Isaiah Day 171 - Breath
52:12 For you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
Yesterday we talked about the
call out of Satan's kingdom. Today we get a glimpse into what that exit looks
like. Notice it's a calm, slow, deliberate departure. Why?
Have you ever noted or thought
about the fact Jesus was never in a panic? He was never frantic, never rushed,
never frazzled or hurried. He was always calm, always in control. Even when He
did big things like drive the money changers out of the temple it was not an
out of control tantrum. He explained what He was doing and why He was doing it.
When He met Zacchaeus for the
first time, there is a sense of urgency but not of panic. "Zacchaeus hurry
and come down for I must go to your house today."
Why is it important to understand
the difference between urgency and frantic behaviour and to understand that the
latter is never good? Panic is a cousin of fear. It shows a lack of control.
Jesus was never out of control. There were times like we have mentioned where
things were vitally important and had to be done. The people needed to
understand the true nature and role of the temple because it had a direct
impact on their picture of God. It was not an issue that Jesus could just let
slide. However as important as it was, He didn't lose His mind over it. He was
always in full control of His emotions and actions.
Now note what Isaiah says about
leaving Satan's kingdom. "You will not go out in haste nor go by flight..."
Again why? Well it's simple
really. We are following Jesus and He doesn't operate in that mode. People who
make hasty decisions rarely hold to them. They jump from one "new
thing" to another, one fad to another, one big idea to another". The
Bible describes them as being as unstable as water.
Any idea, movement, church,
philosophy, etc... that puts you into a panic is not from God. Remember He
wants your heart. Marriage should never be rushed into and neither should our
journey with Jesus be rushed. His grace more than covers us as we grow into our
relationship with Him. At the beginning Peter was following and fishing and
that was ok. Then He left fishing and followed full time. The transition was
not rushed. It was not an emotional frenzy. Jesus provided him with an exit
strategy. When Peter did speak or act in haste it never went well.
Why can we relax and not have to
worry that we haven't arrived yet or aren't good enough yet or aren't in the
right place or the ideal situation? Because Jesus has gone before us and is
behind us. He will not abandon us. He will point the way, prepare the way, and
be right with us and behind us as we take the next step. It may even be an
urgent step but never let it be a panicked step. Jesus never panicked, and we
don't need to either.
Isaiah Day 172 - Mission Impossible?
52:13
Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.
For the past two days we've been
talking about coming out of Satan's kingdom and joining God's kingdom. The
latter is the Kingdom of love, mercy, compassion, and justice. The former is a
kingdom of selfishness. In order to choose to leave the former one must see and
understand there is a better alternative. This is the message God has been
trying to communicate to humanity from the start. The nation God built from
Abraham's offspring through Isaac and Jacob was supposed to help the world see
the benefit of joining His kingdom. Under Moses the world took notice that the
God of Israel was certainly powerful. Under David and Solomon the world got a
taste of the blessings that come from choosing Him. After that the wheels fell
off and the world saw a once mighty nation disintegrate before their eyes.
What neither they nor
Israel/Judah understood is their their journey as a nation was a foreshadowing of the life of the One
promised since time began. The only difference is that He would succeed where
they failed.
Like Moses leading the people out
of Egypt by mighty miracles, so the birth of Jesus was marked with angel
visits, a new moving star in the night sky, and the visit of distant cousins
from the East. His arrival matched the words of the prophets yet inspite of all
this His arrival was resisted and/or flat out ignored, much like ancient Israel
was resisted and ignored by the rest of the world. For a time things got quiet
as Jesus grew up in Nazareth. Then He burst on the scene with miracles and
teachings that revolutionized Judah and set the religious leaders against Him.
He crossed borders that Jews didn't cross. He helped people that Jews had no
dealings with. The world was taking notice. Then as quickly as He came He was
gone, betrayed, beaten, and crucified by His own like so many of the prophets
before Him.
The nation of Israel failed by
their own doing and choices. Jesus appeared to fail again by the poor choices
of Israel, but did He?
And what about today? Jesus isn't
getting much air time. It seems we're drifting further from Him, not closer to
Him. The issues of racism and prejudice that plagued Judah are on the rise
again. The tensions between nations are increasing, not decreasing. Where are
we headed? Will the Kingdom message be heard again?
Consider verse 15 again:
"Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand."
Turns out His Kingdom message
won't fade out with a whimper of defeat. Think about it. The Jews were supposed
to show and tell the world of His kingdom of love, mercy, compassion, justice,
equality, etc... but they did not. Instead they perpetuated the kingdom of
Satan, built higher walls, and we're anything but true witnesses. Then Jesus
came and turned everything upside down, or truthfully right side up.
Today Christianity is supposed to
be doing what the Jews failed to do. Are we? No matter how we answer that
question Isaiah has good news for us. Somehow God will get the message of His
Kingdom to the world. What we failed to show them, they will see and what we
failed to tell them, they will hear and understand.
Breathe. There is no pressure on
us. We need not be frantic. We can choose to work with Him or against Him, but
either way His mission will succeed. The guilt trips and religious manipulation
need to stop. God is not burdening us with an insurmountable task. He is
inviting us to join Him in a mission that is guaranteed to succeed.
Love and justice or more
oppression and dysfunction? You choose. Love wins.
Isaiah Day 173 - Not Hard To Find Waldo Today
Like the children's book series
"Where Is Waldo", the Old Testament is like searching for Jesus amid
the human chaos. But there is no searching today. This is the most powerful and
obvious revealing of Jesus in the entire Old Testament. For today I just
encourage you to read it. Tomorrow we'll start digging into the treasures about
the Treasure. :)
53:1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
Isaiah Day 174 - Ellen White and the arm of God.
53:1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Can you guess which word God
brought you my attention? I have never noticed it until yesterday when I was
reading and rereading this chapter. It's not 'believed' although it is a very
significant word. It isn't 'our' although we will talk about that. It isn't
'message' either even though that word is closely related to it. The word is
'arm'. Arm? What's the big deal? It's just a body part right?
Clearly that isn't the meaning
here. This chapter is all about Jesus and not just Him in a superficial way,
but Him as the highest and deepest revelation of God.
Who (that's us) has
believed(embraced on the deepest level) our (that's God - Father, Son, Spirit)
message? (What's the message? We're about to find out) And to whom (that's us)
has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
So the message and the arm of the
Lord are one and the same. The second word of the next verse reveals the answer
- He. The He is Jesus and the rest of the chapter reveals both Him and His
mission to earth in stunning detail. No where else in the Old Testament is
there such an in-depth view given of the identity, character, and mission of
the One promised to Eve that would crush the head of the Serpent. So Jesus is
God's message to us. That makes sense. John introduces Him as the Word made
flesh. He is God expressed in human form. Jesus plainly told His disciples
"If you have seen Me, you have seen God".
When Jesus was born in less than
ideal circumstances to poor parents from a dead end town He was sending a
message from heaven: "We're not in this for Ourselves. We will go anywhere
and stop at nothing to save you."
When Jesus refused the praise of
men and refused to modify His mission to match the expectations of the people
They we're sending a message: "We will not compromise who We are or the
integrity of our Kingdom to give you what you think you want. That would
destroy all hope. The journey back might be confusing and even painful for you
but it's the only way and we love you too much to compromise."
Everything Jesus said and did was
a message. Fairly simple. But what about this arm business? Why does God call
Jesus His arm? Why does He equate message with arm? What are we supposed to see
or get from this symbolism?
Are you sitting down?
We don't have the time or space
here to go into exhaustive detail but when God announced through Moses and
Aaron that He was going to rescue Israel from Egyptian slavery, He said His arm
would do it. When they crossed the Red Sea and the army of Egypt was held back
until they were safe on the other side, the Scriptures say that His arm did
that. When God gave Moses the second set of "commandments" (promises)
He reframed the Sabbath one. He declared "For you were slaves in Egypt and
I brought you out by My mighty hand and an outstretched arm."
Jesus is the outstretched arm of
God. He has been since the beginning. We Seventh-day Adventists have a prophet
in our history named Ellen White. She has been the source of much controversy
both within and outside our church. She has been ignored by many and misused by
others. Some quote her more than the Bible and others act as if she never
existed. I have to give that background to come to this point. She has written
many details in her books that many claim just aren't in the Bible. That she
essentially adds to Scripture. However she herself once held up the Bible at
one of our General Conference sessions and told the leaders there that they
needed to study the Bible more and if they did they would have no need of her,
her writings, or her prophecies. That's a bold statement!
I grew up as one of those who
ignored her. I had my reasons. However when I finally gave her books a chance
in my late teens I was amazed. They were nothing like I imagined they would be.
However I do admit I found many things that "weren't in the Bible".
For example, when writing about the Exodus from Egypt she wrote that it was
Jesus who lead them out, that He was in the cloud that went ahead of them, and
He was in the pillar of fire that both guided and lighted the way before them.
How could she know that? How could she be so certain? The Bible never said
so...
Well it turns out the Bible did
tells us that, just not in an obvious way. Jesus is the "arm of God"
and it was 'God's arm' that delivered them from Egypt. It takes more than a
casual surface reading to discover that and isn't that what she said to our
leaders?
God in His mercy sent a frail
uneducated woman to show us what the Bible has been saying all along.
Safe in the arms of God is to be
safe in Jesus, the Lamb promised and slain from the very beginning. Who will
believe this message? Who will recognize God's arm and cling to it?
That is up to us...
Isaiah Day 175 - God's Arm Part 2
53:1 "Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the
LORD been revealed?"
Here are just a few of the
references to God's arm. Literally it is a few of them. In fact we already
passed a some right here in Isaiah and I never noticed. Do you know what that
means? It means His Word, His Story, His presence in our past, and His plans
for our future are so much better than we think or can take in. Last night I
was explaining to my son what I found out about God's arm. In fact I gave him
the clues and let him make the discovery. When it clicked his eyes lit up and
sparkled! Then he paused as his wheels kept turning and he asked "Why
didn't God just tell us that Jesus is His arm from the start?"
Good question. "You will
search for Me and you will find Me when you search with all your heart" -
God
He doesn't want us to just know
information about Him. He wants us to find Him and know Him. He designed His
book like a treasure hunt and the Treasure is Jesus.
The Message is not just
information, it's Jesus. God's arm is not a thing, not a body part, it's a Person.
This journey is not religion, it is relationship. When I wake up in the morning
my desire and goal is to pursue Him and see what He has in store for me.
Yesterday He added a new dimension I never saw before but will now never
forget. I am safe in the Arms of God. His Arm is not short that it cannot save.
His Arm is outstretched still. His Arm is Jesus. How can I ever doubt their
Oneness again? How can I ever think that perhaps Jesus loves me more than God
does? An arm can only work for the purpose the body tells it to. "Without My Father I can do
nothing". - Jesus
The arm is attached. When the
stretched out arm of God reaches us what does "it" do? It pulls us
close to "the body". We never again have to question how God feels
about us. His heart is revealed through the actions of His arm. "If you have seen Me, you have seen
God" - Jesus
Exodus 6:6 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I
will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver
you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and
with great judgments.
Exodus 15:16 “Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your
arm they are motionless as stone; Until Your people pass over, O Lord, Until
the people pass over whom You have purchased.
Deut. 4:34 Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from
within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a
mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your
God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Deut. 5:15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of
Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by
an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the
sabbath day.
Deut. 7:19 ...the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and
the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your
God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom
you are afraid.
Deut. 9:29 Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You
have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’
Deut. 11:2 Know this day that I
am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the
discipline of the Lord your God—His greatness, His mighty hand and His
outstretched arm...
Deut. 26:8 ...and the Lord
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with
great terror and with signs and wonders...
Isaiah Day 176 - No Externals
53:1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
Many religions try and control
what women wear. Think about it. From Muslims to certain Christian groups and
many other religions, women are controlled when it come to their wardrobe. The
reason/justification for this is most often of a sexual nature. Women need to
dress modestly and hide their beauty so as not to lead men astray.
The ironic part of all this, is
that you won't find any such teaching in the Bible. The closest thing you will
find is the counsel to dress modestly, but the reason for doing so is not
sexual. The Bible says Lucifer, one of the closest angels to God was very
beautiful and that his beauty corrupted him. He became self obsessed.
Then Isaiah announced the arrival
of Jesus, the promised one who would crush the head of the deceiver, (the
self-obsessed one, the leader of the rebellion against God's kingdom) and
Isaiah described Jesus as having no external beauty. You could pass Him on the
street and not look twice. He would have no hope of being chosen as the most
eligible bachelor. He was just plain and ordinary. The Creator of the most
stunning beauty would be Himself unremarkable. Why?
Was it to not lead women into
sexual desire? Hardly.
Jesus was on a very specific
mission and that mission was to reveal God and win us back to the Kingdom of
love and life. The nature of that Kingdom is not superficial beauty. It is
beauty of character. The fact Jesus had no external drawing power yet drew huge
crowds is proof of the incredible person He was on the inside.
Guess what? When the Bible
recommends dressing simply and modestly that is exactly the reason given. Our
beauty is to be of the inward variety. We are to draw others by our character,
not our looks, our jewels, our cash, our position. There is nothing wrong with
any of those things, but they can never be our identity or misery will follow.
Jesus was attractive. Jesus is
attractive. Attractive where it matters most.
Isaiah Day 177 - He Can't Be...
53:1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Here are the main issues that
made it seem impossible that Jesus could be the long awaited Messiah:
1, He was from Nazareth
2, He was conceived out of
wedlock
3, Father unknown
4, He was not physically
attractive
5, He wasn't tall or physically
imposing
6, He was a misfit within His own
family
7, He was a misfit in His town
8, He was a misfit in His nation
9, He was a peacemaker, not a
warrior
10, He seemed to reject all that
the people expected and hoped for
Was Jesus bullied growing up? In
a rough town like Nazareth it's almost a guarantee. Was He misjudged by almost
everyone? Absolutely. His own mother began to question what/who He was. His
siblings thought He was nuts. It seems His "father" died before His
public ministry even began so he certainly knew grief. He knew loneliness
because the only One who truly understood Him was God. Everyone else was either
confused by Him or outright rejected Him.
To summarize Him in a single
word: He was a misfit. Worse than just an awkward kid that didn't fit in, He
had high and definite expectations placed on Him from birth that He was never
going to meet. He wasn't going to be a giant killer like David. He wasn't going
to build a flourishing Empire like Solomon. He was going to free them from
Roman occupation like Moses delivered them from Egypt.
He was plain. He was boring. He
was nearly invisible. Messiah material He was not.
Whatever pain or alienation you
are going through, He understands. His time spent here was less than kind. We
were not exactly supportive. He was truly a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief.
Isaiah Day 178 - Group Think
53:3 He was despised and
forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
When I was in grade 5 or 6 a new
kid joined our school. It was an English elementary school in a small town in a
province that was predominantly French. There were seven grades and only 108
students. It was a big deal when a new kid showed up. He was skinny, pale, had
a funny accent, and didn't play sports. He looked like he'd snap in two if he
got tackled playing football or British Bulldog. "We" decided
"we" didn't like him. I felt bad about it but not bad enough to do
anything about it, not bad enough to stand up for him, not bad enough to be his
friend even if it was unpopular to do so.
I would like to think that if I
could do it over again I would do differently, better, but I'm not so sure.
Group think is rampant. "We" don't like that politician.
"We" don't like that leader. "We" don't like that pastor,
that teacher, that parent, that co-worker, that boss etc... A few influential
people decide where they stand and the rest of the sheeple agree.
"We" all think the same way.
I know a guy who is a leader type
and he has a saying "Show me two people who agree on everything and I will
show you at least one idiot".
Group think is very real and it
happens either because some in the group aren't thinking (idiots) or worse they
are but are afraid or embarrassed, too intimidated, or too insecure to stand
behind their own thoughts.
Nicodemus came to visit Jesus
alone at night because he was part of a "we" group that despised Him.
Isaiah tells us that when it came to Jesus, group think was powerful. The
prevailing opinion, especially in Jerusalem and eventually Nazareth was that He
was a dud, a fraud, a fake, a loser. It makes me wonder how many people in
those two places especially felt bad about that, knew in their hearts it wasn't
true, but didn't say anything or do anything about it.
Eventually the group think got so
strong that His own disciples denied Him.
God gave each of us our own mind
for a reason. Let's use it. Let's do what we believe is right when the herd,
the mob, the majority is against us.
Isaiah Day 179 - Unimaginably Heavy
53:4 Surely our griefs He
Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
This morning I was reminded that
three years ago I wrote about the silent work of pastors with people who are
hurting for various reasons that the larger community never knows about. Was it
a coincidence that that reminder coincided with Isaiah's words this morning? I
can't imagine the pain of Jesus' life here. I don't even like to attempt to
try. Last week a mother told me that parenting is the worst kind of agony. She
has two children. God has billions. That is not a statement to minimize her
experience as a mom, but to magnify His. Our foolishness and the painful
consequences they create He carries. Our poor decisions He carries. Our
arrogance He carries. Our harsh treatment of others He carries. Every act,
thought, motive, failure to act, hurtful word, helpful words left unspoken, He
carries it all. He was carrying the pain of Peter's denial long before it
actually happened. He carried the pain not only that it caused Himself but that
it caused Peter.
I know what it's like to not
sleep carrying the burden of others and compassion is not even a strong aspect
of my character. Jesus never separates Himself from our pain. He will never
leave us or forsake us. Even when we leave Him He lets us, but He never is far
from us.
Now imagine what that was like
for Jesus here. He knew what was coming for Him and the false expectations
everyone had. He knew His own mother didn't understand His mission. He carried
all that. Daily. Others saw the pain in His eyes and they judged Him. It was
the belief of that time that all pain, suffering, sadness, disease, etc... was
deserved punishment from God for sin of some sort. So in addition to the pain
we caused Him by our own mess, we added to that by seeing Him as smitten by
God. God was punishing Him they thought. His sadness was self-inflicted in
their eyes.
I have observed that often it is
the innocent who suffer most in this life. Parents divorce but who suffers
most? The children. Powerful men decide to go to war but who suffers most? The
innocent population.
When the great war between good
and evil, between God and Satan is over and this world is rescued and restored
who will have suffered the most? God. And He never did anything wrong.
The book of Job portrays a man
who was perfect, innocent, and at the hands of satanic attacks loses everything
including all His children. In the end God sets things right and Job gets
everything back double including more children. My wife hates that part of the
story. She correctly observes that having more children can never replace those
that were lost.
I personally believe Job is a
metaphor for Jesus. A perfect man who intercedes daily for His children. A man
under constant demonic attack though innocent. A man who has everything and
everyone taken from Him. A man who in the end is vindicated and everything is
set right. Sort of.
You see Jesus will lose many of
us. We won't come back. Many will fall for the delusions and lies of Satan
hook, line, and sinker. And when the universe is restored many of His children
won't be there to see it.
In my sister's home there is an
empty bedroom. She could have ten more children and nothing would bring back
the son who should be in that bed. At least we have the hope we will see him
again. Jesus knows there are many He won't be able to save from their own
choices.
A man of sorrows indeed. The most
innocent One has, does, and will forever suffer the most. Knowing this how can
I make even one choice that adds to His pain?
"Father help me not to place
a drop more pain on the shoulders of Jesus. Restore me as quickly as is
possible. I want to be part of the solution, not a tool of misery in the hands
of the enemy."
Isaiah Day 180 - Deep Water
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
Loud rushing water is like a
small barking dog - lots of noise but little substance. Deep Water doesn't rush
or make noise and big dogs don't need to try and compensate for their lack of
size by barking incessantly.
Strange opening right? The words
from Isaiah above are like deep water. There is no screaming, no exclamation
points, no fanfare. They aren't loud but they run deep. Recently I found myself
in a discussion between fellow pastors discussing why Jesus had to die. Isaiah
here says it was because of our brokenness. There is something about what He
did through suffering and dying that will heal us.
Like all discussions it nearly
fell into the trap of sifting through the possibilities to isolate one
definitive answer. This trap should almost always be avoided. It is possible
and often the case that there are multiple correct answers to one question.
Watch this:
Did Jesus die to pay the penalty
(death) for sin? Yes
Did Jesus die to demonstrate our
worth? Yes
Did Jesus die to demonstrate His
unfailing character of love? Yes
Did Jesus die to make it possible
for us to live forever and return to live with Him? Yes
I'm sure you can think of more
reasons. Some will select one reason and say "This is THE reason!" at
the expense of or exclusion of all the others. Don't fall for it. Just as the
beauty of a diamond increases with the number of cuts and angles for light to
reflect from, so the live of God and the beauty and awe of the Story increases
as we explore the depths.
Some say the Bible is boring. I
used to be one of them. Like deep water it doesn't seem like much is there
sometimes, but it is the still water that runs deep, it's the person who speaks
little that is worth listening to when they do speak, and the Bible comes alive
when we explore the depths, look from every angle we can conceive of, and find
new veins of truth, new expressions of His grace where before there was just
ink on a page.
Think about this: How much
punishment would you take for the crimes of someone else? Would you do it even
if they weren't grateful? What about if they cursed you to your face while you were
taking the pain and consequences they earned?
If you ever doubt the love of God
or your value in His eyes, go to the cross and swim in the deep waters of His
amazing grace.
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