Grains of Sand

“ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever ” —Isaiah 40:8, NIV I can see the value in the multitude of courses, curriculums, studies, workshops, conferences, books, and sermons that talk around the Scriptures. But in the end, all of those things (and their writers, speakers, and promoters) pass off the scene to be replaced by others. Popularity wanes. The cost of keeping up with all the latest fads in hot new programs gets excessive. Someone invests a new “mousetrap” and we rush off to see if the “cheese” appeals to us—at least until a new “mousetrap” comes along. And what remains? That very thing we so often only give a passing nod to in our rush for more information and wisdom, beckons us from beneath the pile of all the pseudo-smarts of modern thinking that we have accumulated. We should have seen the red flag years ago. If you offer the latest in courses or studies, especially if those courses or studies have to do with self-help, you...

“ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’ ” —Isaiah 30:21, NIV. By itself this verse is a wonderful word of encouragement. But to ignore the its context is like picking the carrots out of the stew and ignoring the rest of the ingredients as well as to miss an important detail in the message. Isaiah speaks to a nation about God’s heart for His people; what God has for them after they come to their senses and after they have suffered the consequences of their rebellion against Him. For those who see the God of the Old Testament as an angry and vindictive One, these verses are a rebuke as well as a lesson about the nature of God. “ Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice, Blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he he...

“ Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts ” —Isaiah 26:8, NIV. “When God’s name and reputation are the most important things in my life, I …” Fill in the blanks. If exalting God were my primary goal, what would I look like? What would characterize my relationships? What would change about my priorities? My attitudes? My needs? How would my use of time be affected? What would happen to my resources? This verse is wrapped in two other verses that are equally important. “ The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the ways of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts, My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness ” (vss. 7-9). More follows: “ Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we...

“ You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal ” —Isaiah 26:3, 4, NIV. I’m the comma queen. I put commas everywhere—often where they aren’t necessary. They say that commas go in all those places where we naturally would take a breath. Since I’m short of breath a lot of the time I suppose that’s why my writing always has an excess of the little beasties! The first comma in this verse for today is unfortunate, and since commas aren’t part of inspired Scripture but were added later I’m going to happily ignore this one. Mind you, the writer makes perfectly clear what it is that keeps the mind steadfast, what it is that provides for us that perfect peace—despite the unfortunate comma. Peace, the result of a mind that isn’t tossed about as James would later say, is the absence of doubt about God’s ability to give wisdom when we ask for it (James 1:6). Peace comes with trus...

“ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me! ’” —Isaiah 6:8, NIV. I finally got around to reading some books that have been calling to me from my book basket for months. I’m almost finished this one, but today’s verse is an appropriate kick-off for a recommendation to all my friends out there in cyberspace. The verse is very “missionary” and the book is very missional. After having his up-close-and-personal meeting with God, Isaiah couldn’t do anything else but align himself with God’s mission. Edited by Leonard Sweet, The Church of the Perfect Storm is a compilation of articles that calls the church to come out of hiding and face the winds of cultural change that are tearing through our world. It is a call to mission, to mount the wings of the Spirit of God and venture out to do what most delights the heart of God—be engaged in His redemptive mission. My copy of the book is underlined in all kinds...

“ 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 as crimson, they shall be like wool ” —Isaiah 1:18, NIV. The longing heart of a loving God. Many people picture the God of the Old Testament as vindictive and angry, separating Him from what they perceive the God of the New Testament to be. But there are endless examples in the Old Testament that show us God’s compassion and care. There are not two Gods, or One with a split personality, but only One. He punishes sin, but He loves sinners and His mission is to restore the sinner’s relationship with Him. I was reminded of this truth again last night as our study group looked at the story of Jonah. When that wayward prophet finally got to Nineveh and passed on the message God had for the Assyrian population, they all repented and God forgave them. Jonah was angry. The Assyrians had treated his people badly over many years and Jonah really wan...

“ There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins ” —Ecclesiastes 7:20, NIV. Last night I watched the beginning of a televisions series called The Borgias. Though I haven’t read up on the subject recently and I am certain a lot of fiction has been added to the facts, history doesn’t deny that these leaders of the church in the fifteenth century (or any other century) was unholy men dressed up in holy clothes. Before I began to watch the movie I had been at church facilitating a discussion on evil and suffering.   The movie left me with that age old question prompted by the discussion: Why? Many of the saints of Scripture asked God, Why? Someone commented last night that it was too pat an answer to say that evil and suffering exist because we live in a broken world, and that we need to focus on fact that there is another world, a better world that is to come. It was a good thought. But the inescapable truth is that our world is broken, we broke ...