Seeing Is Believing.

Isaiah 37-38

But now step in, O GOD, our God. Save us from him. Let all the kingdoms of earth know that you and you alone are GOD. ­– Isaiah 37:22 MSG

The Assyrian army is at the door. They have threatened to destroy Judah just like they have every other nation they have come up against – unless the people of Judah surrender. King Sennacherib has sent one final message to King Hezekiah, warning him not to trust in God, because it won't do him any good. No gods have ever been able to stand up against the mighty Assyrian army. "You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different?" (Isaiah 37:11 NLT). Hezekiah took this letter from Sennacherib and went straight to the Temple where he spread it out before God. He called out to God in prayer, asking Him to intervene in this difficult situation. "Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God" (Isaiah 37:17 NLT). Hezekiah took his problem to God. In faith, he called out to the only one who he believed could do anything about his difficult circumstance. He asks God to rescue the nation of Judah. He appeals to God to intervene, show His power, and reveal to all the nations of the world that He alone is God.

As a result of his prayer, God answers and tells Hezekiah that He will take care of the Assyrian problem. And He does. That very night an angel of the Lord killed 185,000 of the enemy right in their camp while they slept. As a result, the survivors broke camp the next morning and returned home. Not long after that, Sennacherib was worshiping his god in his temple, when two of his own sons came in and killed him. This prideful, arrogant man who had threatened to destroy the people of God and who had ridiculed the power of God, was destroyed by God. And Hezekiah was able to see the power of God with his own eyes. His faith resulted in reality. Not long after this, Hezekiah became ill and was facing death. Again, he called out to God in faith, asking for healing. God answered and extended his life. Hezekiah was able to see the power of God in action. One day he was mourning his own coming death. The next he was rejoicing in the healing power of God. God wants to reveal His power in our lives. He wants to put His power to work in our lives. It is not a concept, but a reality. His power is real and He wants us to experience it daily. Our faith in God should result in our getting to see the power of God. We trust. He acts. We call out. He answers. We rely. He responds. And we believe.

Father, I want to see Your power in my life. Sometimes You allow events to reach a point where I no longer have any answers. You cause circumstances to reach the point where I have to turn to You because I have no other options. But when I do, You respond. You long to reveal Your power in the lives of Your people. You want to show Your strength in the midst of my weakness. And when You do, my faith grows even stronger. Thank You for being there for me so often. Help me to trust You more. Amen

Who Will You Believe?

Isaiah 36

Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards. ­– Isaiah 36:16-17 NLT

Hezekiah has been warning the people that destruction is on its way. Their sin against God has finally resulted in consequences, and now the Assyrians are literally at the gate. Their armies are camped just outside the city. They have left a wake of destruction in their path and now they are threatening to bring Jerusalem down as well. They demand surrender. They taunt the people, warning them to reject the words of Hezekiah and listen to their offer of peace. They paint an idyllic picture of prosperity and peace – if they will only compromise their convictions and surrender. All they have to do is open up the gates and give up.

Isn't that just like the enemy. Of course, I'm talking about Satan, not the king of Assyria. Our great adversary, Satan, uses the same exact tactics with us each and every day. He taunts us. He gets us to question the faithfulness and effectiveness of God, asking, "So what makes you think the Lord can rescue you?" He tries to get us to doubt the Word of God and question the servants of God. "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you!" (Isaiah 36:14 NLT). "Don't listen to Hezekiah!" (Isaiah 36:16 NLT). "Don't let Hezekiah mislead you!" (Isaiah 36:18 NLT). If he can get us to doubt God then we are more apt to listen to his lies. And what he has to say to us is always a lie! Satan never tells us the truth. He misleads and misrepresents. He makes false promises and speaks in appealing half truths that cater to our fears and desires. The king of Assyria offers the people of God prosperity and peace. He offers to give them a land just like the one they are in. He promises them a land flowing with grain, new wine, bread and vineyards. He essentially offers them another land of promise other than the one God had given them. He offers a substitute to God's plan. And that is just what Satan does. It is what Satan did with Adam and Eve. It was what Satan did with Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness. Satan always offers us an alternative to God's plan. He presents us with a compelling alternative that comes with shortcuts and requires compromises. But if we do it his way, he promises it will be easier.

But who are we going to believe – the enemy or God? Whose word are we going to take? Whose promise are we going to believe? Every day we are given opportunities to trust God or listen to the lies of the enemy. He is the master deceiver. He is a pro at twisting the truth and making disobedience to God sound like good judgment and wise decision-making. He appeals to our self-interest. He plays with our emotions and preys on our fears. He knows we want peace at any price and desire pleasure above anything else. So he promises to give us what we want – if we'll just give up – open up the gates and let him in. In other words, surrender. And if we leave God out of the picture, that is exactly what we will end up doing. So who will you believe today? When the enemy comes to you with his lies and half-truths, will you listen to him? Or will you take God at His word and rely on His promises? It's a choice. It's a daily decision. It's faith on display.

Father, I want to believe You and not the enemy. Give me discernment to see through his lies. Open my eyes to see truth and not buy into the fiction he offers up as reality. Don't let fear drive my decisions and desire for peace cloud my decision-making. I want to trust You. I want to listen to You. Amen

He's On His Way!

Isaiah 35

Courage! Take heart! GOD is here, right here, on his way to put things right And redress all wrongs. He's on his way! He'll save you! ­– Isaiah 35:4 MSG

For 34 chapters we have read about God's coming judgment on His rebellious people and the nations that surround them. His holiness and justice demand that He deal with sin. He cannot turn a blind eye and act as if it does not exist. He is patient, but He is not passive. He is tolerant, but He will not tolerate the sin of His people forever. And while there have been messages of hope and deliverance woven into the warnings of pending judgment, the overall message has been less than uplifting. Then we come to chapter 35. In it we find a beautiful picture of hope based on God's future restoration of His land and of His people. God will balance His judgment with mercy. His moral perfection requires that He deal justly with sin. His love requires that He show mercy and grace to those who have sinned. And He done just that through His Son Jesus Christ. All those who accept Him as Savior will experience the blessings of God and enjoy not only a restored, renewed earth but a restored relationship with God Himself.

So Isaiah is to use this news to "strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees" (Isaiah 35:3 NLT). In the midst of all the bad news, Isaiah is to share the good news of God's future restoration of His land and His people. Imagery of restoration and renewal is all throughout this chapter: Flowers blooming, deserts bursting with plants, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, springs gushing in the wilderness, and streams in the wastelands. Parched land will become filled with pools of water. And a road will be built that leads straight to the city of God – the new Jerusalem where Christ will reign in righteousness. That road will be called the Highway of Holiness because on it only the righteous will travel as they make their way to worship God in His restored city. This road will be for the redeemed – those who "walk in God's ways" (Isaiah 35:8 NLT). "Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way.  They will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them,  happiness and joy will overwhelmthem; grief and suffering will disappear" (Isaiah 35:10 NET).

This is a message of hope. Not just for the people in Isaiah's day, but for all of us who worship God and place our hope in the future return of His Son. He is coming. He will one day return to set all things right. He will restore the earth to its original splendor and glory. He will reestablish Jerusalem as the city of God. He will redeem His people Israel from their captivity to sin and return them to their land. He will do away with all sin and sorrow. Righteousness will be the order of the day. Sorrow and mourning will be replaced with joy and gladness. So be strong and do not fear, for your God is coming – He is coming to save you!

Father, help me keep my eyes focused on the future. It is so easy to become fixated on the here and now and think that this is all there is. I can begin to believe the lie that I have to find all my joy and contentment in this life. But You have promised more. You have a future planned out that is so much better than anything I can find in this lifetime. Your Son is coming again. I need to live for that day and not this one. When my knees get weak and my heart grows feint, I need to set my sights on the reality of His return. He is coming! Amen

Strength For the Day!

Isaiah 33-34

Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning! Deliver us when distress comes. ­– Isaiah 33:2 NET

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by it all? Does attempting to live the Christian life in this world ever leave you feeling discouraged, disheartened and a little bit disillusioned? Just imagine how the faithful remnant living at the time of Isaiah's prophesies felt. There were a small number of "believing" Jews who were faithful to God and yet were having to go through the same circumstances as the rest of the unbelieving, unfaithful population. They were having to listen to the messages of warning from Isaiah. They knew that destruction was coming and fully understood why. They were appalled by the spiritual condition of their countrymen and knew that God was just in having to discipline them for their rebellion and rejection of Him. But that didn't keep them from calling out to Him and appealing to His mercy. As we read of God's plans for the destruction of Assyria and Edom, we run across this single verse reflecting the cries of this faithful remnant of God's people. They call out for mercy. The Hebrew word for mercy is chanan and it means: "to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior." It is an appeal for God to show them favor, to pity them and extend undeserved kindness to them. They are waiting for Him. The Hebrew word for wait is qavah and it carries the idea of eager anticipation, hope and expectation. They knew their only hope is in God. He is the answer to all their needs. There is no need to look elsewhere, because He is their strength. The word used here is actually zerowa and it means "arm." It is a figurative term for strength, might and power. They are waiting on the "long arm of the law" to act on their behalf. And they are very specific. They ask God to reveal His strength each and every day, because without it, they will not survive. Ultimately, they want salvation. That is really what they are waiting for. The Hebrew word for salvation is yeshuwah. It means "salvation, deliverance or victory." Again, they want God to save them, to give them victory and provide them with deliverance from their circumstances.

So who do you wait on? Are you eagerly waiting on God? Do you look to Him as Your strength, your source of power and protection? Where will you turn for the strength you need to make it through the day? Who will you turn to when you encounter the inevitable tough times along life's way? Why not turn to Him? Why not eagerly wait for His deliverance? Cry out for His mercy. Ask Him to reveal His power in your life. Appeal to Him for salvation in times of trouble. He is faithful. He will answer.

Father, we can count on You, even when things look bleak and hopeless. May we learn to call out to You and eagerly wait for You to act. Don't let us lose hope. Don't let us turn elsewhere. Keep our eyes and our hearts focused on You even on the darkest days. Because You along are our strength and salvation. Amen

A Righteous King Is Coming!

Isaiah 31-32

Look, a righteous king is coming! ­– Isaiah 32:1 NLT

There is a theme running through all the books of the prophets in the Old Testament. It is a theme of redemption and salvation. Yes, God will discipline, but He will also deliver. He will punish, but He will also restore. Ultimately, the message is one of hope. The holy, righteous God who is bringing destruction on His own people, will also bring salvation. And while the punishment is based on their behavior, their salvation is based solely on God's mercy and grace. He will restore them in spite of them. The day will come when God restores His people, the people of Israel, to a right relationship with Him. So He calls them to return to Him because He wants to restore them. "Repent, return, dear Israel, to the One you so cruelly abandoned. On the day you return, you'll throw away – every last one of you – the no-gods your sinful hands made from metal and wood" (Isaiah 31:6-7 NLT). But they will continue to live in rebellion to Him. They will continue to reject His offer of restoration for repentance. But one day, God will restore them Himself. "Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever" (Isaiah 32:15-17 NLT).

The prophet Ezekiel gives us more details concerning this great day of redemption for the people of Israel. It has yet to happen, but it will one day take place. And it will be the work of God, not men. He will pour out His grace and mercy – totally undeserved and unearned. He will redeem and restore, bringing salvation in the midst of rebellion. Because that is the kind of God He is.

"Therefore, tell Israel, ’Message of God, the Master: I’m not doing this for you, Israel. I’m doing it for me, to save my character, my holy name, which you’ve blackened in every country where you’ve gone. I’m going to put my great and holy name on display, the name that has been ruined in so many countries, the name that you blackened wherever you went. Then the nations will realize who I really am, that I am God, when I show my holiness through you so that they can see it with their own eyes. For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land.  I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!" – Ezekiel 36:22-28 MSG

The righteous King is coming. The faithful God is going to provide salvation for His people. He will do for them what they could never have done for themselves. He will do for the people of Israel what He has done for every believer – He will save them in spite of themselves. He will provide the righteousness of Christ in place of their own unrighteousness. He will give them new hearts and a new capacity to love and serve Him. Their rebellion will be replaced with devotion. Their stubbornness will be replaced with a willingness to follow Him. He will restore them to the land and to a right relationship with Him. All because of His unchanging faithfulness.

Father, Your faith is unfathomable. Your kindness is immeasurable. Your patience is unbelievable. What You have done for me by providing Your Son as my sin substitute and Savior is mind-boggling. I didn't deserve it. I could never have earned it. And I can never repay You for it. But You are going to do the same thing for Your chosen people – the people of Israel. Your faithfulness to them should be an encouragement to me. It should remind me of just how gracious, merciful and loving You are. You are an amazing God and worthy to be praised. Amen

Return To Him.

Isaiah 29-30

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. ­– Isaiah 30:18 NLT

God is waiting. Waiting for His people to return to Him. Sometimes He uses discipline to get our attention. He allows us to go through difficulty to increase our need for Him. He lets us discover that all the other things we turn to for hope, healing, satisfaction and salvation can't deliver. They always disappoint. But He is always there waiting. He reminds us through the prophet Isaiah, "He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes" (Isaiah 30:19-20 NLT). This promise reminds me of the words of Job that he stated at the end of his season of suffering and shame. "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes" (Job 42:5 NLT). Job was a blameless and righteous man when his story begins. But suffering came his way and tested his faith and his view of God. He knew a lot about God, but his season of suffering was going to open his eyes to the reality of who God really is. Job's suffering was not the result of rebellion or sin, but God used it in his life to bring him to a deeper understanding of Himself. Job grew closer to God through his trials than he ever would have otherwise.

God was calling the Israelites back to Himself through the prophet Isaiah. But they were stubborn. They would not listen. They refused to pay attention to what Isaiah had to say. They didn't like his message of doom and gloom. In fact, they were telling the prophets, "Stop seeing visions! Don't tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your Holy One of Israel!" (Isaiah 30:10-11 NLT). They didn't want to hear the truth. They didn't want to listen to what God had to say. They would rather be lied to as long as it was what they wanted to hear. But God reminded them, "Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me – The very thing you've been unwilling to do" (Isaiah 30:15 MSG). God was offering salvation, and all they had to do to receive it was return to Him. They had to turn away from their pseudo-saviors and God-replacements, and recognize that only God can truly save. He alone can rescue. And He promises to hear us when we cry. He promises to be gracious if we ask Him for help. But returning requires turning. We must walk away from our sin and all those substitutes we have made for God in our lives. We must acknowledge our need for Him. And when we return, He always responds. He is faithful.

Father, we can be just as stubborn as the people of Israel. We can be just as prone to trust in other gods and reject Your Word. We want to hear good news and don't like to listen to anything that convicts or condemns us. We don't like having our sins pointed out to us. And we reject suffering in our lives as unacceptable.Yet You allow us to suffer in order to make us more dependent on You. Even the suffering we see happening all around us is a reminder of just how much we need You. Open our eyes. Soften our stubborn hearts. Help us return to You for salvation and restoration. Amen

Rejecting God's Rest.

Isaiah 28

God has told his people, 'Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.' But they would not listen. ­– Isaiah 28:12 NLT

Jesus Himself said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28 NLT). He was offering an invitation to escape the weary pursuit of self-righteousness and religious observance. He was inviting the Jewish people of His day to discover a way to come to God without trying to earn their way into His good favor. They were wearing themselves out with self-effort and futile attempts at keeping God's law, and had been going it for generations. All the way back to the days of Isaiah, the people of God had been trying to work their way into a right relationship with God, but had failed. They had committed spiritual adultery, turning to false gods and placing their hopes in their own military might or alliances with other countries. Rather than simply trust God, they came up with all kinds of alternate plans. Even when God told them He was going to have to punish them for their unfaithfulness, they came up with plans to escape His judgment. In their hearts they said, "We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception" (Isaiah 28:15 NLT). Listen to how The Message paraphrases this verse: "We've taken out good life insurance. We've hedged all our bets, covered all our bases. No disaster can touch us. We've thought of everything. We're advised by the experts. We're set."

But they were placing their hope and trust in the wrong thing. They were building their future on a weak foundation. Their attempts at self-salvation were never going to work. Rather than rest in God, they were going to keep trying to save themselves – from God's judgment and from death. But Isaiah gives us the only hope for any man – Jew or Gentile, in Isaiah's day and in ours. "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away" (Isaiah 28:16-17 NLT). This was a message from God regarding the coming Messiah. One day He would send His Son as the rock-solid foundation upon which every man and woman could build their lives. He would live a life of justice and righteousness. His sinless life would be the measurement by which all men and women are judged. But simple faith in Him would provide rescue from destruction and escape from death. "The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it" (1 Peter 2:6 MSG). Yet even when Jesus came to the people of Israel, they would reject Him as their cornerstone and Messiah. "Then Jesus asked them, 'Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit'" (Matthew 28:42-43 NLT). Rather than find their ultimate rest in God's Son, the people of Israel would reject His offer of rest and continue to try and earn their way into God's good graces. Rather than build on a the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, they would work relentlessly to build their lives on a shaky foundation of self-effort and self-achievement. God's offer of rest still stands today – for Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus still calls out, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Father, thank You for Your offer of rest. We still need it today. Even after coming to salvation through Christ, I can still find myself trying to earn favor with You through my own self-effort. I wear myself out trying to do good things that I think will make You love me more. I lose sight of the fact that You have already shown Your love to me by sending Your Son to die for me. I can't do anything to make You love me more. Help me to find rest from my own self-effort and relax in the knowledge that Your Son has done it all for me. Anything I do to live in obedience to Your Word is out of a sense of gratitude, not obligation. I obey because I am loved, not to be loved. Amen

Walk In His Ways.

Hosea 12-14

Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. ­– Hosea 14:9 NLT

"Return to the Lord your God." That is the appeal God makes in the closing chapter of the book of Hosea. He begs His unfaithful people to return and repent. He tells them to admit their sin, confess it, and simply ask for forgiveness. He tells them to reject their false gods and pseudo-saviors. They just need to return to God and acknowledge Him as the one true God. And He promises, "Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever" (Hosea 14:4 NLT).

God reminds His people that it is He who answers their prayers and cares for them. He is the one who provides for and protects them. All He asks in return is that His people walk in His ways. He expects those on whom He showers His love, grace, and mercy to respond in obedience to His will revealed in His Word. When we do we find that His ways are true and right. They lead to blessing. They bring peace, joy, and contentment. But too often we choose our own way. We demand to live according to our own standards. We refuse to listen to God's command or follow His will for our lives. And we suffer. We reap the results of our disobedience.

God stands ready to restore. He wants to revive and rescue. He wants to bless and heal us. But first we must acknowledge our sin. We must turn from the other "saviors" we have made in our lives and recognize Him as the only true Savior. Ultimately, this book is about God's faithfulness in spite of man's unfaithfulness. God continues to love us even when we sin. He loves us even when we refuse to return that love to Him. But because God is holy and just, He must punish our sin. He must discipline us – because He loves us. He knows His way is better for us, so He brings discipline into our lives to encourage us to return to Him. He allows us to discover that our false gods and not really gods at all. Our replacement saviors can't really save at all. And when we come to the end of our rope, He always stands ready, willing and able to restore us and rejoice over us. Because He loves us.

Father, You are faithful. You are loving. You are patient. You are persistent. You are God. Never let me forget that. Open my eyes to the replacement gods I make in my life. Show me the false saviors I turn to instead of You. Help me acknowledge that there is no God but You and no other Savior. Amen

The Love of A Father.

Hosea 8-11

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn't know or even care that it was I who took care of him. ­– Hosea 11:1-3 NLT

When we read all these messages of coming destruction and God's anger with Israel and Judah it is easy to forget the fact that God was in love with them. The whole story of Hosea is built around the imagery of a husband and wife. Hosea had been ordered by God to marry and father children with a known prostitute. She would prove unfaithful to him even after he showered her with love and affection, forcing him to buy her out of sexual slavery. This book is filled with messages from the prophet regarding God's anger and the coming punishment for Israel's unfaithfulness. But then we have in chapter 11 a reminder of God's love. It is couched in terms that we can understand – the relationship between a father and his son. God speaks of His love for Israel as a father reminiscing about his wayward adult son, remembering the days when he was just a child. As the son grew, he rebelled against his Father, causing the Father to call out to him. But the son only rejected the Father's efforts by moving farther away. God longingly remembers the early days of their relationship. He pictures Himself as a father who recalls teaching his son how to walk, leading him along, lovingly guiding and protecting him. But now, that same child "doesn't know or even care that it was I who took care of him" (Hosea 11:3).

As a father of two sons, I can relate to God's description of disappointment and sadness. I love my sons and can vividly remember the day of their births. I can recall teaching them to walk, ride their bikes, playing catch with them, kicking a soccer ball together, reading books a bedtime, putting band-aids on cuts, and laughing as we wrestled on the living room floor. But I can also remember days when they rejected my love and rebelled against my authority. Those moments were always heartbreaking and sad. And while neither one of my sons have ended up rejecting me completely, just the isolated instances of rebellion have left me feeling empty and sad. To think of God as a loving Father watch the son He loves reject Him and forget all about Him is disturbing, but also enlightening. The punishment God was bringing was motivated by His love for Israel. He loved His people. He had chosen them. He had nurtured them. He did not enjoy punishing them. In fact, God states, "My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal" (Hosea 11:8-9 NLT). God's love influenced His reaction to Israel's sin. He had to punish them for their behavior, but He did so out of love, just as He does with you and me today. God loves me. He cares deeply for me. He longs for a relationship with me. And yet, too often He has to watch as I walk away from Him and seek what He longs to provide from something or someone else. And when I do, I break His heart. But He never stops loving me.

Father, never let me lose sight of the fact that You are indeed my Father. You are responsible for my very existence. You created me. You chose me. You have made me who I am. You have blessed me, fed and clothed me, disciplined me, protected me, and showered me with undeserved love and affection. Yet I have rejected You so often and turned away from You. I have acted as if I don't know You or am not grateful for all You have done for me. Please forgive me for my arrogance and ingratitude. Thank You for loving me like a Father. Amen

To Know Him.

Hosea 5-7

I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. ­– Hosea 6:6 NLT

How well do you know God? Or do you just know about Him? God condemned Israel and Judah, His chosen people, for not knowing Him. Yet He had saved them out of captivity in Egypt, led them through the wilderness for 40 years, fed and clothed them the entire time, then gave them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. Yet they didn't really know Him. And they really had no desire to know Him, in spite of what they might have said. "Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him" (Hosea 6:3 NLT). All they really wanted from God was what He could give them. At this point they needed rescue from their enemies, so they wanted to "know" Him. But they wanted to know other gods just as much. Their relationships with their gods were based solely on what they could get out of them. So God tells them what He really wants in a relationship. He wants them to show love, not offer sacrifices. The Message paraphrases that verse this way: "I'm after love that lasts, not more religion." The word translated "love" here is checed. It is the Hebrew word that can mean goodness, loyal love or faithfulness. What God is asking for is that they would express a faithful, loyal love to Him. This isn't about loving others, but about loving God. The context is unfaithfulness or spiritual adultery. Remember how this book started? Hosea was commanded by God to marry a prostitute who would prove unfaithful to him. Gomer was a picture of Israel. God wants us to love Him faithfully, to show Him fidelity and devotion. He doesn't want our religious rituals or outward acts of piety. We can go through the motions, do all kinds of acts of service, and never really love God.

Then God tells them that He wants them to know Him more than He wants their burnt offerings. Again, The Message paraphrases this verse "I want you to know GOD, not go to more prayer meetings." God is basically claiming that they are ignorant of Him. They have no knowledge of who He really is or what He really desires. They have no recognition or understanding of God. Sure, they know all about the history of His relationship with Israel. They can quote all the stories about how He delivered them in the past. But their knowledge of Him was not intimate or personal. The fact that they simply came to Him to offer burnt offerings was based on the fact that they simply wanted something from Him, not to get to know Him. They prayed to Him just to get an answer from Him. The offered sacrifices to Him just to pacify Him and in hopes that He would deliver Him. But they didn't know Him. They didn't understand Him.

So let me ask again. How well do you know God? Do you just know about Him? Do you pray to Him just to get things from Him? Do you serve Him just to keep Him happy with you? Do you try to obey Him just because you fear Him? If so, you probably don't really know Him. God wants a relationship with you based on faithfulness. He wants you to want Him. He wants you to desire Him more than anything else. Hosea wanted Gomer to love him. But instead she continued to give herself to others, being unfaithful to her covenant with Hosea. In what ways are you being unfaithful to God? Return to Him. Seek to know Him. He is waiting.

Father, may we be a people who really know You. May we move beyond actions and express our love with our attitudes. May we seek You more than anything else in the world. May we desire You more than anything else. Amen

A Graphic Illustration.

Hosea 1-4

When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, "Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods." ­– Hosea 1:2 NLT

Wow! Talk about a difficult command to follow. Hosea, the prophet of God, is instructed by God to marry a young woman who was a known prostitute. And not only that, he was to father children through her, never knowing if the children she bore him were his or not. But he was to take them as his own and name them as God instructed him. She would give birth to three children, two boys and one girl. Yet, in spite of Hosea's love and faithfulness, she would continue to practice prostitution, ending up enslaved, forcing Hosea to buy her back.

As we read this story, it is easy to miss what Hosea must have felt as all this took place. From the moment God commanded him to marry Gomer to the day he had to buy her out of her slavery to prostitution, this had to have been a difficult time for Hosea. He must have felt used, betrayed, shamed, and angry. While we are not given his thoughts, I am sure there were times when he questioned God's wisdom in all this. But through it all, he was faithful to follow God's commands. He knew God had a reason for it all. He knew God was using his relationship with Gomer as a living illustration of His own relationship with Israel. The people of God had been unfaithful, running after other lovers and selling herself to them for food and water. Like Gomer, Israel failed to recognize the love of her husband – God. Israel did not realize that all the blessings and abundance it enjoyed were due to the love of God. Yet Israel took the gifts of God and gave them to others. The priests and the people proved themselves unfaithful.

But the story of Gomer is the story of God's faithfulness. In spite of Gomer's rejection of Hosea, he would buy her back and forgive her of her indiscetions. God told Hosea, "Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even through the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them" (Hosea 3:1 NLT). Israel had proven themselves unfaithful time and time again. They had prostituted themselves with other nations and other gods. They had rejected the love of God and sought to find satisfaction in other relationships. But God was not going to abandon them. God said of Israel, "My people are being destroyed because they don't know me" (Hosea 4:6 NLT). Their lack of intimacy with God was leading to their own destruction. They did not know the One who had chosen them for Himself. They enjoyed the blessings of the relationship, but didn't know the One who had given them the blessings. But in spite of all this, God would not let them go. They would suffer. There would be a purging and a cleansing, but ultimately God would restore them. God longs for intimacy with His people. He desires a relationship with us. He longs for us to know Him intimately and deeply. He wants us to love Him for who He is, not just for what He gives us. The book of Hosea is a picture of spiritual unfaithfulness – loving someone or something else other than God. It contains a stinging accusation against Israel, but we can't read this book and not be convicted by our own unfaithfulness. We prostitute ourselves daily to the things of this world, attempting to find satisfaction and pleasure from all it offers us. When we do, we show our disappointment and dissatisfaction with God. He is not enough. He can't provide enough. He has not done enough. Yet He loves us and remains faithful to us. His love never fails. What an amazing reminder.

Father, I know that I can be like Gomer. I can be unfaithful and ungrateful to You. I turn away from You so often, seeking elsewhere for "love" and satisfaction, failing to realize that it only in You that I will find real love and true satisfaction. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Forgive me of my unfaithfulness and continue to call me back to You. Amen

Real Revival.

2 Chronicles 29-31

At the same time, God's hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord. ­– 2 Chronicles 30:23 NLT

When I was growing up, the word revival carried a certain connotation. It was a special series of services held at the church for seven nights in a row and preached by a visiting minister. The intent was to light a fire in the lives of the people of the church, but in most cases, theses revivals were evangelistic in nature, aimed at those outside of Christ. There was a lot of singing, special music, and and always, a lengthy altar call at the end. I experienced a lot of these revivals over the years, but none ever really seemed to make much of a difference in the life of the church. Sure, they seemed to energize some of the people for a period of time, but it never seemed to last long. After the revival was over, things went back to the way they were before.

As I read about the reign of Hezekiah, I can't help but think that what happened in his day was what real revival is all about. This is a picture of the people of God getting right with God. There is repentance involved. There is cleansing from sin required. Sacrifice is non-optional. And godly leadership set the example. Hezekiah was instrumental in making all this happen. He recognized that the nation of Israel had turned from God and had neglected their duties as His chosen people. He reminded the Levites, "My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him" (2 Chronicles 29:11 NLT). He told the people, "Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned the Lord and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him" (2 Chronicles 29:6 NLT). Hezekiah began an aggressive plan for restoring the centrality of God in the nation of Israel. He restored the Temple. He rededicated and re-instituted the priesthood. He reestablished the sacrificial system. He called the people of Israel – in both the northern and southern kingdoms to return to God and obey His commands. All the things that had been neglected over the years were restored – including the Passover. All of this came with a cost. To restore the Temple was an expensive proposition. Hezekiah personally paid for the sacrifices of many of the people, donating 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats. The officials of Jerusalem donated another 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. This revival was not cheap. The people were required to travel to Jerusalem to make sacrifices. They had to bring offerings. They had to pay for their trips and for accommodations when they arrived. But the people brought so many gifts and offerings that special storehouses had to be built to hold it all.

The key element to this revival was not life change or spiritual renewal, but a renewed focus on God. These people had not been irreligious all these years. They had just been worshiping false gods. They had turned away from worshiping the one true God. So this revival was about returning to God and making Him he focus of their lives again. This was about relationship, not religion. They were reviving their love for and obedience to God. And it all began with Hezekiah. He provided the motivation and inspiration. "In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God's laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful" (2 Chronicles 31:21 NLT). Revival begins in the heart. It is not an event, it's an attitude – a desire to serve and love God regardless of the cost. It is a willingness to put God first in our lives, obeying Him willingly and eagerly. It is making Him the center of our lives and the focus of our attention. When we do that, God revives us. He restores us. He reinvigorates us.

Father, there is no doubt that we need revival among Your people today. We have become distracted and in some cases, highly religious. But we have taken our focus off of You. Bring us back to You. Raise up leaders who will call the people to repentance and renewal. May we turn away from the false gods we have set up and return to You – the one true God. May we make You the focus of our lives once again. Amen

The Secret To Spiritual Success.

2 Kings 18:1-8; Psalm 48

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. ­– 2 Kings 18:5-6 NLT

What do you want said of you when you die? I once heard it said that we are writing our eulogies right now – as we live our lives. What we do right now will determine how we are remembered. Our actions and attitudes will form the opinions of others and influence their memories regarding us. So if I hope to be remembered as a godly man, I must live like one now. My spiritual legacy is being made with each breath I take and every move I make. We see this truth lived out in the life of Hezekiah. After reading the stories of countless kings in both Judah and Israel, we come to the brief review of the life of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. He came to the throne at the age of 25 and took over the throne from his father Ahaz. Hezekiah did not have a great role model to follow in Ahaz. Ahaz did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Instead, he led the people to worship false gods, even sacrificing one of his sons to a pagan deity. His legacy was lousy. He did not leave his son with an example worth following. But for some reason, Hezekiah was able to remain faithful to God and did not follow his father's example.

Hezekiah gives us hope that we can break the cycle of sin that exists in some of our families. We do not have to live out the sins of our fathers and mothers. We can remain faithful to God even when we are raised in environments that are faithless. We can begin a new legacy. We can leave our children and our grandchildren a new example to follow. Hezekiah became a powerful reformer, restoring the worship of God in Judah and restoring the Temple and reestablishing the sacrificial system God had commanded. He put his trust in God, not alliances with pagan nations. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything – every area of his life – no compartmentalization. He obeyed the commands of God, and not just when it was convenient or easy. And as a result the Lord was with him. God gave him success in all that he did. God blessed him. When it would have been easy for Hezekiah to follow his father's example and continue his legacy of self-centeredness and self-destructiveness, Hezekiah charted a different course. He determined to follow after God. He chose to live a godly life in the midst of a godless generation. And he left a legacy of faithfulness, trust, and obedience. What will your legacy be? You are building it right now. Will you be pleased with the results when you are finished?

Father, help me remember that I am building my legacy right now. With every decision, action, and attitude, I am writing the eulogy of my life. I will be remembered for who I am right now. The memories my children have of me are being forged right now. What people recall about me will be based on how I live from this moment forward. May I be a man of faith and faithfulness like Hezekiah. A reformer, not a follower. Amen

Eager Expectation!

Isaiah 26-27

Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our hearts desire is to glorify your name. All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. ­– Isaiah 26:8-9 NLT

Remember what it was like as a child to wait for Christmas morning? It was like torchure. You wanted to day to get here so badly that it was all you could think about. It filled your every waking moment. You thought about it at night and it was the first thing on your mind in the morning. You waited for it to come with eager anticipation. That is the feeling I get when I read the verses above. Isaiah is longing for God to come and set all things right. At night, his soul literally craved God. Which is strange because Isaiah had regular communication with God. But much of his interaction with God was dealing with coming judgment. What he longed for was the day when God would come and set all things right – the day when God would send His Son to judge the earth and establish His kingdom once and for all. Isaiah eagerly anticipated that day like a child waiting for Christmas morning. He longed for it, dreamed about it, and woke up waiting for it. And while he waited, he faithfully obeyed God's laws as an expression of his trust in Him. His heart's desire was to glorify God's name with the way he lived his life – faithfully and obediently – even in the face of difficult circumstances.

As we live our lives on this planet, we are to do so with our eyes fixed on the future. If we make this world and what it has to offer our focus, we will lose hope. We will become distracted from what really matters: Christ's coming and the restoration of the world to its former glory. If we fail to long for that, we will begin to think that this is all there is, and we will attempt to satisfy our longings here on this earth. It would be like a child losing hope that Christmas morning was ever going to come and settling for the toys and trinkets he already had. He would stop waiting and anticipating and learn to live with less. Without hope, what he already possessed would have to replace what had been promised or anticipated. Over in Romans, Paul puts it this way, "For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently" (Romans 8:24-25 NLT). Isaiah was hoping for something he did not yet have. He was waiting patiently and confidently, yet eagerly. He wanted the peace of God, the restoration of God, the salvation of God, and the kingdom of God to come. Nothing less would satisfy him. He would not be satisfied with cheap substitutes or learn to live with less. But what about us? Do we settle for less? Have we lost hope? Are we no longer eagerly anticipating the coming of Christ and the restoration of all things? Some of us have become content with what we have – this world and all it has to offer. We have learned to find contentment even in captivity, just like many of the Israelites had done. We have become satisfied with a life that is less than what God has promised. Oh, that we would learn to long for and eagerly search for Christ and His coming, so that when we think about it, it would bring a smile to our lips and a sense of eager anticipation to our hearts.

Father, I have to admit that I do not anticipate that day like Isaiah did. I do not go to bed thinking about Your Son's coming and wake up hoping that today is the day. To be honest, I rarely think about it. I get so wrapped up in the cares of this life, that I don't even let it cross my mind. And in doing so, I express my lack of hope. I display my lack of trust in You. Father, give me the eager anticipation of a child waiting for Christmas. May Your Son's coming fill my mind and heart, and motivate my actions for every day. May it keep me from becoming satisfied with this world and all that it offers. The best is yet to come! Amen

The King Is Coming!

Isaiah 23-25

In that day the people will proclaim, "This is our God! We trusted in Him, and He saved us! This is the Lord, in who we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!" ­– Isaiah 25:9 NLT

What an incredible chapter. While Isaiah has been delivering sobering news of God's impending judgment on all the nations for their sin, he also receives a word from God that there is some unbelievable good news to go with the bad news. There is a day coming when God's judgment is complete. There is a going to come a time when God sends His Son back to rule and reign in righteousness. Order will be restored. Sin will be no more. Rebellion will cease. Death will be defeated once and for all. After the seven years of tribulation on the earth, Christ will return and bring a final judgment against all the enemies of God. He will be completely victorious and will establish His kingdom on earth in the city of Jerusalem. The remnant who remain – those who have placed their faith in Christ – will return to Jerusalem and rejoice in the deliverance God has provided through His Son Jesus Christ. There will be an inaugural banquet celebrating Christ's victory and the establishment of His kingdom on earth. The threat of death will be removed once and for all. There will be no more tears, sorrow, abuse, suffering, loss, guilt or shame. Those who have survived the tribulation by faith in Christ will recognize that their deliverance has come from God. Faith will be fulfilled. Hope will be realized. Longing will be satisfied. Because the King will have come.

The marketplace is empty, no more traffic in the street All the builder's tools are silent, no more time to harvest wheat Busy housewives cease their labor, in the courtroom no debate Work on earth has been suspended as the King comes through the gate

Happy faces line the hallway, those whose lives have been redeemed Broken homes He has mended, those from prison He has freed Little children and the aged hand in hand stand all a-glow Who were crippled, broken, ruined, clad in garments white as snow

I can hear the chariot's rumble, I can see the marching throng And the fury of God's trumpet spells the end of sin and wrong Regal rolls are now unfolded, heaven's grandstands all in place Heaven's choir is now assembled, start to sing "Amazing Grace"

The King is coming, the King is coming I just heard the trumpet sounding and soon His face I'll see The King is coming, the King is coming Praise God, He's coming for me

Father, Your Son is coming. He will one day finish what He began. He will complete what He started. While things can oftentimes look bleak and dark now, we have to remember that You are not done yet. Your plan is not yet finished. Judgment has to come. But salvation is coming as well. The King is coming! Praise God, He's coming for me! Amen

The Sin of Self-Sufficiency.

Isaiah 21-22

But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago. ­– Isaiah 22:11b NLT

The real test of our faith is what we do in times of trouble. How we handle difficulty in our lives is a great revealer of what we believe about God. Our actions and attitudes during the trials of life say a lot about what we think about God. Hopelessness has a way of producing one of two responses: We either despair or become self-indulgent. We give up or we get busy. We throw in the towel or we throw ourselves a party. You see all these responses in the people of Judah as they encounter the armies of Babylon. As the reality of their dilemma sets in, they will respond with inexplicable merriment, trying to drown their sorrows and ignore the truth. But then they will try to take matters into their own hands. Isaiah says, "You run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the break in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago" (Isaiah 22:8b-11 NLT).

In the face of a crisis, the people will take matters into their own hands. Under the judgment of God, they will turn to their own ingenuity and try to solve their problem on their own, rather than repent and return to Him. Isaiah is warning them about what is going to happen. And in spite of his warnings, they will still refuse to repent. They will stubbornly resist and try to save themselves. Rather than weep and mourn, or show any signs of sorrow or repentance, they would throw a party. In the face of the overwhelming odds, they would rather go out in style, having a party, than admit their need for God. Isn't that just like us today? In the face of financial difficulties, we would rather buy ourselves more trinkets and toys in an attempt to make us feel better, all the while going deeper into debt and aggravating our problem further. We try to solve our marital problems with money. We try to win over our kids with material things. We try to find joy in the endless pursuit of pleasure. We try to find contentment by consuming more and more.

We would rather work than worship. We would rather feast than repent. We would rather consumer than confess. And like the people of Judah, we never ask for help from the One who did all this. We never consider the One who planned all this. Trials and troubles are a great reminder of our need for God. He uses them to get our attention and draw us back to Him. But instead, we turn everywhere else but to Him. We become self-sufficient, self-indulgent, and self-centered. When we do, we reveal what we really believe about God. We show that we doubt His power, His love, His forgiveness and His ability to save. We show that our God is not who we claim Him to be. He is not in control. He is not all-powerful. He is not someone who cares and who answers our prayers. Otherwise, we would turn to Him. So what do you do in times of trouble? Where do you turn? Self-sufficiency is a sin God's eyes. He doesn't want to see how powerful and resourceful you are. He wants to reveal His strength in your weakness. But first we must admit our need for Him. We must confess our own self-sufficiency and our tendency to place our trust in other things. Turn to Him. Trust Him. He is waiting.

Father, the sin of self-sufficiency is hard to see and even harder to admit. I want to believe that I am just being resourceful and using the capabilities You have given me. I am just working hard and being diligent with my talents. But this morning you remind me of just how self-centered I can become. It just reveals my lack of faith in You. I doubt You can help, so I just attempt to help myself. I don't trust You, so I place my trust elsewhere. Forgive me Lord. Open my eyes and help me see You in the midst of my trials. Help me to turn to You and trust in You in times of trouble. Amen

Exposed to the World.

Isaiah 20

The Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, '"Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals." Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. ­– Isaiah 20:2 NLT

How far would you go to remain obedient and submissive to God? Are there times when you balk at what the Lord is telling you to do because it either doesn't make sense or it seems a bit inconvenient? God's will for us is not always logical and He rarely, if ever, wants to know our opinion as to whether it is something we feel like doing. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to recognize that He has a very good reason for asking to do what He has commanded – or He never would have done so. Today's reading is short, but the impact is powerful. Here is Isaiah, God's prophet, who has been faithfully doing exactly what God has called him to do… tell the people of Israel of the coming judgment of God on themselves and the surrounding nations. Up to this point Isaiah has just had to use his voice and speak the words of God to the people of God. But now, God is going to ask him to do something that seems so illogical, even immoral. It just doesn't make sense. God tells Isaiah to remove all his clothing and walk around naked – for three years – as a visual illustration of what was going to happen to the nations of Egypt and Ethiopia.

Can you imagine the humiliation? Can you begin to comprehend the amount of ridicule and abuse Isaiah had to put up with? It was hard enough just being God's prophet. Now he was going to have to walk around stark naked for three years as a walking billboard shouting out the coming judgment of God on two pagan nations. But the amazing thing is that nowhere in this passage do you see Isaiah balk at the Lord's command. He doesn't argue, rationalize, or bargain with God. He simply does what he is told. No questions asked. No whining. No complaining. The point of this humiliating exercise was to teach the people of Israel and Judah a memorable lesson on putting your trust in something other than God. If you do, it will always leave you exposed, ashamed, and vulnerable. But the more striking message in this story for me is the steadfast and unfailing obedience of Isaiah. This amazing man did what the Lord asked him to do – immediately and obediently. He was God's vessel to do with as He wished. Isaiah fully believed that God was trustworthy and had a perfectly good reason behind His seemingly illogical request. Obedience to God will not always be logical or necessarily enjoyable. It may seem humiliating from a human perspective. It may appear that God is being unfair or harsh. It would have been easy for Isaiah to ask God to choose another way. He could have argued that to expose himself like that would have been inappropriate. But Isaiah both feared and trusted God. He revered God to much to argue with Him. He loved God too much to doubt Him. He trusted God too much to disobey Him. So for three years Isaiah walked around naked as a living lesson for the people of God. Would I have done that? Would I be willing to do something I saw as humiliating and hurtful to my pride in order to remain obedient to God? Would I "expose" myself to ridicule and laughter for the sake of God? Would I be willing to strip myself of all pretense and the last little vestiges of self-worth and self-sufficiency to do what God wants me to do? These are hard questions to consider. Could God have gotten His point across another way? More than likely. But I think God's request was as much for Isaiah as it was to illustrate a point to the people of Judah. Isaiah's job is far from over. He has much more to do and say. Was he going to be faithful to his calling? According to this story, probably so.

Father, this is a hard one. I hate the idea of being exposed and left naked emotionally, let alone physically. Vulnerability is difficult – especially for those of us who are men. Isaiah was already wearing burlap, not exactly the clothing of success and significance. And You asked him to lose that as well. The last little remnant of his pride and protection of his esteem had to be dropped – leaving him exposed to the world. He was Your man – Your spokesperson. Everyone knew he worked for You. Everyone knew he represented You. And He was faithful. He was obedient. He was trustworthy. May I be that kind of man. May I let go of my pride and my need for respect and simply obey You – no matter the cost.  Amen

Oh, What A Day That Will Be!

Isaiah 18-19

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness that the Lord of Heaven's Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and offerings to hi. They will make a vow to the Lord and keep it. ­– Isaiah 19:19-22 NLT

Read the verses above slowly and carefully. Now think about the modern-day Egypt you know. Think about the recent turmoil, the riots, unrest and the deposition of their president. Recall all the stories from the Bible about Egypt and its treatment of the people of Israel. Their enslavement and abuse of God's people. Their attempt to recapture them at the Red Sea. The Egyptians and Israelites share a long and not-so-pleasant history together. There were times when Egypt was the place where Israel turned for help and protection. Jesus' own parents took him there after His birth to protect Him from Herod's attacks. Egypt was never a place where God was worshiped or even recognized. It was a pagan nation with a multitude of gods. Yet, here we read that a day is coming when God will punish Egypt, then they will turn to the Lord and worship Him.

Can you imagine what this prophecy sounded like to the people of Isaiah's day? How could they ever imagine Egypt and Assyria, two of their most powerful enemies, turning to God and worshiping Him alone? This prediction from the lips of Isaiah had to have sounded absurd and far-fetched. And it still sounds that way to us today. That a day could be coming when all the nations of the earth bow down and worship God and His Son Jesus Christ is hard to comprehend. It sounds ridiculous. Yet God says "in that day" He will not only chasten Egypt, He will redeem them. He will provide them with a Savior and will bring them into a right relationship with Him. In Isaiah's day, these nations represented alliances that Egypt made in an attempt to rescue themselves out of trouble. When threatened by an outside force, they would turn to another nation for help. So instead of trusting God, they would place their trust in a nation and its military might. But in these passages God seems to be reminding Israel that the nations should be coming to them for help. They should be turning to Israel's God for salvation. But because Israel failed to trust in God themselves, the nations failed to see Israel's God as powerful and worthy of worship. Israel's lack of faith in God failed to impress the nations. But the day is coming when that will all change. God will get the attention of the nations when His Son returns to mete out God's judgment. But He will not just rebuke them, He will restore them. God will bring peace to the earth. He will cause warring nations to put down their weapons and lift up their hands in mutual worship of Him. Israel and their former enemies will be co-worshipers of God. Egypt and Assyria, sworn enemies in Isaiah's day, will become one in their worship of God and His Son Jesus Christ. "For the Lord of Heaven's Armies will say, 'Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession" (Isaiah 19:25 NLT). What a day that will be! Unbelievable. Remarkable. Hard to imagine. But well worth waiting for.

Father, there is a great day coming when all things and all nations will be restored. There will be peace in the land. All men will share a common bond in their worship of You. Our enemies will be our brothers. Former foes will be joined by a common love for You. It is hard to imagine, but so exciting to think about. Help me to understand that those countries I view as enemies today will one day have their eyes opened and their hearts turned to You. There is a day coming when there will be no more enemies. There will be no more Al Queda, Iran, China, Cuba, Libya, or North Korea. There is a day coming when peace will reign, Christ will rule, and men will no longer have any reason to call each other enemies. Oh, what a day that will be! Amen

What's It Going To Take?

Isaiah 15-17

Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. ­– Isaiah 17:7 NLT

We are a stubborn lot, we human beings. We will endure all kinds of pain and suffering in order to have things our own way. We can be, to use a biblical term, stiff-necked when it comes to our autonomy. Self-rule and self-sufficiency are the order of the day, just as they were in Isaiah's day. It's not hard to see the stubbornness of the people of God who Isaiah was addressing. The very punishments of God were designed to get their attention and draw them back to Him. But it's amazing just how much it took to get them to wake up and smell the coffee. It would take demoralizing defeat and deportation to a foreign land to finally get them to sit up and take notice – to recognize their sin and their need for salvation from the hands of God.

In these chapters Isaiah describes the devastation and destruction that is going to come on the Moabites and Syrians, but the northern kingdom of Israel as well. He tells them, "Israel's glory will grow dim; its robust body will waste away" (Isaiah 17:4 NLT). "Only a few of its people will be left" (Isaiah 17:6 NLT). But God's ultimate purpose was restorative, not just punitive. He wanted His people to turn back to Him. "Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 17:7 NLT). They will finally stop turning to idols for help. They'll quit giving their devotion and placing their trust in something other than God. It will take devastation and desolation to get them to do this though. God will have to bring them to an end of themselves and prove to them their need for Him. It will not be until they realize that no one or nothing can save them that they finally turn to God for help and hope.

Isn't that just like mankind? We have to reach a point where we don't have another trick up our sleeve, when we don't have a solution to our problems or a way to get ourselves out of hot water that we finally turn to God. It may take an illness, a financial collapse, our spouse walking out on us, the death of a loved one, or the loss of our job before we finally stop relying on ourselves and start turning to God. Am I saying that God causes illness, makes our finances fail, or prompts our wife to walk out on us? No. But in His sovereign will, God can and does use these circumstances of life to get our attention. He allows the events of life – sometimes the results of our own sinful decisions or just the natural fallout of living in a fallen world – to get our attention and show us our need for Him. He is always calling us back to dependency on Him and non-self-sufficiency. He wants us to want Him. If it takes a failure to improve our faith – so be it. But what will it take for you? How long will you ignore God and live according to your own will? How long will you do things your way instead of His? How long will you devote your time, attention and resources to things other than Him before You realize that "you have turned from the God that can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you"? (Isaiah 7:10 NLT). God is calling? Are you listening? God is ready to save you and restore you? Are you ready?

Father, You are always out to restore Your people. You want us to rely on and trust in You. But we are stubborn. We are so prone to put our trust and hope in anything and everything but You. It seems that it takes some kind of collapse to get our attention. We have to fail before we realize just how much we need You. Our prayer lives tend to get stronger in times of need. Our spiritual vision improves during times of difficulty. Help us to learn to seek You without the aid of discipline. Help us to learn to turn to You without having to suffer first. Continue to soften our stubborn hearts and prune us of pride. Amen

He Has A Plan.

Isaiah 13-14

I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nation. The Lord of Heaven's Armies has spoken – who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him? ­– Isaiah 14:26-27 NLT

There are times when things seem so out of control. A quick glance of the newspaper, a scan of the evening news, and you begin to sense that the world is coming off its hinges. Wars, genocide, riots, rebellions, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, recessions, depressions, poverty…the list goes on and on. In the face of all this uncertainty and sin, it could be easy to feel like God has either lost control of thing or is distracted and disinterested in things here on earth. But Isaiah is a reminder that God is always in full control of things on this planet. He is deeply interested and heavily involved in all that is going on around us. From our perspective, things may look bleak, but God has a different view of things. He is not limited by time and space. He knows how the story ends.

In Isaiah's day, it would have been easy for the people of God to lose hope as they looked around them. The Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines, and others were all jockeying for power and position, and little Israel was caught in the middle. Yet God was using these nations to accomplish His divine plan. He was even using them to bring judgment on Israel. He was using these armies to carry out His anger and accomplish His wrath (Isaiah 13:3, 5). While we may feel like the wicked and the evil get away with murder (sometimes literally), God is never out of control. He always judges justly and fairly. It may not happen in our lifetime or according to our desires, but God can and does deal with injustice. He did it in Isaiah's day and He will do it in the future. And in the midst of it all, He would continue to show mercy on those He had chosen. "But the Lord will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again" (Isaiah 14:1 NLT). God had used Babylon to discipline Israel. But the day came when He restored Israel to their land and punished Babylon for their sins. It was all part of His plan, and NOTHING or NO ONE can do anything to alter that plan. It cannot be delayed, derailed or destroyed. "The Lord of Heavens Armies has sworn this oath: 'It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided" (Isaiah 14:24 NLT).

In the book of Isaiah we have a picture of God's plan lived out to perfection – in the past. But we also have a prediction of God's plan yet to happen – in the future. It is designed to give us hope and confidence. We can trust Him, because He has never failed to accomplish His will or implement His plan. There is much that has yet to happen. There are still promises God has yet to fulfill. But rest assured. He will do what He has planned. It will be just as He has decided.

Father, no matter what I see happening around me, keep me confident in the fact that You are in control and You are not done yet. You have a plan and You are working that plan. Everything You have promised will take place. Everything You have planned will come about just as You determined. At no point are You out of control or wringing Your hands in despair. I can rest in You. Amen