“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel
and come from the line of Judah,
you who take oaths in the name of the LORD
and invoke the God of Israel—
but not in truth or righteousness—
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
and claim to rely on the God of Israel—
the LORD Almighty is his name:
I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
For I knew how stubborn you were;
your neck muscles were iron,
your forehead was bronze.
Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them? - Isaiah 48: 1-6
you who are called by the name of Israel
and come from the line of Judah,
you who take oaths in the name of the LORD
and invoke the God of Israel—
but not in truth or righteousness—
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
and claim to rely on the God of Israel—
the LORD Almighty is his name:
I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
For I knew how stubborn you were;
your neck muscles were iron,
your forehead was bronze.
Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them? - Isaiah 48: 1-6
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 47-49; 1 Thessalonians 4
Oh my… this is troubling.
The thing that is crazy about this is that this is exactly what happened for me. It took me hitting my lowest lows, realizing that I didn’t know anything about life, for me to really take an honest look at God for the first time in my life.
Some people learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others. But other folk are hardheaded and stiff necked. I have been one of those people. We gotta be hit hard to learn a lesson. Sure I’m improving but it is a long road.
I’m not saying that all the bad things that happen to you in life are because of God. We cause ourselves plenty of bad on our own.
But what I am saying is that in every bad situation there is a way out. Even if it seems hopeless, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, there is always a way if we can have the faith to be honest with ourselves.
We are not in charge.
Once we get our perspective in the proper order things will turn around. We will have the courage to get up, walk, run and finally to fly.
Isaiah 47 cont'd
ReplyDelete“From now on I will tell you of new things,
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;
from of old your ears have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
you were called a rebel from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another.
I Thessalonians 4:1-4 Read it. Apply it to your life in whatever way if meets you belief.
God will never let us forget "the grace of God" or the wrath. Every day God gives us our greatest power, choice. It is up to us to use our "power", honestly and wisely.