“If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.”
In America, we have had a lot of freedoms and provisions
that people in other countries don’t have. Our grocery stores are usually
filled with food and supplies, although during this time of the virus, there
have been some short supplies of some things.
Not everyone in America is wealthy, but even our poor in
America might be considered rich by some people in some other nations where
they have little. So, certainly we have been blessed with much in America in
the way of freedoms and possessions and provisions.
But having all these freedoms, possessions and provisions
does not always mean the people of this nation are grateful to God or that they
honor God with their lives in gratitude for all the Lord has allowed for us to
possess. Even many professing Christians do not honor God with their lives.
So, sometimes having much in the way of this world and
worldly goods can be a detriment to people living godly and holy lives. Thus,
they don’t learn righteousness, and they don’t walk in the ways of the Lord,
and even many believe they don’t have to even though they profess faith in
Jesus.
Isaiah 26:11 ESV
“O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.”
Even though America and the rest of the world are undergoing
some difficult times right now, which I do believe to be the hand of God being
lifted up in judgment, still even many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ,
but who are living far from him, do not recognize this as the hand of God.
Jesus is cleansing his temple in his zeal for the Father and
for his house, but they don’t recognize it as such, and so their focus is in
getting their lives back to “normal” rather than in responding to the hand of
God in repentance, obedience, and in submission to Christ as Lord of their
lives.
So, this (Is 26:11) is a prayer to God that the people would
see the Lord’s zeal for His house, his church, the body of Christ, and that
they would be ashamed of their idolatry and their godlessness. It is a prayer that
the people would recognize the judgment as having come from God.
But this isn’t just a prayer that the world would see the
hand of God and respond in repentance, but it is a prayer that those who
profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are living far from him would respond in
repentance, obedient faith, and in submission to Christ as Lord of their lives.
Isaiah 26:12-15 ESV
“O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,
for you have indeed done for us all our works.
O Lord our God,
other lords besides you have ruled over us,
but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.
But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
you have enlarged all the borders of the land.”
When we are born into this world we are born with sin
natures, separate from God, and we come up short of attaining God’s divine
approval. And not one of us can, in our own flesh, ever be approved of God no
matter how many good things we may do in this life (Rom 3:23; Eph 2:8-9).
It is only by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus
Christ, that any of us can be approved by God, be saved from our sins, and have
eternal life with God. But we need to understand that God-given faith in Jesus
submits to him as Lord, repents of sin, and walks in obedience to his commands
(Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).
The whole purpose of our salvation from sin is not just so
we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. The purpose of our salvation
from sin is to deliver us from our slavery to sin (those other lords that ruled
over us) and to wipe out all memory of them.
We are to no longer be under bondage to slavery to sin, but
we are now to be slaves of God and of his righteousness. Sin should no longer
have dominion over us, but Jesus is to be our only Lord (master). Now we are to
live our lives for the glory of God and no longer for the flesh of man.
A
Believer’s Prayer
An
Original Work / July 31, 2012
With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You, and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.
Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.
Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.
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