Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.

It’s not just about reading the Bible daily as an important habit, is it? Yes it is that. But it’s more. It’s about life. Real life is found in these words, and we get this life from God for free. How amazing is that?!

In Dane Ortlund’s book, ‘Deeper’, he closes one of the chapters in this way:

‘In May 2020 the Wall Street Journal ran a piece by James Nestor entitled ”The Healing Power of Proper Breathing.” The caption under the headline read, ”How we inhale and exhale has profound effects on our health.”…

…You wouldn’t try to go through life holding your breath. So don’t go through life without Bible reading and praying. Let your soul breathe. Oxygenate with the Bible; and breath out the CO2 of prayer as you speak back to God your wonder, your worry, and your waiting. He is not a force, not an ideal, not a machine. He is a person. Keep open the channel between your little life and heaven itself through the Bible and prayer. As you do you will grow. You won’t feel it day to day. But you’ll come to the end of your life a radiant, solid man or woman. And you will have left in your wake the aroma of heaven. You will have blessed the world. Your life will have mattered.’ (pp.156,157).

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labour on what does not satisfy?

While my wife and daughter and I were on holiday in Norfolk recently, we attended a Sunday morning service at a ‘New Frontiers’ church in Sheringham. The preacher had come over from another church in Norwich. It was Pentecost Sunday and he spoke on the above text. A fine sermon it was too. He began by explaining that what we read here in Isaiah 55 flows from what has happened earlier in Isaiah 53. It is because of the Cross that Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst. He had 3 points:

1. An urgent invitation (He said that in the King James Version of the Bible, the opening word is ‘Ho!’ This is like someone shouting, ‘Oi’, he told us: This is important. It matters. You need to hear this);
2. An amazing offer: everything is free to ”all” who will ”Come”. No-one has to pay in any way;
3. An astounding rejection: ”Hey there! All who are thirsty,
       come to the water!
   Are you penniless?
       Come anyway—buy and eat!
   Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
       Buy without money—everything’s free!
   Why do you spend your money on junk food,
       your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?

In a footnote in his ‘Applied Old Testament commentary’ Tom Hale writes:

‘Notice that this invitation is given to the thirsty. In order to receive the spiritual blessings God desires to give to us, we must thirst for them (Matthew 5:3,6; 11:28). It’s hard to give spiritual blessings to someone who doesn’t want them; it’s hard to give good news, the Gospel, to someone who isn’t interested.’

In the original context, God was asking this of the exiles in Babylon, who were becoming complacent and comfortable in their life there. Did they really think Babylon could satisfy?

Do we?

In righteousness you will be established:
tyranny will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
¹⁵ If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

¹⁶ ‘See, it is I who created the blacksmith
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
¹⁷     no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,’
declares the Lord.

Just a final word on Isaiah 54 before we move on. It is simply to make the observation that there is much here that will only find full and final fulfilment in the future Kingdom of God. Only then will believers be finally beautified and beyond the reach of all malevolent attack.

‘What a grand vista opens up before us in verses 11-17 – a whole renewed universe! And at its centre is the city of God, the point where heaven and earth meet and God is present with his people for ever (11-17). This city is the final resting place of the servants of the LORD, the reward and vindication for all that they have suffered because of their faithfulness to God (17).’ Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, p.216.

‘In verses 11-12, Isaiah gives a figurative description of Jerusalem following the exile. But it is even more a description of the new Jerusalem, which will come down from heaven at the end of history; this heavenly Jerusalem will be prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband, the Lord Himself (Revelation 21:2,10-11, 18-21).’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1058.

All your children will be taught by the Lord,
    and great will be their peace.

I had a book on my shelf for many years entitled ‘The Spiritual Warrior’s Prayer Guide.’ It dealt with praying for many areas of life, such as marriage, family life and children. In each chapter, Bible verses were referenced that seemed to have a bearing on the particular issue in view. Isaiah 54:13 was one such Scripture, pertaining to prayer for one’s children. At the time I thought this was a great prayer to pray. I still do!

PRAYER: Lord, I pray today for__ that he/she will be taught by you, and know the peace that accompanies obedience to divine education. Give me the grace to ‘always pray and not give up.’

‘Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
    your foundations with lapis lazuli.
¹² I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.

There’s a little booklet called ‘The 4 spiritual laws’. It is a simple tool for sharing the gospel. The first of these goes: ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.’ But I remember reading an article in a ‘Campus Crusade’ magazine in which a girl called Ruth wrote, ‘God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life. So why do I so often act like He made a big mistake when He made me?’

It’s not the plans we have for ourselves, but God’s plans for us that matter.

PRAYER: Lord God, please will you rebuild my broken down life, and make me all you want me to be. Beautify my life so that I shine for you.

‘To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
    never to rebuke you again.
¹⁰ Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,’
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

¹¹ ‘Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
    your foundations with lapis lazuli.
¹² I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.

Who gets to heaven without, at times, feeling battered?

‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’  Acts 14:22.

But the other side of battering there can lie building (or ‘re-building’).

And not only building but building with beauty.

Truly, in God’s Kingdom, it is repeatedly those who have suffered the most who ‘sparkle’ the most.

This is God’s work. Note the repeated ”I will”.

If we shine as lights in the world – as we surely pray we will – it is His doing, and to Him be all the glory. Just as the moon cannot boast that its light is its own, neither can we.

It will be in the final and full expression of God’s Kingdom that we will be most lustrous. But even now, our radiance can increase in our on-going relationship with Jesus (see 2 Cor.3:18).

‘Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband –
    the Lord Almighty is his name –
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.
⁶ The Lord will call you back
    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit –
a wife who married young,
    only to be rejected,’ says your God.
⁷ ‘For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
⁸ In a surge of anger
    I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
    I will have compassion on you,’
    says the Lord your Redeemer.

There are times in the Christian life when we may feel deserted by God, and as a result we are ”distressed in spirit”. At times it may indeed appear ”as if” we are abandoned. But the truth is we are not. The Lord remains the faithful Husband of His bride, the church.

So, in the face of all contrary negative emotions, let us affirm the truth of Scripture:

‘…God has said,

”Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ‘ (From Hebs 13:5).

‘God says it, I believe it, that settles it.’

‘Enlarge the place of your tent,
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.

I remember reading a book by a well known Christian author, and his counsel was, ‘Every day, read in the Bible as far as something ‘hits’ you, and then carry that with you all through the day.’ Of course, it is not the only approach to Bible reading (and it’s not my own pattern), but I thought it had merit: take the text God has impressed on you into the day. Meditate on it. Turn it into prayer. Perhaps share it with others as the Lord leads you.

Just the other day, as I was re-reading Isaiah 54, and seeking to translate it into prayer, I was hit by the words: ”do not hold back”. They resonate with me at the moment, and I simply want to ask the question, ‘Is there any area in your life where you are aware of ‘holding back’? God is speaking to you, and you know it. But possibly fear, or some other reason, is causing you to drag your heels.

You know, and I know (but let’s remind ourselves) that if God is in it, we need not fear it, and He will ‘give the growth’ as we step out in obedience.

Something else ‘struck’ me in my Bible reading this morning. In 1 Sam 19, Jonathon is speaking up for his beloved friend David, in the presence of his hostile father Saul. In verse 5 he says:

”He took his life in his own hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad.’

Note: there was something brave David had to do, but look what God did!

”…do not hold back”

PRAYER: Thank you Lord that you graciously speak to us. Please give me the faith and courage to obey.

Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband –
    the Lord Almighty is his name –
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.
⁶ The Lord will call you back
    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit –
a wife who married young,
    only to be rejected,’ says your God.
⁷ ‘For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
⁸ In a surge of anger
    I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
    I will have compassion on you,’
    says the Lord your Redeemer.

‘With reference to the LORD as Israel’s Maker, husband and Redeemer in verses 4-8 the focus shifts to the Sinai covenant. In her youth Israel had suffered the shame of slavery in Egypt; in her maturity she was to suffer the disgrace of widowhood in Babylon. But as the LORD took her to be his bride, entering into a covenant with her at Mount Sinai, so he would take her again and renew his relationship with her. He would not cease to be her husband and Redeemer. The Sinai covenant would stand.’ Barry Webb, p.216.

I have highlighted in bold, in the text ’emotional’ words, and reading it prompts me to pray:

Lord, we bring to you all those who are feeling shame and disgrace, fear and distress. We lift to you those feeling the pain of abandonment and rejection. Cause them to turn to you, and find in in you ‘deep compassion’ and ‘everlasting kindness’. Call them back to yourself, Lord, and they will return if you turn them. May they (we) know for sure that through the blood of Christ’s Cross there is lasting peace (v.10).