WE HAVE A CHOICE, BE WILLING AND OBEY, OR RESIST AND REBEL
SCRIPTURE:
“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. 18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” 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 good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:16—20 NIV)
OBSERVATION:
God is extending an invitation to the children of Israel to come and reason with him. God was willing to settle the matter with the Israelites on having the right relationship with him and others. He spoke to them about their responsibility of coming clean with sinful and rebellious attitudes. God is more than willing to have a relationship based on his righteousness. The first thing to do to establish a relationship with God starts with me making the right choice by obeying what God lays out for the connection.
- WASH AND MAKE YOURSELF CLEAN
- TAKE YOUR EVIL DEEDS OUT OF MY SIGHT
- STOP DOING WRONG
- LEARN TO DO RIGHT AND SEEK JUSTICE
Before doing anything for God, I must come clean and live a pure life. There is no way I can try to walk with God and yet engage my life with evil, sensual, and wicked things. God laid out the proper attitude in walking with him. The Bible speaks seriously about sinful matters.
The second part concerns my duty to serve God by serving others. Now that we learn what is right and how to live right, we can express that to serve others who need help.
- DEFEND THE OPPRESSED
- TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS
- PLEAD THE CASE OF THE WIDOW
God is a reasonable Father who cares deeply about my life and His purpose in my life. God is very personable. When we do all that God asked us to do, He invites us to come and reason and discuss the matter. Dealing with myself and the depth of my sin is never something I can do with my power. Only God knows how to remove and cleanse me of my sins. God is gracious even when I fall in sin.
I learned today that the key to receiving cleansing for my sins and doing what God asks me to do is responding to this question; “IF YOU ARE WILLING AND OBEDIENT.” This is the key to a cleansed, blessed life in Christ. If I am willing and obedient, blessings will always follow me. But if I RESIST AND REBEL, the opposite happens. God always makes the conditions clear and the consequences of my choice. I learn that all I must do is either be WILLING AND OBEY OR RESIST AND REBEL. The options are so clear to decide upon.
APPLICATION:
I choose not to resist and rebel but to learn to do what is right. I decide to do what God asked me to do, even if it is difficult. I choose to serve Jesus by serving others, especially those who need my help.
