Monday, August 20, 2007

Isaiah 27:12-13

I may have said this once before, but if so, I am going to say it again anyway. I find it quite amazing how one can read a certain passage over and over again, and then one day, all of a sudden, it's like a light turns on and they get it. They understand the passage. And yes, I am referring to myself here. For over a week I was "stuck" on these two verses. I wanted to go on to something else, but I couldn't so I just kept reading them. And then the other day, it was like the blinds on a window were pulled opened and light instantly flooded my mind and heart. But what I find even more remarkable is that God knew exactly when I was going to need to see this truth and he waited patiently (as he always does) until the perfect time to pull the shades.

As I read these two simple verses that morning, I was overcome with a sense of God's love. He cares so much for his children that he is willing to go to the ends of the earth to rescue them and bring them to him. He loves them so much he allows them to worship him on his holy mountain, he allows them to come into his very presence and not die.

There are many incredible and wonderful verses in Scripture, but in my mind, one of the most amazing verses is Revelation 21:3--"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God'" (ESV).

And this knowledge gives me hope that my life is not doomed. Even despite my sinfulness, God still wants to be with me.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Isaiah 27:6-11

As I was reading in Isaiah this morning, I was starting too feel overwhelmed at all there was in these verses. A part of me wants to bring up every point I see here in this blog. But reason is telling me that may not be possible unless I want to stay in Isaiah for for the next few years. So with some heartache much of what is in these 6 verses will be left out. But feel free to study and meditate on them in your own time. Now...

Verse 11 seemed a little troubling to me when I read it. It seemed contrary to the character of God. But in my questioning and thinking, God directed me back to verse 10. As I read this two verses together, i was able to find 1--justification for why God acted the way he did, and 2--an important lesson I should heed closely.

These people God refused compassion and favor on, were people who were so blind they ignored the fact that there was a city which they could reside in safely, a fortified city that would protect them. Instead they treated it like an abandoned ghost town.

Psalm 18:2 says "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge" (NIV). But how often I do choose NOT to dwell in that fortified city? NOT to take refuge in the arms of the Almighty? There is no hope for me on my own.

And so my prayer this morning is the same as David's, expressed in Psalm 27:4--

"One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to meditate in His temple" (NASB).

Monday, August 6, 2007

Isaiah 27:2-5

In John 15:1-17, Christ speaks of the vineyard. He is the vine were are the branches. If we abide in him and he in us, only then will we bear much fruit. The Father is the vine vinedresser, the vinekeeper. He prunes and cuts and cares for his vineyard with the utmost care.

Where as in John the analogy comes from the perspective of the "vine," this analogy in Isaiah comes from the perspective of the "gardener." But their message is the same: love. In Isaiah we get a glimpse at how much God cares for and loves his vineyard, the lengths he will go to keep it looking beautiful and perfect. In John 15:17, Jesus gives us the reason why he talked about the vineyard: "These things I command you, so that you will love one another" (ESV).

God loves his vineyard; we are a part of that vineyard; we need to make every effort to abide in Christ, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, so that we in turn can love one another (Matthew 22:37-40).

"We love because he first loved us"--1 John 4:19