Isaiah 28:21 – The LORD will rise up; He will rouse Himself to do His Work, His Strange Work.
Isaiah 29:13 – These people come near to me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men…I will astound them with Wonder upon Wonder.” They wanted to hear what would make them feel better.
Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to those who carry out plans that are not mine, frming an alliance. Who go down to Egypt
Isaiah 30:11 “Get off this path and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.” Tell us what makes us feel better.
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." Your strength will come from settling down in deep dependence."
Isaiah 30:18 “The LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” God's not finished!
Isaiah 30:20 “Althought the LORD gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more….whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying: “This is the way, walk in it.”
What is stirring inside of me as I read the words of this prophet, Isaiah? Is my desire for holiness stronger than my desire to smooth over my situation, solve my problem, or saturate my day with what works? We have been confronted with the Holy One. HE is rousing Himself on our behalf. HE will show up today!
Did you switch versions, Bev? I love reading the beautiful stark poetry of Isaiah, full of wisdom, awe, holiness--Confront us with the Holy One! Amen!
ReplyDeleteIn the Message, I barely (and often don't) recognize them. These are some of my favorites and ones that cause me to stop in my tracks:
Today's theme to remember: "a trusting life won't topple"
You have everything backward!You treat the potter as a lump of clay. Does a book say to its author,"He didn't write a word of me"? Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it,"She had nothing to do with this"?
Longing for the day---"And then before you know it,and without you having anything to do with it, Wasted Lebanon will be transformed into lush gardens, and Mount Carmel reforested. At that time the deaf will hear word-for-word what's been written. After a lifetime in the dark,the blind will see. The castoffs of society will be laughing and dancing in God, the down-and-outs shouting praise to The Holy of Israel!
"Honor me by living holy lives. In holy worship they'll honor the Holy One of Jacob and stand in holy awe of the God of Israel.
I so appreciate new starts: "Those who got off-track will get back on-track, and complainers and whiners learn gratitude."
What I am most troubled about today's churches: "Tell us what makes us feel better. Don't bore us with obsolete religion. That stuff means nothing to us…"
And God's response to this attitude: "This perverse way of life will be like a towering, badly built wall That slowly, slowly tilts and shifts,and then one day, without warning, collapses."
Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me— The very thing you've been unwilling to do.
But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you. He's gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything!
Oh yes, people of Zion, citizens of Jerusalem, your time of tears is over. Cry for help and you'll find it's grace and more grace. The moment he hears, he'll answer.
Our family and my friends have experienced some difficult things lately and as I read and pray I hear your thoughts Bev reminding me...what do I want the most...things to get "all better", "back to normal" or do I want to know my Lord better!!? Thank you for your faithful witness to those around you. Last year I memorized Isaiah 30:20 and know personally that God is faithful and does say, "This is the way, walk in it".
ReplyDeleteI sure want to be on God-of-the-Angel-Armies side when all of this starts happening!
ReplyDeleteI have set my face like flint to follow the One True God. I ask no questions. I don't try to figure things out. God is God.
Isaiah 30:33
"God's breath, like a river of burning pitch, starts the fire."
May God's Spirit ignite passion for holiness in our hearts. Christ is our Holiness. He is a Consuming Fire living in our bodies. I feel His power tremble in me sometimes and I am almost afraid of what it will be like to be in His Presence one day. If we saw His face, we would DIE!
So very thankful that I have the freedom to choose the Narrow Road. I won't go the way of cynical scoffers. I will bow down and worship God, my God. In fear and trembling. He is Mighty!