ARCC Sermons

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July 17th

The bible reading is in Isaiah chapters 18-22.

In the midst of God judging the nations, we read some hard sayings against God’s people. Perhaps God was using Isaiah to preach messages that would stir the hearts of His people and motivate some soul searching by His careless ones. How? By couching the convicting words with a softness.

In Chapter 22 Isaiah entitled his sermon, “An oracle concerning the valley of vision”. His God-given message was directed to the city of Jerusalem.

Wasn't Jerusalem built on a mountain? Yes. But it was a mountain surrounded by mountains, many taller and much larger. So, from some mountain tops, Jerusalem could be considered “ down below”...in a “valley” of sorts. The prophet called Jerusalem, “the valley of vision”.

The “Vision of God” God’s powerful and majestic presence upon the temple. And within the veil of the Holy Place. Between the cherubim on the bloody mercy seat.

The “Vision “from” God” to prophets, for multiplied hundreds of years for the sake of the people of God.

Jerusalem...the valley of vision. Could it mean "God “seeing” everything...God “watching” over His own people of faith. I believe so.

Listen to one of my favorite Old Testament verses in 2 Chronicles 16. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, seeking to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are completely His.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭

Just coming down the mountain into the Kidron valley and looking upon the beautiful city of David and the temple glistening in the sun. What a sight...what a vision to behold...”God lives there”...people would whisper...O for a glimpse of Him.

O Christian friend we are the place that God dwells. By His Spirit, God dwells in us. Put us in a church full of other followers of Christ and together, Peter would say, “stone by stone God has built His church. His Temple, and when people whisper about us, may they say, “that is where God lives”. O for a glimpse of Him.

So what were the hard words that Isaiah spoke to Jerusalem? Let us listen...“God has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭22:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Babylonian captivity is on the way. And what are you doing? Looking to your cash of weapons stored in the Temple? Looking to the thickness of your city walls? Looking to the cisterns that will hold plenty of water You're looking in the wrong place. You have forgotten your Savior God. And therefore God has taken away your covering. You're on your own.

Wow, some hard words. Did Judah repent under such heavy preaching? Some perhaps...but most did not.

Do you remember the purpose of the Lord’s Supper? Remembering” Jesus, and his death on the cross for our salvation. The broken bread symbolizing Christ’s broken body on the cross, and the cup of the fruit of the vine symbolizing the shed blood of Jesus on the cross which bought our salvation from our sins.

Judah forgot God, and God took away Judah’s covering for a while. We too forget the Savior. He may discipline us...but He promised never to leave us.

Jesus. You are better.

Have a good day.

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July 16th

The Bible reading today is in Isaiah chapters 13-17.

It is my conviction that God has “always” made good decisions. It is my belief that God has “always” been a good judge for the world He has made.

As human beings, we were made in the image of God like our ancestral parents, Adam and Eve. We were given minds to think with and hearts to love with and souls to respond to God with. But remember, sin came to the garden. And every son of Adam and every daughter of Eve would be born in sin. With a sin nature, with minds that would think evil thoughts, with hearts that would love “selfishly”, and souls that would be dead spiritually.

What man and woman and boy and girl would desperately need would be a do over...a new birth...with a Godly mind that could make good decisions like God. With a Godly heart that could love “selflessly” for a lifetime, and a God soul that could desire to walk together with the Lord.

And by the way...in Christ, we have been born again, with brand new hearts, brand new souls, and the very mind of Christ.

One of my constant prayer requests to God is that He would empower me to think His thoughts and make decisions in harmony with His. You and I are called upon every day to make decisions. Many small ones and some pretty big ones. For the most part, we trust our decision-making abilities. The sad thing is, we find ourselves not trusting in our Savior God’s decision-making abilities. And why is that? Because some of His decisions concerning us have been hard, painful.

In the world in which Isaiah ministered, primarily Israel and Judah, the people had rightly experienced the sting of God’s warnings and judgments. Many turned to the Lord with a contrite heart, “so sorry” for the forgetting of their Savior. Others just refused to turn back to the Lord.

Is there any good news, Isaiah? We know that we have blown it. We know that we have broken the law and we know that we have broken God’s heart. Is there any more mercy and any more grace for God’s chosen ones?

Let us listen to Isaiah...not just for Israel and Judah, but for us in Jesus.

“For the Lord will have “compassion on Jacob” and will “again choose Israel”, and will “set them” in their own land...

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭14:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The Lord will have compassion upon Jacob...” The Lord will show mercy to the children of faith, even after they have strayed away from their Savior.

I remember a police officer named Ben. He and his family got saved and joined our church in Spring, Texas. One day Ben called and asked if he could bring his older brother, Rick, by the house.

Rick had just gotten out of prison after more than a decade. Upon hearing the gospel around our kitchen table, tears began to flow and he asked a question that I will never forget. “How can you say that Jesus can forgive me...? When you don't know what I've done? I said, “You're right, I don't know what you've done, but God does and He loves you despite what you've done.

Isaiah told Israel that God had enough mercy to go around for those that believed Him. And then Isaiah had some more good news for Israel.

“How much is God committed to us since we proved unfaithful to Him?“

Answer...“God always keeps His promises. Therefore, He would still choose you over everyone else...no matter what,”

That was good news. But 1400 years later better news came. Not just for Israel but for Gentiles as well. Jesus the Messiah Savior God who came to save us from our sins and give us eternal life both in the now and the forever.

Have a great day.

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July 15th

The Bible reading today is in 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16,17.

To the text...“Yet the Lord “warned” Israel and Judah by every “prophet” and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments...”

2 Kings 17:13

In love, God sent preachers to the Northern Kingdom of Israel and to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin.

God “sent them”. You know, God still has His preachers today. He still calls them. He still speaks to them. He still trains them, and He still sends them.

I remember it like it was yesterday, a Sunday evening worship service at Highland Baptist Church in Denton Texas. Beverly and I were newlyweds. And the first thing we did after moving to my college town was to start looking for a church that taught and preached the Bible and had a passion to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That Sunday night, Jack Boggs, our pastor, shared his testimony of God calling him to preach. Bev and I had been praying that God would show us what He had in store for our lives. Brother Jack said that God was still calling people to preach the gospel all over the world. He challenged our church family that night to listen for that special call from God.

I bowed my head and heart that night and told the Lord that I would be His witness and share Christ with everyone He brought across my path. I thought that conversation with God would take care of the butterflies in my stomach. But it did not.

So I told the Lord that I didn't know much about preaching, but if He was calling me to preach the Word to His people, would He then give me a sign, like He did with Gideon.

“Lord, this call upon my life will include my wife. If You’re calling me, then please have Bev to grasp my hand”. Almost immediately Bev clasped my hand. I whispered to her that I believed that God was calling me to preach. She said, “then you need to go forward to speak with Brother Jack. I'll go with you.”

And the rest is history. 49 years a witness of Christ and a preacher.

God sent prophets/preachers to Israel in the days of Ahaz, king of Judah. The text says that the preachers shared God’s message with God’s people. But the people would not listen. Their hearts were stubborn, they would not turn from their evil ways and back to God.

G. Campbell Morgan said, “Israel’s sin was first against law, but finally it was against patient love.”

God sent preachers to Judah for 16 years, during the reign of wicked Ahaz of Judah. And for 16 years, for the most part, the hearts of God’s people were divided and hard toward God. It was God’s love that sent the preachers to call His people back to Himself.

There was a need for a spiritual revival among God’s people. They needed to be broken before God, humbled, repentant, and in love with God again.

Oh Lord Jesus...revive Your church...make Your preachers mighty in Spirit...they will need You to burn hot and passionately in their hearts...inorder to light the fires of revival in America and around the world...so be it!

Have a great day.

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July 14th

Today we are in the 7 chapters of the book of Micah.

Like Amos, Micah was a “country preacher”. More than likely, a bi-vocational preacher. One day herding his flocks and cattle, the next preaching God’s message to God’s people.

Amos, in addition to preaching to his own people, prophesied a great deal to the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. Micah’s ministry, however, was primarily to the divided kingdom of God’s people of promise, Israel and Judah. His message would include a warning about God’s dealing with His unrepentant people.

Was it straight forward? Yes. Was it cold and surgical? No way! Micah preached some and cried some. He was in agony over the careless sinning of his people. He called them to repentance. To turn back to following God.

Let’s listen to the text...“For this, I will “lament”(agonize) and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and my mourning like the ostriches. For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭1:8-9‬ ‭

Micah was far from being detached from his audience. He was passionate about their lukewarm relationship with God. He wanted them to love their Lord again, with all of their hearts.

Micah knew that his people were chosen by God to be the light to the Gentiles. But instead of being the illumination in the spiritual darkness of the surrounding nations, Israel and Judah were simply “blending” into the Godless culture of their neighbors.

Micah was going all out, to the extreme, to get Judah’s attention. To help them to see God. To remember God and His great salvation, and turn them back to Him.

Micah’s message included instruction in Kingdom kids’ behavior...such as: “He has told you, O man, “what is good”; and what the “Lord requires of you”...to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭6:8‬

Be lawful. Let love motivate everything you do. Don't stop going on with the Lord. Yes, that was good and right, but something better was on the Way...was the Way...the Truth and that Kingdom Life...the Messiah...Jesus...who not only saved us from our sins but gave us the Holy Spirit to inspire good desires in us and empower us to humbly and confidently go on with the Lord. Loving Him and loving people with all of our hearts. Thank You, Jesus. And by the way, thanks Micah, for being faithful to your calling too.

Have a great day

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July 13th

Our bible reading today is in 2 Chronicles 27 and Isaiah 9,10,11,12.

Straight to the text...“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

For to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9:1-2, 6-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The invasion of the Assyrians would be awful for the Jewish people. Especially the northern kingdom of Israel’s ten tribes, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. Isaiah described the invasion as trouble and darkness and gloom of anguish.

But today’s prophesy is far from gloomy...it’s full of hope for Israel and for us today who believe.

Bible history teaches us that the northern tribes were the first to suffer at the hands of Assyria’s siege. But in the grace of God, they would be the first to see and experience the bright light of the Messiah...Jesus.

Let us listen and let our faith be enlarged...“Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum (the northern part of Israel) by the sea of Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them, a light has dawned.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4:12-16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Awesome! God had a special blessing in store for this promised land of believing people. A piece of land that would go through such darkness. Isaiah was now helping Israel visualize the coming blessing of the Lord. Something that generations of believing Jews and Gentiles would look forward to in great hope.

‬ “You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

Isaiah‬ ‭9:3-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The life and work of the Messiah would bring joy and gladness to Israel. Joy, like the party, the celebration at harvest time. Joy, like warriors dividing the spoil of a battle won. Joy, like sandals and blood-stained garments burned as fuel for the fire that lights the sky for the victors. The war is over and complete. Rejoicing is the normal now.

Each of these promises concerning joy, the breaking of the yoke of burden, and the breaking of the rod of the oppressor was yet to come for Isaiah’s audience. But they have been fulfilled in the fullest measure in Jesus and the great salvation He bought for us on the cross.

“For to us a child is born, to us, a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”...Awesome Jesus.

Let us rejoice fellow follower of Jesus. Let’s rejoice friends.

Have a great day

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July 12th

Today’s bible reading is in Amos chapters 6,7,8,9. 5 visions that God gave Amos.

We will look at the three visions in Chapter 7 for today’s podcast.

But just a brief introduction...Already Amos has called the nations, including Judah and Israel, “to prepare to meet God.” Wow. By the reaction of the vast majority of his audience, we can conclude that “meeting God” was not immediately thought of as a happy meeting with Nana and Granddad for Baskin & Robbin's ice cream. No, Amos’ audience was shocked and made very angry...very uncomfortable.

What an ominous declaration to give to a generation that had pretty much either denied the existence of God or refused any rationale that made them responsible to their creator and covenant maker. No wonder Amos was threatened by priests and kings across his mission field.

Amos predicted an earthquake that would affect 8 nations. Scriptural words like the land melted, the trembling, the shaking, the bones and deaths inside and under buildings, the violent crashing sounds, the sea flooding lands, beyond coastlands. God was going to judge unrighteousnes, and that “death and destruction bringing earthquake” would all happen before the other prediction of Amos. Israel’s invasion by Assyria.

One more thought before the visions...When I read Amos’ words, “prepare to meet your God Israel” in chapter 4, I thought a minute, maybe longer, and became humbly grateful in my mind and heart for Jesus and the salvation He “bought for me” with His death on the cross and His prophesy fulfilling resurrection.

I will meet my God, Jesus, one day...either at my death on earth or in the air at the rapture of the church and all those who have believed Him down through the ages.

I have told people for years that I am not afraid to meet my Savior. He has already saved me from the penalty of my sin. I look forward to the day when I can personally thank Him at the judgment seat of Christ, face to face in the presence of all the saints, for the glorious gift my salvation and so many other gifts.

Now...Three visions of the coming judgment upon Israel.

Locusts after the first harvesting, before the final harvesting. Leaving nothing in the fields. Total complete devastation. Amos prayed that God would not totally destroy Israel. And God relented, only a part of Israel would be destroyed.

Fire...a wildfire of judgment that would not discriminate. A fire that would eat up all of Israel. Amos prayed again that God would not completely destroy Israel. And God relented, only a part of Israel would be affected.

And then a Plumb Line. In the midst of Israel that common and most effective tool for measuring, building and destroying. God was going to measure the hearts of the Israelites. He would determine the “unrighteous heart” and destroy it. He would determine the righteous heart and save it.

And just who is the righteous heart?

“For our sake, God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that “in him” we might become the righteousness of God.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:21‬ ‭ESV‬

Thank You, Lord. You were talking about us who believe You, even though the shepherd prophet Amos...that’s awesome!

Have a great day

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July 11th

The bible reading today is in the first 5 chapters of Amos.

“For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “ “Seek me and live” ...really live...The same thing Jesus was saying in Mark 1:15 and Matthew 6:33

“Jesus saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; (it’s right in front of you...the kingdom is Me...because I'm the king) repent and believe the gospel.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And...” seek first the kingdom of God (Me) and my righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So God has always appealed to His chosen ones to seek and desire Him and His ways. Not just through Amos in Old Testament times, not just Jesus to his first disciples, but always...even to this generation of Christ-followers, as a good parent appeals to the child of his and her love. Especially when the child is desiring wrong things.

God is always appealing to His treasured ones...His believing ones...”Seek Me...desire Me...and really/ truly / live!

God told the house of Israel...the people of His promise...His people of faith...Seek me...desire me...” but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

‭‭Amos‬ ‭5:4-5‬ ‭

The Righteous Loving God was warning his kids of a judgment to come. An exile that would bring their lives to “nothing”. O if they would just seek Him again, and truly live wherever they might wind up!

Or said another way...Beloved, quit going to the places where the calves of Jereboam and the idols of Ahab’s foreign wives are set up for worship. You’re setting yourselves up for a costly lesson at your own expense. Do not continue to be double-minded in your devotions. You cannot worship Me and idols.

That’s what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to seek him first. Not first in time, not first in order, but first and “only!” Otherwise, you're not worshipping the God of your salvation at all.

Amos could be described as the Angry Prophet. In the first two chapters, he unloads on 6 evil nations. He doesnt mince words. He doesn't sugar coat a thing. Just the truth. Logical truth that judged the nations guilty and deserving of destruction.

The prophets had visited and lived among them and told them the truth about God’s kingdom. The preachers called the nations to repentance and faith toward God. But for the most part, instead of believing God, they tortured and murdered God’s messengers.

Reminds me of how every one of Christ’s apostles, sent to the nations by Jesuss preached the gospel of God’s kingdom in Christ. And each one was killed/martyred for the faith by unbelievers.

No pity today...but...Do you remember an emotional (written) appeal from Peter to the churches in Cilicia in 1 Peter 4:16,17...

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name, Christian. “

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God”; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Peter was saying...Don't be surprised church, when times of judgment/discipline touches you. Our Master went through it and not for his own sins but for ours. He was touched terribly by God’s judgment on sin, and the servants are no greater than their master. So let us not be shocked when the judgment of God begins at the doorsteps of His house...you and me...for his honor and glory and our purification and sanctification on our way to heaven’s glorification.

Wow...now that will preach. By the way...chapter 9 makes all the other Amos reading worth it.

So good to belong to Jesus and walk with Him, and have believing family and friends to join me on that amazing grace walk.

Have a good day

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July 10th

Our bible reading is in Isaiah chapters 5,6,7,&8. God blessed me today from the reading of His Word.

God used the prophet Isaiah in skillful, poetic verse to remind His people of His love and just what that looks like in these days. Who knows, perhaps the song was entitled...“A Love Song About God’s Vineyard”...And like other love songs that God wrote, this one will have some bitter and some sweet it seems.

“Let me sing for my beloved”...Isaiah writes. I want to sing, and I want to sing for the One who loves me the most...for My Savior God, Elohim...we would say Jesus.

Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: “My beloved had a vineyard”...His prized possession...Judah who believed and you and me.

And what did His love look like? “Gave his best to his vineyard...Jesus...on a very fertile hill”...the perfect place to produce life...Golgatha comes to mind...the hill outside of town where Jesus was put to death...that from that death, life would spring eternal for all who believed Him.

“God dug it and cleared it of stones”...hard work just for the love of His vineyard...that’s love...and planted it with choice vines...” chosen” ones...like you and me who believe him...he built a watchtower in the midst of it...The Holy Spirit...for around the clock protection from the little foxes that spoil the vines...and hewed out a wine vat in it...to crush the grapes and for storing of the sweet wine...reminding me that God’s love for me will always include a crushing...”If any man will come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” and he looked for it to yield grapes...the luscious kind...

Reminds me of the words of Jesus in John 15...“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.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We, who believe Jesus, are His vineyard. He is the vine and we are the branches. He wants to produce much spiritual fruit in and through us.

Reminds me of Paul’s message to the church in Galatia...“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. If we live by the Spirit, then let us also keep in step with the Spirit...responding eagerly to the Spirit’s promptings.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:19-23, 25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So God planted His vineyard Judah and expected fruit...“but” (instead) it yielded wild grapes...(those that were putrid to the smell, bitter to the taste, and poisonous to the stomach)...of no use at all.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭5:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As I read the text, Judah had every advantage and opportunity to abide in the Lord. God delivered/saved His covenant people for the purpose of doing life with them...for His glory and the benefit of His children. Yet, time and again these believers in Judah fell to the temptation of “doing life without God”.

Could have been talking about me

And therefore the fruit of their lives did not make their vinedresser / their Lord famous.

Yes, the story in the song was about a vineyard that was well-loved by its owner. That vineyard was God’s treasured ones...His people of faith and promise...Judah...the lineage of the Messiah...and all those who believed Him.

Judah was that vineyard and so are we in Christ.

Let us listen...John Calvin wrote, “No possession was dearer to a man than his vineyard. And there was nothing that demanded more constant and persevering toil. Not only, therefore, does the Lord declare that we are His beloved inheritance, but at the same time points out His own care and anxiety about us.”

I agree with you, bro Calvin. God does give constant, persevering toil towards me...toward us...(His vineyard)...that we may bear much fruit. Thanks Lord, very much. We are humbled by Your gracious and faithful care...”

And what about the vineyard that produced the wild grapes? Well, that’s the rest of the story. Let me end with Pastor Spurgeon's thoughts about this love song.

“I have been thinking of the advantages of my own position in the Lord, and lamenting with great shamefacedness that I, His vineyard, am not bringing forth fruit as my position demands.” Lord forgive me....

Have a great day

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July 9th

The bible reading today is in the first 4 chapters of Isaiah.

These prophecies of Isaiah are recorded in this book by his name. And Isaiah’s prophesies are quoted in the New Testament more than all the other prophets in scripture combined.

Isaiah ministered for 60 years. For 20 years he ministered in both the northern kingdom of the 10 tribes and the southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. For his final 40 years, Isaiah ministered exclusively in Judah.

He was a contemporary of Hosea and Micah. And by the time of Isaiah’s ministry, the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, and Amos had all come and gone.

As Isaiah’s ministry began, Assyria was about to besiege Israel.

Finishing up this overview, Isaiah was a great man of God.

Some say that Isaiah had the courage of Daniel, the tears of Jeremiah, the persuasive skill of Hosea, and the righteous anger of an Amos. Others have written that Isaiah left the other prophets behind by a long way when it came to the art of bold, holy mockery of ungodliness.

Now to the text of Isaiah’s message from God to rebellious Judah during the reign of the evil king, Ahaz.

“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“I have nourished and brought up children and instead of their grateful love and fellowship, they have turned their backs on me...not wanting anything to do with me.”

As a son to my parents, I fear that the heavenly records must certainly show my ungrateful and rebellious attitude toward my loving parents on many an occasion. God forgive me. And much more have I gone my way instead of my heavenly Father’s wishes and ways. Help me Holy Spirit to respond eagerly to your promptings that I may show love to the Father who has saved and nourished me.

Continuing in the text... “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats."

"Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1:11, 14-15‬ ‭

Isaiah preached a very hard message to Ahaz and Judah. “Your religious services, I hate.” They were most likely appalled at such a message. They were carrying out the feasts and sacrifices and ceremonies that God’s laws dictated. As far as the elders in Judah were concerned, they were good with God. They were fulfilling the ancient version of today’s church attendance and a few dollars in the offering plate.

But Isaiah’s prophesy was directed to “Judah’s heart” not to their Sunday school perfect attendance record. God was saying that their heart was not right with Him. And without the right heart, God hated their religious activity.

Even in our own relationship with God, if we are not careful, we too can lose our first love for the Lord, and be spewed out of his mouth like polluted water. We too can place our desires on good and better ideas for the church, rather than on an undistracted devotion to the one who saved us.

One more piece of the text...an appeal from the Lord to His people...

““Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool...”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1:18,19

Some pit reason against faith, saying God is beyond reasoning. So don't get caught up with racking your brains for more knowledge and understanding.

Here God invited His chosen ones...not perfect ones...chosen ones...those who believed Him...to “think”, not by themselves, but “to think with Him”.

Though your sins are scarlet...they shall be white as snow...”

How? In the Messiah...In Jesus Christ...his cross and resurrection that completely and permanently judged our sin so that in Christ, we are accounted, not as bloody guilty sinners, but as justified sons and daughters before God the Father...clean forever.

Halleluiah!