“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’Then said I, ‘Here am I; send me.’ ” (Isaiah 6:8)
The seraphim have the responsibility of hovering over the throne of God. We know that God does not need them, and He does not need any of us. He does not need the universe. No matter what He creates or if He allowed all His creation to disappear, He would still be God. And yet the seraphim have the vocation of guarding God’s holiness.
We have our jobs too. After the seraph placed a coal on Isaiah’s tongue, God asked a rhetorical question. Any question He asks is rhetorical. Since He already knows the answer, He asks to help us get our hearts right. He is running a volunteer army, not a draft board.He knows our answer to every question before we ask; yet in His perfect wisdom, He does not make us feel coerced. After Isaiah was cleansed of unrighteousness, God asked,“Whom shall I send?” Then He went on to ask, “Who will go for us?” (I believe that the word “us” referred to the triune nature of God.)
For the first time in his life, Isaiah was learning what he was supposed to do . . . what his mission in life . . . his purpose . . . his reason to be was. “Here am I: send me!” Can’t you just imagine that he shouted those words with reverent enthusiasm? It was not a tentative response. He was a transformed man. His unclean tongue became a spirit-filled, heavensent flame.
At Christmastime we love to listen to Handel’s Messiah. Most of the words in that magnificent cantata are quoted directly from Isaiah’s book, which foretold the events of the coming of the Messiah to the earth. Also he prophesied much about the end times. Few men have been more inspired by the Holy Spirit than Isaiah was.
The mission God gave him on the day of the vision was a strange one. He was to go and tell people about the Lord, but God let him know that most of them would not believe. (6:9) His job was to tell, whereas the Holy Spirit’s role is to convict. God told Isaiah to go to the children of Israel. He told us to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to all
nations.
--And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Like the seraphim and like Isaiah, we need to have an attitude toward God that says “Only Thou art holy” and “Here am I.” After we have given our hearts to Him, He will commission us to do what He has planned for us in His own way and His own time. Meanwhile, we must pray with bold fervor, “Send me!”
Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
June 15, Purification by Fire
Feeling sad because King Uzziah had died, Isaiah, who had been trying to be a righteous man in his own way, went into the temple (not the Holy of Holies) and was astonished to see the Lord on a high throne. The six-winged seraphim were above the throne. (Isaiah 6)
In the eyes of his contemporaries, Isaiah had lived a righteous life. It appears that he had followed the codes of behavior outlined for him as a man in Israel. Having followed the appropriate customs, practiced the established rituals, and walked in the path of his own righteousness, shouldn’t he have found himself worthy? But in the presence of the glory of God, he suddenly knew otherwise.
Realizing his own unworthiness before the Lord, Isaiah said, “Woe is me!” He cried out that he was a man of unclean lips living in a people of unclean lips and that his eyes had seen the King Jehovah. He was in agony under the bright light of God’s glory. When he saw God as completely powerful and completely holy, he saw himself as he truly was . . . a sinner. The habits of his speech represented the vileness of his heart. Even though he knew he had not been a bad man in human terms, he realized how flawed he was when he compared himself to his perfect God.
--Then said I, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
--Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isaiah 6:5-6)
A reference to baptism by fire is made in a comment by John the Baptist, who said that he baptized with water but that Jesus baptized with fire and with the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16) The closer we move to the Lord, the more we see His perfection, and the more we realize that the only righteousness we can claim is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
With Isaiah, we find ourselves expanding our sense of reality. The triune God is real, heaven is real, and the cleansing power of salvation is real. God the Father is so holy that He cannot tolerate the sight of our sins. When He looks at us, He sees His perfect Son. Like the seraphim, we need to cry out, “Holy, holy, holy!”
Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?
In the eyes of his contemporaries, Isaiah had lived a righteous life. It appears that he had followed the codes of behavior outlined for him as a man in Israel. Having followed the appropriate customs, practiced the established rituals, and walked in the path of his own righteousness, shouldn’t he have found himself worthy? But in the presence of the glory of God, he suddenly knew otherwise.
Realizing his own unworthiness before the Lord, Isaiah said, “Woe is me!” He cried out that he was a man of unclean lips living in a people of unclean lips and that his eyes had seen the King Jehovah. He was in agony under the bright light of God’s glory. When he saw God as completely powerful and completely holy, he saw himself as he truly was . . . a sinner. The habits of his speech represented the vileness of his heart. Even though he knew he had not been a bad man in human terms, he realized how flawed he was when he compared himself to his perfect God.
--Then said I, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
--Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isaiah 6:5-6)
A reference to baptism by fire is made in a comment by John the Baptist, who said that he baptized with water but that Jesus baptized with fire and with the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16) The closer we move to the Lord, the more we see His perfection, and the more we realize that the only righteousness we can claim is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
With Isaiah, we find ourselves expanding our sense of reality. The triune God is real, heaven is real, and the cleansing power of salvation is real. God the Father is so holy that He cannot tolerate the sight of our sins. When He looks at us, He sees His perfect Son. Like the seraphim, we need to cry out, “Holy, holy, holy!”
Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?
Monday, June 14, 2010
June 14, Seraphim, Isaiah, and You!
What about you? How much does God love you? What special mission does He have for you?
A man who recognized he was a mere sinner stood in the presence of the Lord God Almighty in the temple. The glory of God filled the place. There were angels called seraphim there. He described them in detail. Read about it in Isaiah 6. The man Isaiah had no reason to lie. Read his story and believe it. Isaiah discovered how much God loved him and how much God would ask him to do.
Studying angels, we find them amazing! Although they are impressive, they never point to themselves. They point us to the Lord. When we catch a glimpse of God, we realize that we are inadequate in our natural state to approach Him. But we must! He has revealed Himself to us, and He will some day bring us into the presence of His glory. Ironically while we feel so deficient because of our vile, sinful nature, we have an urgency to ask Him to change us and use us. We cannot escape our potential for service.
He tells us that we are created in His image for His purpose. Only through the aacrifice of the Son can we find the peace of God’s presence.
To learn more about what happened to Isaiah, go to the June 13 devotional in Do You Know How God Loves You?
Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?
A man who recognized he was a mere sinner stood in the presence of the Lord God Almighty in the temple. The glory of God filled the place. There were angels called seraphim there. He described them in detail. Read about it in Isaiah 6. The man Isaiah had no reason to lie. Read his story and believe it. Isaiah discovered how much God loved him and how much God would ask him to do.
Studying angels, we find them amazing! Although they are impressive, they never point to themselves. They point us to the Lord. When we catch a glimpse of God, we realize that we are inadequate in our natural state to approach Him. But we must! He has revealed Himself to us, and He will some day bring us into the presence of His glory. Ironically while we feel so deficient because of our vile, sinful nature, we have an urgency to ask Him to change us and use us. We cannot escape our potential for service.
He tells us that we are created in His image for His purpose. Only through the aacrifice of the Son can we find the peace of God’s presence.
To learn more about what happened to Isaiah, go to the June 13 devotional in Do You Know How God Loves You?
Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Send Me!
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then said I, 'Here am I; send me.' ” (Isaiah 6:8)
The seraphim have the responsibility of hovering over the throne of God. We know that God does not need them, and He does not need any of us. He does not need the universe. No matter what He creates or if He allowed all His creation to disappear, He would still be God. And yet the seraphim have the vocation of guarding God's holiness.
We have our jobs too. After the seraph placed a coal on Isaiah's tongue, God asked a rhetorical question. Any question He asks is rhetorical. Since He already knows the answer, He asks to help us get our hearts right. He is running a volunteer army, not a draft board. He knows our answer to every question before we ask; yet in His perfect wisdom, He does not make us feel coerced. After Isaiah was cleansed of unrighteousness, God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Then He went on to ask, “Who will go for us?” (I believe that the word “us” referred to the triune nature of God.)
For the first time in his life, Isaiah was learning what he was supposed to do . . . what his mission in life . . . his purpose . . . his reason to be was. “Here am I: send me!” Can't you just imagine that he shouted those words with reverent enthusiasm. It was not a tentative response. He was a transformed man. His unclean tongue became a spirit-filled, heaven-sent flame.
At Christmastime we love to listen to Handel's Messiah. Most of the words in that magnificent cantata are quoted directly from Isaiah's book, which foretold the events of the coming of the Messiah to the earth. Also he prophesied much about the end times. Few men have been more inspired by the Holy Spirit than Isaiah was.
The mission God gave him on the day of the vision was a strange one. He was to go and tell people about the Lord, but God let him know that most of them would not believe. (6:9) His job was to tell, whereas the Holy Spirit's role is to convict. God told Isaiah to go to the children of Israel. He told us to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to everyone. (Mark 16:15)
Like the seraphim and like Isaiah, we need to have an attitude toward God that says “Only Thou art holy” and “Here am I.” After we have given our hearts to Him, He will commission us to do what He has planned for us in His own way and His own time. Meanwhile, we must pray with bold fervor, “Send me!”
The seraphim have the responsibility of hovering over the throne of God. We know that God does not need them, and He does not need any of us. He does not need the universe. No matter what He creates or if He allowed all His creation to disappear, He would still be God. And yet the seraphim have the vocation of guarding God's holiness.
We have our jobs too. After the seraph placed a coal on Isaiah's tongue, God asked a rhetorical question. Any question He asks is rhetorical. Since He already knows the answer, He asks to help us get our hearts right. He is running a volunteer army, not a draft board. He knows our answer to every question before we ask; yet in His perfect wisdom, He does not make us feel coerced. After Isaiah was cleansed of unrighteousness, God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Then He went on to ask, “Who will go for us?” (I believe that the word “us” referred to the triune nature of God.)
For the first time in his life, Isaiah was learning what he was supposed to do . . . what his mission in life . . . his purpose . . . his reason to be was. “Here am I: send me!” Can't you just imagine that he shouted those words with reverent enthusiasm. It was not a tentative response. He was a transformed man. His unclean tongue became a spirit-filled, heaven-sent flame.
At Christmastime we love to listen to Handel's Messiah. Most of the words in that magnificent cantata are quoted directly from Isaiah's book, which foretold the events of the coming of the Messiah to the earth. Also he prophesied much about the end times. Few men have been more inspired by the Holy Spirit than Isaiah was.
The mission God gave him on the day of the vision was a strange one. He was to go and tell people about the Lord, but God let him know that most of them would not believe. (6:9) His job was to tell, whereas the Holy Spirit's role is to convict. God told Isaiah to go to the children of Israel. He told us to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to everyone. (Mark 16:15)
Like the seraphim and like Isaiah, we need to have an attitude toward God that says “Only Thou art holy” and “Here am I.” After we have given our hearts to Him, He will commission us to do what He has planned for us in His own way and His own time. Meanwhile, we must pray with bold fervor, “Send me!”
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