Thursday Thought -- July 31, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it -- one from the house of David – one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.” (Isaiah 16:4-5)

Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah. He will bring the oppressor to an end and cause destruction to cease. No longer will Satan have his way with us. No longer will Satan’s schemes dominate our lives and bring its appointed end. God will deal with Satan once and for all.

A new kingdom will be established and its King will reign in love. Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of fear and distress, a kingdom of oppression and destruction. The kingdom of the Messiah will have love as its very foundation.

The new King will reign in faithfulness. He can be counted on. He will never let us down. He will always be there when we turn to Him. His presence will never be taken away. No power will ever be able to wrest Him from the throne.

Justice and righteousness will be the hallmarks of His work.

Sounds like a great kingdom of which to be a part doesn’t it. A kingdom of love, a faithful king, a kingdom of justice and righteousness. Isaiah predicted it and Jesus is fulfilling it!

Thank God for your King. Remember how much better He is than your old one! “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” (Colossians 1:13)

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- July 30, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“The LORD Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’” (Isaiah 14:24)

There is one thing that is certain in this life, one thing you can absolutely count on: what God declares will come to pass!

Nothing can stand in the way of God accomplishing what He has planned. There is no enemy powerful enough to thwart God’s plans. Satan can’t. He tries, but always fails. In fact, God turns what Satan tries to use to thwart His plan and uses it to accomplish it. That’s the promise of Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The ultimate illustration of that truth is in what God did with the cross!

Man’s cooperation is not required for God to accomplish His plan. True, our cooperation would be helpful, but it’s not required by God, it’s helpful for us! When we stand against God’s plan, we do so to our own distress and pain. God’s plan will be accomplished with or without our cooperation.

No force of nature or turn of circumstances surprises God and makes Him change His plan. Every circumstance is foreseen by God and works toward His plan.

God’s ultimate plan for this world has already been declared: one day all things, including all people who have ever lived, will bow in submission and worship to Him. Although we don’t see it yet, it is absolutely certain. God has declared it.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- July 29, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)

There are times when prophecy has a dual meaning and this seems to be one of those times. It’s stated message is about Babylon and is a word from God to say that Babylon is not being used to discipline the people of Israel because Babylon is so righteous and so much in God’s favor. Rather, Babylon is just a tool that God is using in His work to bring the people of Israel to repentance and when Babylon’s part of that work is finished, then Babylon will be finished, too. God will bring judgment on Babylon. That judgment will come because of Babylon’s arrogance, even exalting itself above God Himself.

The hidden meaning in this prophecy may well be about an older and deeper battle. It may well be about the battle between God and Satan that has raged from before the creation of the world. Satan tried to exalt himself above God. He wanted the throne for himself. God allowed the rebellion, but ultimately God brought the rebellion in heaven to its end and Satan was cast down to the earth. He still rages – for now – but the time will come when the battle will be completely over and Satan will be ushered into the pit for eternity. His arrogance cost him heaven and will cost him earth, too.

Arrogance never wins in the end. It always leads to a great fall.

Our hope cannot be in our own will and power and abilities. It can only be in humble submission to the One who is great, the One who is worthy of all praise and submission.

Humility before God leads to His pleasure and to our reward. Arrogance leads only to destruction.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- July 28, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Babylon was a tool of God used to discipline Israel. But the fact that God used Babylon did not justify its wickedness or its rejection of God. In Isaiah 13, God foretells the destruction of Babylon. It is a history lesson, told before it happened and a case study in what happens to a people who reject God!

“I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath. They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens -- the Lord and the weapons of His wrath -- to destroy the whole country.” (Isaiah 13:3,5)

What is predicted for Babylon, and what actually happened to it, was not pleasant.

“Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the day of the Lord is coming -- a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger -- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.” (Isaiah 13: 8-9)

I think Babylon is a small picture of what God will do to all the wickedness of the world one day. He says, “I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.” (Isaiah 13:11)

And when God destroys, He can cause it to stay destroyed. “Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations, no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there.” (Isaiah 13:20) And true to what God predicted, Babylon remains uninhabited these 2,000 plus years later!

For me, the story of Babylon says a lot about God’s power. It says a lot about God’s ultimate punishment of sin. We dwell a lot on God’s patience, and He is patient. We dwell a lot on God’s grace, and it is abundant. But for those outside of Christ, a day of wrath is coming and it will be even fiercer than what Babylon faced.

And some people wonder why evangelism is so important! Some people are uneasy about bothering people with what we believe!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- July 25, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“In that day you will say: ‘I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.’ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:1-3)

Isaiah spoke of a day that was coming when God’s anger at man would turn to salvation and comfort. This prophecy looked to the day when the branch of Jesse would come forth and bring peace. And He has! The anger of God has been satisfied. The payment for sins has been paid in full. God no longer looks upon men in anger, but sees through the blood of Jesus.

Isaiah goes on to speak of what our response should be to this new relationship with God, this relationship of comfort and salvation.

“In that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.’” (Isaiah 12:4-6)

Give thanks to Him.

Spread His message of comfort and salvation to the world.

Sing to Him in worship.

Shout in joy.

He has earned our thanks and worship, for He has done glorious things among us. It is a message worth sharing. It’s what the world needs. It’s what our neighbors need. It’s what our friends need.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- July 24, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:6-10)

A day of peace is coming. Not just peace among men, but even peace among the things of nature. The wolf will no longer be the predator of the lamb, the lion will no longer be the enemy of the cow, and snakes will no longer use their fearful poison.

The day of peace won’t come because of America’s influence around the world. Our nation doesn’t hold that kind of power, not over man and certainly not over nature. That kind of peace can only come from one Source. “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. – The Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples.” It is the presence of Jesus and His influence that will bring peace.

When will it happen? How will He bring it about? What will it be like?

Those are all questions left to be answered. But peace is coming to the world. A peace that is beyond comprehension. A peace that is beyond anything man can accomplish, beyond anything man can even imagine.

The peace of Jesus is coming. Sounds good to me.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- July 23, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him -- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Isaiah continues his prophetic word about the coming Messiah in this passage. Jesse is the father of King David, so this is another word about the One who would come through David’s family line. This passage speaks of the character He will bring to the leadership of His kingdom.

For judgment, the Lord does not rely upon just what He sees and hears, not just upon what can be discerned outwardly. He goes beyond that to look deep into the heart of men and women. He sees motives and intents. He doesn’t just see the way things turn out, but the way we wanted them to turn out. He sees desires and dreams. In perfect justice and perfect righteousness, He judges. There are no false motivations or uncertainties in Him, only perfect knowledge and perfect justice.

God’s Kingdom is a realm in which we don’t have to worry about the selfishness of the King nor His less-than-perfect motivations. A King we can trust. A Kingdom perfectly ruled. That’s what is offered in following Jesus.

His, by Grace,

Steve