Earth Staggers, Sways, Falls

Reading:  Isaiah 24
My Verse:  "The earth staggers like a drunken man;
                         it sways like a hut;
                    its transgression lies heavy upon it,
                         and it falls, and will not rise again.

                    On that day the LORD will punish
                         the host of heaven, in heaven,
                         and the kings of the earth, on the earth" (Isaiah 24:20,21).

This passage should bring us up short!  We should be at full attention!  Your Word, LORD God is truth and it stands forever!  What You say will come to pass.  All will pay for their transgressions.  That day is coming when all will stagger, sway and fall before You!

The language here is clear.

     "the LORD will empty the earth, and make it desolate,
        and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants"

     "the earth will be utterly empty and utterly plundered"

     "the earth mourns and withers
        the world languishes and withers
       
     " the earth lies defiled"

No one will escape this.

     "And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
           as with he slave, so with his master;
           as with the maid, so with her 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 24:2).

All this will happen because . . .

     "they have transgressed the laws,
                       violated the statutes,
                       broken the everlasting covenant" (Isaiah 24:5).

The only way to escape this judgement is to believe on You, LORD God.  To accept the gift of salvation made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  (John 3:16)

We do not need to "stagger, sway and fall."
Instead we can rejoice on that day when You come!

Ditat Deus- God Enriches!

Who Has Purposed This?

Reading Isaiah 22 - 23
My Verse:  "Who has purposed this
                       against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
                    Whose merchants were princes,
                       whose traders were the honored of the earth?

                    The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
                       to defile the pompous pride of all glory,
                       to dishonor all the honored of the earth" (Isaiah 23:8,9).

This is an incredible passage!  Especially in light of what follows in verse 17.

"At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself (resume her commerce) with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.  Her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD."

This is history!  The Amplified Bible includes this footnote for this passage.

"This whole prophecy (Isa. 23:14-18) was literally fulfilled in following centuries.  Tyre was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 572 B.C. and lay desolate for seventy years.  The new city built on the island was taken by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. . . Eventually the true religion prevailed at Tyre.  Jesus visited there ( Matt. 15:21) and so did Paul (Acts 21:3-6.  Eusebius (Hist. 10:4) says that "when the church of God was founded in Tyre . . . much of its wealth was consecrated to God. . . and was presented for the support of the ministry."  Jerome, also writing in the fourth century A.D. says that the wealth of the churches of Tyre "was not treasured up or hidden but was given to those who dwelt before the LORD."

LORD God, You are God of the universe!  Yes, You have given man free will and we do make decisions of our own - sadly more often than not in disobedience to You - but, what you purpose is what matters in the end.  For that is what will come to be.

All our plans - if they are formed excluding You - will come to naught!

"For He spoke, and it was done;
 He commanded, and it stood fast.

The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plan of His heart from generation to generation . . ." (Psalm 33:9-11).

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
     but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand"  (Proverbs 19:21).

Thank You, LORD God for this lesson of Your sovereignty and majesty!  I need not fret so about world affairs because in the end it is what You purpose that will come to be!  The pompous, evil and prideful will answer to You.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Fleeing From War

Reading:  Isaiah 18-21
My Verse:  "For they have fled from the swords,
                      from the drawn sword,
                    from the bent bow,
                       and from the press of battle" (Isaiah 21:15).

Isaiah wrote these words around 700 B.C., over 2700 years ago!  And yet this very thing is happening today.  War still is so very much a part of our lives - it is constantly in the news.  The mass exodus of people fleeing across the Mediterranean are fleeing from their war-torn countries.  They are fleeing "from the press of battle."

This is not what You, LORD God meant for us when You created us and this beautiful planet. You created us to bring glory to You! (Psalm 100:2-3)  You created us to be in relationship with You and with others.  But this is where we have fallen so far.  We are basically relationship breakers!

First, relationship was broken with You by Adam and Eve through disobedience.  From then on relationships are continually being broken:  friend with friend, husband and wife, families, churches, communities, countries . . . to the incredible mess we have in our world today.

Some of the saddest words in the Bible are in  Genesis 6:6

     "And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart."

You, LORD God wanted to simply blot man out of existence!

     "I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind, whom I have created from the face of the ground - not only man, but the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of air - for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them" (Genesis 6:7).

How incredible and yet because of one man, Noah, you stayed Your hand, You relented.

And here we are today, it seems even worse than in Noah's day.  I look at all the pain and suffering caused by man's disobedience.  I wonder how much longer can this continue?  How much stress and anguish can man endure?  How much longer will You LORD God wait?

And yet, LORD God, You are good.  (Psalm 136:1)
                                    You are love.  (I John 4:8)
                                    You are truth.  (Psalm 33:4)
                                    You are order.  (I Corinthians 14:33)
                                    You are just.  (2 Thessalonians 1:16)
                                    You are holy.  (I Peter 1:16)

You tell us in Revelation 21:4.
 
     "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

This is hard to comprehend and yet Your Word is truth and all that You say in it will come to pass.  And because you are good, love, truth, orderly, just and holy - You will not tolerate the madness on this earth much longer.  You will liberate us from the chaos of disobedience to You.

Only You can liberate us from the perils of war.  We need to flee to You, for it is only in You that we can find salvation! (Matthew 18:11)

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

So Shall It Be!

Reading:  Isaiah 14 -17
My Verse:  "The LORD of hosts has sworn:
                      "As I have planned,
                         so shall it be,
                    and as I have purposed,
                         so shall it stand"  (Isaiah 14:24).


 This is such an amazing section of scripture!  Here Isaiah foretells the devastating destruction of nations and cities -
   
     Babylon:  "I will rise up against them,' declares the LORD of hosts, "and will cut off from Babylon name and "remnant," "descendants and posterity," declares the LORD.  And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 12:21,22).

     Assyria:  "that I will break the Assyrian in my land,
                         and on my mountains trample him underfoot" (Isaiah 14:25)

     Philistia:  "Wail, O gate; cry out, O city;
                        melt in fear, O Philistine, all of you!
                      For smoke comes out of the north,
                        and there is no straggler in his ranks." (Isaiah 14:29).

     Moab:  "An oracle concerning Moab.
                  Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
                      Moab is undone. . . "  (Isaiah 15:1

     Damascus:  "Behold Damascus will cease to be a city
                              and will become a heap of ruins" (Isaiah 17:1)

Isaiah did not rejoice in these predictions.  Instead he wept.

"Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab. . ." Isaiah 17:11).

  What You say LORD God stands.  Isaiah had no doubt that these things would happen and he wept for the people.  You, LORD God will not be mocked.  The things happening in our nation show a continual denial of You, it seems we are following in the path of these doomed nations.  Yes, there are many wonderful things happening - supposedly advancements in our lives.  And yet if we forget from whence it all comes, we will pay!  For You destroyed those nations because they forgot You!                      
                   
"For you have forgotten the God of your salvation 
     and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
     and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
though you make them grow on the day that you plant them.
     and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away
     in a day of grief and incurable pain" (Isaiah 17:10,11).

Help me to be faithful in prayer for our nation, for our leaders.  For it is only You, LORD God in which all that exists is held together! (Colossians 1:17)

Your Word is Truth and what You, LORD God say shall stand!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

The Time of Reckoning Will Come . . .

Reading:  Isaiah 12,13
My Verse:  "I will punish the world for its evil,
                        and the wicked for their iniquity;
                    I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
                        and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless" (Isaiah 13:11)

Oh, LORD God, how I need to keep this thought before me!  All of earth lives in "time" - we cannot escape it.  Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time for everything. Too many live their lives as if there will always be a tomorrow - putting off decisions that need to be dealt with today!  I love this quote from CS Lewis.  "The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."  You, LORD God control time - man can do nothing to change that.  You, LORD God will deal with the evil done in this world in Your time.  All will answer to You - that is a fact. (Romans 14:12)  That is inevitable!  A time of reckoning will come!

Just listened to this wonderful sermon by Ravi Zacharias titled "Let My People Think: Recapture the Wonder."  Not only is he amazing to listen to but he challenges me to think - truly think! Of what it means to belong to You LORD God!  Of what it means to be human.

He tells this tragic story of a woman whose husband was a very successful physician, totally dedicated to his work, very wealthy, with wife and children and the gratitude and adoration of all those around him - yet one night he took his own life.  She is left to wonder why?  Ravi went on to say. . .

"despair is not just a moment but it is a way of life . . .
     it is true often of the most wealthy."

He states the reason for despair is the loss of our belief in the transcendent, our loss of the ability to be awed by wonder.

"We've lost our belief in the transcendent because we have lost our gratitude.  
   You lose your sense of wonder, You lose your sense of gratitude"

I looked out my window as I was listening to this and there the beautiful brilliant red roses were pressed up against the window!  I found myself smiling and thanking You, LORD God for the beauty and wonder of a red rose.  Thank You for giving me that moment!

Yes, a time of reckoning is coming . . .
   
     "its time is close at hand
          and its days will not be prolonged." (Isaiah 13:22b)

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!