The last description of God found in Isaiah 45 may be one the the characteristics of God that confound men the most. The God of the Bible describes Himself as a God who at times hides and at times seeks (45:15,19). Is God playing a game with man? Absolutely not! What He means by "hiding" is that God chooses to be silent at various points in history. He may chose to walk with Adam in the garden, but thousands of years pass before he speaks to Noah. He may choose to reveal Himself to Isaiah one year and then allow over 500 years to pass before we read of His birth in Bethlehem. There are deliberate times in which it may seem that God is removed or distant from creation, but the reality is that when He chooses not to speak to man, He is always watching.
Isaiah 55:6 tells us to "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon Him while He is near." Luke 19:10 tells us that Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost." The God of Scripture is the only God who cares enough to find those who are lost (humanity). Other gods fend for themselves or struggle to meet their own needs, while Jehovah is all about rescuing those who are destined for hell, and bringing men into His presence. This God is one who not only has made Himself known through Scripture but one day will return to make Himself known to all the earth. He will gather those who walk by faith in the work of the cross to Himself; and those who walked according to the gods of their own mind will be cast away forever from His presence. The question is, "Have you been found by God?" If you have, then you will have a less stressed life. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Who is God (Part 4)
The word "save" is used to describe many different activities in this life. You may have heard statements like: "Mom saved me a piece of cake,""The pitcher saved the game,"or "It is important to save some money for a rainy day." But what does it mean to worship a God who saves? In Isaiah 45, four times God declares another important fact about His character. He claims to be a saving God (Savior). You see all the gods of the pagans. around Israel, were gods who thought more about themselves then they did humans. So most of the time they spent all their energy protecting their own hides rather than the people who worshipped them. In fact read Isaiah 46, in which God describes the scene in which humans have to save their home made gods from the invasion of their enemies. So the concept of "a saving God" is very unique to Christianity.
When God makes this statement of Himself, it is in the context that He is the only God (45:5-6). So any hope of deliverance rest solely on this God, Jehovah. When God saves, it is eternal, permanent (45:17). One of the last statements of declaration by God is this, "Look to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." (22) Man must focus their attention and eyesight to this God before their can be salvation. This image is clearly a reference to both the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, to bring healing to the rebellious people who were being bitten by snakes; and also a clear reference to the cross that Jesus (whose name means Savior) would suffer and die upon over 500 years later (John 3:14-15). When a man, woman, boy, or girl looks and believes by faith in the cross of Jesus Christ , then and only then can they be saved. And when you choose to follow and obey the only true Savior, Jesus Christ, then this is reason enough to have a less stressed life. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.
When God makes this statement of Himself, it is in the context that He is the only God (45:5-6). So any hope of deliverance rest solely on this God, Jehovah. When God saves, it is eternal, permanent (45:17). One of the last statements of declaration by God is this, "Look to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." (22) Man must focus their attention and eyesight to this God before their can be salvation. This image is clearly a reference to both the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, to bring healing to the rebellious people who were being bitten by snakes; and also a clear reference to the cross that Jesus (whose name means Savior) would suffer and die upon over 500 years later (John 3:14-15). When a man, woman, boy, or girl looks and believes by faith in the cross of Jesus Christ , then and only then can they be saved. And when you choose to follow and obey the only true Savior, Jesus Christ, then this is reason enough to have a less stressed life. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Who is God (Part 3)
Men throughout our civilization have killed each other over this basic statement, "I am right and you are not." Human nature is so bent toward selfish motivations, that it come natural for one man to subject the weaker man to his way of thinking. And in the process make the weaker feel even more inferior by not marching to the beat of his ego. (I guess this could be one definition of religion) Every nation is filled with stressed out people whose leaders govern from what they deem best for the people, not by what is truly best for the nation as a whole. And the end result is sinful leaders leading sinful people in a sinful direction. How depressing is this?
If we truly believe that the God revealed in the Bible is holy, just, and perfect, then it would do us service to listen to what He says about Himself, and then live our lives accordingly. We are looking in Isaiah 45 to see how the God of the Bible makes Himself unique from every god worshipped my man. This God claims to be God alone. He states that He alone is giver of life and death. And in verses 8,19,23-24, He clearly claims to be always right. He is the Righteous God. He is the standard for what truth and right really looks like. God sets the standards of what is right. If it is left up to man, then righteousness is whatever I want to do. But if I follow God's instruction, then I can never go wrong. Hosea 14:9 - "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them." What if men governed their lives and ruled their people according to God's righteousness? The result would be a prosperous nation, and a less stressed life. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.
If we truly believe that the God revealed in the Bible is holy, just, and perfect, then it would do us service to listen to what He says about Himself, and then live our lives accordingly. We are looking in Isaiah 45 to see how the God of the Bible makes Himself unique from every god worshipped my man. This God claims to be God alone. He states that He alone is giver of life and death. And in verses 8,19,23-24, He clearly claims to be always right. He is the Righteous God. He is the standard for what truth and right really looks like. God sets the standards of what is right. If it is left up to man, then righteousness is whatever I want to do. But if I follow God's instruction, then I can never go wrong. Hosea 14:9 - "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them." What if men governed their lives and ruled their people according to God's righteousness? The result would be a prosperous nation, and a less stressed life. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.
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