Monday Thought -- August 11, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’ You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:15-16,18)

God patiently waits for people (including you and me) to turn to Him and trust Him. He pursues us with love, longing to see us stop and come to Him.

But we are so self-sufficient and independent. We can take care of ourselves. We can do what needs to be done. We can make it on our own. We have devised everything we think we need to succeed, protect ourselves, deal with our problems. “We will flee on horses.” That speaks of taking matters into our own hands and believing we can take care of ourselves.

But God is there waiting. He “longs to be gracious.” It is in His heart to save us, protect us, help us. But He will not force us to turn to Him. He’ll let us pursue our own devises as long as we will, all the while waiting with what we so desperately need.

Of course, that relates to those who do not know God, who run from Him, instead of turning to Him. But it relates to those of us who know Him, too. Time and again, even though we ought to know better, we rely upon ourselves. How foolish! How much pain we bear because of our foolishness.

And God waits patiently for us to turn to Him, longing to help us and show us His grace.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- August 8, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” (Isaiah 30:9-11)

What if God spoke and we decided we didn’t want to hear what He had to say to us?

That’s what was going on among the people of Israel. God was speaking and they wanted to stop hearing His message. They were looking for a different message, an easier message, one that did not require them to give up anything they didn’t want to give up or do anything they didn’t want to do. That it was God speaking didn’t make any difference to the people of Israel.

The seers and the prophets had a choice – tell the people what God was showing them and saying to them or tell the people only what they wanted to hear. Godly seers have no choice except to speak of the vision they have seen, whether it is wanted or not. Godly prophets have no choice except to the deliver the message God has given to them. The message is not the responsibility of the seer or the prophet, that responsibility belongs to God.

In our age, many people don’t like the message God has provided to us in Jesus. Many people want the message changed. They want it to be easier and less demanding. They want it to be less exclusive. They want to shape the message of God in a way that they like.

But we have no worthwhile message, except the one that God has given to us. God’s messengers aren’t responsible for the message, that responsibility belongs to God. Our responsibility is to honestly bring God’s message to all and let them decide how they will respond.

How are you responding?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- August 7, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“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.’” (Isaiah 29:13)

It’s the heart that God is most concerned about! The actions we do and the words we say are important, but only as they reflect what is actually going on in our heart. When they are deceptive, they are worthless. It’s the heart that matters most.

Israel knew the words to say that pleased God and they knew the actions to take that demonstrated they were following Him. Their words and their actions could fool each other, could fool other nations, sometimes could even fool themselves. But they never fooled God. God could see into their hearts and that was what mattered.

Going through the motions in worship makes men think a person is religious. But if the heart is not there, it’s just motions, nothing more. God wants our hearts, honestly and sincerely.

His great command to Israel was, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Jesus said it’s those whose hearts are right that will see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Paul taught that salvation starts in the heart. If it doesn’t start there, it can’t start anywhere else. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:10)

It is your heart that God is most concerned about!

So, how’s your heart?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- August 6, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“You boast, ‘We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.’ So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.’” (Isaiah 28:15-18)

Isaiah’s words were spoken to the tribe of Ephraim. They thought they had it all figured out. They had found a way to avoid calamity. They were confident of their “covenant with death.” Nothing would harm them.

But like the man in the story Jesus told in the Sermon on the Mount, they had built their house on sand. Their confidence would be proven foolish. Death and the grave would have their way with them. There would be nothing they could do to stop them.

In contrast to the shaky foundation upon which they had built their confidence, God offers a sure foundation, a solid rock. It had been tested and found more than adequate as a foundation for life. It was a supremely valuable foundation and would not be shaken. And God offered this new foundation to them. They could exchange the sand for a rock.

Of course, most of Ephraim clung to the sand. They rejected the rock, the cornerstone, the sure foundation. By the time they realized they had made a poor choice, it was too late.

So, too, for our world. Many think they have death figured out. They’ve made their peace with it. But they’ve built on sand. When they finally realize they were wrong, it may be too late for them.

You have chosen the Rock. Cling to Him! The storms will still come, but your foundation will not be shaken. The Rock will always be secure.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- August 5, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. O Lord, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor.” (Isaiah 26:12-13)

Where does peace come from?

Peace can refer to the absence of hostility. That peace doesn’t come from the world – war and fighting and hostility rage among nations, within countries, in political arenas, in workplaces, among families and in marriages. There is almost no place that we can turn and honestly say that it is a place of peace – not in this world. Human personalities and selfishness get in the way of peace.

Peace can also refer to the absence of anxiety. That peace doesn’t some from the world, either. There is so much about which we can be and are anxious. Finances and relationships and health and jobs and so much more. They all rob us of peace.

Where does peace come from? It can only from the Lord. Only by trusting in God can we overcome the anxieties that abound. As Peter said, “Cast all your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) The shoulders of the Lord are the only shoulders strong enough to trust with all of our cares. He alone can bring peace to our hearts. Only by trusting God and following His ways can we see an end to hostilities. His counsel about marriage and family life is the only counsel that can bring peace to our homes. His counsel about how to get along with others for us – and for nations – is the only hope of establishing relationships that are right and good. Only He can bring peace.

The angels made the announcement on the night of Jesus’ birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14) Jesus affirmed that He is the One who came to bring peace, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

“Lord, you establish peace for us!” Embrace the peace that God offers to you – freedom from anxiety and release from hostility. Thank God for this marvelous gift.

His, by Grace and in Peace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- August 4, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth.” (Isaiah 26:3-4, 7)

We live in a world filled with turmoil and anxiety. There is so much to worry about! Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wars, terrorist attacks. Disease and accidents often strike without warning and take abilities and sometimes life from those we love. The economy isn’t doing as well as it could. Stocks are up and down. Employment concerns trouble some people. There are so many things our world offers that can become snares for our children. There’s not a parent in our world who doesn’t worry, or shouldn’t. Marriages are breaking down in record numbers, who will be next, someone we know?

There is so much to worry about, where can a man find peace?

In only one place! Peace comes only from trusting the Lord. Peace comes only from putting our minds firmly on Him and sticking with Him through good times and bad times. There are other things which seem solid for periods of time, perhaps even long periods of time, but eventually every other foundation a man chooses will be shaken. Only the Lord remains a solid foundation worth building a life on. Even when the whole world shakes, He’ll still be the solid Rock!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- August 1, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

For chapter after chapter, Isaiah speaks prophetic words about the Lord’s judgment that was coming to the nations. Specific words were spoken against Assyria, the Philistines, Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Babylon, Jerusalem, and Tyre. The Lord’s judgment was coming: “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.” (Isaiah 25:1-2)

But not all was to be devastation and judgment. “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.” (Isaiah 25:4)

“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’” (Isaiah 25:8-9)

We can count on the judgments God has predicted coming true. God will faithfully keep His word, doing the things He has planned for ages. But those who trust in Him need not fear judgment. It is not judgment that awaits us, but refuge, comfort, joy, salvation!

God has always laid down the choice of two paths for man to follow. Choose to ignore or reject Him and judgment surely awaits. Choose to trust Him and the blessings that will ultimately flow to us will be amazing!

I choose to trust Him!

His, by Grace,

Steve