Thoughts on Christ and His Word

Does God cause us to go astray? O Lord , why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?"  Isaiah 63:17 ESV Are we not responsible for rebelling against God?  YES WE ARE. In Isaiah 64:10, the prophet is clear about who is to blame for our rebellion:  "In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them."  Isaiah 63:9‭-‬10 NASB When we rebelagainst God, He begins to resist us (James 4:6) and allows us to go down our own destructive path (Isaiah 6:8-10; Rom. 1;24, 28-29).  But all it takes is a repentant heart returning to God and He will return to us (Joel 2:12; Mal. 3:7).

And Isaiah 58 God gives us his instructions on fasting. As we know fasting is not eating any food for a certain period of time to devote greater time to prayer and meditation. Through this act of humility and devotion we try to show God how serious we are about our prayers and our needs.  After fasting the Jews complained that God didn't listen to them. God replied: They lament, ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers. Isaiah 58:3 NET The fasting that God accepts is when we come to Him combining fasting and acts of love and justice. When we come to God leaving sin behind and with acts of righteousness and love then H e promises: Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ Isaiah 58: 9a NET

Isaiah 53 makes the mission of the Messiah clear. He came to die to pay for our sins. Six out of the 12 verses in this chapter tell us that Messiah came to pay for sin. V.5 - He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,  and by his stripes we are healed. V. 6 and the LORD has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. V. 8 for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. V. 10 when you make his soul an offering for sin. V. 11 for he shall bear their iniquities. V. 12 and he bore the sins of many. The blessing of the Messiah is that he came to pay for our sins and open the door for eternal life to all who believe.

All of us fear. Some of us hide it a little bit better than others but we all tend to have fears. But God does not want us to live in fear especially the fear of man. The fear of man is always a trap. God tells us: “Listen to me, you that know what is right, who have my teaching fixed in your hearts. Do not be afraid when people taunt and insult you;  they will vanish like moth-eaten clothing! But the deliverance I bring will last forever; my victory will endure for all time...The Lord says, “I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortals, who are no more enduring than grass?” Isaiah 51:7‭-‬8,12 GNT

I want to walk on the "Highway of Holiness" (Isaiah 35:8). Isaiah 35:9-10 says "the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." My heart longs to be in this place and to walk the Highway of Holiness to get there.  I want to experience Everlasting Joy and never again have sorrow, pain, sickness or any negative thought.

God is love. 1 John 4:8. God is holy. Psalms 99:9. God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29 God is eternal and passionate love. This passionate love He has for his son Jesus Christ and for his children - you and me. God is holy. His holiness is his flawless interaction of love with his Son and us. We are all separated for God and in God through Jesus Christ. God is a consuming fire which means he lashes out against those who violate love for his Son Christ and violate love for us, His children. All sin is a violation of love towards Christ and/or his children.

Our great God is coming to implant his Kingdom in the near future. In Isaiah 25 we get a glimpse of what this Kingdom will look like for us who have believed in him. Isa 25:6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines. Isa 25:7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; Isa 25:8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. So here's a glimpse of what we will experience in the Kingdom of God: A banquet with rich foods, plenty of the best meats and best wines. We will know God more fully as the veil is taken off our eyes. As it says in 1 John 3:2 "We shall be like him for we will see him as he is". And we will never again shed a tear, never again feel shame, disgrace, gu...

In 2018 we will need to guard our hearts more and more. As the coming of the Lord Jesus draws closer there will be an increase in sin and wickedness that will leave our hearts cold. Jesus warned... "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." Matt. 24:12 Let's commit our lives to loving God and His Word more and 2018 and loving one another with true Christ-like love - a love committed to the relationships that God has put around us - Family, fellow believers and all friends.