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| In the cabin garden - near Mt. Celo Church |
My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings
Take Heed, Be Quiet, Do Not Fear or be Fainthearted - Isaiah 7 and 8 - The prophet Isaiah has been sent to Ahaz, King of Judah. Judah is being attacked by Israel and Syria, but the enemies are unable to prevail. The LORD sends Isaiah and his son to tell the king, "Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted...because of the plotting of evil..the fierce anger of these enemies to take control of Judah for themselves. God assures Ahaz that Israel (Ephraim) will be destroyed, will no longer be a people within 65 years. "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established." Then the LORD tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. The king refuses, saying he will not test God. Isaiah rebukes the king for wearying God and says, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." Isaiah then prophesies the destruction of both Ephraim (Israel) and Syria who Ahaz now dreads as well as the future destruction of Judah by Assyria because they have refused "the water of Shiloah that flows softly, and rejoice in Rezin (Syria) and in Remaliah's son (Israel). Isaiah was warned by God to "not walk in the way of this people...to not be afraid of their threats...nor be troubled...to hallow the Lord...let Him be your fear...let Him be your dread...He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel...Bind up the testimony...seal the law among my disciples...I will wait on the LORD...who hides his face from the house of Jacob...and I will wait on Him...Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion...To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
My Lessons and Applications - What are we to do as believers when all we have been called to seems to crumble around us? What are the faithful to do when the foundations are destroyed (Psalm 11:3)? Go on being faithful. Like Isaiah, we are to move away from the counsel of men, "of mediums and of wizards." We are to go to God, to the law, to the testimony. We are to fear God not men. God is to be our sanctuary. This is not to mean that we won't face severe trials - even the loss of everything earthly, possibly our lives. By tradition, Isaiah was martyred by being "sawn in two" (Heb 11:37) during the reign of Manasseh. But this was the earthly mission of the prophet who gave the LORD's sign to Judah - the coming of Messiah Jesus. They did not believe, and Judah followed the same path of destruction as Israel. Only a remnant remained. Am I gaining this understanding of the necessity of sharing in the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor. 1:5, 1 Peter 4:13, Romans 8:17, Phil. 3:10) as did the apostles and the prophets who prophesied His coming? Am I "binding up", "sealing" the Word of God in my heart as I wait for Him, hope in Him, (Is. 8:16-17) remembering that this is all part of the Plan of Salvation of our Sovereign God?
Watch, Stand Fast in the Faith, Be Brave, Be Strong, Do all with Love - 1 Corinthians 16 - The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth discussing "collections for saints...laying something aside...storing up as one may prosper", that he hopes to come and spend the winter with them if the Lord permits, but that he tarries now in Ephesus..."because...a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." He urges them to accept Timothy, to not cause the young man to be afraid or to be despised, because he does the work of the Lord just as Paul does, and to send Timothy to him in peace. Then he admonished the Corinthians, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. He ends this letter, "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, Come! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen."
My Lessons and Applications - Notice the OT and NT admonitions - centuries apart and yet still the same: Watch (Take heed); Be Brave, Be Strong (Do not Fear) Stand Fast in the Faith (Do not be Fainthearted.) Be Quiet (OT), Do all with Love (NT) - Paul would also face a martyr's death - by beheading according to tradition - during Nero's reign of terror. With all his beatings, imprisonments and other trails (2 Cor. 11:16-23), Paul was ready and willing to die to fulfill his calling in Christ. He wanted to stay in Ephesus because he saw an open door for preaching the gospel - in spite of the many adversaries there. Am I at this point in my calling - willing to lose all, to forsake all for Christ? Am I willing to walk into that door of opportunity to share the gospel, even though many adversaries will be there? Am I watching, standing fast in the faith, being brave and strong and letting all that I do be done with love?
His Birth and Our New Birth (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest) "Behold, a virgin shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Isaiah 7:14
His Birth in History: Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not evolve out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being, He is a Being Who cannot be accounted for by the human race at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate, God coming into human flesh, coming into it from outside. His life is the Highest and the Holiest entering in at the Lowliest door. Our Lord's birth was an advent.
His Birth in Me: Just as Our Lord came into human history from outside, so He must come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God unless I am born from above by a birth totally unlike natural birth. "Ye must be born again." This is not a command, it is a foundation fact. The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. Immediately Christ is formed in me, His nature begins to work through me.
God manifest in the flesh - that is what is made profoundly possible for you and me by the Redemption.
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