Isaiah 46:12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness.
Well my Friends, I hope you enjoyed the partying, down Buccoo and elsewhere, cause that’s it! Time to get our noses back to the grindstone and continue the Lord’s work with even more zeal and zest than before. This past Easter weekend should have been an eye opening, wake up call for all of us believers, solidifying our faith in Jesus, renewing our commitments to Him, as we played out what He went through two millennia ago for our benefit. That’s the beauty of the different seasons in the Church’s calendar; they all serve to remind us of some purpose or event in Christ’s earthly journey, which revitalizes and refreshes us, raises our zealous activity, causing us to go out on to the battlefield and wage stronger warfare against the enemy and his evil allies. Hence the cry from Isaiah today: ‘Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness.’ Yes my people, it’s those stubborn minded, hardhearted unbelievers, who either don’t know right from wrong, or just practice wrong for their own selfish benefit, that our Lord wants us to go after, to bring to their awareness His awesome power and unrivalled generosity to those who LOVE and obey Him. Isaiah 46 deals with the Lord’s power and the weakness of idols. ‘Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth.’ (vs.1) Those were two prominent Babylonian deities, but they eventually bowed to the Lord, re Nebuchadnezzar’s confession in Daniel after He’d denied our God, ended up crazy and eating grass. ‘And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.’ (Dan.4:34) And all God’s people said, ‘Amen!’ So my Friends, if our God could humble such a powerful wealthy ruler into acknowledging that He, the Most High God Jehovah is omnipotent and everlasting, it’s easy for Him to beat us ordinary mortals into submission. But that is not His desire. He desires us to come to Him willingly, of our own accord. Because we know of, and want, His LOVE, goodness, mercy, forgiveness, His might and power. That we desire to rest in His comforting arms, under the shelter of His protective wings. In Psalm 76, the Psalmist, Asaph, talks about our victorious God, thus: ‘Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.’ (Ps.76:4-5) Oh my brethren, that’s the gospel truth! Our God is more glorious and excellent than heaps of the spoils of war. Meanwhile the stubborn and hardhearted have been plundered and pillaged, have sunk into a deep, tired sleep, and none of the mighty men can even lift up their hands to war anymore. Why? Because our Lord God is omnipotent! He proudly proclaims: ‘To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?…For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.’ (Is.46:5,9,10) Wow! What a powerful testimony from our God, my people! And it’s not like we haven’t proven His words to be true. From the very beginning to now, His pronouncements and promises have all been truthfully verified. So why do we still fight against Him eh? Why do we listen to that foolish fool, Lucifer, who had it made as God’s right hand man, but figured he could overthrow His Creator, His Lord and Sovereign God? Amongst men, the pupil might become more adept than the master. But never will man best His Creator. But it seems some of us still need to try. However, in His unceasing goodness, the Lord calls all men to repentance. As Bruh Paul says; ‘For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.’ (Rom.10:3) That’s a big mistake my people, one of disastrous proportions. But with our God, it’s never too late. As Job’s friend, Elihu reasoned: ‘He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man. To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.’ (Job 33:27-30) Oh people, what more do we need to convince us of the power, goodness, mercy, LOVE and tender-hearted forgiveness of our God eh? What will it take for us to seriously acknowledge His omnipotence, and cause us to humble ourselves before Him in praise, worship, thanksgiving and glorification? It’s all right there for us to see, and it’s up to each individual to accept or deny Him. We are all responsible for our own souls. But as the prophet warned; ‘Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness.’ Oh Friends, the price of disobedience is enormous; the wages of sin is death, so please, let’s make the right decision today; accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and live forever. He is the only way! Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
Well my Friends, I hope you enjoyed the partying, down Buccoo and elsewhere, cause that’s it! Time to get our noses back to the grindstone and continue the Lord’s work with even more zeal and zest than before. This past Easter weekend should have been an eye opening, wake up call for all of us believers, solidifying our faith in Jesus, renewing our commitments to Him, as we played out what He went through two millennia ago for our benefit. That’s the beauty of the different seasons in the Church’s calendar; they all serve to remind us of some purpose or event in Christ’s earthly journey, which revitalizes and refreshes us, raises our zealous activity, causing us to go out on to the battlefield and wage stronger warfare against the enemy and his evil allies. Hence the cry from Isaiah today: ‘Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness.’ Yes my people, it’s those stubborn minded, hardhearted unbelievers, who either don’t know right from wrong, or just practice wrong for their own selfish benefit, that our Lord wants us to go after, to bring to their awareness His awesome power and unrivalled generosity to those who LOVE and obey Him. Isaiah 46 deals with the Lord’s power and the weakness of idols. ‘Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth.’ (vs.1) Those were two prominent Babylonian deities, but they eventually bowed to the Lord, re Nebuchadnezzar’s confession in Daniel after He’d denied our God, ended up crazy and eating grass. ‘And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.’ (Dan.4:34) And all God’s people said, ‘Amen!’ So my Friends, if our God could humble such a powerful wealthy ruler into acknowledging that He, the Most High God Jehovah is omnipotent and everlasting, it’s easy for Him to beat us ordinary mortals into submission. But that is not His desire. He desires us to come to Him willingly, of our own accord. Because we know of, and want, His LOVE, goodness, mercy, forgiveness, His might and power. That we desire to rest in His comforting arms, under the shelter of His protective wings. In Psalm 76, the Psalmist, Asaph, talks about our victorious God, thus: ‘Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.’ (Ps.76:4-5) Oh my brethren, that’s the gospel truth! Our God is more glorious and excellent than heaps of the spoils of war. Meanwhile the stubborn and hardhearted have been plundered and pillaged, have sunk into a deep, tired sleep, and none of the mighty men can even lift up their hands to war anymore. Why? Because our Lord God is omnipotent! He proudly proclaims: ‘To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?…For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.’ (Is.46:5,9,10) Wow! What a powerful testimony from our God, my people! And it’s not like we haven’t proven His words to be true. From the very beginning to now, His pronouncements and promises have all been truthfully verified. So why do we still fight against Him eh? Why do we listen to that foolish fool, Lucifer, who had it made as God’s right hand man, but figured he could overthrow His Creator, His Lord and Sovereign God? Amongst men, the pupil might become more adept than the master. But never will man best His Creator. But it seems some of us still need to try. However, in His unceasing goodness, the Lord calls all men to repentance. As Bruh Paul says; ‘For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.’ (Rom.10:3) That’s a big mistake my people, one of disastrous proportions. But with our God, it’s never too late. As Job’s friend, Elihu reasoned: ‘He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man. To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.’ (Job 33:27-30) Oh people, what more do we need to convince us of the power, goodness, mercy, LOVE and tender-hearted forgiveness of our God eh? What will it take for us to seriously acknowledge His omnipotence, and cause us to humble ourselves before Him in praise, worship, thanksgiving and glorification? It’s all right there for us to see, and it’s up to each individual to accept or deny Him. We are all responsible for our own souls. But as the prophet warned; ‘Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness.’ Oh Friends, the price of disobedience is enormous; the wages of sin is death, so please, let’s make the right decision today; accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and live forever. He is the only way! Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
SCRIP-BITS 