Isaiah 55
What is worth our time & energy?
In America, there are a lot of people who call themselves Christians, but not nearly as many that live a life devoted to Christ. When I was a young Christian, one teacher or pastor made the comment, “If someone was accusing you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” For so many “Christians,” I don’t think the answer would be, “Yes,” unless the only requirement was showing up for church most Sundays.
It amazes me how many Christians have never read their Bible cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation. It amazes me how many Christians don’t pray daily. It amazes me how many Christians live lives like every other person except they attend church on Sunday (at least most of the time). Some people who call themselves Christians don’t even attend church. What makes these Christians any different than the unbelievers around the world?
If we truly have been saved from our sins by a merciful, all-powerful God, then we should be grateful. If we are actually a “new creation,” there should be signs of a changed life. If we know Jesus and know that everyone who rejects Him will be rejected by God and spend an eternity in Hell, then we should at least be sharing the Gospel with those we care about.
In my Bible study today, I read Isaiah 55. These verses really spoke to me about how our faith should affect our lives.
1“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
Jesus has called Jew and gentile to repent and has offered His forgiveness and salvation to all who trust in Him. It doesn’t cost anything. It just requires faith. Jesus paid the price, so we don’t have to.
2Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
We are given the free gift of salvation and yet we are constantly seeking other things. We put all of our hard effort into seeking things that don’t satisfy. We seek fame or wealth or popularity or entertainment or pleasure. We don’t seek our Creator’s blessing. We don’t seek to serve and please our Savior. We complain about any and all hardships instead of being thankful for what we have. Why don’t we crave God’s word and His fellowship?
3Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David.
As believers we should “incline our ear,” “come to Him,” and “listen.” We should read the Bible, study the Scriptures, and pray with a listening spirit. God is faithful, but we won’t be blessed when we turn our backs on God.
4Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
A leader and commander for the peoples.
David was called “a man after God’s own heart,” and therefore God promised that a descendant of his would always be on the throne of Israel. This promise was fulfilled in Jesus — God’s son’s incarnation as a descendant of David, biologically through His mother Mary and legally through His step-father Joseph. David’s faith is an example to us of trusting fully in God and His promises.
5Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”
Most promises in the Old Testament are made to Israelites or descendants of Abraham, but there are a few promises made to the gentiles of the world, who will be blessed by the “Holy One of Israel,” Jesus Christ. We gentiles should be grateful that God’s promises have been shared with us and with those of every tongue, people, and nation. We have been reconciled to God through His holy life and the blood He shed for us. How can we possibly take this blessing for granted?
6Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Right now we have the option to trust in Jesus1 and to receive His blessing, but this time will not last forever. In fact, I believe time is growing short. If you don’t know Jesus, don’t put off repenting and trusting in Him. If you do know Jesus, don’t put off getting your life right and following Him. Doing good deeds won’t get you into heaven, but it is pleasing to God and does lead to special blessings. We are to make the most of the time we have left.
7Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
Technically there is nothing we can do to earn Salvation and forgiveness, but if we have been saved and forgiven, the Bible says “we are a new creation.” There will be signs of change if the salvation is real. God wants the wicked to forsake his way, the unrighteous to forsake his thoughts, and for everyone to return to Jesus as Lord. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
If we are living according to our own wisdom and our own power, we are living to fail. It is only when we fully submit to God’s word and God’s plan, that we become what we were created to be. It is only then that we will feel complete and will honor our Creator.
We can’t obey God, if we don’t know His commands. We can’t trust Jesus, if we don’t know who He really is. We can’t serve God, if we haven’t submitted to the power and will of His Spirit. We can’t just drift down the river of life, but need to be driven and empowered by His power like the wind blowing a sailboat. The best way to know God’s commands, His character, and His plan is to know His word, the Bible. We can’t know this if we don’t read it and read all of it.
9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
There are so many times in the Bible that we are told that man’s wisdom is folly, yet so often we trust in what man tells us rather than what God tells us. We spend our efforts listening to human “experts” instead of listening to the words of the God who created everything “… and upholds all things by the word of His power. …” (Hebrews 1:3b) We can learn from wise and learned men, but we will never learn true wisdom except from God.
10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;11So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
God’s word never returns empty. It always changes all it touches. We need to put in the effort to schedule time in God’s word every day. We should make sure we have read the whole Bible, so we can use Scripture to interpret Scripture instead of trusting solely on the wisdom of man. We need to take all of our concerns to God and follow His leading. We need to find fellow believers “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
I hope you all will live lives in such a way as to honor God and let all men know that you belong to Jesus.
Trust Jesus.
your sister in Christ,
Christy
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Technically, only the elect will be saved by God, but the only way to know if we are the elect is to trust in Jesus. If we repent and trust Jesus, we are one of the elect. If we reject our God, Creator, and Savior, we are not one of the elect. God is sovereign, but election is not worth thinking about until you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
I so appreciate your passion for others to know Christ, Christy, to accept his gift of salvation, and to be supported by God's Word. The Bible IS an incredible blessing, filled as it is with His encouragement, comfort, blessing, and guidance. If a person committed to reading just 10 minutes per day for one month (in the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs to begin), I'd be very surprised if they did not continue. In my experience, the more we read and study, the more we WANT to read and study, because God's Word is transformational.
I've definitely found the more I read and study, the more I want to read and study the Bible.
I've also grown in my faith a ton by spending more time in the Old Testament than I used to. Genesis is the foundation on which the rest of the Bible is built and uoy can't fully understand the Gospel without it. The Old Testament also helps us have a higher view of God's awesomeness and fairhfulness.