The Sun Will Be No More . . .

Reading:  Isaiah 60
My Verse:  "The sun shall be no more
                          your light by day,
                     nor for brightness shall the moon
                          give you light;
                     but the LORD will by your everlasting light,
                          and your God will be your glory" (Isaiah 60:19).

This really is a glorious passage.  Isaiah is speaking of the final glorious coming of You, LORD God! He is speaking of how we(believers) shall all be brought together before You.  He speaks here of how You shall be all the light we shall ever need!  And yet, those words "the sun shall be no more . . ." are so final.  They make me anxious for the many who still deny You, as LORD.

I just read an article by a Dr. Jason Lisle titled, "How Do We Know That the Bible Is True?"  In it he builds an argument/basis for how we can know this, that the Bible is truth.  Basically it comes down to the fact that we need to  presuppose the Bible to be truth in order to have a basis to prove anything at all!

"The truth of the Bible is obvious to anyone willing to fairly investigate it.  The Bible is uniquely self-consistent and extraordinarily authentic.  It has changed the lives of millions of people who have placed their faith in Christ.  It has been confirmed countless times by archaeology and other sciences.  It possesses divine insight into the nature of the universe and has made correct predictions about distant future events with perfect accuracy.  When Christians read the Bible, they cannot help but recognize the voice of their Creator.  The Bible claims to be the Word of God, and it demonstrates this claim by making knowledge possible.  It is the standard of standards.  The proof of the Bible is that unless its truth is presupposed, we couldn't prove anything at all."

I just think that is an amazing statement.

I have also been reading Oswald Chambers devotional "My Utmost For His Highest."  In my most recent reading he speaks of our need to truly believe that Jesus is Who he says he is.  We basically shortchange ourselves because we don't fully commit, we hold back, especially when we are in dire straits or in need of something but will not ask our LORD because we don't see Him as being truly capable of meeting our every need.

"He will do it for you if you ask him.  But, you have to come to the place where you believe He is the Almighty . . ."

There is so much out there that proves You are Who You say You are LORD God!  So much in the natural world alone that proves the Bible, Your Word as absolute truth.  So when I read it, when I read statements like "the sun shall be no more . . ." I take it to heart.  To me it is truth and this will come to pass.

And so my anxiety, anxiety for loved ones.  Help me LORD God to be faithful in prayer for them.  Help me to allow You to shine through my life that it might be a witness of You and Your goodness - of Your reality and almighty power over all that is.  I want to look gloriously forward!

"Your sun shall no more go down,
     nor your moon withdraw itself;
  for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
     and your days of mourning shall be ended" (Isaiah 60:20).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Sin Blocks Communication!

Reading:  Isaiah 59
My Verse:  "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened,
                         that it cannot save,
                         or his ear dull,
                         that it cannot hear;
                    but your iniquities have made a separation
                         between you and God,
                         and your sins have hidden his face from you
                         so that he cannot hear" (Isaiah 59:1,2).

How often are we in this awful place!  This place of separation from You, LORD God.  Allowing sin in our hearts to block our ability to hear You!

I once had a job where there were two men, my boss and an advisor.  The advisor was like the liaison to the community we worked for.  These were both educated, kind men.  But, they could not see eye to eye on anything.  I would listen to them argue and be amazed.  Even though I was quite young at the time, I could clearly see that they did agree on the topic they were arguing over.  They were totally blind to the fact that they were actually saying the same thing just in a different way.

It is so easy for us to become blind to truth.  Our pride, ignorance, selfishness, stubbornness - all contribute to this.  I have often been amazed at myself - at how wrong I have thought on certain matters.  Lord God, thank you for not giving up on me, for correcting me and continuing to correct my wrong thinking.

Too easily we fall into a defeatist attitude - thinking, You, LORD God cannot solve our problems so we wallow away in them, feeling sorry for ourselves and completely forget who we are, Who You are!  Like what Oswald Chambers says on this in My Utmost For His Highest.

"The reason some of us are such poor specimens of Christianity is because we have no Almighty Christ.  We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment to Jesus Christ.  When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying--"It can't be done"; you know it can be done if you look to Jesus.  The well of your incompleteness is deep, but make the effort and look away to Him."

James MacDonald does a wonderful study called Think Differently.  His premise is that the only way to truly change is to have a Godly mindset.  We need to drastically change our way of thinking and allow God to transform us.  How we think impacts how we live out our lives.  How we think affects us in every way.

Isaiah spells it out clearly how very awful it is to allow sin to rule over us.

". . . we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
      and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

     We grope for the wall like the blind;
     we grope like those who have no eyes;
     we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
     among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

     For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
        and our sins testify against us;
        for our transgressions are with us,
        and we know our iniquities;

        transgressing and denying the LORD,
        and turning back from following our God,
        speaking oppression and revolt,
           conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words" (Isaiah 59:9-13).

It is those "lying words" that get us every time! Lying, Satan's (the father of lies) most powerful tool against us!

You, LORD God, tell us not to allow ourselves to be deceived. (Luke 21:8)
You tell us to come to You and You will relieve us of our burdens. (Matthew 11:28)
You, dear LORD God, tell us all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

Oh to get back to the wonder of You, LORD God.  To have the wonder and faith of a child in You.  Help me today to look to You to cleanse me of my sin, to heal me and free me from all that would keep me from You.

"Keep back you servant from presumptuous sins;
   let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
   and innocent of great transgression" (Psalm 19:13).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

The Hard Work of Devotion To God

Reading: Isaiah 58
My Verse:  "Is not this the fast that I choose;
                         to loose the bonds of wickedness,
                         to undo the straps of the yoke,
                         to let the oppressed go free,
                         and to break every yoke?" (Isaiah 58:6).

This chapter opens up with God's condemnation on those who are false in their worship of Him.  It is a condemnation on those who use religion as a "tool" in their arsenal to get ahead.  They use, even oppress people in pursuit of their own agenda, own gain.  It is a condemnation on those who use religion to cover their pursuit and devotion to selfish desires.  But You, LORD God see the heart.  You see through all the falseness.  You desire only true and total devotion to You, LORD God!

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
     a broken and contrite heart,
     O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).

Hypocrisy is a most awful thing.  It is a pretense, a lie.  The dictionary definition:  a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious principles, etc, that one does not really possess.  a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.   It is just as Isaiah stated, those who pretend to be spiritual do so for their own gain in the eyes of the world.  

Many do this blatantly, even casually.  Others do so because they have become convinced that what they are doing is right - they believe the lie they live.  Saul, then Paul was an example of the latter. It took You, LORD God taking a most dramatic action to bring him around.  I just read of a man in South Africa, who was most feared because of his cruel carrying out of apartheid.  And during that time he claimed to be a Christian.  He said he just believed also in white supremacy.  Today he is a changed man.  He has devoted himself to service to the very people he oppressed.  He simply and humbly admits he was wrong and is grateful God showed him that.  It is a beautiful thing to see people so transformed!

You, LORD God want us to be free of the "bonds of wickedness."  You want us to be free from the straps that bind us to every enslaving yoke of sin.   Paul spoke of this kind of hypocrisy, wrong devotion to Simon in Acts 8.  Simon wanted to be part of what Paul was doing but, but his heart (Simon's) wasn't right.

"But you have neither part nor lot in this matter, 
     for your heart is all wrong in God's sight 
     [it is not straightforward or right or true before God'
                                                    Acts 8:21-23 Amplified).

True devotion to You, LORD God is not an easy thing.  It requires that we give up our own wants and desires and that we commit to actions that bring us further along in that devotion.  Most of all we must be steadfast in that commitment.

Read a poignant blog of a person's experience with pornography as a young child.  The article was Pornography and Why It Changes Us.  Point is made of how pornography is one of those quick fixes so many to go to meet their needs.   Her conclusion was that "A good life requires hard work."  Any quick, cheap fix only robs us of something good.  Any and all pretending, lying and giving in to cheap thrills only leads to bondage.

I like to go by to Calvin Miller's The Unchained Soul when thinking of the hard work of true devotion.  In it he explores the transforming work of true devotion by the giants of Christianity - Augustine, Madame Guyon, Brother Laurence, Teresa of Avila, John Bunyon, and Thomas a Kempis to name a few. Basically he says we need this hard work of devotion to You, LORD God because life here is so very difficult.

"The current of that river (life) is demanding, and swimming it requires all the strength we have"

He speaks of the cycle we go through in this very demanding work of devotion. He calls it The Grand Cycle of Relationship.  "I hurt, I rejoice, I confess. In this joyous, ever-circling pattern, I ever so slowly become more like the Master."  This may seem tedious but it is necessary and progressive if we truly mean to be devoted.  "Even so, staying alive, really alive, in Christ is hard work!"

Really like David Brook's NYTimes article today on "Three Views of Marriage."  He spoke of the moral view of marriage which is really the biblical view of marriage and a picture of the kind of devotion You want of us, LORD God. In it he points out what devotion is truly about.

"The everyday tasks of marriage are opportunities to cultivate a more selfless love. Everyday there’s a chance to inspire and encourage your partner to become his or her best self. In this lens, marriage isn’t about two individuals trying to satisfy their own needs; it’s a partnership of mutual self-giving for the purpose of moral growth and to make their corner of the world a little better."

We all of us need devotion in our lives.  But it is only devotion to You, LORD God that will satisfy! Everything else follows out of that. True devotion is not easy but the rewards are great.  It can and will free us from those awful "fetters that bind" one to a life of slavery.   It not only gives one true and lasting satisfaction but a deep, deep peace. 

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Our God Heals!

Reading:  Isaiah 57
My Verse:  "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
                         I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
                         creating the fruit of the lips.

                    Peace, peace, to the far and to the near," says the LORD,
                         and I will heal him" (Isaiah 57: 18, 19).

Thank You, LORD God for this wonderful hope!  You will forgive any and all that repent of their ways and turn to You!  You will heal!

Nothing is beyond your ability to forgive and heal.  This is the one thing that makes Christianity, faith in You, LORD God stand out from all other belief systems.  You restore lives!  You, LORD God are in the business of healing.  The dictionary definition  of heal:  to make healthy, whole, or sound.

You speak to us of Your healing power throughout Your word.

"Who heals all your iniquities Who heals all your diseases . . (Psalms 103:3).

"For I will restore health to you, 
     and heal you of your wounds, 
       said the LORD (Jeremiah 30:17).

"Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree,
     that we, being dead to sins,
     should live to righteousness by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24).

Once You heal us  then we are able to sense Your guidance.  We are finally able to see You for Who You are! What a wonderful awakening!

"The LORD is my shepherd;
     I shall not want,
     He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
     He leads me beside still waters.
     He restores my soul.
     He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake.

     Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
          I will fear no evil,
          for Your rod and Your staff,
         they comfort (Psalms 23:1-4).

That beautiful rod and staff.  With the rod You keep the enemy at bay; you keep him from overwhelming me.  With the staff You keep me from straying too far from You!  Thank You for that!

Then You restore us to You, to fellowship with You, to a peace that passeth our understanding!

"Turn us to Yourself, O LORD,
     and we shall be turned and restored! (Lamentations 5:21).

"Therefore if any person is in Christ he is a new creation;
     the old has passed away.
     Behold the fresh and new has come!

"But all things are from God,
     Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself
     and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:17, 18).

"And although you at one time
     were estranged and alienated from Him
     and were of hostile attitude of mind
    in your wicked activities,

Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah]  
     reconciled [you to God]
    in the body of His flesh through death . . .

[And this He will do] provided that you continue
     to stay with and in the faith [in Christ] (Colossians 1:21-23).

Thank You, LORD God for this!  You heal us - opening up our understanding of You and enabling us to come to You; You guide us as we learn to walk with You;  You restore us to You - to Your fellowship.  All this through the work of Jesus on the cross.  My heart is so full right now.

"And the peace of God, 
     which surpasses all understanding, 
     will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!


 

Leaders With No Understanding

Reading:  Isaiah 56
My Verse:   "The dogs have a mighty appetite;
                         they never have enough.
                     But they are shepherds who have no understanding;
                         they have all turned to their own way,
                         each to his own gain, one and all (Isaiah 56:11).

What a reproach on the leaders who choose to use their positions for their own gain!  You, LORD God, place leaders into positions of authority (Romans 13:1),  and sadly many turn from You and become ravenous in pursuit of their own wants and desires.   They become leaders without any understanding.

"Dogs" and "shepherds" here refers to leaders who have lost their way.  Sadly, we see this far too much today.  The political campaigns we see today reflect this.  People have become angry and distrustful of their leaders, so much so that they start to go after questionable characters who make wild, grand promises and behave with total disregard for respect and honor of You, LORD God.  Our presidential election has become strident and crass.  The use of "dogs' to describe some of them seems apt.

This verse is such a contrast to the opening verses of this chapter.

"Thus says the LORD:
     Keep justice, and do righteousness,
     for soon my salvation will come,
     and my righteousness be revealed.

Blessed is the man who does this,
     and the son of man who holds it fast . . . " (Isaiah 56:1,2).

Cutting You out of our lives leaves us with no foundational footing, without understanding of what is really going on.  Those who do this are skimming the surface of life; they live for and believe only what they see with their eyes.  They live shallow lives, denying the spiritual realm.  You, LORD God are spirit (John 4:24). And only You, LORD God provide true understanding.

"There is no wisdom, no insight, 
     no plan that can succeed against the LORD" (Proverbs 21:30 ESV).

"And so since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
     God gave them over to a base and condemned mind 
        to do things not proper . . .
     Until they were filled with every kind of unrighteousness, 
        iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice . . .
     Full of envy, jealousy . . . strife. . .
     Slanderers . . . full of insolence, arrogance, boasting . . .
     . . . without understanding . . ." (Romans 1:28 - 31 AMPBIBLE).

Really like what Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the minister of Westminster Abby in London for some 30 years says of those who deny You, LORD God.

"We, alone, as Christians, understand what is wrong with the world.  We see powers and principalities, the rulers of the darkness of this world, behind the visible and seen phenomena, and we see perplexed politicians trying to deal with the problems, and failing.  We know they must fail because they do not see what is at the back of it all.  We see it as the conflict between heaven and hell."

If one desires wisdom, it is to You we must look and seek!

"For the LORD gives wisdom;
     from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
     He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
     Guarding the paths of justice
     and watching over the way of his saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice
     and equity, every good path;
     for wisdom will come into your heart,
     and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
     discretion will watch over you,
     understanding will guard you . . ."Proverbs 2: 6-11).

Thank you for this LORD God.  Help me today to pray for our leaders. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!






  

Seek The LORD!

Read:  Isaiah 55
My Verse:  "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;
                        let him return to the LORD,
                             that He may have compassion on him
                        and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6,7).

I love these directives that You give us in Your word, LORD God.  I love the clarity and definitiveness  of Your directives.  There is no question but that we must seek You!

The Amplified Bible says, "Seek, inquire for, and require . . ."  The dictionary states that to seek is to "go in search of or quest of."  This tells me that I need to made a decision here.  I need to decide that I will go after, I will purposely put my focus and energies into this search or quest.  To inquire for or after is to make an investigation into the matter.  I must fully engage myself into this search.  It cannot be a lackadaisical, casual thing.  I must be like a scientist, an investigative reporter - go to all lengths to find this truth.  Finally, to require puts great importance into this search.  I like how the dictionary says this:  "to ask for authoritatively or imperatively, demand; to impose need or occasion for, make necessary or indispensable."    This is an extremely important matter.  I must come to the point where I absolutely require this for my well being!

As Pascal has said, "the matter concerns ourselves and our all."

I think it frightening that this offer You give us LORD God to seek You may disappear at any moment.  The words, "while He may be found" speaks to this.   The ESV study bible notes point out this most important point.  This is Your most generous offer, LORD God.  And while You are so very patient with us (2 Peter 3:9)  it can be withdrawn at any time.  As the ESV Study notes point out, "people should not be foolish and delay.  The offer of salvation should never be despised or rejected, for the opportunity may end at any moment."

David also pointed this out, that we need to repent and turn to You.  It seems that if we continually deny You, LORD God, we will become unable to turn to You when we are in desperate straits.

"I acknowledged my sin to you,
     and I did not cover my iniquity;
 I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
      and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. SELAH

Therefore let everyone who is godly 
     offer a prayer to You at a time when You may be found;
     surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him" (Psalm 32:6).

Again, there are those words of caution, "at a time when You may be found."

Seeking You must be our priority.  All our needs will fall into place if we have You at the helm of our lives!

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

Thank You for this.  Thank You for calling us to You.  Help me to pray for loved ones that do not know You, that they may seriously enter into the great quest of seeking You out!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

The LORD is My Protector!

Reading:  Isaiah 54
My Verse:  "No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
                        and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in 
                        judgment.

                    This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD
                         and their vindication from me, declares the LORD" (Isaiah 54:17).

What a promise.  Even though there are times when it seems our enemy has the upper hand, we need to remember that in the end, You LORD God will always have the victory.  And all who belong to You share in that victory!  You may allow things to happen to us but always these are for Your good purposes and we can count on that.  You love us and protect us from anything that does not better us. You are my Shepard!  "The LORD is my Shephard!" (Psalm 23:1).

"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid.
                                                    Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD,
                                                    which He will accomplish for you today.
                                                    For the Egyptians whom you see today, 
                                                    you shall see again no  more forever.
                                                    The LORD will fight for you, 
                                                    and you shall hold your peace"
                                                                                         (Exodus 14:13-14).

Psalm 91 is that most beautiful psalm that we can all go to in times of need!

"A thousand may fall at your side,
     ten thousand at your right hand,
     but it will not come near you.

No evil shall be allowed to befall you,
     no plague come near your tent.

For He will command His angels concerning you 
     to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
     lest you strike your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:7, 10 - 12).

This does not mean we are exempt from all harm, only that You LORD will not allow anything to happen to us that is not within Your purposes.  Paul reminds us of this.

"We are hard pressed on every side,
     yet not crushed;
We are perplexed,
     but not in despair;
persecuted,
     but not forsaken;
struck down,
     but not destroyed."(2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

I love the imagery in Nahum 1:7,8

"The LORD is good,
     a stronghold in the day of trouble;
     He knows those who take refuge in Him.

But with an overflowing flood
     He will make a complete end of the adversaries,
     and will pursue His enemies into darkness"

This we can count on!  Anyone that tries to harm us will pay, because our enemies are Your enemies and You, LORD God will pursue them "into darkness".

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
     I will fear no evil,
     for You are with me;
        Your rod and Your staff,
        they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).

With Your rod, You keep off all that may harm me beyond Your purposes.  With Your staff, You guide me along the path You would have me to travel on!  Thank You, for this most blessed assurance!  Thank You for reminding me that You, Lord God are my protector!

"He is a very present help in time of trouble"  (Psalm 46:1).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Pain Is Necessary!

Read Isaiah 53
My Verse:  "But He was pierced for our transgressions;
                         He was crushed for our iniquities;
                    upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
                         and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

Once sin entered the world, pain became a part of every aspect of life on this earth.  It became a necessary part.  It is the automatic response to sin.  You, LORD God could not let sin go unchecked.  If You did we would simply destroy ourselves.  Pain is needed to bring back balance, to cause us to realize our transgressions.

The toll for unrepentant sin is great, and it should be.  You, LORD God set up an elaborate system for those that wanted forgiveness for their sins.  This is spelled out in Leviticus 5:15-16.  It allowed those that sinned and wanted freedom from their guilt to get that.  This was in place until You, LORD God gave yourself as the ultimate sacrifice!

It really is an amazing thing You have done for us LORD God.  I think few realize the horrendous pain You suffered physically and emotionally and spiritually.  Sin is no light thing. And the pain that comes from it is tremendous.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray comes to mind here.  It is a great depiction of the consequences of sin, for sin must have  its consequences, pain.  Today we live in such a relativistic society - sin becomes blurred and grayed.  Sin and all vices of various kinds become the result of bad experiences one has had in growing up.  Everyone wants to find a "reason" for why they do wrong things, so they can explain it away or blame something other than themselves for why they do what they do.  There are even those that will say, "That is just the way I am."  And society is expected to simply accept their behavior as "normal."  But sin does have its consequences as the story of Dorian Gray shows.  We may escape for a time but we will pay.

I saw a picture of a man I knew, the photo showed him as a young man.  He looked so nice - cheerful, optimistic.  I remember when last I saw him - he was anything but that.  He had chosen to live a hedonistic life and his visage showed it.

Sin is sin.  Though our conscience, which You in Your great wisdom placed within each of us, tells us every time we do a wrong thing, You, LORD God spelled out quite clearly in the Bible that sin is lawlessness.  (1 John 3:4) I think people forget that You, LORD God authored the ten commandments and basically all sin comes under those.

Even followers of You, LORD God are not exempt from  pain.  In fact, it is necessary to our growth, our drawing nearer to you.  We have so much wrong thinking, so many wrong habits - You, LORD God need to cleanse us and sometimes the process can be most painful. I really like how James MacDonald used Hosea 6:1 to teach on this.  You love us so very much, LORD God!  And as MacDonald states in his online devotional it is not a pampering kind of love. "God's love  is not a pampering love, it's a perfecting love.  Through pain, God called you back, further, and deeper into Him." (jamesmacdonald.com)

I forget this so often.  No one wants pain, or to see others suffering.  Yet this is not your fault, LORD God, the fault lies with us.  Thank you for loving me enough to grow me, even though it is painful.

"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering . . . and you find that you have excluded life itself." (CSLewis. The Problem of Pain)

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Depart! Depart!

Reading:  Isaiah 52
My Verse:  "Depart, depart, go out from there;
                         touch no unclean thing;
                         go out from the midst of her;
                            purify yourselves,
                         you who bear the vessels of the LORD.

                    For you shall not go out in haste,
                        and you shall not go in flight,
                    for the LORD will go before you,
                        and the God of Israel will be your rear guard" (Isaiah 52:11,12).

Again, You cry out to us LORD God to leave a life without You!  You constantly, throughout Your Word, plead with us to leave behind the things of this sinful, corrupt, sad world and come to You!  You tell us to "go out from the midst of her."  I like the sense of this, the sense that we are to purposefully do this.  It is not a running away but a running to You!.  It is a mindful act on our part to "depart from there."

Thank You for this LORD God.  It is always so wonderful when You reinforce Your message to me.  Here I am reading in Isaiah, and the exodus of the Israelites is used here.  The message in church this last Sunday is of the very thing - the Israelites escape from Egypt.  There is so much to this message, so much teaching for us as followers of You, so much guidance and encouragement.

Depart, depart!  I need to first make this very serious decision to leave a life without You, LORD God. The pastor at church this Sunday posed a question we have to ask ourselves, "Do we want to get out?"  He said the truly sad thing is most people don't want to get out.  We tend to want to stay in a situation even if it is very bad, like the Israelites as slaves in Egypt, simply because it is familiar.  It takes a huge effort to leave our present circumstances.  It takes faith.

I am to "touch no unclean thing."  I cannot take anything with me.  This is hard because I need to rely on You, LORD God, to help me identify all that would hold me back, all that would hamper my walk with You.

To "go out from the midst of her" is difficult.  I do struggle with this.  How am I to do this and yet live amongst those that are not of You, LORD God?  This is what You require for You want me to be a light, a reflecting beam to those that are lost.  (Matthew 5:16)

I am to "purify" myself.  This too is difficult, as I still live in this world, in this body with its habits of the world.  And yet, You tell me to "purify" myself.  Again, I cannot do this without You, without You enabling me, helping me every step of the way! (Matthew 5:8, Psalm 51:10)

"You shall not go out in haste" indicates that this decision and action is not done without thought or in panic.  It is to be done in faith.

You then say, "for the LORD will go before you."  How I love this, that You, LORD God prepare the way before us as You did for the Israelites when they left Egypt.  You were ahead of them every step of the way.  And so You are for me.  You foresee what is ahead, You prepare the way.  You not only prepare the way but You prepare me for what is ahead.    Thank you, LORD God for this!

 You even guard me from behind - "and the God of Israel will be your rear guard!"  I needn't fear what was in the past.  You keep even that from harming me if I but give all that to You and allow You to be my "rear guard!"

Thank You, LORD God, for this wonderful message.  Not only do You tell us to depart this place but You promise to prepare the way and then guide us along that way.  What more can we ask?

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!