Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Imagine some ordinary person jumping into the middle of your “make do” life with a message he says comes from God.  You’re just trying to survive the day to day.  You eek out a living so you can put food on the table and clothes on the backs of your family.  You have been pushed around and mocked as a captive of the powerful, those who play “king of the hill”, battling for who gets what in this world. 

You have given up on the God you knew from generations past.  If fact, you’re not sure your kids know what you were brought up to know about God.  You just do what the world does so you can fit in and not make waves.  It’s less trouble that way.  Doing what the world does is easier for now.  But then this guy, who cries a lot, who is not known for a sunny disposition, comes into your life to disrupt the culture.

Jeremiah, why are you all up in our grill? –Because God said so.

Jeremiah 5, The Message

Sins Are Piled Sky-High

5 ^1-2 “Patrol Jerusalem’s streets.
    Look around. Take note.
Search the market squares.
    See if you can find one man, one woman,
A single soul who does what is right
    and tries to live a true life.
    I want to forgive that person.”
        God’s Decree.
“But if all they do is say, ‘As sure as God lives . . . ’
    they’re nothing but a bunch of liars.”

^3-6 But you, God,
    you have an eye for truth, don’t you?
You hit them hard, but it didn’t faze them.
    You disciplined them, but they refused correction.
Hardheaded, harder than rock,
    they wouldn’t change.
Then I said to myself, “Well, these are just poor people.
    They don’t know any better.
They were never taught anything about God.
    They never went to prayer meetings.
I’ll find some people from the best families.
    I’ll talk to them.
They’ll know what’s going on, the way God works.
    They’ll know the score.”
But they were no better! Rebels all!
    Off doing their own thing.
The invaders are ready to pounce and kill,
    like a mountain lion, a wilderness wolf,
Panthers on the prowl.
    The streets aren’t safe anymore.
And why? Because the people’s sins are piled sky-high;
    their betrayals are past counting.

^7-9 “Why should I even bother with you any longer?
    Your children wander off, leaving me,
Taking up with gods
    that aren’t even gods.
I satisfied their deepest needs, and then they went off with the ‘sacred’ whores,
    left me for orgies in sex shrines!
A bunch of well-groomed, lusty stallions,
    each one pawing and snorting for his neighbor’s wife.
Do you think I’m going to stand around and do nothing?”
    God’s Decree.
“Don’t you think I’ll take serious measures
    against a people like this?

Eyes That Don’t Really Look, Ears That Don’t Really Listen

^10-11 “Go down the rows of vineyards and rip out the vines,
    but not all of them. Leave a few.
Prune back those vines!
    That growth didn’t come from God!
They’ve betrayed me over and over again,
    Judah and Israel both.”
        God’s Decree.

^12-13 “They’ve spread lies about God.
    They’ve said, ‘There’s nothing to him.
Nothing bad will happen to us,
    neither famine nor war will come our way.
The prophets are all windbags.
    They speak nothing but nonsense.’”

¹⁴ Therefore, this is what God said to me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Because they have talked this way,
    they are going to eat those words.
Watch now! I’m putting my words
    as fire in your mouth.
And the people are a pile of kindling
    ready to go up in flames.

^15-17 “Attention! I’m bringing a far-off nation
    against you, O house of Israel.”
        God’s Decree.
“A solid nation,
    an ancient nation,
A nation that speaks another language.
    You won’t understand a word they say.
When they aim their arrows, you’re as good as dead.
    They’re a nation of real fighters!
They’ll clean you out of house and home,
    rob you of crops and children alike.
They’ll feast on your sheep and cattle,
    strip your vines and fig trees.
And the fortresses that made you feel so safe—
    leveled with a stroke of the sword!

^18-19 “Even then, as bad as it will be”—God’s Decree!—“it will not be the end of the world for you. And when people ask, ‘Why did our God do all this to us?’ you must say to them, ‘This is back on you. Just as you left me and served foreign gods in your own country, so now you must serve foreigners in their own country.’

^20-25 “Tell the house of Jacob this,
    put out this bulletin in Judah:
Listen to this,
    you scatterbrains, airheads,
With eyes that see but don’t really look,
    and ears that hear but don’t really listen.
Why don’t you honor me?
    Why aren’t you in awe before me?
Yes, me, who made the shorelines
    to contain the ocean waters.
I drew a line in the sand
    that cannot be crossed.
Waves roll in but cannot get through;
    breakers crash but that’s the end of them.
But this people—what a people!
    Uncontrollable, untamable runaways.
It never occurs to them to say,
    ‘How can we honor our God with our lives,
The God who gives rain in both spring and autumn
    and maintains the rhythm of the seasons,
Who sets aside time each year for harvest
    and keeps everything running smoothly for us?’
Of course you don’t! Your bad behavior blinds you to all this.
    Your sins keep my blessings at a distance.

To Stand for Nothing and Stand Up for No One

^26-29 “My people are infiltrated by wicked men,
    unscrupulous men on the hunt.
They set traps for the unsuspecting.
    Their victims are innocent men and women.
Their houses are stuffed with ill-gotten gain,
    like a hunter’s bag full of birds.
Pretentious and powerful and rich,
    hugely obese, oily with rolls of fat.
Worse, they have no conscience.
    Right and wrong mean nothing to them.
They stand for nothing, stand up for no one,
    throw orphans to the wolves, exploit the poor.
Do you think I’ll stand by and do nothing about this?”
    God’s Decree.
“Don’t you think I’ll take serious measures
    against a people like this?

* * *

^30-31 “Unspeakable! Sickening!
    What’s happened in this country?
Prophets preach lies
    and priests hire on as their assistants.
And my people love it. They eat it up!
    But what will you do when it’s time to pick up the pieces?”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God commanded Jeremiah to conduct a search of all the city of Jerusalem. If He discovered just one righteous person, the Lord would forgive the wicked city and call off the invasion. Sound familiar? The background for this action sermon is God’s agreement with Abraham to spare Sodom if the city had ten righteous people (Genesis 18:22–33).  God uses us to assess the sin of our culture so we can sound the alarm.  They way we treat each other is in direct correlation to how we treat God.

Survey says…When Jeremiah’s survey was concluded, he had found not one person who was honest and truthful. These days we learn of new technological advances weekly; we’re surrounded by change. But human nature has not changed. What Jeremiah found in his day, we find today, don’t we?  What would be the results of a God-survey today?  It’s been done…often.  Google George Barna, Christian statistician of our day.

This is the heart of the matter: Since the people did not believe God’s Word, they turned their backs on God and went their own way.  The Jews had forsaken the Lord and served idols in their own land. Now they would be temporarily forsaken by the Lord and taken to Babylon, where they would serve idols in a foreign land.  Sin compounds sin.

ANY GOOD NEWS?  YES!  “In this bleak pronouncement, God gives good news. Later we see this prediction fulfilled: Eventually a remnant returned to Judah from Babylon after the captivity and restored the nation, rebuilt the temple, and maintained the testimony, preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. God had covenanted with Abraham that through his descendants all the world would be blessed (Genesis 12:1–3), and God kept His promise.” –Warren Wiersbe, “Wiersbe Study Bible”

Jeremiah, a plain man, boldly spoke God’s message.  “Getting up in the grill”, face to face, with God’s people probably angered them, but it didn’t shake them out of their complacency.  The rich got richer, the poor, poorer.  The courts were corrupt, the prophets were liars, the priests went right along with them—and the people approved what was done and enjoyed it! A nation that is corrupt has no hope.

Jesus is our Hope.  The promised Messiah came, died and rose again, to save us.  Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life.  Believe and be saved.

Lord,

Thank you for Jeremiah and other prophets who obeyed your call to speak your message of love and care, protection, and provision for those who believe.  You just want us to love you back.  Why do we turn from all that is good?  Thank you for bringing me back to you years ago.  Thank you for continuing to teach me your ways. Thank you for forgiveness, mercy, and grace because of your deep love.

In Jesus Name, Amen

When a man abuses a woman, the woman can no longer trust the man’s talk of love.  When a woman berates a man for his lack of self-control or achievement (another form of abuse), the man no longer trusts the woman.  When a person smiles and gives hugs all around the room, then gossips about the ones hugged with slanderous words behind their backs, trust in that person is shattered.

When a loved one steals from us in some form or another, trust is gone.  When a coworker takes the credit for what you did, trust is gone.  When a boss blames his team for work not assigned but expected to be completed, trust is gone.  When attacked in this world and none of our friends or family come to our aid, trust is gone.  These examples of our sin nature destroy trust.

Trust is precious and hard to find in others who consistently blame others for their sins and shortcomings.  Trust is built over time with truth.  Truth of a person’s character is readily seen when a person is pressured in a challenging situation or backed into a corner with seemingly no place to go.  Fear of failing compounds this problem. Fear of being found out for who we really are drives us to react in ways that are unbecoming and childish. 

As I read Jeremiah this morning, the first words of God to His people leap from the page and stir my heart.  “If you want to come back, you must REALLY come back to me.”  We are told often to trust God—but can He trust us?    

Jeremiah 4, The Message

^1-2 “If you want to come back, O Israel,
    you must really come back to me.
You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernalia
    and not wander away from me anymore.
Then you can say words like, ‘As God lives . . . ’
    and have them mean something true and just and right.
And the godless nations will get caught up in the blessing
    and find something in Israel to write home about.”

* * *

^3-4 Here’s another Message from God
    to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields,
    but then don’t plant weeds in the soil!
Yes, circumcise your lives for God’s sake.
    Plow your unplowed hearts,
    all you people of Judah and Jerusalem.
Prevent fire—the fire of my anger—
    for once it starts it can’t be put out.
Your wicked ways
    are fuel for the fire.

God’s Sledgehammer Anger

^5-8 “Sound the alarm in Judah,
    broadcast the news in Jerusalem.
Say, ‘Blow the ram’s horn trumpet through the land!’
    Shout out—a bullhorn bellow!—
‘Close ranks!
    Run for your lives to the shelters!’
Send up a flare warning Zion:
    ‘Not a minute to lose! Don’t sit on your hands!’
Disaster’s descending from the north. I set it off!
    When it lands, it will shake the foundations.
Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover,
    ready to rip nations to shreds,
Leaving your land in wrack and ruin,
    your cities in rubble, abandoned.
Dress in funereal black.
    Weep and wail,
For God’s sledgehammer anger
    has slammed into us head-on.

⁹ “When this happens”
    —God’s Decree—
“King and princes will lose heart;
    priests will be baffled and prophets stand dumbfounded.”

¹⁰ Then I said, “Alas, Master God!
    You’ve fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem.
You assured them, ‘All is well, don’t worry,’
    at the very moment when the sword was at their throats.”

* * *

^11-12 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem,
    will be told in plain words:
“The northern hordes are sweeping in
    from the desert steppes—
A wind that’s up to no good, a gale-force wind.
    I ordered this wind.
I’m pronouncing
    my hurricane judgment on my people.”

Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart

^13-14 Look at them! Like banks of storm clouds,
    racing, tumbling, their chariots a tornado,
Their horses faster than eagles!
    Woe to us! We’re done for!
Jerusalem! Scrub the evil from your lives
    so you’ll be fit for salvation.
How much longer will you harbor
    devious and malignant designs within you?

^15-17 What’s this? A messenger from Dan?
    Bad news from Ephraim’s hills!
Make the report public.
    Broadcast the news to Jerusalem:
“Invaders from far off are
    raising war cries against Judah’s towns.
They’re all over her, like a dog on a bone.
    And why? Because she rebelled against me.”
        God’s Decree.

¹⁸ “It’s the way you’ve lived
    that’s brought all this on you.
The bitter taste is from your evil life.
    That’s what’s piercing your heart.”

* * *

^19-21 I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly—
    a poker burns in my gut.
My insides are tearing me up,
    never a moment’s peace.
The ram’s horn trumpet blast rings in my ears,
    the signal for all-out war.
Disaster hard on the heels of disaster,
    the whole country in ruins!
In one stroke my home is destroyed,
    the walls flattened in the blink of an eye.
How long do I have to look at the warning flares,
    listen to the siren of danger?

Experts at Evil

²² “What fools my people are!
    They have no idea who I am.
A company of half-wits,
    dopes and donkeys all!
Experts at evil
    but klutzes at good.”

^23-26 I looked at the earth—
    it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness.
I looked at the skies,
    and not a star to be seen.
I looked at the mountains—
    they were trembling like aspen leaves,
And all the hills
    rocking back and forth in the wind.
I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight,
    and not a bird to be seen in the skies.
I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up.
    All the towns were ghost towns.
And all this because of God,
    because of the blazing anger of God.

^27-28 Yes, this is God’s Word on the matter:

“The whole country will be laid waste—
    still it won’t be the end of the world.
The earth will mourn
    and the skies lament
Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back.
    I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.”

You’re Not Going to Seduce Anyone

²⁹ Someone shouts, “Horsemen and archers!”
    and everybody runs for cover.
They hide in ditches,
    they climb into caves.
The cities are emptied,
    not a person left anywhere.

^30-31 And you, what do you think you’re up to?
    Dressing up in party clothes,
Decking yourselves out in jewelry,
    putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara!
Your primping goes for nothing.
    You’re not going to seduce anyone. They’re out to kill you!
And what’s that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor,
    the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn.
It’s the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath,
    reaching out for help:
“Help, oh help me! I’m dying!
    The killers are on me!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The prophet doesn’t clean up the message with euphemisms so that it is easier to hear, digest and swallow.  Nope, no sugar coating the words of God who is angry.  Why is God so angry?  Is it because of their foolish behaviors?  Behaviors are only symptoms of a much deeper problem.  God is angry because of His deep, abiding love for people who have turned their backs on Him.

Let’s camp on this thought.  God loves us, really loves us.  God loves us with a love we cannot wrap our heads around because it is higher thinking.  God’s compassion and love for His people is unchanging and forever.  Their sin behaviors break His heart because of this higher thinking love.  He would rather bless His beloved people with all He has to offer which is beyond their wildest dreams or imaginations!  But they have turned their backs on what is best for them.

As parents, have you ever said, “I’m doing this for your own good because I love you?”  (And we wanted them to “love us less” at that point?)  God’s love goes beyond this thinking!  He has so much to give and we turn away?

God allows punishment from other nations to get their attention.  “Come back to me and really mean it so I can bless you again” is the real message of meaning.  God can be trusted.  When we trust in ourselves, we fall into sin.  God cannot and will not be where sin resides.  God is the opposite of sin.  God is angry because of all His people are missing out on that He wants to give!  God can be trusted.  Can we?

“You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernalia and not wander away from me anymore”, for what you are doing leads to death and destruction which is the opposite of what I want to give you.  In other words, don’t mess with me, says God.  He has so much more to give…God can be trusted.  Can we be trusted?

We must examine our own hearts by “plowing up the soil” to see what is growing—weeds of sin or the character traits of God?

“If you want to come back, you must really come back to me.” –God

Lord,

Your love goes beyond our thinking no matter how hard we try to imagine it.  Your love sent your Son to die for our sins.  Your love redeemed us and set us free from the punishment that should have been ours to receive.  Your love is a gift that keeps on giving.  Your love can be trusted.  I trust in you, dear Jesus.  I trust God, our Father.  I trust Your Holy Spirit to lead me to your love and all that is good for me and causes my love to grow.  All for you.  All to give you honor and praise. I’ve plowed my heart and I see I need more of you and less of me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

God created all so He is in all.  We, as His created, rebel against the One who made us and loved us so much He would die for us.  When we rebel against the One who wants the best for us, the worst happens.  Why?  Because the reality of rebellion is turning our backs on all that is right, good, and pleasing to God, our Father who gives us all we need to live at our best.

The Rebels Reality is going our own way with no one telling us what to do.  The rebel in us assumes we know it all so we are unteachable and no one can tell us any different.  The rebel’s character traits follow the desires of our sinful nature, and the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these that are not of God. The rebels’ reality is living a life opposite of a God driven life.  (See Galatians 5)

God’s message through Jeremiah is describing the rebel reality life that God’s people were living which grieved the heart of God greatly.  As we read you can hear God’s passion through Jeremiah—he longs for their return to his great love for them.  He longs to bless them once more with all that is good for them as He watches them waste the best years of their lives.  

God has not changed in His love for us.  God still longs for his created to come to Him.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Turn from a rebel’s realty that leads to death and live with Christ forever.  This IS a matter of life and death.  We choose.

Jeremiah 3, The Message

God’s Message came to me as follows:

“If a man’s wife
    walks out on him
And marries another man,
    can he take her back as if nothing had happened?
Wouldn’t that raise a huge stink
    in the land?
And isn’t that what you’ve done—
    ‘whored’ your way with god after god?
And now you want to come back as if nothing had happened.”
    God’s Decree.

^2-5 “Look around at the hills.
    Where have you not had sex?
You’ve camped out like hunters stalking deer.
    You’ve solicited many lover-gods,
Like a streetwalking whore
    chasing after other gods.
And so the rain has stopped.
    No more rain from the skies!
But it doesn’t even faze you. Brazen as whores,
    you carry on as if you’ve done nothing wrong.
Then you have the nerve to call out, ‘My father!
    You took care of me when I was a child. Why not now?
Are you going to keep up your anger nonstop?’
    That’s your line. Meanwhile you keep sinning nonstop.”

Admit Your God-Defiance

^6-10 God spoke to me during the reign of King Josiah: “You have noticed, haven’t you, how fickle Israel has visited every hill and grove of trees as a whore at large? I assumed that after she had gotten it out of her system, she’d come back, but she didn’t. Her flighty sister, Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that because of fickle Israel’s loose morals I threw her out, gave her her walking papers. But that didn’t faze flighty sister Judah. She went out, big as you please, and took up a whore’s life also. She took up cheap sex-and-religion as a sideline diversion, an indulgent recreation, and used anything and anyone, flouting sanity and sanctity alike, stinking up the country. And not once in all this did flighty sister Judah even give me a nod, although she made a show of it from time to time.” God’s Decree.

^11-12 Then God told me, “Fickle Israel was a good sight better than flighty Judah. Go and preach this message. Face north toward Israel and say:

^12-15 “‘Turn back, fickle Israel.
    I’m not just hanging back to punish you.
I’m committed in love to you.
    My anger doesn’t see the nonstop.
Just admit your guilt.
    Admit your God-defiance.
Admit to your promiscuous life with casual partners,
    pulling strangers into the sex-and-religion groves
While turning a deaf ear to me.’”
    God’s Decree.
“Come back, wandering children!”
    God’s Decree.
“I, yes I, am your true husband.
    I’ll pick you out one by one—
This one from the city, these two from the country—
    and bring you to Zion.
I’ll give you good shepherd-rulers who rule my way,
    who rule you with intelligence and wisdom.

¹⁶ “And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come”—God’s Decree!—“when no one will say any longer, ‘Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?’ It won’t even occur to anyone to say it—‘the good old days.’ The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.

¹⁷ “Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honor God.

¹⁸ “At that time, the House of Judah will join up with the House of Israel. Holding hands, they’ll leave the north country and come to the land I willed to your ancestors.

* * *

^19-20 “I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:
    ‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.
I’ll give you choice land,
    land that the godless nations would die for.’
And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’
    and would never again go off and leave me.
But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,
    you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”
        God’s Decree.

^21-22 The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills,
    the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying,
Israel lamenting the wasted years,
    never once giving her God a thought.
“Come back, wandering children!
    I can heal your wanderlust!”

* * *

^22-25 “We’re here! We’ve come back to you.
    You’re our own true God!
All that popular religion was a cheap lie,
    duped crowds buying up the latest in gods.
We’re back! Back to our true God,
    the salvation of Israel.
The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us
    of what our ancestors bequeathed us,
Gypped us out of our inheritance—
    God-blessed flocks and God-given children.
We made our bed and now lie in it,
    all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor.
All because we sinned against our God,
    we and our fathers and mothers.
From the time we took our first steps, said our first words,
    we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our God.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We have been rebels from the beginning.  Turn to God, hear His voice above all the rest, repent of rebellion and follow Jesus.  Jesus is the Way to Truth and gives us Life forever.  Jesus taught us how to love like God loves us.  Be like Jesus.

A life opposite the rebel’s reality, guided by God’s Holy Spirit, develops character traits of God in us which include: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Galatians 5)

We choose.  Choose wisely.  Don’t waste another minute!

Lord,

I repent of thinking I know what is best.  I trust in you, dear Jesus, for all matters, all concerns, challenges, and situations in daily living this life on earth.  Be in all the details as I know you delight in our details.  I choose you.  I believe.  I want what you want for me.  Guide and lead me.  I’m yours.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Who we trust reflects what we do.  Who we respect, admire, and adore; we imitate.  Who we think the most in our minds is the one we learn more and more about.  We can’t get enough information about this person.  We want to know all the details of how life works in that person’s life.  We read or watch news articles, looking for all the juicy entail of that person’s life. 

Some of us read incessantly about a highly promoted, talented, athlete.  Some of us follow all the tabloids telling us of royalty, scanning the news for what they said or did.  Some of us follow highly acclaimed leaders who seem to know it all when it comes to acquiring wealth and building successful businesses.  And some of us wake each morning, greet God first with thanksgiving, get a cup of coffee and dive into what God has to say to us through His Word. 

Who do you trust?  Who do you imitate?  Who do you spend the most time getting to know?

Jeremiah 2, The Message

Israel Was God’s Holy Choice

2 ^1-3 God’s Message came to me. It went like this:

“Get out in the streets and call to Jerusalem,
    ‘God’s Message!
I remember your youthful loyalty,
    our love as newlyweds.
You stayed with me through the wilderness years,
    stuck with me through all the hard places.
Israel was God’s holy choice,
    the pick of the crop.
Anyone who laid a hand on her
    would soon wish he hadn’t!’”
        God’s Decree.

* * *

^4-6 Hear God’s Message, House of Jacob!
    Yes, you—House of Israel!
God’s Message: “What did your ancestors find fault with in me
    that they drifted so far from me,
Took up with Sir Windbag
    and turned into windbags themselves?
It never occurred to them to say, ‘Where’s God,
    the God who got us out of Egypt,
Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble
    wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys,
A land that no one who enters comes out of,
    a cruel, inhospitable land?’

^7-8 “I brought you to a garden land
    where you could eat lush fruit.
But you barged in and polluted my land,
    trashed and defiled my dear land.
The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’s God?’
    The religion experts knew nothing of me.
The rulers defied me.
    The prophets preached god Baal
And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

^9-11 “Because of all this, I’m bringing charges against you”
        —God’s Decree—
    “charging you and your children and your grandchildren.
Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this?
    Sail to the western islands and look.
Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look.
    Look closely. Has this ever happened before,
That a nation has traded in its gods
    for gods that aren’t even close to gods?
But my people have traded my Glory
    for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

^12-13 “Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see!
    Throw up your hands in disbelief—this can’t be!”
        God’s Decree.
“My people have committed a compound sin:
    they’ve walked out on me, the fountain
Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns—
    cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves.

^14-17 “Isn’t Israel a valued servant,
    born into a family with place and position?
So how did she end up a piece of meat
    fought over by snarling and roaring lions?
There’s nothing left of her but a few old bones,
    her towns trashed and deserted.
Egyptians from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes
    have broken your skulls.
And why do you think all this has happened?
    Isn’t it because you walked out on your God
    just as he was beginning to lead you in the right way?

^18-19 “And now, what do you think you’ll get by going off to Egypt?
    Maybe a cool drink of Nile River water?
Or what do you think you’ll get by going off to Assyria?
    Maybe a long drink of Euphrates River water?
Your evil ways will get you a sound thrashing, that’s what you’ll get.
    You’ll pay dearly for your disloyal ways.
Take a long, hard look at what you’ve done and its bitter results.
    Was it worth it to have walked out on your God?”
        God’s Decree, Master God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Addicted to Alien Gods

^20-22 “A long time ago you broke out of the harness.
    You shook off all restraints.
You said, ‘I will not serve!’
    and off you went,
Visiting every sex-and-religion shrine on the way,
    like a common whore.
You were a select vine when I planted you
    from completely reliable stock.
And look how you’ve turned out—
    a tangle of rancid growth, a poor excuse for a vine.
Scrub, using the strongest soaps.
    Scour your skin raw.
The sin-grease won’t come out. I can’t stand to even look at you!”
    God’s Decree, the Master’s Decree.

^23-24 “How dare you tell me, ‘I’m not stained by sin.
    I’ve never chased after the Baal sex gods’!
Well, look at the tracks you’ve left behind in the valley.
    How do you account for what is written in the desert dust—
Tracks of a camel in heat, running this way and that,
    tracks of a wild donkey in rut,
Sniffing the wind for the slightest scent of sex.
    Who could possibly corral her!
On the hunt for sex, sex, and more sex—
    insatiable, indiscriminate, promiscuous.

²⁵ “Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry?
    Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?
But you say, ‘I can’t help it.
    I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’

* * *

^26-28 “Just as a thief is chagrined, but only when caught,
    so the people of Israel are chagrined,
Caught along with their kings and princes,
    their priests and prophets.
They walk up to a tree and say, ‘My father!’
    They pick up a stone and say, ‘My mother! You bore me!’
All I ever see of them is their backsides.
    They never look me in the face.
But when things go badly, they don’t hesitate to come running,
    calling out, ‘Get a move on! Save us!’
Why not go to your handcrafted gods you’re so fond of?
    Rouse them. Let them save you from your bad times.
You’ve got more gods, Judah,
    than you know what to do with.

Trying Out Another Sin-Project

^29-30 “What do you have against me,
    running off to assert your ‘independence’?”
        God’s Decree.
“I’ve wasted my time trying to train your children.
    They’ve paid no attention to me, ignored my discipline.
And you’ve gotten rid of your God-messengers,
    treating them like dirt and sweeping them away.

^31-32 “What a generation you turned out to be!
    Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I warn you?
Have I let you down, Israel?
    Am I nothing but a dead-end street?
Why do my people say, ‘Good riddance!
    From now on we’re on our own’?
Young women don’t forget their jewelry, do they?
    Brides don’t show up without their veils, do they?
But my people forget me.
    Day after day after day they never give me a thought.

* * *

^33-35 “What an impressive start you made
    to get the most out of life.
You founded schools of sin,
    taught graduate courses in evil!
And now you’re sending out graduates, resplendent in cap and gown—
    except the gowns are stained with the blood of your victims!
All that blood convicts you.
    You cut and hurt a lot of people to get where you are.
And yet you have the nerve to say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.
    God doesn’t mind. He hasn’t punished me, has he?’
Don’t look now, but judgment’s on the way,
    aimed at you who say, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

^36-37 “You think it’s just a small thing, don’t you,
    to try out another sin-project when the first one fails?
But Egypt will leave you in the lurch
    the same way that Assyria did.
You’re going to walk away from there
    wringing your hands.
I, God, have blacklisted those you trusted.
    You’ll get not a lick of help from them.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God redeemed the Israelites from Egypt and gave them freedom in Canaan, but now their nation had gone back into bondage because of its idolatry. By allying with its pagan neighbors—Egypt and Assyria—instead of trusting the Lord, Judah had become a vassal state and was being plundered and enslaved. Instead of drinking at the pure river that the Lord had given them, the people of Judah were drinking the polluted waters of the Nile and the Euphrates.

Who do you trust? 

Who or what are our idols?

Who or what is polluting our minds and affecting our spiritual health?

Are we living and getting the most out of life?

In trying to keep peace with its neighbors, Judah had flitted between Egypt and Assyria, both of whom would ultimately disappoint. Verse 37 describes prisoners of war, their hands tied above their heads, being led away captive. Any decisions we make that are contrary to God’s plan will lead to bondage, because only the truth can set us free (John 8:32).

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –Jesus

Lord,

Help us all to see the pollution that can seep into our wellsprings of life with you.  May our lives be all about you, following you, learning more about you, being impressed and obsessed with knowing you more so we can imitate you.  You, dear Jesus, is Life to the full.  You are Truth.  You are the Only Way to real life.  Yes, dear Jesus, I trust in You.

In Your Name for Your glory, Amen

Years ago, there was a television series called the “A TEAM”.  It was a group of individuals trained in combat to come into a situation—with a plan—to solve any problem presented to them.  The leader always closed the show with this resolving statement, “I love it when a plan comes together.”  He was proud of his plan and he was proud of his team that executed the plan.  With a flick of his cigar, the show ended.  The following week was a new problem with a new plan. 

Does your life feel like it is one continual problem after another?  Well, God has a plan.  He loves it when His plan for us is believed and followed because that is when His best comes together for each one of us.  He is our Hope and future.

^“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Background:  The prophet Jeremiah saw Israel morally disintegrating and being destroyed militarily by its enemies. He saw Babylon attack Jerusalem in 586 BC and many of its people exiled to foreign lands. According to the NIV Quest Study Bible Jeremiah’s grim prophecies, in both poetry and prose, continually warned Judah about God’s approaching judgment because of the people’s constant, willful disobedience. Yet intermingled with all the dark messages were words of hope about Judah’s future redemption. Watch for Jeremiah’s encouragement—prophecies that are still being fulfilled today whenever sinful hearts are transformed by God.

His audience to whom he is speaking and writing are the people of Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of their last five kings.  His audience also include you and I.  We often quote Jeremiah’s message from God, “I know the plans I have for you…”, but this quote is more powerful when we understood the time and context in which it was written.  We will do that in our study of this profound prophet who encourages us with Hope—who is the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 1, The Message

Demolish, and Then Start Over

1 ^1-4 The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God’s Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:

⁵ “Before I shaped you in the womb,
    I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
    I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
    that’s what I had in mind for you.”

⁶ But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
    I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

^7-8 God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
    I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
    Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
    God’s Decree.

^9-10 God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
    “Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do
    among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
    take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
    building and planting.”

Stand Up and Say Your Piece

^11-12 God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
    I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”
And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.
    I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

^13-15 God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”
    I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”
Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north
    on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”
    God’s Decree.

^15-16 “They’ll come and set up headquarters
    facing Jerusalem’s gates,
Facing all the city walls,
    facing all the villages of Judah.
I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
    for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
    worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

¹⁷ “But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
    Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don’t pull your punches
    or I’ll pull you out of the lineup.

^18-19 “Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
    I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
    solid as a concrete block wall.
You’re a one-man defense system
    against this culture,
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
    against the priests and local leaders.
They’ll fight you, but they won’t
    even scratch you.
I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”
    God’s Decree.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God is God and we are not.  God always has a plan.  The Plan was formed before we were born.  God’s Plan is always the perfect Plan.  “Just do it!”

When the plan is counterculture to the world, follow the plan anyway.  God knows what is best and what He can do through each one of us.  Jeremiah would have had a much easier time serving as priest; therefore, his first, natural response was to question God’s call. Offering sacrifices was one thing, but preaching the Word to hardhearted people was quite something else. When you read his book, you will see several pictures of his ministry that reveal how demanding it was to serve the Lord as a faithful prophet.

Jeremiah was born during the reign of King Manasseh, the most evil man who ever reigned over the kingdom of Judah (2 Kin. 21:1–18). The son of godly Hezekiah, Manasseh came to the throne when only twelve years old, and the officials around him easily influenced him toward idolatry. “They paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel”. When Manasseh died, his evil son Amon continued his father’s evil practices.

So, Jeremiah grew up in Anathoth at a time when idolatry flourished in Judah, children were offered in sacrifice to idols, the Law of Moses was disregarded and disobeyed, and the nation seemed to have no hope. Godly priests were not greatly appreciated.

God calls Jeremiah to bring encouragement and Hope to His people.  Isn’t this what God calls each one of us to do? 

Lord,

We are going to be challenged by the prophet Jeremiah, aren’t we?  I pray we will learn from you in ways that continue to transform our lives, making your plan for us clearly understood. It seems it is not so much about what is going on around us but what you are doing IN us.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy…

Isaiah is forecasting from God what will happen next to His people—comfort and joy!  After suffering as captives, they will return to their homeland.  After leaving traditions and ceremonies behind in captivity they will learn to worship the living God in honest and holy celebration of his love, provision, protection who has saved them and brought them back.  Like a new mother comforts her newborn, so God will comfort His people with even more compassionate love and care.  Joy returns because of God setting the captives free!  Yes, God is the One who brings comfort and joy we can count on as He is One and Only who saved us and set us free! 

God had a Plan to save us when we went astray.  The Plan is Jesus, Messiah, the One who Saves us all from evil’s hold on us. 

Warren Wiersbe comments on this passage; “Of course, the remarkable thing will be the birth of a nation as Israel takes center stage on the international scene. The return of the Jews to their land will be as swift as the birth of a baby. Israel’s travail will be “the day of the Lord” or “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7), when God will purify His people and prepare them for the coming of their Messiah. Like a nursing baby, she will find health and peace in the arms of the Lord.”

Isaiah 66, The Message

Living Worship to God

^1-2 God’s Message:

“Heaven’s my throne,
    earth is my footstool.
What sort of house could you build for me?
    What holiday spot reserve for me?
I made all this! I own all this!”
    God’s Decree.
“But there is something I’m looking for:
    a person simple and plain,
    reverently responsive to what I say.

^3-4 “Your acts of worship
    are acts of sin:
Your sacrificial slaughter of the ox
    is no different from murdering the neighbor;
Your offerings for worship,
    no different from dumping pig’s blood on the altar;
Your presentation of memorial gifts,
    no different from honoring a no-god idol.
You choose self-serving worship,
    you delight in self-centered worship—disgusting!
Well, I choose to expose your nonsense
    and let you realize your worst fears,
Because when I invited you, you ignored me;
    when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.
You did the very things I exposed as evil,
    you chose what I hate.”

⁵ But listen to what God has to say
    to you who reverently respond to his Word:
“Your own families hate you
    and turn you out because of me.
They taunt you, ‘Let us see God’s glory!
    If God’s so great, why aren’t you happy?’
But they’re the ones
    who are going to end up shamed.”

* * *

⁶ Rumbles of thunder from the city!
    A voice out of the Temple!
God’s voice,
    handing out judgment to his enemies:

^7-9 “Before she went into labor,
    she had the baby.
Before the birth pangs hit,
    she delivered a son.
Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?
    Has anyone seen anything like this?
A country born in a day?
    A nation born in a flash?
But Zion was barely in labor
    when she had her babies!
Do I open the womb
    and not deliver the baby?
Do I, the One who delivers babies,
    shut the womb?

^10-11 “Rejoice, Jerusalem,
    and all who love her, celebrate!
And all you who have shed tears over her,
    join in the happy singing.
You newborns can satisfy yourselves
    at her nurturing breasts.
Yes, delight yourselves and drink your fill
    at her ample bosom.”

^12-13 God’s Message:

“I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,
    the glory of nations like a river in flood.
You’ll nurse at her breasts,
    nestle in her bosom,
    and be bounced on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
    so I’ll comfort you.
    You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

^14-16 You’ll see all this and burst with joy
    —you’ll feel ten feet tall—
As it becomes apparent that God is on your side
    and against his enemies.
For God arrives like wildfire
    and his chariots like a tornado,
A furious outburst of anger,
    a rebuke fierce and fiery.
For it’s by fire that God brings judgment,
    a death sentence on the human race.
Many, oh so many,
    are under God’s sentence of death:

¹⁷ “All who enter the sacred groves for initiation in those unholy rituals that climaxed in that foul and obscene meal of pigs and mice will eat together and then die together.” God’s Decree.

^18-21 “I know everything they’ve ever done or thought. I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages. They’ll come and see my glory. I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am. I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship to God. They’ll bring them on horses and wagons and carts, on mules and camels, straight to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says God. “They’ll present them just as Israelites present their offerings in a ceremonial vessel in the Temple of God. I’ll even take some of them and make them priests and Levites,” says God.

^22-23 “For just as the new heavens and new earth
    that I am making will stand firm before me”
        —God’s Decree—
“So will your children
    and your reputation stand firm.
Month after month and week by week,
    everyone will come to worship me,” God says.

²⁴ “And then they’ll go out and look at what happened
    to those who rebelled against me. Corpses!
Maggots endlessly eating away on them,
    an endless supply of fuel for fires.
Everyone who sees what’s happened
    and smells the stench retches.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The Messiah did indeed come to save us and redeem us forever.  Jesus came not to be served, but to serve.  He came with a message of love, joy, and peace.  He taught us how to love each other while displaying His perfect love for all to see firsthand.  Those who saw and walked by His side, Jesus trained to love like He loved and sent them out as discipled missionaries to all the parts of the world so that we today could be saved by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus.  Generations of trained missionaries still go out to tell the Good News!  Are we one of them?

When God intervenes and interrupts the world with His Son Jesus to save us and set us free, comfort and joy follows all because God so loved the world…

Isaiah’s warns about pure worship of God.  Once we believe, ceremonies of worship can never take the place of a humble heart. God does not live in buildings; He dwells with those who submit to Him. In Isaiah’s day, God’s people were complacent.  They were going through the motions of worship without having a heart for God. The people were not sacrificing the animals; they were murdering them! Because their hearts were far from God, their offerings were as unclean things to the Lord. The heart of the worshiper determines the value of the offering.

God’s message through Isaiah shows what God longs to give…comfort and joy all because of His love.  John reminds us that “we love God because He first loved us.”  (1 John 4:19) Rest in His love this season.  Be fueled and set ablaze by his gospel (good news) of peace and spread the news of God’s comfort and joy to others so others will know God and what He has done for us.

God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy…

Isaiah speaks God’s Message and we who believe God are saved.

Lord,

Thank you for saving my soul.  Thank you for comfort and joy I feel this morning all because you so loved us and saved all who believe.

In Jesus Name, Amen

If you are parents, you have probably had this happen to you more than once.  Kids will call out to you, you answer, but their response is to call out again without really looking for you.  I figured this out after my own kids did this to me a few times.  Kids are calling out to know where you are, not to find you, but so they know how much more time they have with how much they can get by with until they come to where you are or you come to them.  Kids are smart, well sneaky, in other words.  The calling out is an early form of a “tracking signal” to get your location so more of what that shouldn’t be into or doing can be accomplished in a certain amount of time left until you come to them.

God understands this method of seek and find.  His people do it to Him all the time.  Just ask Isaiah, he’ll tell you….

Isaiah 65, The Message

The People Who Bothered to Reach Out to God

^1-7 “I’ve made myself available
    to those who haven’t bothered to ask.
I’m here, ready to be found
    by those who haven’t bothered to look.
I kept saying ‘I’m here, I’m right here’
    to a nation that ignored me.
I reached out day after day
    to a people who turned their backs on me,
People who make wrong turns,
    who insist on doing things their own way.
They get on my nerves,
    are rude to my face day after day,
Make up their own kitchen religion,
    a potluck religious stew.
They spend the night in tombs
    to get messages from the dead,
Eat forbidden foods
    and drink a witch’s brew of potions and charms.
They say, ‘Keep your distance.
    Don’t touch me. I’m holier than thou.’
These people gag me.
    I can’t stand their stench.
Look at this! Their sins are all written out—
    I have the list before me.
I’m not putting up with this any longer.
    I’ll pay them the wages
They have coming for their sins.
    And for the sins of their parents lumped in,
    a bonus.” God says so.
“Because they’ve practiced their blasphemous worship,
    mocking me at their hillside shrines,
I’ll let loose the consequences
    and pay them in full for their actions.”

* * *

^8-10 God’s Message:

“But just as one bad apple doesn’t ruin the whole bushel,
    there are still plenty of good apples left.
So I’ll preserve those in Israel who obey me.
    I won’t destroy the whole nation.
I’ll bring out my true children from Jacob
    and the heirs of my mountains from Judah.
My chosen will inherit the land,
    my servants will move in.
The lush valley of Sharon in the west
    will be a pasture for flocks,
And in the east, the valley of Achor,
    a place for herds to graze.
These will be for the people
    who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives,
    who actually bothered to look for me.

* * *

^11-12 “But you who abandon me, your God,
    who forget the holy mountains,
Who hold dinners for Lady Luck
    and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate,
Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be:
    your destiny, Death.
For when I invited you, you ignored me;
    when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.
You did the very things I exposed as evil;
    you chose what I hate.”

^13-16 Therefore, this is the Message from the Master, God:

“My servants will eat,
    and you’ll go hungry;
My servants will drink,
    and you’ll go thirsty;
My servants will rejoice,
    and you’ll hang your heads.
My servants will laugh from full hearts,
    and you’ll cry out heartbroken,
    yes, wail from crushed spirits.
Your legacy to my chosen
    will be your name reduced to a cussword.
I, God, will put you to death
    and give a new name to my servants.
Then whoever prays a blessing in the land
    will use my faithful name for the blessing,
And whoever takes an oath in the land
    will use my faithful name for the oath,
Because the earlier troubles are gone and forgotten,
    banished far from my sight.

New Heavens and a New Earth

^17-25 “Pay close attention now:
    I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.
All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain
    are things of the past, to be forgotten.
Look ahead with joy.
    Anticipate what I’m creating:
I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy,
    create my people as pure delight.
I’ll take joy in Jerusalem,
    take delight in my people:
No more sounds of weeping in the city,
    no cries of anguish;
No more babies dying in the cradle,
    or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime;
One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal—
    anything less will seem like a cheat.
They’ll build houses
    and move in.
They’ll plant fields
    and eat what they grow.
No more building a house
    that some outsider takes over,
No more planting fields
    that some enemy confiscates,
For my people will be as long-lived as trees,
    my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.
They won’t work and have nothing come of it,
    they won’t have children snatched out from under them.
For they themselves are plantings blessed by God,
    with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed.
Before they call out, I’ll answer.
    Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.
Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow,
    lion and ox eat straw from the same trough,
    but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt!
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill
    anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says God.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Call out to God in confidence, expecting Him to answer, knowing full well that He knows what you will ask before you call out to Him.  “Before they call out, I’ll answer.  Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.”  Only God can do this!

Don’t test or play games with God.  God knows our hearts.  There is nothing hidden from God, least of all, our motivations of heart, mind and soul.

God knows where we are because He is already there.  Read that again.

God provides, protects and blesses those who are walking in His ways with a way through all troubles this world has to offer while growing His character in us.  What does the Lord require of us?  Micah, the prophet tells us straight from God, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) What does that look like?  Jesus shows us by example, clearly with understanding.  Read Matthew, Luke, Mark and John.  John 13 tells us “the full extent of the love” Jesus has for us. (Teaser.) 

Lord,

Thank you for always being there when I call out to you. Thank you for helping me throughout the years, in and out of troubles, sometimes walking right through them with courage and confidence because of your strength.  Thank you for helping me see temptations for what they are—all those things that lead to death spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Help me not to fall for Satan’s schemes to draw me away from you and bring me down in my faith in you.  Thank you for teaching me hard lessons I must learn that transform me daily, inch by inch, so I can be more like you created me to be.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Just yesterday, I caught myself in front of the microwave waiting very impatiently while my slice of pizza was reheating.  These words came out of my mouth: “Seriously, how long does it take to get this warmed up.”  Then I laughed at myself because it’s going to take the amount of time I set on the appliance I’m standing in front of…30 SECONDS! 

Yes, we do not like to wait on anything.  We stew and grumble in our impatience.  It is a behavior that begins as infants.  When infants wake up, they cry for food.  When parents don’t have it ready in anticipation of the waking baby, the cries get louder.  Infants train parents to have the infant’s needs in ready for when they want it.  And NOW is when they want it.  As they grow into toddlers, short words accompany the cry along with a little whine.  Toddlers learn the fine art of whining in all circumstances.  “How loooooong is this going to be?” is heard repetitively as you finish a task for their benefit and is just one example of thousands. 

As growing children, we get more sophisticated in our impatience with large doses of sarcasm that develops into an art form.  Going on a trip out of town, or just across town, the ongoing, incessant question is, “Are we there yet?”  Added to the repertoire with rolling eyes you can almost hear, “How long does it take to get there?”  “Can’t you drive any faster?”

Yes, we humans are not patient.  It’s a good thing our Father God in heaven is…

Isaiah 64, The Message

Can We Be Saved?

^1-7 Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and descend,
    make the mountains shudder at your presence—
As when a forest catches fire,
    as when fire makes a pot to boil—
To shock your enemies into facing you,
    make the nations shake in their boots!
You did terrible things we never expected,
    descended and made the mountains shudder at your presence.
Since before time began
    no one has ever imagined,
No ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you
    who works for those who wait for him.
You meet those who happily do what is right,
    who keep a good memory of the way you work.
But how angry you’ve been with us!
    We’ve sinned and kept at it so long!
    Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved?
We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated.
    Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.
We dry up like autumn leaves—
    sin-dried, we’re blown off by the wind.
No one prays to you
    or makes the effort to reach out to you
Because you’ve turned away from us,
    left us to stew in our sins.

^8-12 Still, God, you are our Father.
    We’re the clay and you’re our potter:
    All of us are what you made us.
Don’t be too angry with us, O God.
    Don’t keep a permanent account of wrongdoing.
    Keep in mind, please, we are your people—all of us.
Your holy cities are all ghost towns:
    Zion’s a ghost town,
    Jerusalem’s a field of weeds.
Our holy and beautiful Temple,
    which our ancestors filled with your praises,
Was burned down by fire,
    all our lovely parks and gardens in ruins.
In the face of all this,
    are you going to sit there unmoved, God?
Aren’t you going to say something?
    Haven’t you made us miserable long enough?

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Why is God not working wonders? In this instance, the people have sinned and must confess their sins and turn from them. If our righteous deeds are filthy, what must our sins look like in His sight! According to verse 4, God has planned wonderful things for His people, things beyond their imagination, but their sins prevent Him from sharing His blessings.  Turn to God, repent, and listen to His voice above all other voices in this world that draw us away from him—including our own voice!

Isaiah’s prayer (and that of the believing remnant) ends with a question: Why is God silent? His temple has been destroyed, His glorious land has been ravaged, and His people are in exile. God’s reply is found in the next two chapters.  See you tomorrow! Wait for it…

Lord,

We think we have it altogether until life falls apart.  We throw a tantrum of impatience while you lovingly and patiently lead and teach us through the troubles and hard times.  Lord, I pray for all of us to turn around and look full into your wonderful face of love, mercy, and grace.  Your compassion never fails.  Your love is unending.  Your mercy and grace are undeserved but yet you “so loved” us that you sent Jesus to save us.   Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I’m listening, letting go in the wait, as you prepare me for what is next.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Everyone needs compassion
A love that’s never failing, let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior, the Hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave…

(Songwriters: Ben Fielding / Reuben Morgan)

“Mighty to Save”, sung by Hillsong is playing in the background of my mind this morning as I read our next chapter of Isaiah.  God is indeed mighty to save in all kinds of troubles and circumstances that are self-imposed or not.  How grateful are we? Do we give credit where credit is due?  When we get to the other side of our troubles, do we thank the One who saved us?  Sometimes all that God does for us is forgotten as we trudge through life, distracted by shiny objects, going from challenge to challenge thinking we don’t need God—until we do.  It is only then, it seems, when all else is exhausted as help, that we realize His love, compassion, mercy, and grace—our only Hope of salvation forever.  So, do we really believe what God says really real?

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
And now I surrender (I surrender)

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

Isaiah 63, The Message

Who Goes There?

The watchmen call out,
“Who goes there, marching out of Edom,
    out of Bozrah in clothes dyed red?
Name yourself, so splendidly dressed,
    advancing, bristling with power!”

“It is I: I speak what is right,
    I, mighty to save!”

² “And why are your robes so red,
    your clothes dyed red like those who tread grapes?”

^3-6 “I’ve been treading the winepress alone.
    No one was there to help me.
Angrily, I stomped the grapes;
    raging, I trampled the people.
Their blood spurted all over me—
    all my clothes were soaked with blood.
I was set on vengeance.
    The time for redemption had arrived.
I looked around for someone to help
    —no one.
I couldn’t believe it
    —not one volunteer.
So I went ahead and did it myself,
    fed and fueled by my rage.
I trampled the people in my anger,
    crushed them under foot in my wrath,
    soaked the earth with their lifeblood.”

All the Things God Has Done That Need Praising

^7-9 I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings,
    all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
    his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
    love extravagant.
He said, “Without question these are my people,
    children who would never betray me.”
So he became their Savior.
    In all their troubles,
    he was troubled, too.
He didn’t send someone else to help them.
    He did it himself, in person.
Out of his own love and pity
    he redeemed them.
He rescued them and carried them along
    for a long, long time.

¹⁰ But they turned on him;
    they grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he turned on them,
    became their enemy and fought them.

^11-14 Then they remembered the old days,
    the days of Moses, God’s servant:
“Where is he who brought the shepherds of his flock
    up and out of the sea?
And what happened to the One who set
    his Holy Spirit within them?
Who linked his arm with Moses’ right arm,
    divided the waters before them,
Making him famous ever after,
    and led them through the muddy abyss
    as surefooted as horses on hard, level ground?
Like a herd of cattle led to pasture,
    the Spirit of God gave them rest.”

^14-19 That’s how you led your people!
    That’s how you became so famous!
Look down from heaven, look at us!
    Look out the window of your holy and magnificent house!
Whatever happened to your passion,
    your famous mighty acts,
Your heartfelt pity, your compassion?
    Why are you holding back?

You are our Father.
    Abraham and Israel are long dead.
    They wouldn’t know us from Adam.
But you’re our living Father,
    our Redeemer, famous from eternity!
Why, God, did you make us wander from your ways?
    Why did you make us cold and stubborn
    so that we no longer worshiped you in awe?
Turn back for the sake of your servants.
    You own us! We belong to you!
For a while your holy people had it good,
    but now our enemies have wrecked your holy place.
For a long time now, you’ve paid no attention to us.
    It’s like you never knew us.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Isaiah is looking ahead, as prophets do, and sees Jesus Christ returning from the battle of Armageddon that climaxes the day of the Lord (Revelation 19:11–21).  In that day, people crushed grapes with their feet into a winepress that took the juice from the grapes.  In the process the juice would splash on the garments of the “crushers.”  Our Lord’s garments were dyed with blood as the result of the great victory over His enemies.

Isaiah looked back at what God has done for Israel. He praised God for His unfailing love and goodness, for the pity and love bestowed on Israel. God identified with Israel’s suffering as He does with His people’s suffering today.

Isaiah turns to God in prayer for the nations.  May God come down again and reveal His awesome power to all people, prays Isaiah.  May those who trust in dead, man-made idols turn to God and see what the living God of Israel can do! 

God answers Isaiah’s prayer.  God still answers today.  God is Mighty to save!  God sent Hope to save us for eternity.  Believe in Jesus, our Only Hope, and be saved for life!  Jesus, who conquered death once and for all!

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

Shine Your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King, Jesus
Shine Your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King…!

Lord,

Thank you for saving us in such mighty miraculous ways! Thank you for saving us from ourselves.  Thank you for taking our sins to the cross and leaving them there.  Thank you for not only erasing the debt of sin but teaching us how to love you back, how to love and serve others, with wisdom and power to avoid temptations.  Thank you for renewing our spirits and restoring our joy when we fall and forget your benefits. Thank you for your loving patience with us.  Thank you for hearing our prayers, seeing our hearts and turning back to our repentant souls. Thank you for all you have done, are doing and will do as you abide in us and we abide in you.  Thank you for Hope, dear Jesus.  To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

God loves each one of us so deeply we cannot understand it.  Most of us know we do’t deserve His love.  But, the more we realize the distance God would go to save us from ourselves, our sins, our lostness and all the calamities that go with being self-driven; the greater His love, mercy and grace are magnified when we really believe what God is saying and doing is indeed really real.  God comes closer into view when we let go of all that stands between us and the One who loves us most. 

I realize His great love every time he sends a person to stand in my way to say what I need to hear in my confusion while seeking His will for my life.  It happened just yesterday.  Last week, I prayed and struggled with God over how I could still contribute to His church.  I asked God for His help daily.  But each day nothing of significance came to mind.  Then Sunday morning, while making my way to the worship center, a dear friend stopped serving coffee and came out to talk with me.  Her words were exactly what I needed to hear—a message from God—about the peace and hope I already possess from God.  Then while the sermon was spoken passionately about the same thing I was pondering all week, God spoke so fast to my heart, I could hardly write it down quickly enough.

Oddly, that has happened before when I seek what God wants because God wants me to spend time letting go of what is holding back His best before telling me what is next.  In the wait, I am taught to, well, wait.  Because I have walked this life for quite a few years with God, I have learned that after the wait, God intervenes when the time is exactly right.  The excitement and enthusiasm for God and HIS work builds beyond what we can hold inside and we “can’t keep our mouths shut” or “hold our tongues” about what God has done, is doing and will do in each of our lives.  Before leaving the worship center, I shared what God laid on my heart to another dear friend.  THIS is how God is always at work in our being.  And it is so amazing!

God not only loves us beyond our wildest dreams but He truly delights in all the details of our lives!  He is always there before we “get there” in our understanding.  He is there before we know we need His help in troubles and calamities.  His plan for us was decided by him before we were born!  We make life hard by trying to add to His plan or change His best plan for us.  He knows us better than we know ourselves for he created us!  (See Psalm 139 for real encouragement that is truth!)

Are we listening, letting go, being still and waiting on God to do what He does best to restore, revitalize, renew and refresh what He started in us long ago?  The answer is reflected in our behaviors.  Mm, ponder and pray.

Isaiah 62, The Message

Look, Your Savior Comes!

^1-5 Regarding Zion, I can’t keep my mouth shut,
    regarding Jerusalem, I can’t hold my tongue,
Until her righteousness blazes down like the sun
    and her salvation flames up like a torch.
Foreign countries will see your righteousness,
    and world leaders your glory.
You’ll get a brand-new name
    straight from the mouth of God.
You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand,
    a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.
No more will anyone call you Rejected,
    and your country will no more be called Ruined.
You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight),
    and your land Beulah (Married),
Because God delights in you
    and your land will be like a wedding celebration.
For as a young man marries his virgin bride,
    so your builder marries you,
And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride,
    so your God is happy with you.

^6-7 I’ve posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem.
    Day and night they keep at it, praying, calling out,
    reminding God to remember.
They are to give him no peace until he does what he said,
    until he makes Jerusalem famous as the City of Praise.

^8-9 God has taken a solemn oath,
    an oath he means to keep:
“Never again will I open your grain-filled barns
    to your enemies to loot and eat.
Never again will foreigners drink the wine
    that you worked so hard to produce.
No. The farmers who grow the food will eat the food
    and praise God for it.
And those who make the wine will drink the wine
    in my holy courtyards.”

^10-12 Walk out of the gates. Get going!
    Get the road ready for the people.
Build the highway. Get at it!
    Clear the debris,
    hoist high a flag, a signal to all peoples!
Yes! God has broadcast to all the world:
    “Tell daughter Zion, ‘Look! Your Savior comes,
Ready to do what he said he’d do,
    prepared to complete what he promised.’”
Zion will be called new names: Holy People, God-Redeemed,
    Sought-Out, City-Not-Forsaken.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God wants His best for all who believe in Him.  Believe and be saved.  

God will transform us as He transforms the circumstance and situations that surround us if that is necessary.  Allow Him to do what He needs to do in us.

God is always at work.  God saves us.  God changes us.  God does not change in His compassion, love, mercy, and grace that is inexhaustible for us.  “Look, He sent a Savior!” says Isaiah.  Hallelujah!

God will have no rest till He accomplishes His purposes for His people, and the world will have no peace till He succeeds. He asks us to “give Him no rest” (v. 7) but to intercede for Israel and Jerusalem, for the prayers of His people are an important part of the way God works.  “Day and night they keep at it, praying, calling out, reminding God to remember.”  So we pray,

Lord,

We pray for lost people to come to your saving grace, to hear your voice above all other voices in this world, and to obey what you say for what you say is for our best!  I pray for you to do in me what you must so I will be all you created me to be before doing anything of significance for others.  Help me to love like you love us without conditions.  Help me to serve like you showed us to serve without favoritism.  May all I think, say or do be pleasing to you—even today.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen