REJOICE AND LIFT YOUR VOICES

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.

Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 52:8-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There’s nothing like being in the presence of God.

I’m not saying this just because it’s Sunday and I’m recently home from worship. I firmly believe that every day is a day of celebration, a day we should never take for granted because we have a Creator God who is always with us and for us, a God who never ceases to want to be in fellowship with His children. This truth should consistently and persistently bring us to a place where we rejoice and lift our voices to Him in praise and adoration.

This is what we should do, but are we?

Maybe we could learn a lot from the Israelites of more than 2,000 years ago. They chose to take the Lord for granted in their lives and even decided to push Him off onto the fringes so they could pursue their own desires, an action that included worshiping of idols and false gods. God was there for convenience and they would call on Him when they wanted to in accordance with their will.

Sound familiar? Aren’t we doing the same thing today, pushing the Lord aside to chase after the enticements of this world that meet our desires, no matter if they contradict the desires of the Lord?

The Lord wouldn’t have it way with the Israelites and He won’t have it with us either. Trust and believe in that.

In the case of the people of Israel, God set His judgment against them for their disrespectful, disobedient actions, sending them into seventy years of captivity and exile at the hands of the Babylonians. They wouldn’t spend a day less, even if they cried out to God for relief and release. If they wanted to live as if the Lord wasn’t a priority then they could expect the same from Him. In fact, some likened the Babylonian bondage period as one where God chose to be absent from His people. They would call out to Him but He was not to be found.

Perhaps this is how God chose to lead them into the kind of proper appreciation He deserved. It’s true you know: you really don’t come to a full appreciation for someone or something until you don’t have it anymore. What the Israelites went through was tough but it was for their own good because God never brings us into something without trying to teach us something or help us grow stronger in our faith unto Him. The Israelites renewed interest in God’s word as evidenced through the words found in Ezra and Nehemiah, showed that they had learned their lesson and wanted to make the Lord their number one priority again, rejoicing in Him and raising their voices in admiration. Our scriptures from Isaiah 52, foretell what would come:

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.

Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.  Isaiah 52:8-10

Watchmen would stand on top of the city’s walls and be on the lookout for anything coming to the city. In the case of the Lord, these watchmen would see Him with their own eyes. First, He would redeem Israel from their bondage and restore them back to Jerusalem to rebuild it. Then He would once again be in their midst, not distant and disengaged as during the exile. This would lead the once ruined Jerusalem to burst into songs of joy for they were once again in the Lord’s favor, comforted by His redemption and restored protection as His holy arm was laid bare in sight of all the nations, a warning to not even think about attacking Israel because He was with them. Anyone seeing what was happening in Israel would know that the salvation of God was real and in play.

Friends, we would be well served to learn a lesson from the Israelites and not even think about behaving in a way that would bring God’s judgment upon us. For even though the people of Israel were eventually restored, they paid a great cost in getting to that point. Let’s save ourselves that kind of trouble and just be in a spirit where we are constantly rejoicing and singing praises to a Lord who comforts us, protects us, and saves us, not only from our enemies but more importantly from our sins, now and forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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BEAUTIFUL FEET

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I can say this one thing with absolute certainty today:

The Lord calls us to be people of action.

It’s true, isn’t it?

If you doubt it for a moment, then you haven’t read the tasking we all have been given as believers in Christ Jesus. For before Jesus departed to ascend to the right hand of God the Father where would reign in authority over all creation, He issued the following commands, commissioning all disciples to His service:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20a

If we’re to go and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to be obedient to Jesus’ will, we can’t afford to be sitting around. No, we need to get up and move our feet from place to place, faithfully dedicating our time to do Christ’s work, an extension of what He did when He was a man walking this earth.

This idea of moving our feet and getting to work for the cause of Jesus is at the heart of today’s scripture passage as we continue our study of Isaiah 52. Look again at these awesome words here:

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”  Isaiah 52:7

When a person is obediently responding to what Jesus called them to do, then they move with feet that are beautiful. This is how you can recognize them:

1. They bring good news and tidings.

There might be a lot of beliefs as to what actually constitutes “good news” but when it comes to the matter of God’s word and its definition of beautiful feet, there is only one conveyance of good news that qualifies.

First of all, did you know that the word “gospel”, defined as teaching others about Jesus, is actually derived from the Old English word “God-spell” which simply means good news or good tidings (or information)?

With this, a person who is carrying out Christ’s Great Commission, making disciples of Jesus while teaching them about Him and what it means to follow Him, is a person who is bringing authentic good news and doing so with beautiful feet.

2. They proclaim peace.

When we are consistently and persistently living for Jesus, sharing Him with others as we bring good news, we cannot help but proclaim peace in the process, for indeed, Jesus was the Prince of peace. Thus, those who are truly living in Him and allowing Him to live within them, will be vessels filled to overflow with His peace, carrying that peace wherever they go as they use their beautiful feet. In other words, when we are sharing the good news of Jesus with others, we will be used as instruments of His peace.

3. They proclaim salvation.

Salvation is really at the heart of the good news we have to share about Jesus, isn’t it? He came to save all mankind and anyone who places their faith and belief in Him as Savior will not perish but live eternally (John 3:16). Through Christ, death is not the end for a Christian but rather the beginning of a glorious life forever free from all the things that would afflict us in our worldly existence. Those who actively sharing the gospel with others, moving from place to place with their beautiful feet, will be proclaiming the salvation available through Him with everyone they meet.

4. They proclaim the supremacy of God.

As we are sharing the good news with others, we have to ensure that people know God made it all possible. It was His will to save mankind and by His unmatched authority and rule over all creation, He chose to offer up His only Son Jesus as a living sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind. Salvation would not have come through the Son if the Father had not first chosen for it to happen. People who are doing the will of Jesus by carrying out His Great Commission through the use of their beautiful feet will be proclaiming the supremacy of the one and only true God, a God who is the Master over all things and yet still loves every one of His people intimately and abundantly. He longs for us to abide with Him forever and through Jesus we can do just that.

Friends, Jesus expects us to be busy for Him each and every day, sharing good news while proclaiming peace, salvation, and the supremacy of God. When we are obedient to this calling, we move through the guidance of the Holy Spirit with beautiful feet to do beautiful work for the kingdom, helping others find their way to a relationship with Jesus and the everlasting life that comes with it.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

FREELY REDEEMED

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.

Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”

Isaiah 52:1-6

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you redeemed?

It’s a question that everyone needs to consider because the answer carries with it the very prediction of our respective futures and yet you rarely hear the subject discussed with any sense of urgency. I guess the world is too enticing for people who are looking for instant gratification in the here and now at the expense of whether or not they will live beyond their death and rest assured death will come to everyone.

So again I ask, are you redeemed?

Maybe the very question raises a secondary one such as:

What does it mean to be redeemed?

In other words, people may need a definition of the word redeemed in order to understand that it is critically important to them. With that, allow me to offer the following:

First, a look at the dictionary offers the following two definitions of redeemed:

1. to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of (something).

2. gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.

Now let me relate this to the matter of our human shortcomings and how redemption has offset those shortcomings.

We have to start at the truth that we are all sinners. There is no debating this for ever since Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), mankind has been afflicted with a disease of iniquity that placed them in direct odds with God their Creator. Without redemption, every person would be destined for destruction and annihilation.

So where does one find redemption where our faults and bad aspects (namely, our transgressions) are compensated for? And what is the price we have to pay to gain God’s favor, forgiveness, and mercy to avoid His wrath and judgment?

I’ll tackle the first question and then the second.

In answer to the first question, there is only one source of our redemption and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only way we can be saved and He is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6). He compensates for the sins we have committed because He already paid the penalty we rightfully deserved when He was crucified on Calvary’s cross more that 2,000 years ago, bringing God’s salvation promise to anyone who would simply place their faith and belief in Him as Savior (John 3:16). Because Jesus died for us, we gain redemption when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, acknowledging through that commitment that there is no way possible by which we can save and redeem ourselves. There is only one way and that is through Jesus.

And so with that, I think you can figure out the answer to the second question for there is no cost imposed on us to gain redemption. It is freely given to us even though it was far from free in being attained. Jesus suffered greatly in our place so that we might have the opportunity to be redeemed and saved. We must never forget that our free redemption came at a cost; our salvation was purchased with the shed blood of Jesus Himself who offered Himself as the Lamb of God, a living sacrifice to atone for mankind’s sinfulness once and for all.

As we look at our scriptures for today from the opening verses of Isaiah 52, we find the Lord speaking to His people about free redemption but in a different sense. Look again at these verses here:

Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.

Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”  Isaiah 52:1-6

Here the Lord is talking in reference to judgment but it is not the eternal judgment that is to come to every person in this world: past, present, and future. No, this is the seventy year judgment He had imposed on His people for their willful worship of idols and false gods in direct disobedience to His commandments. The people of Israel were sold to their captors, the Babylonians for nothing. God imposed no fee on them for doing His judgment work. And when the time came, God would not have to pay a cent to redeem His people and restore them to their homeland to rebuild their homes, their faith, and His temple in Jerusalem.

And so you have it. You know what redemption is, you know where it comes from, and you know it comes freely to you when you believe in Jesus who bore the punishment you deserved in order to bring you redemption.

So my friends, are you redeemed by the precious shed blood of Jesus?

Please don’t end this day without answering, “Yes.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

A CUP WE SHOULD NEVER WANT TO DRINK FROM

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.

Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand. These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?—ruin and destruction, famine and sword—who can console you?

Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God. Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine.

This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends His people:

“See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

Isaiah 51:17-23

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Go back to the day of Jesus’ arrest.

You’ll recall that He was in the garden of Gethsemane, not sitting around waiting for Judas to lead an armed crowd to take Him into custody but rather to pray. He gives us insight into His anguished state of mind when He says this to the disciples who were with Him:

“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” Matthew 26:38

And with that, He went and prayed the following words:

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39

He then returned to His disciples only to find them sleeping, an act which drew His swift rebuke before He went back and began to pray again saying:

“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Matthew 26:42

Again, He went back to His disciples and once again they were sleeping, even though He had told them not to do so prior but instead of rebuking them again, He returned to where He was and the scriptures said He prayed the same prayer for the third time.

At the heart of those three prayers was the cup Jesus would have to drink from and as we gauge from His words, He wasn’t looking forward to it. This is because this was no ordinary cup He would drink from but rather the cup of salvation.

What does that cup look like?

Let’s look at our verses from Isaiah 51 as the Lord is addressing the exiled Israelites who were in the midst of their seventy year exile in Babylon, a penalty imposed on them by God after they willingly chose to worship idols and false gods:

Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.

Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand. These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?—ruin and destruction, famine and sword—who can console you?

Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God. Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine.  Isaiah 51:17-21

Note here that the Israelites had drunk from cup of judgment, full of God’s wrath. They were drunk with His consequences, staggered and disoriented, captives in a foreign land and under foreign authority and oppression. No one was there to aid them. All that they had was laid to waste, left in the ruins of destruction and desolation. They were afflicted by the punishment of the Lord God Almighty and there was no escape or pardon from His verdict, His people were going to be abducted and held for seventy years, the full content of His cup of judgment.

Now, back to Jesus.

Why would the perfect Son of God who had never sinned have to drink from the cup of His Father’s judgment?

Because it was God’s will for His Son that He bear the judgment that mankind deserved.

And so Jesus was crucified on Calvary’s cross, fully drinking all of what was in the cup of judgment so we wouldn’t have to. As we saw in His prayer, it was a cup He knew would carry excruciating pain and suffering as the wrath of His Father was poured out against the very sin that He despised.

Friends, I think you would agree that the cup of God’s judgment is one we should never want to drink from. Ever. We do have a choice.

For if you have placed your belief in Jesus as Savior, then you don’t have to worry about the cup because the price you owe for your sins has already been paid in full by Christ Himself. He has drunk for you and so you have been justified with eternal life awaiting.

But if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, then be warned. For you will one day drink all of what is in God’s cup of judgment and when you do, there will be no more life for you, only destruction and annihilation.  

I don’t know about you but I’m certainly glad that I will not have to partake of the cup of God’s judgment, giving thanks to Jesus for drinking from it for me. I pray you won’t have to partake of it either because only a fool would choose to do so.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com