Isaiah_30

Scripture - What stood out?Isaiah 30:15,18 15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:“In repentance and rest is your salvation,    in quietness and trust is your strength,    but you would have none of it.18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.For the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him! Observation - What does it say?In this chapter the prophet Isaiah continues to deliver God’s message to the Israelites. Understanding - What does it mean?I love verse fifteen of this chapter. As I read it the phrase “in repentance and rest is your salvation” really stood out to me. Actually it kind of blew me away. Can we really find rest...in repentance? And as I continued to read about how this salvation was rejected I was struck by God’s response in verse eighteen, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you.”Have you ever longed for something? For someone? I have. And I imagined that same feeling I had and tried to think of it as God’s “longing to be gracious” to me. To us all. The analogy likely falls short but it felt like I had a small glimpse of God’s compassion for us. His love for us.  Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?I read the OT and I am constantly reminded of how people, humans constantly found ways to run away from and ignore God - when being in a right relationship with Him was the greatest thing we could have done. But it is easy for me to think upon my own life and how I have fallen short, not once, not twice, but too many times to count.  I think about all the mistakes I have made that burden my soul.

The bible reminds me: God longs to be gracious to you. That’s why He sent Jesus Christ His son.

 

I love you Lord,

-kenneth lee

 

Proverbs__13

Scripture

Proverbs 13:20

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

 

Observation

King Solomon continues on his talks of obtaining wisdom, and in this chapter he discusses ways to not only take valid criticism and grow from it, but also to evaluate who we surround ourself with. He makes it imperative that as wise followers of God, we must be the ones influencing those around us, and not the other way around.

 

Understanding

Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.

I used to hear this all the time in high school, and figured it didn’t really apply to me because I didn’t really have that many friends. However, I looked around closely at others and saw that this became very indicative of all of them. People who would spend their time with people involved in substances gradually became addicted to the same substance, or people who spent their time with people heavily involved with the school and its activities slowly entered more rigorous courses or ASB (that was me). The bottom line is that they were influenced either way. By the end of my sophomore year my biggest concern was that I wasn’t doing anything to leave an impressionable mark on those coming up after me. So junior and senior year I made the shift to become more involved in the lives of those around me. I wanted to invest in them so that influence them. I’d like to think that I was successful, but only time can tell on things like that. So what’s my point?

Who you hang around matters! You don’t have to be in high school to know this either, it happens everywhere whether we are conscious of it or not. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing either. If someone is really good at something that you want to learn more about, hang around them it’s bound to rub off on you. My professor said the other day, “Sometimes it’s better to be by yourself than to be in bad company.” Although this sounds extremely logical and exactly what King Solomon is talking about, I don’t think this is all correct either. If we are to multiply Christ-followers everywhere, it means at some point we are going to have to go out to “bad company” and show them the love of Jesus. I’m not saying to go all crazy (know your limitations), but I am saying to show them what walking with the wise looks like. Raise their standard, don’t stoop to theirs.

 

Life Application

Walk the walk, and talk the talk.

Let’s make sure that what we say, matches our heart and intention. It’s one thing to say all the right things that makes look wise, but it’s another thing to actually live a wise Christ centered life as well. Anyone can love the unlovable and tell them what being wise sounds like, don’t just be anyone. Let’s serve them too, and walk alongside them so that they may become wise as well.

-Allison Khan

Isaiah_28

Scripture

 

Isaiah 28:11b-13a

God will speak to this people,

12 to whom he said,

“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;

and, “This is the place of repose”—

but they would not listen.

13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:

Do this, do that…

 

Observation - What does it say?

God had offered rest to His people but they rejected His offer. They refused to listen. As a result, they were left with just rules and commands, hoops to jump through; rules and commands they were sure to break without the strength and wisdom provided by relationship with God.

Understanding - What does it mean?

God offers the same rest to people today, rest that only comes through relationship with Jesus.

Matthew 11:28 (NLT) Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Hebrews 4:11 (NLT) So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

If we reject God’s offer to come to Him and to enter His rest, we are left with trying to be made right with God through following His commands… something impossible for us to do. Like Israel, we will fall if we try.

God offers rest for the weary, strength for the weak, peace for the anxious, hope for the discouraged and forgiveness for the sinner. Why settle for religious do's and don’ts?!

Life Application

Don’t settle for religion without relationship!

Where have I been just going through the motions? How can I be more intentional about "coming to Jesus" and entering His rest this week?

God, forgive me for the times I go through the motions. Forgive me for turning to other things for rest. Today, I choose to come to You. I choose to seek You, to pray and worship, and to enjoy the rest that comes from being in Your presence. Lord, increase our intimacy with You! Take us deeper in relationship! Show us the ways we’ve drifted and re-calibrate our hearts. May we be consumed with a greater passion to know You and make you known! Amen.

-Levi Thompson