What choice have you made? The choice is one of devotion and dependance. Will you choose to depend on the idols that clutter your life or will you depend wholeheartedly on God alone as the source of sufficiency? The story of Israel in Jeremiah speaks to the wayward human heart that battles against God. The word of God to Israel, ”Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.’” Jeremiah 3:12-14 Would you turn away from your idols and back to God if you were Israel? Are you worshiping idols today, will you forsake them and cling to God? Continue Reading…
Choice is a matter of volition, faith a matter of heart: Jeremiah 3 and 4
Eloquence and strength manifested: Jeremiah 1 and 2
How would you react if God told you that were set apart to declare His truth to an obstinate and headstrong nation? Would you fear the people you were going to reprove? Would you question whether God had the correct person for the job? “But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” Jeremiah 1:17-18 Continue Reading…
The unstoppable will of God: Isaiah 21 and 22
Will you acknowledge your Hope? When you find yourself blessed do you attribute that blessing to your own prowess or your luck? Do you remember that God is that one who is at work in your life? Read the story of Isaiah 22 and learn what happens when selfish pride overwhelms man. “Therefore I said: ‘Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.’ For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.” Isaiah 22:4,
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Are you in Babylon awaiting deliverance: Isaiah 13 and 14
Are you existing in a personal exile that has enslaved you into a life of complete despair? The Israelites abided exile in Babylon where they remained helpless but the seed of hope remained as they awaited deliverance. Have the decisions you made throughout your life brought you to this moment of broken helplessness. What hope is there? The world is wicked and it may seem that chaos reigns supreme but there is hope. ”Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.” Isaiah 13:6-8 How is hope found in God’s coming destruction? Continue Reading…
The proliferation of hope to a broken world: Isaiah 9 and 10
“For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:4-7 What did the promised Messiah mean to the people of Israel? Did the Israelites look upon the promise of God hope of carte blanche retaliation on all their oppressors and a restoration of the glory of Israel? What was offered when God promised a renewal of the kingdom of Israel. Continue Reading…
Still awaiting the fulfillment of promise: Isaiah 7 and 8
What is faithfulness? How do we measure hope? In Isaiah a promise is given by God to the people of Israel that help and hope will come into the of despair and wickedness of the world. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah-the king of Assyria.’” Isaiah 7:14-17 How would you live knowing that a promise from God had been given that will bring hope to your weary, broken, and helpless life? Would you wait expectantly for the fulfillment of the promise? How long do we wait for before we give up hope? The expectation and desire for complete fulfillment of a promise is based wholly on the the progenitor of the promise. Is God faithful? Can you hope in Him? Continue Reading…
Do not be consumed by the things of the world: Isaiah 5 and 6
Isaiah in chapter 5 presents a picture of Israel to the people of Jerusalem as a vineyard. Isaiah tells the people of Jerusalem of their straying from the path that God desired for them. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” Isaiah 5:3-7 Continue Reading…
Find your hope in the saving grace of God: Isaiah 1 and 2
What emotions and thought come to mind when you think about culture, society, and prosperity? Do we live today at the pinnacle of human society? Across the generations people have thought that their current progress and ingenuity was paramount to the existence of man. In Isaiah chapters 1 and 2 the prophet Isaiah brings the word of God to the people of Israel. ”Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: ‘Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.’ Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.” Isaiah 1:3,4 Continue Reading…
In the midst of persecution and trouble God is enough: Psalm 137
Complete devastation and captivity in Babylon laid heavy on the lives of the people of Israel. Gone were the days when vigor and vitality defined their spiritual life. The continual disobedience of Israel led to their captivity within Babylon and the razing of Jerusalem. The psalmist of Psalm 137 is in the midst of great pressure and persecution by captors filled with spite and pride. “For there our captors demanded of us sons, and out tormentors mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the ons of Zion.’” Psalms 137:3 What is to be done in the face of such oppression? What hope is there when we find ourselves surrounded by pressure and persecution through our actions or the actions of another? Continue Reading…
Find delight today knowing that God is at work: Psalm 114
What does the blessing of God look like to the world around us? Does the faith we have in God show to the people we interact with? Do the blessings God bestows upon us leave the world in awe? Psalm 114 is a simple yet mighty proclamation of what God did for His people. When you read this short psalm you get an encompassing view of God’s mighty blessing upon the people of Israel as they left Egypt. This same blessing of God is upon our lives and enables us to overcome every obstacle that we encounter. Will you live in the power of God’s blessing in your life? Will you boldly go about your day knowing that the hand of God is actively working in your life? “Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob, who urned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of water.” Psalm 114:7,8 Find delight today knowing that God is working in your life and that nothing can hinder His work. Continue Reading…
