'Isaiah' Tagged Posts

'Isaiah' Tagged Posts

GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU

Have you ever felt, as did the Psalmist, that God has forgotten you? Does it seem as though He has hid His face from you? Does your situation seem dire and seemingly your Heavenly Father is distant? Is the sense of urgency so great that you want to shout “Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down…..” Lord? Can you hear me? Are You listening? Lord, are You even there? Sure, we’ve ALL been there at some point or another in our lives, just as the great saints of old have been. Sometimes the storms of life seem like they’re going to sweep us away and there doesn’t appear to be any hope in the foreseeable future. When life gets difficult (and it will) we must remember what David wrote in Psalm 40:4 “Blessed (happy) is that man who maketh the LORD his trust….” Here, “trust” simply means refuge or security. In the storms we face, God is our refuge and though He may seem distant, though He may seem to have forgotten you, remember this…..things aren’t always as they seem to be. God will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust Him to be your trust.

HANDLING BAD NEWS

Breaking News….…Stock Market drops 1234 points, millions wiped out…I’ve just received the news from the doctor….it’s cancer and it’s terminal…….I’ve been meaning to tell you, I want a divorce…….Sir, your son was in an accident today……..Mom, I can’t talk very loud, there’s an active shooter in our school…….Honey, I just backed the car into our neighbors car. And so it goes! Life is fraught with bad news and if it isn’t bad news then it’s fake! What we need is a hefty dose of Good News!

WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?

We call today Good Friday. What is so good about it? After all, it is a day that Jesus suffered the most brutal beating and death that an innocent man has ever endured. The disciples at the time certainly did not see the day as good. They saw it as a day they were losing someone they loved; their friend and leader. Yet we call it good. You see, the problem that all of has is that we see things from our perspective and not God’s. So things that he sees as good we do not always see as good. The answer to the question lies in a verse we often quote:

BE GENUINE

At the height of the Vietnam War a song came out in 1968 called “The Games People Play”. It’s a protest song, one of many during that era whose lyrics speak against, among other things, hypocrisy and irresponsibility: “Oh the games people play now Every night and every day now Never meaning what they say now Never saying what they mean.” The Lord spoke through Isaiah to address the same problem back then that this song addresses…..Hypocrisy and irresponsibility. Talking the talk but not having the heart. Indeed, Jesus quoted this passage when he rebuked the religious leaders of His day for their hypocrisy. Today, people are still playing games! Pretending to be something or someone they’re not. Praising God at church and cursing their fellow man at work, bringing their Bibles to church but leaving them untouched from Monday till the next Lord’s Day! STOP playing games! Peter warns us to be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as roaring lion,walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; (1 Peter 5:8)

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

“Soli Deo gloria” “To God alone be the glory”. A very sobering statement yet many today completely disregard this as they attempt to take the credit for answered prayer, souls saved, successful ministries, careers, knowledge, insight etc.