If you can walk on the righteous path daily, then God will bless you abundantly, with resources that will sustain you and help you stay on that path.
Verses 18-19 remind me of song lyrics by Chris Tomlin: If God is for us, then who can be against us?
The reminder: A Christ-centred life is a righteous life, God blesses the righteous.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Isaiah 33:5-12
Isaiah 33:6
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Amen to that!
God will lift us up out of the bad times. As understood from a commentary about verses 7-9: If you acknowledge the power and mercy of God, then He will be faithful and will bring us out of our struggles and challenges, just like how he saved the Jews when destroyer nations were taking them down.
The reminder: God is the foundation in good times and bad times.
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Amen to that!
God will lift us up out of the bad times. As understood from a commentary about verses 7-9: If you acknowledge the power and mercy of God, then He will be faithful and will bring us out of our struggles and challenges, just like how he saved the Jews when destroyer nations were taking them down.
The reminder: God is the foundation in good times and bad times.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Isaiah 32:9-33:4
There are those times when I feel complacent as well... as though everything in life is going smoothly and that I'm comfortable and content at where I'm at. That shouldn't be the case. This walk with Christ is like a climbing an everlasting mountain. We can't stop and stay put if we want to reach the top. I'd say the top is true righteousness and purity of heart for God. I'm not saying that it's achievable in our lifetime, but it's definitely what we're all striving for.
Isaiah 32:15-17
till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
When the Spirit does its transforming work in your hearts, you begin to collect the goodness and the blessings that come from the gracious hands of the Lord. Someone as broken and sinful as I can be healed by the Lord...enough to compare myself to a desert and the Spirit being capable of changing me into a fertile field. As we continue to seek the Lord with our entire being, God will manifest in us and the Spirit will overflow out of us. When we are able to align ourselves to God (to know what God desires and following His commandments), then justice and righteousness will come to us naturally. When we are righteous in God's eyes, we'll begin to filter out the things of the world that drag us down. God will grant us the power and strength to overcome temptations and struggles. With God's peace we can be confident in the Lord and His work in us. It all goes back to trust.
Isaiah 33:2
O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Beautiful. As Isaiah called out to the Lord, I call out to You in the same way.
The reminder: Don't be complacent of where you're at in your walk with Christ. Allow the Spirit to continue transforming you to what God made you to be.
Isaiah 32:15-17
till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
When the Spirit does its transforming work in your hearts, you begin to collect the goodness and the blessings that come from the gracious hands of the Lord. Someone as broken and sinful as I can be healed by the Lord...enough to compare myself to a desert and the Spirit being capable of changing me into a fertile field. As we continue to seek the Lord with our entire being, God will manifest in us and the Spirit will overflow out of us. When we are able to align ourselves to God (to know what God desires and following His commandments), then justice and righteousness will come to us naturally. When we are righteous in God's eyes, we'll begin to filter out the things of the world that drag us down. God will grant us the power and strength to overcome temptations and struggles. With God's peace we can be confident in the Lord and His work in us. It all goes back to trust.
Isaiah 33:2
O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Beautiful. As Isaiah called out to the Lord, I call out to You in the same way.
The reminder: Don't be complacent of where you're at in your walk with Christ. Allow the Spirit to continue transforming you to what God made you to be.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Isaiah 31:4- 32:8
God is faithful to us when we reciprocate our faithfulness to Him. Trials can come our way, struggles may overcome us, challenges may defeat us... but God is sovereign over all things. He will protect us like a shepherd tending his sheep. He is always rescuing us from Satan's grasp. The question is whether we take advantage of our rescue and return the gratitude by walking in the Lord's footsteps faithfully... or whether we get tempted by the devil and fall again.
Isaiah 31:6-7
Return to him you have so greatly revolted against, O Isrealites. For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.
I may not have physical idols of gold and silver, but I know that I put too much value in comfort and the devil uses that against me. I procrastinate in my studies and get lazy... pushing everything to the last minute. It's then I realize the depth of the situation and how I turned away from the Lord. I know in my head that God can rescue me from this but I don't earnestly seek His rescue until the situation becomes even worse. This is a personal lesson that I have to learn. Whether I am able to do it in this lifetime or not, the point when I am able to rely on the Lord in standing strong against the devil and let go of idols that hold me down will be the day when I return to Him as a child at His feet. He is the sole King whose feet that I should fall to.
Jesus is my shelter from the wind and my refuge from the storms of life. Jesus quenches my thirst for life. He is my lifeline like streams of water in the desert. When you pick up your own cross daily to follow Him, your eyes and ears will be opened and my mind would be a step closer in aligning with His.
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