Love Me More

I'm talking about Isaiah 3 today, so grab a Bible and read it or click here for an online version.

Just at first glance, this chapter looks to be a downer.  It's all about the sin, doom, and destruction of Judah.  It doesn't sound pleasant.  And most would say that it really doesn't apply to us...HOWEVER, I assure you, we are just as bad as Judah.  The good news will come later.

As most of my writing style happens to be, I like to key into certain verses that we can glean a great deal.  This time, it's verse 24...

"And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty." (KJV)

Verse 24 seems quite harsh.  But here's what it boils down to:  When we put something in front of God, He isn't going to allow us to have it forever.  How often do we see celebrities with riches gone bankrupt?  This verse seems odd because we aren't in the times, but to have long hair is a woman's glory.  And when people were fat, it meant they were well fed and often times-rich.  To wear sackcloth is a sign of mourning and not well-dressed clothes.  A girdle is a sash and a rent is rope.  A sash was definitely better than rope to keep one's clothes on.

I'm not going to go into all the things that we have and what they can result in becoming.  But I want to ask you, if it all was taken away, would you have faith in God?  Would you be able to keep going if your car was taken away?  What about if you lost the roof over your head?  If your children were no longer with you?  If you no longer had your career?  If your spouse and family were taken away?  So often we think we have it under control until something happens, which puts us out of control.

I've had an issue with control for quite some time now.  Looking back, I can see how circumstances came that put me out of control and were to put my dependence on God.  I felt in control over my vehicle until at age 16 I was in two car accidents that totaled the vehicle but me and my siblings and friends walked away unharmed.  I learned the surpassing grace of God in allowing us to live unharmed midst my ever persisting stubbornness.  I felt control over how healthy and how sick I wanted to be until God allowed me to become truthfully sick.  I felt control over the pride I had in my education, until I no longer was able to continue to go to school.  I felt control over finances until the tie was abruptly cut between being an adult and being a child.  See, this is what happens when we take control over our lives.  When our lives no longer shout glory to God and live according to obedience, God will test us or allow circumstances to come our way to see if we really love Him, or if we love our stuff and our control more.

Do you love Him more?  More than yesterday?  More than life's circumstances?  More than that job you're headed to?  More than that job you don't have?  Do you love Him more than your family?  (He calls us to love Him more than our family in Scripture so much that it looks like we hate our family - Matthew 10:37.)  Do you love Him more than food, smoking, drugs, alcohol?  Do you love Him more?

If you don't have reason to love Him more than these things, perhaps you need to get into a deeper relationship with Him...Perhaps you've gotten stuck in the desert.  But, sacrifice over to Him the things in your life that come between you and Him.  He will bless you for it and your relationship with Him will never be the same!

He is calling, "Do you love Me more?"

Glorify the Right One

Go ahead and read Isaiah 2, if you don't have a Bible handy, click to go to this link.  

Isaiah 2 is all about the Mountain of the Lord and the Day of the Lord.  I'm gonna make this a quick post, not because it needs to be rushed, but this Word is very concise in its message.  In lame man's terms, we should glorify the right one.  

The first five verses talk about going to the Mountain of the Lord and walking in the light of the Lord and in His ways.  THEN, we get to verses 6 through 22 where it talks about who will be exalted in the Day of the Lord.  Which, most people would agree that it would be GOD!!!  Seems like of like a "duh" moment, but if we really think about it, do we really even exalt God now?  That's what this Word is trying to convey.

We may be doing everything right according to the Law (which is the Covenant of Love for the New Testament Christians as compared to the sacrifices, rules, and rituals of the Old Testament), but when we expect praise from men, we aren't going to be getting praise from God.  When we give of ourselves and expect some one else to see, we are really trying to exalt ourselves.  

"Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made" (NIV, v 8).  

If you really think about this verse, and what our idols are these days, this is quite a kick in the butt!  "Idol: a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered." (From Google definition search)  So, anything we put before God is an idol.  And in Scripture, it says that God is a jealous God! (See Ex 20:3-6.)  What are our idols?  Yes, some even have images like little statues, but others admire money, success, exaltation, pleasure, career, power, influence, control, position, and even SELF!!!  I'm not perfect at this either...

Back to Isaiah - SEVERAL times it says that the arrogance of man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day...Verse 9, 11, 17.  But in verse 18 it continues saying "and the idols will totally disappear" (NIV).  So the money, career, influence, control, self, that we worshiped and took such delight in will vanish.  We will be brought low and God will be brought high.  

This Word will not come to fruition until we the people can begin to bring God's kingdom here on earth.  If we were trying to establish a kingdom, we would not all be kings and queens.  There would be one.  There would be obedience and respect brought to the King and we would be as servants.  This is what we must do here on earth.  We must put God as the center of attention and honor Him and obey Him.  We must deny any traitors (idols) that may rise up against Him.  

"Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" (vs 22, NIV)

How often are you trusting in the things of man or mankind itself?  Are you trusting in those idols more than in God?  Are you worshiping (bowing down, spending time with, exalting) them more than God?  If so, repent and start anew.  Begin to look for ways to establish God's kingdom here on Earth and for ways to exalt Him rather than the idols of today's world.  If you're having trouble, ask God in prayer to show you, and be assured He will.  Let's glorify the Right One rather than the idols and ourselves.  

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt 23:12, NIV)

Seeking

Today, I'm finishing Isaiah 1.  So, grab you're Bible or head to this site, which will take you to it online where you can read it or click on the audio button to listen to it!  I'm only going to focus in on a few key verses today but you need all of it to get the idea of how rebellious the nation actually was from God's eyes.  

 

When we start to look at Israel in the Bible days, some think everything was honky dory.  Some think everything was great...They've got the temple sacrifices set up and going and Jesus is on the way!  Not quite the picture perfect scenario though.  By this point in time, a civil war had broken out between the Northern kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) and the people in power were being evil to the poor.  Yes, evil.  There's not any other way to describe it.  Essentially, people were living out the religion on the outside, but inside they were empty.  Sound familiar?  

We talked about verses 1 through 6 already, so we'll continue on.  To understand verses 7 through 10, you've got to go back to the early days of Sodom and Gomorrah.  (See Gen 19.)  The outcry to the Lord against the people was so great that burning sulfur was rained down on them.  So, the people weren't living up to the standard.  So what?  

God goes on to discuss what the issue is - verse 11:

"The multitude of your sacrifices - what are they to me?" says the Lord.  'I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats" (NIV).  

WOW!  For a people who entirely base their reconciliation for sin off of animal sacrifices, that seems like a shock!  God is saying that the death of these animals and the scent of blood isn't pleasing to Him because of verse 13: 

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings!  Your incense is detestable to me..." (NIV).

The people were sinning...they were rebelling and missing the mark.  BUT, it became meaningless when it wasn't a sacrifice to the actual human making the sacrifice.  Do not think we are free from this.  We may not have to do the animal sacrifices because of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice, but think about the last time you sinned.  (Probably not too long ago.)  Did you repent?  Did you truly turn from your ways and seek to live free from that sin?  Quit thinking about the big ones...think about the little ones.  The little lie you told.  The snip-it of gossip you just had to partake in. The nasty thought you just had.  The anger you just lashed out.  It doesn't have to be murder or adultery for it to be a sin.  Anytime we do not live up to the perfect standard God has, then it is a sin.  In the Old Testament, there would be a set of animal sacrifices to go with that sin.  But, if you're making the sacrifice to cover the sin and then you do it again, what good was it in the first place?!?!?! The apostle Paul in the New Testament talks about this in Romans 6:

"What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (NIV, vs 1-2).

We must turn from our evil ways.  God does not desire our repentance if it isn't full-hearted!  Now, I understand that sometimes we do it full-heartedly and still mess up.  I've done it too...and that's where grace does come in.  BUT, we have to strive to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48).  

So, as verse 16 says (back in Isaiah 1), we have to turn from our sin and take it out of God's sight.  He doesn't want to see it.  Just like when you were a kid, your parents really didn't want to see you mess up.  And if you are a parent, you really don't want to see your kids mess up.  But it goes further than that because God is a perfect God and He cannot tolerate sin.  That's why we have Jesus, again, but we cannot use grace as a crutch.  (I know, buckle up them steel toed shoes.  I have to live this too ya know!)  

Here's where I really want to sit for a while though.  Let's look at verses 17 through 20:

"learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.  'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord.  'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.  If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (NIV)

Whew!!!  There is a lot in there.  I'm going to pick through it and break it down so we can digest it more thoroughly.  Let's do a little vocabulary lesson:

• "Learn" - To teach, exercise in, trained in
• "Right" - to be well, to be good, be pleasing, glad, joyful, do thoroughly, to make a thing good or right or beautiful.
• "Seek" - to resort to, seek with care, inquire, require, to consult, to frequent (like a place), investigate, to practice, study, follow
• "Willing" - consent, yield to, accept, to desire
• "Obedient" - to hear, listen to, obey, understand, give heed, to be regarded, agree

Let's walk through it with the definitions...Just verses 17a and 19...

Be trained in how to thoroughly do things well and pleasing.  Inquire and be frequent to find justice and rebuke the oppressor (often this is a footnote in Bibles)......If you consent and desire it to be so AND if you are in agreement to listen and obey, you will enjoy the prosperity of the earth....

I don't know about you, but when I hear "prosperity" in place of "good" that just makes my natural man happy.  BUT, this goes further than that.  It is very similar to Matthew 6:33 which says: 

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (NIV).

All these things refers to the above verses about basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, etc.  God already knows that we need them.  What He knows we need most is a relationship with Him.  A tight-knit bond that can't be broken.  Some people had a great relationship with their father, and I know others don't.  But let me tell you...there's no divorce in our relationship with our God.  There's no abuse or neglect.  There's nothing that can strain our relationship with Him except our ignorance of Him.  Even the sin issue is resolved by grace (though as we talked about, we shouldn't keep sinning just because grace exists).  We have to seek Him!  Just as we should seek to do good and seek His kingdom, we MUST seek Him.  

One last Scripture...no worries, I'm wrapping it up.  

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6, NIV)

The Greek word used here for "seek" is (in English phonetics) ekzeteo.  This means: to search for God, to investigate God, to scrutinize (def: to examine or inspect closely and thoroughly), to BEG for God, to CRAVE God.

I don't know if you have a relationship with God.  I don't know if you even care about God right now.  I don't know if you're like those in Isaiah's day that kept bringing the sacrificial lamb, but forgot the repentance/life change.  But, what I do know is that God rewards those who SEEK Him.  I do know that sometimes, we're at a point in our life when we really have to take a step in towards God to see if He is all that He says He is.  We come to that point where we need to investigate God, because of past hurts or even current pain.  I know I did.  But maybe you're at that point where you are begging for God and you crave God more than anything else.  You want His presence to come down but you're not sure what it's going to take.  To be honest, it is going to take death on your part.  You're going to have to kill your flesh (in a spiritual sense) and make it obey.  You're going to have to sacrifice that sin that you've held onto for so long and TURN 180-degrees away from it.  I can tell you from experience that you won't regret it...you'll feel it, and you may lose yourself over it, but the less of you, the more there can be of God.  God is a perfect God.  He loves you.  But He can always see the potential you have far grander than what you can even dream!  

Search for Him.

Beg for Him.

Crave Him.

SEEK Him!  

 

Got a Problem?

Let's face it.  No one likes to talk about being broken.  And especially not when it comes to our heart, mind, will, etc.  BUT so often, that is the exact place God is calling us.

Two Tuesdays ago (let's see, February 5, 2013), God broke me.  Now, I assure you...He is a gentleman.  He will not take what we do not give Him.  However, a young woman who helped lead the youth in a small-town church in Missouri taught me the very basic notion of brokenness.  She constantly was asking the Lord to break her and mold her.  I asked her about it several times and I got a variety of answers from John 3:30 which essentially says, "More of Him, less of me," and when I'm broken, I'm drawn close to Him.  I've never seen so much reverence in my life except for what she exhibited to me at a young age.  But, I was told that we must ask for it.  It sounds silly to be asking God to break you, but it does more than just draw you close. It defeats pride, something I think everyone struggles with from time to time.  It causes you to recognize who is God and that you are not God.  It causes dependence on God.  It instills "fear" of God.  (I'll talk about that later...but think more of reverence instead of judgmental fear.)  It shows you what you're not, aka where you're lacking.  It tests and tries your faith.  And most of all...it allows you to be molded into what GOD desires you to be for Him.  A vessel filled with living water!

So, back to my breaking experience...As I went into prayer meeting, I was sure that it was going to be a night to remember.  This was the first night we were starting our intercessory prayer ministry and the team was meeting to pray for salvation and healing to come for specific persons and for the church and its move and even global movement of Christ's kingdom.  As soon as God's presence began to infiltrate the church, I had to leave.  It was an awful thing really since I love Jesus and His presence.  But I had come to the point where I had acknowledged sin in my life and I really didn't want to deal with it.  The truth of the Scriptures were coming to light and me, with my sin, could not stand in the presence of God.  (See Ps 101:7)  So, I went out to the atrium area.  About a week earlier, I prayed for God to break me.  I was at a point where I wanted to move closer to God but I didn't know how, so I asked Him to show me and break me.  Be careful what you pray for, because you may actually get it!

Anyway, in the atrium, I sat on the floor.  I wept.  I was so distressed that I could not be in the sanctuary.  Growing up in church, I was there constantly...So, to be sitting outside while a powerful prayer meeting was going on was not only new but heart-breaking that my sin was so great that I couldn't be in the Presence of God.  As I prayed, I began to repent and to confess my wrongdoing.  I began to confess not only to God but also to myself the severity of my sin and that I was nothing in comparison to my God!  At one point in time, I remember saying over and over "I am nothing" through the tears.  This was not an easy operation ladies and gents.  The stronger the nut, the more pressure it takes to break it.  I was strong-willed and stubborn.  And it took a great deal of pressure to break me.  My heart felt like it weighed 100lbs!  Once it came to climax, I felt the Lord telling me to crawl into His presence.  I wept even more at that point in time!  There's that breaking of pride.  What Lord, I can't walk to the altar?!  But, I began.  He said He would meet me when I was broken.  I didn't get very far.  It was like one heavy crawl after another heavy crawl.  One of our elders came back with a Word for me.  God spoke through her saying, "It doesn't feel like it right now, but I'm giving you the answer you've been praying for.  I'm tearing you down so I can build."  Ever so vividly, I saw a withered tree being uprooted completely.  The soil was tilled and made healthy and a seed was planted.  Once that seed was planted, the heaviness left and it was replaced with peace.  I've never felt so light in my life.  I did make it to the altar after God met me.  But all I could do was praise Him.  Praise Him.  Praise Him.

I'm not saying these last two weeks have been easy.  I'm saying I'm in a better place with God because of repentance and brokenness.  I can go deeper with Him because of overcoming a prevalent sin in my life.  I can go deeper with Him because I know He is God in such a real way.  I have a sense of what He sees because I don't have the sin blocking the eyes of my heart.

Brokenness isn't something we like to talk about.  It's almost as bad as talking about death.  Yet, Jesus calls us to die daily.

Got a problem?  Repent...Confess it to an all-loving God!  Because God can't come near to us when we're in sin.  And when you turn from your way, God will draw near...

God doesn't seem near?  Examine your life to see if there be some way in you that doesn't line up with God's Word.

Want to go all out?  Die to yourself.  Ask for brokenness to come.  And relish in the Presence of God.

Yada, Yada, Yada

Isaiah 1:2-3 (KJV)

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."  

Most of Isaiah talks about the depravity of the human nature.  Unfortunately, the moment we decided that we wanted to be like God (See Gen 3), we fell far from the standard God holds.  Before, in the garden of Eden, we walked and talked with God and had an intimate relationship with Him.  Now, most of us strive to give even 15 minutes of time to God and fail miserably.  

Yesterday, I talked about how God created us...Today, I'm talking about "yada" and rebellion.  I hope you have your steel-toed shoes on.  As verse 2 of this passage says, God has "nourished and brought up children."  

Nourished - to grow, become great or important, promote, do great things, to rear...bring up.  

God has caused us to grow...Think deeper than just when a child grows taller.  Think of ALL the things a child begins to learn...how to eat, walk, talk.  They learn manners and then the schooling starts.  They learn how to share and be kind...The learn letters and numbers, how to read...it just progresses until soon, they learn respect and calculus...

BUT, we have rebelled.

Rebelled - to transgress, revolt

WOAH, so now we've not only "sinned" but we've revolted against God.  The God who taught us everything we know and who has taken care of us day by day...and we have not only turned our backs and done a few bad things, or really bad things, but now we are taking away His authority and trying to keep it for ourselves.  We aren't becoming "like God" we're attempting to become God ourselves by revolting/rebelling.  Whew!  

But let's get to yada...Yada is the Hebrew word (well, yada is the phonetic spelling...) for "knoweth."  This is so deep...So here is what knoweth means....

Knoweth - to perceive, see, find out and discern, to discriminate, distinguish, to know BY EXPERIENCE, to be acquainted with, revealed, instructed.

Yada, yada, yada...We should be pursuing this like none other...We are to know our God.  John 10:27 says, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (NIV)  This is the same kind of know.  But we must have the desire to want to know God.  We've got to stop revolting and the rebellious fight, and come back to the God who knows us.  He wants to know us...But do we want to know Him?  Do we know Him by experience?  Have we discriminated His voice from the voices of this world or the devil?  Have we had revelation of who He is?  Have we taken His instruction?    

In calculus, there are such things as "imaginary numbers."  I've never had a knack for these things.  Mostly because math should be, in my opinion, cut and dry.  There should never be more than one answer to a problem, and no guessing allowed.  But with imaginary numbers are taken by faith.  How often are we to take God and His faithful Word by faith, yet we rebel and start taking back control?  How often have we read the Word that tells us not to be anxious but to praise Him (Phil 4:6) and yet we get worried and start to do things our way?  

Yet, if we really KNOW (as in YADA) Him, we would be so acquainted with Him that we will know He has done it before and will continue to do it well.  He has our back...He has caused us to grow spiritually...not just in the natural.  He has taught us how to become great and how to know Him, even from the first days in the garden.  But we have to be willing to take the step because we're the ones who took the step away from Him.  

I don't know where you're at today in your spiritual life.  But as we go on, we'll learn that there's a lot more hope to this than anything else.  Jesus says, "It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick." (Matt 9: 12)  Well, our doctor has come and He is healing...not just physical bodies, but spiritual souls.  I don't know if you know Him as in Yada...or if you're still revolting and trying to do things your way, but I'm telling ya...I've been there.  I've seen what revolting can do and it doesn't have peace or joy.  There's no true happiness in it.  So come back.  Start at the beginning and begin to really KNOW Him. Don't just know ABOUT Him.  But really KNOW Him.  Who He promises to be (Heb 13:8) and Who He is today.  Let Him be a part of your life, not apart from your life.  Let's get some "YADA, YADA, YADA" flowing!!!

Rich with Creation

I know I haven't posted on here in a VERY long time.  But, I believe it is time to start writing my journey in devotions again.  I don't care if anyone really reads these, this is more for my benefit than anyone else's though I hope you are blessed by hearing my take-away from the Scriptures so much that it inspires your own Spirit within you to grow closer to Christ.

Genesis 1

The beginning.  I'm sure you've seen a million devotions about this chapter.  But, if you get down to the actual Hebrew, most words aren't even in the Hebrew.  I studied this chapter in great detail when I went through my Hebrew classes but when you add in faith, it makes it so rich.

First, we have to consider the word "created."  We see creation with such 21st century eyes...Most of us only consider artists to be creators.  Or we even think about those that make "apps" for our smart phones.  But, we don't see past that.  When we think about how God created us, think about this definition stemming from the Hebrew...

     Created - to shape, to form, to fashion, (in the way only God can), of new conditions or circumstances, of something new, of MIRACLES, to cut down, to cut out, to be fat.

Yes, that last one is part of the definition.  But, I want you to pick out the one that means the most to you.  What would your life be like even just to grasp that God created your body just the way it is?  But, He also created the life within you...

Life - soul, self, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, activity of the will, activity of the character, activity of desire, emotion, and passion.

The life within you is where your drive is...but if it's not focused on God who created you of something new, then we can get sucked into what the world says our passion and success should be.  Not only that, in verse 28, it talks about the Lord blessing His creation, aka US!

Blessed, to bless, to kneel, to be adored.

If you've ever taken such delight in something you've created or worked hard on, think about that time and how you felt.  You probably treasured that item or experience.  You poured yourself into it and now it's time to enjoy it.  God adores us more than you will ever know.  He takes such delight in us, not only in the way we look, but also the soul within us...although, we've fallen away.  He still wants that relationship with us as our Creator.  God has entrusted us with the creation of everything else (all the animals and trees), but He still takes ownership over us.  He doesn't force us to love Him, as He is a gentleman.  He won't take what we won't give Him...but He desires it.  He adores us...He blesses us with His adoration and love.

In verse 28, the word "Fruitful" is used.  Fruitful means to bear fruit, branch off.  We can't be fruitful unless we make our home in Him. (See John 15.)  When we truly see how God sees us, we can't help but to learn more.

I encourage you, plead for you, to make yourself available to God.  He wants to give you the experience of a lifetime and such abundance that the world will not understand.  God is the God of the impossible.  Expect Him to do things you can't even imagine because He isn't of this world...and neither are we, for we belong to Him.  He answers your prayers. He has heard your cry.  And He will move when you let Him.  But know that He is God and we are His.  He takes delight in us and wants that relationship with us because He created us in resemblance to Him.

Today, remember to whom you belong!  God is a God of light, life, and love.  Go on this journey.  Don't look back...just keep going, one step at a time.  You won't regret it!  Let this be your passion and will!