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Friday, April 30, 2021

All the Light You Need

 


Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD. 6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners.

Isaiah graciously pleads with the people to walk in the light of the Lord as opposed to the darkness of the Gentiles.  And note that following eastern mystics and disregarding God’s opposition to marrying unbelievers (that’s what’s meant by, “being pleased with the children of foreigners”) is a formula for a people to be God-forsaken.

 

Today, let’s talk about the problem of dabbling with the occult. It is as if these dabblers don’t believe God’s Word has enough light and so they seek additional light and illumination with eastern religion practices and soothsayers. But God plainly says, “don’t go there!” De 18:14 "For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you. (Dt 18:14)

 

Understand the gravity of this sin! It’s not harmless fun when you seek guidance from a horoscope, or seek help from a psychic. If that’s what you want, how long before you think God will say, “Okay, if that’s the kind of help you want, from now on, you’re on your own.” In other words how long before God will forsake you! How long before he turns you over to the evil one who is using these diviners to lure you away from Him?

 

Dabbling in the occult? Stop it! Rather accept Isaiah’s invitation. Return to the Lord in repentance and walk again in His light. He is all the illumination you need!

 

 

 

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Unequally Yoked

 

 

Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD. 6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners.

Isaiah graciously pleads with the people to walk in the light of the Lord as opposed to the darkness of the Gentiles.  And note that following eastern mystics and disregarding God’s opposition to marrying unbelievers (that’s what’s meant by, “being pleased with the children of foreigners”) is a formula for a people to be God-forsaken.

 

Or do you think God has changed His mind about these things? Speaking of marrying outside the faith He says in De 7:3,4, "Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 4 "For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.

The starting point for every good marriage begins with a man and woman committed to Christ, and consequently committed to each other, and their marriage. “A threefold cord is not easily broken” (Ec 4:12)

Let me interject here, that even though the Lord would have you marry a fellow believer, such marriages DO occur, but marriage to an unbeliever is not grounds for divorce.  1Co 7:13,and 16 reminds us: And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

Understand the gravity of this sin! It’s not wise to disregard the faith of a future spouse, who, in the long run may cause you to compromise or even jettison your own faith.

Hear the gracious plea of Isaiah again as you contemplate your marriage and choose to walk in the light (the illumination) of the Lord

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

No More War

 


Isa 2:4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

Before we begin here, let us remember that Isaiah is talking about the “latter days.” As we mentioned last time, these days have been upon us ever since Jesus ascended into heaven and gifted His church with the Holy Spirit before He sent them out with His message of peace….the Gospel.

 

This gospel “Word” is what He uses to judge the nations: Joh 12:48 says, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

 

This Word of the kingdom is a rebuking call to repentance that was the clarion call of Jesus who said in  Mt 4:17, “"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Now please note, who are the ones that are beating their swords into plowshares? Who are the ones converting their spears into pruning hooks? Who are the ones who look for ways to bless rather than curse?” Agriculture over war. Feeding others with life giving food as opposed to starving and killing others through war!

 

The answer is, “those who have been rebuked.” Those who have acted on the call to repentance and received the gospel…..followers of Christ.

Think about the call to Christians to be agents of peace. The writer of Romans reminds us: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Rom 12:18)

Jesus told us to love our enemies rather than go to war with them:  "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, (Mt 5:44)

 

Wars arise from the lust of the flesh, and only Jesus can change the object of our lusts to a lusting for the things of His kingdom, and if this were done perfectly, there would be no more wars, and one day, when He returns, there will be no more wars!!

Jas 4:1-3 reminds us: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Alas, we live in an imperfect world and Jesus has told us that there will always be wars until He returns, but let us. as Christians, seek to live by this rule: Mt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

 

Seeking His kingdom first will put our lustings in their proper place and eliminate a major cause of wars between nations.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

The Latter Days

 


Isa 2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

 2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD'S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

 3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob”

In the next 3 chapters of Isaiah, we will see the Kingdom of Christ unfold through the pen of Isaiah. This particular prophecy concerns itself with the latter days. Here’s the thing I think we all need to understand about the latter days. The world has been living in the “latter” days ever since the Holy Spirit was handed out to the New Testament church on Pentecost. Jesus has been at the ready ever since, just waiting for the Father’s signal.

Since that time, His kingdom (His church) has gone forth with the Gospel from Judah and Jerusalem unto all nations in accordance with Ac 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Jew and Gentile have come to the mountain of God (Calvary) where Christ was lifted up for the salvation of men! He said in Joh 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

Every generation from that time until today has felt that, “this is it, the Lord shall soon return for obviously we are in the latter days.” You can’t read the New Testament without catching this expectation from the writers: Even the Apostles assumed the Lord was returning soon.

 

Paul wrote in 1Co 7:29 that time was short, “But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none,”

The writer of Hebrews said, the Day was approaching,” “Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Peter said, the “end of all things is at hand,” 1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”

Were they all wrong on this? Was the church wrong in every succeeding generation to say the signs point to the soon return of our Lord? Are we wrong today, when all these terrible things going on in our world point to the end?

No! They and we understood that the time of our Lord’s return has been imminent ever since His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and the gifting of His church with the Holy Spirit. He’s just waiting for the permission of the Father, and only the Father knows the time of the end.

Take comfort from 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The bigger question for all is this: Knowing that the Lord’s return could come upon us as a  thief in the night, are we ready? Are we ready to meet the Judge of the Universe? The only way to safely meet Him is to be found in Christ. Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Monday, April 26, 2021

Immediate, Near, and Future Prophecy

 


Isa 1:23 Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

 24 Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.

 25 I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.(Immediate prophecy)

 26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."

 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. (Near Future Prophecy - the Arrival of Jesus)

 28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

 29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.

 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.

 31 The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them. (Far Future Prophecy...the End)

 

He’s not called a prophet for nothing! Here Isaiah speaks of immediate judgment of Judah, then he speaks of the era of the coming Christ, and finally of the end times!

The leaders of Isaiah’s day are running the government on a system of bribes, and the fatherless and the widow are left to fend for themselves. I don’t want to get political, but it seems very close to our present system of lobbyists in the United States. Money wags the tail of our government and since the widows and fatherless have none, they are left out in the cold. In verses 23-25, he speaks of the immediate judgment of these greedy leaders.

Then in verses 26 and 27 we read of a time of restoration. This would be the coming of Christ. He would set up judges (let’s call them the Apostles) and His church would be populated by the penitent redeemed and once again become a beacon of righteousness, justice, and faithfulness to God.

 

Then in verses 28 thru 31 we read of the final judgment when Jesus will return and exact judgment on all those who reject Him. (Those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed! Fire and eternal damnation awaits them. No one shall quench them.

 

Isaiah is a prophet and prophets both warn of judgment, and call people to repentance. He who has ears, let him hear. Turn to Jesus and escape the judgment to come! For He has said through His prophet Isaiah: And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

 

Friday, April 23, 2021

Don't Gloss Over Dross

 


Isa 1:22 Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.

The Lord continues His charge against His church, but I wonder how many of us pay attention to the words he uses.

 

Dross is not one of those words you hear in every day conversation. I worked in a foundry for two years and I know what dross is. It is the scum or unwanted material that forms on the surface of molten metal.  It is good for nothing but the slag pile. “What I have meant to be as precious as silver, (holy) you have turned into moral slag!

 

The Lord’s church, which was meant to be precious and rare and shiny like silver had become so morally debased that they were likened to scum. Their message of moral purity had become watered down like wine mixed with water.

 

These are strong (forever) words and the church today should not ignore them. They ought to serve as warnings to us as we seek to graciously work out our salvation.  Don’t water down the Word and don’t water down sanctified living! 1 Pet 2:9 reminds us:  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

By grace, we’ve been called out of darkness into His marvelous light, let’s seek to live in a way that declares our praise of Him!

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Let Us Reason Together

 


Isa 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool

This is one of the most revered passages in all of Christendom and rightly so. We find it unreasonable that God would be willing to forgive our sins through faith in the sacrificial death of His Son. We tend to think we have to do something on our own to earn it, but HE freely offers forgiveness through His loving sacrifice of His Son! Some of you will remember a praise chorus done by the Maranatha singers years ago that went like this:

White as snow, white as snow,

Though my sins were as scarlet,

Lord I know, Lord I know,

That I’m clean and forgiven.

Through the power of Your blood,

Through the wonder of Your love,

Through faith in You I know that I can be:

White as snow, white as snow, white as snow.

 

But why are sins colored red here? Why not black? Well for one thing, the sins of Judah at the time of Isaiah writing this included the brutal practice of child sacrifice. God wants us to be thinking blood here….innocent blood.

 

He “reasons” with us that even though we may be guilty of spilling innocent blood, (one of the things that He hates according to Prov Pr 6:16,17) the innocent blood of His Son Jesus will cover us. 1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

In the gloom and doom of the prophet Isaiah we often find these gospel gems, these beacons of light. Seek them out and cling to them for they are sure promises from a God who loves you so much that beyond our own human reason, He sacrificed His only Son to pay for our sins, that we may have eternal fellowship with Him in heaven.