We love to quote Isaiah 1 where it says though our sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. We even sing about it. We love the image of our blood red dirty sins being forgiven and washed away, leaving us pure and holy.
Christmas Eve we drew verses to meditate on in the New Year, and I got this section of Scripture, except the whole part I got was:
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. “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 as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:17-18
We have singled out the part we like about how God will forgive us. But the passage is really about justice, and that the people God is talking to have hands stained scarlet from injustice, which they need to fix.
So yes, claim this verse to receive cleansing. But if you really want it to work, be ready to work for justice first. Be ready to release the wrongdoing you are guilty of. And since it also includes God asking us to come to him and settle the matter, be ready to learn there is more required than you are first aware.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Exceeding Expectation
Jesus once fell asleep in the boat during a storm. The disciples awoke him, amazed at his indifference to their plight. He evidently knew it wasn't a problem. Then when they asked for his assistance, he spoke to the wind and waves and they instantly fell still.
This caused the disciples to remark, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" He exceeded their expectations. Perhaps they expected a gradual subsiding of the storm. Or just reassurance of survival despite the storm, like Paul later gave his shipmates in a storm. Instead Jesus fixed it.
Ephesians 3:20 says "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us", can do IMMEASURABLY more than we can ask or IMAGINE. Wow. That's saying something.
So why doesn't this happen more? Perhaps because like the disciples, we don't expect it? We don't even allow it? What if we got out of God's way and let God really do something dramatic?
This caused the disciples to remark, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" He exceeded their expectations. Perhaps they expected a gradual subsiding of the storm. Or just reassurance of survival despite the storm, like Paul later gave his shipmates in a storm. Instead Jesus fixed it.
Ephesians 3:20 says "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us", can do IMMEASURABLY more than we can ask or IMAGINE. Wow. That's saying something.
So why doesn't this happen more? Perhaps because like the disciples, we don't expect it? We don't even allow it? What if we got out of God's way and let God really do something dramatic?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Promises
On Christmas Eve we had a special service where each person could select a gift, a wrapped box containing a Biblical promise. As I chose verses to include, I got really excited about some of them. I would find myself saying, I’d like that verse. When the time came to choose, and I opened my box, and read my verse, and I was disappointed. It wasn’t the verse I wanted. What is more, I felt like it was a verse I already had well in hand, something I was already doing. I would guess that God didn’t think so.
The premise of the activity was that all the verses would be good life guides, but that the Holy Spirit would supervise who got what verse. That would trust that God knows what we could use to guide us.
Here’s the amazing part of the Bible. My verse starting by saying, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” Now I feel like I already do that, defend the oppressed and the fatherless and the widow. So I could take that God gave this verse as an affirmation and encouragement of the work he has already given me to do. In addition, this verse begins by saying Learn to do right. That is a lifelong lesson. We know what is right, but to apply it correctly in every situation, that is an everyday learning experience. I can’t honestly say that I still need to work on that, all of us will always be continuing to learn to do right. So this verse certainly applies to me.
The verse I wanted to draw was this one, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12. I love the thought of the showers of righteousness and the fact that it starts with my sowing my own righteousness.
The silly part of my reaction is that all the Bible is mine to claim. I don't have to pull Hosea 10:12 out of a box in order to use it for encouragement. Anything I read can be used for benefit, as "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The task is mine to claim and cherish the verses God lays on my heart.
We didn't use all the gifts on Christmas Eve. I plan to soak in my original verse for a month, then open another one. Open your own gift from God today, read your Bible and see what God has to say.
The premise of the activity was that all the verses would be good life guides, but that the Holy Spirit would supervise who got what verse. That would trust that God knows what we could use to guide us.
Here’s the amazing part of the Bible. My verse starting by saying, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” Now I feel like I already do that, defend the oppressed and the fatherless and the widow. So I could take that God gave this verse as an affirmation and encouragement of the work he has already given me to do. In addition, this verse begins by saying Learn to do right. That is a lifelong lesson. We know what is right, but to apply it correctly in every situation, that is an everyday learning experience. I can’t honestly say that I still need to work on that, all of us will always be continuing to learn to do right. So this verse certainly applies to me.
The verse I wanted to draw was this one, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12. I love the thought of the showers of righteousness and the fact that it starts with my sowing my own righteousness.
The silly part of my reaction is that all the Bible is mine to claim. I don't have to pull Hosea 10:12 out of a box in order to use it for encouragement. Anything I read can be used for benefit, as "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The task is mine to claim and cherish the verses God lays on my heart.
We didn't use all the gifts on Christmas Eve. I plan to soak in my original verse for a month, then open another one. Open your own gift from God today, read your Bible and see what God has to say.
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