My Lessons and Applications from Today’s Readings
(Ellipses are mine
and are used for contemplation.)
There is No Other God
– Isaiah 45 and 46 (What It Says – Summarized) – Ten (10) times in these 2
chapters God says, “I am the LORD, and
there is no other” as He speaks of the worthlessness of idols that His
Chosen people and the nations of the earth worship. What He has created is not
in vain. The descendants of Jacob do not seek
Him in vain. “I have not spoken in secret.” His other repeated refrains: He is the God of Israel and of Judah, His
elect. He has done all for their sakes
and continues to do so for their remnant…"upholds them…has carried them from the
womb…even to their old age…I will carry
them…I will deliver them.” God speaks through Isaiah of the “raising up” of
the Gentile, non-believer, Cyrus, to be “My
shepherd…My anointed…whose hand I have upheld…before whom I will go…to subdue
nations…loose the armor of kings…open doors…make crooked places straight…break
in pieces gates of bronze…cut the bars of iron…give hidden treasures and riches
in secret places…THAT…you may know I…the LORD…the God of Israel… have named
you…called you by name…will gird you…will raise you up in righteousness…will
direct all your ways…though…you did not know Me…THAT….1) you shall build My
city….2) and let My exiles go free – not for price or reward,” says the
LORD. “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done.”
Praise Him –
Psalm 111:1-6 (What It Says – Summarized) “Praise
the LORD…with my whole heart…in the assembly of the upright…and in the
congregation….for…His works…that are
great…honorable…glorious…studied…remembered…wonderful…powerful…and are declared
to His people…in giving them the heritage of the nations. His righteousness…is
forever. The LORD is….gracious….full of
compassion.”
He is The Great God
– Proverbs 26:10 “The great God…who
formed everything…gives the fool his hire…and the transgressor his wages.”
The Response of Our
Lives: Of God / Not of God – Galatians 9 – (What It Says – Summarized) –
The Bible divides mankind into 2 basic groups:
the saved and the reprobate (Those controlled by the Spirit, and those
controlled by the flesh). Here the Apostle
Paul is delineating the outward manifestations of those inward realities. “The
fruit (gift) of the Spirit is: 1)
love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) longsuffering, 5) kindness, 6) goodness, 7)
faithfulness, 8) gentleness, 10) self-control.
The
works (deeds, practices) of the flesh
are: 1) adultery, 2) fornication, 3) uncleanness, 4) lewdness,
5) idolatry, 6) sorcery, 7) hatred, 8) contentions, 9) jealousies,
10) outbursts of wrath, 11) selfish ambitions, 12) dissensions, 13) heresies, 14) envy, 15) murders, 16) drunkenness, 17) revelries
18) and the like. “ Paul is warning
the Galatians not to be entangled in....not be a debtor to…legalism. He urges them – and us – to “stand fast…in the liberty…by which
Christ…has made us free…through faith.
FOR…in Christ Jesus…neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything…but faith…working through love.” We are called to liberty, but “we are not to use…liberty…as an opportunity
for the flesh…BUT through love…serve one another. FOR all the law is in one word, even in this,
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’ Walk in the Spirit!”
My Lessons and
Applications – The prophecy that Isaiah received through God regarding
Cyrus was nearly 150 years before the Persian king was born. How many times the Bible reminds us that
God’s Plan - that is revealed throughout the Bible and continues even now through
to the prophecies of the Revelation - has been in place “from before the
foundation of the world!” Cyrus was
predestined, prophesied to deliver the Jews from the Babylonian captivity and
to decree and enable the rebuilding of the temple…even before his birth. How does another reminder of predestination
affect my faith…my living? Do I remember
the purpose of God's Plan – that sinful man might be brought into eternal fellowship
with holy God, to glorify Him, praise Him and enjoy Him forever? Am I remembering to praise Him for Who He is,
for what He has done for me in Christ, learning to enjoy Him, to walk with Him
moment-by-moment through the leading of His Spirit within me? Is the Holy Spirit having such control over
my life that His fruit is produced in my walk?
Do I more clearly understand – from a Biblical perspective – why the
flesh and the Spirit still war within me and outwardly with those who
“practice” the works of the flesh.
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, “Seek me in vain.” Isaiah 45:19
Our text gives us
assurance God will answer prayer, because He has “not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek Me in vain.’” ...Many fearful people have been troubled by their
suspicion that there may be something in God’s decree that shuts them out from
hope, but today’s verse is a complete refutation to that troublesome fear,
because no true seeker can be condemned to His wrath…Therefore, O fearful one,
believe this sure truth: your prayer
must and will be heard; and never,
even in the secrets of eternity, has the
Lord ever said to any living soul, “Seek Me in vain.”
Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
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