Words

 

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow,

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

   Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

 

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there,

But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

     Isaiah 55:10-11 (NKJV)

As an editor, I work with words all day and I’ve been writing these devotionals for quite a while. So it seems kind of strange that I have such trouble personally with my words, but I do. I’m awkward in conversation and don’t know what to say; and when I do open my mouth, I often say the wrong thing or in the wrong way. One of my most frequent personal prayers is for God’s help with my words, but it's a slow process.

However, I take heart that God’s word is perfect and true. It is seed that God uses to accomplish His purposes when it is sown in people’s lives. So I try to speak of God when I can and include a verse or two of Scripture in emails and notes to people, because I know that even if my words are inept, God’s word is always right.

I’m sometimes surprised when comments to a devotional mention some point that I hadn’t intended or even thought of when writing it. But that’s the beauty of God’s word, it is living and powerful and I’m grateful that God uses it to speak to hearts in ways that my imperfect words cannot.

 

I hope you will join me in looking for ways each day to sow God’s word in this world, so God can use it to prosper in the hearts and lives of people for His glory.

How Rejects are Accepted

 Have you ever just wanted our Creator to cut-to-the-chase, and give us the "bottom line"? What does it take to be "accepted" by Him. Let's be honest, it is Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection that makes any sort of relationship with our Creator possible. But still...

Our behavior matters to our Savior. There are plenty of passages, statements of Jesus, writings of Paul, that clearly indicate that our Creator cares how we behave. So, what is it He wants from us? Can we sum it up? For the Jews of Jesus' day, it was Sabbath-keeping and circumcision. That was pretty much it. Sounds weird huh? And yet...

This is what the LORD says,
“Promote justice! Do what is right!
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly.
The people who do this will be blessed,
the people who commit themselves to obedience,
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.
(Isaiah 56:1-2 NET)

Sounds pretty simple, promote justice and do what is "right". Commit ourselves to obedience and guard the Sabbath. Wait, what? The Sabbath? I know, right? What's up with this Sabbath-keeping business? Is it really important? Well...yes.

No foreigner who becomes a follower of the LORD should say,
‘The LORD will certainly exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
For this is what the LORD says:
“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to my covenant,
I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.
(Isaiah 56:3-5 NET)

Foreigners and eunuchs were excluded from worship, from the temple (Deuteronomy 23:1-8). And yet, here we have them included, if they observe the Sabbath, choose what pleases their Creator, and are faithful to His covenant. If eunuchs do that, their Creator will setup a monument better than sons and daughters...Seriously? But what about "foreigners"?

No foreigner who becomes a follower of the LORD should say,
‘The LORD will certainly exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

As for foreigners who become followers of the LORD and serve him,
who love the name of the LORD and want to be his servants—
all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
and who are faithful to my covenant—
I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”
The Sovereign LORD says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.”
(Isaiah 56:3, 6-8 NET)

Oy with the Sabbath-keeping! If foreigners keep the covenant and the Sabbath, their Creator will bring them to His holy mountain, to His temple, to His place of prayer, their sacrifices will be accepted. His temple will be known as a house of prayer. Sound familiar? Maybe something Jesus said when He "cleansed" the temple?

Notice this doesn't replace exiled Israel, they will still be gathered up, but along with these previously excluded groups. And what is the sign of their obedience? What is the activity by which they will be known to their Savior? Sabbath-keeping. How weird is that?

Here's a real simple take away: Attend church. Go, participate, worship. And don't stop once the scheduled service is over. Dedicate the day, live out the message you heard, make real the songs you sang. Set your week by the day starting it off. Dedicate yourself to your Savior and your time for the whole day to His purpose.

Honestly, I don't. Yesterday, I rearranged my home-office to make it more functional (it's different anyway). But I think this passage may be pushing me to rethink my Sunday's. Not that I should only worship or serve my Savior on Sunday, but that this one day should His, not mine.

He made the Sabbath for us, not us for the Sabbath, but He still made it. And it seems He wants us to take it seriously. What will that look like? I don't know, honestly. I think it may look different for you than for me. All I know that He wants me to honor Him with it.