sinfulness – Page 11

Isaiah 1:18-20 – Stained Yet Saved

We are going to learn a lot as we journey through Isaiah together. These short verses today are sandwiched between the words of judgment proclaimed by the Lord. This image of being white as snow or wool has always been powerful for me. As I sit here, now living in Mexico, it strikes me it has been a long time since I have seen snow. Most of my Mexican friends have never even seen snow in person, so the power of this verse may not be fully grasped.

I can still vividly remember white knuckle driving on country roads in Iowa during my commute in the winter. This Iowa girl does not miss snow one little bit! But when it comes to this verse, I am taken back to a time when I could be nestled safely inside a warm house, looking out at the vast fields of white, glistening in the sun. That snow was so white it almost hurt your eyes to look at its gleaming. That is the image I think of when I imagine my sins being cleansed by a loving God.

Isaiah 1:1-17 – Time to Listen

Read Isaiah 1:1-17

Who is Isaiah? We aren’t given much of an introduction here, but from verse 1, we know he is the son of Amoz, and he received visions concerning Judah and Jerusalem. We will, as the book proceeds, learn more about who Isaiah is. For now, we can focus on the message. It’s time to listen, and the book of Isaiah doesn’t waste any time getting to it.

Before we get started, I do want to point out that the timeline puts Isaiah in history during the time when the original nation of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms. There was Israel in the north and Judah in the south. You may recall that the northern kingdom, Israel, had already gone down the road of sinfulness against God. Judah was heading in that same direction. Isaiah came primarily as a prophet to Judah, but his message spoke to those in the northern kingdom as well. We will probably glean some of the wisdom as well to be applied to our lives.

Galatians 3:15-29 – The Role of the Law

Read Galatians 3:15-29

Who better to teach on the law than Paul? After all, he was so zealous in upholding it and enforcing it prior to his conversion experience. There is also the promise of God to Abraham we can’t overlook. The promise came first, and the law didn’t abolish it or change it. “For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.” We read yesterday about how that promise of God now extends to us because of Jesus.

Paul asks a question we are probably all asking, “Why, then, was the law given?” We could probably all give our answer to this question, and scholars across the ages have wrestled with it, too. Simply put, God knew we needed it. I love how Paul gives us the picture of the law being our guardian as we waited for Jesus. As a guardian, the law gave us a measuring stick of our sinfulness. It protected us by giving us rules to live by. It also allowed the mediators and judges to have a basis to rule on “legal” matters. God knew his people would need to have these boundaries to keep them safe from their sinful tendencies and from being weak in the face of temptation.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – Who Are Your Peeps?

Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Paul is warning us here to be careful of non-believers in our circle of friends, your “peeps.” Other translations would say don’t be “yoked” with unbelievers. Why? Because believers and unbelievers don’t mix well. We can easily go astray and leave our faith in Jesus behind when we are connected to unbelievers. This can be in marriage, in business, in close friendships.

When I first thought about this, I had a hard time because our call is to seek the lost, those that don’t know Jesus’ saving grace. Many times we need to befriend an unbeliever to get them to trust us enough to hear our message, to really listen and understand what our mission is. How do we balance that? Plus, the world is full of unbelievers, so clearly Paul is not saying to avoid them altogether.

Zephaniah 1:1-13 – Swept Away

Read Zephaniah 1:1-13

God has spoken. He will “sweep away” everything; “wipe humanity from the face of the earth”, “reduce” the wicked, “crush” and “destroy”.

This sounds serious. God was angry. I think as much angry, he was hurt and a bit perplexed. Sinfulness is a like a disease that infests and takes control. How could these people (us included) take all his blessings and still turn away, to worship other idols?

Idols. Ours today may not be Baal or Molech or even golden calves, but they are just same at keeping us from God. Money. Power. Success. I believe God desires for us to experience the good things in life, but not at the expense of a relationship with him.

Hypocrisy. We may say we are followers of God, but do we really follow? Going to church on Sunday does not make us a true follower. What happens on the other six days of the week? How are we prioritizing the most important relationship we have? This passage should be our wake up call to examine our hearts and minds and get right with God.

God’s anger is unleashed here on his people. Do we think we’re immune because of Jesus? While Jesus is our redeemer, we should not take for granted our “get into heaven free” card. If we are truly devoted, we will see the err in our ways.

Let’s be BRUTALLY honest. Are we being complacent in our sinfulness or are we truly repentant? What is keeping us from total devotion? Take time today to reflect on your goals and dreams. Where is God?

Let’s pray. Father, forgive me when I forge ahead on my own course. Forgive me for my selfish heart. I lack confidence right now and question every move I make. I feel crippled and lost. Wash away my fear and doubt. Help me to wipe away the tears so that I can see clearly the path you have set before me. I want my journey to be toward you and honoring to you along the way. Use me Lord as your light. Give me the words I need to say and the wisdom to know when to use those words. In Jesus’ name. Amen.