Devotional thoughts on Isaiah 66:1-5

I am a morning person.  My Lord knows this. Yet even in the morning I struggle in the understanding of His Word.  It is not like a simple newspaper reading, written at a sixth grade level.  Our Lord – though he condescends is not condescending.  That is to say He does not make it easy – just because we struggle with it.  Sometimes wisdom comes in the struggle with the text.  We see that our God is not some one-dimensional being made up in the mind of a man – though many believe this foolishness.  God is.

And to say that is at once to assault the idea that He is a made up idea – a puppet of our imagination.  God is real and He does not act condescendingly toward us – though He condescends.  It is He who has made us and not we ourselves. (Psalm 100)Since this is so, He knows the stuff we are made of, and knows that those who are His children, who ask, can comprehend His Word.

In verses 1 and 2 (Isaiah 66) the Lord reveals that He desires those of a contrite heart to look upon.  For anyone to be in the eye of the Lord is a blessing indeed!  Yet the text moves quickly to those who are not the contrite.  Those who have banished the contrite – for the Lord’s sake!? (vs. 5)

Verse 3 speaks of those who twist the laws of God to their own way, those who by a crude spirit, carry out the Word of God as they desire.  They are not interested in true contrition for the breaking of God’s law – but a quick completing of its requirements to the letter…  And what does the One who sees from the heart see?

Abomination!

Swine’s blood!

The sacrifice of a dog!

Murder!

Following the letter of the law does not always get you the blessing you desire – doing so with a contrite heart of love to God always will!

Lord, may I be always right in my manner of offering, as well as the heart.  For your eye is on the tender broken spirit.

originally posted 26 October 2011 at 07:23 here:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/dave-cox-ii/isaiah-661-5-devotional-thoughts/10150337857165869

My Advocate

Matt 12:36-7, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

 

There is an accounting we must give.  It is a spoken defense of all we have done, said, and even our thoughts are subject to this judgment. 

What will we say?

What will I say?  I have no excuse.  Nothing I could or would say will be adequate. For there is none righteous, not one.  (Romans 3:10-13) My very throat is an open grave and very truly my words will be justification or condemnation, life or death to me.  (Psalm 14)

What will I say?  If I begin looking for an out -- there is no out, for God sees the very heart.  I cannot lie, perjure, or excuse any one action in my life.  I will fail if I seek to defend myself - and not due to a lack of courtroom procedural knowledge.  I will fail the test itself.  My very defense condemns me!

In football some say the best defense is a good offense... but can I come out stronger or more righteous than God Himself?!  Even to think the thought is frightening!

What I need is a legal advocate who will remove my wicked deeds from the courts record.  One who will speak in my behalf, not to hide those deeds, for nothing is hid before God (Heb. 4:13), but that the deeds be expunged from my record and yet justly accounted for...

And my advocate must be as righteous as God Himself, so that he has opportunity to present my case before Him - for every wicked mouth will be stopped. (Rom 3:19)  Like a sword his words must present a case before the judge in such a manner that the Judge will not only be convinced, but even pleased to release me.  (Heb. 4:12 & Rev. 1:16)

What about the jury?  No need of one - for such is the manufacture of men for judicial systems which are not perfect and which may at times find crimes which are no crimes or laws which are not righteous.  Yet in the Holy economy of God- this courtroom Judge, and law is established and absolutely sound.  There are no moral flaws to be found. (Psalm 89:14 & 97:2)

It really is only a matter of the record of actions which I have done, balanced not, as so popularly presented, against the better actions I have done (for indeed - the truth be known, I have done no purely good actions anyway!),  But my infractions are evaluated against the law itself.  It is only a matter of the law being upheld - For God is just.  A proverb comes to mind here, "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord." (Pro 17:15) 

My only hope is to fall on the mercy of the Judge if He is pleased to hear my case - for I am guilty.  But my advocate has found a way.  He will take the penalty himself, as he needs not pay on his own behalf, and His holiness is such that it can cover a multitude of sins.

My friend, have you a multitude of sins which must be accounted for?  Do not hide them, and try the courts patience in your stammering empty defense.  Try my advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous.  You will not be disappointed!

"But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."

(Romans 4:5-8 & Psalm 32:1-2)

A fatal choice?

On Sunday June 16^th I was preparing for a Sunday school lesson later that morning and was reviewing numerous verses on election and fatalism.  Perhaps my blog post on May 30^th was still on my mind.  Regardless, this subject has been upon my mind a lot lately.  When I prepare for a Sunday school lesson, I begin thinking about the subject a week or more before the class, and on the morning of, I begin gathering the relevant passages, and review them.  One of the most interesting passages was that of the Parable of the Talents found in both Matthew & Luke (Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27).  But before we get to the parable, let's consider what we do know about our God and election.

God made his choice of us long before creation and even before sin (Ephesians 1:3-5).  The remedy for sin, Christ on the cross (1 Peter 1:20), was determined at this time also.  Never let the thought enter your mind that God sent his Son as "plan b"!  Not only did He plan a remedy, but he did so at great expense to himself, out of an extreme grace!

Some notable verses are listed here for you to ponder:
Prov. 16:9 "A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."
Prov. 16:33 "The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord."
Matt. 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
2 Thes. 2:13b "God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth"
Acts 18:9-10 "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.'"

As for the intent of this post - it is not to debate election at any rate - but rather to explain it plainly and particularly.  So often it ends up frequently twisted into religious fatalism.  The word election in the original is really just a word that means choice.  Yet in light of God doing the choosing, it bears more thought.  You and I do change our mind.  And for good cause, too!  Many times we find that we made a mistake, we goofed and make a mid-stream correction.  Often when we chose something ahead of time, we have to back up and alter our choice which was based upon a faulty or inadequate decision process.  But to say such of God, takes away part of His essential deity!  For if God, who by definition as God is perfect, were to change, he'd be less than perfect, and no longer God!  Therefore we must protect, as it were, our definition and understanding of Him as perfect and unchangeable, since it bears on His essential character. 

But consider what that means when we think of Him, before the foundation of the world, choosing a man, choosing a plan, establishing his will before he even begins to work it out!  If this really is God we are talking about, what an assurance it gives to us!  Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today & forever! (Heb. 13:8) 

Yet we do still have a problem...

What about the objection that God is cold and unloving in his choices?  At one level we really do not have to even answer this, for God defines good.  If, in our opinion, we chafe at His choice, the matter is really with our own opinion.  We have to bear in mind that this is God and he is NOT a man.  And the definition of His perfection and essential deity come under scrutiny for us to question Him so.  Nevertheless - if we do, with a bit of reverence, we may discover something of His other characteristics that bear strongly on the question.

And why not embrace fatalism - since indeed, if God HAS chosen already, and our end is determined after all, what hope do we have?  Should we all just "Eat drink & be merry, for tomorrow, we die"?!   Here is where we will look at the parable of the talents (or minas).  I will quote the part of the parable that bears upon the argument here: 

Matt. 25:24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Please note the attitude that the man with one talent had toward his lord.  He says, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours."  It is as though he was slapping in the face, his lord!  One would say that someone with that attitude would clearly be out of line!  And look plainly at the very phrase, "I knew you to be a hard man".  If so, he clearly did not honor his lord, not with his attitude, nor with his actions, as his lord showed saying, "So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest." 

I find it interesting that the lord in this parable is depicted as a good and honorable man by the first two servants, and they received a reward for their efforts.  Whereas the servant who had no respect toward his lord, received a reward equal to his lack of respect.  And if we begin to have a hard attitude like this man toward our Lord, we should expect no less from Him. 

Remember, that this is the One who has willingly, while we were still sinners, sent His Son to die for us (Rom. 5:8).  His Son willingly went to the cross out of love for us.  He left us His Word that we might be able to gain a heart of wisdom and walk in freedom from sin’s penalty, as we have been delivered.  And for us to call him a hard lord, is a slap in the face of all that He has done for us.  And what would you do, if you had done that much for someone, despite their active hatred of you, and you had loved someone so much that you would (in a sense) overlook those offenses and offer to them a truly loving and gracious offer of friendship, and they spat in your face?!

We have nothing to offer to this gracious Lord, but he offers to us Christ - which is everything!  How ought we to respond but in gratitude!  Job lost much in his trials, yet never did he accuse God of unrighteousness.  Who are we to put our defense before the Lord, "I knew you to be a hard man"  Instead let us resolve to beg for forgiveness of Him.  For He has said in John 6:37, " All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."  Here is not fatalism, but a trusting of the One who is Good and is Loving.  Look at 1 Peter 5:6-7, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

When I was 16 years old at my very 1st job, I had a brutal job to do.  It was a landscaping job and we were raking dirt, moving boulders, laying down rotten granite paths, etc.  On this one day it was particularly hot and we were sweating fiercely!  One of the managers had left and returned from town with something like four 6-packs of soda of varying types.  As he was passing them out, he offered me a Mountain Dew, and I requested a Pepsi.  "Beggars can't be choosers!"  It was like a slap in the face.  I wasn't begging?  My pride began to well up within and I felt the hot flash of blood to my face.  But I was, fortunately, not foolish enough to act upon such a visceral response.  Instead I backed away and popped the can and drank.  Strangely, that was the BEST Mountain Dew I ever drank! 

But isn't that curious, Beggars can't be choosers.  God is the chooser - we are the beggars.  But take heart my friends, we serve a gracious and kind God.  He is hard to those who treat him contemptuously, but for those who humble themselves and consider all that He has done for us, unworthy as we are, He cares for us!  He will by no means cast us aside! 

Thank you Father for such Love!  Amen.

Did you think to pray?

Prayer is such a thorny matter.  It is hard work. It's revealing work.  It's brainy work; rationalism says, “Why bother to ask an omniscient God for what He knows you need?”  It's humbling.  It's not easy.  Yet it is a simple matter, even if it is not easy. 

So simple that Christ could give us a pattern to follow.  In fact, we have the Lord's Prayer in 2 places in Scripture (Matt. 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4).  We have His prayer in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-43).  We have Daniels prayer for the nation in Daniel 9:3-19.  Examples of prayer are set before us in many places for our edification.  And as for that rationalistic objection - though there may be a truth to it, it is fatalism. 

Fatalism is a cancer to true faith and we must not let our faith be hi-jacked by it.  We do not serve a God of mere logic.  He may be grasp-able, however, we must not let our own understanding of Him get in the way of who He is actually.  Consider the following: Does He choose some to be saved, completely apart from their actions, and pass over others justly?  Yes.  Does that mean we do not plead with Him for our own souls?!  Not on your life!  “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37)  The God I serve is not capricious or fatalistic in any way.  He desires us to ask Him - just as a father, whose intent previously determined, was to get ice cream for his children.  As fathers we love to reward our children with a positive answer - when asked aright.  How much more the Holy Righteous God of the universe desires to be asked?  Not in some patronizing manner, but from a spirit provoked to action.  This provocation may be from His Spirit or even as the petitioner considers the very nature of His character and responds to that.  And He is pleased by this.  Indeed, He is honored by this.  And that is just the point.

And we have even more warrant to pray – Matt 6:8b answers the rationalistic person’s objection plainly enough.  "…For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."  Yet - we are commanded to pray.  We need not treat Him as some cheap idol, a god which must be appeased, like some second rate deity whose omnipotence must be stroked every so often.  God is not like a man.  He is the great I am, and needs nothing from me.  He is not some genie whose lamp I must rub just the right way or I get nothing.  He knows both what I will ask for, and what I really need.  He even knows when the best time and way to answer is.

Our problem is we are too much into personal idolatry.  He doesn't answer us when or how we want, and we cannot control Him. (see James 4)

Let us resolve to come to Him humbly, laying down all our expectations.  Do ask.  But do so in a manner honoring to Him.  Ask expecting - because He is good.  He may give us something other than what we ask or expect - but that is exactly the answer we need right now.

Lord, help us to pray.   Amen.
(Here is an e-book by R.C.Sproul on prayer - I think its free!  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038OMARG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0038OMARG&linkCode=as2&tag=ligoniminist-20  )

Jesus Christ – God’s final Word

I am studying in Matthew during my devotions these days.  I have never studied deeply in the synoptics, or perhaps I should rephrase that - I have never studied systematically through any one of them.  I have traveled through John, as well as several of the wisdom literature books, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, James, and some of the epistles.  But never the synoptic gospels and so last month as I was finishing up in Proverbs I was pondering which book to take up next, and I chose Matthew.  So this morning as I was reading through Matthew 2:19-23 I took up this line of thinking...

Matthew 2:22b "And being warned by God in a dream..." How many times do we see warnings by God in dreams since beginning this exploration of Matthew?

·         1:20  Admonishment to Joseph to take Mary as his wife.
·         2:12  Warning to the Magi not to go back to Herod.
·         2:13  Warning to Joseph to flee to Egypt.
·         2:19  Message to Joseph to return to his homeland.
·         2:22  Warning to Joseph not to settle in Judea.

In addition to all these divine warnings/messages are the Magi and their understanding of the Star of David, "We have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him."

God is interested in his people! He speaks to men!

But does this mean he still sends messages via dreams?

Read Hebrews 1:1-4, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."

...and now Hebrews 2:1-4, "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?"

So God speaks to us in these last days by His Son, Jesus the Christ... And not just the red letters either, but every page of the New Testament speaks of Christ.  How and why He came, and what He accomplished, and to whom He did it for, and when and where all this took place.

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9) 

"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." (2 Cor. 1:20)

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6)

God DOES still speak to us!  But He does it through Christ.  The trouble is that we often do not want to hear what He has to tell us!  Oh and aren't we proud.  Aren't we sophisticated.  Aren't we critical.  Oughtn't we to be humble?  Is it not a spirit of humility we should be clothed in?

 In today’s passage we read of a man, Joseph, who had to submit to Gods messages by dreams and angels- not once or twice, but 4 distinct times!  And do we not have a more sure witness?  Look at 2 Peter 1:19-21, "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 

Let us resolve to honor God's final word to us, Christ, for we have His message!  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8)

A truism of modern communication

How to begin.... What does one say when anger overtakes him? 

Frustration takes root alongside bitterness...

Several months ago I determined to quit Facebook, even to the point of a blog post over it(http://mysoapbox2.blogspot.com/2012/08/quitting-facebook.html)... yet in the end I felt my justification was petty, and selfish.  But there are matters that Facebook and e-mail bring to bear on society and at times I really struggle over them (http://mysoapbox2.blogspot.com/2012/11/you-hypocrite.html).  The last time it was a FB Post with obscenities and so it was this time...

 Looking for discernment in a virtual world...  I guess you could say that I am struggling with the old Christian tightrope of being "in the world, but not of it"  (1 John 2:15) And as I struggle I begin to recall the words of the Psalmist, Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (42:5) And being reminded of Him who is the Sovereign reminds me of how quickly I fall back to believing the great lie.

What is that great lie?  Why – It’s the lie that says I shouldn't be frustrated, that I should have everything wrapped around my fingers. The lie that, in Satan’s words, "You will be like God" and I recall in my humility the words of Psalm 42 again, "These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival." (42:4)

I have been a deacon in the church.  I have preached His Word.  I have counseled the downhearted, the sick.  …Yet I am nothing.  It was all Him who works effectually within me (Gal 2:8).  But I remember...as the Psalmist did, and find myself in need of an attitude adjustment. 

I struggle as I see in me a form of hypocrisy and do not know how to reconcile it.  Here are the 2 great commandments:

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 22:37-40) 

Yet in my day by day relationships I uncritically tolerate bad behavior and bad speech from my co-workers... while at the same time being quite critical of a niece's choice of picture to post...  And I ask myself - why?  I SHOULD love my neighbor (anyone I come across, according to Luke 10:29-37) as much as I love myself- as much as I love my family, as much as I love my niece, but I do not.  I don't hold my co-workers to the same standard as I do my family and I reckon that I should... 

I also wonder how I reconcile the idea of separation from wickedness with the ideas already presented.  It's easy spot a bad behavior or action and condemn it. It's not so easy to confront a loved one (and all OUGHT to be loved ones) in a loving manner.  So how am I doing?  Not so good lately!

And I'd like to blame it on the medium.  Truly, the modern sound bite text message world DOES place obstacles before our communicating in any manner, let alone lovingly.  And working in the world today, I have learned certain "rules" if you will, to do so... 

-          Never address an important email until it’s properly composed (you wouldn't want it to accidently be sent because of one errant keystroke!)

-          Never send a passionately written message until you have cooled down... for the same reason - Passion can get in the way of rational thinking. 

There are others.  But how to communicate lovingly - I don't have a rule for that... And I have yet to find a way to communicate adequately some things.  I believe that it may be a truism that some matters are ONLY communicated lovingly in person, period.  And therein we see the dilemma... We live in a cyber world where many of our friendships and relationships are rarely close enough physically to have that periodic visit over coffee or whatever and have caring heart to heart talks with one another. 

May the LORD grant discernment to us and may we patiently bear up under all circumstances. 

Those who seek the Lord understand...

Evil men do not understand justice,
But those who seek the Lord understand all. (Proverbs 28:5)

There is a word which describes the evil mindset – twisted.  And one whose mind is set upon evil ways – His conscience bothering him(Romans 2:15) will seek a way to sooth it, to justify his evil ways.  And in doing so he deludes himself that his ways aren’t nearly so evil – after all, look at the good things he does.  After a while he sees the evil path as the good way and righteousness does not even appeal to him, for it appears to be twisted to him…

Yet the pang of conscience is not over – before he is finally given over to the wicked way he knows the justifying of evil by a good act does not follow – at least in the beginning he knows that that is true.  However, once he is given over – none of these ideas cross his mind and his delusion prevails. (Romans 1:21)

But those who seek the Lord understand all.

This is not to say that the righteous know all.  In fact, the verse does not even speak of the righteous.  It speaks of, “those who seek the Lord”.  These ones understand all.  What does that mean?  Certainly not that they know all things, but that understanding will be given them.  It could be said to understand God is to know all…

All of us are twisted at some level.  All of us have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) – yet those who seek the Lord understand justice especially – for to seek the judge of all the earth is to find oneself judged for all those twisted ways.  And to find that this judge will in no way cast aside any (John 6:37) but he himself seeks all to come to repentance. (I Timothy 2:4) This judge is a righteous judge who will not ignore sin – yet so loving a judge that he volunteered his own son to stand in your place that justice might be meted out as required and still be righteous in letting a sinner go free.

Evil men do not understand justice,
But those who seek the Lord understand all.

Come to the Lord and humbly submit to His lordship – He will by no means acquit the guilty (Numbers 14:18), yet his love knows no boundaries. (I Corinthians 13) From the least to the greatest of sinners, all may be set free. 

Don’t make the mistake of letting pride stand before a Holy righteous judge.  It does not follow that he could let you go on your own merit – unless he is an unrighteous judge.