Thursday, June 19, 2008

Isaiah 31:1-3

Isaiah 31:2a-"And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words..." (ESV).

That "he is wise and brings disaster" seems almost contrary to God's character, but it is not. Sometimes we may not want to think of God like this, and at other times (and usually for the wrong reasons) we rejoice over this part of God's nature. But I'm willing to bet that whether we hate or love this part of God, we do not understand it. We may think we do, but when pressed a reason why God is like this, we find we don't really understand. However, the second part of the phrase in verse 2 helps us understand this aspect of God's character: "he does not call back his words." In other words, God is immutable; He is unchanging. He brings disaster on those who disobey Him. And He has to. If He did not, He would not be immutable. And if He was not immutable, how could He be trusted? Also, how could He be just? If He were not immutable then He entire character, the entire nature of God would crumble. He would cease to be God! Then where would that leave us? We'd be better off dead.

But if God brings disaster on those who disobey Him, what about Christians who disobey? Praise God, for that is where forgiveness comes into play. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9, ESV).

Monday, June 16, 2008

MEEKNESS

This is only a short break and then I will return to Isaiah.

Matthew 5:5-“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (ESV).

What is meekness anyway? Have you ever wondered that? Webster’s defines it as enduring injury with patience and without resentment; deficient in spirit and courage; not violent or strong.

I recently came across a Bible devotional study book I went through in the summer 2000. Curious about what I wrote in it, I skimmed through it and came across a page in which I wrote about meekness. And to my annoyance, God used my own words to smack me upside the head and say, “Hey, get with it, Stephen.” I thought it would be beneficial to share those words with you:

“Sometimes [you] might [have] a goal… and [you] try to get there, [you] try to reach it on [your] own. For example, there is this beautiful place [you] want to get to, but [you] want to get there as quickly as possible. [You] want to take the easiest way possible—the highway—and [you] don’t care what kind of country, wilderness, beauty, [you] cut down to pave that road. However, the road may still be beautiful. But God might want to get [you] to that beautiful spot via a different route or He may want to take [you] somewhere else. Yet the road God wants [you] to take is almost always the narrow, dirt road. It is less traveled and the travel will always be harder and it will probably take a longer time [getting there]. But at the end of the road you look back and see that the scenery was more beautiful and the place where you ended up, if it is different, will be more beautiful. And over all you will appreciate everything a whole lot more.

“Meekness… is willingly following God through the backwoods and dirt roads rather that making Him drag you through.”