Abundant Grace

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Earth Rebirth

“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth.” Isaiah 65:17

There are some promises that are made that truly defy comprehension. We hear a lot of them each election year. “We’ll kick everybody out that we don’t like” or “Everything you could possibly ever hope for a desire will be FREE” are examples of promising the incredible, no the impossible. So, we look around at the our present universe, all the stars in their proper motions in the sky, all the mountains securely set in their places, all the oceans abiding by their designated borders, and we say, “This is permanent.” But it’s not.

God has said that the earth must be reborn just as each believer must be reborn. Every person is corrupted by sin and without rebirth will perish. The earth is also corrupted by sin. Adam’s sin brought thistles and thorns and the curse to the very earth he walked on. It must be reborn and God is going to do it. How? That’s up to God. He made it in the first place and He will make it over again. It is part of the promise and He will keep it.

Dear Father, Help us not grow too attached to that which will pass away. Amen.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Unmerited Promises

“All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6

“No, you cannot have that now, but if you are really good and let Mommy finish her shopping, she will buy you a candy at the checkout.” Is that a promise? Is that a bribe? Is the result of the promise (bribe) conditional or unconditional? “If you be good you will get it,” is not the kind of promise that God has given to Israel. When He told them that David’s throne would be occupied by David’s son for all time, it wasn’t a bribe. It was an unmerited promise.

Why wasn’t it a bribe? Because then God’s people would never get anything. Our righteous deeds, Isaiah said, are like filthy rags. God sees no merit in them at all. Therefore we cannot merit any of God’s promises. His promises are based on His grace alone or we would never receive any of them. God’s promise of our salvation is like God’s promise to David’s descendants. Our sins have separated us from God, but He has sent His Son to die for us anyway that His promises might be fulfilled.

Dear Father, Thank You for Your unmerited promises. Amen.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Promises, Promises

“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, I will make you an eternal excellence.” Isaiah 60:15

It’s an election year and we are daily bombarded with promises that cannot be fulfilled. The left cannot bring in Utopia and the right cannot bring in righteousness. As we see the ongoing failure of men to fulfill their promises we might begin to wonder if God will fulfill His. He made a promise to Abraham that all the world would be blessed through his seed. Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham, is indeed offering the blessing of eternal life to all the world today.

God made a promise to David that his kingdom would last forever and that a son would reign on the throne. With the fall of Jerusalem in 600BC many feared that promise could not be kept. With the death of Jesus on the cross there were many who feared that since he had failed to take out the Romans that the promise could never be fulfilled. But God says in Isaiah that He will indeed fulfill His promise. Unlike man who cannot do what he says; God can.

Dear Father, Thank You for steadfast and sure promises. Amen.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Winding Down

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1

If we live long enough something happens to all of us. We get old. Even if we don’t say it we start to think, “Remember when”. The children we held as babes in our arms have given us a second generation to dote upon, and as time progresses, those new ones bring us another generation. Now our children are the doting grandparents and we have become a little more peripheral. The world ahead begins to come a little more in focus as the world in which we live drifts a little further from our control.

As we come to the last few chapters of Isaiah we find him in this position. He has been prophesying for sixty years. He is an old man. The final chapters of his visions are of the distant future. He sees the promises of God fulfilled. He preaches great hope and peace for God’s people. He still has an important ministry and that is to encourage the people around him.

Dear Father, Help us to continue our ministry until You take us home. Amen.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Calling All Cars!

“The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isaiah 60:3

I remember a common line from old police TV shows. “Calling all cars! Calling all cars!” It was an urgent plea. There is a critical situation and all cars that can make it should respond. God has an urgent plea as well. Jesus said, “Come unto me.” God says, “Now is the day of salvation.” There is the need that all mankind has but with only one lifetime in which to meet it. It is the need of our eternal soul and it is the need of all mankind.

God didn’t just call all of Israel to come. This passage in Isaiah shows the call is universal. God says, “Calling all people! Calling all people!” Come to the light. Come to Jesus, the Light of the world. Come to the brightness of His glory for Jesus is the glory of God sent into this world. God calls out, “Calling all people,” and we should not ignore the call nor put off responding.

Dear Father, Thank You for the loving grace that calls all men to come to You. Amen

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend. Amen

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Truth or Dare

“For truth is fallen in the street.” Isaiah 59:14

Thirty years ago a visiting pastor preached this at my church. He spoke as if this were an original idea that he had just discovered. The interesting thing is that Isaiah preached this sermon two thousand seven hundred and fifty years ago. That’s a long time, and in that long time truth has not picked itself up yet.

During those millennia the same lies, or simple variations of them, have dominated the world. First is that religious practice is enough. It says God does not expect us to really believe it but to simply go through the motions of it. The second great lie is that mankind is sufficient to figure out what we really need and successfully meet that need. The essence of that set of lies is that man is God and God is a mere token. That basic lie has been around since Adam and will continue until Christ returns. God’s people are called upon to ignore that lie and live by God’s truth. That truth hasn’t changed since the fall.

Dear Father, Help us to follow the truth and not the lie. Amen

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Hearing Problems?

“The Lord’s ear is not heavy that it cannot hear.” Isaiah 59:1

As a pastor for many years I have heard a lot of strange comments. One that is oft recurring concerns prayer. Congregants will tell me about something that is troubling them and I ask if they have prayed about it. Invariably their answer is, “It’s just a little thing, Pastor, and God has more urgent matters to attend to.” Actually, no He doesn’t. Since God counts the hairs on our head it shows that He is concerned with the smallest details of our lives.

God says that His ear is not heavy that it cannot hear. That means that His ear is strong enough to hear every burden laid on it. His hand is strong enough to deliver every soul in distress. He does not have limited space in His head to discern and care about every trouble that we encounter. Trust God to hear all your concerns and care about them all.

Dear Father, Thank You that You are strong enough to hear and loving enough to care about our smallest woes. Amen