Jer. 1:4-5 What has the Lord appointed you to do?

Jer. 1:4-5 The LORD gave me a message. He said, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”

What has the Lord appointed you to do?  God made it very clear to Jeremiah that his life was no accident.  God knew him before he came into being.  God knew just how to orchestrate Jeremiah’s life so that he would be properly equipped to do what He had in store for him to do.  God had a specific plan and purpose for Jeremiah’s life and He wanted him to know about his life’s purpose.  Knowing what it is that God created him for would help Jeremiah to stay strong and true to the Lord throughout the many stormy times of his life.

Is every life orchestrated by God like Jeremiah’s was?  I am not knowledgeable enough to speak authoritatively about that.  I do believe that there are no accidental or mistaken human life.  God gives each life a soul and they are born to have live in Christ and have fellowship with Him.  We are created for God’s own good pleasure, but so few ever realize their purpose in life or find Him.  Sadly, most fall into the darkness of sin and never find their way out.  For those of us who do find our way out, we discover that God does have a plan for our lives and we prosper the best when we live it out.

God gives each of us all the tools we need to fulfill His plan for our lives.  We are uniquely gifted to do what we do.  No one can step into our shoes and be us.  God makes available to us all the resources of Heaven to help us reach our potential.  God assigns each of us a task to do and when do it we find real peace and contentment in life. 

It is important for us to know what it is we are to do with our lives for the Lord.  If you don’t know what your role is in the Kingdom of God, then you need to wait before Him until you do.  You need to spend time studying and meditating on the Word.  You need to spend time getting to know the Lord intimately.  You need to open yourself up to the Lord and let Him have all of your heart.  You need to give Him all of your resources and giftedness.  When you give Him your all, the Lord will show you how to best serve Him and bless you as you do it.

Is. 66:6 What is that terrible noise from the Temple?

Is. 66:6  What is all the commotion in the city?  What is that terrible noise from the Temple?  It is the voice of the LORD taking vengeance against his enemies.

Have you given any thought to what kind of noise the Lord is going to make in His house?  Think about it.  The Temple takes on two forms today: the church and the believer.  We are compelled to ask, “Is there anything in the church or us that may cause God to take vengeance on us?  Is there sin in the house?  I believe we need to take a serious look at ourselves and answer the question.

What is behind the things we do?  Do we embrace all who embrace Christ as Savior, or do we shun some?  Do we seek to grow in grace and our knowledge of Him, or do we become complacent and satisfied with the status quo?  Do we seek to justify ourselves, or do we allow the Lord freedom to work in our midst and ourselves?

The Lord is coming to judge the earth and the church as well.  Many who believe they will escape God’s wrath won’t.  Many churches will be left behind when Jesus comes because of their defiant stand against Biblical truth and the way they handle the truth.  Many will realize too late that there is only one Lord of the church, Jesus Christ.  It is not too late to repent.  But we must do it now, for today is the day of salvation.  When the Lord comes back, it will be too late.  He calls those making all the noise His enemies.

God spoke to Elijah in the quietness.  It was in the quietness that Elijah was able to hear God’s voice.  There is very little quietness in the church and in our lives today.  We seem to be bent on drowning out God’s voice.  We surround ourselves with noise to the point where we get nervous in the quiet.  It makes me wonder if all the noise is meant to keep us from hearing from God like we should.  I suspect that many of us do not want to hear God speak because we know that He would speak to us of sin.  We entertain ourselves with the noise in the hopes that God won’t get too close to us.  We try to keep Him at arm’s length so that we don’t have to repent and change.  Much of the noise we surround ourselves with is terrible and the noise the Lord will make when He cleans house will be terrible.

God will not be mocked.  He will judge sin in the church and in our lives.  We must quiet ourselves before Him and let Him have His way with us.  The Lord will wait only so long before He takes vengeance on His enemies, those who live in sin and mock His holy name.

Is. 66:2b "I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word."

 

Is. 66:2b  “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.”

A humble heart is one who knows who he is without Christ and who he is in Christ.  He understands that without Christ he made a real mess of his life and was not able to be good enough to ever please or be accepted by God.  He understands that without Christ he was bound for Hell and deserved it.  He understands that he owes his salvation to Christ alone and has no hope or help from God apart from Him.  A humble heart is a grateful heart for all the workings of God in him to make him holy.

A contrite heart is a broken heart over sin.  He knows that he has sinned against God and is truly sorry because of it.  He knows that he has no one but himself to blame for his sin.  He knows he has no righteousness apart from Christ and comes to Him for it.  A contrite heart is one who determines in his heart that he will do better, that he will with Christ’s help, go and sin no more.

One who trembles at God’s Word understands that the Word of God is absolute, that it is God’s final and only standard for living.  He understands that God’s standards are so much higher than anything that he can achieve on his own.  He understands that he falls so far short of God’s standards and must constantly examine his heart in light of it.  He understands that he must conform himself to what God says, no matter how difficult it may be for him to do so.  He understands that God says what He means and means exactly what He says.  He regards God as one to be highly respected and revered because He is God.

God promises that He blesses those who have humble and contrite hearts who regard His Word with the highest of respect and seek to conform his ways to it.  God blesses those who regard Him as the one who holds eternal life in His hand and judges the soul according to how he responds to Him and His Word.  God’s blessings are on those who know that their salvation is serious business and live accordingly.

Is. 66:2 God created all things: Heaven, the heavenlies, Earth and Hell.

Is. 66:2a  “My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine.  I, the LORD,  have spoken. 

Whatever your beliefs may be about the origins of life and the universe, God declares that He did it.  He does not leave any room for doubt in His Word; He created the heavens and the Earth.  Right from the beginning of His self-revelation, He declares that He spoke into existence all things.  He declares that in a matter of six days everything came into being out of nothing but His mind and mouth.  To say that it didn’t happen that way is to undermine the reliability of the Scriptures and our faith.  If God’s Word cannot be trusted to be true in all it declares, then it can’t be trusted to be true in anything it declares. 

The Bible doesn’t tell us the exact details of how everything came together and became what it is.  I believe that instantaneously everything came to be what it is by the power of God’s spoken Word.  He knew what He wanted, what was needed, how they needed to be, and He made it that way.  I believe that God has the power to create something out of nothing to make it look like it has been forever.  I believe that God has the power to create every known detail of what is known to exist and those things which we don’t even know exists.  I believe that God purposely created all things the way they are so that life as we know it and need it to be on Earth is what it is. 

God created all things: Heaven, the heavenlies, Earth and Hell.  He created the uniqueness of every form of life as they now exist.  He created all things uniquely beautiful and gave each one purpose for their existence.  He created all things exactly as He knew they needed to be and nothing was created flawed.  All of creation is God’s handiwork and speak of His glory. 

Our response to God should be that of bowing down before Him in admiration, appreciation, and adoration.  Let the wonder of it all fill your soul today.  Give God the credit due Him.  Don’t try to figure it all out and find a way to explain existence apart from Him.  God said it, God did it, and God is keeping it altogether.  Some day God is going to change things; He is going to create a new heaven and earth and it will be so full of His glory that we can’t even imagine how wonderful a place it will be.  In the mean time, let us just open our eyes up and enjoy the wonder and beauty of the world we live in.  God created it for our enjoyment.  Let us sing forth His praises today.

Is. 65:17-19 There are better days coming!

Is. 65:17-19  “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth---so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more.”

There are better days coming!  The Lord has a plan for us that far surpasses anything we have ever known.  He is creating a new heaven and a new earth.  The process has already begun.  When the time is right and the process is complete, it shall be put in place.  This new heaven and earth will be so wonderful that every memory of this earth and life will be wiped from our memories.

In that day there will be so much joy that our praises will fill the new heaven and earth forever and ever.  There will be nothing there that will ever make us sad or weary again.  Happiness will be everywhere.  Everyone there will be a delight to be around.  Everyone will get along with everyone else.  There will be no pecking order, no selfish ambitions, no self promotions, no using of anyone for personal gain. 

In that day the Lord will take great delight in us.  He will be able to walk freely amongst us because there will be no more sin in us.  His presence will be seen and felt everywhere.  There will be perpetual joy and happiness, no more weeping and crying will come from us.  There will be nothing there that could ever cause us to be sorrowful or grievous of heart again. 

What a wonderful place the Lord is preparing for us!  He is working today to prepare us so we will be fit to dwell there.   Don’t hinder the work of the Lord in you to change you and make you holy.  He loves you so much and wants to make sure you don’t miss out on the place He is preparing for you.  Let Him have his way with you.

Is. 65:6 Before man was ever created, God knew that most would reject Him.

Is. 65:6  “Look, my decree is written in front of me; I will not stand silent; I will repay them to the full!  Yes!  I will repay them.”

The Lord is speaking here to the Israelites.  He is warning them about what to expect when He is ignored.  The Lord will not stand silent.  He will mete out justice when man sins against Him.  The Lord may seem to be silent while the world is living in sin, but be assured, He will judge sin in the world.  The Lord has never failed to keep His Word and never will.  No one gets away with sinning against God.  NO ONE.

Before man was ever created, God knew that most would reject Him.  He knew that there would be those who would follow after the wickedness of their hearts and spurn Him.  He decreed in heaven that those who reject Him and lived in sin would pay in full the price for their rebellion.  Because the Lord loves us He created us with the freedom to accept or reject His love.  He longed for a people who would love Him in response to His love.  He has so much love to give and considered man was worth the investment of His love.  Yet, because He is holy He cannot ignore the sinful heart.  He cannot accept into His presence any sin whatsoever.  Those who live and die in sin must spend eternity in hell for man’s soul never dies. 

The next time you are tempted to sin, remember this truth.  The Lord knows all about every sin you commit or propose to commit.  He knows every sin in your heart and mind and He holds you responsible for them.  The only way you are going to avoid paying the price for them is through the shed blood of Christ on the cross.  You have no hope for God’s mercy apart from the righteousness of Christ given to you on the cross.  Jesus is the only way you can be forgiven and avoid God’s wrath against your sin.

If you know Jesus today as your Savior, praise Him for His salvation and for protecting you from God’s judgment.  If Jesus is not your Savior, run to Him right now while you can.  Confess your sins before Him and ask Him for His forgiveness.  He will forgive anyone who comes to Him with a sincere heart.

Is. 65:1 "People who never before inquired about me are now asking about me..."

Is. 65:1 The LORD says, “People who never before inquired about me are now asking about me.  I am being found by people who were not looking for me.  To them I have said, ‘I am here!’ ”

If there ever was a time in history in which people are searching for God, it is now.  Albeit, most are searching in all the wrong places; nevertheless, there is a real interest in God.  Life’s events often trigger a search for God.  When things happen that are out of anyone’s control or ability to change, God is looked to.  Man looks for God when he is utterly helpless and in desperate need.

We must stay alert for those around us who are searching for God so that we can help them to discover the truth about God and not some counterfeit idea about Him.  There are so many absurd things that are being said about God, how to reach Him, and how He affects human life.  We must be grounded well in our own relationship with Him and in His Word so that we can help others avoid being sucked into the false teachings in the world and church.

Satan is a master teacher and deceiver.  He convinces most of things that are not true about God.  He begins by casting doubt in the mind about the absolute authority of God’s Word.  He masterfully leads people away from the Word and interjects other perceptions of truth in the mind.  He disguises untruth with the truth until the untruth prevails.  He twists the Word, takes it out of context, ignores parts of it, adapts it, and alters it so that it is totally different than what it is.  He makes it sound good and attractive so that those who are searching for God won’t find Him.

People looking for God need people who know the Truth and are able to lead them to Him.  They need people who are not afraid to seize opportunities given to them to speak out for Him.  They need people who are able to help them find the Lord.  The Lord longs to have a relationship with those looking for Him.  He cannot be found in the false teachings of the church.  He cannot be found anywhere but through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  There is only one way to heaven where God is, and that is through Calvary.

People who never before were looking for God are now searching for Him.  They are everywhere you are at.  Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see those who are looking for Him.  Ask Him to help you be the one to take them by the hand and lead them to Him.  He is near and wants to be found.  People need people like you and me to show and tell them the way to Him.