Listening to the Word

Isaiah 11-14; Hebrews 9   “’Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.’” Isaiah 12:2, 3 “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:14 Salvation is found in a Person, not a formula, set of rituals, or religious observances. Jesus Christ became the sacrifice for our sin, and it is his blood which cleanses our conscience so that we may serve the living God. Those who have experienced this salvation and new life in Christ have joy and a song in their hearts. They are free on the inside from the chains of sin. They know the strength of the Lord’s presence within. They live with faith and trust in the Lord rather than with fear. Many church attenders and religious peop...

Isaiah 8-10; Hebrews 8   “The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: ‘Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy…he is the one you are to dread.’” Isaiah 8:11-13 Fear is a powerful force when it grips the minds of a society. Fear causes irrational behavior through sudden changes that can paralyze decision-making. Conspiracy theories grow in this kind of environment. People seek to cast blame and find control over their narrative. God’s word through Isaiah in a time of national crisis was ‘don’t fear the invading forces of the Assyrians, rather, fear the Lord Almighty!’   What would his word to us be today? In times of crisis, those who know God humble themselves before him and seek his face. We grow through our dependence on the Lord, not on conspiracy. “Lord Jesus, I fix my eyes on y...

Micah 5-7; Hebrews 7   “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?...Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:6-8 It’s in our human nature to bargain with God. e.g. ‘If I do this, then I expect you to do that. If I sacrifice to you or for you, then I expect your protection, good health, and a hand on my children.’ When we become aware of our sin, we might still think bargaining with God is our best approach. If I really sacrifice a lot (e.g. my firstborn), then he should forgive me. But God’s requirements of us go deeper. He is asking for the surrender of our will and the offer of our whole lives to him. God is asking for actions that are just and merciful toward others, as we ...

Micah 1-4; Hebrews 6   “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares…Every man will sit under his own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.” Micah 4:2-4 God’s kingdom-purposes go beyond the personal salvation of individuals. God is also interested in the transformation of nations. In the last days, nations will be drawn to learn of God’s ways, and most importantly, how to find peace and reconciliation with each other. God’s peace will so transform the nations that peoples will ‘”sit under their own vine and…fig trees, and no one will make them afraid”… Instead of trusting in their weapon...

Hosea 13,14; Psalms 100,102; Hebrews 5   “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations…But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.” Psalm 100:5; 102:27, 28 God’s faithfulness to families over many generations is an amazing testimony of his love to the world. Even when we are unfaithful, God’s faithfulness continues through all generations. For those who know God and his character, we can claim this promise: that the children of those who serve the Lord will live in God’s presence and our descendants will be established before him. We trust in God’s faithfulness to his covenants with us. No matter what happens, God is good and his love endures forever. As we speak these words over our families, let us remind them of the generations of faith that have gone on before us. “Lord God, you have been faithful to my ...

Hosea 10-12; Psalms 73; Hebrews 4 “Ephraim boasts, ‘I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.’” Hosea 12:8 “Who have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25, 26 Wealth easily deceives us. We always know others with more wealth than ourselves. Somehow, our wealth is never enough to make us secure about our future or to give us joy. Wealth blinds us to our sin and our need for God. Compared to the rest of the world, all westerners are wealthy. When we interact with our brothers and sisters globally, our wealth gives us favour and can blind us to our pride and spiritual poverty. Yet the psalmist reminds us that eternity changes the equation. In heaven it is God not wealth that matters. When our health fails and we can’t enjoy our wealth, we are reminded that only our relationship with God will last f...