Covenant of Peace

Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the Lord. Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns. Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. This is like the days of Noah to me: Just as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:1-10, NRSV)

Has everything always gone your way?

Do you find it hard to face the day because everything seems to go against you?

Isaiah tells the barren women to sing praises! Because your children will be more than the children of her who was not barren!

Praise the Lord in your sorrow!

Isaiah tells us that we should praise the Lord at all times, because no matter what we face, nothing will remove the eternal covenant of His peace from us.

As in the days of Noah, the world was destroyed but Noah held tightly to the peace and the protection of God. He is walking with you, just as He was with Noah and his family.

Trust in the peace He can give you!

On our side

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124, NRSV)

Have you ever done something and wondered, “How in the world did I do that?”

Have you ever completed something you thought was not possible for you, but not only did you do it, but it turned out to be super easy?

Like the psalmist says, “if the Lord was not on our side, when our enemies came against us they would have swallowed us up.”

It is not about us, or our power, or our ability but it is all because Jesus is walking with us and by our side.

The only reason we make it through the situations we come up against is because Jesus is walking with us!

Thank the Lord today that He is walking with you.

New Creation!

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:1-11, NRSV)

We might no longer be enslaved to sin…

This is a huge statement. We are no longer enslaved to sin if we are in Christ. Our old self was crucified with Him and we have risen to a new life in Him and can not continue on sinning…

So how many of us still sin?

If you said you don’t that is a sin! We are all still quite alive in our flesh and so we are sinners, and sin daily. But if we have put on Christ we are also dead to the life of sin and saints of God. We are new creations and the new fights with the old creations. We are at battle with ourselves to live the life He has called us to.

It is not possible for us to live sinless lives and on our own we are completely worthless sinners, yet if we hold to the promises that He died for us. Yes He died for you when you were so far gone He could not even look upon you. If we believe that and hold to the promise of our being raised with Him in a resurrection like His, we are new creations living daily with Him, and showing forth His love to all the world!

So know you are a new creation and live so that the world see Him instead of you!

left behind

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Matthew 24:36-44, NRSV)

Two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left… But which do you want to be?

Given the context of the passage and the reference to the flood; I would say you want to be the taken… but this is not about the rapture. This is about being aware of the surroundings and living as the disciple that God created you to be.

Because did those around Noah really have no clue that something was going on? I mean they saw Noah and his sons building this huge thing in the middle of no where. And they had no clue? They saw the signs, they just did not know how to read them.

They were not ready for the Son of Man to come. Are you?

Do you see the signs around you?

Are you living as the disciple He created you to be?

Or are you more concerned with yourself and getting what you deserve to be concerned with His creation?

He is coming like a thief in the night….

Are you ready?

no distinction…

For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ (Romans 10:10-18, NRSV)

Everyone is a pretty wide throw…

We can not say that anyone is withheld when the Bible tells us that everyone who calls on His name will be saved!

We are not the judge of who is in and who is out. We are the ones to proclaim Him through our actions and our words. We are to be the living body of Christ in the world.

It is not our job to say who is in and who is out, but to share His love and grace and mercy with all.

We are all sinners and fall short of His glory. And we will not be doing what we ought to be doing when He returns, but He will shake His head (after the palm to forehead) and say we are forgiven…

So judge not and hold no prejudice and make no distinction, because God said, “All are welcome here!”

faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3, NRSV)

By faith our ancestors received approval. Not by the actions they did. They were approved by the faith they had.

And faith is knowing that what we hope for, will be, and what we can not see still exists.

The image that always comes to mind for me when I hear this is from the song by DC Talk Mind’s Eye. The song is about what I see in my mind, and might not see in real life. But part of the song talks about the wind. Have you ever seen the wind? You can see the effects that the wind has. You can see the leaves move, and the trees sway. You can feel the wind. But you can not see the wind.

So it is with God, and what we believe. We can see the effects that He has in our lives and feel His presence. But yet we can see Him, in the faces of those who share our faith, our hope, our conviction.

So cling to your faith, and know that it is the assurance for what we hope for, the conviction of things unseen!