Isaiah 7:13-17
13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria."
I read this passage this morning. I was surprised by verse 15. I have always thought of Jesus as fully man and fully God. I am not sure, but I might need to change that thinking after really looking at this verse. By the way, I know I have read this verse before. I put a question mark in the margin of my Bible but I don't think I thought about the verse like I thought about it this morning.
I never thought about Jesus as an infant not knowing enough to choose between right and wrong. When I think of God, I think of omniscience. My brain can't understand an infant being fully man and fully God and not knowing enough to choose between right and wrong.
This verse also made me think of the phrase I heard a lot earlier in my life - the age of accountability. No one ever had a good definition of what that meant. Based on a quick online search of the NIV for the word "accountability", it is not there.
If it relates to knowing enough to be able to reject wrong, think about how young little people are when they look at you after you have said "NO" and they smirk and do it anyway. We all know they know what the difference between right and wrong. I doubt anybody who has ever heard discussion about the age of accountability would ever say it occurs at this early stage of life. Should we change our thinking? If we did, what would it do to your thoughts about baptism?
My head is spinning right now so it is a good time to quit typing!
Friday, November 11, 2005
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Hodge Podge
Amos 5
18 Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD ? That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
25 "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god which you made for yourselves.
That convicts me! It makes me look at my life and what I do that is so foreign to God. I place such importance on assembling for "worship" and forget that my life is to be a worship and the assembling is a time to build others up, worship and be built up to go out and make a difference.
Isaiah 5
26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue.
30 In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.
I can just imagine God whistling calling these destructive forces to dinner!!! The banner, in my mind, would read "Come and Get It!!!" Thankfully, God provided for us a way to avoid being dinner.
Isaiah 1
18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Talk about intimidating - actually trying to reason with God!! Yet, this week I said that when I get to heaven, I will ask God about why he made man if he knew before creating him that he would have to send Jesus.
How do I stay confident about my salvation through Jesus yet not arrogant resulting in me becoming a dinner morsel?
18 Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD ? That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
25 "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god which you made for yourselves.
That convicts me! It makes me look at my life and what I do that is so foreign to God. I place such importance on assembling for "worship" and forget that my life is to be a worship and the assembling is a time to build others up, worship and be built up to go out and make a difference.
Isaiah 5
26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue.
30 In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.
I can just imagine God whistling calling these destructive forces to dinner!!! The banner, in my mind, would read "Come and Get It!!!" Thankfully, God provided for us a way to avoid being dinner.
Isaiah 1
18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Talk about intimidating - actually trying to reason with God!! Yet, this week I said that when I get to heaven, I will ask God about why he made man if he knew before creating him that he would have to send Jesus.
How do I stay confident about my salvation through Jesus yet not arrogant resulting in me becoming a dinner morsel?
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Why Do You Think God . . .
In the account of the flood, Genesis 6: 5-8, I find it interesting the description of God's feelings in verse 6.
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
How much more intense do you think God's feelings were when He had to turn his back on Jesus when Jesus took on our sins on the cross?
Before creation, God knew he would need to send Jesus to reconcile man.
1 Peter 1:18-21 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
I know this is a strange question but why do you think God "put himself through" the pain and grieving of making man only to see him fail and then having to give up Jesus in order to save man?
Does it intensify your understanding of God's love for you as a person? Think about the grief parents feel sometimes from their kids which they brought into the world. I bet some parents would choose differently if they actually had "do overs". God had the ability not to even worry about a "do over" yet He still chose to create me. I don't understand God. Thanks be to Him that I don't. It would be WAY TOO MUCH!!!
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
How much more intense do you think God's feelings were when He had to turn his back on Jesus when Jesus took on our sins on the cross?
Before creation, God knew he would need to send Jesus to reconcile man.
1 Peter 1:18-21 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
I know this is a strange question but why do you think God "put himself through" the pain and grieving of making man only to see him fail and then having to give up Jesus in order to save man?
Does it intensify your understanding of God's love for you as a person? Think about the grief parents feel sometimes from their kids which they brought into the world. I bet some parents would choose differently if they actually had "do overs". God had the ability not to even worry about a "do over" yet He still chose to create me. I don't understand God. Thanks be to Him that I don't. It would be WAY TOO MUCH!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)