Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I imagine that most of us are NOT troubled by the fact that this is a Friday and the date is 13. But I’m sure we all know some people who will be glad when this day is over, and they’ve survived it unscathed. Throughout this day are there some foundational principles or tenets that you are holding onto, especially if you spend any time with people confident Friday the 13th will wreak havoc in their lives? I have a very powerful one for us to consider today and once again it amazes me that while I did not plan it, the next Scripture before us in our journey with Isaiah falls on Friday the 13th!
You’ll recall these powerful messages from God to Isaiah are coming during the dreadful years of the reign of king Manasseh, a time when he and many other Jews in Jerusalem were rejecting God, embracing the idolatry of wicked nations around them and even embracing occult practices of sorcery and divination. For those Jews trying to stand on the commands of God and engage in God designed worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, they found themselves mocked, ridiculed and even ostracized by their fellow Jews being caught up in spiritual rebellion against God.
So, look at this next message from God to His people through Isaiah found in Isaiah 45:18,19… “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’…” (Is. 45:18)
If you’ve been with me on this journey for a while we’ve grown accustomed to Isaiah the prophet writing these words: “This is what the LORD says – “ If you have an older Bible in the King James translation, it likely says: “Thus saith the LORD”. It’s a sacred, very powerful declaration. It’s a human being, Isaiah, declaring that the words he is writing or speaking are not of his choosing, he is only a spokesman for God. As the Holy Spirit of God directed Isaiah, he very carefully wrote exactly, word for word, what he discerned from God. Isaiah is NOT reporting with any personal spin, his impressions of what he thinks God wants humanity to know. Oh no!
Peter, the disciple of Jesus, makes this very clear when he wrote emphatically: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20,21) Wow! That is so powerful, isn’t it my friends? There is no other book in existence like the Bible, God’s Word to humanity, spoken by the Holy Spirit, into the minds of human authors who, over a period of about 1500 years, wrote what the Spirit of God guided them to write, our Bible!
Ok, back to God’s very powerful declaration through Isaiah in Isaiah 45:18. Do you see God once again declaring that HE is the creator of our universe, and He created it by His design to sustain human life? Do you and I live by that truth every day? Yes, of course we do! Also, God makes it clear He is not hiding in the darkness of space somewhere or challenging humanity to seek for Him in vain because they’ll never find God! Oh no, God places in every person a hunger which will only be satisfied when we finally, authentically, encounter God and enter into a genuine, living relationship with God, similar to relationships we have with those we love the most! From that position of being CREATOR God then makes this bold, powerful declaration: “I the LORD speak the TRUTH; I declare what is RIGHT.” (Is. 45:19)
There it is my friends, the global, cosmic, eternal LINE OF DEMARCATION for every living human being, of all time! When I first encountered this statement, it changed my life and each time I come back to it, it deepens my commitment, my resolve that God be honored and glorified in my life. Do you see these two most foundational declarations by God are connected to the undeniable fact that God ALONE created the Universe and all that is in it and Human Life, every human being that has ever existed? And BECAUSE God is Creator, God and God alone has the right and responsibility to define what is TRUE and RIGHT about that which HE has created. Now re-read that five times for it is the CORNERSTONE of EVERYTHING!
As we apply that practically, the closest we can come is the privilege of an engineer or inventor or architect who designs something new. That designer, by virtue of their work of designing has the right and responsibility to explain the TRUTH about their design AND how whatever they designed is intended to function PROPERLY!
Now let’s get very practical. God designed our planet to function according to many irrefutable laws. The law of GRAVITY for instance. You need to leave our planet and go out into gravity less space to escape this law, unless you fabricate an artificial gravity less environment here. You may not like gravity, but you must respect it and live your life in alignment with it, or it may kill you if you jump out of a 20-story window wanting to fly.
Or the law of TIME. You may not like the pace of time, but you can’t speed it up or slow it down. You must live in alignment with it or face the consequences. So… you and I are living at a time when many humans reject the foundational TRUTHS or Moral Right & Wrong which God has established for His creation! What are some of them in your experience?
How about God assigned, in the womb, human GENDER identity? Any attempt on our part to change that unchangeable reality creates chaos!
Or how about the sanctity of LIFE? Any attempt to redefine when life begins or when it should end creates chaos!
Or how about marriage, which God established as between one woman and one man for a lifetime. Any attempt to restructure that creates chaos!
Or how about the definition and identity of God?
Over and over, we’ve seen God declare Himself and His attributes and character and achievements here in Isaiah’s writings of God’s messages. Attempts to redefine God in any way contrary to God’s self-definition will always result in chaos!
There are many powerful Scriptures which support and validate Isaiah 45:18,19, but may I close today by urging you to consider this one: Psalm 19? I’ll get you started, and I urge you to open your Bible and look closely at each line for yourself and ask yourself WHAT God is challenging us to understand about HIS right and responsibility to ESTABLISH foundational TRUTH and RIGHT for our universe, our world and our human race.
Listen: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech…” (Ps. 19:1,2) Are you living your life in full alignment with God’s Truth & Right or is there any area, even the smallest issue, where you are pushing back against God, determined to redefine your own truth or moral right & wrong? Do you see the grave danger of that? Now ponder that deeply…
And here’s a worship song to help us as we reflect on the power of Isaiah 45:18,19 & Psalm 19 and God’s right and His responsibility to declare Truth & Right for our universe, our planet and our human race…
Today’s Scriptures: Is. 45:18,19 & Psalm 19.
Choose below to read or listen.
Isa. 45:18, 19
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Psalm 19
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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