Today's Reading
Isaiah gives us a great contrast today. On the one hand is Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom -- Israel (the Southern Kingdom was called Judah and capital was Jerusalem). God kept sending simple prophetic messages to Israel and they kept ignoring them. Finally an oppressor was to come (and did!). On the other hand, Isaiah (26:3) prophesied peace for those set their minds on God and trust in Him. You and I need to remember that when our world is crumbling around us.
I encourage you to read today's Galatians passage as a personal letter written to you. Meditate on it. Ask God to flood your mind with it. It is one of the most often misunderstood concepts in the New Testament. The purpose of the Law is not to make you righteous, but to show you your sin. Only Jesus makes you righteous. If you attempt to be righteous by the Law, you must perfectly obey ALL of it. Zero tolerance! (Fat chance!)
Psalms today speaks of commitment and trust. Which area do you need to grow in?
Proverbs. I have found, at times, that it is tempting to envy those who live a life of seeming sinful ease. How about you?
What have you noticed today?
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Isaiah 25-28
ReplyDeleteJust as the people of Isaiah’s time needed a comforting message of hope and peace so too the people of today.
Question: What is the difference between a person who rebels against God to the end (people of Moab) and a “Christian” who fails to completely repent?
Question: Is it possible that Christians today recoil during times of strife and turmoil seeking the comfort and peace of a God of love? What is the Christian’s responsibility during these times? Do we as Christians relay too much on the idea of “peace”? Or, maybe once we acknowledge the peace of God it makes our job here on Earth easier to complete. I was watching “The Book of Eli” last night. It gave an interesting world view on faith and the responsibility of a Christian in the end times. The entire premise was “do for others more than for yourself”.
Question: What is the responsibility of the follower of Christ in the last days?
Hey, Climbing Companions. I have found that Luke loves to ask questions to stir conversation and cause us to think. What do you guys think about his queries?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that a Christian who doesn't completely repent is lukewarm and we all know what the Lord thinks about lukewarm believers. We are to live whole-heartedly for Him which means when we repent, we turn completely away from the sin that "so easily entangles us". Now on the other hand, people who rebel in the sense that Moab rebeled . . . to the end, did they ever accept God's authority to begin with? The end result is different for one who rebels completely against God and one who is a Christian but doesn't completely turn from their sin . . . but I would venture that in this life, both will have misery. Sin is misery!
ReplyDeleteGood question about the recoiling thing during times of strife. I can only speak from my own experience. I guess in a sense you could say that I recoil during heavy trials, but I think it's to sit in the "palm of His right hand" to "hide in the cleft of the Rock", etc. The recoiling for a time isn't a bad thing. I do think that when I take that time, whether it's an hour, a day or a week, I come out stronger on the other side. It's during those times of weakness that His strength is evident. Now I'm to go out with the armor of God placed piece by piece on me.
I'm not sure if that answers any of the questions, but they were good questions - made me think a bit more.