Let Righteousness Flourish

“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it. ~ Is. 45:8

Tuesday, July 08, 2014, 6:49 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song “Shine Jesus Shine” in mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Isaiah 45 (NIV).

Idolatry

“Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.” ~ Is. 45:20-21

What is an idol? An idol is anything which takes the rightful place of God in our hearts and or which replaces him in our affections, loyalties, desires, worship and commitments. An idol can be, for instance, our own minds, hearts and lives; our health and fitness; our careers, entertainment or relaxation; our religious performances; sports, TV, movies and music; our houses and possessions; addictions to pornography, eating, gossip and the like; or it can be other people, our money, self-esteem, knowledge, skills and or our talents. An idol is anything we hold on to, outside of our relationship with Jesus Christ, over which we maintain absolute control and of which we do not submit to our Lord and Master, Jesus. We don’t inquire of the Lord, in other words, as to whether or not he is pleased with what we are doing or with how we are spending our time or concerning our thoughts and affections.

Yet, our idols are worthless. They are nothing. If we give them praise, honor and glory, and we esteem them highly, even above our relationship with Almighty God, then we are blind and ignorant, and we have forgotten that we have been delivered (cleansed) of all our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. Our idols profit us nothing. We who make idols out of the things of this flesh, or of this world of sin, are being misled by deluded hearts. We don’t see that our idols are but a lie. When we worship what has been created, or what our own hands have made, rather than the creator, we know and understand nothing because our minds are closed so that we cannot see and so that we cannot understand. [Source: Isaiah 44 on idolatry] Addiction is like that.

And worship, whether we worship idols or we worship God, is the giving of our adoration, love, reverence, respect, devotion, loyalty, commitment, faithfulness, and fidelity to that which we worship. Yet, God/Jesus Christ is to be our Only Lord and Master of our lives to whom we give all our worship and praise. May we not give it to any other!

Saved by The Lord

“All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;
they will go off into disgrace together.
But Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,
to ages everlasting.
For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain.’

I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right
. ~ Is. 45:16-19

Lest we write this off as Old Testament and as though it does not apply to us today, let me remind us that the New Testament speaks very similar words, and that much of Isaiah is concerning the Messianic era, the last days before Christ’s return, the judgments of God on the earth at the end of time, and the millennial kingdom reign of Jesus Christ yet to come. These things are interwoven all throughout the book of Isaiah. As well, 1 Corinthians 6 tells us that neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers, etc. will inherit the kingdom of God. Revelation 21 and 22, as well, state that the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the idolaters and all liars – those who love and practice falsehood - they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Do Christians sometimes get caught up in any of these things? Sure we do, though we should not. And, we should immediately repent of our sins and turn back to following our Lord when we have gone astray or have wandered off. So, what does this mean for us? I believe scripture teaches that those who live a lifestyle (who make a practice) of sinning, who refuse and resist the voice/word of God, and who do not repent of their sins, are those who will not see eternity with God – even those who have made a profession of Christ as Savior of their lives, but who continued to live in sin, and who have lived a lie (See 1 John). So, don’t play around with your salvation thinking that God’s grace gives you the freedom to continue in sin and to still have your ticket into heaven. You may be DEAD wrong!

Tit. 2:11-14 tells us that the grace of God teaches us to say “No!” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled and upright lives in this present age while we wait for our Lord’s return. Amen! Romans 6-8 gives us a very similar message as it encourages us that we are those who have died to sin, so how can we live in it any longer? Our old self was crucified with Christ so that “the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” Amen! 2 Co. 5:15 tells us that, in fact, Jesus Christ died so that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself up for us. And, in Eph. 4 we read that coming to Christ means we die to our old lives of living for sin and self, we are transformed by the Spirit of God, and we have new lives in Christ, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This is why Jesus died! This is the meaning of Grace!

Turn and Be Saved

“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
But all the descendants of Israel
will find deliverance in the Lord
and will make their boast in him. ~ Is. 45:22-25

This is a call to all the people of the earth to turn to Jesus Christ, to make him the ONLY Lord of their lives, and to be saved. Yet, this is also a call to all who profess Christ as Savior of their lives, but who are living a lie, to turn away from their idols and to turn to the Lord Jesus and be saved, because the reality is that scripture teaches us that those who make a practice of sinning and of evil deeds have no place in God’s eternal kingdom. In 1 John we read that if we say we are in fellowship with God and yet we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and we do not live by the truth. It also says that if we say we love God but we continue (in lifestyle) sinning, we are liars. Also, if we say we love God, but we do not do what he says, we are liars. True salvation thus involves turning away from living in sin and for self, being reborn of the Spirit of God, and now walking in Christ’s righteousness and holiness – all in the power and working of the Spirit within us, and not in our own flesh.

Shine Jesus Shine / Graham Kendrick

Lord the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us
Set us free by the truth You now bring us…


Fill this land with the Father's glory…
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your Word, Lord and let there be light…


 
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