Category Archives: Who’s Listening Anyway?

Is God’s Word Truth??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #393

01 Wednesday Oct 2025

Posted by in 'Come unto me, A Form of godliness?, God's grace is sufficient...always!, God's Judgment, God's Righteousness Not mine, God's ways are not our ways, God's Wisdom, Godly Wisdom, The Things of God, The Word, The Word Or The World?, There IS a Test!, This is the Way, Time Is Grace!, Too Late To Call?, Transformed life, Trusting Jesus?, Truth, Truth is True, Uncertainty--God HAS the answer, Unrighteous will not inherit, Victory IN Jesus!, What are you hungry for?, What are you listening to?, What do you SEE?, What's in your book?, What's The Word?, Who are YOU following?, Who are you listening to?, Who will you believe and follow?, Who's Listening Anyway?, Whose Sheep are You?

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Is God’s Word Truth??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #393

I feel led to write this article today, as I just read some startling statistics that break my heart; but I have no doubt that they reflect where our culture is.  The bottom line was that less than 10% of those who claim to be “Christians” actually believe the Word of God/The Bible to be true, authoritative and useful for ordering our lives before a Holy God!  So, I want to share what the Word of God has to say about itself.  It’s your choice, as to what you believer, but choose wisely for there is a test; and believe it or not, God’s Word is and ever will be the plumbline!

“For the word of God is

quick,

and powerful,

and sharper than any twoedged sword,

piercing even to the dividing asunder

of soul and spirit,

and of the joints and marrow,

and is a discerner

of the thoughts

and intents

of the heart.

13 Neither is there any creature

that is not manifest in his sight:

but all things are naked and opened

unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”               Hebrews 4:12-13

You may deny the veracity of The Word of God, but your denial will not diminish the truth that it is what you will stand and be judged by one day!  What you do with Jesus and His Word is truly your choice, but the consequences have already been set.  Paul gives us a most powerful declaration of the truth of the Bible—God’s Word!  Other’s words may be tempting to believe as they usually (almost always) feed the fleshly desires, rather than the truths of God!

“If we believe not,

yet he abideth faithful:

he cannot deny himself.

14 Of these things put them in remembrance,

charging them before the Lord

that they strive not about words to no profit,

but to the subverting of the hearers.

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God,

a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,

rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:13-15

And just an observation, if we are called to “rightly” divide the word of God, it is implied that there is a way to “wrongly” divide (or interpret and apply it) God’s Word.  What are you doing with the Bible?  Are you taking other’s opinions of what it says, or are you digging in yourself to see what God says?  Whether we believe and accept it or not, God remains faithful and His Word is true; again I say, it’s your choice but choose wisely, there is a test!  Let’s look at what else Paul told this young pastor!

“All scripture

is given by inspiration of God, and

is profitable

for doctrine,

for reproof,

for correction,

for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be

perfect,

throughly furnished

unto all good works.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Just FYI, the word ‘perfect’ here means stable and mature, it is not a reference to attaining sinless perfection!  This is calling us to understand that it is the Bible, God’s Word, which can help us to know truth (doctrine); to reveal our failure and sin (reproof); to correct us and set our feet back on the road of the light of our God (correction); and one of the greatest things is that it helps us to learn the ways of righteousness (the preventive measures for a godly life, instruction in righteousness!)!  Then Paul lifts us up to see that this very Word of God is what will help us to be mature, useful and equipped spiritually for whatever good works God may set before us!  Oh, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and our heart and flesh feasting on His Word.  It’s like medicine for the soul and our weak flesh.

Jesus said it best as He dealt with the temptation of Satan face to face!

“And when the tempter came to him, he said,

If thou be the Son of God,

command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said,

It is written,

Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word

that proceedeth

out of the mouth of God.”              Matthew 4:3-4

What if our diets were as set on God’s Word as on the physical food that we love –some of us way too much!  So in closing I just want to remind every one of us that there is a day coming when we will give an account—let us consider the fate of those who don’t know Jesus; yet also we need to consider that every genuine believer in Jesus will also give an account.  Are you living according to God’s Word?  How can you if you don’t know it?  You can’t!  So dig in my friend; dig in and feast on the riches of all that God has sent to us in this amazing love letter—from Genesis to Revelation!  It’s all true—whether you believe it or not!

“And I saw a great white throne,

and him that sat on it,

from whose face the earth and the heaven

fled away;

and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead,

small and great,

stand before God;

and the books were opened:

and another book was opened,

which is the book of life:

and the dead were judged

out of those things which were written

in the books,

according to their works.

13 And the sea

gave up the dead which were in it;

and death and hell

delivered up the dead which were in them:

and they were judged

every man

according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death.

15 And whosoever

was not found written in the book of life

was cast into the lake of fire.”  Revelation 20:11-15

No second chances!

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die,

but after this the judgment:” Hebrews 9:27

Then consider Paul’s explanation of the believer’s accounting.

“For other foundation can no man lay

than that is laid,

which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation

gold,

silver,

precious stones,

wood,

hay,

stubble

13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest:

for the day shall declare it,

because it shall be revealed by fire;

and the fire shall try every man’s work

of what sort it is.

14 If any man’s work abide

which he hath built thereupon,

he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man’s work shall be burned,

he shall suffer loss:

but he himself shall be saved;

yet so as by fire.

16 Know ye not

that ye are the temple of God,

and that the Spirit of God

dwelleth in you?”  1 Corinthians 3:11-16

Are you ordering your steps with Jesus or the world?  It’s your choice but remember there is a test.  May we pray with the Psalmist today?  And the next today…….  And the next today…

“Order my steps

in thy word:

and let not any iniquity

have dominion over me.”  Psalm 119:139

Amen and Amen!!!

Who’s Your Builder??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #379

24 Sunday Aug 2025

Posted by in 'Come unto me, Except The Lord build the house..., Faith or Entertainment?, Faithful God--Faithful me!, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Fighting With God's Weapons, For Such A Time As This, Giving Thanks to God!, Trust, Trusting God, Trusting Jesus, Trusting Jesus?, Tuned In To Jesus, Turn to God's Word, Victory IN Jesus!, What does worldliness look like?, What's coming out of your heart., What's coming out of YOUR mouth?, What's The Word?, Where are you leading those following you?, Who are YOU following?, Who are you listening to?, Who will you believe and follow?, Who's following you?, Who's Listening Anyway?, Words Matter

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Who’s Your Builder???  A Word from THE WORD!!! #379

I know some of you are thinking, “I’m not building a house!”; but on the contrary, we are building every day!  We are generally building or tearing down, even when we aren’t even conscious of it.  We are building up our spouse or tearing them down!  We are building up our children or tearing them down (regardless of their age!)!  We can be building up those around us or tearing them down without even being aware of it!  But my friend, we need to be aware—words and attitudes matter!  I want to share a brief Psalm with you this evening, yet one that touches the scope of our lives—our homes, our focus, our family, our attitude toward family, and in our culture, many don’t even consider that a subject to consider.  God says differently through King Solomon.

“Except the LORD build the house,

they labour in vain that build it:

except the LORD keep the city,

the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,

to sit up late,

to eat the bread of sorrows:

for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children

are an heritage of the LORD:

and the fruit of the womb

is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;

so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man

that hath his quiver full of them:

they shall not be ashamed,

but they shall speak with the enemies

 in the gate.”  Psalm 127:1-5

May we let God speak to our hearts through His Word and I ask Him to tune our heart to His.  May we seek to have God’s viewpoint on all these things.  Toward our spouse!  Toward our children!  Toward having children!  Toward our pursuits!  Toward what really brings happiness!  Toward power, prominence, influence and financial importance!

The main thing I want to point out, is in the first part of verse one; it says it all!  If we are trying to build our house—be it a structure of brick and mortar—be it a family—be it a future–be it a career–be it a godly home—be it a relationship with those around us, we must put God first!  We must, I repeat must, seek God and His ways first and foremost in all our ways.  Let’s consider two of my favorite passages on this subject.  I pray that you will take these simple thoughts before God and ask Him to examine your heart and mine to give us His viewpoint.

“Search me, O God,

and know my heart:

try me,

and know my thoughts:

24 And see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24

“Trust in the LORD

with all thine heart;

and lean not

unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways

acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise

in thine own eyes:

fear the LORD,

and depart from evil.

8 It shall be health to thy navel,

and marrow to thy bones.”  Proverbs 3:5-8

Amen and Amen!!!

In Our Own Eyes??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #359

23 Monday Jun 2025

Posted by in 'Come unto me, A Father's Love, A Form of godliness?, A heart of faith, A Witness--Good or Bad???, Abiding IN Jesus or the World?, Lead them to Jesus., Leading Or Mis-Leading?, Making a difference, Marginalizing God, Righteousness, Righteousness exalts a nation, Sowing and Reaping, Speaking The Truth In Love, True Gospel, True Knowledge, Trusting God, Trusting Jesus?, Truth, Who are YOU following?, Who are you listening to?, Who will you believe and follow?, Who's following you?, Who's in your heart?, Who's Listening Anyway?, Who's Your Father?, Whom are you trusting?, Whose Sheep are You?, Witness, Your Momma Ain't Enough

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In Our Own Eyes??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #359

 

I was reading in Judges this morning, it’s a great book, but one most people kind of skim over, but it is full of lessons that are so apropos for us today.  I had planned on writing on another subject but feel clearly lead to share just a few things from this book of Judges.  First of all the name of the book often leads people to think is a book of legality, but rather it’s a record of a willful people and those whom God raised up to not only “judge” the sin of the people, but to deliver them as the judge led them back to God, usually in a great feat of physical deliverance.  I can’t think of a time in our history when we lived in such a time of willful disregard for God, deliberate disobedience to God’s Word, and not only disobedience, but a complete mindset on doing it “our way”—what’s right “in our own eyes”!  This is the thread that goes throughout the book of Judges.

“In those days there was no king in Israel, but

every man did that which was right

in his own eyes.”  Judges 17:6

“In those days there was no king in Israel:

every man did that which was right

in his own eyes.”  Judges 21:25

While the “king” isn’t the problem, the people later used that as an excuse to ask God for a king “like everyone else had”!  Rather, the problem was a generation who knew God but apparently failed to share their love and obedience toward God with their children.  Again an amazing parallel to where we live today.

The problem wasn’t God’s faithfulness, but the people’s faithlessness; and apparently a failure of parents and grandparents who failed to pass on their faith. Perhaps taking it for granted that these children would pick it up by osmosis—theirs didn’t and neither have nor will ours.

“And the people served the LORD

all the days of Joshua,

and all the days of the elders

that outlived Joshua,

who had seen all the great works

 of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

8 And Joshua the son of Nun,

the servant of the LORD,

died, being an hundred and ten years old.

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance

in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim,

on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10 And also all that generation

were gathered unto their fathers:

and there arose another generation after them,

which knew not the LORD,

nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

11 And the children of Israel

did evil in the sight of the LORD,

and served Baalim:

12 And they forsook the LORD God

of their fathers,

which brought them out of the land of Egypt,

and followed other gods,

of the gods of the people

that were round about them,

and bowed themselves

unto them,

and provoked the LORD to anger.

13 And they forsook the LORD,

and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”  Judges 2:7-13

Oh, how it grieves my soul that we (I relate to Paul’s claim to being the greatest sinner and failure—but praise God for grace!) have failed to point our children and grandchildren to the cross of Christ and holy living, instead of friendship with the world.  We are to be a witness to the world of the power of the cross and the blood of Jesus to save and transform lives; yet when we look just like the world, we talk just like the world, we dress just like the world, we take their style, living and especially entertainment instead of the holiness and godliness of scripture.

God gave us the greatest plan for teaching and leading the young ones to Him, if we will but heed and obey.  For simplicity and time I’m going to print portions of Deuteronomy chapter 6, and I encourage you to read the entire chapter and pray it over your life and witness to those who are following in your steps.  I pray that God will speak through His Word to those who have “ears to hear”!

“Now these are

the commandments,

the statutes,

and the judgments,

which the LORD your God commanded

to teach you,

that ye might do them in the land whither ye go

to possess it:

2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God,

to keep all his statutes

and his commandments,

which I command thee,

thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son,

all the days of thy life;

and that thy days may be prolonged.

3 Hear therefore, O Israel,

and observe to do it;

that it may be well with thee,

and that ye may increase mightily,

as the LORD God of thy fathers

hath promised thee,

in the land that floweth

with milk and honey.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God

with all thine heart,

and with all thy soul,

and with all thy might.

6 And these words,

which I command thee this day,

shall be in thine heart:” Deuteronomy 6:1-6

Point number one: we must love God ourselves, being “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God…”. (See John 1:11-14 & John 3:16-19)!  We must know Jesus through our own salvation by faith through grace, by repentance and belief in the substitutionary, atoning sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary!  We can only share what we possess!  Let’s continue with God’s insight into parenting.  Remember children learn way more from what we “do”, than from what we “say”!  Especially if they don’t match!

“And these words,

which I command thee this day,

shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently

unto thy children,

and shalt talk of them

when thou sittest in thine house,

and when thou walkest by the way,

and when thou liest down,

and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign

upon thine hand,

and they shall be as frontlets

between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them

upon the posts of thy house,

and on thy gates.”  Deuteronomy 6:6-9

If I may presume and paraphrase a bit, God, through Moses, is telling these adults that it’s their job to make ‘Jesus’ followers!  First of all—Jesus must be in “my” heart—

Then—I must diligently teach what is in my heart to my children-

How? By—talking about and walking with Jesus—

                      Sitting around, walking around, relaxing,

                             Going about—

       By—living Jesus

with what we do with our hands—

what we watch, view, and focus on with our eyes-

With Godly décor that speaks of godliness, and the beauty

Which God provides by creation—

That others (children included) will be pointed to the things of God rather than worldliness!

But it doesn’t stop there, God tells us that there is a consequence to living this way.  Let’s observe!  Obedience will provoke good questions and teachable moments with those we love most.

“Ye shall diligently keep

the commandments of the LORD your God,

and his testimonies, and his statutes,

which he hath commanded thee.

18 And thou shalt do that

which is right and good

in the sight of the LORD:

that it may be well with thee,

and that thou mayest go in and possess

the good land which the LORD sware

unto thy fathers,

19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee,

as the LORD hath spoken.

20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying,

What mean the testimonies,

and the statutes,

and the judgments,

which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son,

We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt;

and the LORD brought us out of Egypt

with a mighty hand:

22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders,

great and sore,

upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh,

and upon all his household,

       before our eyes:

23 And he brought us out from thence,

that he might bring us in,

to give us the land

which he sware unto our fathers.

24 And the LORD commanded us to do

all these statutes,

to fear the LORD our God,

for our good always,

that he might preserve us alive,

as it is at this day.

25 And it shall be our righteousness,

if we observe to do

all these commandments

before the LORD our God,

as he hath commanded us.”            Deuteronomy 6:17-25

God promised that if we would live this way before our family, there will come a time that they will ask (in our vernacular), “Why do we live this way…do these things…talk about God all the time…?” And we are to tell them why!  Not someone else’s testimony, but our testimony about what God IS doing in our lives past, present and future.  If we’ll live it, they will ask; but so many today live one way at church and another way at home.  Stop it—let’s get on the right track, obey God, and live the way HE calls us to.  Peter says it better than I can (in fact He’s quoting God too!).

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,

be sober,

and hope to the end

for the grace that is to be brought unto you

at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children,

not fashioning yourselves

according to the former lusts

in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy,

so be ye holy

in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written,

Be ye holy;

for I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:13-15

Will we heed and follow our God and look for His provision, or watch our children be flushed down the toilet of the world?  And just FYI, “conversation” here means our lifestyle, not just our words!  It’s your choice, but choose wisely, there is a test.

Amen and Amen!!!

As White As Snow??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #316

22 Wednesday Jan 2025

Posted by in 'Come unto me, Self-sufficient or Dependent on Jesus?, Serving God or Using God?, Sharing the blessings, SIN, Sin IS the issue, Though your sins be as scarlet-they shall be white as snow., Thy Kingdom Come, Time Is Grace!, TODAY, Today is the day of Salvation, Who Am I?, Who are YOU following?, Who are you listening to?, Who will you believe and follow?, Who's Listening Anyway?, Whom are you trusting?, Whose Side Are You On?

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As White As Snow???      A Word from THE WORD!!! #316

“And when ye spread forth your hands,

I will hide mine eyes from you:

yea, when ye make many prayers,

I will not hear:

your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash you,

make you clean;

put away the evil of your doings

from before mine eyes;

cease to do evil;

17 Learn to do well;

seek judgment,

relieve the oppressed,

judge the fatherless,

plead for the widow.

18 Come now,

and let us reason together,

saith the LORD:

though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they be red like crimson,

they shall be as wool.”  Isaiah 1:15-18

God’s call to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, was a difficult word to hear, and just as in our day, most didn’t want to hear it.  God was calling the people to see their own sin, and to turn to Him, not in vain words, empty sacrifices, or feigned worship, but in hearts of repentance, seeking God’s forgiveness, grace and restoration.  So we, in our country—in our world—are blind to the truth in favor of Satan’s lies which sound so much more palatable to our proud and arrogant self-sufficiency and self-righteousness.

But God’s message through Isaiah reminds us that only His grace can cleanse and forgive our sin.  Paul shared a similar message, and I want to call us to consider God’s call.  Where are you?  Has your sin been forgiven.  Do you have any sin?  Until we see our own sin and need for salvation, we will never come to Jesus.  In Paul’s message to the believers at Rome, he makes the case for sin—all sin.  In chapter one, he describes and calls the blatant sinners to repent; in chapter two he calls the self-righteous to repent; and in chapter three he plainly and clearly calls the “none righteous…no not one” to come to Jesus!  We can never be good enough to eradicate our own sin.

“As it is written,

There is none righteous,

no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth,

there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way,

they are together become unprofitable;

there is none that doeth good,

no, not one.”  Romans 3:10-12

Paul goes on to declare:

“For all have sinned,

and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely

by his grace

through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth

to be a propitiation

through faith in his blood,

to declare his righteousness

for the remission of sins that are past,

through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say,

at this time

his righteousness:

that he might be just,

and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”  Romans 3:23-26

We can then proceed on to chapter 6:

“What fruit had ye then in those things

whereof ye are now ashamed?

for the end of those things

is death.

22 But now

being made free from sin,

and become servants to God,

ye have your fruit unto holiness,

and the end everlasting life.

23 For the wages of sin is death;

but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:21-23

Yet how do we go from sinful, self-righteous, none-righteous to a child of The King?  Paul shares the answer to that question, and I pray that no matter your station or situation in life you will look to Jesus and receive the free gift of His salvation by repentance of your sin, and trusting in His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for payment of our sin!  I know this is a lengthy passage but one that we need to hear and heed.

“But what saith it?

The word is nigh thee,

even in thy mouth,

and in thy heart:

that is, the word of faith,

which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth

the Lord Jesus,

and shalt believe in thine heart

that God hath raised him from the dead,

thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart

man believeth unto righteousness;

and with the mouth confession is made

unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith,

Whosoever believeth on him

shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference

between the Jew and the Greek:

for the same Lord over all

is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him

in whom they have not believed?

and how shall they believe in him

of whom they have not heard?

and how shall they hear

without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach,

except they be sent?

as it is written,

How beautiful are the feet of them

that preach the gospel of peace,

and bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

For Esaias saith,

Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing,

and hearing by the word of God.”  Romans 10:8-17

I plead with you to hear The Word?  Don’t miss the master’s gift of salvation.  He’s coming soon, will you be ready?  I pray that if you are not ready—if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior–you will call upon HIM today, for then:

“though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they be red like crimson,

they shall be as wool”!!!

Amen and Amen!!!

Do You Not See? Not Hear??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #204

03 Wednesday Apr 2024

Posted by in 'Come unto me, A Call To Look Unto Jesus!, A Father's Love, A Witness--Good or Bad???, Abiding IN Jesus or the World?, Do you not hear?, Do you not see?, God Who Sees, God's Call, God's glory NOT mine!, God's Judgment, Hear ye HIM!, Hearing God, Independence, Iron Sharpens Iron, Isaiah, It's All About The Cross, It's Your Choice, Jesus Is Coming Again., Jesus Is Coming!, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Renewing or Reviewing, Repentance, Responding Rightly, Resting Or Wrestling?, REvival, Revival or Recycle?, Righteousness exalts a nation, Seeing Truth, Servanthood, Serving God or Using God?, When Is True NOT?, Who are YOU following?, Who are you listening to?, Who's Listening Anyway?, Who's Listening?, Witness

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Do You Not See? Not Hear??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #204

I don’t know why this particular passage was laid upon my heart, but as it was, I want to share as simply and humbly as I know how the truth that God keeps bringing to my heart.  We are in a difficult place, and I don’t see a lot of people ready to truly come to God The Father, Jesus Christ The Son, through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, in true, honest, repentance and longing for the fire of revival to start in “me”!  May we truly come to the feet of Jesus for the touch of The Master’s hand to cleanse and make us usable, even as Isaiah did.  Lord please open our eyes to see you as YOU are, not as we have tried to conform you to.  When Isaiah saw you, he was humble and open to your will—may I be so!

“In the year that king Uzziah died

I saw also the Lord

sitting upon a throne,

high and lifted up,

and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims:

each one had six wings;

with twain he covered his face,

and with twain he covered his feet,

and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said,

Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:

the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved

at the voice of him that cried,

and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I,

Woe is me! for I am undone;

because I am a man of unclean lips,

and I dwell in the midst of a people

of unclean lips:

for mine eyes have seen the King,

the LORD of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me,

having a live coal in his hand,

which he had taken with the tongs

from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said,

Lo, this hath touched thy lips;

and thine iniquity is taken away,

and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,

Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

Then said I,

Here am I; send me.

9 And he said,

Go, and tell this people,

Hear ye indeed,

but understand not;

and see ye indeed,

but perceive not.”  Isaiah 6:1-9

Isaiah was brought to see his sin and the sin of his people, he realized that he was unsuitable to serve God, “but God”—oh, that is one of my favorite phrases in all of scripture, “but God”!  I am so glad that God has a plan, and if we will but humble ourselves and turn from our own way, He will send the fire of salvation to our soul.  While the “but God” isn’t specifically in this passage the principle is—as Isaiah saw his own condition before God and then the “but God” principle changed him; and God will change us if and when we let go of our own pride, self-will, and independence and fall on our faces before His holy presence and the convicting power of The Holy Spirit!  We are transformed into the “sent” to share His glory with a lost and dying world—but notice the message isn’t one that most want to hear; and it’s not the only time that Isaiah was compelled by God to speak this message.  Paul’s challenge to us reminds me that we are called today to share the same message of the finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord—the Risen LORD!

“I beseech you therefore, brethren,

by the mercies of God,

that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,

holy,

acceptable unto God,

which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world:

but be ye transformed

by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove

what is that good,

and acceptable,

and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me,

to every man that is among you,

not to think of himself more highly

than he ought to think;

but to think soberly,

according as God hath dealt

to every man the measure of faith.”  Romans 12:1-3

And as we ask God to touch our own hearts, may we hear another of Isaiah’s messages, and lay ourselves open before God, truly seeking conviction to the revival of the saved, conviction of sin, unto repentance for the lost, yielding a great harvest from God not our own hands!  Unlike many preach and teach today, it’s not about being “happy”—God is calling us to holiness; and I think God is often offended by what we have tried to make holy for our own convenience; have we become those who hear with our hears but don’t understand, and see with our eyes yet don’t perceive what God is asking from us or even doing around us?  And while Isaiah’s message is a lengthy one, I think it valuable for our consideration.

“To whom then will ye liken God?

or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19 The workman melteth a graven image,

and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold,

and casteth silver chains.

20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation

chooseth a tree that will not rot;

he seeketh unto him a cunning workman

to prepare a graven image,

that shall not be moved.

21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard?

hath it not been told you

from the beginning?

have ye not understood

from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,

and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,

and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

23 That bringeth the princes to nothing;

he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yea, they shall not be planted;

yea, they shall not be sown: yea,

their stock shall not take root in the earth:

and he shall also blow upon them,

and they shall wither,

and the whirlwind shall take them away

as stubble.

25 To whom then will ye liken me,

or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high,

and behold who hath created these things,

that bringeth out their host by number:

he calleth them all by names

by the greatness of his might,

for that he is strong in power;

not one faileth.

27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob,

and speakest, O Israel,

My way is hid from the LORD,

and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 Hast thou not known?

hast thou not heard,

that the everlasting God,

the LORD,

the Creator of the ends of the earth,

fainteth not,

neither is weary?

there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power

to the faint;

and to them that have no might

he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths

shall faint and be weary,

and the young men

shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the LORD

shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:18-31

Oh, to be one that waits “upon the LORD”, that is the desire of my heart; and there have been times that I have waited patiently, other times that I waited but not very patiently, but oh my friends, the victory that God will bring is so much more than “worth it”!  Jesus is coming again—hold fast, my friends—our redemption “draweth nigh”; so don’t put off what God is calling you to do!  Will you hear?  Will you see?  It’s your choice, but choose wisely, there is a test!

“And then shall they see the Son of man coming

in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass,

then look up,

 and lift up your heads;

for your redemption draweth nigh.”   Luke 21:27-28.

Amen and Amen!!!