Instead Of Thorns...

Isaiah 55 highlights the compassionate love of God for the worn out, sinful, idolatrous people of Israel.. They had failed God miserably, yet God calls them to return to Him.. to SEEK Him while He may be found. God doesn't operate the way that we do...verses 8 - 9 explain God's ways, thoughts, and love are higher ... greater.. than man's.... verse 13 contains a great promise for His people... Instead of thorns, God will give cypress... Instead of briers, a myrtle... wonderful plants and trees instead of the thorns and briers brought into the world by Adam's (and our) sin (Genesis 3:17)... God in His glorious compassion offers us the same promise as well... Seek the Lord... Call upon Him... He will take the thorns and briers our sins have caused and through the death of His Son, make beautiful, life - giving trees reflecting His glory... Abundant pardon and forgiveness is found there... 

“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
  (Isaiah 55:6-13 ESV)

The World Could Not Contain the Books

"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." 
                                                                                                - John 21:25 (ESV) 

Human Anger and the Wrath of God

I found this helpful article from Jared Wilson. It is an excerpt from his book "Seven Daily Sins"





"It is because of Jesus and his cross that Paul writes in Colossians 3:8, “But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.”
Wrath belongs to God, not to us. For this reason, we must keep a close eye on our anger and dwell in the truth of God’s Word daily to provide fertile ground in our hearts for the Spirit to produce the fruit of gentleness, peace, and self-control in us.
When we become eager to enact God’s wrath through personal vengeance, it’s often because we distrust God’s ability to deal with injustice Himself. Or we distrust Him to do it in a way that satisfies us. When we lash out, fight back, take up zealous causes, angrily pontificate, feud on Facebook, tsk-tsk on Twitter, and berate on blogs, aren’t we, in essence, saying God needs us to set people straight? All too often what we’re really protecting isn’t God’s honor, but our reputation or influence.
Jesus’ approach to personal wrongs would have us conquer the injustice by embracing its satisfaction at the cross. So instead of attacking the guy who takes our shirt, we offer him our coat, too. I’ll admit that Paul’s questions in 1 Corinthians 6:7 sting a bit: “Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather be cheated?”
If the cross is true, if God is sovereign—why not?
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord (Romans 12:19).
The reality is that whatever wrath remains to dispense after the satisfaction of the cross will be dispensed by Jesus Himself upon His return. The Book of Revelation doesn’t portray a passive, excuse-tolerating King who gives everybody a hall pass whether they love Him or not. Instead, He arrives on a white horse with a sword, vanquishing His enemies. But He does this, not us. So if we will truly trust that vengeance is His, that he will repay, we have all the power in the Spirit to let it go. 
And honestly, that’s what some Christians need to do right now: Let. It. Go. Because God won’t leave any loose ends." 
Jared C. Wilson, "Seven Daily Sins: How the Gospel Redeems Our Deepest Desires"
(Nashville: Threads, 2012), 112-113.

Love This Prayer!

The honesty and humility of this prayer touches me and reminds me that I am in the same boat... This should be MY prayer.... This should be YOUR prayer.

“O God, I have not produced a single righteous moment in my entire life. I have overrated my virtue and underestimated the depth and power of my sinfulness. I am deeply corrupt. O holy Christ, be all my righteousness! Cover all my sins with your merit. And then work your holiness deep down into the secret recesses of my soul, where I cannot put it, where no therapist can put it, where no drug can put it, but where it must penetrate if I am to be the holy person I ought to be, was made to be and long to be. In your holy name. Amen.” 
 - Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr. , "A Passion for God: Prayers and Meditations on the Book of Romans"  Wheaton, Illinois . Crossway Books, 1994, pg. 102 

Romans 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1 (ESV)

“If you have got hold of this idea you will have discovered the most glorious truth you will ever know in your life. Most Christian people are miserable, most Christian people fail, and fall into sin, because they are depressed, because they allow the devil to depress them. ’Ah,’ they say, ’ I have sinned, so how can I make these great statements?’ Have you never heard of the word ’faith?’  This verse is the answer of faith to all our troubles; this is what God tells us about ourselves; and He puts it in this absolute, complete, and certain manner.” 

- D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 7:1-8:4

When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares that we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: 'I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means. For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Where he is, there I shall be also.
                                                          - Martin Luther

The Lies We Tell Ourselves....

as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:10-18 ESV)