6.10.09, Isaiah 1:11-16

¹¹ “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹² When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

¹⁴ Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.

¹⁶ wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,
Your hands are full of blood;

The What of Rebuke, Part II

Nope, no mistake – we are staying on these verses for a little while longer.  We saw in the last devotional that the sin that God is rebuking here is not the type of thing we think typically displeases God – instead, he is addressing false religiosity.  And it is detestable to him because it misses the mark, and actually blinds us to God’s true desire.

But there is another reason why these festivals and ceremonies earn such a stiff rebuke from God – because they became a refuge for idolatry.  You see, these ceremonies were intended to solely celebrate God’s faithfulness, but over time, they began to be blended with other neighboring religious traditions and practices, losing nearly all of their intended purpose.  This idolatry will become a constant theme throughout this book, and is part of the reason why Isaiah begins in such a confrontational manner.

And at the same time, I believe this rebuke is just as applicable in our time.  When we conceive of sin, we think about lust or gossip, but rarely “idolatry”, or placing things higher in priority than God.  But this is a dangerous oversight because idolatry is firmly addressed throughout Scripture – it is, after all, the FIRST of the ten commandments.

But more than this, idolatry, in one form or another, lies at the root of so many of our sins.  Greed is a form of idolatry, idolizing wealth.  Lust is also a form of idolatry, idolizing our bodies or pleasure.  So even if we do not have wooden idols on our mantels, we still have many idols in our midst that actively compete for priority with the primacy of God.

Our situation is not really all that different from Israel’s, in this way.  If these idolatrous practices in Israel were this detestable to God, then our idolatrous lifestyle is no less so.  And that is why it is important to ask ourselves some tough questions…

Questions:

1.  What, or whom, in your life is more important than God?

2. What sinful or destructive behavior or mentalities has this led to in your life?

3. What would it take to begin to combat these idolatries?

6.8.09, Isaiah 1:11-16

¹¹ “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹² When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

¹⁴ Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.

¹⁶ wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,
Your hands are full of blood;

The What of Rebuke, Part I

So after quickly but effectively establishing the context for what is about to be said, Isaiah launches into the actual content of what is displeasing God.  But as before, it is important not to rush through this too quickly, for the rebuke actually consists of different, but intertwined parts.

The first element of the rebuke that Isaiah gives is a command to stop doing wrong, as stated in verse 16.  This seems ordinary enough, and most of us could quickly bring to mind behaviors or mentalities that we know we should put an end to – you know, the prototypical “sins”.

But this is not exactly what Isaiah is referencing here – these “wrongs” that displease God are not marital unfaithfulness or the like (which still of course displease God)…but the New Moon festivals, and Sabbath events.  This reference is hard for us to relate to in our time, but there were important reasons why these festivals did produce such a strong rebuke from God.

For today, let’s just focus on one of those reasons: that they completely missed the true heart of God.  The people of Israel thought THIS is what the Lord wanted: religious gatherings, sacrifices, observances.  It represents a particular kind of mentality, one where we want to get by in our walk by the skin of our teeth: “To be faithful, all I have to do is X, Y, and Z, because that’s all that God wants.”

But this totally misses the mark.  God doesn’t want religion, a series of observances and rules that must be followed in order to please him – he wants our hearts, and he wants us to know HIS heart.  In other words…he wants a true relationship.  And so we can’t imagine that we’re okay with God just because we’ve satisfied his religiosity quotas, or a spirituality checklist.  Rather, his checklist looks something like this:

O Do I have his whole heart?

O Do I have his whole mind?

O Do I have his whole soul?

These are the things that God desires from us, and which will be preached by Christ himself…BUT, two important clarifications, lest we get confused and run too far with this idea:

1. These religious actions that we try to pursue, attending church, reading the Bible, serving, etc., may not be what God is satiated by…but they may be very helpful in positioning us to really hear from God.  You see, there is a difference in pursuing these practices because we think the placate God, and pursuing these practices because we get to know God more through them.  So DON’T STOP ATTENDING CHURCH – just don’t attend church because you think that’s all you need to do to get God off your back.  Attend church because you can meet your Father there.

2. When we do get closer to fulfilling God’s checklist (the one listed above), we naturally will begin to do things that seem religious - we naturally will get to church.  We will instinctively and often open our bibles.  We naturally will tithe, and serve our brothers and sisters.  But we sometimes get confused and put the cart before the horse, thinking that God can be satiated just by good actions alone – no, he is satiatied by devoted hearts, hearts that naturally lead to devoted actions.

Whew, that was more of a homily than a devotional – and I haven’t even gotten to the second reason why these festivals were detestable to God!  A few things to reflect upon:

Questions:

1. What is your “New Moon Festival”, a practice or action that you think, in itself, is what God wants from you?

2. If that practice in itself is not what God is looking for…what is he looking for instead?

3. How can you practically transition from a mentality that does religious things because it pleases God, to a better mentality where we do religious things because it sets us up to meet God?

The “Who” of Rebuke

So up to this point, we have seen two contextual elements of rebuke: the WHO, and the WHY.  Of course, Isaiah does not simply stop with these, but will go on to discuss the actual content of what is displeasing God.  But I think it is important to spend some time dwelling on these important pieces of context, because the who and why of rebuke really shapes how we receive discipline or warning.

For example, why is the “who” of rebuke important to us?  Why doesn’t Isaiah just cut right to the chase and identify the core issue which displeases God?  Because our receptivity to a rebuke depends greatly upon who is dishing that rebuke out.  If someone whom you don’t know, or don’t respect, is telling you that you have done something wrong, our natural inclination is reject their opinion out of hand as either mean-spirited, or simply incorrect.  But if it comes from someone whom we genuinely love, and admire, we are much more likely to look for truth in what we are hearing, no matter how difficult it may be to hear.

This is valuable for us in two respects: first, helping us remember that the God who sometimes rebukes and corrects us is our loving and wise Father.  And because of this identity, we should be mining these moments of rebuke and admonition for greater truth.  So in order to have the patience to learn what we can from rebuke…we must really know God as our Father.  If he is a Taskmaster-God, or a Slavedriver-God, then we will only see his rebuke as punishment, rather than what it really is – the Father’s discipline.

But additionally, this principle should also inform how we give rebuke.  Rebuke is never pleasant, but it is often necessary in the life of the church.  But when we rebuke, we should very careful that we are the right person to do it.  Do we really know this person?  Do they trust us?  Have you shown concern for their best interest before?  If not, there is probably very little chance that anyone will have the patience to look for the good that you have to say.

I had a friend rebuke me a few years ago – pulled me aside, and told me that he didn’t feel like my words were appropriate.  I instinctively defended myself and my actions and assumed that he was overly-sensitive.  But in the midst of this conversation, I remembered who I was talking to – my friend.  He’s smart, and a good person, and has shown concern for me before.  And so I consciously bit back on my verbal defenses, and instead gave real thought to his words – and he was right.  Dead on the money.  He was the right person to rebuke me, and his words of correction, I carry with me to this day.

All of this is leading up to the WHAT of rebuke, exactly what is displeasing God.  The question is whether Israel will accept what Isaiah has to say, even if it comes from a loving Father?

Questions:

1. How would you honestly describe God?  Is he a Father, a Teacher, a Slave Driver, a Judge?  Has your perception of God ever affected your interpretation of why God was doing something in your life?

2. Is there someone whom you have rebuked, but realized you were not the right person?  Is there a person whom you should rebuke, because you are the right person?

6.3.09, Isaiah 1:5-9

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 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.

⁸ The Daughter of Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a field of melons,
like a city under siege.

⁹ Unless the LORD Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.

The “Why” of Rebuke

So we are continuing our look at the rebuke of Isaiah – last time, we saw that the character of God during rebuke was one of a father, a father who cared and had even nursed his children.  Here, we come to the centerpiece of what rebuke is all about:

God rebukes us because we need it.

Here we see why God sent Isaiah – not to just yell at them and make them feel bad about their national identity.  God sends Isaiah to Israel because their lifestyle has made them broken and wounded and afflicted.  God rebukes Israel because he wants them to be whole, but they persist in destroying themselves.  In essence, a rebuke from God can be retranslated and simplified as thus: “Stop hurting yourself!!”

Last week, Sophia tried to run out into the street by herself.  I barked out, “SOPHIA, STOP!” loudly.  She had a frightened look on her face, and I could see that her feelings were hurt.  She was upset at me, and didn’t think she deserved to be yelled at.  But if I hadn’t responded in that way, she might have thought that running into the street just wasn’t a big deal, and would do it again.  And if she got killed by a passing car, I would have regretted to the bottom of my being not yelling as loudly as my body would allow.

This is rebuke: God yelling out at us, “STOP!  Stop hurting yourself!  Stop running into the street!  You’re going to get yourself killed, and break my heart!”  Yes, that rebuke may hurt our feelings.  We may feel like we don’t deserve such treatment.  But we can trust that the louder God yells, the greater the danger we were heading for.

Questions:

- Has there ever been a time where you didn’t heed someone’s warning or rebuke…and regretted not listening to them more closely?

- When do you think God rebuked you the most heavily?  Why was that issue so important to him?

6.1.09, Isaiah 1:2-4

A Rebellious Nation

² Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.

³ The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”

⁴ Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
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.

The Father’s Rebuke

I have always wanted to spend some time in Isaiah, so here we go!  Isaiah was a voice of rebuke to the people of Israel, reminding them of their disobedience, and God’s true heart and desires.  I love Isaiah for numerous reasons – partly because it serves as a wonderful bridge between the Old Testament and New, and is a prelude to the ministry of Christ.

But we shouldn’t overlook the rebuking nature of this prophecy.  Yes, God is love, and he loves each of us – but that doesn’t mean we get to do whatever we want.  A loving father is not necessarily a permissive one.  So understanding the purposes of the rebukes within Isaiah is important for us as well, so that we might take the direction of God and apply it to our lives.

In these first two verses of Isaiah, we get a quick insight into why and how God rebukes us – as a Father.  Notice the language in these verses, the references to children who have been brought up, and children given to corruption.  More literal translations make these passages even more personal in verse 2, saying “I have NURSED and brought up sons, but they have rebelled against me.”

So when God calls us to change our direction, or fix broken aspects of our lives, or repent, he does so as a Father.  And this changes the nature of that rebuke, doesn’t it?  For why do good fathers discipline their children?… for their own good.  So it is important to read Isaiah in this light, that these are rebukes that are given for the good of Israel, not just to put them in their place.

Questions

1. Is there something in your life that you feel God is rebuking?

2. How could this discipline or rebuking really be for your own good?

3. Sometimes the model of our earthly fathers taints our image of our heavenly Father.  What is the difference between how a bad father would discipline, and how God disciplines?

Decision Time!

Hello!

After a week of careful thought, I have decided to continue to do these devotionals indefinitely!  But I am going to take a short break for the rest of May – starting in June, the devotionals will back online.

In the meantime, this would be a good time to spread your wings a bit and delve into Scripture yourself!  Go to a book that you have always wanted to read, like Song of Songs!  Partner with a good friend, or a good spouse!  And be sure to check back in June…

Thank you, and blessings!

Peter

The Future of this Resource…

hi everyone!

thank you to everyone who had journeyed this far with this devotional resource!  it’s been a wonderful time to go through the Scriptures together with you, and such a blessing to read your insights.  i wish i could publish the nearly 2000 comments you contributed because they were just so incredible…but as promised, i won’t!

at this point, i am contemplating the future of this resource.  it has been a great blessing to me, but at the same time, the accountability/emailing reminders portion has been very dry.  and with the church plant coming up soon, i don’t know if i will have the time to really dedicate to this as i had in the past.  so my decision is this:

i will continue with this devotional blog if it becomes more of a community effort, with other people regularly contributing their thoughts and reflections.  this not only would help me bear the burden of creating three devotionals a week, but would be a great development as it would open other perspectives and insights into the Word that i cannot always provide!

and so, please contact me if you are interested in contributing to this devotional blog.  if i can find a few people who really would like to help, i think we can continue providing a place to journey through Scripture.  if not, i may have to change the frequency of postings, or maybe even eliminate them altogether =(

but no matter the result, it was such a pleasure and blessing to do this for you all over the last 9 months!

p.peter

4.24.09, Philippians 2:12-18

Shining as Stars

 ¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. ¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ¹⁶as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. ¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Stars In The Night

Paul exhorts the church, and us, to “shine like stars in the universe”.  I think most of us know that stars are actually always shining, even during the day.  It is just the light of the sun is too bright to make out the light given off by very different stars.  It is only during the night, after the sun sets, that we can make out the light of the stars…only when it is very, very dark.

It is only natural for us to be drawn to things that are whole and healthy.  We choose the areas in which we lived based on that it’s safe, there are nice competitive schools there, there are lots of choices for church, and lots of Christians to fill those many churches.  And by the same token, we find ourselves repulsed by and apprehensive of people and places that are deeply wounded and do not function well.  This is only natural.

But however natural this mentality may be, it was not Christ’s mentality while on earth.  While he walked and did ministry, he was drawn to people and cultures that were broken and alienated because he knew he alone possessed the answer to their brokenness – himself.  He explained to his disciples in no uncertain terms that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

As Christians, we have to resist the world’s lifestyle, and instead imitate this model of Christ.  Instead of insulating ourselves against broken people, cultures and institutions, we want to instead actively engage with these things because we know we are living testimonies of God’s power to mend the broken.  Part of our identity, and part of our calling, is not just to be able to discern between things that are broken and things that are whole…but to participate in God’s kingdom work of redeeming those broken things to their intended whole.

Because it’s in the darkness that our light shines all the brighter…

Questions

1. In what ways have you been isolating yourself from broken things?

2. What is one area of brokenness that God is calling you to engage with and try to mend?

3. What are ways that you practically stop isolating yourself from people and cultures that need your help?

4.22.09, Philippians 2:1-11

 

Imitating Christ’s Humility

 ¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 
 ⁶Who, being in very nature God, 
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
 ⁷but made himself nothing, 
      taking the very nature of a servant, 
      being made in human likeness. 
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, 
      he humbled himself 
      and became obedient to death— 
         even death on a cross! 
 ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place 
      and gave him the name that is above every name, 
 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
 ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
      to the glory of God the Father.

“If He Can Do It..”

I think the most encouraging thing you can know about a difficult or daunting situation is that someone has done it before.  Maybe you are at the end of a diving board in your swimsuit, and looking into the water below makes your head spin.  You back away until you see a little kid go screaming off the end and do a cannonball – and the realization breaks, that “HEY!  If that kid can do it…I probably can do it as well!”  The impossible has been made possible.

And that is what this passage reveals to us as well.  Humility can kind of be like that diving board, a difficult course to follow, and very unnatural for us.  Taking the high road of humility can seem so hard and…humbling.  But then we realize that Jesus did it, and he was God himself.  And if Jesus, Son of God, can humble himself in tough situations, then you probably can do it as well!

Additionally, it helps to remember why Jesus humbled himself, even to death on a cross – so he could earn a great victory; so he could be exalted and lifted up; so he could win our salvation from the Enemy.  So yes, we can humble ourselves because Jesus has gone before us and shown that it is possible, but additionally, we do so because we know that God will lift us up in the process – it will be worth it in the end!

Questions

1. Is there a situation in your life which requires you to be humble, perhaps more humble than you would like to be?

2. Did Jesus ever have to humble himself in the same way you would have to, i.e. to someone who didn’t deserve it?  If so, is there a way you can imitate Christ’s actions?

3. What benefit could there be from humbling yourself in this situation?

4.20.09, Philippians 1:18-30

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

 ²⁷Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

What Runs Beneath Our Surface

I’m not sure many people can honestly relate to the Apostle Paul.  When you read from him or about him, his behavior is so extreme and different, it’s hard to understand where he’s coming from, or what motivates him to live so counter-culturally.  His behavior is unfathomable, and difficult to try to imitate.  But this passage gives us a huge clue in this regard:

“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Paul’s lifestyle is so different because his mentality was so different, a mentality that valued Christ above all things.  First, the presence of Christ, and second, the work of Christ.  Because these are priorities #1 and #2 for Paul, he lived a life unlike any other.  It is simply not possible to imitate the life of Paul, without imitating the vision and values of Paul – putting Christ first above all things.

If you are disappointed with what your life looks like, your actions, your behaviors…take a moment to look at your mentalities, the things that run under the surface.  Where are your priorities?  What do you value?  What is most important to you?  Unless you can identify these things, and begin to shift them, behaviors will always stubbornly remain the same…

Questions

1. How honestly can you share Paul’s sentiment, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”?  

2. What behavior would you most like to change in your life?  What is the root mentality behind that behavior?

3. What are practical ways in which we can shift our mentalities to be closer to where we want them to be?