HALLEUYAH! HALLELUYAH!! HALLELUYAH!!!
RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2022
WEEK 30: (September 12 – September 18, 2022)
WEEKLY BIBLE READINGS:
Isaiah 1: 4 – 7 (NIV)
4 Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. 5 Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. 6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil. 7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
It’s a perverse world. Sin has become a norm and many do not see any reason to pursue a righteous lifestyle. As it is now, it was during those days. In Isaiah’s time, as recorded in the bible text above, gold and silver idols glittered on every street of Jerusalem. By royal authority, worship was given to the sun and moon. At the opening of each new season, snow-white horses, stalled in the rooms at the temple entrance, were driven forth harnessed to golden chariots to meet the sun at its rising. Incense ascended to heathen gods from altars built upon the streets. Vice had its impure rites in the temple itself. The valley of Hinnom echoed the dying screams of children offered as sacrifices in the terrible flames of the hideous Moloch. Words fail in depicting deep corruption. There is the sting of sin in the plain statement of the awful history, “They have forsaken the Lord,” etc. Just the way they have forsaken God then, that is how many have forsaken God now.
Do not forget, that for every action, there is a consequence and appropriate reward in some cases. In the case of the Israelites, they got their reward – “6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil. 7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.”
God not only describes the ‘disease’ but provides the remedy. The fountain is provided; sinners must wash in it—must confess, forsake, get the right spirit, and do right.
Although it was no mean prerogative to become the chosen people of God, for what was that choice made? Not because of perfect characters surely; but rather to declare among the nations the messages of God; not a nation holy in character, but with a holy errand. They deviated from God’s plan for them and they suffered the consequences.
Beloved, this is a reminder to depart from sinful ways and heed true repentance. Pursue what is right and just and see the wonders of God.
PRAYER
Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Holy Michael. Thank you for your Word. We pray that you wash us clean of our iniquities, forgive our sins and have mercy on us. Give us the spirit to depart from evil and enable us to pursue what is right at all times. We give our hearts to you, come into our lives, and redeem our souls. This and many more we ask for through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thank you and God bless. Shalom.
Footnote: “A life without Christ is full of crisis but life in Christ is a great life full of peace. Let that be your Guide & Guard”
Isaiah 59:1 – Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear”