July 9

Isaiah 18, 19, 20, 30, 31

Judah is prospering under Hezekiah's leadership. But Isaiah is warning that it'll be short lived else they stay on track. The same thing that happened to Israel is in their future.

The part of today's reading that really stood out to me was Isaiah 30:15-18:

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!

A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill."

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!

After all the God's people have put Him through, He still desires to show them love and compassion! His capacity to show us love and mercy never ceases to amaze me. It's encouraging to know that we can never go beyond His reach.

July 8

July 8, 2009

Beware of Compromise

2 Kings 17:40-41 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

In our reading today we discovered the reason why this nation was judged by God. They had a divided heart. Time after time in our reading we saw their compromise with sin:
Worshiping other gods
Secretly doing wrong
Building of high places
Not listening to God
Rejecting and neglecting his Word
Bowing down to the stars
Killing their babies
It wasn’t as if they totally neglected God, no they went to synagogue but on the way home they compromised their faith. They intermingled their faith and the culture. This idolatry still abounds today. We have 68% of Americans claiming to be “Christian” yet we are committed to self above God, to materialism, to the gods of sexual erotica, and the gods of entertainment and comfort. We have failed to see how deadly compromise and sin is in our lives.

Israel was destroyed because of their sin. They never connected the relationship between sin and death. In the USA right now we have the same level of neglect and denial. We live in a culture that literally worships sin. Here is what Albert Dahlquist wrote concerning our compromise.

The seven deadly sins have become our American virtues.... Lust is America's favorite indoor sport. Gluttony can be seen in the national passion for fancy recipes and high-priced restaurants. Sloth is celebrated in fashionable magazines in the guise of leisure, recreation, and entertainment. Pride abounds in names such as black pride, gay pride, and lesbian pride. Wrath is the great virtue of revolutionaries and reformers. Envy, as Bertrand Russell said, is the basis of democracy. And avarice keeps our stock markets humming.
"In the old days, punishment was essential for sin, yet the idea of punishment seems as obsolete as sin itself. One prominent clergyman has said that people are more afraid of losing their jobs than they are of going to hell."

The probing question is: Where are we compromising our faith these days? Sin always leads to death. Death of individuals and death of nations.

July 6

The Gospel of Offense

Isaiah 28:10 Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."

The religious leaders in Isaiah’s time had so structured religion that they had listed of 613 rules – 248 commands and 365 prohibitions – and bolstered these with rules with 1,521 emendations. You talk about do and do, do and do..... Religion was a bunch of rules. To avoid breaking the third commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord,” they refused to pronounce God’s name at all. In Jesus’ day, to avoid sexual temptation they had a practice of lowering their heads and not even looking at women (the most scrupulous of these were known as “bleeding Pharisees” because of frequent collisions with walls and other obstacles). To avoid defiling the Sabbath they outlawed thirty-nine activities that might be construed as “work.”

Here is a summary of the difference between Religion and Relationship:

DO vs DONE

In the end religion is a way for people to earn their salvation. But the gospel teaches us that we can never keep God’s laws. We can never “DO” enough to earn it. The law shows us our complete inability to achieve perfection. This law is something we should always strive for but also realize we will never reach. The recognition of the great distance between God and us can only be made up by grace. Rather than put our efforts into “DOING” we trust in what God has “DONE” on the cross. There is a big difference between the two.
The great tragedy in Stamford in 2009 is that 90% of people in this city are counting on “DOING” religion to get them to heaven. Go out and ask ten people why they expect to get to heaven and nine of them will say, “I am trying to be a good person” Wrong answer. The right answer is, “I am trusting in what Jesus has “DONE” on the cross.”
Ask God to give you an opportunity to talk with someone about religion today. Then ask them, “Why do you think you are going to heaven?” Don’t answer the question unless they ask you what you think. Lord, I pray that you will open doors for us to share the gospel message today.

July 5: Isaiah 24-26, 32, 35

In today's passages, Isaiah prophesies about a far-distant series of events, including the judgment of the wicked and the coming of the new heaven and the new earth. These visions supplement those that appear in Revelation and provide some of the first recorded glimpses of what the Last Days will resemble. Please note that the Bible clearly portrays a cycle of sin, which brings death, and redemption, which brings life:

1. God creates heaven and earth, which he declares to be "very good," including man and woman. God and man enjoy a close communion. (Genesis 1,2)

2. Despite their connection with God, man's pride induces him to listen to the Evil One and to disobey God. Man's fellowship with God is broken, and death comes into being. (Genesis 3)

3. From this point forward, God forms a nation (from Abraham) through which he will bless the earth. God interacts manifestly in the lives of the patriarchs and shows His great provision. Still, the patriarchs all struggle with deception, a device used in times of doubting God's providence. (Genesis)

4. After bringing the people to Egypt, God shows His redemptive power through the Exodus. Through the Passover Lamb, God shows how the people's freedom from death only comes through God's direction, not through man's actions. God then gives the law, which points to man's sin and His need for God's redemption, through Moses. The complaining people wander through the desert due to their wavering hearts. (Exodus through Deuteronomy)

4. The cycle of rulers point to the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. The tenor of leadership has a profound effect on the Israelite nation. (Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles)

5. The people's sin becomes so great that God allows for the exile to Assyria, providing another turning point around which God will demonstrate His redemptive power.

6. God sends prophets to the Israelites to explain how He will send His only Son to earth, as a means of offering redemption to the whole world. (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel)

7. Israel eventually comes under Roman rule around the time of Christ's birth. Jesus fulfills the hundreds of prophecies previously given and serves as the perfect substitute for sinful man (2 Corinthians 5:21). (Matthew through John)

8. The Gospel spreads powerfully through Jewish and Greek culture, creating communities of faith among all classes of people. God attests to the truth of the Good News through signs and wonders.

9. Despite the church's presence, the cycles of sin and redemption still flow through history through the current time.

Today's passages point to the end, answering questions about the wicked and the righteous. God reveals several key lessons through Isaiah:

1. There is no favoritism in God's judgment; God will overturn the present age in His appointed time, and each person will bow to His power and glory.

2. Hoping in the present goodness of the earth represents an attempt to trust the ephemeral instead of leaning on the eternal. While the earth and its happiness are here for the present time, God will irretrievably change the earth in His appointed time.

3. The righteous will rejoice in God's judgment and salvation. They sense their foreignness on earth. They will come from all nations, all peoples, and all times. God will "prepare/ a feast of rich food for all people.../ The Soverign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces;/ he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth."

4. The redemption of the righteous and the death of the wicked ultimately points to God's glory and goodness. God's glory becomes central again.

5. The righteous will rejoice in the blessing of following God:

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,

we wait for you;

Your name and your renown

are the desire of our hearts.

My soul years for you in the night;

in the morning my spirit longs fro you.

When your judgements come upon the earth,

the people of the world learn righteousness. (26:8,9)

6. The righteous will receive resurrection from the dead, while the wicked will be banished from God's presence.

7. God will build a kingdom around His redemption:

a. Even the desert will blossom.

b. The redemption will show other physical signs, too (35:5-10)

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

7 The burning sand will become a pool,

the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,

grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness.

The unclean will not journey on it;

it will be for those who walk in that Way;

wicked fools will not go about on it. [a]

9 No lion will be there,

nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,

10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

　

QUESTIONS

1. What does the truth of redemption mean for you personally?

2. How can you share this Good News with a friend or relative who is struggling today?

July 4

Joy on the Fourth of July

2 Chron. 30:26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

On this Fourth of July if you ask 100 people what is their goal in life they will say, “I want to be happy.” There is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness has to do with all of the circumstances of life going well. We want the rain to stop and the sun to shine; we want the temperature to hit 80 degrees, the kids to be cheerful, the dog to obey us, and a lot of money in our pocket. That is the world’s definition of happiness. But joy is much deeper. Joy can be experienced even when the circumstances of life are not favorable. In Hezekiah’s day they experienced GREAT joy in Jerusalem. How they experienced it deserves a closer look. It started with a king who did not walk in the pathways of his ancestors. This king wanted to please God more than please man. He then opened with word of God and discovered that God wanted the nation to celebrate a Passover every year. So in simple obedience he arranged for the people to fulfill this command of God. And herein lies the secret to “Joy.” Joy is simply obeying God. When we obey the word of God we always arrive at joy.

On this Fourth of July obey God and discover joy.

Psalm 97:11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

July 3

The Real Battle

In our reading today we visited the kingdom of Babylon. Isaiah is writing a hundred and fifty years before the destruction of this kingdom. As we read these verses we notice something strange is going on. In Isaiah 14:21 we see a king with sons, so this is clearly a reference to an earthly king. Yet in earlier verses we see this king as a being brought down to the grave after trying to usurp the throne of God. My understanding of this is that Satan is behind the power and rule of the king of Babylon. It is actually demonic power that is animating and inspiring his kingdom.

In Ephesians 6:12 we are told that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Behind the evil of our world lies the evil one. He is our enemy. He is the one we fight against. Yet this view of the battle is not believed by 50% of Christians today in the USA.

This view of a personal enemy of our souls was researched by Steve Russo and Neil Anderson. They interviewed more than 1,700 professing Christians teenagers in preparation for their book The Seduction of Our Children. Here are the results of one evangelical Christian High School.

- 45% said they have experienced a "presence" (seen or heard) in their rooms that scared them.
-59% said they've harbored bad thoughts about God.
-43% said they find it mentally hard to pray and read the Bible.
-69% reported hearing "voices" in their heads, like they were subconscious voices talking to them.
-22% present said they frequently entertain thoughts of suicide.
-74% think they are different than others. (It works for others but not for them)

As bad as these percentages are, they rise considerable when teens have dabbled in the occult, followed counterfeit guidance or played certain fantasy games that no Christian should play.

How do you explain that 7 out of 10 professing Christian young people are hearing voices? Are they paranoid schizophrenic, or psychotic? They could be, but we must also consider the truth taught in our passage today, that there is real spiritual enemy we are engaged with.

This battle is called spiritual warfare. And if you don’t believe in it you are already a victim. The Bible teaches with absolute clarity - our adversary is very real. He is invisible, powerful, shrewd and he doesn't play by the rules. He will do anything possible to destroy you, your family, your church and your nation. Keep your guard up today.

July 2

Isaiah 21, 23, 34
2 Kings 16
2 Chronicles 28, 29

The first part of today's reading describes God's impending judgment against Edom, Arabia, and Tyre. These passage emphasize a part of God's character that we don't usually like to think about. God is just who punishes the guilty with His holy power. Isaiah 34 gives the image of a sword descending in judgment, drenching the land with blood and fat, leaving Edom desolate. There's absolutely no way to sugar coat this: God cannot allow sin to go unpunished. We don't like to think about this, because we are all guilty. But it is important to remember not to take sin lightly.

The second part focuses on Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Ahaz was king for 16 years and very wicked. (no surprise there!) He sacrificed to other gods and provoked the Lord's anger. When he died, his son Hezekiah succeeded him. I image he was like a breath of fresh air to God! He actually did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like his father David. He removed all traces of false gods and followed the commands that God gave to Moses. 2 Kings 18:7 says "And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook." It's amazing that no matter how much evil that his father Ahaz brought on Judah, through Hezekiah, the nation was turned back on the right path. This shows another aspect to God's character: His mercy and grace. It's encouraging to know that no matter how much we sin, its never beyond God's ability to forgive. Everyone who returns to Him is welcomed with open arms!