Prior to this reading I want to remind people. These blogs are not intended to be sermonic quality. They are also not going to be in depth exegetical works generally. I say that because I would tell you that understanding Isaiah 1-6 would best be understood with a solid commentary to assist in the study of this reading but really all of Isaiah, maybe a Biblical encyclopedia as well. What I will be sharing this evening…and I apologize for this coming out so late tonight…but what I will be sharing are the things that touched my heart, remember this is my personal devotions that I am doing daily so I’m not studying first for knowledge or first to teach, those things happen out of this, but when I read Isaiah 1-6 I must admit my heart was what engaged more.

So here goes…

I was struck by the strong, strong rhetoric of Isaiah 1:1-17 and then suddenly this is this heart cry appeal,

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey…

I pause…Consent to what? I think consent to God’s appeal to be washed clean by The Lord,

“If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land…”

A lot of people know these verses? I wonder how many realize they come bookended by strong rebuke.

At the end of 1:23 the Bible states, “They do not defend the orphan, nor does the widow’s plea come before them.”

This is the second time widow’s and orphans are mentioned. They are also mentioned in verse 17, “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

True religion, religion that is honorable to God is not just obedience to personal rules, for the Jewish people he mentions offerings and burnt sacrifices or going to the temple (church) vv. 11 & 12.

True religion must involve caring for people.

Isaiah 2:5, 6 is a clear reminder that consorting with those of the world DOES have a negative influence. No matter what we may try to rationalize.

Isaiah 5:18-23 is a description of our world and even to many degrees modern Christianity. Verse 19 is particularly biting in light of verse 18, people who are really embracing sin and then being deceitful about it, yet are pretending (v. 19) to care about the works of the Lord and His return. Scary! Let all who express a desire for Jesus to return to pause and ask to search our hearts that vv. 18 & 19 are not true of us.

Now I want to go back to the part of the reading that struck my heart most: Chapter 5 verses 1-4 are my favorite portion of this reading. It reminds me of the night I accepted Jesus, I heard Him say to me, “You’ve tried everything else, why don’t you give me a chance.”

I tried Him and I’ve never been disappointed. If I ever make a decision to walk away from God I will not be able to give any suggestion if asked, “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it.”

God asked me to try Him, I did, and blessing after blessing I’ve received.

God there is nothing more You could do for me.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Matthew 1 & 2

Before I write anything about today’s reading let me share a couple caveats (and this is true for future posts on the book of Job as well). First, I believe the book of Job to be an absolutely true story, a historical account and not an allegory. Second, I don’t fully understand why it seems God “recommends” Job to be harassed by Satan. I understand it from the viewpoint of the great controversy, but not emotionally. As I’ve matured as a Christian I’ve learned to be okay with not always understanding everything, and I’ve learned that often times if I wait on the Lord in due time He does give me understanding. In my life I have discovered the immense goodness of God and so in Job 1 where I see something that does not seem so “good” I don’t accuse God, rather I recognize my own limitations and I choose to be as the just and live by faith and not by sight. That said I do have points of views on these texts that have helped ease my concern over the years, but since I cannot support them 100% Biblically I refrain from putting them out there. If you have similar concerns about the book of Job I encourage you to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” and then to live by faith when understanding is limited, remembering, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

Job 1 & 2:

Job was the greatest of all men of the east (1:3b) How? Job “was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.” (1:1). Don’t be fooled the greatness comes from verse 1 not verse 3a. How do we know this? Because in chapter 1 verses 13 through 19 he lost all of what was listed in 3a and then we read in chapter 2 verse 3b, “There is no one like him on the earth…”

Greatness comes from character not possessions or accomplishments.

How could Job stay this great, and not sin in light of these challenges?

1:20, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and WORSHIPED.”

The scriptures do not say Job was okay with what happened. Or he said, “such is life,” no, he is broken, distraught, in such grief the strength in his legs has gone out…have you been there? I have!

Yet when he was lying on that ground in pain deeper than words can express, he worshiped, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21)

Incredible. I won’t give away the end of the book of Job…but knowing the end of the book makes all of this even more amazing to me…okay I’ll give it away, from what we read at the end of Job God never explains, God doesn’t give Job the insight He gives us into seeing that this was all a live action drama of the great controversy, in which Job is one of the greatest character witnesses on God’s behalf. Job doesn’t know any of that yet he remains faithful. Wow!

To close this post today I want to share the insights I read from the Facebook page of my good friend Kim Taylor after she read today’s reading:

1. May I be like Job…How awesome would it be if this is the way God described me to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Kim? There is no one on earth like her; she is blameless and upright, a woman who fears God and shuns evil.” (insert your name and gender rather than Kim’s)
2. May I not be a wife like Job’s…may I always support and pray for my husband no matter what he is going through (men may we be husbands that always support and pray no matter what)
3. May I be like the friends were at first… at the end of Ch. 2, when they first come, they just sit there and support him by being there but don’t say a word. If only they had stayed that way

Tomorrow’s Reading: Isaiah 1-6

The progression of the first verse of Psalm 1 is insightful. It is almost as if the psalmist is telling us that getting near (walking) wickedness will eventually lead us to pause and examine (stand) longer than we should in the ideas of sin, which then will lead us to fully invest (sit) in sinful ways.

What is the anecdote to avoid getting near, examining, and ultimately investing in this sinful world?

It is found in verse 2—We delight in the Word of God…not just occasionally, we see just like yesterday’s reading showed us the way to be strong and courageous in Joshua 1:8 is by meditating on scripture day and night, this is also the way to delight in the Word of God. I know me and I’m pretty sure I know a thing or two about most of humanity. If we are not reading the Bible every day then we are not thinking about the Bible every day, especially not day and night—which is basically a way of saying, “all the time.”

If we do meditate (think on) the scriptures day and night this will help us to be firmly planted in Jesus (v. 3). You may say I don’t see that in verse 3…I see it indirectly in this verse through the eyes of Paul, Colossians 2:6, 7:

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

When the Bible speaks of being rooted it is speaking of being grounded in Jesus.

Speaking of Jesus, He is all over Psalm 2. It is a Psalm of David and we can see David addressing the things He is going through as King of Israel, but woven throughout are subtle or maybe not so subtle references to Jesus and prophecies regarding His time on this earth.

Did you see them? Verses 2, 7, 12 these all have reference to Jesus.

In closing though I want to look at verse 3 of Psalm 2,

“Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!”

This is the cry of the wicked they believe the bondage they feel is due to God and His ways. When really the bondage they are under is because they don’t really know His Son.

Psalm 2:1, 2 are a people plotting against Jesus. Why? Verse 3 because they feel like His ways are slavery.

If we are not rooted in Jesus, Psalm 1:3 we will feel like Jesus is slavery; the devil will convince us of this, just as he convinced 1/3 of the angels in heaven. Just as he convinced Eve. The devil is a liar though!

Can I testify that the freest I ever felt was the day I said “yes” to Jesus and His ways.

If you tear away the fetters of God and the cords of His Son and the Holy Spirit, you’ll find what it truly means to be in bondage, because sin is a terrible master!

Tomorrow’s Reading: (Poetry) Job 1 & 2

As I have done most years since I’ve been blogging I would like to share with y’all some of the “Top Lists” (this year it will be 15) of 2015.

I want to thank by the way the 17,879 people that read this blog in 2015. In 2013 there were 9300 readers, in 2 years we’ve almost doubled, so thank you, thank you!

Here are the Top 15 countries represented in my readership:

1. United States
2. Canada (which overtook Australia as my usual #2)
3. Australia
4. The United Kingdom
5. South Africa
6. Kenya
7. Brazil
8. Philippines
9. New Zealand
10. Indonesia
11. India
12. Netherlands
13. Germany
14. Zimbabwe
15. Jamaica

Here are the Top 15 States represented in my readership:

1. California
2. Maryland
3. Washington
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Tennessee
7. Michigan
8. Georgia
9. Ohio
10. Oregon
11. New York
12. Illinois
13. Colorado
14. Virginia
15. District of Columbia (I know not really a state :))

Here are the Top 15 cities represented in my readership:

1. San Francisco
2. Washington D.C.
3. Los Angeles
4. New York
5. Sydney
6. Atlanta
7. Chicago
8. London
9. Visalia (miss y’all)
10. Seattle
11. Portland
12. Brisbane
13. Dallas
14. Oronoko charter Township
15. Houston

And now for the Top 15 most read posts in 2015:

1. The Mess We’ve Made of Ordination
2. The Local Church is Killing Adventist Education : I wrote this in 2011 yet it received new life and a great many readers again this year.
3. A Sincere Inquiry to Those Opposed to Women’s Ordination
4. A Nice Man, But Still the Same System
5. The Four Most Important Evangelists in The Adventist Church I’m not sure how this is marked to have it found so often in google, but this post from 2013 has a consistent stream of readers.
6. I Miss My Friend!  a lament following the death of one of my closest friends, it still hurts.
7. A Response to Elder Stephen Bohr’s “Reflections on Deborah & Huldah” I’m not sure if it is Steve Bohr fans or foes that continue reading it, but it continues to be well read.
8. The Superiority of Adventist Education This one was also written in 2011 but continues to be a main stay on the leaderboard of posts.
9. Multifarious Thoughts on Women’s Ordination What a shocker another post on women’s ordination that gained traction in 2015
10. How I Hope Adventists Will Respond to the Kenneth Copeland/Pope Francis Video The interesting thing to note, the individual, Tony Palmer, that facilitated this entire thing died shortly after this in a motorcycle accident.
11. The Ordained Women Pastors of China Still love this video no matter how many times I see it!
12. Random Thoughts Concerning GYC & The ONE Project: There is actually no link to this post because I removed it. I removed it because there was such a defensive reaction by both groups, but in particular ONE Project supporters that I felt it wasn’t worth the hassle. However, after I removed it several associated with the ONE Project said I should have left it up and informed me they appreciated the perspective. You’ll just have to trust me it was well read 🙂
13. Sometimes You Have to Ask More Than Once to Get to Yes
14. Why The Recent Rhetoric in the Church Makes Me Want to Shout About “SPIRITUAL FORMATION”
15. Women’s Ordination: The Greatest Danger It seems only fitting that the first and last on this list are related to women’s ordination, a topic that very much dominated the thoughts of many in this General Conference Session Year.

Thank you for reading in 2015. I hope you’ll join me and invite your friends to read along as well in 2016. There will be at least one post every day in 2016 because I am blogging through the Bible daily in 2016. So check-in every day.

I love the book of Joshua. It is not because I am a war monger or because I revel in blood shed, there is a lot of both in this book. I love this book because in the midst of all the war there is a great deal of practical principles we can all live by.

In Joshua chapter 1 verses 6, 7, & 9 God states to Joshua three times, “Be strong and courageous.” The repetition of this phrase shows the importance of an idea. Now we would put an exclamation mark on a big idea, but in the Bible repetition is like an exclamation mark.

“Be strong and courageous” is God’s appeal, His command to Joshua but the appeal does not come without justification for why Joshua should be strong.

• Be strong and courageous: (v. 6) because I have made a promise years ago and I always keep my promises.
• Be strong and courageous: (vv. 7, 8) Joshua you will find all the strength and courage and at the end of it success through God’s Word.
• Be strong and courageous: (v. 9) because the Lord is always with you!

I like verse 8 of chapter 1: careful obedience to the Word of God requires careful study, “you shall meditate on it Day & Night”

In chapter 2 Rahab’s story is such a lesson of faith driven works for believers!

1. Rahab was a prostitute, but she ends-up in the family line of Jesus, Matthew 1:5
2. Rahab was a prostitute, but she is found in the Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11:31
3. Rahab was a prostitute, but James cites her as an example of justification by faith which produces works, James 2:25

In Joshua 2:3-6 are the actions that show the legitimacy of Rahab’s faith statement found in Joshua 2:9-11.

Some believe that the scarlet cord that Rahab was to hang-out her window has relation to the blood posted above the doorposts at the time of the Passover in Egypt.

Rahab should be a witness to us that God did not destroy one group simply to build-up another group. He saved all who were willing to be saved, Israelite and pagan.

I love 2:21, it is a mini-sermon on preparation for the second coming. The spies tell Rahab that if a red cord is not in the window when they return they will not be responsible for her death, so in verse 21 we read, “So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied a scarlet cord in the window.” Logically she had to have known they wouldn’t return that night, but she wasn’t going to miss out on not being ready. The moment they were gone she started to prepare for them to return. Jesus is in heaven right now, but we should be preparing like He is coming back immediately!

What a witness this woman is to us!

In the last chapter of our reading today, chapter 5 I love the final verses! They leave with us an important truth to remember.

“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

Joshua here encounters the pre-incarnate Jesus Himself, and just like Moses he is told to remove his shoes because the ground is holy.

But what I love about this text and I believe other versions than the NASB capture it a little better, Joshua asks the individual “whose side are you on?” And the NASB translates it, “No” but what the Lord was saying is, “neither”

This is a good point for us to remember. God is not on my side or your side. He’s not on the Christian side or the Muslim side. God is on His side and He calls us to join Him, to follow Him, to recognize His holiness letting Him lead the way.

Tomorrow’s reading: Psalms 1 & 2