Delighted and Determined

January 11, 2016January 9, 2016 Mary

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. – Isaiah 62:1-5 ESV

Isaiah 62:1-5 is a beautiful promise of hope and celebration. I love the idea of renewal fresh from God in, “you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give” (v. 2). I love the focus on belonging in, “your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her.” (v. 4). I love the imagery of happiness and joyful relationships in, “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (v. 5).

There are so many beautiful promises in this passage, but those aren’t what jumped out to me at first. The first sentence is, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.” The emotion behind this is determination. God, through Isaiah, is telling us how determined He is to bring His righteousness to life through us. He doesn’t sit with His fingers crossed and hope that we figure it out. He isn’t silently waiting for us to remember or think things through. He is determined to bring bright shining salvation to His children, and He will be as loud as He need to be to do it.

As we learn about His salvation, grace, love and hope, we will then be able to the promised blessings in our life and our culture. Once we accept that Jesus is the hope for eternal life, we will be given a new name, a name given by God as we are adopted into His house (Ephesians 1:5). As the world see us being righteous by His power, they will learn to see righteousness as beautiful, not constricting or cruel (John 16:8). As we learn to trust in Him and walk closely with Him, He will pour out blessings beyond what we could have imagined for ourselves, even sometime material blessings (Ephesians 3:20).

The Lord is continually calling to us and desiring us. What is the Lord speaking into your life? What promise is He giving you that you can hold onto? Remember, He will never give up on you.

God Is Truth

October 12, 2015 Mary

One of the aspects of God that brings me peace in times of debate or theological conflict is this: God is truth. God doesn’t just bring truth or want truth or teach truth; He IS truth. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “… I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” When I feel like my mind is being pulled in different directions by arguments or influencers, I can take a deep breath and say, “As I draw near to God, I draw near to the truth.”

What a relief! No more fear and insecurity about making the wrong choice. Even if I don’t get it right on the first try, as long as I keep humbly seeking the Lord’s face, I don’t have to fear. Deceivers come and, unfortunately, they aren’t going to stop coming. However, I don’t fear them and I don’t let them influence me. I trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show me that they are not working in His truth.

Psalm 43:3 says, “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and your dwelling!” By stepping in to the light and the truth, by stepping into a relationship with Jesus Christ, I’m stepping into guidance that brings me to the dwelling place of God. This, of course, isn’t an earthly place, but a heart condition (John 4:32).

Is God doing this because of who I am? No, He does this because of who He is. All people have access to His truth and all people can be lead into His presence. God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11), meaning He doesn’t play favorites. He is calling to all people, no matter your past choices, no matter your religious (or self-righteous) past. He loves you and He will lead you to see Him and know Him (John 17:3).

A Chapter of Praise and Promise

October 7, 2015 Mary

Psalm 55 is a beautiful celebration of who God is, and by extension, who we aren’t. This passage contains the famous verse, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” (v. 8). That is only one gem in a chapter of beauty.

My Favorites

1 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

God is accessible to everyone, no matter what. God is not over an empire of have’s while all the have-not’s cry at the locked door. That’s not how His kingdom works. All are able to come and eat at the feast of our Lord God. He invites everyone and provides for them because of His love and His gracious plan.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

So much in this world promises to take all your problems away. From our health to our homes to our money to our time, we are shouted at by so many that they’ve solved all the problems. It’s not true, though. There is only one thing that satisfies and one thing alone: a relationship with God the Most High God.

10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

This promise is speaking to where I am right now and some of the things that I’ve been struggling with. Sometimes I feel like I’m letting God down by not accomplishing great things. But this remind me that, one, God’s plans can’t be foiled by me or anyone else. I don’t know how it works, but God will accomplish His goals and my disobedience (although it has consequences) can’t stop it from being accomplished. Two, this passage, combined with Ephesians 2:10 that says God prepared good works for me to walk in, says to me that I have a purpose and I can be a part of God’s great plan. My job is to do what God created me to do, to be the person He created me to be, and to let the rest be in His hands.

While these three are favorites for me, the rest of this chapter is awesome. Definitely read this section and spend time praising God!

Humble David

October 2, 2015 Mary

I Chronicles 17:10b (ESV) “…I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house.”

David’s Plans Are Shot Down

David decides to build a house for the Lord after he brings the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. At first Nathan the prophet agrees with him, saying that the Lord is with David in all he does. That night, however, the Lord gives a message to Nathan saying that David is not the one to build the house.

The message reminds David that God is the one who makes the plans for his people, not David. He reminds David that it was the hand of the Lord that brought David to the place that he is now, and it will be God’s work to build the house. Of course, the house God is talking about is the line that brings forth Jesus and the eternal kingship that He has.

We can learn two things from this passage about our proper stance before the Lord, especially during a time when we’re walking in His blessing.

Stay Humble
“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away” is from Job 1:21 and it is a good thing to keep in mind. It can be so tempting to think, in some small way, that we are the ones who achieved what we see around us. God is our source and our light and our provider. Never forget He is the reason for the blessings around us, not us. In this case, David is reminded that God is the one who drew him out as a humble shepherd and made him Kind over Israel. God reminds David that the battles that were won were because of God being with him and cutting off his enemies before Him. David wasn’t the super-star; God was (17:7-8).
God is the Builder
The future to our eyes is such an unknown, so ambiguous and, if we’re being honest, very frightening. God is the author of not only our days on this earth but the days of all our children and our children’s children to the end of time. We think so small. God’s plan is massive and all-consuming and we are not the center of it. He made us for a purpose and He loves us very much. In fact, He loved each one of us so much that He sent His beloved son to die on the cross. His son dying on the cross is a part of his massive plan, and we are a part of His massive plan. It is so important that we remember that we have to play our part and try to play God’s part. He’s the boss, and that’s the best news we could ever hear (117:14).

David’s Response

After hearing this message from Nathan, David goes before the Lord to talk to Him about it. David doesn’t rant about how he had such a great architect lined up and all these brilliant ideas. Instead, he simply accepts what the Lord says and praises God for all the things He promised.

There are many points that can be pulled out from this passage, but two that are jumping out to me today are these:

According to your own heart
In verse 19 David makes a statement that shows how well he understands the Lord. “For your servant’s sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.” The part that jumps out to me is that David knew that God’s revealing His plan to David and the plan itself was for two different reasons: David and God. God isn’t just a slave to the whims and whines of His children, due to give them whatever they want. God’s gifts to us are because of who God is: “according to your own heart.” God’s heart is so loving and giving and generous; he pours out on us according to His heart. Yes, it’s for us and it’s for our good. God knows how to give us good gifts (Matthew 7:11). Seeing the gifts He gives us as just a good gift limits our understanding of Him. He is giving according the joy and goodness in Him.
Unquestioning Trust
When the Lord told David that He would build a house that lasted forever, David didn’t question or doubt the promise. He didn’t come back with demands to understand how a kingship could last forever, something that no other man-made kingship has ever done. Instead, he accepted it with grace and humility. He also didn’t give into false humility to say that he didn’t deserve it or that God shouldn’t be doing that for him. He simply and elegantly said a version of “Thanks, I appreciate it, and, by the way, You’re awesome.” David accepted both the blessing of the house and the instructions not to build the house.

In My Life

I pray that in my life I will be able to accept and trust the Lord as willingly as David. I also pray that I will be able to remember to have utter humility before the Lord, knowing that He is the true source of all that I am and all that I have. He is such a good and kind God; He is truly worthy of our praise and our trust!