Friday Thought -- August 29, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7)

The context of this passage is Isaiah writing about the Assyrian oppression of Israel. He says that the Assyrians mock the name of the Lord, that all day long they blaspheme His name. He contrasts the Assyrians and their blaspheme with those who proclaim the good news, who exalt the Lord with their lips.

God is pleased when people exalt Him and share His message of love with those around them. At the core of the heart of God is His desire to see His message brought to other people. God will not be satisfied until every nation, every tribe, every people group, every language has heard His message of good news. God is pleased with those who are His messengers to take the news to others.

When you share His message of love and grace with your co-workers, friends, neighbors, or relatives, God is pleased. He has placed you in the place you are and given you opportunity to develop relationships with other people for that very reason, that you might be His instrument to share His message with them.

So, here’s a question: how beautiful are your feet to the Lord? Are they responsible for taking His good news to those around you? Are you being a good steward of the opportunities God gives you to share His message?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- August 28, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.” (Isaiah 51:6-8)

Look into the skies and ponder the stability you see there. Every day, the sun comes up and goes down. It works like clockwork. You can count on it to be there. It has never let you down. The moon is always there in its proper place. It goes through its cycles and never misses a one. The stars don’t move from place to place randomly. They follow the order that has been set out for them. It has always been this way and it will always be this way, won’t it?

Look at the earth and ponder the stability you see there. You can drive west and find the Pacific Ocean, east and find the Atlantic. They haven’t dried up. They are the same today as they were for your great-grandfather, and as they were when the Native Americans were the only ones roaming through America. Earthquakes and volcanoes cause some minor shifting of the land, but it remains basically as it has for as long as time has existed. It will always be this way, won’t it?

Surely, if anything can be counted on the earth and the sky can be, can’t they? No, Isaiah warns that they can’t be counted on. The day comes when the skies will vanish like smoke and the earth wear out like a garment. Perhaps we can already see the signs of the earth’s deterioration!

If we can’t count on the earth and skies, what can we count on? There is One whose salvation will last forever, whose righteousness will never fail. There is One who will always be there, even when the skies and the earth are gone. Count on Him. Trust in Him. Look to Him!!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- August 27, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

"Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.' Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." (Isaiah 49:13-16)

Israel experienced the same kind of doubts and uncertainties that you and I experience sometimes. Often, it seemed that God had abandoned them, forgotten all about them. Where was He? Why was He allowing them to go through the difficulties they were facing without intervening in their behalf?

Listen and understand what the Lord said to Israel, and what the Lord says to you and me. He has not forgotten us. He never has, He never will, He never can. God can no more forget His children than a mother could forget hers. In fact, even a mother is more likely to forget her child, than the Lord is to forget His children.

Look closely at the Lord. Look at His hands. There you can see the marks that prove He has not forgotten us. In the palms of His hands are the marks of His love. There are the marks of the nails and the cross which shout to us in terms beyond all doubt – He loves us – He remembers us.

He has not forsaken us. He never will! He has not forgotten us. He never can!

So, shout, rejoice, burst into song. God remembers you! God loves you!

God will never forsake or forget you! That's enough to cause you to worship Him, isn't it?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- August 26, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“This is what the LORD says -- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me.’” (Isaiah 48:17-19)

When we turn away from the Lord and His instructions and directions, we do so to our own harm! God’s instructions are not meant for our harm, but for our benefit. His instructions are not meant to restrict us, but to free us to reach our maximum potential and effectiveness. He teaches us what is best for us. His instructions are not arbitrary or designed to reduce our pleasure just to prove that He is in charge.

For instance, when God teaches us the principle of one man -- one woman, faithful to each other for life, it’s because that is what is best for us. The blessings from that kind of relationship will flow not only to us, but to our children and to the generations that follow them.

That’s just one example, it’s true of all of the other commands of the Lord, too. Following His commands brings peace and blessing to us and to future generations. When we disregard His commands, pain and disaster follow, not just in punishment, but as the natural consequence of rejecting the principles by which God designed life to work best.

Pay attention to God’s directions, He gives them for our good, not our harm.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- August 25, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” (Isaiah 43:18-21)

It is easy to dwell in the past and many of us do that. We rehearse our own mistakes and continue to beat ourselves up for them. We review our sins and continue to carry guilt because of them. I can remember things I did in grade school and cringe in shame because of them. The past haunts us.

But it doesn’t need to. Our past was a desert, a wasteland, a place with no life. But God has transformed us. He has taken our wasteland and made it into a paradise. He has brought His life-giving presence into our desert of death.

It is a new thing, and God has done it in our lives! God has done it for us because we are His people and He loves us. God has done it for us so that we would continually offer Him praise.

Don’t dwell on your past, on your mistakes and sins. They’ve been dealt with and forgiven! Instead, dwell on the One who has dealt with them. Dwell on the Lord. Give Him praise! Remember not your sins, remember instead your forgiveness! Remember not your life of emptiness and death, remember your life of purpose, joy, peace, and life!

Give Him praise!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- August 22, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“I am Jehovah; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)

God has a name – it is Jehovah. His name means to be self-existent. He is the eternal one. No one created God, He created everything else. He doesn’t owe His existence to man, nor to anyone or anything else. Everything else owes its existence to Him.

He is a marvelous God. He is loving – that is His basic characteristic. He is kind and gentle and patient. But He is also jealous! The one thing God will not tolerate is when we give what is rightfully His to someone or something else. It’s especially grievous to God when we give His glory to things He has created.

Most of us don’t have a little idol sitting in the corner of our living room, or anywhere else in our homes. We don’t burn incense to them. We don’t bow and worship them. We don’t pray to them. We don’t bring offerings to them.

Our idols take other forms! There is only One who deserves first place in your life. There is only One who should be turned to in times of distress. There is only One who deserves to be followed without question. Those are the things that belong to God, and to God only.

Are you giving what is God’s to anyone or anything else?

Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- August 21, 2014

Good Morning Friends,

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:10-13)

What are you afraid of?

Are you afraid God might not be watching and something might happen that He wasn’t aware of? That can never happen. Jesus said, “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20) God never sleeps and He never takes His eyes off you.

Are you afraid God might desert you? That will never happen. God has promised, “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Are you afraid God won’t be able to help you? “Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke

1:37) There is no problem so big that God cannot deal with it.

Are you afraid God might do something harmful to you? “God cannot be tempted by evil.” (James 1:13) All His ways are righteous and perfect and loving.

What are you afraid of? God says, “Do not be afraid, I am with you.”

His, by Grace,

Steve