gladitudes

Isaiah 1:18-20

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A few thoughts:

To me it’s absolutely incredible that God would forgive our sins. They are like scarlet, red as crimson, yet He, through the work of Jesus Christ (if indeed we are trusting in Christ), has made us white as snow–brilliantly white. I know what’s in me and it’s not very pretty. The real me is pretty black. So it’s humbling and staggering and hard to believe, but God has loved us and lets us be made perfectly clean. It’s incredible.

The second thing I want to draw out of this passage is in the second two verses. God is telling Israel (and surely us, too) that if we’re willing and obedient, we will be blessed. If we refuse to obey, we will reap the consequences accordingly–there will be destruction.

This concept, for some reason, is so tough for me to practically grasp. I can intellectually preach it all day, but when push comes to shove it’s often so much easier to settle for immediate comfort/satisfaction than to wait for the long-term blessing.

See, I think it’s always easier to disobey. Because sin, most of the time if not all of the time, provides faster and/or easier “satisfaction”. Obedience, on the other hand, usually involves us making a hard decision now for a payoff later. It takes discipline, perspective, maturity, and faith to live for later and not now. But that’s the decision we have to make repeatedly to experience God’s best.

So, let’s live for later in faith that God will deliver on his promises, for He loves us.

Today’s passage is Psalm 19:7-14

I love this passage so much. It shows two things clearly: a right understanding of God’s law and a right heart-response to it.

In short: God’s law is infinitely good for us. It protects us, blesses us, makes us wise, and brings success. Therefore, the right response to God’s law (in light, too, of our inability to follow it on our own) is to simply say, “God please help.”

Father, I pray that you would burn a true understanding of your law on my heart and help me to seek righteousness out of love for you and faith in your goodness.

Delight in God’s goodness to you today.

Here are some verses I read this morning. I was really challenged with how frequently Jesus said something like, “Because of your faith, you have been made well.”

Today’s question: Where do I need to start trusting God more?

Matthew 8:7-13

And [Jesus] said to [the centurion], “I will come and heal him.” 8But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[d] have I found such faith. […] 13And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 9:2-7

And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” […] he then said to the paralytic—”Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7And he rose and went home.

Matthew 9:20-22

And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Matthew 9:27-30a

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30And their eyes were opened.

James 1:6-8

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

I read My Utmost today and was really challenged by it. Check out this quote:

Belief is not the result of an intellectual act, but the result of an act of my will whereby I deliberately commit myself.

Read the rest…

I’ve been wrestling with some issues of how do I practically, actually live a life of faith? This helps me a lot in thinking about it.

1 John 5:4-5 ESV

For reveryone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The way that the Christian experiences victory in life (power over sin, peace in turmoil, hope in despair, etc) is by faith in God. Our mighty God is always ready and willing to provide for us, but often we don’t believe and therefore we don’t ask and we don’t receive.

So, the challenge we have is whether or not we will believe our God. Do you believe He is able to provide? Do you believe that in His love He is willing to provide? If so, they what are you waiting for before you trust Him?

Later on in the same chapter, John writes this:

¹⁴ And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Take courage, ask, and believe!