“Ho! Every one who
thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no
money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and
milk
Without money and
without cost.
“Why do you spend
money for what is not bread,
And your wages for
what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to
Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself
in abundance.
“Incline your ear and
come to Me.
Listen, that you may
live.
And I will make an
everlasting covenant with you,
According to the
faithful mercies shown to David.”
(Isaiah 55:1-3 NASB)
We all thirst for something, don’t we? I mean we are all
born with this God-void inside of us because we are born with sin natures, and
so we have this need within us, which we might not even be able to describe,
which only God can fill. And, so, as those with sin natures, we try to fill
that void, only we, in our sin, try to fill it with all the wrong things, which
will never satisfy.
Thus, in our sin natures, we end up craving this or that,
always trying to fill that void with entertainment, human relationships,
sports, careers, hobbies, possessions and sinful habits, and the like. But,
although these things can bring gratification to our flesh, and they can
certainly kill time and take up space, they can never fill that God-void which
is deep down inside of us.
So, the counsel here is for us to come to God, to Jesus
Christ, our Lord, who is the ONLY ONE who can fill that void and bring peace,
comfort and joy to our hearts. And, we can’t buy him with money. We can’t do
anything in our flesh to gain his divine approval. And, we can never earn or
deserve his grace and our own salvation from sin. God’s grace to us is a FREE
gift, so that is why we can “buy” (accept) it even if we have no money at all.
“Seek the Lord while
He may be found;
Call upon Him while He
is near.
Let the wicked forsake
his way
And the unrighteous
man his thoughts;
And let him return to
the Lord,
And He will have
compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly
pardon.”
(Isaiah 55:6-7 NASB)
But, FREE does not mean God requires nothing of us, even
though a lot of folk will try to convince you of that. And, that is because
they don’t understand what the “free gift” really is. They think God’s grace is
like waving a magic wand over us and “poof,” everything is good now, and we can
just go on with our lives, assured that one day, when this life on earth is
over, we will get to go to heaven and be with God because Jesus paid the
penalty for our sin.
Well, they have it half right, but they leave out the other
half. They leave out the half where Jesus/God says that we have to forsake our
wicked ways, including our unrighteous (immoral or impure) thoughts. And, then
we need to turn to the Lord and seek him and call upon him, but not just when
we are in trouble or when we have a need we want him to meet. For, he is not a
genie in a bottle, although many people make him out to be just that.
If we want to be saved of our sins and have eternal life
with God, and experience God’s compassion and forgiveness, we have to first of
all die with Christ to sin and then live with him to righteousness. For, it is
not those who merely confess Jesus Christ as Lord who are saved, but it is
those who walk (conduct their lives) according to God’s Spirit and no longer
according to the flesh who have that hope of eternal life with God (See: Lu.
9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-1-7; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).
For, the “free gift” is not just forgiveness of sins and the
hope of heaven when we die. The “free gift” is death to sin and living to righteousness
because Jesus died on that cross to sin and he was resurrected from the dead to
the honor and glory of God the Father in victory over our sin. And, the “free
gift” is deliverance from the control of sin over our lives and the power of
God in our lives to live godly, holy and upright lives until Jesus returns.
“For My thoughts are
not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My
ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher
than your ways
And My thoughts than
your thoughts.
“For as the rain and
the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return
there without watering the earth
And making it bear and
sprout,
And furnishing seed to
the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be
which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to
Me empty,
Without accomplishing
what I desire,
And without succeeding
in the matter for which I sent it.
“For you will go out
with joy
And be led forth with
peace;
The mountains and the
hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of
the field will clap their hands.
“Instead of the thorn
bush the cypress will come up,
And instead of the
nettle the myrtle will come up,
And it will be a
memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting
sign which will not be cut off.”
(Isaiah 55:8-13 NASB)
For, we don’t think like God does, not in our human flesh.
God is not made in our image, but we are to become like him in all ways. Our salvation
is not just for us, but it is that we might give glory to God by our lives. It
is for the praise of God that he provided salvation from sins. And, it is for
his honor that he delivered us from slavery to sin so that we might walk with
him in purity, in holiness, in righteousness and in integrity, honesty and
faithfulness.
We can’t base our salvation on human logic and reasoning or
on the teachings of those who want to coddle us in our sins, probably because
they want to be coddled in their sins, too. God’s Word is true, and everything he
said he would do will be accomplished, which can be a wonderful promise or it
can be a severe warning, depending upon whether or not we believe what his Word
teaches us which is evidenced by how we live our lives.
For those who have believed God’s Word (the whole counsel of
God), and who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ, and who have died with him
to sin and are living with him to righteousness, we have that wonderful promise
that we have been delivered from our sins and that one day we will get to be
with our Lord forever in heaven (in glory).
But, for those who have chosen to believe the lies of Satan,
which are propagated by human pastors and teachers and counselors, who are
teaching that we can love God and sin, too, and still have our eternal life
secured, then be warned that those lies are a false hope. God’s Word is clear
that if we walk after the flesh or if we keep on practicing sin and we don’t
walk according to the Spirit, that we will die in our sins, not live with
Christ for eternity. So, don’t believe the lies. Believe God!
Believe
Him
An Original Work / July 15, 2013
My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me
Seeking You for the answers
To my heartache and questions
I have concerning my life?
Speak, Lord, to me right now.
“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me
With your life’s circumstances?
Give your all on the altar
In submission of your will
To My purpose for you.
“Surrender your life completely
To your Lord and your Savior.
He has all things planned for you
For His glory and honor.
He’ll work all things for good.
“Believe Him. He will fulfill all
Of His promises to you
For your life and your future.
Trust Him. Rest in His love.
He’ll give you peace from above.”
Friday, October 5, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus, that Your Word
will not return empty, but it will accomplish the purpose for which you sent
it. Amen!
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