Isaiah 43 - I Am With You.

The LORD tells Israel, He tells us: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you..." (Isa 43:5 NIV) He promises release from bondage. He promises redemption. He promises salvation.

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you..." How often we need to hear those words! Do not be afraid. God is with you. We often find ourselves in bondage to a variety of issues we are struggling to figure and work out for ourselves or someone we love. Maybe it's financial difficulties or an illness that may not have a known remedy or one that can't even be diagnosed that makes us feel like we are bearing a yoke too heavy to bear.

It sometimes feels as though we are lost in a thick forest with no signs of a path to lead us out. We find ourselves journeying through the wilderness and feeling like we are making that journey quite alone.  Be not afraid. You are not alone. The LORD, who created and redeemed you has not deserted you. He is with you. The word of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, promises this.

God is with you and may He help you to know and recognize the peace that is with His presence (that is His presence). God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 5 - Woe To Those Who Call Evil Good

A lot more woes, today, for the children of God, who have proven fruitless! There are consequences, it seems, for real world sin. There are consequences for those who have turned their backs on God and followed in their own ways. Isaiah uses a parable of a vineyard, to warn the people before it is too late and they suffer the consequences of their own greed and self-centeredness.

God has planted a vineyard. He planted it with the choices vines, but it has yielded for him only bad fruit. Woe says, the Word of God, through Isaiah to the children of God.

"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.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.
Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay
and their flowers blow away like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down."  (Isa 5:20-25 NIV)

Has anything changed since Isaiah's time? God's children suffer the consequences of their unfruitfulness, they repent, they turn to God, and then do it all over again. Will we ever learn? Over and over again, we do the same things that lead us into trouble, but so often we just never learn. Here's one - how about that drunk driver who either almost or does kill someone and; yet, refuses to acknowledge that he has a drinking problem so he's out there sneaking behind the wheel while he's intoxicated the first chance that he has when he thinks he won't be caught. Or... the prescription drug uses who abuses these "legal drugs" to the point that they can no longer care for their families appropriately. They use these "legal drugs" and then blame the fact that they are crabby or mean or neglectful of their family or maybe can't even work because they are sick when the reality is that they can't do these things because the "legal drugs" have made them sick. This illness we call addiction. Get help before you (and the people you love) suffer worse consequences than you already have. And, please don't try to justify your abuse of "legal drugs" by saying it's the only thing that helps. I hear this way too often, by way too many people. God knows better. I know better. You know better. Calling evil good is one of the things we are warned about by Isaiah. If it damages your body, mind, and spirit; if it damages your family, your relationships, how can it be called good? There are consequences for doing those things which we call good, but are not.

Prophecy (in the Old Testament) is not so much a prediction of what will come. It is more of a prediction (a warning) of what might come if something doesn't change. It doesn't have to be. Remember that no matter what we have done in the past, through faith in the redeeming power of the Son, Jesus the Christ, we are forgiven all the evil that we have done. You are forgiven, through Jesus the Christ and that alone should be cause enough to rejoice and return most fully to the LORD! We can change. With the help of God, we can be changed so that our lives are more fruitful. Give up on those desperate attempts to go against God's will - receive His love - His grace - His mercy - and live life!

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. The list of evil that we call good, in today's world, is way too long to even think about enumerating in a blog.

 

Psalm 63 - Myriads of Thoughts...

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water. 
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory. (Psalm 63:1-2)

This morning, multitudes of hearts ache for the loss of lives yesterday in the Connecticut school shooting.  As in a dry land, our souls are parched, we search for answers, we look for God's help, for His help. 

Though very few facts are in, I can't help but remember our Bible Study this past Wednesday at Zion.  We discussed, for a bit, the issue of a growing population with very serious mental health issues. We discussed mental health issues that go undiagnosed, that are misdiagnosed, treatment that is refused by the patient, and treatments that may actually do more harm and be more dangerous to society than if none were administered.  Some of these diseases are very physical; while, others are psychological, brought on by stress in or the circumstances of one's life. Although we know it, we seldom truly accept that physical and psychological health are both affected by and effect our spiritual health. We have a long way to go in recognizing, diagnosing and treating mental illness.  In the meantime, a lot of people suffer, both the one who is ill and the people around them - all of society.

There are also those who are already using this latest shooting as an excuse for tighter gun control.  And, there are those who lament the fact that God has been outlawed in public schools.  In fact, God has not been outlawed in public school.  No one can stop you from voluntary praying.  They can; however, stop you from forcing children to pray to your specific God.  I would be very happy, indeed, if we all believed in the one God, whom I trust.  But, we do not.  We live in a country where we have freedom of religion and, as Christians, we rejoice that we are free to do that.  However, we have to remember that freedom of religion, in this kingdom, extends to all people. So, let me ask you this question.  If organized prayer were allowed in your child's school, would you be willing to have a Wiccan or a Satanist lead those prayers?  They are after all both recognized as religions, whether we agree with them or not.

I think it's time to stop blaming the increased violence in the world on guns and the lack of prayer in schools.  Will you be praying with your children or grandchildren when they wake up this morning?  Will you be praying with them before they lay down to sleep at night?  Will you be bringing them to the house of God to hear God's promises and to give Him thanks for all that He has done?  If God is missing in this society, I think maybe we should look at what we as individuals, as families, and as a church can do to change ourselves and by result change society around us.  Don't wait until there is a major catastrophe to teach your own children and your neighbor's children about what God has done and will do for them and the world around them.  And, don't be blaming others if you neglect to teach them this.  

For years, I was frustrated with our Sunday School material.  What it boiled down to was that we were teaching morality.  We don't need to teach them morality.  We need to teach them who Jesus is, who God their Father is, who God the Holy Spirit is.  So we quit purchasing material and have made the Holy Bible the text book.  We are confident that once children (and adults) get to know who this God is; once they get to know Him; once they get to a place where they have a real relationship with God, that thing we call morality will fall into place.  Our focus is no longer on how to make them act like real Christians (did you realize that this is what much of our Christian curriculums are actually doing - teaching them to behave?) but not how to have a genuine relationship with God, so that Christ might abide in them and they in Him.  When Christ abides in one, then good things, actually may be accomplished.

Without God, nothing good can be accomplished.  But, as Christ abides in us, it is He who accomplishes good through us. As St. Paul wrote, "... it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."             

So how does all this relate to Psalm 63?  Do your lips praise God?  Do you meditate on Him? In the morning, all through the day, and in the night?  Or has He been forgotten in your home?  Do you bless God so others might hear of His glorious deeds?  Seek the LORD, thirst for His Righteousness....  Quit blaming guns... Quit blaming schools... Quit blaming the government.... What are you doing to teach your children to live in health and in peace?

Ok... so this is a lot of rambling.  Hard to focus in light of yesterday's events...  The only peace we will ever truly know comes when we recognize who this God of ours is.  He can quench our thirst for peace, for equity, for all things good.  He and only He can accomplish these things.

God's Peace - Pr. J