Strength

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 ESV)

Strength

God’s love, which can draw our trust like honey draws bears, can be observed in His strength.  

When we love, we know we can not love enough.  We do not have the power, ability, or strength to do all that our beloved needs.  Whether our beloved is our spouse, our children, our parents, our siblings, our church, our friends, our community, our city, our nation, or our pet.  We come up short.

But God does not love that way.  He does not have our limitations.  He does not have our mortality, limited resources, lack of knowledge, or selfishness.  God’s love does not come up short.

God’s love is enough.  In fact, God’s love is more than enough.

His love is behind our salvation, His love is behind His providence, His love is behind every one of His character traits.  Justice, Graciousness, Merciful, Patience, Kindness, all are a result of His love.

That makes His love more than pleasant, more than exciting, more than nice, more than restful.  His love is powerful, limitless, and strong.

Trust

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 ESV)

Trust

The Emperor Napoleon had a lot of underlings.  He supervised Generals, Admirals, Educators, Economists, and Administrators.  But beyond Napoleon’s reputation for being short, a military genius, and impetuous, Napoleon charismatically drew the loyalty of those in his government, social circles, and nation.

When folk of that era describe their loyalty, many of them declared that loyalty was the only reasonable response to Napoleon.  Because somehow Napoleon made his people believe that he loved them.

Love tends to breed loyalty.  Love tends to breed faithfulness.  Love tends to breed trust.

Isaiah’s declaration that he trusts God is founded on Isaiah’s knowledge that God loved Isaiah.

Sometimes we get that backwards.   But Isaiah’s (and our) trust in God comes from His love.  His love does not come from our trust.

If occasionally you find yourself lacking in trust, the answer is not to drive yourself closer to Him with guilt.

The answer is to consider His love. 

The more you can see, acknowledge, and wonder at His love… the easier trust becomes.

Returns

A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. (Isaiah 10:21 ESV)

Returns

A friend owned a classic car.  Over the years he had restored it, repaired it, revamped it, and revitalized it.  However, he reached the point in his life where he needed to sell it.

It broke his heart.  But he found a buyer.  And his car was gone.

But a few years later, the car was back in his driveway.  He enjoyed that car so much, that he pursued re-buying it, and once again called it his own.

God loves His people like that.

His people had disobeyed Him, ignored Him, and abandoned Him.  But He never gave up on them.  Even in the worst of their rebellion, knowing that He was going to send them into exile, He promised that they would return.  Because He loved them.

And He loves His people today, in that same way.   His grace is limitless because His love is limitless.  His mercy is deep because His love is deep.  His forgiveness is boundless because His love is boundless.

But God is not mamby-pamby nice.  His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love are limitless because the means of His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love are limitless.  Christ Jesus, the Messiah, our Savior, provides our ticket back to God.

Repeatedly.

Constantly.

Until we get it.  Until we understand it.  Until we stop taking advantage of Him.

And then we receive it eternally, with Him forever.

He welcomes us when we return, and in fact He pulls us back to Him.  Because He loves us.

Light

 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)

Light

My regional electric company does not love me.  Therefore, when the power goes out in the middle of the night, while they certainly do try to restore the lights, they do not really sacrifice on my behalf.  In fact, everything they do for us they get paid for, and that is their primary motivation.

But God does love His people.  And Isaiah reminds us that before Christ, God’s people walked in darkness. 

This darkness is not necessarily physical, but rather the darkness of ignorance.  Until Christ the universe made no sense. The Messiah’s salvific arrival gave every moment of history meaning.  The darkness of no-knowledge is brightened by the God’s revelation of His plans.

This darkness is the darkness of selfishness.  Until the promise of Christ, human motivation did not move beyond selfishness.  But after the Messiah’s salvific arrival, God’s people can choose love, can grow in selflessness, and can follow Christ’s example.  The darkness of self-focus is brightened by the bright heart-changing of the gospel.

This darkness is the darkness of hopelessness.  Until awareness grew of Christ’s work all solutions were temporary, short-sighted, and doomed to failure.  But after the Messiah’s atoning work fixed every problem in the universe, God’s people can rely on Christ to fix the root cause of every problem: sin itself.  The darkness of failure is brightened by the light of the world, Christ Jesus.

And all because God loves His people.  He brings light, the only light, the true light because He has compassion on those who dwell in the dark.

Stumps

When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.  And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria. (Isaiah 7:2-4 ESV)

Stumps

To receive the gift and hope found in these verses, we need a little background.  God’s people had divided into two nations, referred to here as “the house of David,” who were the Israelites who had tried to remain faithful to God; and “Ephraim,” who were the Israelites who had rejected God.

The Lord tells Isaiah that even though the rebellious Israelites who joined forces with a pagan nation, Syria, God’s faithful Israelites STILL had nothing to fear.  God calls the enemy, despite their rage against God’s faithful people, despite their military might, despite their power and arrogance,  mere stumps of burning wood.

God declares His protection for one reason:  He loves His people.

And He protects His people the same way, today.  Now, however, it is not a nation that God loves.  It is His church.  The Christian Church is now loved, protected, upheld, defended, and blessed in the same way that Old Testament Israel was.

So even when modern enemies such as hostile governments and laws, arrogant mockery of our faith, or a culture that believes God’s Truth is outdated attack His People, God calls them stumps of wood.  Not even really on fire, but only smoldering.

But remember, it is not because we are more loveable than the stumps.  It is only because we are more loved.  And that should be delightfully humbling.

Sent

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8 ESV)

Sent

God asks this question a lot.  Because God has a lot of messages to send to a lot of people.  Yes, of course, God really only has one message: Jesus… but He has a lot of ways to tell a lot of people about that one message.

God loves His people.  And He has something to tell us.

If He did not love us, He would not care if we could hear Him.

So, He sent Isaiah to the Judeans.  Just like He sent all of His Biblical prophets to their audiences.

And He loves His people who did not happen to live in earshot of Isaiah. So He made sure those Words were written down… so we can read and hear them even tomorrow.

But God’s Words are not just intellectual religious treatises about nice things.  God’s Words are the only way to eternal life.  God’s Words are the only way to know Him.  God’s Words are the only way to meet Jesus, know Him, believe in Him, and join Him.

God has spoken because He loves us.

And God’s love causes His Word to be sent to His people.

Lips

And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7 ESV)

Lips

In our culture, lips are personal, private things.  We greet strangers by shaking hands, not by touching their lips.  Lips are sensitive, communicative, and important.

And here, Isaiah’s lips are the entrance point of God’s enablement of Isaiah to do his job.

God wanted Isaiah to speak for Him.  And when Isaiah objects, knowing his inner faults, God answers Isaiah by the touch of His angel to purify Isaiah’s lips.

Because God intends Isaiah to speak for God.  Because the creator God knows that the things we say with our lips are windows to our identity.  Because God is approaching Isaiah personally, intimately, and intensely.

God fixes Isaiah by touching Isaiah’s lips.

And He did that because He loves His people, who needed Isaiah’s words.  And He did that because He loved Isaiah.

He touches our lips, too.  When we read His word (even Isaiah’s words), He touches our lips because He loves us.  When we pray to Him, He touches our lips because He loves us.  When we speak of Him to others, He touches our lips because He loves us.

Whistle

He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come! (Isaiah 5:26 ESV)

Whistle

We do not let our dog out without a leash.  He is a curious beast, and would follow his nose wherever it goes.  And I have not trained him to come back when I call.  My poor dog.

Training a dog to come when called is hard, but not impossible, work.  But when I consider why I have not made the effort, I must admit something.  I have not taken the time to teach him to come when I call, yell, or whistle, because I really do not love him that much.

But God whistles for His people to come.  That whistle goes out in His Word, through His Spirit, through His creation, and through His people.  God whistles both loudly and subtly.   God whistles both to the well-known and the hidden.  God whistles to everyone that He desires to come to Him.  And because He loves His people, He whistles a lot, without stopping.

God loves His people.  Listen, and come quickly.

Love Songs

Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: (Isaiah 5:1 ESV)

Love Song

In high school, my best friend wrote a song for his girlfriend.  The lyrics were sweet, and hopeful, and sort of beautiful.  I composed the tune, and it was even better!

But he never sang it for her.  Almost as he finished writing, she broke up with him.  He decided he did not love her anymore, and put the song away.

In this verse, someone is singing about a vineyard.  And whether the singer here is Isaiah, or God Himself, the joy is found in the same place.  The song is sung because of love.

God’s love for His people causes songs.

In fact, in a way, all of Scripture is a love song from God to His people.

But God does not stop singing it.  Our rebellions, unfaithfulness, and sins only cause Him to sing more boisterously.  Our rejection of Him, our ignorance of Him, our deafness to Him have not stopped His Song.

Because His love is stronger than anything we can fail to do.

God loves us so much He sings.

Open

…and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3 ESV)

Open

Clark Griswold’s family was bitterly disappointed when Wally World was closed.  I was disappointed when the Pharmacy was not open, and could not fill my prescription.  Many were disappointed when Wichita’s Baskin Robbins closed their doors permanently.

Not only because those who were disappointed could not fulfill their desires.  But those closed places feel like an indication that someone does not love us.

But God’s holy presence is always open for us.

We can always go to Him and learn from Him, because He loves us.

We can always go to Him and walk His way, because He loves us.

We can always approach Him, commune with Him, lean on Him, call out to Him, and worship Him, because He loves us.

God’s love keeps His doors open.

Cleaning

“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 like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 ESV)

Cleaning

One of the small but tedious ways that my wife displays her love, is the removal of stains on my shirts.  She does not care about my shirts, she does not care about dirt, she does not care about my style… she loves me, and so she cleans.

And God loves us more than she loves my shirts.  Isaiah tells us that no matter how deeply our souls are stained by sin, God cleans them.  No matter how hopeless we think our stains are, God has cleaned them.  No matter how difficult our stains of tomorrow, God will clean them.

And the cleaning was not accomplished through cheap detergent.  We are cleaned by the precious blood of God’s only begotten Son.  His red blood made our crimson stains into pure white.

God loves His people, so He cleansed us, is cleansing us, and will cleanse us.

Holidays

20 And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, 22 as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. (Esther 9::20-22 ESV)

Holidays

It is not quite the holiday season.  But it is not too soon to remember why we should celebrate every holiday.  Mordecai was not merely celebrating the protection of the exiled Jews, Mordecai was celebrating God’s love.

Every celebration, if it is honest celebration, can do the same things.

Your birthday is the celebration of your birth, yes.  But more than that it is the celebration of God’s pro-active love… He gave you life because He loved you already.

Resurrection Day is the celebration of death’s death, yes.  But more than that it is the celebration of God’s far-reaching love, in that He destroyed mankind’s biggest enemy because He loves His people.

Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation, yes.  But more than that it is the celebration of God’s limitless love, in which He gave His only begotten Son because He loves Christ’s brothers and sisters.

If we can not see that any holiday under consideration is a celebration of God’s love, we have no reason to celebrate.

But God’s love is always the reason to celebrate.

Blameless

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.  (Jude 24, 25 ESV)

Blameless

“It isn’t my fault!”

“I couldn’t help it!”

“It seemed like the best choice at the time!”

“The woman that you gave me, SHE gave the fruit to me…”

These claims have not been effective to assuage guilt, avoid responsibility, or remove blame.  And really, we know it.  We keep trying though, foolishly.

It is foolish because God, in His love for His people, gives us a better solution.

Jesus has already accepted our guilt, our failures, and all of our shame, embarrassment, and blame.  Christians have nothing to avoid anymore.

And Jude is overwhelmed with praise because of it.  He knew how much God loved him.  And Jude knew the cost of that love, the very life of Christ.

Maybe if Jesus had not suffered so much, Jude would not be so amazed.  Maybe if Jesus had simply ticked a box, filled out a form, and done a little penance, Jude would not have praised so loudly or eternally.  Maybe if Jesus had left part of our blame on our backs, leaving it for us to deal with, Jude would have been more bland in his praise.

But Jude knew how much God loved him.

We can be just as loud.

Unity

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3,4 ESV)

Unity

We disagree so easily.  At family reunions we are not supposed to talk about religion or politics, lest we have an argument.  When in the wrong location, we are not supposed to talk about our favorite team, lest we have an argument.  When choosing a restaurant, we are not supposed to be too open with our favorites, lest we have an argument.  When glancing at someone’s new coat, we are not supposed to be too loud in our enthusiastic support of our favorite color, lest we have an argument.

All in all, it is pretty silly.

None of those things, or so many things that we argue about, are important.

What gives true lasting heartfelt helpful unity is our common salvation.  God’s true people are saved by Grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.  When we have that in common, other things are tripe.

In these verses, the common salvation even allows the author to be somewhat confrontational!  Because of the common salvation, he says they can disagree about the details.

And that common salvation centers around God’s love.  God’s love that is sacrificial in the death of His Son.  God’s love that is unconditional in the faith that saves.  God’s love that is boundless in His acceptance of who we are, knowing that His children will be like Christ in the end.

Arguments arise, but the Love of God brings unity.

Timing

And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 ESV)

Timing

The right timing is important.  It is not enough to know the guitar chord, the notes also has to be played at precisely the right time.  It is not enough to know the ingredients, they must be added to the recipe in the right order, and at the right time.  It is not enough to know the road directions, but sometimes the turn needs to be made avoiding other moving things… timing.

And the more important the situation, the more willing we are to focus on the right timing.

God loves His people.  And so He uses His perfect, exact, and necessary timing to bless us.

In this passage, Mordecai pronounces to Esther that perhaps she was in Persia at just the right time, for God’s wonderful salvific reasons.  And Mordecai was right.

God’s actions in our lives all involve perfect timing.  We often do not understand His timing, yet.  But because He is God, and because He loves His people, we can be assured that the timing is just right.

The timing is because of His love.

Christ was born at the exact right time.  He was crucified at the exact right time.  He arose at exactly the right time.  And every moment of our lives continues that exactly correct timing.

When things do not seem to be timed the way we would time them, trust God’s love and power to be better than our senses and understanding.  He loves us, and so gives us His perfect timing.

Philemon

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers,  because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints… (Philemon 4,5 ESV)

Philemon

Philemon was a good friend of the apostle Paul.  And of all the ways Paul could have begun this letter, he points out that Philemon has the reputation of love.

The problem is, from our perspective, that Philemon did not seem personally very loving.  He was a slave-owner.  When that slave (Onesimus) ran away, it was expected that Philemon would be angry and vindictive.  Those things do not sound very loving to our ears.

But Paul writes that Philemon loved.  As a Christian, the love of Philemon did not come from Philemon’s personality, Philemon’s choices, Philemon’s maturity, or even Philemon’s actions.

Philemon had the reputation of being loving because Philemon was a child of God, a Christian.

And Christians are, by definition, loving.

Maybe your attitudes, words, and actions do not always seem loving.

But like Philemon, the love-roots are there.

By the end of Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul displays confidence that Philemon will be loving in fact, as well as in Christian-reputation.  Because that is also what Christians do.

We learn to love, following the love of our God.

We almost can’t help it.

Because God is love, we, His children become love, too.

Look for it, yearn for it, practice it, reach for it, hope for it… and you will love, like Philemon.

God’s love is rich enough to drip down and fill us.

Good-er

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” (Genesis 50:19,20 ESV)

Gooder

Joseph was good to his brothers.  They had hated him, betrayed him, and given him into slavery.  But rather than seek revenge, he welcomed them to Egypt, provided for their needs, and arranged for their future well-being. 

But Joseph’s brothers knew that Joseph was only human.  There was a limit, perhaps, to how good Joseph would be toward them.

But Joseph understood the source of the goodness with which he treated those troubled men.  Joseph was not good because of Joseph’s character, mind, or heart.  Joseph was good because Joseph’s God was good, and Joseph’s God empowered Joseph in goodness.

Joseph chose to be like God.  And therefore Joseph knew that his goodness would continue.  Because God is good.

And whatever goodness Joseph had displayed, he knew that God was gooder.  I know that is not a word, but it communicates what Joseph is saying here.

God is gooder.  God is kinder. God is powerfuller.  God is knoweldgeabler. Go is holier.  God is Lover.

When, perhaps only for brief moments, God’s children can choose to be good, or kind, or holy, or even especially loving… we can rejoice because we see God acting through us, in us, by us, and around us.

God’s love is more than ours… and God’s love empowers ours.

Blessings and Safety

Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.  (Genesis 47:27 ESV)

Blessings and Safety

An odd thing happened in Egypt because of Joseph’s God.  All of Egypt, in a way, was blessed and survived a drought because Joseph was Chief Administrator.  But while the Egyptians lived, they surrendered they possessions, income, and property.  They became slaves of the Pharaoh. 

In a way, God was giving them over to their foolish choice to follow other gods… slaves to their spiritual deafness, God made them slaves to Pharaoh.  Slaves to their wealth and power, God made them slaves to Pharaoh’s wealth and power.  Slaves to their short-sightedness, God made them slaves to Pharaoh’s vision.

And meanwhile Israel, technically outside of Egypt, remained free, retained their possessions, and were at peace for 400 years.

For one reason… God loved them.

Years later, Pharaoh cast his greedy eyes unto Goshen as well… but this happened only because it was time for God to manifest His love by taking the people to their home. 

God in His love of His people, arranged tragedy and political turmoil and tyranny right next door to Israel.  But God’s love provided for them, protected them, nurtured them, and kept them.

Just like He promised.

His love does the same thing for His people today.  Troubles around us are meant to draw our eyes to the Lord.  Tragedy and political turmoil and tyranny right next door are nothing more than opportunities for us to remember that we are HIS.

He provided a spiritual savior for us, of course.  But He also remembers His people physically.  Let us not mistake what God is doing to the world with what He does for us.

He loves us.

Unpopularity

When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.’ (Genesis 46:34,35 ESV)

Unpopularity

The Israelites lived in the fertile land of Goshen, on Egypt’s frontier, for nearly 400 years before they were totally enslaved.  During that time, the tribes became a tribe… the peoples became a nation. 

This was allowed to develop because the Egyptians despised shepherds, and therefore despised the Israelites.

Being hated is not pleasant.  But notice the implied contrast here.  Yes, the Egyptians hated the Israelites, but God loved them, show by God’s provision here.  Yes, the Israelites were mocked and belittled, but Israel was precious in God’s heart.  Yes, the world shook its head at Israel, but God embrace them.

God’s love is better than the hate of haters.  God’s love is necessary for survival, and the hatred of others is irrelevant.  God’s love nurtures, helps, enables, and provides… but the hatred of outsiders is nothing more than a chance for God to astound us with His love.

Let the light of His love, most shone in the gift of His Son, blind the shadows of ignorance, cruelty, and hatred.

Plans

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.   I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes. (Genesis 46:3,4 ESV)

Plans

Our front doorknob was stuck.  We usually lock the door with a deadbolt, but the twisty button on the knob itself also had a lock, which was not working.  And now, it had become stuck in the locked position.

I took it apart, used logic and mechanical knowledge, but could not get the lock to disengage.  Finally, in near desperation, I found on the internet a description of the design notes for this kind of lock.

And somehow, because I could now determine the intentions of the designer, the intricate gears and stops made sense.

And my wife had a good suggestion, too…

Poor Jacob (renamed Israel) was afraid.  He and his family had settled in Canaan, in the area that God had promised him a homeland.  He was almost experiencing the fulfilment of God’s promises!  But the loss of his beloved son, years of draught, and neighbor-troubles had combined to give him doubts.

But God, in His love, gave Israel a glimpse of things to come.  Israel would have peace.  His body would die, not in conflict, danger, or shortages, but in rest, among family, and in God’s presence.

We do not always understand God’s plans as He works them out.  But like Israel, we know the end.  And because we are loved by God, that end is peace.

Do not be afraid, God’s love is at work.