BE DISCERNING

Is. 36:10 “….What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the LORD’s direction? The LORD himself told us, ‘Go and destroy it!’”  NLT

      What strikes me here is that not everyone who claims to have direction from the Lord does.  Israel was under attack and the invading army was pressing in on Jerusalem.  The leader of the army was trying to convince the king to surrender.  He boasted of his military might and then he declared that God had sent him to destroy the city where His people dwelt.

      We need to be careful whom we listen to.  Not everyone who claims to speak for the Lord does.  Words can be very convincing.  It is imperative that we be discerning.  It is important that one gets to know the heart of man before he buys into what he hears.  It is important that we always evaluate what we hear by what the Word says.  And by the way, in order for us to know what the Word really is saying, we must be in sync with the Holy Spirit.  Proper understanding comes from a heart that is right with God.  Sin distorts truth so he who wants to hear from God must not allow sin to dwell in the heart.

      Don’t be persuaded by flowery speech or the appearance of man.  Don’t let anyone deceive you.  Accept what you hear on your knees before God.  Seek His affirmation before you accept what you hear.  The Lord never contradicts himself or violates His holiness.  Never.  If the Word consistently affirms the message and the message leads to holiness of life, then it truly comes from God.

      If you are right with the Lord, you will be able to discern truth from error.  It’s all the more reason why we must stay diligent in our pursuit of holiness and diligently watch over our souls.  We dare not let anything in that may cause us to be led astray from God.  Let God’s Word be your shield and protector.  Listen first and foremost to what God says before you accept what man says.

SALVATION IS COMING!

Is. 35:3-4  With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.  Say to those who are afraid, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.  He is coming to save you.”  NLT

       Salvation is coming!  Dear friend, we must never forget this wondrous truth.  Life can be very rough at times and the world is not getting any better.  It is getting harder and harder to live out a life of faith in peace.  Satan is on the prowl and stirring up the world against Christ.  Things are moving forward rapidly in preparation for Christ’s coming.  Don’t let the state of the world overwhelm you.  Salvation is coming!

Don’t look around you and get caught up in how bad things are.  Look up, for our redemption draws near.  Are you tired of the struggles?  Salvation is coming!  Is your soul weary?  Salvation is coming!  Do you feel like you are swimming up a creek without a paddle?  Salvation is coming!  Are you being harassed because of your faith?  Salvation is coming!  Does it seem like nothing good is happening in your life?  Salvation is coming!

      Oh, beloved of the Lord, let this wondrous truth strengthen your soul.  You are not forgotten or forsaken.   The Lord knows all about your struggles.  He knows your weariness.  He knows how life saps your strength.  He knows how hard it is to live a godly life in an ungodly world.  He understands how you feel and He wants you to know today, “Salvation is coming!” 

      The Lord is coming to destroy the enemies of your soul.  He is going to put an end to the constant battles you fight.  He has overcome the world and will save you from your enemies.  We don’t know how soon He is coming, but we do know He is.  He is going to put an end to the madness.  Trust Him.  Persevere.  It is worth the struggles.  We are going to witness the subduing of the world.  We are going to see our Lord in all His glory.  Salvation is coming!

       The Lord may make life easier for you now, or He may not.  If He doesn’t, He will give you all you need in order to overcome and be victorious in your struggles.  He has not, nor will He ever, leave you alone to fight your battles of life.  He loves you and is with you.  Call on Him and He will strengthen you and give you an overwhelming peace each step you take in your journey of life.  Look up, for your redemption is near.  Salvation is coming!  Praise the name of the Lord!

THE LORD WAITS FOR YOU

Is. 30:18  But the LORD still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion.  For the LORD is a faithful God.  Blessed are those who wait for him to help them.  NLT

       The Lord is waiting for you to come to Him.  He wants to show you His love for you.  He wants to shower you with His compassion. 

       There is always an open invitation from the Lord for us to come to Him.  He is patiently waiting for us.  He has so much love to give us, if we would only go to Him.  There are so many excuses we come up with to not approach the Lord, but none of them make any sense at all.  When we consider what the Lord promises to do for us when we come to Him, it is utter foolishness to stay away from Him.   There is nothing that can compare to being loved by God. 

      God’s love is so far above anything else man can ever know.  It is the most precious possession man can ever hope to obtain.  To be loved by God means that He will accept us just as we are, no strings attached.  He will not treat us any differently than anyone else.  He will never expect us to be who we are not.  He will never treat us in a way that is not good for us.  He will never stop loving us.  He longs to make himself known to us in a very personal way.  He longs to shower us with compassion. 

       The Lord is faithful to those who love Him.  All we have to do is to submit ourselves to Him.  We must be willing to live life God’s way.  We must not seek our own agenda, but we must seek His.  We must wait on the Lord and conform ourselves to His righteousness.  The Lord will show His love to those who flee to Him and let Him have His way with them.

       We tend to not want to wait for the Lord to help us.  We get in such a hurry and want to make things happen now and in our own way.  However, for those who are wise enough to wait for the Lord to help them, they are blessed.  They discover they worry a whole lot less.  They discover that there is a peace that wasn’t there before because they know the Lord’s helping hand is so much better than whatever we could do with our own hands.  Those who wait on the Lord enjoy the journey of life so much more than those who don’t.

WANDERING AWAY

Is. 30:15  The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel says, “Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength.  But you would have none of it!”

        Some of you reading this today have wandered away from the Lord.  You know you have and you are miserable.  Things just are not right with your soul; peace eludes you.  You may be trying to put on a good front so that others don’t suspect anything is wrong.  You may be trying not to think about it in the hopes that what is bothering you will go away. 

       Some of you just gradually wandered away from the Lord.  You have neglected your soul and it has gotten to the point where you no longer know the peace of God.  You no longer take an interest in reading your Bible or praying.  Missing church doesn’t bother you.  You find yourself more and more likely to fall into sin.  You have a bad attitude about life.  You are mean to others.  You are only concerned about you and what pleases you.  You look in the mirror and you don’t like what you see.  You wonder how it could have happened.

      We wander away from God when we do not properly feed our souls on a regular basis.  We need to be reading and studying God’s Word daily.  We need to be constantly searching the Word for things we need to do with our lives.  We need to be looking for things that are not right with our souls.  We need to read the Word with the expectation of needing to change.  We need to read it knowing that we fall short of God’s holiness and must have His help to stay pure.  We must always see ourselves in need of God.  Don’t believe Satan’s lies that you can get along without it; you can’t.  It is a very big deal for those who want to be with God someday.

      We wander away from God when we don’t pray on a regular basis.  We need to stay in touch with Him.  We need to be prayer-minded.  We need to constantly stay in touch with the Lord.  We need to always bring the Lord into the mix of our living.  Being in an attitude of prayer never loses its importance for those who want to see God.

      We wander from God when we don’t worship Him on a regular basis.  God created us with a need for worship.  Everyone is a worshiper; it’s just a matter of who or what we worship.  We must never lose our sense of worship before God, our adoration of Him, our sense of gratitude and praise. 

       Don’t be like those who wander away from the Lord and refuse to return to Him.  Humble yourself before God, confess your sins to Him, seek His forgiveness, and you will once again know the peace of God.  Don’t settle for anything less than knowing it is well with your soul. 

QUESTIONING GOD

Is. 29:16  “How stupid can you be?  He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you.  You are only the jars he makes!  Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, “He didn’t make us”?  Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?  NLT

       Let us think about this for a moment.  How often do we question God?  How often do we come up against things in our lives that we simply do not like and do not think is good in any way and then accuse God of not loving us?  Do we blame God for what goes wrong with us?  It happens, doesn’t it?  How should we think about God when we don’t like what is happening? 

     We need to get to know God well enough to know who He is so we don’t turn on Him when things go bad.  We need to know that God’s nature never changes.  He is always good; He always does what is right.  God is incapable of acting towards us in evil ways.  He is holy love and always works for our good.  He allows things to happen in our lives for our good.  He desires that we grow through the tough times so our faith is made stronger.  He knows what we need to experience so that we will become more holy and learn to trust Him more. 

       Instead of seeing things as bad, we need to see them as good.  Circumstances do not define who God is.  They do not reflect His love for us.  He is in control of the lives of those who are committed to Him.  He in His wisdom knows how to best help us become a holy people.  Instead of complaining about our difficulties, we should see them as a good and necessary part of our lives.  We should thank the Lord in the midst of our struggles for His goodness to us.  We should get our eyes off of our problems and focus on the goodness and holiness of God.

       It is foolishness to turn against God when things don’t go our way.  He never promises that things will always be what we want them to be like.  He never promises us an easy road to heaven.  We need to grow up and deal with life positively and not negatively.  All that blaming God does for us to push us away from God.  Wise is he who draws near to God regardless of the circumstances that surrounds him.  Wise is he who turns to God and seeks God’s help to overcome.  Wise is he who knows how to praise the Lord in all things.

THE LORD KNOWS

Is. 29:15  Destruction is certain for those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who try to keep him in the dark concerning what they do!  “The LORD can’t see us,” you say to yourselves.  “He doesn’t know what is going on!”  NLT

       Go ahead and try it.  Try and hide what you are doing or plan to do from the Lord.  It cannot be done.  The Lord somehow knows all about every detail of our living.  He knows what we are doing and even why we do it.  He knows what is on our minds.  It is impossible to hide anything from the Lord.

       If you are doing things you know you shouldn’t be doing and think that you are getting away with it, think again.  The only thing you are accomplishing by not being upfront about your activities before the Lord is certain destruction.  When you do evil you are not harming anyone but yourself.  Trying to hide or cover-up evil destroys the soul.

      As much as you might want to believe that God is in the dark and does not know what you are doing with your life, it simply is not so.  God is light and His light penetrates the darkest soul.  He knows all there is to know about you and there is nowhere to hide from His gaze.  He knows and holds you responsible for what you do and accountable for it.

      In order to protect yourself from self-destruction, live openly before the Lord.  Be honest about what you are doing.  Tell the Lord what you are doing.  It benefits you, not the Lord.  He already knows what you are doing.  Your activities affect your heart, not His.  Honesty is the only policy that works with the Lord.  Confess any sin or sinful thoughts you may have.  Seek the Lord’s forgiveness.  And, with His help, strive to change your behavior so that you don’t get yourself in a similar mess down the road. 

       Develop a plan to stay out of sin’s path and work the plan.  If you don’t work to help yourself you will lose the battle for your soul.  The Lord rewards those who are faithful to Him so work hard at keeping your soul healthy and holy before Him.  You can do it.  The question is, “Will you do it?”

REAL FAITH

Is. 29:13  And so the LORD says, “These people say they are mine.  They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.  And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human laws learned by rote.”  NLT

      This verse speaks of a matter that is close to my heart.  So many people say that they are children of God, but their lives say otherwise.  They may grace our churches on a regular basis and even be leaders in the church.  They may be occasional church goers or they may never go to church.  They may call themselves Christian without any real understanding of what that really means from a Biblical perspective.  They may even deny basic Biblical teachings and the Bible itself as the written Word of God.

     Many who gather for worship on a regular basis go through the motions of worship without ever really worshipping the Lord.  They may say the right things without their hearts being in it.  They may make a lot of noise and get emotionally wound up without being passionate about the Lord deep in their souls.  They may be good at preaching and teaching the Word without the Word ever really getting a hold of their hearts and changing them. 

      The Lord declares that such people are not His children.  There is a difference between proclaiming truth and living truth.  Many grow up in the church and never leave the church who have never had a life-changing experience with the Lord.  They assimilate the truth of the Gospel without dealing with their sinful souls before God.   They may be very good people who are respected highly in the church, but they are lost.

      We must carefully examine our souls and make sure that we have not fallen into the faith instead of embracing it.  We are not children of God unless we are convicted of our sins, confess them, and repent.  There are no backdoors into heaven.  Jesus is the only way.  He died to take away our sins, not to cover them up.  We try often to cover them up with our goodness, but it never will work.  Salvation is not ours just because we claim it to be so.  What we say does not get us into heaven.  Only Jesus can make our hearts righteous and holy before God. 

      Do you know for certain that you are the child of God that you claim to be?  Have you opened up your heart to Jesus and let Him in to purify it and change you forever?  If you have, it will be obvious in the way you live and in the peace that governs your soul.

JESUS, OUR CORNERSTONE

Is. 28:16  Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says, “Look!  I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem.  It is firm, a tested and precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.  Whoever believes need never run away again.”  NLT

       Notice that this is something that God has done.  No man can lay down a foundation that is trustworthy enough to build his life on.  Any attempts to do so will not stand the test of time.  One’s life will crumble and fall apart as it faces the many storms of life.  Jesus is the foundation stone that Isaiah spoke about.  He is firm, a foundation that never moves or crumbles.  We can put our trust in Him knowing that He will always be steadfast and true. 

     Jesus has been tested.  Scripture tells us that He was tempted in all points just like we are and yet He did not sin.  He had many opportunities, but His love for God and connection to God was so strong that He never wavered in His rejection of sin’s opportunities.  I do wonder whether or not if we were to love the Lord more if we would not sin as much.  Is our connection to God so real and strong that we are able to say no to sin?  It should be a challenge to us to do all that we can do to make our connection to the Lord as strong as we possibly can so we will have the willpower to resist temptations.  I know I have found that I am the weakest in resisting temptation when I am weakest in my prayer and devotional life.

       Jesus is our precious cornerstone.  Everything in a building is built around its cornerstone.  If the cornerstone is bad, the structure of the building will be weak and eventually crumble.  Much care has to be given to make sure the cornerstone is what it should be.  The same thing holds true in our relationship with the Lord.  Our spiritual stability and longevity depends on how much we allow ourselves to be built on Christ.  He is crucial to our life with God and there can be no compromising our connection to Him.

      It is safe to build your life on Christ.  In fact, as the old hymn put it, “all other ground is sinking sand.”  If you try to build your life on anything else, you will make a mess of your life.  Only in Christ are we able to handle whatever comes our way in a way that pleases God.

       All who believe in Him find a safe haven in which to stand.  They no longer have need to run and hide.  They no longer have to chase after things to satisfy.  In Christ alone do we find what our souls need.  In His life we find peace and contentment.  In Him we find a life worth living for.

TRUST IN GOD OUR ROCK

Is. 26:4  Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.  NLT

     Trust is not something we can do when it’s convenient or easy for us to do.  We must trust in the Lord always.  No matter how impossible or difficult it may seem to be, we must trust in the Lord.  We are prone to trust in our own judgment or the advice of others before we trust the Lord.  So much of the decisions we make in life do not flow from trusting in the Lord.  We may trust Him with the big things, but when it comes to the little things we are more apt to handle them ourselves. 

      What we must understand is that trust is a way of life for the redeemed.  If we truly believe what we say we believe about God, we will trust Him in all things.  We say that God is trustworthy because He is absolute perfection in all things good and holy.  We say that He is all knowing and understanding.  We say that He is incapable of wrong judgments.  We say that He is all powerful, able to do supply whatever we may need.  We say that He is love and will always do what is best for us.  We say that He has a plan for our lives and is moment-by-moment working it out in our lives for our good.  We say these things and claim to believe them, but fail to turn to Him and trust Him for many things in our lives. 

      We must be honest about ourselves and admit that we are not always the most reliable people to trust.  We don’t have a good handle on many things.  We are too emotionally attached to be objective in many things.  Our judgment is often clouded by our emotions.  We are short-sighted and do not see the bigger picture.  We like to think that we are so wise, but we are not.  We need the Lord’s perspective on things in order for us to make good decisions in life.

      Dear friend, if you find yourself not trusting the Lord always, please reconsider what you are doing.  The Lord is our eternal Rock.  He alone can be trusted to never fail.  He alone is able to help you come out on top.  He alone is unwavering and true to His Word.  You can and must believe what He promises if you are going to live life in Christ.  You will overcome all things and have peace always if you trust in the Lord to help you in all things big and small.

       Don’t waver in this.  Trust the Lord always in all things for He is our Rock and salvation.

STAYED ON JEHOVAH

Is. 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!  NLT

       This is not a maybe promise!  God say He WILL keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him.  Perfect peace is the absolute knowledge that God is real in the heart.  It is knowing that we have held nothing back from Him, that we have confessed all of our sins.  It is knowing that God is in control and will never fail to be with us or let us down.  It is knowing that the desire of the heart is that God’s will be done and not our own.  It is knowing that God is able and putting all of our trust in Him.  It is knowing that God is eternally the same and can never change.

      Perfect peace comes to those who trust in the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul.  It happens when we cease to doubt God, when we believe in His absolute goodness and holiness to the point where we know that He always acts on our behalf out of love and for our good.

      Perfect peace comes to those who fix their thoughts on Him.  There is so much to occupy our minds with.  We are constantly being bombarded with things to think about.  Since the world is for now Satan’s playground, it stands to reason that much of what we are exposed to is evil.  It takes a disciplined mind to not focus on evil.  A mind fixed on the Lord consistently and regularly feeds on godly things.  There is much time spent in God’s Word and prayer.  There is time spent surrounded by godly people.  There is time spent seeing the world through God’s eyes.  We train our minds to think of the world as a place of pain and not pleasure.  A trained mind understands the lostness of the world and how precious it is to not be lost anymore. 

      Perfect peace is being able to rest in the knowledge that all is well with our souls.  It is keeping our souls pure before God by confessing our sins and striving to live life by Christ’s righteousness in us.  It is a heart fully surrendered to the lordship of Christ over us.

WHO JESUS IS

Is. 9:6-7  For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  NLT

       A great deal has been said and written about these titles for Jesus over the years.  Little can be added to it, but I do want us to linger for a moment and reflect again on them.  It is good for us to not only think about our Lord, but then to visualize ways in which we know these things are true in our lives.

      He is our Wonderful Counselor.  He is all-knowing and full of compassion.  He does not leave us in the dark on how we ought to be living.  He is not insensitive to us and lovingly instructs and guides us in the ways we should go.  The Lord is the way and will never advise us to go a different way other than the way that leads us to heaven and a deeper walk with God.  Imagine the problems we would have if He were to hide the way from us and demand that we in our own wisdom find it.  Instead He makes himself known to us and instructs us how to know Him in His goodness, righteousness and holiness.

      He is our Mighty God.  He is able.  There is no need of life we will ever have that He is not able to handle.  There is no sin that He is not able to forgive.  There is no battle He is not able to win.  There is no crisis of life that He is not able to see us through.  There is no limitation in His power, love, wisdom, grace, mercy, and ability to make us into a holy people, a people after His own heart.

      He is our Everlasting Father.  There is no end to His fatherly love and care for us.  There is no end to His desire to do good for us.  There is no end to His protective care over us.  There is no end to His working in our lives to make us fit for heaven.

      He is our Prince of Peace.  He is the crowning glory of peace.  He alone is able to give us peace that satisfies our souls.  He alone is able to give us the calm confidence we need to weather the storms of life.  There is no real peace apart from Him. 

      There is so much more that could be said about our Lord.  I have not even scratched the surface of just how wonderful He is.  Linger for a moment at His feet and think about these things.  Feast on the Mighty God we serve.  He is such a Wonderful Counselor as He leads us through our life journey.  He watches over us at all times and forever shall be our Father in heaven.  He is our Prince of Peace amidst the storms of life.  God has given us everything we need in life. 

HE TOUCHED ME!

Is. 6:6-8 Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”  NLT

     The proper response to being near to God is repentance. The closer we get to God, the more we should recognize our sinfulness and need for Christ. We should approach God with fear and trembling because we know we are not worthy. We are not able to withstand His holiness. We can only approach Him in Christ. Only the righteous and holy heart of Christ is acceptable to God. Only Christ is good enough. We are made right with God only when we are touched by the Master’s hand. Only Jesus can take away our sin, our guilt, and our shame.

     We are invited to come boldly before the throne of God, but we dare not accept the invitation without Christ as our Savior, mediator, advocate, and Lord. We must stay connected with Christ in order for us to have an audience with God.

      How connected are you with Christ today? Are you staying in the Word like you ought? Are you meditating on it first and foremost for your soul’s sake? Are you taking the time to pray like you ought for your soul’s sake? Are you feeding your mind on those things that build up your soul instead of tearing it down?

      You will never have a proper understanding of God in His holiness until you have a proper understanding of what it means for you to live in Christ and for Christ to live in you.

SIN STRUCK

Is. 6:5  Then I said, “My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race.  Yet I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!”  NLT

     Oh, but that we all would have the same spirit that Isaiah had!  When was the last time you were so overwhelmed by your sinfulness that you were driven to cry out in mercy to God for He is holy? 

      We just don’t see ourselves as we should in light of God’s holiness.  God makes himself known to us and we consider it no big deal.  We take for granted His love and favor.  We know He is holy, but we are not too fazed by it.  We know we sin, but it doesn’t bother us all that much.  We don’t have a big problem with all the evil around us.  We accept it as just a part of life and go on our merry way.  Is it any wonder that God seems so far away from us?

      We need to have an awareness of our sinfulness.  We need to understand that God is holy and that sin affects our ability to have fellowship with God.  We need to recognize our need to repent and be made holy before God.  We will not see God move in us or in the church unless we first deal with sin.  We have become sin tolerant and it keeps us away from God’s heart.  In order for us to become a people after God’s own heart, we must first confess our sins and repent.  We must commit ourselves to lives of holiness and quit accommodating sin in our lives.

      We may never see God in the same way that Isaiah saw Him, but we can know Him as Isaiah knew Him.  We can take our sinfulness seriously and seek the face of God.  We can focus on God’s holiness and see ourselves in light of it.  We must quit comparing ourselves with others and considering ourselves good in comparison.  In light of God’s holiness, no one is good or good enough.  We are all sinners and desperately need Christ in control of our hearts, for He is our holiness before God.

      Dear friend, fall prostrate at Jesus’ feet today.  Admit your sin and confess them before God.  Ask Jesus to keep you aware of your sin and your need for Him.  Don’t play games with your soul.  Unless Jesus is your Lord, you will lose your battle with sin.  Surrender yourself to Him and He will wash away your sin and make your heart pure before God.

SING TO THE LORD

Is. 6:4 The glorious singing shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.  NLT

      When was the last time you were in a service where the singing was so vibrant and Spirit-moved that it “shook the Temple to its foundations?” Have you given much thought to how you sing in church? Do you sing from your heart, or your head? Do you sing out of a heart full of praise and thanksgiving, or a heart full of pain and sorrow? Do you sing because you want to join in and worship the Lord or you want to join in because that is what you are expected to do? Do you direct your singing to those around you, or to the Lord?

      How do you define singing anyhow? Is it not making a joyful noise unto the Lord from the heart? Whether or not you are on or off key is not important to God. What comes out of your heart is. What makes a noise joyful is a heart that is joyful because of the Lord in it. A joyful heart is one which knows the intimacy of the Lord’s presence and swells up in praise because of Him. A joyful heart is a heart that is prepared beforehand to sing His praises because they have already been with Jesus.

      When souls gather together and join their hearts together in praise and worship, the singing is such that it will shake the Temple foundation and fill the sanctuary with smoke---the very presence of God himself.

       Let all who have a song to sing, sing from their heart unto the Lord this very day. Worship is not confined to an allotted time set aside on a Saturday or Sunday. True worship happens daily as we live out our lives in Christ.

NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD

Is. 6:3-4  In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty!  The whole earth is filled with his glory!”  The glorious singing shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.  NLT

      One of the songs of heaven that the angels and heaven’s choir continuously sings is holiness unto to the Lord.  Scripture doesn’t tell us about any other songs being sung before God, but we are told that holiness is declared in choruses of praise.  It is such a glorious song that it shook the very foundation of the Temple.  Have you ever been in a worship service that was so overwhelmed by the presence of God that it shook to the core the place of worship?

      Maybe a better question would be, “Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the presence of God that all you could do was declare His holiness in praise?  Branded deep in my soul is an experience I had as a little boy.  I grew up in a conservative Wesleyan church where there was an elderly saint, Brother Shafer.  I can still see him today as if had happened yesterday.  Brother Shafer would so feel the presence of God in worship that he would stand up and start walking down the aisles of the church with his hands raised to heaven and say over and over again, “Glory, Glory, Glory!”  He would walk around the church and then sit back down and I would know even as a young lad that I was in the presence of God.

       Rarely have I had such an experience since.  I have been where God has moved in our midst in a very precious and special way, but it is not the norm.  Now, I am not talking about those times in which we generate excitement within ourselves.  We can easily become excited without it being because God is in our midst.  When the Lord is in our midst, we know it deep within our souls.

       I wonder if we were to live closer to the heart of God if maybe the Lord would visit us more often in worship.  Can we really say that we are living close to God?  We cannot be close to God without being holy in heart. We must be students of the Word and have regular visits with God in our prayer closets.  We must be actively taking our faith out into the world and doing what we can do for the glory of Christ. 

      When we draw near to God, we become captivated by the presence and holiness of God.  We see ourselves as we are, in great need of Him in our lives.  When we become holy in heart as He is holy, great things will happen in our lives and through our lives.  Holiness is the greatest need of the church today.

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

Is. 6:3 In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”  NLT

      We sing it, but do we grasp it?  “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord, God Almighty!” What does it mean to proclaim that God is holy? Holiness is an absence of sin. When we ascribe to God holiness, we are declaring that there is absolutely no sin at all in Him or in His presence. We are declaring that He is absolutely perfect in character and incapable of anything but perfection in thought and action. He is holy. He is unaffected by sin because no sin is anywhere near Him. He is always right and never wavering in His ability to act in character. He is holy.

      We declare Him holy knowing full well that we are not. We know that we can’t be holy on our own. There is nothing in us to declare holy. We become holy only to the extent we are connected to God. The more we live in Christ, through Christ, for Christ, the more holy we become in who we are. We declare Him holy and declare our need for Him to make us holy.

      All of heaven and earth declare His glory. God has left His fingerprint on everything He has made for all to see Him in His glory. You cannot escape God’s witness. No one can claim they had no knowledge of God when His glory is evident wherever they may turn.

GOD IN HIS GLORY

Is. 6:1,2 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. NLT

       This portion of God’s Word has always ministered to me. We catch a little visual glimpse of God in His glory. Although we can never fully imagine what it is like to be in the presence of God while we are in the flesh, we can get enough of an idea to whet our appetites and cause us to bow before Him in reverence.

       The Lord was sitting on His throne. He is absolute in His existence, power, and authority. He fills up the place where He resides. He is surrounded by angelic beings who both minister to Him as they sing His praises and who honor Him in their worship and service.

       I find it noteworthy that their faces were covered by their wings. I don’t want to make this say more than it does, but it makes me think. How much do we “cover our faces” when we worship the Lord? Do we have a sense of the majesty, glory, and holiness of God? When was the last time you approached God with fear and trembling? When was the last time you were unable to look upon God because of the sin in your heart? When was the last time you felt the need to turn away your gaze from Him because He is God?

       I wonder; are we to God-friendly for our own good?

A VISION OF GOD

Is. 6:1 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.   NLT

       If you were permitted to actually catch a glimpse of heaven, what would you expect to see? What would you expect to happen?  We are given very little actual insight into heaven in the Scriptures.  We are told that it is full of the glory of God and that there is continuous praise going on.  We are told that the angels are busy serving the Lord there.  We are given a picture of heaven being a place of indescribable beauty, untainted by sin in any form.  Heaven is so much more than what is revealed to us in the Scriptures

        Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne.  God is spirit, but He was recognizable to Isaiah.  Isaiah had his spiritual eyes open and could see Him in a way that only the truly righteous in heart can see Him.  If our hearts are right with God, we are able to see God on a much deeper level than what is normally known of God at first glance.

      God revealed himself in human form at various times in history, so it’s not too hard to see and recognize God if we are seeing Him through the lens of our humanity.  But, will we always need to see Him as we do now?  In heaven we will have different bodies, different eyes.  We will be able to see Him differently than we do now.  We will see Him as He actually is, absolute holiness wrapped up in glory.  We will see absolute perfection.  We will see nothing but holy love.  His presence will be such that it will fill all the space we are in.  We will see the glory of God without end.  We will see Him on His throne and we will be drawn to Him on bended knee. 

      People who sit on thrones in this world are corrupted by sin.  They embrace their power and authority and feast on it.  They abuse their power for their own gain.  But it is not that way with God.  God on His throne is pure holiness.  Everything He does is good and right.  He always acts out of the context of perfection.

       Isaiah was given a glimpse of God on His throne.  There was a reason why God allowed him to see what he did.  God had huge plans for Isaiah’s life.  God was going to send him out into his world as a special ambassador for Him.  Isaiah was going to become the voice of God for his day.  Isaiah’s vision of God was going to forever change him.

       God became flesh and dwelt for a while amongst us.  He made himself known to us so that we can see Him and be changed by Him for His purposes.  God has special plans for you and wants you to look upon Jesus.  He wants to show you the way to God’s throne so that you might be saved and equipped to be His voice in your world.  Behold the Lamb of God who takes away your sins.  Do you see Him?  Do you know His saving grace today?  He is waiting for you.  Turn to Him now.  Today is the day of your salvation.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKING

Is. 5:22  Destruction is certain for those who are heroes when it comes to drinking, who boast about all the liquor they can hold.  NLT

      I don’t know what your stand is on drinking and I do not want to make an issue of whether or not it is okay to do it.  What concerns me the most is our attitude about it.  Drinking has become acceptable across most of society and the church.  It doesn’t have the stigma it once did.  The advertising world has done an excellent job in making it attractive and creating a desire in people to do it.

      What most people do not want to think about is its effect on the body, mind and soul of man.  Some try to warn people of the downside of drinking, but it usually falls on deaf ears.  It is a proven medical fact that drinking takes a toll on the body.  Prolonged drinking causes the body to malfunction.  It affects the ability of the mind to think clearly and rationally.  It causes the soul to distance itself from God.

       Alcohol consumption easily can become a god to man.  People begin to live for the next drink.  It consumes their thinking and becomes their chosen way of unwinding from the stresses of living.  It soon takes over a person’s life and creates a need for a drink in almost all social activities.  It gets to the point where a person cannot function for long without a pick-me-up drink. 

      People have different tolerant levels for alcohol and few are able to recognize and stay within their tolerance level.  Drinking tends to dull the mind’s ability to know when the body has had enough.  Drinking more alcohol than the body can safely handle causes all kinds of destruction.  It destroys the body and mind and has an adverse effect on all who come in contact with the person who is drunk. 

      The Word of God declares that anything that is done in excess is sin.  Many of the Proverbs speak about the dangers of alcoholic consumption.  The issue that we must consider is whether or not it is okay to take the risk of what drinking might do to us in light of what the Word says and medical science backs up.  Does God approve of our putting ourselves and others at risk when we drink?  It is an issue each of us must decide before God.