Isaiah 55 God's grace

6Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

7Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.9“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

Thoughts: God's thoughts are above our thoughts.  We think that when we do something wrong we should be punished.  God thinks thoughts of grace and love.  We think there is no hope, but the hope is found when we turn away from wickedness and turn toward God by listening to His Word.  His Word will bear fruit and bring us more than we deserve.  God longs for us to turn to Him that we might go out in joy and be led forth in peace.  

Prayer: Lord,thank you for your call to turn to you. Be gracious to us and we will bless your name.  

12/5/12- Shiny Christmas

Wednesday- December 5

Isaiah 55:2-3 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food, ³Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Shiny Christmas

Sometimes the glitz and glamor of our commercialized Christmas celebrations can both attract and repel me.  It is all so shiny and bright, so sparkling and beguiling. As beautiful as a mall Christmas scene can be, it is so far away from the squalor of the first Christmas.  A scared peasant girl recently married and obviously too pregnant gives birth in a stable surrounded by animals in an occupied country. It is a scene of scarcity, poverty, and desperation.  And yet here in this unlike place are beauty and treasure beyond our imaginings! Here is the miracle of the Incarnation – God with us – Emmanuel – not us at our best, but at our worst.  God’s love sees us at our most unlovable and feels only compassion and mercy for us in our pitiful state. The baby in the manger is Living Water and the Bread of Life. He is the Crucified King who conquers death and everything that brings us misery!  This Christmas let us pass a bit on the glitz and glamor and instead delight in the rich food and abundant treasures of the Lord!

Prayer: Lord, in the glitzy and tacky world, help me to keep my eyes on what is pure and good.

Application: Pick one day during advent in which you will refrain from the crowds, the traffic, and even from TV.
In its place, take 30 minutes on that day to do something to restore your soul: read a good book (Isaiah’s prophecies are good starts). 

Infant holy, infant lowly, for His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing, Little knowing Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging angels singing, noels ringing, tidings bringing.
Christ the babe is Lord of all. (PH #37- Polish Carol translated 1925)