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!
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!
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