Sunday, July 5, 2015

THE WAY TO A FLOURISHING, ABUNDANT LIFE



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

“For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 58:9b-14

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

I think I am safe to say that everyone wants a life that is flourishing and content. I say this because I have rarely heard anyone desire a life that is destitute and depressing.

No, we all have a hope that our lives will prosper in some way and be meaningful. In today’s devotion from the closing words of Isaiah 58, we find the Lord providing us guidance as to how we can make that happen. Look again at these words spoken straight from the Lord’s mouth unto us all:

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”  Isaiah 58:9a-14

Note one very important thread that runs through this scripture passage.

In order to gain blessing from God, we have to give something up in return. Specifically, we are to:

1. Do away with oppression.

“Do away with the yoke of oppression.”

Other translations say to not mistreat or make trouble for others and I believe this is what the Lord is trying to convey here. We have a bad habit sometimes of picking and choosing who we treat well and who we don’t, even within families where sides are often drawn up. It’s where the whole concept of sibling rivalry came from.

The Lord wants us to be at peace with one another, living in harmony, not strife. It’s the kind of relationship He desires and expects.

2. Stop our finger pointing and malicious talk.

“Do away with the pointing finger and malicious talk.”

We’re very good at playing the blame game, pointing fingers at everyone else for our circumstances while rarely willing to look and see if maybe we might be the one at fault and the center of our difficulty.

Likewise, we like to gossip and slander more than we’ll ever be willing to admit it. We love to talk behind the backs of others but some are even so bold as to not even hide their disdain for others, easily throwing insults and cruel words toward another with no concern for the damage they might be doing. All of us need to keep in mind that words would and injure as much if not more than physical abuse sometimes. This is why the Lord calls for us to keep our mouths in check.

3. Care for others in need.

“Spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.”

It should come as no surprise that the Lord would call us to make a difference in the lives of those in the midst of difficulty, doing what we can to make sure a person’s basic needs are met. This is because we are to model our lives after Jesus, God’s only Son who lived a life that was defined by self sacrifice. Look to the way our Savior conducted Himself in ministry and you’ll see a clear trend as He always placed His own needs secondary to the needs of others, even as far as surrendering His life to pay the price for our sins so we might live.

Jesus was never too busy to care for the needy, whether the need was for healing or food or even resurrection. If we’re truly to be Christians, then we have no other choice than to live like Jesus did and that means providing for the needs of others.

4. Keep your worship holy and dedicated to God.

“Your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on My holy day. Call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words”

The Sabbath for the Jews ran from sunset on what would be our Friday today until sunset on Saturday. During that time, the Lord had given His people specific direction regarding what they were to do:

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  Exodus 20:8-11

As you can see, the day was to be kept holy and no work was to be done. It was a day dedicated to the Lord who had blessed it and made it holy. Now the Israelites were to keep it that way.

But as we can see, it’s obvious that the people of Israel had not heeded God’s commandment and had broken the rules of the Sabbath to do what they pleased on His holy day, something that brought God’s displeasure.

The call was simple. Get back to basics and put God’s ways first.

Perhaps we need to heed this call today as well. For Sunday, which used to be a day reserved for worship and rest, has sadly began to look more and more like any other day of the week. People have stopped keeping the day holy, instead choosing to chase after their own desires instead of God’s. Stores are open and people go shopping instead of worshipping. You can see people out doing all sorts of labor instead of taking the time to rest and devote time to God as they should. We have taken a day meant to be honored and made a habit out of dishonoring it. That just isn’t going to cut it with God who expects us to worship Him and keep His holy day sacred.  

Four key callings from God for all of us to follow and if we do, then He promises the following results will occur:

1. He will always guide us.

“The Lord will guide you always.”

When we are obedient to the Lord’s direction, we never need worry about whether we’re going the right way or doing the proper things because the Lord is guiding us and we know that will always lead to us doing what is right and righteous.

2. He will satisfy our needs.

“He will satisfy your needs.”  

When we fully understand that God is the great Provider of all things to His people, then we need not worry whether we’ll be taken care of because we understand that we are all in His hands and no one can meet our needs better than Him. It’s this life attitude that sets us free to take on the needs of others because we need not worry about our own needs. God has them under control and will provide for His faithful ones. He has promised to satisfy our needs and He always keeps His promises.

3. He will strengthen us.

“He will strengthen your frame.”

None of us possess the strength to make it through life and the challenges it will bring but we serve a God who has more than enough power to help us persevere and endure. It’s why Paul was able to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). When we remain obedient to Him, the Lord strengthens us in return to carry out His purposes.

4. He will make our lives flourish.

“You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

When we comply with the things the Lord asks for us to do, blessing Him and others, then He will see to it that our lives blossom and bloom like a well watered garden, the abundant fruits we bear resulting from being rooted in Him and His ways.

5. He will give us joy.

You will find your joy in the Lord.”

Think about how it feels to know you are in the midst of God’s favor and blessings. Is there any more joyful place to be in life?

When we remain dedicated to serving God faithfully, making a difference in the lives of others a habit, then we will reap the bounties of self satisfaction and happiness that come along with this life attitude. We will find joy and delight in its truest and purest sense because they are both derived from the One who made them

6. He will bring us victory.

I will cause you to ride in triumph.”

Ultimately, living like Jesus, the only One who was perfectly obedient to God the Father in every way, leads us to victory, victory over sinful ways and wickedness in the here and now as we pursue righteous and holy ways instead, and victory over death and the grave when this earthly life is over and our work here is done. On that day, when we go to live with God and Jesus forever, we will have triumphed over this world, once and for all. What a glorious day that will be.

Friends, through the Lord, we have the promise of a flourishing, abundant life. All we need to do is to follow God’s instruction to get there.

My prayer is that you will experience this promise fully if you’re not doing so already.

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

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