Isaiah 30:12-33:9 ~ Galatians 5:1-12 ~ Psalm 63:1-11 ~ Proverbs 23:22
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Old Testament - Today in Isaiah chapter 30 we read about blessings for God's people! You'll notice in verses 12 and 15 the term "Holy One of Israel" is used for God. An interesting thing to note about this term "Holy One of Israel" is that it occurs a total of 26 times in the book of the prophet Isaiah - and only 6 times elsewhere in the rest of the Old Testament! (I think it is such a beautiful term - maybe in part because my church sings a wonderful song occasionally w/ these lyrics: "For I am the Lord your God. The Holy One of Israel. Your Savior. I am the Lord - do not fear - I am the Lord". Anyone else's church sing this song?) Some scholars over history have challenged whether the entire 66 chapters of the book of Isaiah were really all written by the same person, Isaiah. Well, the continuity of the use of the term "Holy One of Israel" throughout the book has been the strongest argument for the unity of the book of Isaiah. Below is a painting by modern day artist Simon Dewey titled "The Holy One of Israel" - One whom Isaiah certainly prophesies a lot about in his book!
New Testament - Galatians chapter 5 is a great teaching on our freedom in Christ! Verse 1 is so very powerful: "So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law." Has Jesus set you free? Has He set you free from the slavery of sin? Has He set you free from the slavery of the law? If you are not yet free, today will you hand over the controls of your life to Jesus and let Him once and for all set you free!
I also love verses 5 & 6 - "But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, it makes no difference to God whether we are circumcised or not circumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love." I like that thought of eagerly waiting to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith. Are you eagerly waiting for everything promised? Do you have the hope of glory? And then the last sentence of what is important is powerful - faith expressing itself in love! Not faith expressing itself in hate.... Faith expressing itself in love. Is your faith expressing itself in love? This reminds me of the old song - "They will know we are Christians by our love. By our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love." Amen!
Bible.org's fantastic commentary on today's readings in Galatians titled "The Goal of the Gospel" is at this link. Below is a great image for Galatians 5:6 from today's readings:
Psalms - Psalm 63 is beautiful! So many amazing verses... The imagery in verse 1 is fantastic - "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water." Do you earnestly search for God in your life? Each and every day? Does your soul literally thirst for God? Does your whole body long for God in this dry and weary land....
Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 23 verse 22 reminds me of the Ten Commandment to honor your father and mother! "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don't despise your mother's experience when she is old." I do think that listening to our parents and not despising their experience when they are old is very honoring. Are you listening to your parents these days? Are you not despising their experience?
Worship God: Based on my Galatians 5 verse 6 reflection above, you knew I'd find "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love" on YouTube right? :) Here's the song performed by Jars of Clay set to a powerful video with U.S. and worldwide poverty statistics and some related Scripture verses. Please watch this video and see if God speaks to you in any new ways about loving others who are living in poverty.
Is God's precious love flowing through you to others? Click here if you haven't yet received God's saving love!
Do Something: If the video today moved you to love others in a more active way, I encourage you to look for volunteer needs within your local church. Perhaps it's serving with an internal ministry or an external ministry. Secondly, I encourage you to find a way to love others outside of the church walls by volunteering with a local nonprofit in your community. A great way to find volunteer opportunities in communities throughout the United States is through VolunteerMatch.org. All you have to do is type in your zip code at this website link and they will show you volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood! Will you please take just 5 minutes to explore VolunteerMatch.org at: http://www.volunteermatch.org/
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
Today,the thought just struck me....the law really didn't bring love out of anyone.If you broke it the religious leaders were only too happy to give you a wack on the head...the brethren would reward you with an accusing finger.Love says this is wrong,if you're sorry then God'll never remember your sin after you've confessed.Love preaches because it hurts for the fate of the unsaved while the law does it out of self-righteousness....This struck me hard today....our faith is expressed through love...I certainly need to pray for God to change my heart.
Honoring our parents...if as Ramona said yesterday we don't respect the leaders we see then how can we reverence a God we don't see....each time we argue with our parents with an unspoken thought in our heart that they are old and silly...that we know better.....we really need to check our relationship with our heavenly father....He's a lot older than they are....
God bless you all
Posted by: Anka | September 18, 2007 at 04:18 PM
Mike mentions in his weekly emails that he would really appreciate prayer partners.Each time there's a minstry that equips the saints there's also a fierce attack.I can personally say that I have experience resistance in many ways....and I'm sure others have too.Please pray for the OYB.There are people who may not request for prayers but you hear of sickness,chemotherapy,the loss of a child,caring for ailing parents etc....I have to admit I don't always feel moved to pray...If we profess faith in Christ,it should be expressed in love...Jesus wept,he was moved with compassion....He is love....I pray we all follow Him.
God bless you all....
Posted by: Anka | September 18, 2007 at 04:19 PM
I'm fairley new here but I' like to say - well done. I like what I'm seeing and reading.
Posted by: Nadine | September 18, 2007 at 04:19 PM
I didn’t realize how strongly the verse in Isaiah made an impression on me until hiking the wooded hills this afternoon with my dog Mac and it just kept repeating itself in my mind.
Isaiah 30:15 “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
I suddenly realized that I start each of my days with God sitting at the kitchen table with me as I read His word, but it’s easy for me to sort of push Him aside as I try to get everything done that I have crammed into the day He has given me. If you are like me, we live by calendars, clocks, schedules, appointments, and etc. There never seems to be a spare minute, even after you retire. When we do grab a quiet moment, we either fall asleep out of exhaustion, or we are just too tired to really relax, or we feel guilty sitting quietly because we know there are things we feel we should be doing. We live bustling lives in a hectic society, especially young people that are trying to work, go to school, raise families, take care of the home and do all of the extra things young people are expected to do.
Guess I just never realized that the Scripture actually says salvation is based on both repentance and rest and strength is based on both quietness and trust. Today the Scripture said to me I need to slow down and make special time for God during the day. I need to learn to work my schedule around God and not just squeeze God into my busy schedule.
Just thought I would share that thought with you.
God Bless!
Pat
Posted by: Pat | September 18, 2007 at 04:19 PM
Pat WOW! Thanks for sharing that.
Isaiah 30:12-33:9
The words in this passage paint for me a picture of repentance, not our repentance but a repentance flowing from the mercy of God. Despite our rejection of Him, despite our none hearing ears not listening to Him. Our repentance, our turning to Him does not come after we clean ourselves up, but in the midst of our depravity, in the midst of our brokenness. In my understanding of the text, the portion Pat pointed to in her comments, first we return, we repent, then we wait on God. We don’t have to run to and fro doing things, getting things, proving to God that we are worthy for repentance, we just wait on Him.
The passage,
And like a huge eagle hovering in the sky, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies protects Jerusalem. I'll protect and rescue it. Yes, I'll hover and deliver." (Isaiah 31:5 MSG)
Reminds me of Genesis chapter 1 verses 1 & 2:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(Genesis 1:1-2 KJV)
I see an image of God hovering, moving over the face of the formless and voided broken down lives of His people; the Spirit of God waiting to speak light and life into the death and darkness of our lives.
Jesus cried out that desire in Matthew as he observed Jerusalem from a distance:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37 KJVR)
God is waiting for us, He is waiting for me to turn to Him so that He can separate, speak into those things that are dead, void and formless in my life.
Posted by: R | September 18, 2007 at 04:20 PM
Isaiah 30 (NKJV)
12
Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: “ Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perversity, and rely on them,
13
Therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.
14
And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water from the cistern.”
15
For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “ In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not. . .
NOTE:
When we trust in and rely on oppression and perversity – in any form of covetousness (which is idolatry), we are committing iniquity. That is, we are rebelling against trusting in God for Who He is—the ONLY Source of Life, Goodness, and Wisdom!
As Jesus said, we cannot trust in two masters at a time. We will hate covetousness and love God; or we will turn our backs on God and love covetousness.
This creates a “bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.” That is, it allows an opening for the enemy.
Only the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus and receiving the applied benefits of that mercy in that sacrifice can keep us protected and secure!
God, in His Mercy, must judge and extract sin in the same way a surgeon must remove cancer.
Isaiah 30 (NKJV)
God Will Be Gracious
18
Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.
19
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.
20
And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers.
21
Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “ This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
NOTE:
God is truly amazing! After having stated the truth of the case against us very clearly—and a case that we have no defense against—God Himself places Himself in the middle between us and the problem.
“He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
I am sure this is another excellent reason to consistently spend quality time alone praising God as well as setting aside time to praise God with other believers in the Lord Jesus. As God is exalted, then His mercy can be released and His blessings can flow onto us and rise up from within us.
Galatians 5 (NKJV)
1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free [or. . . For freedom Christ has made us free; stand fast therefore], and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2
Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3
And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
4
You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
NOTE:
We can NEVER add anything to the work of Christ, and we should never try.
Why then do we obey?
We obey out of gratitude for a Love and Grace that is undeserved, unearned, and unrepayable.
We obey because we “are no longer a slave under the law, but we are under grace.”
“Sin shall no longer have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14).
We obey because we are not our own. It is not about me or you. It is about God.
We obey because we want to live our lives like God called Abraham: “Be blameless”. We want others to be drawn to the Savior because of the Lord Jesus working in and through our lives and words.
IF WE EVER TURN FROM TRUSTING IN CHRIST ALONE AS THE BASIS OF OUR ACCEPTANCE BEFORE GOD AND AS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, we have fallen from grace and have become estranged from Christ.
He is always right there, waiting for us to “lean the whole weight of our personality on Him” and trust and obey Him.
Psalm 63 (NKJV)
1
O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
3
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.
4
Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6
When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
7
Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8
My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
NOTE:
What intimacy with God! What sweet abiding in Jesus! May this be the consistent lifestyle and overflow of worship to God in our lives! May the overflowing praise and worship release God’s glory so others taste and see Jesus in us as we live and speak out of worshipful abiding in Christ!
Vance
Posted by: Vance | September 18, 2007 at 04:21 PM
Galatians 5:1-12
Although not quite the same, Paul also picks-up on the theme of relying only on the Lord, through Jesus Christ. It seems it is so difficult for us humans to understand “grace”, much less accept the Grace of Christ. We try to do everything we can to earn our Salvation except just receive it.
Father may everyone who reads this days New Testament scripture receive a revelation of what Your Grace means. In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen
Psalm 63:1-11
When reading the first verse of this Psalm,
O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I was reminded of how we substitute sugar-filled drinks, alcohol beverages to try to quench our thirsts; however, sugar and alcohol both cause our bodies to become thirstier which we then try to quench by drinking more sugar filled drinks or throw back more beers or wine coolers further fueling our need to quench our thirsts. The only true thirst quencher for our bodies is water.
So too all the things we try to use to quench our spiritual thirst. If it ain’t God then it will never satisfy. Most of us never find that out because we and not self-aware or either we are self-deceived and not aware that our thirst is only getting worse the more we try to fill up on anything that is not God.
Proverbs 23:22
I just received a revelation concerning this Proverb. When I would read anything like this particular Proverb I would read it very, very fast. My cry to God would be, “God you know every parent is not right. A lot of people who have children are just out and out crooks. This Proverb to my surprise is not saying what I thought it was saying, to do everything your parents say, even if it is evil and corrupt.
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don't despise your mother's experience when she is old.
Listening is not doing and if I despise my mother’s experiences when she is old just because they may be born out of wickedness then I will possibly fall into the same trap and thus the same lifestyle I’m trying to escape from, because I’ve failed to examine her bad choices. If I do not examine her choices, I will not know the warning signs when they come my way and probably become ensnared in the same lifestyle.
Posted by: R | September 18, 2007 at 04:21 PM
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Posted by: Jeff | September 19, 2007 at 11:23 AM
Galatians 5
Recap: Paul has stated over and over - you are saved (justified) - don't go back to the old ways. they will profit you nothing.
It is Christ that has set us free, do not go back to the yoke that is the Law.
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Gal 5:4
"You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."
One of those verses that when taken by itself - can lead one to think it that one can "lose his/her salvation".
The Judaizers have been telling the Galatians that Salvation started with Moses, continued with Christ, and is completed by the Law.
Paul is writing to believing Galatians and to those who are on the verge of believing. In the context of the previous parts of the letter this verse can be applied to believers and non-believers.
To non-Christians - if you are trying to attain righteousness (justification) through the Law you are separated from Christ. The two - grace (faith) and works do not mix. It is one or the other. If you choose works - you forfeit Christ, and you have fallen away from the grace promised by God through His Son. This is a serious warning to the non-believers that they will be choosing an eternal separation from God.
To Christians - You have already been saved, and you are free in Christ. Salvation is a gift - why would you think that you need to ensure your justification by the law? Again, faith/grace and works do not mix. It is one or the other. If a Christian chooses to embrace legalism, he/she does not lose salvation, but you will lose Christ abiding in you and you in Him. You will have fallen away from grace that is the source of salvation, into a mixture of works and faith. This will stunt your Christian growth as the Holy Spirit will not be working in you to advance your Christian walk. We are saved by grace/faith and now we are to live by grace/faith - not the Law.
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Gal 5:5-6
But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
If saved, you should be waiting for the Spirit to work in you. It is not about anything we can do, just like salvation - we must trust in, rely on, and depend on God for our Christian maturity.
"If Paul hadn't added that last phrase (vs. 6), someone could complain, "You Christians just get saved, then you sit around and don't do anything!" Sure we work. However, we don't work to gain righteousness; we work because of love. The whole law is fulfilled when faith works by love. Instead of working by external rules, I work out of love, which internally motivates me...
...For example, the law says, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13). Let's suppose I'm living under law without the indwelling Holy Spirit producing love in my life. If someone had done something to me and I decided to kill him, perhaps the only thing that would restrain me would be that external prohibition. But if I love that individual, I will not kill him. The law says, "Thou shalt not steal." But if I love people, I'm not going to steal from them. The power to do what's right is motivated internally, not externally. Devoted love, which springs from the Holy Spirit, operates in the life of faith and precludes the necessity of law....
...So my faith produces works of love, but my working is not to obtain righteousness. I already have been declared righteous in Christ. My works are the result of His righteousness." - MacArthur
http://www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg1665.htm
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Paul finishes up saying this message of grace plus works is not from God. don't be fooled - I am so agitated by them - I wish they would just go ahead and "castrate" themselves. That is a hyperbole - and is meant to indicate that these Judiazers have really got him upset.
Posted by: John | September 19, 2007 at 03:28 PM
Isaiah 30:15
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
Again whether a physical situation or a foreshadowing of salvation through Christ, we are to repent and then believe - that belief will allow us to rest in the Lord, be quiet (still our efforts (works)), and just trust in the Lord to justify, sanctify, and glorify us as believers.
I firmly believe that the Law was meant to show a need to approach the Lord when we have sinned, sacrifices were meant to show the symbolic ways of approaching the Lord for atonement of sins, and the need for restoring ourselves with the Lord.
Christ fulfilled all that with His onetime final sacrifice.
I also believe the original instruction on the Sabbath day was a picture of us resting in the Lord. Quit our struggles, quit trying to do "things" - just rest in the Lord - be quiet and Trust in Him.
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Isaiah 32:17
The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
A picture of post-salvation - we will be at peace (one of the things the Holy Spirit brings us). Peace because we are no longer at war with God as rebellious children, and internal peace that is supplied when Christ has healed your heart from its hurt.
The effect - we can be quiet and confident that God is faithful and will complete his work in us. - sanctification unto glorification.
Posted by: John | September 19, 2007 at 03:42 PM
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loving you in jesus,
lynda
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