Oct. 10 – Thoughts on Isa. 34-36 & Col. 2

When we read the story of King Hezekiah of Judah as he stands before the envoy of the Assyrian Empire, we hear a reflection of the whispers the evil one is still using on us today.  Whether in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, or here in Isaiah, this story still rings true with anyone who has faced off with the whispers of evil.

“On what are you basing this confidence of yours?” is still one of my favorite lines of the scriptures, because it sums up our entire faith in one question.  And those who don’t follow Christ don’t understand our answer.  “I am putting my confidence not in my own accomplishments or accumulation, but in God and His promises.”

“Your worldly alliances won’t help you.”  Whether this is our political alliances or allegiances, our job titles or reputation with neighbors, it is true that if we look to this world to help us with life’s problems, we are looking in vain.

“You can’t depend on your righteousness.”  Sometimes we try so hard to be perfect, to follow every law, to obey every word of scripture, only to find out that all of that work for righteousness “is like dirty rags.”  When we rely on our own behaviors to earn God’s help in times of trouble, we will fail every time.

“Are you sure you’re even doing God’s will?”  The ‘but God is on my side’ argument is a pretty common one as well.  This one more often comes from critics within the Body rather than from the evil one.  It’s what makes church fights so diabolical – we all claim to have God on our side, so we aren’t just opinionated, we are right.  And not just right but Good.  This makes us incapable of learning from our critics or changing our minds.

“My way is better and will make you happier.”  The battle cry of every politician, which ultimately the King of Assyria is.

But the truly dangerous part of these arguments/whispers is how close they are to the truth.  It is the truth that we cannot trust in ourselves, or others of this world, anything besides God Himself.  But the final assumption of the dictator – you cannot trust anyone but me – is the truly evil whisper we can never believe.  God is worthy, God is capable, and God will protect, provide, and see you through.  God’s got this – never forget it.

/0 Comments/by

Oct. 9 – Thoughts on Isa. 32-33 & Col. 1

It is so exciting to hear our children reciting scripture, and not just as a rote memory verse, but with excitement.  As they learn about the different judges, they have memorized today’s verse, Isa. 33:22.  I first came to know they were doing this when my 3 year old son Isaac was riding home from church in my back seat.  As I tuned in to just what he was saying, I realized he was excitedly saying, “The LORD is our judge!  The LORD is our lawgiver!  The LORD is our King!  He will save us!”

It is said that from the mouths of babes, wisdom flows.  (Yes, this is actually a bible quote from Ps. 8).  And this is wisdom for our age.  In days of SCOTUS and Kavanaugh hearings, it is important for us to remember just who our true judge is.  As we proclaim that judging someone else is the greatest cultural sin, we simultaneously judge everyone and everything more harshly than ever before.  Yet it is not our peers, or the media, or even SCOTUS who is the judge we need to appeal to.  It is the LORD.

We are also struggling to figure out which laws and rules we should be following.  I can’t seem to get away from conversations about how unreasonable, illogical, or harmful certain laws are.  My teenagers sit and debate what they should be doing based on the social rules of their respective teams/groups/clicks/peers.  We all must be reminded regularly that the rules of this world, while they are to be respected, are not the rules by which we ultimately live.  That honor belongs to our lawgiver, the LORD.

And we’ve seldom seen division in our nation and even our world over world leaders.  From MAGA to NeverTrump, our nation is split seemingly down the middle (though both sides are quick to point out that they have the majority, no matter how slim it is).  And globally, we are seeing rebellions against and changes in our world leadership like seldom before.  So we have to be reminded again and again that the LORD is our king, not a nation or world leader, not a pastor or president, not a respected community leader or a foreign power.  The LORD, and He alone, is our King and worthy of our devotion, respect, and worship.

/0 Comments/by

Oct. 8 – Thoughts on Isa. 30-31 & Phil. 4

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.  – Isa. 31:1

Where are you putting your trust these days?  Are you trusting in God when fear comes or in the things of this world?

People chose to trust a number of things instead of God.  We amass wealth in savings and market accounts, so we never get to trust in God to provide for our needs.  We do whatever it takes to get high paying jobs, so we never get to trust in God to give us His work to do.  We put our kids in private schools, then private colleges, so we never get to trust God to protect them.  We work hard to get the “right” political system in place, so we never get to trust God to direct us in our interactions with the world around us.  In fact, we live in constant fear these days and seek to save ourselves from it through medication, security systems, political systems, belief systems.  And then we keep feeding this fear to each other in conversations, social media posts, and 24 hour news shows.

Anyone who tells you to live in fear of anything but God – “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” – is not only lying to you, but leading you away from God.  Period.

So how do we fight this fear that is so pervasive?  How do we keep from becoming obsessed with the fear of this world?  Paul has it right when he sends his letter to the church in Phillipi…

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. – Phil. 4:8

When our kids came of age and found the truth of anxiety, we had them memorize this verse.  And that is my suggestion to all of us.  Memorize this passage, then do it.  The news is not helpful, social media feeds the fear, and worry is not God’s way.  Spend the time you would spend on Facebook, with FOX or CNN, or worrying with friends praying, reading God’s Word, and thanking Him for His protection and provision, and you will see the fear fall away.

/0 Comments/by

Oct. 8 – Thoughts on Isa. 30-31 & Phil. 4

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.  – Isa. 31:1

Where are you putting your trust these days?  Are you trusting in God when fear comes or in the things of this world?

People chose to trust a number of things instead of God.  We amass wealth in savings and market accounts, so we never get to trust in God to provide for our needs.  We do whatever it takes to get high paying jobs, so we never get to trust in God to give us His work to do.  We put our kids in private schools, then private colleges, so we never get to trust God to protect them.  We work hard to get the “right” political system in place, so we never get to trust God to direct us in our interactions with the world around us.  In fact, we live in constant fear these days and seek to save ourselves from it through medication, security systems, political systems, belief systems.  And then we keep feeding this fear to each other in conversations, social media posts, and 24 hour news shows.

Anyone who tells you to live in fear of anything but God – “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” – is not only lying to you, but leading you away from God.  Period.

So how do we fight this fear that is so pervasive?  How do we keep from becoming obsessed with the fear of this world?  Paul has it right when he sends his letter to the church in Phillipi…

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. – Phil. 4:8

When our kids came of age and found the truth of anxiety, we had them memorize this verse.  And that is my suggestion to all of us.  Memorize this passage, then do it.  The news is not helpful, social media feeds the fear, and worry is not God’s way.  Spend the time you would spend on Facebook, with FOX or CNN, or worrying with friends praying, reading God’s Word, and thanking Him for His protection and provision, and you will see the fear fall away.

/0 Comments/by

Oct. 7 – Thoughts on Isa. 28-29 & Phil. 3

Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,
to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there—
so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.  – Isa. 28:11-13

Communication is one of the hardest parts of any relationship.  This is why it is the first thing we teach in pre-marital counseling.  It is so hard to understand each other even when communication is perfect, that when it is not, understanding is virtually impossible.  We have an exercise called “active listening” where one person speaks and the other simply restated what they have heard.  This assures each of them that they are hearing correctly.  But more often than not, even this simple exercise is terribly difficult.  “I would like you to pick up your laundry instead of leaving it on the chair,” is heard as, “You think I’m a slob!”  And so the exercise goes on until we can be sure we hear correctly, no more and no less than they are saying.

God speaks to His people and offers them rest and repose, but rather than hearing Him clearly, all His people hear is rules, rules, rules.  And rules do little more than push us backward, forcing us to work at following them instead of the God who gives them.

When you hear God’s voice in scripture, prayer, solid Christian mentoring, or the Holy Spirit, which do you hear?  Do you hear God’s offer of rest and repose, peace and comfort, or do you just hear rules, rules, rules?  If you are listening well, you will hear the former.

/0 Comments/by