me today. He frustrated my wisdom and intelligence with words I have read before that He made seem so new and convicting. How could we ever think that we can ignore this or that and then go to church or Bible study or a youth group and sing songs and read our Bibles when we are doing this to Him? How can we when our hearts are far from Him? If we think that we can do these things without facing our sins, we are so wrong. We are the clay that God is trying to form into what He wants but we are doing our own things and disrespecting Him all the way. So if we turn to Him for an honest second, God will take that second and scream at us with more than we can take until we are falling on the floor begging Him for Forgiveness.
That second becomes the time when the fertile field becomes a forest. When we who are deaf hear the words of the Scroll, God's Word; and out of the gloom and darkness of our sin, and we see. He allows us to see and fall down and humble ourselves in our disgrace and look to Him in our neediness. We are able to rejoice because God has punished us for our sins and broken us with His Word and Truth that we so desperately need. He punishes us for our sins for one reason and one reason only: He Loves us. Proverbs 3:11,12 says, My son, do not despise the LORD'S discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those He Loves, and He punishes the son (daughter) He delights in. God rebuked me today for mine and showed me so much of my sins. My thought about that now is, there's still more to see that I do wrong, and there always will be, because I am a sinner. But now I welcome His rebuke and I rejoice in His punishment because He brings it according to His Love for me. So I want to be crushed, I want my bones broken by His conviction. I need it, God. My prayer is that we find pure Joy in it and see that it is God's Love. So let us see out His Wisdom and the rebuke that comes with it, for such is God's Love for us.
Then we will be able to repent and be forgiven by our Loving God above, and we will be counted as His children and will no longer be ashamed or feel like we are dead, because as we find our sins God allows us to repent and be forgiven by our faith in His Son, Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. We will look around us at the lives surrounding us and keep God's Name Holy. We will see His Glory and Mercy. Have you ever gone to church and just looked at the other Christians that are around you every service? Then have you remembered they are each another person that has been saved by Lord Jesus Christ just like you? If you haven't yet, DO IT! There is no greater Joy than to see God's Mercy and Love for His people in great congregation, and while singing to God. There is no greater Love than this: to lay one's life down for his friends. Then there is no greater Joy than this: To see those new lives that our Friend also died for.
This passage has moved me so much, I feel the need to shout this at those around me and say, "Don't you know this Joy yet? This is my God, and yours! I pray that you feel this way too. There is one more detail in this for us all to remember, those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding, and those who complain will accept instruction. If any of us ever complains about what God wants us to change or we stray, God will do everything to us to have us listen to Him. I can account for this. He will bring change any way He can because He Loves us and wants us back in His presence for ever and ever.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment