July 19

I love today's reading because it is good to know and good to remember who we are and who God is; what God has done, what we’ve done in return, and what God has done in return.

1. It is sin that seperates us from God.
People might think: If God is out there He must not care for me because He is silent. But God tells us through today’s reading that because we are so blinded by our sin and guilt, that we can’t see Him:

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2)

Some of us might exaclty know what our iniquities are. Some of us might say: I haven’t been too bad. I’m a pretty good person. But remember we are all born sinners. We all have sinned. And God is holy. He said it in the reading today: “I live in a high and holy place” (Isaiah 57:15)

Sin and the holy God who is in a high place cannot coexist. So how do we get to talk and walk freely with God again, as Adam and Eve did at frist?

2. Because of His love, God forgives us and restores us
What is God to do? He loves us because He created us. He says it:

"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
I will not accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—
the breath of man that I have created.
...(Isaiah 57:15-19)

3. God provides salvation from sin.
So in His love, God provides the solution.

"The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,"
declares the LORD. (Isaiah 59:20)

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ became the bridge between sin and a holy God.

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:36-38)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

4. God leads us to a better place
If we truley know God, we will also know the change in out hearts and lives. We might be religious, we might feel a zeal for spirituality and ask God for blessings. But God says that such things are empty if we are at the same time unjust, turn our backs to the poort and fight with each other. Our love for God translates to the way we live.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah 58:6-7)

It is amazing to read Isaiah now and look forward to when we’ll be reading through the Gospels and we will see how Jesus taught the same things. Bookmark God’s words. It is always encouraging to see the consistency of God’s character.