No guarantee of success
Isaiah 6: …they won’t have a clue about what is going on…so they won’t turn around and be made whole….
Isaiah’s commission is powerful and associated with a vision of God’s holiness. The prophet is personally transformed by the grace of God and he’s ready to “go” for the Lord. However, the next thing the Lord tells Isaiah must be very difficult to swallow. In spite of his being a man with “lips touched with a coal from off the altar” his ministry won’t bear fruit. I know it takes commitment to step forward and say “send me” but how much more to go on this mission with the promise of failure. The Lord says that the people Isaiah goes to minister to will not respond. Why the Lord tells Isaiah this is a mystery to me. Why not just send him on without telling him of the failure to come? I have no answer. However, I do see one important thing here: I belong to the Lord and I have to leave the results of my ministry in his hands. For Isaiah the important thing is “going” — being faithful. That’s how it is for all of us who serve him.
Take Away: We’re called to obedient faithfulness. The results we leave in the hands of the Lord.
Tag: obedience
Devotional on Isaiah
Reason to expect an answer to prayer
Isaiah 26: God, order a peaceful and whole life for us because everything we’ve done, you’ve done for us.
What an interesting prayer this is. I love the request for a “peaceful and whole life.” When all is said and done, this is about as insightful a request as a person can make for their own life. Isaiah lives in turbulent times and, in the face of so much uncertainty, this prayer makes a lot of sense. However, he isn’t the only one who has lived in such days. We do too. Again, I like this simple prayer. The second half of this sentence though, is the reason the person praying thinks the first half will be granted. Isaiah says, “We’re following your directions Lord, only doing what you’d have us do, operating under your power and authority.” You see, it makes no sense to plead with the Lord for peace and life if I’m ignoring his intentions for my life. The only way this prayer makes sense is when I pray it in the context of absolute obedience and trust. It’s only when I can say, “Everything I have done and am doing is what God is doing in me” that I can pray with an expectation of God’s blessing on my life.
Take Away: The Lord’s blessings often depend on my obedience.
Devotional on Isaiah
To do list
Isaiah 33: The answer’s simple: live right.
The picture Isaiah paints isn’t a pleasant one. Things are going to get bad as a firestorm of God’s wrath is on the agenda. Who can survive such a purging? How does a person prepare for it? Isaiah has a list for all who will listen: “live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, and avoid evil amusements.” This, he says, is the way through the storm, the way to stability and satisfaction. I know that some things about God are complicated and it takes a lifetime of serious study and application to master them. However, some things are pretty straight forward and this list is an example of that. The Lord expects us to “live right.” That is, we can drop the excuses and commit ourselves to, as best we can, doing the things we know we should do. That isn’t all there is to it, but it’s a pretty good start. Soon enough we’ll realize that our best isn’t good enough, but it does turn us in the right direction and with that done, we’ll find ourselves aligned with God’s grace which is freely extended to us.
Take Away: The Lord expects us to “live right.”
Devotional on Proverbs
No one way praying allowed
Proverbs 28: God has no use for the prayers of people who won’t listen to him.
I believe in prayer and consider myself to be a prayer learner. I’ve read books about it, talked about it, and practiced it. I’ve learned that there are different ways to pray. For instance, a person can kneel by their bedside or sit in an easy chair with a cup of coffee or write out a prayer or take a “prayer walk.” These and several other approaches are good ways to pray. One deal breaker to prayer is what is stated in this proverb: one way praying. Prayer is intended to be a conversation with God. It isn’t about my airing my list of wants and concerns while God patiently stands by like the waitress in a restaurant taking an order. I’ve found that, generally speaking, it’s my perspective that’s changed in prayer. The wise man of the proverbs reminds me of the conversational nature of prayer. Of course, there’s another aspect of “listening” here. When I spend time in the Presence of God and he does speak I’m to listen to what he says. That is, I’m to take it to heart and move forward in obedience. Often, I’ve found, God intends to use me in answer to my own prayers. He has work for me to do and, no matter how fervently I continue to pray, nothing will come of it until I start listening to what the Lord’s saying to me.
Take Away: Often, the Lord intends to use us in answer to our own prayers
Devotional on Isaiah
Hearing God
Isaiah 55: I don’t think the way you think.
The things I think are vitally important don’t impress God all that much. Like a child who spends all her money on candy and then doesn’t have lunch money, I tend to focus on things that might feel good at the time, but won’t satisfy in the long run. My deafness is so great that even when someone shouts out the truth I can’t hear them. Instead, I hear the cry of materialism and am driven more by mass marketing schemes than by God’s word. All along, I think I ‘m being smart and that, in the long run, if I do it my way I’ll be a contented, happy person. Through Isaiah, the Lord responds that I’d better pay attention and do things his way. God sees things differently than I do. For instance, he sees surrender as the way to victory and death as the way to life. The “higher way” Isaiah mentions isn’t about God being smarter than I am. That’s a given. The higher thoughts of the Lord spoken of here are about how he wants me to live my life. I must retune my ears to hear his voice above the silliness of the crowd and then, in obedience, I am to align my life with his ways rather than those of the world.
Take Away: It takes practice and self-discipline to learn to hear the voice of the Lord over the noise of life.
Devotional on Isaiah
It’s more than a chicken in every pot
Isaiah 55: So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed.
As we near national elections we hear a lot from politicians. The common wisdom is that a person will say whatever they need to say to get elected. Hopefully, that isn’t always the case. A nation needs leaders who lead with integrity. Still, it isn’t hard for anyone who’s been paying attention to remember broken promises from vote seekers. Isaiah says that God has things to say and that the Lord doesn’t hesitate to make some promises. God’s message isn’t the common message of the world. After all, his ways are higher than our ways. Not only is his message unique, but his faithfulness to make good on that message is unique too. When God says I’m to live my life his way and that, if I do, I’ll have a better life, well, that’s a word I can take to the bank. The Lord’s at work, building a people worthy of being called his people. Even as rain falling from the sky is instrumental in producing bountiful crops, so does the Word of God produce good lives in those who hear and obey. The message of this scripture is that God isn’t just making so much noise when he says “this is the way I want you to live.” Rather, he’s giving me an approach to life that will produce the rich harvest of God’s blessings.
Take Away: The way of the Lord is the best way.
Devotional on Isaiah
A given life
Isaiah 66: But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say.
I don’t know much about the wise men in the Christmas story, but I do know that they come to Jesus. The gifts they bring are, I understand, expensive ones. Beyond those material things, though, the important thing is that they bring themselves. In this passage Isaiah reminds me that God made it all and he owns it all. He’s not depending on me to bring him gold, frankincense, and myrrh or anything else for that matter. He is, though, counting on me to bring him my reverent obedience. I believe a person ought to practice their faith in Christ in practical ways, including being a good steward of all that has been placed in his or her hands. However, the offering I give is simply an outflow of a given life. That’s a gift that’s guaranteed to please the Lord.
Take Away: Our offerings are an outflow of our given lives.
Devotional on Jeremiah
God’s call
Jeremiah 1: Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you.
It would be easy for me to make this into a pro-life passage. In fact, I am tempted to do just that. However, I find myself thinking more about God’s call on lives. How does God pick people to speak on his behalf? What criteria does he use? Apparently, at least sometimes, he picks people to represent him who have no credentials at all! In this case Jeremiah looks back on his call to be a prophet and remembers that it was God who picked him, not he who picked God. Before he had any “credentials,” in fact, before he could make any decisions at all, God laid his hand on him, calling him to be his servant. Clearly, the Almighty has his own agenda and makes decisions based on things totally beyond us. Now, I have to add that that doesn’t mean that Jeremiah had no say in the matter. God’s call came: that was God’s role alone. Jeremiah had to cooperate: that was his role. In theory at least, Jeremiah could have refused God and walked away and another person’s ministry would appear in place of this book of the Bible. Since God called and Jeremiah (howbeit reluctantly) said “yes” we have his story here. I’m reminded today that when God calls we can’t always understand why. We just have to “trust and obey.”
Take Away: The Lord doesn’t call us to understand everything but he does call us to obey all we understand him to call us to.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Telling it the way it is
Jeremiah 7: Do what I command so that your lives will go well.
The original sin of the Garden of Eden is committed by human beings who decide that what God says isn’t right. Adam and Eve either doubt the wisdom or the honesty of God who commands them to avoid the fruit of a certain tree because to eat it, he says, will result in death. As I read from Jeremiah I hear the Lord insisting that his orders are for our own good. “If you do what I say your lives will go well” he says. If I’m not careful, I translate this to mean, “Do it the way I say and I’ll go easy on you, do it your own way and I’ll go hard on you.” However, that isn’t his message. The idea is that God not only has my best interests in mind, but he knows what will help me and what will harm me. If I say to my 5 year old, “honey, don’t play with electric outlets” I’m not just making a random rule. Rather, I’m speaking out of both good will and superior knowledge. The Lord tells me that if I obey him, he’ll be my God and I’ll be his son. He says that as I abide in that relationship I’ll have a better life than I would have otherwise. Really, this isn’t mystical or theoretical stuff; it’s just the way it is.
Take Away: The Lord’s way is the best way.
Devotional on Jeremiah
One more Bible study will do it
Jeremiah 8: They know everything but God’s Word.
My immediate reaction upon reading this line is that it’s a call to spend more time studying the Scriptures. After all, Bible study is a good thing; at least I hope so since I spend a lot of my time doing it. To be honest though, I don’t think that’s what Jeremiah is talking about. His listeners know what their Scriptures say and consider themselves to be “owners of God’s revelation.” In other words, they know the Scriptures and claim they’re written just for them. The problem isn’t that they don’t read God’s Word. Rather, it’s that they don’t listen to the word of the Lord! Through Jeremiah the Almighty is shouting out at them, trying to get their attention. They’re going in the wrong direction and need to turn around before it’s too late. While they’re faithfully going to Bible studies they’re ignoring what the Lord’s saying to them at that very moment! What an important reminder for us today. We have our KJV’s and our NIV’s and our NASB’s, and yes, our copies of The Message. We tune in to TBN or Sky Angel, listen to our Christian radio station, and then attend our Bible Studies. That’s just fine, in fact, that’s great. However, when the Lord bypasses all that stuff and speaks to our hearts what are we doing with it? Jeremiah says that even though they’re good at learning what the Scripture says they’re terrible at listening to the Lord when he speaks. Are we, and am I, doing the same?
Take Away: All the Bible study in the world won’t compensate for our ignoring what the Lord is saying to us this very moment.
Devotional on Jeremiah
A heaping helping of humble pie
Jeremiah 21: I’ve giving you a choice: life or death.
It’s doubly hard for the priest, Pashur, to come to Jeremiah with the request. He’s Jeremiah’s sworn enemy. Just recently he put the prophet in stocks for the night to teach him to mind his tongue. Still, things aren’t going well for the nation. They’re at war with the juggernaut Babylon and barring a miracle they face certain defeat. Even that, though, isn’t why Pashur finds himself in this humiliating conversation with Jeremiah. He’s here because King Zedekiah ordered him to go to Jeremiah and ask this troublesome man to pray for God’s intervention. Pashur protested, sputtering out that Jeremiah has already stated God’s judgment on him and his household. Maybe the king should send someone else. Zedekiah, though, ordered and didn’t ask, so the priest finds himself, hat in hand, asking Jeremiah to pray to God for the deliverance of the country from their powerful enemy. Jeremiah’s response is exactly what Pashur expects: more gloom and doom, more defeatist talk. The prophet says he won’t pray for them, in fact, he’s throwing his support to Nebuchadnezzar and his army. The stubborn prophet declares that not only does God refuse to help them but that he’s actively working against them. God’s offer of mercy is not that he’ll deliver them in battle, but that, if they surrender, they’ll live, carried off as captives. As I read this, I can’t help but think that bargaining with God is never a smart thing to do, but doing so while still rebelling against him, well, that’s just plain crazy.
Take Away: Bargaining with the Lord is never a smart thing to do.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Heart transplant
Jeremiah 24: I’ll give them a heart to know me, God.
In a vision Jeremiah sees two baskets of figs. One basket has good fruit and the other has bad fruit. The Lord tells Jeremiah that the good figs represent people who’ll obey God’s call to surrender to the Babylonians and be relocated to other lands by them. The bad figs represent the leaders and others who are ignoring God’s demand that they surrender and accept the Lord’s judgment on the nation. Even the “good fig” population, though, is in need of a divine heart transplant. God says he’s going to do just that. Those who trust and obey him, placing their lives in his hands, aren’t considered complete until the Lord makes some basic changes in their hearts. I think this illustrates the work of the Lord in our individual lives. On one hand, I surrender my life to the Lord, committing myself to live for him, no matter what might come. On the other hand, God does in me what I can’t do for myself. He changes my very heart, enabling me to love him with all my being. It is then, Jeremiah tells me, that I’m one of God’s people, and he is Lord of my life.
Take Away: The Lord does in me what I can’t do for myself.
Devotional on Jeremiah
A lesson on obedience
Jeremiah 35: The descendants…carried out to the letter what their ancestor commanded.
I don’t know why it is that Recab’s son Jonadab ordered his family to become something like monks, but he did. He told them to never live in permanent buildings and to drink no wine. For generations his descendants have followed his orders. Now, with the Babylonian army in the area, the Recabite community has moved into Jerusalem for safety. The Lord gives Jeremiah an unusual order; he’s to meet with the Recabites and offer them some wine to drink. As expected they refuse to drink it, politely explaining that their ancestor forbade it and through the many years since they’ve followed his orders. The Lord points out to Jeremiah that he has before him a group of people who are carefully following the commands of a mere human being, yet the nation as a whole is steadfastly refusing to follow the commands of God Almighty. It’s clear that this passage really has nothing to do with whether or not we drink wine or even whether or not we pay attention to the directions left to us by our ancestors. Obviously, we have some clear instructions in both the Old and New Testaments to pay attention to the orders of some people. For instance, children are to obey their parents and citizens are to obey those in authority over them. However the lesson here for Jeremiah and for us is that, if it’s reasonable for us to cooperate with mere human beings who have authority over us, it’s even more reasonable for us to cooperate with what God is doing in our lives.
Take Away: The only reasonable thing is to cooperate with the Lord as he works in our lives.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Some things are easier said than done
Jeremiah 42: I’m on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do.
Johanan and other Judean leaders know that the murder of Gedaliah is a very big deal. The Babylonian king is not known for his forgiving nature. Gedaliah was the person he left in charge and his murder will be seen as an uprising against his rule. There’s sure to be devastating punishment. Their solution is to prepare for exile by running in the opposite direction to Egypt, the other major power in the region. Johanan and others ask Jeremiah to pray for God’s direction in this, promising to do whatever the Lord says. However, the message from the Lord isn’t what they expect to hear. The Lord says to stay put and trust him. Again, this is totally unexpected and, from a human point of view, very unreasonable. They’ve already seen the wrath of the Babylonians. Thousands have been killed, multiplied thousands have been carried off into exile never to return, and devastation is all around them. For civic leaders to stick around, waiting for word of the governor’s murder to reach Babylonia is, in their eyes, an almost criminal inaction. Jeremiah says, “Just trust God and everything will be okay.” That’s one of those “easier said than done” statements. Happily, such extreme, life and death situations don’t come our way very often, if ever. For me to find applications in life I have to dial things back considerably. Still, there are times when we, too, are to stand still and trust God rather than take matters into our own hands. For instance, things down at the church may not be going well and several are jumping ship for the latest and greatest program down the road. We’re tempted to follow suit, but when we pray, we simply can’t feel free to do it. Others say, “Come on in, the water’s fine!” God seems to say, “Stay right where you are, I’ll take care of you and your family.” As a pastor it always concerns me when church people from other congregations show up at our door on a Sunday morning. I’m not saying there’s never a time to go, but I don’t want to be someone’s “Egypt” when the Lord wants them to stay put and be a part of the turning of the tide right where they are.
Take Away: If the Lord says “stay put” the only thing to do is, well, to stay put!
Devotional on Jeremiah
God’s direction or just his blessing?
Jeremiah 43: Liar! Our God never sent you with this message.
It starts when Johanan and others come to Jeremiah asking him to pray as they decide on their course of action. It won’t be long before the king of Babylon hears of the murder of the governor he appointed over their territory and they want to get out of town before he comes to finish the destruction that was started when Jerusalem fell. They promise that they’ll do whatever God says. Jeremiah agrees to go to the Lord for a plan of action but the instructions he receives from the Lord surprises everyone, maybe even the prophet, himself. God says stay put and he’ll take care of them. That doesn’t sit well with any of the leaders. You see, they don’t really want God’s direction. Instead, they want God’s blessing on what they’ve already decided to do. When Jeremiah returns with a word from God that contradicts their plans they immediately declare Jeremiah to be a liar who has an agenda of his own. In spite of dire warnings from him they load everyone up and head for Egypt…and for more destruction. I’m glad I never make the mistake Johanan and the others did and ignore the “asking for directions” part and leap directly to the “Lord, bless what I’m about to do” part. Well, at least I know how it’s supposed to work. Maybe one of the reasons I end up in “Egypt” so often is that I spent all my prayer time explaining to the Lord why he ought to bless my predetermined course of action instead of asking him what it is, exactly, he wants me to do in the first place.
Take Away: Do we really want the Lord’s directions or just his rubber stamp on what we what to do?
Devotional on Ezekiel
Trust and obey for there’s no other way
Ezekiel 3: …but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.
As the prophet is commissioned he’s told that his job is to warn people. If they refuse his warning, then they’re responsible to God for that refusal. Ezekiel’s job is to issue God’s message. His salvation is contingent on his faithfulness in doing so. My first reaction to this passage is one of caution. I read this from a New Testament point of view and immediately respond that my hope of salvation isn’t in my performance but in my faith in the Savior, Jesus. Does that, in some way nullify this passage for me today? Upon reflection, I think not. Old or New Testament, preacher or listener, the requirement of God is the same: obedience. The Lord calls Ezekiel to preach his message and that’s what’s required of him. He’s called to obedience even as he calls his listeners to obedience. It’s the same for me. As I understand that Jesus is the Savior of the world I must obey his call to yield my life to him and follow him. Anything else is disobedience. So, Ezekiel obeyed by preaching God’s message. His listeners were to obey by forsaking their sin and worshiping the Lord. I obey by trusting in Jesus as my Lord and Savior and living in a relationship with him. People may refuse Ezekiel’s message, but he’ll be saved in his obedience in preaching it anyway.
Take Away: No matter where a person is on their spiritual journey, the Lord’s requirement is this: obey.
Devotional on Ezekiel
Key people
Ezekiel 22: I looked for someone to…stand in the gap to protect this land.
The Lord’s on the lookout for people who’ll take a stand for righteousness. The reason he seeks such people is not so churches can build nicer buildings or even so that more people will attend their services. God knows it’s “repent or perish.” When a nation stubbornly disregards righteousness and persists in following a God-ignoring road that nation is in serious jeopardy. We’re not talking about such a nation getting a slap on the wrist for being “bad.” This is a life and death situation. The Lord says that when he sees a nation on this road he desperately seeks people who’ll stand up for what’s right. He doesn’t want to destroy that nation. Instead, he wants to redeem it and make its people into a people his very own. With that in mind, he looks everywhere for some key person in some key situation who’ll declare their loyalty to him and his ways. In Ezekiel’s day that person is never found. I may not be able to influence nations for righteousness, but maybe I can influence someone. With that in mind I step into the gap to stand for God even as I pray that that “big player” will step up to stand in the gap for my nation.
Take Away: “Here I am, send me.”
Devotional on Ezekiel
The death of Ezekiel’s wife
Ezekiel 24: Get dressed as usual and go about your work — none of the usual funeral rituals.
The final part of Ezekiel 24 is one of the most painful passages one can read. The Lord tells his prophet that his wife is about to die but as an object lesson for the people he’s not to publicly mourn her death. By the time of this event Ezekiel is well known for his messages of God’s anger with his people. He’s also known for “acting out” some event as an object lesson. When his wife dies and Ezekiel just goes on with his preaching everyone knows there’s an object lesson in it. They gather round this broken man and ask him why he isn’t mourning the loss of the love of his life. It’s then that he warns them that even as his beloved has been taken from him their beloved city and Temple are going to be taken and, even as he’s not gone through a mourning process their enemies won’t give them even a moment to mourn the loss of it all. I can hardly imagine what it was like for Ezekiel that day as God’s message had to take precedence over his personal loss. Earlier in his ministry the Lord promised to stiffen Ezekiel that he could face all the rejection that was coming, so maybe that’s in play here. Another thing I can hardly imagine is how God could love these hard people so much as to keep reaching out to them, calling them to himself in such drastic ways. Finally, I don’t think Ezekiel’s situation can be viewed as typical of God’s servants. On one hand, I’m reminded of what it means to be surrendered to the Lord; that it can take us to places we never would go otherwise. On the other hand, I remember that this is a very unique situation in the Bible and can’t be viewed as how the Lord usually deals with us. Of course, the Lord asks noting of Ezekiel that he doesn’t require of himself. Even as God’s Only Begotten Son dies on the cross, he’ll have to turn his back on him.
Take Away: The Lord loves lost people so much that he’ll act in extreme ways to redeem them.
Devotional on Daniel
Winning in little ways first
Daniel 1: Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food.
The hardest time for me to stay on a diet is when I’m on vacation. There are so many nice places to eat, we’re out of our routine, and there’s the strange notion that “what happens on vacation stays on vacation.” One “off diet” meal leads to another and I end up bringing home, not just pleasant memories and photos of all the places we saw, but a few extra pounds too. Of course, Daniel and his companions aren’t on vacation. They’ve been taken against their will to a distant land with little hope of returning home. Even if they could go back, things are very different than when they left. Still, they’re in very pleasant surroundings. They’re part of the household of the most powerful king on earth and they’re being groomed to serve in the royal court. Their rations aren’t bread and water but, instead, are the richest of foods and the finest of wines. The thing is that their religion has strict dietary rules. That pork chop might look quite tasty, but it’s forbidden to them by their God. If we struggle with our diets just because we’re a few hundred miles from home, think of their struggle. The Temple, Jerusalem, and their family ties are all in their past. Do the rules even apply anymore? If they do just go along with what is being asked of them where will it take them next? Does saying “yes” here mean they’ll be expected to say “yes” somewhere else, like, for instance, the worship of an idol? Daniel decides to draw the line right where he is. He’s a follower of God and God has given him some dietary rules. He’ll be respectful, but he’ll hold steady at this minor point. If he never starts down the path away from God he’ll never end up where that path leads. I don’t know if this passage will help me stay on my diet or not, but it certainly can help me remember that spiritual failure doesn’t start with my rejecting God in some big way. Rather, it starts with little things. If I win there, I’m much more likely to conquer the “biggie” when it shows up.
Take Away: If we never start down the path away from God we’ll never end up where that path leads.