How God loves ...

Isaiah 55

New King James Version (NKJV)

An Invitation to Abundant Life

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
² Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
³ Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
⁴ Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
⁵ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

¹² “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

 

 

Listening to David Crowder Band sing John Mark McMillan song "How He Loves", and looking at video of story behind song (http://vimeo.com/10868953) reminds me of Isaiah 55:8-9, that God is so not like us ...

Peace and Justice

Reported for jury duty today.  Thought of these verses, circling the building and praying during the lunch break:

 

Isaiah 48:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

 

Psalm 51:3-4 (NIV)

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.

 

I smiled when I saw that the book I was reading, in the place I was reading (while waiting in the jury room), mentioned the story Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8:

 

Luke 18:1-8, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

Then he gave them an illustration to show that they must always pray and never lose heart.

^2-5 “Once upon a time,” he said, “there was a magistrate in a town who had neither fear of God nor respect for his fellow-men. There was a widow in the town who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Please protect me from the man who is trying to ruin me.’ And for a long time he refused. But later he said to himself, ‘Although I don’t fear God and have no respect for men, yet this woman is such a nuisance that I shall give judgment in her favour, or else her continual visits will be the death of me!’”

^6-8 Then the Lord said, “Notice how this dishonest magistrate behaved. Do you suppose God, patient as he is, will not see justice done for his chosen, who appeal to him day and night? I assure you he will not delay in seeing justice done. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find men on earth who believe in him?”

 

 

So, watching the proceedings, thinking of God as Judge ...

 

Psalm 135 (NKJV)

Praise to God in Creation and Redemption

 Praise the Lord!

 

Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
² You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God,
³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His special treasure.

 

⁵ For I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
⁷ He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

 

⁸ He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and beast.
⁹ He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰ He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan—
¹² And gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.

 

¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
¹⁴ For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.

 

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
¹⁷ They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

 

¹⁹ Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
²⁰ Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹ Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!

 

Praise the Lord!

 

… and my journey with Him continues …

Back again ...

It’s been a while since I blogged.  In reading some of my earlier posts, I see that a lot of the things I planned on doing (regarding the blog) didn’t get done.

But God is faithful, and continues to call me back to this when I would probably just shake my head in failure, disappointed with myself in my lack of commitment and follow-through, and go on to something else. 

Isaiah 30:15 (AMP)

¹⁵ For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength. …

So in response to His call, humbled by His grace and patient lovingkindness towards me, His mercy and goodness shown again and again … here I am again.  And the reason I am here, on this blog, is the reason I am here, on this earth: to bring God glory.  That’s been my lesson lately, that that is my part in God’s plan – to bring Him glory. 

1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-33 (NKJV)

²³ All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

³¹ Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ³² Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, ³³ just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Not sure why, but thinking of these verses:

Zechariah 9:16 (AMP)

¹⁶ And the Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of His people, for they shall be as the [precious] jewels of a crown, lifted high over and shining glitteringly upon His land.

Isaiah 62:1-3 (NKJV)

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.

… and my journey with Him continues …