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Ya’ got that second chance today

Ya’ got that second chance today

Isaiah 38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.

Hezekiah was a king of Judah, and Jerusalem was under siege by Assaria, and the stress of it was getting to him. He had become sick, and God had sent the prophet Isaiah to tell him to get his house in order, for he would not recover. Hezekiah poured out his heart to God; God heard his plea and did the unimaginable; God promised to add 15 years to his life. God even told Hezekiah that He would give him proof of this and seemingly moved time backwards; Isaiah 38:8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. Hezekiah recovered, poured out his heart in prayer, then pride crept in and he failed miserably showing off all his possessions to those who later would steal them.

We all hear of the stories of second chances in life. Miraculous healing’s, near death experiences, times when we know we should have died, yet God gave us added years. “God had something else for me to do; was not done with me yet.” So many testimonies of God’s power in His Sovereign control of life and death. With those experiences should come a gratitude and a mindset of the pursuit of God and the things of God for the rest of your days. Your life should revolve around serving the One who gave you life. There should be a desire to share what God blessed you with for the remainder of every single day. Does it take a near death experience for this revelation? God holds that sovereign decision regarding your life in His hand.

There is so much more to this life; there is the life after. This life is a preparation of things to come, to spend your time preparing for where and how you will spend eternity. Will you take the easy road of earthly pleasure and pay for that decision in eternal pain? Will you see that God has a plan for you with Him in paradise if you will spend your short time here loving and serving Him? All you must do is to believe in His Son, and your need for His Son. Jesus Christ paid the price for your sin, and only through Christ will you spend your eternal days in paradise. John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. It should not take a near death experience for you to be moved by God. He has granted you the breath of life for today didn’t He?

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Turn down the noise

Turn down the noise

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

Ole’ stubborn, stiff-necked Israel; been out chasing idols and salvation through any thing that seemed to tickle their ears; again. The prophet Isaiah had spent over half of this book pointing to the sins of Israel. Israel had went down seemingly every road against God, even knowing they were God’s people and had lived with signs and wonders of that proof. Isaiah speaks of the grace that God gives them, when they humble themselves before Him. Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. Isaiah is speaking of the New Covenant; one of the promise of a Savior; one whom His Spirit will live inside them. (Jeremiah 31:27-40).

Many may say that they believe in God, maybe even Christ, but even Satan’s evil spirits believe. Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” If you say you believe; then you must humble yourself before God. You must repent of your sin and plea for forgiveness. You then will have His Spirit living inside of you. That is a product of Salvation, and a key to living the Christian life. You can seem religious, you may seem to have knowledge and talk the talk, but until you swallow your pride at the foot of the Cross you have gotten nowhere with God. Having Christ’s spirit inside of you will guide you in your daily walk if you consciously seek to abide in Him. A heart that is truly seeking after God is a heart with the ability to hear the words of God; to know whether to turn to the right or the left.

The white noise of the world today has the ability to dull your senses to God. If I were to begin a list of all the distractions that are before us, this would become a 24 hour ministry instead of one minute. There seems to be no ability to slow down; to just find silence and peace any longer. Even the peace of Sunday afternoons at my house is replaced now by seemingly rush hour traffic. Our society is always seeming going somewhere; Satan smiles at our need to be busy. To hear that voice inside of you that you so long to hear, you must go against the grain of the world. You also probably know the scripture that is the key. Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! How can you know which way to turn if you don’t turn down the white noise of this world?

 
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Posted by on December 10, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Use Me

Use me

John  12:38-41    that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
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Christ was teaching in His last days of the scriptures being fulfilled again from the prophet Isaiah where the hard hearted prideful would not see Him for who He is. Christ was in their midst performing signs and wonders of God, yet they could not see, and were fulfilling what Isaiah has spoken of  hundreds of years prior. Isaiah was called to a discouraging ministry by God, for he was told the more he proclaimed the word of God, the less response he would get. But he was also promised that there were a small percentage of people that did hear him, did understand, and God was going to use them to bring Christ into the world.

Have you heard of the brave prayer to pray is “God use me”, and to be prepared for what He may call you to do? Isaiah had this vision and in Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” What God reveals to you as a result of those prayers, may not be grand in your eyes, but it may be glorious in His, and if you obey it will bring glory to Him. We are called only to faithfulness to Him and His word, and to be obedient to the call itself. Isaiah could not see what God planned to do with the remnant of people that were hearing His word, but Isaiah could be faithful and let God work out the details of His plans through him. Have a humble heart, pray that prayer, and be obedient to the call that he places on you. You too can be another Isaiah if you remain faithful to what you feel God stirring in your heart, and begin proclaiming the truth in a world far from it.

 
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Posted by on March 11, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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