Astray in Our Heart

“They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways”

Isn’t it easy to go astray in our heart?  Sometimes big things and other times it is the small things that lead us away.  Keep your heart in pure desire to honor and glorify God.  When we allow other stuff in there it always seems to take ground and grow. 

Isaiah 63:10

But they rebelled

 and grieved his Holy Spirit;

therefore he turned to be their enemy,

and himself fought against them

Psalms 78:17

Yet they sinned still more against him,

 rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

 They tested God in their heart

by demanding the food they craved.

 They spoke against God, saying,

 “Can God spread a table in the wilderness

78:22

because they did not believe in God

and did not trust his saving power

95:8

do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

 when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

 For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways

Love and Redemption

Thank you Lord for your love and redemption.  Though I have not been faithful and fall short many times you remain faithful and steadfast.  Guide me today and use me for your honor and glory.

Isaiah 63:8

And he became their Savior.

 In all their affliction he was afflicted,

and the angel of his presence saved them;

 in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;

 he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old

Deuteronomy 7:10

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations

Daniel 9:4

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened

Wake Up

When are we going to wake up to that which we have bowed our back?  How much of the sin of our culture have we stood silent and not spoken out against?  How long will it be before we say, like Isaiah, “Here am I send me”

Isaiah 63:5

I looked, but there was no one to help;

I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;

so my own arm brought me salvation,

and my wrath upheld me

59:16

He saw that there was no man,

and wondered that there was no one to intercede;

then his own arm brought him salvation,

and his righteousness upheld him.

 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

and a helmet of salvation on his head;

he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,

and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak

51:18

Thus says your Lord, the Lord,

your God who pleads the cause of his people:

“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;

 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,

 who have said to you,

‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;

and you have made your back like the ground

and like the street for them to pass over

Burning Desire to Praise

Do you ever have that burning desire to praise God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do?

Isaiah 62:11

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed

to the end of the earth:

 Say to the daughter of Zion,

 “Behold, your salvation comes;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.”

 And they shall be called The Holy People,

The Redeemed of the Lord

40:10

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

 behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

 he will gather the lambs in his arms

Matthew 18:12

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety- nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety- nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish

Crown of Christ

I wonder if I am crown of beauty or living like one of the thorns in the crown of Christ at the time of his crucifixion.  Thank God it is not based on what I do but what He has done.  I must remember to choose to let His light shine in and through me rather than leaving the light of ME on.  I find this easy some days but others it is not so, however in His great love He sends someone into my day that His light is shining through.  Choose to be the light He uses to take away the darkness some are in.

Isaiah 62:3

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God

Zechariah 9:16

On that day the Lord their God will save them,

as the flock of his people;

for like the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land.

 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty

Psalms 100:3

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

 For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations

Asking God

I wonder how many of my days I am asking God for His intervention rather than giving Him praise and worship.  Do I not see Him for more than my wants?  

Isaiah 61:11

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to sprout up before all the nations

Revelation 22:3

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever

7:15

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes

Rejoicing is an Act of Choice

Rejoicing is an act of choice. It comes from the heart and mind that is fixed on God. There is so much temporary (non-eternal) stuff that competes, making the choice hard because our heart and mind get clouded. Find your purpose and strength in Him alone who can satisfy and choose honor Him.

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;

my soul shall exult in my God,

 for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;

he has covered me with the robe of righteousness

Habakkuk 3:18

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

 God, the Lord, is my strength

Psalms 13:4

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

 I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me

Psalms 35:8

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

 exulting in his salvation

Luke 1:46

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

Something to Keep in Mind

Something to keep in mind, any of our  fruit (righteous acts) is because of the planting the Lord has done.  We are the work of His hands to be used by Him for His glory.  What does this look like in our lives? — Being a disciple, making disciples, being a light to a lost generation, giving generously, loving unconditionally, being a servant, helping those in need, thinking of others before self, living by faith……….. There is so much room for us to grow

Isaiah 61:3

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

60:21

the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,

that I might be glorified.

 The least one shall become a clan,

and the smallest one a mighty nation;

 I am the Lord;

in its time I will hasten it

John 15:2

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples

Forgot the Sacrifice

We talk about grace of God many times and sometimes forget the sacrifice of Christ that gave — Good news to the poor, sight to the blind, healing for the broken hearted, freeing us from the sins that we so easily far into… We have much to be thankful for and, as well, reason to live to bring honor and glory to Him

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Luke 4:18

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

 He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

 to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing

Learning to Wait

Learning to wait is not an easy lesson in our culture.  We want it and want it now.  If we can’t have it now we get impatient, grumpy, or lack discipline to put distance between this thought of want vs need.  We chase after that which is temporary and run past that which gives purpose to our souls.  Take time to seek the purpose God has for each of us; being a servant, loving the unloved, giving generously, speaking boldly, waiting patiently, helping those in need.  Listen, and you will hear Him speaking to your heart.  Be the person who lives and shines the light and hope of Christ.

Isaiah 60:22

I am the Lord;

in its time I will hasten it

Habakkuk 2:3

For still the vision awaits its appointed time;

it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it;

 it will surely come; it will not delay

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells

Luke 18:8

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth