In God We Trust?

Reading: Jeremiah 40-44

“For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster.” (Jeremiah 44:16)

It is a little ironic that “In God We Trust” is written on our national currency. It is a great profession of faith, but many instead bow down at the altar of wealth.

Jeremiah warned the people not to serve any idol and again incur the God’s jealous wrath. He implored them to put their trust in God.

But the people poured out drink offerings and worshipped the pagan deity known as the queen of heaven (see Jeremiah 7:18). They were motivated to rebel against God, believing it would result in having more money, more food, and more security.They chased wealth into idolatry.

Look at your money and ask: where do you put your trust?

Tomorrow’s Reading: Jeremiah 45-49

Today This Scripture Has Been Fulfilled

Today’s reading is Isaiah 61-65. “Today’s is a special guest post by Josh Webber.”

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”
Isaiah 61:1-2a (ESV)

There will be gladness for the poor, healing for the broken, freedom for the enslaved and release to those in chains. God promises to change His anger into favor. Then Jesus read these very words. “And Jesus rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to tell them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing'” (Luke 4:18-21, ESV). These chapters about restoration and blessings detail the coming of the Messiah. We now experience the promises they proclaim in Christ!

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 66, Jeremiah 1-4.

P.S.: Thanks, Josh, for taking up my slack today.

There is No God but Jehovah

Today’s reading is Isaiah 41-45.

“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.”
–Isaiah 45:20-21 (ESV)

Vishnu is no god. Allah is no god. Krishna is no god. Ishtar is no god. Molech is no god. Mammon is no god. Zeus is no god. I am no god. You are no god. Jehovah is God. What more needs to be said?

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 46-50.

On Eagles’ Wings

Today’s reading is Isaiah 36-40.

“Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

…

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is insearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:21-23, 27-31

What could I add to this? Praise the LORD!

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 41-45

On the Highway of Holiness

Today’s reading is Isaiah 31-35.

When John the Baptist asked if Jesus really was the one he had been waiting for, Jesus healed a host of people and then said, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them” (Luke 7:22, ESV). This hardly seems like an answer to us, why couldn’t He just say yes or no? That is, until we read passages like Isaiah 35: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad…Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees…Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy…” (Isaiah 35:1, 3, 5-6, ESV). Can there be any doubt Jesus is the one we have been waiting for? “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness” (Isaiah 35:8, ESV). The highway has been paved, we must walk on it. Where are you walking? Jesus is indeed the way, the truth, and the life. Are you walking with Him?

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 36-40.

No Free Passes in God’s Judgment

Today’s reading is Isaiah 21-25.

“Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest:
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with the mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.”
–Isaiah 24:1-2

When God brings judgment, there is no partiality. Whether slave or master, maid or mistress, buyer or seller, lender of borrower, creditor or debtor, judgment is coming, and I won’t be able to pay my way out of it. I find it fascinating that this list also says whether people or priest. The priests in Isaiah’s day were as corrupt and perhaps more so than the people. Even today, having a title or special role doesn’t pay for a free pass. This, by the way, is why we all need Jesus, because nothing and no one else will prepare us for judgment. But praise be to God that whether people or priest, slave or master, maid or mistress, buyer or seller, lender or borrower, creditor or debtor, in with Christ in us and us in Christ, deliverance through the judgment is certain. Praise the LORD!!!

Monday’s reading is Isaiah 26-30.

Filled by the God over All

Today’s reading is Isaiah 16-20.

Our Bible begins, “In the beginning God…” For us, it is old hat to speak of Jehovah as God over all, over every mountain, every valley, every rock, every tree, every creature, every person, every nation. But it took a long time for the nations to learn that the tribal God of Israel was really the only one true God over all, and some still haven’t learned. Molech didn’t get to judge Israel, Asthoreth didn’t get to judge Judah, but Jehovah did get to judge Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Assyria and Israel because He is God over all (Isaiah 16-20). He revealed Himself first to the Israelites, but He is the one God over all. That is why all the nations at that time needed to go to Israel to find God. Now, they need to come to Jesus, but the same point is true today. Jehovah is God over all whether all recognize it or not. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 21-25.

The God Filled Song

Today’s reading is Isaiah 11-15.

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2, ESV)

From eight tracks and records of years gone by to cds and mp3 players of today, from radio to video to internet music has impacted each of us. Music not only touches the heart, it also expresses the heart. The songs that catch in our hearts and minds often do so because they reveal and express what is on the inside, whether the song expresses unrequited love, a deep and meaningful relationship, displeasure with the government, going against the grain, or whatever else. And so, when Isaiah records that God is his song, that is really saying something. Certainly, the entertaining songs of the day are not necessarily unlawful. Enjoy the ones that do not rejoice in sin. But let us also ask, do we leave room for God to be our song? Or is He crowded out by the cacophony of voices belting on the airwaves? What song fills your heart today?

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 16-20.

Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts!

Today’s reading is Isaiah 6-10.

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3, ESV).

“The sinner hates nothing as much as he hates the holiness of God. It judges him and threatens him, and often drives him to atheism because he would rather believe in no God at all than in a holy God.”[1] While we are happy to serve a loving God, a gracious God, a merciful God, sometimes we forget that we serve a holy God. Read God’s Word from beginning to end and note that no other characteristic of God receives a treble declaration like His holiness. Every other aspect of His character comes from this transcendent, majestic, ontological, practical, ethical holiness. His love, His power, His knowledge, His judgment, His benevolence, His wrath, His mercy, His discipline, His grace all extend from and serve to support His holiness.  May we love our God’s holiness, magnifying it as the seraphim of Isaiah 6 did. May we never pursue modern perversions that believe some other characteristic of God undermines His holiness or paves the way for unholiness in His children. And may we be humbled that His holy grace paves the way to bring us into His holiness. Praise the Holy Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 11-15.

[1] Cottrell, Jack, What the Bible Says about God the Redeemer, Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, 1987, pp. 254-255. Quoting from Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God, Kregel, Grand Rapids, 1958, pp. 500-501.

Two Times to Give Up Idols

 

Today’s reading is Isaiah 1-5.

There are two times we can give up our idols. When we decide to or when God decides to make us. I can tell you which one will be better for all involved. Isaiah 2:6-22 makes it clear. As God dealt with Israel, He will deal with us. He is patient, prompting us to abandon that which is not god in order to follow Him with our whole heart. But a day is coming when our idols will be stripped from us no matter how hard we grasp them. Why not beat God to it, burn your idols, let God cleanse your heart now, and in that day you won’t have to flee to the caves and clefts, but rather will be able to experience the joy of the Lord.

Tomorrow’s reading is Isaiah 6-10