Isaiah 1:11
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me [unless they are the offering of the heart]? says the Lord. I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts [without obedience]; and I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of he-goats [without righteousness]
The Lord isn't interested in utterances of the lips. He's interested in our hearts. He's interested in our worship. He's interested in the secret places within us that we hide from others, but He can see anyway. If your heart isn't in it, what is it worth to God? I don't really have a problem with giving Him my heart because He's taken such good care of it. The thing I think can scare people in regard to God is that He knows you. He really knows you. And if you acknowledge who He is, you have to know that there's nothing you can hide from Him. There's a degree of vulnerability required for relationship with Him. And in the vulnerability for me is a requirement of submission. And guess what submission requires? Obedience. Yup....so when I really did it, when I really gave Him my life some things had to change. Now, the reward for relationship is just that....relationship but its also this: See ye FIRST the Kingdom and ALL things will be added unto you." <---Promises from God do NOT return void. The things I had to do were : show up authentically and tell the truth, be vulnerable, to submit to His will (its honestly the best for you so even though it's not always easy, its worth it), and be obedient to what the Spirit says. That's is also not always easy but there's a peace about being in relationship and the will of God that will make all of these things seem less daunting. Lord knows, at first I wanted to drive this life but I've found that being a passenger is not only appropriate but also afford me a much better experience. And lastly, you can't go before a righteous God without righteousness which means you've got to have an indwelling of the Spirit because only the righteousness of God through His Son, will permit you to have a relationship. And that is amazing. All I have to do sometimes, especially if I've already sought Him, is go right down in myself and check in with Him and He'll guide me. He's right there with me all the time.
Isaiah 1:16-17
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes! Cease to do evil,
Learn to do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Listen....you can't do just anything before God. He's holy. And the God in you is holy. For me, I can't just do anything because the Spirit can't dwell just anywhere. I've got to make some efforts and God perfects those but its got to start with me. The Word here says wash yourselves. That means you've made the first effort. For me, in times when I'm really seeking Him I've got to change my life. I've got to let certain types of music go. I've got to let certain types of visual media go. I've got to get undistracted. I've got to be in a Spirit to receive Him at all times.
I've also found that doing right isn't always received the way its intended but God looks at your motivation. I'm thinking currently of the situation with my friend and I sometimes feel like her interpretation of my opinion lacks sympathy but if I could point her back to the Word I'd show her that the Word is always defending the fatherless and the widow. That's what this passage says. And the Lord is the ultimate arbiter of justice. And that's where I am. I'm seeking what is absolutely right and sometimes that's a hard place to find yourself. Sometimes a hard truth is just that: Hard. Lord knows, I've endeavored to be where He wants me to be and to say the things I know to be true from the Word. All God's asking for is an honest effort. He knows we will fail alone, that's why He sent the Spirit.
Isaiah 1:18-19
Come now, and 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 be like wool.
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
Though I'm a complete failure, the Lord wants to reason with me. Sir what? He makes me white. He makes me whole. He cleanses me. See first the Word says wash yourself. Then the Lord comes in and does His part and actually makes me blameless. Action on my part was required, as a demonstration of faith, for Him to do the real work. Its just like seek and ye shall find. You've got to seek Him. He didn't say find. He said seek. Seek is your responsibility. He's right there and will show Himself to you but you've got to seek. I love that the Lord desires us. He's not tolerating us. He's made real, concrete moves towards us. He made a way. He torn the veil that separated Him from us. And now all He's asking for is obedience and a willing spirit. What I've found is that being willing isn't the same as obedient. I may be willing to do something but the action of carrying it out is completely different. Sometimes I want to want His will and that's when you're willing and not obedient. That obedience piece requires stepping out on faith and the truth of who God says He is. I've done it a few times and every time I do it and He's faithful, the next leap of faith is a little easier. My current prayer life: I'm believing God to leap the Grand Canyon because I already leapt Niagara Falls with Med school. And what is the reward of both a willing spirit and obedience: You will eat good. And we all know I like to eat so....this metaphor is for me! Can I tell you its good though? Can I tell you its amazing and phenomenal and supernatural and awe inspiring? Can I tell you its worth it? Its all of that and more.
Isaiah 1:27
Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her [returned] converts with righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God).
I want to focus on redeemed. Redemption is real. You can really be redeemed and returned to your previous status. When I think about the thoughts I was thinking when I wasn't listening to gospel last spring, I scare myself. My mind has literally been redeemed. Its been washed by the Word and by the reality of who God thinks I am despite who I thought I was then. You see sometimes, you have to let God tell you who you are because no one knows better than He does. We often let other people tell us what they think we are but the truth is what God thinks. Ask Him.
I also love that converts, people who come to the faith, can also be in right standing with God. I've had the privilege of watching my grad school bestie come to know God and actually get baptized and when she stood up at my church and told the people that raised me up in Christ that my witness had inspired her: TEARS! My mom was like "whoa." Sometimes you'll learn about me is that I cry a lot. And my mother doesn't. Nevertheless, anyone, anyone who wants Him come. He's available.
Isaiah 2:17
Then the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
Let's be clear: I'm nobody. I'm no one special. The God that loves me is special though. He's amazing. Its one of the reasons I've been so grateful to have gotten a PhD and also why I never tell anyone I have one. Its not who I am and honestly Its not my PhD. He let me get it so He could be glorified in it and since it doesn't qualify me for anything currently I don't lead with it. But you know who does? Everyone else. My friends at UNC are so goofy. I never offer it but they always introduce me as Dr. Its slightly unnerving. They did it yesterday. I usually tell them to get out of my face with that. ;-) I'm funny like that but I'm also very well aware that I need not be exalted. This PhD lets me take Jesus into spaces He might not usually enter because science types tend to be less religious and even if they don't realize they're getting Jesus when they talk to me, they are. I love that. My PhD admits me to places. Then I just let Jesus do what He wants to do.
Isaiah 2:22
Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?
So I have a policy: I take serious advice about my life from people who's relationships with God are evident in their lives and who's Jesus I trust (that actually means people who I know have an indwelling of the Spirit). Why? Because what kind of sense does trusting people make? None. I need to know I'm not just talking to you but that the Spirit in me sees and recognizes the Spirit in you and we can meet on a higher plane. I use to trust people and then I realized "They know less than I know because at least its me and Jesus talking." Yea....its interesting but I've made it my business to watch identify people who's Jesus I trust and seek them out.
I need to be in advising relationships with people who also trust the God in me. If you and I aren't in agreement about an interpretation, that's fine but for you to outright dispute what the Lord has said to me? That's a no. Thankfully, I haven't encountered this. One thing my mentor taught me is that God isn't sending you to everybody. Everyone doesn't need to hear what you're talking to God about. He will put people in your life for that. She's one of mine and I love that. That's not most people's purpose in being around you. I also love that we can talk about macaroni and cheese recipes and frying pork chops. (SN: I love her and the Spirit of God in her. She's awesome y'all.) Also, I learned long ago that at minimum the other person needs as much Jesus as you or they won't be able to have the kind of faith required to support the things God is telling you. They quite literally won't have enough faith to believe God for the things you believe Him for because the maturity of their relationship with Him can't bear that. Its the responsibility of the person in the more mature relationship to mediate this.<---That's me often times and I fail at it sometimes because hearing from God is so exciting that sometimes you tell someone who ain't ready. There's grace for that though.
Isaiah 3:12b
O My people, your leaders cause you to err, and they confuse (destroy and swallow up) the course of your paths.
So I'm going to focus on the latter part of this verse. This to me is also tied into the previous one. You've got to know what you know in God and be sure. I've asked Him more than once to confirm the same things in me and over and over again. Why? Because I know Him for myself. Though I love touching and agreeing with those who I trust in the Spirit, I also have to read my bible for myself. This is my relationship with God and it'll only be and good as I make it. God is a gentleman. He isn't going to force relationship on me. So its important to remember, that you've got your own relationship. When crazy people try to tell me about my God and how He feels about me I know better. I know He created me to be who I am. I know He created me to be a giver and even if you think I give to much, I know who I am. Don't try to tell me I give to much? This is a gift He gave me. You might not understand it but I've got to protect it and make sure you don't mess me up! I know He created me to have a marriage among marriages and that that marriage will be to a woman. That's what He has for me. I know He's going to bless my marriage and make it an example to both gay and straight couples. I'm not going to let you still my purpose because you don't agree. I know God for myself. I'm not going to let anyone confuse me about what God has told me. The thing I love about the people who's Spirit agrees with mine is that they were completely on board with all of this. They even used appropriate pronouns from jump and are believing with me for what God has told me. I love them. I love the God in them.
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