Saturday, February
22, 2014, 8:06 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song “Only In Him” in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I
read Isaiah 35 (NIV).
Transformation
The
desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like
the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The
glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they
will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
When we, as individuals or even as groups of people, turn
our hearts over to Jesus Christ, either in salvation, sanctification (our daily
walks) or in revival (coming back to Christ), it is much like when nature goes
from winter to spring. I love that time of year when all that is dead (or looks
dead) comes back to life. The flowers bloom, green returns to the ground, and
to the trees, and everything comes alive again. Awesome! What a wonderful
picture of our salvation and even of those times along the road when we hit
bumps and we fall down, but we get back up, and we keep going in the power and
strength of the Spirit within us.
It is much like life and health are breathed back into us
again. And, so we rejoice in our newfound or our renewed freedom in the Spirit
of God! Amen! We are joyful for all that God has done in our lives in
delivering us from the hand of Satan and from the grip of sin, and in setting
us free to walk in his ways and in his righteousness all our days! Our countenances
will change, too, from that of ones bound by sin or by fear to ones who live in
victory.
No Fear!
Strengthen
the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say
to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your
God will come,
he
will come with vengeance;
with
divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
One of Satan’s greatest weapons against us is to try to get
us to be fearful, and to get us back under the slavery of fear. We should fear
God in a respectful and honoring way, but we should not be afraid of him if we
are truly walking in his truth and in his righteousness. Jesus delivered us
from fear, and it should no longer have dominion over us. Amen! We may feel
fear sometimes, but we don’t have to yield to its control over our lives. In
the power of the Spirit within us, we can put on the armor of God (See Eph.
6:10-20) and dispel all lies of Satan against us that would have the potential
to bring us back under the bondage of fear once again. Satan loves to get us to
be afraid, because fear cripples us, and it keeps us from being effective in
our Christian lives, and in our walks with Christ in living holy lives,
pleasing to him, and in being his effective ministers of his grace to the world
around us. Yet, when we turn our fears over to the Lord, trusting in his many
promises to us, the fears begin to dissipate, and his peace begins to fill our
hearts once more. Amen!
Bubbling Springs
Then
will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then
will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water
will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The
burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In
the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
What comes to mind immediately here is Jesus’ conversation
with the woman at the well. He told her that everyone who drinks physical water
from a well will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the living water that
Jesus gives them will never thirst. The water he gives becomes a spring of
water welling up to eternal life within us. Amen! The living water is the Spirit
of God living within those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
of their lives. It also represents the working of the Spirit in our salvation
and in the transformation of our hearts from the darkness of sin to the light
of Christ’s righteousness. Instead of having hearts and lives under the control
and weight of sin and rebellion against God, we now have gone from winter to
spring, i.e. Jesus has given us new lives in Christ Jesus, he has filled us to
overflowing with his Spirit and his love and his grace, and he has given us his
perfect peace which is there always no matter what we are going through.
The Way of Holiness
And
a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The
unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No
lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But
only the redeemed will walk there,
and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They
will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness
and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
The first thing that came to mind when I read this is how
the early church, and/or the believers’ faith in Christ, in the book of Acts,
was referred to as “the Way” (See Ac. 9:2). Also, Jesus had said that he was
the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except
through him (See Jn. 14:6). So, the highway spoken of here is Jesus Christ, and
it is the way of the Christian faith and practice.
Then, in the epistles we read about “the way of peace,” “the
way of righteousness,” “a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord,” “the
way of love,” “a way that is holy and honorable,” “a new and living way opened
for us through” (Christ’s body), “the way of truth,” and “the straight way”
(cf. Jn. 1:23; Heb. 12:13). These Biblical phrases all describe for us “the Way
of Holiness” spoken of here in Isaiah. It is the way of peace, love, truth, holiness,
righteousness and undivided devotion to the Lord; a way that is holy and
honorable; the straight way provided for us through the blood of Jesus Christ
shed for us on the cross for our sins. It is not a way that is crooked, warped,
dishonest or twisted.
We come into this way by God’s grace, through faith – a
faith which submits to and surrenders to the cross of Christ in our lives,
allowing the Spirit of God to transform our hearts away from the darkness of
sin to the light of walking in the way of his righteousness and holiness. It is
the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we agree to, commit to,
surrender to, yield to and cooperate with the Spirit’s work of transformation
in our lives. There is no other way to peace with God and to the hope of heaven
for eternity. The spiritually unclean, i.e. those who continue to walk in
darkness (sin), will not travel on this road. So, make sure today that you have
entered the way of holiness by the way of the cross, for there is no other way.
ONLY IN HIM / An
Original Work / February 19, 2014
Based off Isaiah 30
Woe to those who look
to man’s help;
Who turn away from
Jesus Christ;
Forming an alliance
not in step with God;
Making their own
plans, and praying not.
Willing not to listen
to truth,
They close their ears
to what is right.
Pleasing words are all
that they’ll hear;
Feel good messages
that bring cheer.
Trust in your Lord;
turn from your sin.
Put your faith now
ONLY IN HIM.
Do not turn to idols.
They’ll not satisfy.
Jesus will save you.
That’s why He died.
Your Lord will be
gracious to you.
He cares all about
you, ‘tis true.
He forgives you all of
your sin
When you give your
life up to Him.
Oh, how truly gracious
He’ll be
When you bow to Him on
your knees;
Turning now from your
sin; walking in his ways.
He’ll lead and guide
you all of your days.
Now you will sing
praises to Him.
He delivered you from
your sin.
You’ll tell others now
of His grace,
So they may see Christ
face-to-face.
No comments:
Post a Comment