Promises, Pt. 21

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“In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth,” (Isaiah 10:20 ESV).

You have to read this a few times to get it. At least I did. The first few times I read it, my mind heard, “Eventually I will turn away from the other things I’ve chased and will finally lean on God.” And that’s a great idea. But after reading it a few times in a row, something jumped out at me. It says they “will no more lean on him who struck them…”. So much of the time, the things we run to other than God really hurt us. And yet we continue to run to them. It immediately reminded me of a day I learned about abusive relationships when I was in high school. A young high school couple was screaming at each other in the parking lot after a dance. It was teetering on the edge of becoming physically violent and so I stepped in and took the girl home. She was a friend of my sister, but the two of them didn’t even speak the whole way to her house. Her older brother recognized me when I dropped her off and asked me what was going on. I explained it to him quickly and I think he headed off to enact violence of his own. But a couple of weeks later I saw the couple together again. I couldn’t understand it. Finally a mentor started helping me understand the abused mindset. When you don’t think you deserve any relationship, you’ll stay in anything. The abuse is horrible but it’s better than being alone. It’s better than the unknown.

This passage applies that same concept to the situation between us and our sin. Our mistakes are hurting us. They are damaging our lives. And yet we return to them, because we understand them. Because we don’t think we deserve any better. Our guilt from drinking leads us to drink more. We know porn is destroying how we think and how we look at those around us. We know it’s hardening our heart to true love and yet we return to it just trying to feel something. The pain of past mistakes leads to new mistakes trying to cover or escape the old ones. But God says that one day we will not lean on these things that have hurt us and let us down anymore. We will finally lean on Him. I hope that day comes sooner than later.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises, Pt. 20

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“But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,” (Isaiah 7:13-14 ESV).

I cannot get away from the vastness of our God in this study. If I obey, He has a plan and a promise. If I disobey, He has a plan and a promise. If I focus on Him, He has a plan and a promise. If I forget Him, He has a promise. Wherever I turn, He is there.

In this passage, the first thing I noticed was the “stone of offense” line. It always reminds me of that lyric from “Meditation/Baptism” from Michael Card’s brilliant project, The Life. Well, I guess that song actually reminds me of this verse. Our God is a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling. When I was young, I always assumed this was addressed to non-believers. And it made sense. An all-powerful Savior that dies. God born as a baby. Of course it would cause stumbling. But reading it this time, I realize that God is addressing Israel, His people. We are the ones who will be offended and who will stumble. That changes the meaning fairly drastically.

The second thing I noticed was that He is not just a stone of offense, but is also a sanctuary. God is always complete. He is never just angry, not just justice. He is never only mercy, just grace. He is always both. He is never only Father, Son, or Spirit. He is always all of them. So if we recognize Him, worship as only one of His attributes, we are worshipping an idol. It is not the true God. It seems like a heady, theological argument, but it’s really not. It really applies all the time. Every time God is our judge, He is also our lover. There is great comfort to be found in that. Every time He is our guide, He is also all-knowing. There is great confidence to be found in that. Every time He is gracious and graceful, He is also hating every bit of our sin. So, His love is not an empty overlooking of our mistakes, but a passionate, overwhelming love that completely understands who we are, what we’ve done and loves us anyway.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises, pt. 19

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“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel…. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted,” (Isaiah 7:14, 16 ESV).

The book of Isaiah holds a lot of the Messianic prophecies. However many of them, if not all of them are in the context of a current situation as well. In this well known passage from chapter 7, we see the virgin birth and the name of Immanuel for the first time. We know this to be referring to the Messiah, Jesus. But at the time, the king of Judah only knew that two nations were coming to war with him. God responds that there will be a Messiah, but more immediately, that before the Messiah arrives, both these two lands would no longer exist. God says that yes, I have a continuing and redeeming plan for my people. And my plan will be in effect long after your current struggles are over. I hope I can find assurance in that today. God has a plan for my good that will be in effect long after whatever I’m struggling with today is gone. My enemies, my struggles are not long term opponents for Him. They are merely tools of refinement.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises Pt. 18

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“And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of His majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth,” (Isaiah 2:19 ESV).

There is a song we sang in church when I was a kid. It was called “He Is Lord,” and had a line that went, “Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” That line was obviously taken from Philippians 2:10-11. As a child, I always assumed that at the end of time, everyone who didn’t believe in Jesus would be forced to worship Him anyway. But reading this verse in Isaiah has made me wonder if that’s not quite how it will work.

This verse doesn’t say that before the majesty of the Lord, people will be forced into caves and holes. It says they shall enter. They choose to go there. This humbling, this fear, is a natural response to the presence of the splendor of the Lord. And that makes me wonder about the day which is to come. What if everyone is not forced to worship? What if God’s enemies do not honor Him that day out of compulsion? What if it is a natural response to finally coming into His presence? What if there is no other option than to respond in humility?

Either way I look forward to that day. I will gladly choose to humble myself, whether it’s a natural response or a choice. I hope I can choose to do the same today.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises Pt. 16

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“Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: ‘Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. And 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,” (Isaiah 1:24-26 ESV).

I read this and was thrilled by the idea of God defeating his enemies, of God avenging Himself. And then I noticed that He was talking to Israel. And He says, I will turn my hand against you. Against me? Am I the enemy of God? Well, the Bible clearly says that before I am adopted into His family, that is exactly what I am. But this statement was addressed to His family, the children of Israel. So what does that mean? Well, I think we find the answer in the next part of the sentence. “I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross…”. God fights the war against His enemy inside us. He wages war by purifying us and restoring us.

It may seem strange but I find comfort in that. I know God always fulfills His promises. So when He promises to win His war against the enemies inside me, I know that my sins, my failures, my impurities, however strong they may seem to me, are destined to be defeated. There will be a day when I will be called a city of righteousness. He said so.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises, Pt. 14

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“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you,” (Deuteronomy 30:1-3 ESV).

Two things jumped out at me from these verses. First, both “the blessing and the curse” came from God. He was in charge of the good and the bad. Now, I’m not saying that all evil comes from God or anything like that. I’m just reading and noticing that God uses both the positive and the negative to shape our lives.

And second, we are commanded to return. Or repent, if you will. Jesus’ first sermons were of that theme: Repent and believe. And we find it here all the way back in Deuteronomy. Return and obey. Repent and believe. With all your heart and soul.

God responds to our repentance. It’s promised, even here. We return and obey. And He “will restore.””

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises Pt. 13

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“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not…. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them. I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish,” (Deuteronomy 8:2, 19).

Do you remember the time…? Yes, it’s a Michael Jackson lyric but it also is from the Bible. And it’s probably more appropriate and powerful there.

Deuteronomy 8 has a beautiful passage where God reminds His people of His faithfulness. He shows them why they can trust, why they can believe, why they can obey. It’s amazing to think how good God has been to us, and it’s very strange to think how quickly we forget. We can be astounded by God’s grace and move on at the next commercial break. God warns us here that if we forget Him, we will perish. For life is found in Him, nowhere else. No matter how much we invest in it. All else will perish.

So today, let’s take time to remember. To remember that He made us – every function we have we owe to Him. To remember He made every good thing we enjoy in life –food, sex, laughter. To remember the cross – the sacrifice He made out of love for us and passion for His glory. To remember the calling – the invitation to partake in His life.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises, Pt. 12

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The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes,’” (Numbers 27:12-14 ESV).

Moses disobeyed God and as a result, he did not get to enter the promised land. But when God explained this to him, He didn’t say ‘You will die.’ He said “you shall be gathered to your people.” And I came to realize that God had a promise waiting on the other side of Moses’ disobedience as well. His failure had not taken him out of reach of the promises of God. It took him out of a specific promise, but not out of God’s reach. Moses did miss out on the promised land, but while he missed that, instead he went to the Promised Land. He was gathered with his people. He missed the land of Canaan but gained Heaven. Even in God’s punishment, His promise remains.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises Pt. 11

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Moses sent a group of spies into the land of Canaan. Out of the whole group only two came back saying this was the land God had for them, believing He would provide. The rest of the nation of Israel shook in fear of the inhabitants of the land. Caleb’s faithfulness moved the heart of God.

“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it,” (Numbers 14:24 ESV).

God fulfills His plan for Israel in His promise to Caleb. I want God to look at me and see a different spirit. I long for Him to look at my life and say, “He has followed me fully.” It’s not that complicated a concept; it doesn’t take much blog space. But it takes a lot of life space. In fact it takes all of it.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Promises Pt. 10

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“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,” (Exodus 14:4 ESV).

Many times we assume that our good days are from God and our difficult days are from the devil. But here in Exodus, as the nation of Israel is leaving Egypt and approaching the Red Sea, God says, promises that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart, which ends in the entire Egyptian army pursuing Israel. The fear and difficulties that follow occur as a result of the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. But God’s goal is not an easy life for us, but glory for Him. He plans our lives in such a way that we bring the most glory to Him. Sometimes that is a good simple way, but many times it is complicated and difficult. He may even harden someone’s heart against us, which is hard for us, but will result in great glory for Him.

Today I hope I can be willing to walk whatever path brings God the most glory, whatever it may look like for me.

Your thoughts?

Todd