Isaiah 64:11 (AV) — 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
Isaiah foresaw the day when the temple in Jerusalem would be burned to the ground. Worship would be outlawed. Judah would be carried captive into enemy territory, and all that they enjoyed and had taken for granted would be gone. That day came for them just as Isaiah foretold. The old saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
We take for granted the worship houses in our land. We treat them as if they are “just a building.” I know they are, that they are not the church, but when the church gathers therein, its a holy house because it is set apart for the worship of the One True God. It is beautiful because Jesus manifests the Truth of His Presence to us as we gather. How is it that we treat it flippantly? How is it that we can find any excuse to miss gathering together?
We take praising the God of our fathers for granted. Our fore-bearers paid a very high price to obtain our freedoms to worship and sing the praises of Jehovah. They paid the price of blood. We sing by rote, and we sing a special, but our praise should be a sacrifice of our hearts poured in with it. Jeremiah 33:11 tells us, “Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.”
We take our pleasant things for granted. Those tokens of comfort, i.e., air conditioning, padded pews, heat in the winter, a roof to protect us from the elements. What about the luxuries of having Bibles? I heard about a Chinese person in Communist China who found a Gospel tract and a Bible leaf and brought it home. He read it and was saved. He secretly began carefully sharing his faith with family and friends, leading them to faith in Christ. All he had was a Gospel tract and a page out of the Bible! Where are our Bibles? Collecting dust? God, help us!
O for grace to love Jesus when times are good! The most dangerous times of faithfulness to Christ aren’t when things are bad. Its when our lives are prosperous. Such was the case with Israel.
Deuteronomy 31:20 (AV) — 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
O for the mercy to cling to Him when the going gets tough!
In Good Times and Bad
07/27/2020
Day 208: In Good Times and Bad
Isaiah 64:11 (AV) — 11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
Isaiah foresaw the day when the temple in Jerusalem would be burned to the ground. Worship would be outlawed. Judah would be carried captive into enemy territory, and all that they enjoyed and had taken for granted would be gone. That day came for them just as Isaiah foretold. The old saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
We take for granted the worship houses in our land. We treat them as if they are “just a building.” I know they are, that they are not the church, but when the church gathers therein, its a holy house because it is set apart for the worship of the One True God. It is beautiful because Jesus manifests the Truth of His Presence to us as we gather. How is it that we treat it flippantly? How is it that we can find any excuse to miss gathering together?
We take praising the God of our fathers for granted. Our fore-bearers paid a very high price to obtain our freedoms to worship and sing the praises of Jehovah. They paid the price of blood. We sing by rote, and we sing a special, but our praise should be a sacrifice of our hearts poured in with it. Jeremiah 33:11 tells us, “Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.”
We take our pleasant things for granted. Those tokens of comfort, i.e., air conditioning, padded pews, heat in the winter, a roof to protect us from the elements. What about the luxuries of having Bibles? I heard about a Chinese person in Communist China who found a Gospel tract and a Bible leaf and brought it home. He read it and was saved. He secretly began carefully sharing his faith with family and friends, leading them to faith in Christ. All he had was a Gospel tract and a page out of the Bible! Where are our Bibles? Collecting dust? God, help us!
O for grace to love Jesus when times are good! The most dangerous times of faithfulness to Christ aren’t when things are bad. Its when our lives are prosperous. Such was the case with Israel.
Deuteronomy 31:20 (AV) — 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
O for the mercy to cling to Him when the going gets tough!
You are God alone
From before time began
You are on Your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone
You’re unchangeable
You’re unshakeable
You’re unstoppable
That’s what You are
You are God alone