Despised and Rejected – For Our Acceptance

Isaiah 53:1-8 “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Oh Lord, many, so many do not believe… “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.” And truly it was dry ground. Israel had been 400 years without a prophet. By that time they had turned from God's commands and taught for doctrine the commandments of men.Truly the ground was very, very dry. “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” Most of the pictures we see of you Lord, are soft and pleasing. But you took upon yourself human flesh that was not pleasing …and you were rejected. “He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we did not esteem him.” And so it is today, Lord …you are still despised; forbidden in government, banned from schools, your name is blasphemed throughout the land. Lord, it’s the same now. The land is so dry …as it was then. Come soon, Lord Jesus. Come, oh come Emanuel…. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” They didn’t understand, Lord. Messiah was supposed to restore the kingdom to Israel. But you were crucified. They thought God was rejecting Jesus. “But he was wounded FOR OUR transgressions, he was bruised FOR OUR iniquities; the chastisement FOR OUR peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed.” You showed us from the very beginning. After Adam and Eve were found in sin, you clothed them with the skin of a lamb, they were literally covered by the lamb. Cain’s offering was rejected, because he brought the works of his hands. Abel’s was received, because he brought the lamb, as you had showed them. We can’t come to God through our good works, we can come only through the Lamb. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one of us, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6 Just as I am without one plea, but that your blood was shed for me. “He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” He was silent because he was doing this willingly …because of his love …for you; for me. “He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people he was stricken.” He paid a debt he did not owe I owed a debt I could not pay… From: Along Emaus Road

What Would Jesus Do?

"He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his peace." Proverbs 11:12 "A man of understanding…" We all have people we don't like. But what we do with that shows who and what we are. How we behave toward those we don't like says a lot about our character. The human thing to do is to criticize them and express our disdain for them, and worse - gossip about them. We fancy that we are better than them ...and perhaps we are ...that's not the point. The point is that the believer represents Christ before the world, and we need to keep that in mind ESPECIALLY when we are around those we do not like. Kindness speaks more about us than all the preaching in the world. vs 13: "A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter." "A faithful spirit…" Faithful to whom? To the one who has revealed a secret to us? Well yes, we are faithful if we do not share that secret with others. But how much more is our faithfulness revealed when we keep in mind that it is to God that we are being faithful? There was a saying going around in recent years, "What would Jesus do?" If we want to follow Jesus Christ, everything we say, everything we do, must be done in the context of this question, "What would Jesus do?" Many times what Jesus would do is "hold his peace." What do I gain by speaking against the one I don't like? Nothing. Absolutely nothing is gained. All that results is a black mark on my soul. When we are with someone we don't like, the temptation to voice our disapproval can be great. To answer them back after a hurtful remark comes almost automatically. But if we want to be true and faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we hold our peace. We silence our tongue. We keep in mind that Jesus died even for this one whom we dislike. We maintain our behavior as he would, and we choose not to grieve the Holy Spirit within us. "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." James 3:6 Many times silence is the best option. It takes wisdom and understanding of the Word of God to motivate us to reply – or not reply – as Jesus would. It takes wisdom that doesn't come naturally. It has to be sought after, by spending time daily in the Word of God, and seeking the will of God in our lives. Oh what damage Satan can bring about simply by tempting us to sin with our words! Maybe we don't commit murder, maybe we don't steal, but to sin with our words is just as sinful. Our words can destroy a person. Let us always be aware whom we represent, that we might not sin against him and against our neighbor with hateful words or judgments, or criticisms. Let us ever answer the temptation with "What would Jesus do?" "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." Proverbs 21:23

Be Of Sin The Double Cure

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts." 1 Corinthians 4:5 When the Lord comes there will be nothing that is not brought to light. Those things done in darkness, behind the scenes, secretly, bribes and threats and deals, gossip, hatred, sexual sins, and pride of heart ...ALL will be brought to the light, and all that lies in the "counsels of the hearts" will be revealed. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;' Jeremiah 17:9 I try to deny that, but the Holy Spirit gently shows me the truth about myself. Is there any hope for such as I? There IS hope. The God who made us knows how to save us. He knows how to change us. But he will never force it upon us. He has given us the gift of free will. The choice is ours. "CREATE IN ME a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 Every one of us is born in a fallen, sinful state. "None is good, NO NOT ONE" (Romans 3:10). Wisdom is to acknowledge one's fallen state and turn to God for the solution. If a person remains as he is, he will die in his sins. But God offers to all the opportunity to be saved and cleansed and healed and made whole, and in HIM to find true peace and happiness. Turn to him, right now, and ASK. Pray with me: Father, I certainly see myself in your Word. You know the hidden things of darkness within me. You know the selfish, greedy counsels of my own heart from which I seek to get my own way, to get pleasure, to acquire riches and honor, and to look good in the eyes of man. You see in the counsels of my own heart how I always justify myself both to myself and also to anyone who finds fault with me. In my heart I know better than to try to justify myself, but I lie to myself and convince myself that I was justified to do this, that, or the other. But the truth is that I am NOT justified. I am deceitful both to myself and to others. The counsels of my heart are always self-seeking and self-willed. Lord Jesus, I know I need to acknowledge the truth about myself and confess to you my pride and the sins which serve my pride. I am a sinner, Lord, and there's no way I can escape that. I turn to you and plead for the forgiveness of my sins, because your Word says that you bore the judgment on my sins in your own body as you hung on that Cross. You gave your life for my salvation. But more than forgiveness, Lord, I ask you to deliver me from myself. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit with me." You are my only hope. But you are the only hope I need. "Be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure." Lyrics from "Rock of Ages"