Isaiah 17:12-14 -- God defends His people

When things are tough it could be that we're reaping what we sowed, it could be a test, it could be the results of other people's sin (the downside of free will) but remember God does defend His people.

Isaiah 17:8-11 - Don't forget the God who saves

In this world where we seems to have so much it's so easy to get distracted from our God who saves.  $, entertainment, other people.... Even for a short while these temporal distractions seems to work. V ll "plants may sprout and blossom but ultimately it is "God who saves you, (He is) the one who is the mighty rock where you find protection" v 10

Lord thank you for the fact that you're bigger than anyone of us.  Please help us to listen to You and obey the next little thing You tell us to do so that we may all live in peace and safety.

Isaiah 17:1-7... they will trust God

How many times do we have to do things our way and then face the consequences before we learn to trust God?

Let's relax and remember to give thanks for what He has done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1WmzRxBGFY

Isaiah 16:6-14 --Watch the pride

I have to catch myself when things are going well because the light comes on me and it's tempting to take the credit but the truth is without God I am nothing.  A man came up to Jesus one day and said "good master" and Jesus said "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."  Of all the sins it seems to me that pride is mentioned most in the bible so I'm going to guess that most of us struggle with it.

The solution to this struggle is found in Jeremiah 9:24

"but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD."

Isaiah 15-16:5 -- War torn countries and A Kingdom of Love

As I read these verses I think of war torn countries and refugees and countries that accept refugees.  It makes me wonder what happens that invokes people to fight and/or care.  It also makes me think of people who leave their country and come to another country as a refugee and then want to change the country they come to.  The reality is everyone has something good to offer.  Some of us make some very bad choices but all of us can make a positive difference in this world.  The problem is we aren't all knowing so we don't know how to best co-ordinate this with everyone but this is the beauty of Jesus; the person "from David's family", who "rules with fairness" and "does what is right and quickly brings justice".  He showed us how to live in person and as He did this He highlighted that He had to be about His Father's business.

http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0302.htm

Father, give us eyes to see Your Kingdom, ears to hear your requests, and faith and ambition to obey You.  "For Yours is the Kingdom!"

Isaiah 14:5-32 --Now all the world is at peace

As I think of this chapter and Ephesians 6:12 "We are not fighting against humans.  We are fighting against forces and powers in the spiritual world." I am reminded that the King of Babylon symbolizes  satan and I'm reminded that God is the victor over satan.

When I read v 15-17 I'm reminded of Star Trek and the virtual reality rooms and wonder how often our battles are battlefields  in our minds only.  Fortunately God has given us resources for battle in Ephesians 6.  Also knowing the fact that God is a great God helps us to adjust to God's perspective.  

Here are some thoughts about God's perspective.

1) If He says there will be a punishment he follows through with his punishment v24-v27.  Galatians 6:7-9 makes it clear to  us.  We can't fool God so don't make a fool of ourselves.  We reap what we sow! ...  Father, please help us sow appropriately.

2) He as promised "The poor and needy will find pastures for their sheep and will live in safety.." v 30... Thank you Lord!

Lord, please help us represent You well in Your Kingdom.

Isaiah 14:1-2 What goes around comes around...

These verses remind me of 2 phrases "be careful how you treat others as you move up in the world because you may have to face them again as you come down" and  "Every blessing comes from God".  

He values hard work, and wise choices and a relationship with Him and ultimately He decides who is boss.

My confession...

As you can tell I haven't typed much here recently.  This is mainly because I prefer a fairly tale story where everything ends well but the truth is God, and thus the scripture, deal with real people and their relationship (good and bad) with God.

My reality is that I am extremely blessed.  I've just returned from a week in Cuba with my Mom.  Our highlight was swimming with the Dolphins.  When we signed up we had no idea that swimming with the Dolphins meant that the Dolphins wanted to throw us up in the air.  Yup, I had one dolpin nose on one foot and the other on another foot and the idea was they'd swim so fast they'd lift you into the air and then you'd drop into the water.  They tried it twice with me but I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be thrown into the air so I never made it out of the water.  I now regret not trying a 3rd time though.  This story makes me think of some people in my life who I think wanted me to rise to the top and they did everything to help me to do this but all the time I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be raised to the top just to be dropped.  The beauty of their story is that they believe in the journey.  Just like scripture they are willing to work with real people and real life situations.

The other thing I did when I was in Cuba is read a novel based on the life of Daniel in the bible.  It's titled Daniel power, business, and politics (Daniel's life from ages fifty to eighty three) by Jay Edwards.  It helped me to digest again, that it's about real people, in a real world, with a real God.

My prayer is that whoever reads this blog will recognize their own real walk with a real God more than they observe my faltering walk in this real world with my real God.

Today is a turning point for me.  Today, I'm writing this because I'm having fun with my Living Room time with God.  I am so blessed.  One of my huge gifts from God and people is a copy of the Key Freedom bible. because I know some of the stories that went into the making of this bible but I never knew it was being made. I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BLESSED!!!  As I result I'm going to use it from now on with this blog.  The Key Freedom bible uses contemporary English so hopefully it will enhance the content of my blog.

Isaiah 13 --"If you live by the sword you die by the sword"

As I read Isaiah 13 I hear the anger and frustration and I really don't like it or the violence.  Not too long ago I was thinking let's get rid of the liars, manipulator, etc so we can go about our work in our Father's Kingdom yet, as much as I would like to do this, this is not part of Jesus's teaching.  Jesus taught that the weeds grow in with the wheat and it's God's job to deal with the weeds. This leaves me with questions on how one best sets boundaries.  The solution I believe is found in the phrase:

"Authentically love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and authentically love your neighbour as much as you authentically love yourself"

I really like it because, as Jesus said, it sums up the whole law and it leaves room for self love, God love and other people.

Isaiah 11:10 12 -- At that time...

"At that time the place where the king lives will be filled with glory.."
"At that time the Lord will again reach out and take his people..."
"At that time Israel will not be jealous anymore..."
"At that time you will say: 'I praise you, Lord!'..."
"At that time you will say, 'Praise the Lord and worship him. Tell everyone what he has done and how great he is'..."