Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 12

The Return

Read Isaiah chapter 12 here.

We left off in the last chapter with God's promise to reunite His children from all corners of the earth. In this chapter God makes Israel a new promise, one that hinges on the 'reunion promise' of the previous chapter. I'm calling it a joy promise. God promises that one day He will be with them again and there will be such joy that everyone will sing. God promises comfort and happiness after times of separation and war and captivity, He promises a new time of praise. He will be their victory and their salvation, He will reunite Himself with His lost children. His people would once again do what they were created to do, what every fiber of their beings longed to do, they would praise God. They had been away from Him for so long but now, with such joy and release, they would sing because they were no longer apart. They would sing of God's power and might, and praise Him for dwelling among them once again. That was God's new promise, the promise of a victory song.

It isn't hard to apply this story to our own hearts. If you have ever walked through a time where you felt far from God then you know the joy that comes when you are reunited with Him. Maybe you are walking that lonely path now and you can't seem to feel or see or hear God. Try lifting up a song of praise. Let the heaviness fall away from your heart and let it be replaced with a new song of joy. Though it might not be easy at first, you will find that there is something natural and freeing about pure, unrestrained praise. It's because that is the way God made us. We will connect with our creator when we take part in the act of praise that we were created for. 

God's heart longs for our praise and our hearts were made to give it. 

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 11

A Remnant of Hope

First read Isaiah chapter 11 and then join me back here. 

From the remnant comes a promise. From hope comes greater hope. Israel was cut down to a stump, destroyed, but for a remnant of the faithful. From this stump a new branch will grow from the old root.  A man of hope, a perfectly fair judge who would rule forever. In the time of His reign peace would fall and all of nature would return to harmony. Wild animals would be gentle, "The Lion will eat hay like a cow." Children would play with dangerous animals without harm. What a world! This must be a picture of what Eden was like. So beautiful, so perfect, so like God. My favorite part is verse nine, listen to this;

"Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
 for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD."

Beautiful. Such a beautiful promise.

This branch, this man, was the heir to David's throne, the Messiah. His reign  would bring salvation to all the world. God promised that one day, because of the Messiah, He would bring the remnant of His scattered people from every corner of the earth. This is what Christ will do when He comes back to rule the Earth. He will gather all His people. He promises that He will make a way for their return. Whatever it takes He will bring His own back to Him. Even if it means rerouting the largest river on earth to get them there. (Read verse 15 again) God's heart longs to be reunited with His children.

Chapter of His Heart: Isaiah 10

The Just, The Humble, and The Faithful

You can read Isaiah 10 here.
God targets three different groups of people in this chapter and I want to spend some time on each group. Lets try to remember that even though God was speaking to a specific group of people in the old testament, if we are honest with ourselves, we can find traces of their traits in all of us.  I was in a church service once and the preacher approached the pulpit and said "Good evening, before we begin I would like you all to put away your shovels." He said it as naturally as if he were asking you to turn your phone on silent for the service. When he looked up and saw that no one had any idea what he was talking about, the preacher explained that too often when we hear a sermon or read a word from God we think "I know who he's preaching to" or "So-and-so needs to hear this, maybe it would straighten  him/her out". We come to church with our shovels out, so to speak, and when the preacher gives the sermon we scoop it up with our shovels and toss it on someone we think needs to hear it. We don't stop to examine our own lives to see if the words pertain to us before we self-righteously toss the message to that "sinner" in the next pew. So today as you take a minute to read this chapter, put your shovel down and let God's word sink into your heart and bring to the surface anything you may need to attend to.

The first group of people we hear about are the Judges of Israel. In Bible times Judges were appointed by God over every tribe in the nation to govern the people. God saw that the Judges were becoming corrupt and dealing unfairly with the people. God promises that these unjust acts would be dealt with and the people who committed them would be punished.

"What will you do when I punish you…To whom will you turn for help? Where will your treasures be safe? -Isaiah 10:3

God could not tolerate injustice. Those people, and the things those people owned, were destroyed. When you deal with people, are you fair? Are you looking out for others or for yourself? Remember the Judges when you think you can get away with treating people unfairly, because God will not let you go unchecked.

The Assyrians are the second group God uses as an example, and they represent people who take credit for God's works.  God had used the Assyrians as a tool to punish Israel for her disobedience. God allowed them take Israel captive, but Assyria was taking the credit. Arrogantly they boasted of their strength and what they had accomplished, even vowing to destroy Israel's "god". They didn't realize that God was the deciding factor in their victory. If it were not for God's hand moving in their favor the Assyrians never would have made it past the city limits.

"But can an ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself?" -Isaiah 10:15

We never do anything unless it is in, through, with, or by God. We couldn't draw another breath without His power. Things don't just happen, God happens. Assyria was destroyed because of it's pride in it's own strength. The Bible has a lot to say about pride, and probably one of the most well known passages on the topic is Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." That's exactly what happened to the Assyrians and that's why we can't let pride touch our hearts. The moment we believe we can do anything in our own strength is the moment we fall.

The last group is the faithful followers of Israel. Lets flash back to Isaiah 6, God left us a little clue to His plan when He promised a remnant.

"..but as a Terebinth or Oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel's stump will be a holy seed."-Isaiah 6:13

 After all the punishment and plundering of Israel that was to come, God would honor those who were steadfast in their faith. They would be the remnant, they would be the holy seed. Flash forward to chapter 10 and the remnant is mentioned again. God has already decided to destroy the land of Israel but He promises hope to the faithful. Again He calls them "the remnant" and again He promises that they will be spared. They will return to God and to their land. The definition of the word remnant is 'a fragment, a scrap or a trace'. Sometimes it may seem like you are the remnant, like you are the faithful follower and everyone else has jumped ship. It may seem like you are being faithful but you are still being punished with those who are not. Remember the Israelites who were faithful. Because they never gave up their trust in God, He used them to grow a new nation of believers. Out of the scraps God brought hope.

I hope we didn't let our shovels sneak back out while we were reading, because honestly I think this chapter was a reminder we all could use. When the opportunity arises, be the one to deal fairly even when others aren't. Because God's heart loves the just. If someone compliments you on an achievement, remember who's strength got the job done, and give Him the credit. Because God's heart empowers yours. Those who follow faithfully will be remembered by God, those who are the remnant will be restored. Because God's heart honors the faithful.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 9

I know, I know….I'm late. To be completely honest I've been a bit distracted by the new white world outside and Friday morning completely flew by. If you've been watching the weather the past few days then you probably know that Ohio is buried somewhere under, at least, five inches of ice and snow. So I'm calling it a snow delay. Maybe some pictures will make up for my forgetfulness. :D (Scroll down to see the winter wonderland. Well, after you read my post…)

Isaiah 9 is a refreshing and hope filled reminder that God is not all doom and destruction. It reminds us that He is a God of peace and He offers His hope to all who will accept it. Here are a few of my favorite passages from this chapter.

"Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever….The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine….For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders….The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and it's peace will never end, He will rule with fairness and Justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies will make this happen!"

Such hope, such glorious hope! Hope of a future, hope of glory and light, of harvest and freedom, of peace and end to war, hope of a Messiah. Hope to one day live in His everlasting reign of peace. Such is the hope that belongs to those who wholeheartedly trust the Lord, to those who follow His commands. Yet such is the nation's pride that such a hope is lost to them. Never will they experience such hope through their pride-blinded eyes. Pride says "In our strength…" or "Look what we have done.." but hope comes to those who say "It is only by His strength…" or "Look what He has done".

When we boast of our accomplishments without giving credit to the one who gave us the abilities to accomplish things, we are just as pride-blinded as the Israelites were. Instead of choosing to trust in His strength they choose their pride, and instead of being rewarded with The Great Hope, they were punished with a great anger. Their arrogance did not go unnoticed and neither did it go unchecked. God's heart longs to fulfill His promise of hope, but until our pride is thrown away and replaced by a repentant heart, there will be no hope. He is waiting, and when we come….oh such hope.

As promised, here are some pictures I took this morning of the snow. Enjoy!

The pond behind my house.

 

This is my puppy, she loves the snow!

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 8

Before we dive in lets get some background perspective on chapter eight. God the Father loves His children, I mean really loves them, completely and unconditionally without fail. In response to this beautiful love of The Creator, God's children push Him away. The creation has declared itself wiser and better off without it's Creator. With a broken heart God gives His children countless opportunities to return to His open arms. Time after time they refuse to give Him the only thing He desires; their hearts. He longs to protect them as a father, comfort them as a mother, uplift them as a friend, stand by them as a brother, and cherish them as an intimate companion. "My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it." -Isaiah 8:6 They know they have an emptiness inside but they can only see the shiny temptations of the world as capable fillers. How could an abstract God fill a very concrete heart? So the creation walks away, leaving The Creator behind to mourn the loss of His child. What they didn't realize was that when they left God, they also left His protection.

God was willing to do anything to get His children back. Over and over again He rescued them from their own mistakes and gave them another chance to return. God spared them a final time from their plotting enemies, but instead of turning to God and praising Him for saving them, they rejoiced in the bad things that were happening to their adversaries. When God saw that they had still rejected His love, He gave them over to their own corruptness. The punishment He had placed upon the "plotting enemies" He would also allow on His children.

After God's protection is lifted from His wayward children, we see God caution Isaiah to stay true to Him. God has seen too many of His people walk away from Him to know that every man, even one of God's prophets, is capable of stumbling in the world of temptations. In verses eleven through seventeen Isaiah repeats God's warning to him as a warning to us all. God tells Isaiah not to think like everyone else does, nor dread the things that frighten them. God says He is the only one you should fear in this life, the God of heaven's armies is the only one who should make you tremble. Isaiah goes on to say that if you make God holy in your life He will keep you safe, but those who push Him away He will make to fall. What we read next is the part I really want you to hold on to here. Isaiah makes His own decision known,  "I will wait for the Lord…I will put my hope in Him." There were two choices for Isaiah to make, the choice of the wayward child or the choice of the devoted child. Isaiah decided to set himself apart as a child of God. He chose to fill the emptiness in his heart with the very real love of a very real God. He took one look at the pretty temptations shining in all their glory and said "No thank you, I'd rather have God." Let's remember the example Isaiah set for us. When we see those tempting, shiny, world things that clammer to claim a place in our hearts, lets remember that God still protects those who make Him holy in their lives. Let's remember that God's heart still breaks when a child walks away from His love. Let's remember to say "No thank you, I'd rather have God." Let's remember that God's heart is all we need.

Thanks Giving

On this glorious day of feasting and family and football, I wanted to take a minute and truly come back to the spirit of the holiday. Not that I find anything wrong with feasting or family or football, only that I don't want this day to pass without stoping to reflect on it's purpose. When you hear the word Thanksgiving what is the first thing you think of? Turkey, a big dinner, the parade, football, Black Friday? (Or if your brain is wired like my pre-school teacher one, handprint turkeys and paper pilgrim hats.) Why is it that on a day we call "ThanksGiving", giving thanks is not the first thing on our agenda?

I'm making it a point today to give thanks to my creator and the supplier of all my many blessings. I don't know where you are or what life stage you're in right now. I don't know if you can afford a Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings, or if you will be celebrating with turkey sandwiches. I don't know if you have family to feast with or if it's just you and your cat sharing a pumpkin pie. However I do know what the Bible says about being thankful,

"Always be Joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who are in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So today, and "in all circumstances", let us not forget to lift our hearts in thankfulness. If for no other reason, let us thank Him for His unending, all inclusive love. His love that takes us as we are and invites us to be His child. Because honestly, what other reason do we need?

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 7

Isaiah chapter seven tells us the story of God sending King Ahaz of Judah a message. Ahaz was trying to cope with finding out that two neighboring nations were forming an alliance against him. The king of Aram (now know as Syria) and the king of Israel were planning an attack on Judah's capitol city. They wanted to set up a king over Judah that they could manipulate to rule in their favor. Ahaz caught word of this plot and started flipping out. He knew what invading armies did when they attacked a city, and he knew that his one army could not hold off two.

So the Lord sends Isaiah with a message to meet King Ahaz. The Lord tells King Ahaz to stop worrying because the invasion will never even take place. God explains that Israel and Aram are not strong enough to prevail against Judah, but that isn't the only reason the attack isn't going to happen. We'll get to the other reason in a minute. The Lord knows Ahaz has his doubts so He tells Ahaz to ask Him for a sign of confirmation, but Ahaz replies, "No, I will not test the Lord like that". Wow, this guy either has some nerve or some faith. (Unfortunately when we read on we find out it's the former, he's got a stupid nerve.) When I first read this passage I thought, I would have failed that faith test miserably, I would have taken God up on His offer and asked Him for a sign. I would want to know that I was really hearing from God. Ahaz on the other hand, decides that maybe he doesn't want to hear what God has to say. So he plays the righteous card and blows God off with a theological cliche, not a great choice. The response Ahaz gets is pretty intense and I think, to get the full effect, you should just read it for yourself.

"Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look!" 

-Isaiah 7:13-14 NLT 

No, I did not add the exclamation points, those are actually in there. Now, maybe you don't think Ahaz's answer was wrong. Maybe you think it was actually respectful of him to turn down the offer, maybe he was showing his level of faith. Keep in mind that while that answer itself may not have been wrong, the motives that produced it, were. God knows our hearts better than we do. He knew that Ahaz wasn't acting out of faith, but out of pride. God goes on to give Ahaz a sign that would actually foreshadow the coming of Christ, as well as prove to Ahaz that God really wasn't going to let Judah be attacked.

We finally come to the other reason why God was keeping Judah safe from this threat. God has other plans. God was already planing a form of punishment on Judah, and Israel and Aram were not a part of that plan. God was going to send another country as a "razor" to wipe Judah clean. That was God's sign to Judah. I'm not going to let these "burned out embers" punish you because I've already given that job to someone else. The point here is this, God has a plan, and His plans are infinite and perfect and cannot be changed. Not by The Enemy's works and certainly not by man's works. Not only do we have this great reassurance that no one can change the plans set forth by God, but we also have the promise that, for those who love God, His plans give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) This truth applies across the board. (Not just when neighboring armies attack.) God's heart and His plans are steadfast.

My Heart's Home. Love at first sight.

I find myself longing for it. My mind always ends up there when it wanders. At night, when it's really windy, I close my eyes and imagine that the sound of the trees is the ebb and flow. I can almost smell the salty air, feel the brisk spray on my face. It captured me long ago and every time I've seen it since, the hold on my heart has grown stronger, tighter, faster. I am drawn by the beautiful balance of it's frightening power and reassuring peacefulness. The Ocean. The place I go to deep inside when everything else is to much to bear. Because there, I am small. There, my problems are but a grain of sand. Because there, I feel alive.

Let me introduce you to my heart's home. We met when I was 8 or 9 and it was love at first sight. My family traveled for twelve hours to reach the beach in South Carolina and the first thing I wanted to do was go swimming. I didn't care about seeing the house we were staying in, or greeting the rest of the family who were waiting for us, some of whom we hadn't seen for months. I was going to get in the ocean. Almost before we could get our bags out of the car I was in my swim suit, dragging my mom down the board walk to the beach. I remember it being overcast and not the warmest day for mid summer in the south. The beach was packed but I didn't care, all I knew was that I wanted in the water. What I didn't know was that it was high tide, and very windy. What I also didn't know was that high tide means huge waves. What I further didn't know was that a 9 year old is no match for a 4 foot breaker at high tide. Maybe you can tell where this is going but for those who may not be catching on I'll spell it out... I ate sand. Before I even felt the water hit my toes I was on my back spitting sandy, salty water and trying to figure out who hit me and which way was up. Now, you have to give me some credit here, I was a city kid from Ohio and this was my first time in the ocean. Aside from summers with my Aunt at the lake, the biggest wave I had ever seen was when my brother splashed in our blow up pool. My mom franticly hauled me out of the water and while she did inventory of my major body parts and wiped the sand from my rear, I was looking over her shoulder in childlike wonder. That big wave just came right up to me and knocked me over. I came all this way just to see the ocean and in return it pushed me on my backside. I was hurt, beyond the major bruise I was going to have, my 9 year old pride was deeply wounded. With my hand firmly in hers, it was my moms turn to haul me back up the beach, over the board walk and into the house. And that was how we first met.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 6

Isaiah experienced what very few people have ever experienced on earth, and his is one of  the few accounts that we have like it. Isaiah saw God.
He literally saw the Lord of heavens armies with his human eyes. Isaiah accounts that he was so overwhelmed at the holy presence of God that he immediately repented. He  was sure that he was going to die in the presence of such holiness. His words were "it's all over! I'm doomed..." (Isaiah 6:5). I know it sounds a bit dramatic but we're not talking about meeting a celebrity crush or the current top-of-the-charts pop star. This is The God of all creation. The holder of our universe. The one who knows how many hairs you have on your head (and how many are in your hairbrush). The one who planned out your ENTIRE life before you were even thought of in this world. The God who held your yesterday, is walking beside you right now, and has already prepared tomorrow. Isaiah wasn't being dramatic in the least, he was being realistic. Think of your human, flesh-ly filth in the presence of an all knowing, all seeing, everywhere God...your reaction would probably be more dramatic than Isaiah's.

The amazing part comes next. An angel attending God, called a seraphim, came up to the blubbering Isaiah with a live coal and places it on Isaiah's lips. Now, at this point I'm trying to picture the look on Isaiah' s face when this heavenly being comes at him with a piece of coal straight from the fire. I'm thinking panic mixed with 'I'm a dead man'. (Kind of the way my face looks when I'm dreaming that I tripped and then wake up to that horrible falling sensation.) When the coal touches Isaiah's lips the angel steps back and says, your guilt is removed, your sins are forgiven. Not that the hot coal did that, only God can forgive our sins. (The coal was more of a ceremonial metaphor of the purifying of our lives that has to happen before we can approach the throne of God on our own.)

Here comes the cool part. God says "whom should I send as a messenger to this people? (His people) Who will go for us?" Isaiah's response? "Here I am. Send me." God's reply, "yes, go". Two minutes ago Isaiah was an emotional mess because he knew he wasn't fit to be in God's presence. Then with one cleansing and empowering touch, a sinful form of a man was transformed into a messenger of the Lord. Could you even imagine the rush Isaiah must have felt when he heard the words "yes, go"? Excitement, adrenaline, courage, inadequacy, determination, fear, what potential, what responsibility! Being a messenger of God wasn't a cushy job. They had to deliver the hard messages right along with the easy ones, and it just so happened that Isaiah's first assignment was going to be pretty difficult. His job was to speak to a people who thought they were blessed by God and break the news that God was going to destroy them because of their disobedience. Talk about a tough crowd. In fact God already knew that the people wouldn't listen. One commentary reads:

"God told Isaiah that the people would listen but not learn from his message because their hearts had been hardened beyond repentance. God's patience with their chronic rebellion had finally exhausted. His judgement was to abandon them to their rebellion and hardness of heart. Why did God send Isaiah if He knew the people wouldn't listen? Although the nation itself would not repent and would reap judgement, some individuals would listen. In 6:13 God explains His plan for a remnant (holy seed) of faithful followers"                         -Life Application Study Bible notes on Isaiah 6:9-13 pg 1101

You may have come to the conclusion that all the book of Isaiah talks about is judgement and doom on Israel. That's where this chapter differs from the previous ones, and I love how God chose to end it. Have you ever watched a movie that ends in a way that just perfectly sets you up for a sequel? That's the way I feel God ends Isaiah 6, with a little cliff hanger. Like a sneak preview of what He's planning next. I love that. It's like getting a little glimpse of a new part of God's character for me. Like He's letting you in on something. I love reading the Bible and finding those little pieces of God. In talking about the punishment to come to Israel God says this:

"If even a tenth-a remnant-survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves stump when it is cut down, so Israel's stump will be a holy seed." -Isaiah 6:13

And roll credits. I love that! God is so playful, a master story teller. Through all of this God has shown us that His heart has a plan for His faithful followers. An individual plan to do great things in and through us like Isaiah, and a master plan that orchestrates our lives into the beautiful community of faithful followers who are living for God. God's heart has a plan.

Autumn Photo Shoot

As promised here are the best of the best from our photo shoot a few weeks ago. I have to brag on my model because she was a trooper. True, she has some great pictures now, but I'm sure she didn't know what she was signing up for when she agreed to let me take them. ;) We had a great time in the park but it was quite chilly that day and a few times I thought we would have to quit, but she just kept smiling. I hope you enjoy viewing these as much as we enjoyed shooting them.

There they are, let me know what you think in the comments below. Have a blessed day!

Sneak Peek

I am working on some pictures from my latest shoot and wanted to give you a little teaser, something to get your mouth watering. My model and I had a great time with this shoot, which you can hopefully see in the pictures. The location was perfect and aside from it being a little chilly, the weather and light were ideal. This, combined with the patience and overall good nature of my gorgeous model, meant I was able to snag some great pictures. So enjoy, and look for some more pictures to be posted, hopefully, in the next couple of days.

Check back soon for the rest of the pictures from this fun Autumn shoot.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 5

It seems the theme of the previous chapters has resurfaced in chapter five. God, through Isaiah, is warning the people of Judah and Jerusalem of His impending punishment for their wickedness.

Isaiah spends the first part of the chapter explaining all that God has done for His people, the good things he's provided and the way He has cared for them. After all that, God tells of the bitter disappointment He faced when the people He tended to, grew to be violent and unjust. God lets them know what will happen to them and their land, He will remove their protection and let them be destroyed. God even says when nations come against them there will be no rescue for them. God's people had stepped outside of the protective boundaries that He had set up for them and by doing that they also stepped out from under His hand of protection. They would find that those boundaries were not kill joys but life savers. The very boarders they ran from they would find themselves running to.

However, the bulk of this chapter is spent going over the sins of the people and giving each one a consequence. The interesting thing is that the consequence was usually the sin itself. If people were stealing, their consequence would be that they would have everything stolen from them. If they were exploiting others land they would be exiled from their own land. The people's blatant sin was always the cause of their own downfall. The things they took pleasure in ultimately destroyed them.

So, what? Now the Bible is saying anything that gives us pleasure is bad? No. Target missed here, that isn't the point. God loves fun, I mean have you ever seen a platypus? Or a narwhal?  The point God is making is this, there are rules in life, guidelines, if you want to live under His protection. You step out of the lines, you step out of His protection. Let me go out on a limb here and try to give you a bit of perspective on what I mean. When you were a young adult living at home, did you ever get the, as-long-as-you-live-under-my-roof-you-will-obey-my-rules speech? (Yeah? Me too.) Kind of the same concept here with God saying, my protection requires your obedience. (Turns out your parents may not have been too far off.) God wants you to enjoy life, He just wants you to make sure you aren't trying to fill the God shaped hole in your heart with something more world shaped. When we step out of God's boundaries to have our fun we are cramming world things into our heart and that pushes out all the things of God, including His protection. When we let God in and let Him fill our heart we will find that the things inside the boundaries are a lot more appealing than we first thought. A heart full of God and a life inside the guidelines, under His protection is a rich, full, joy filled life. The life outside the boundaries may hold momentary appeal and even some satisfaction, but ultimately it brings our hearts destruction. God's heart is to protect ours.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 4

Happy Friday!

Thanks for stopping in. Sit back, sip your coffee, grab your Bible and lets jump in to chapter four. If you have been coupling my posts with reading the corresponding chapter from Isaiah you may have noticed that this next one is an easy read. In fact you may have read ahead (good for you, you overachiever :D) and you may be thinking, "how can you possibly pull anything about God's heart out of that". I know that's what you're thinking because that's what I was thinking when I read it the first time. But if there is one thing I have learned about reading God's word, it's this, I can read a passage one time and feel like it's just words on a page, and then go back and read the same passage later and a whole new perspective can open up. That perspective can lead me to glean something out of it that I didn't see before. So I waited and tried again and this is what a new perspective (or possibly just an open heart to the voice of God) brought me.

This chapter is short, only six verses, and it kind of has a P.S. feeling about it. It closely follows the theme and message of the previous chapter. Again bringing up the judgement of the unfaithful Israelites and how God will wipe out all that is unclean from His people. However in this chapter a new theme arrises. Restoration. God promises those who are holy in His sight that He will protect them. He is keeping a place of protection for them.

Talk about proving my point, I am sitting here typing my notes and God drops a fresh perspective my way. I wrote these notes a few months ago and now, going over them again, I have discovered a new truth in these verses. Being that Isaiah is a prophet, a lot of what you find in his writing is a foreshadowing of things to come. These verses are not only foreshadowing the future of the Israelites, but the future of Christians as the bride of christ. The Israelites were God's chosen people, and as I've mentioned before, because of what Jesus did on the cross, so are we. God was purging Israel from all the filth they had let creep into their lives. They were His chosen ones, but they were not choosing Him. Much like as Christians we are God's chosen ones, called to live according to His purpose. But on a daily basis we reject Him, we are not choosing to accept the call.

God promised restoration to Israel, restoration of their nation. God promises us restoration as well, but of a different kind. Restoration of relationship. When God returns to restore His people, it will be to reestablish us in His presence. To renew the relationship that God intended for us to have with Him, from the beginning of time. We will be with God and He with us. What a beautiful, hope filled  promise. Israel's promise of restoration came in the form of rebuilding their people. Our restoration will come in the form of an eternal one-ness with God's heart. Our promise, is Heaven. God's heart restores.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 3

If you read last Friday’s 'Chapters of His Heart' entry you know that Isaiah spoke of a purging that would come to the land of Judah. The Israelites had turned from God, and because His heart is jealous, they would have to be punished for their disobedience.

Chapter three of Isaiah follows up the prophesy of purging, with the ‘how’s’ and ‘when’s’ of the Israelite's punishment, and there’s some pretty intense stuff in there. Isaiah says God will strip away everything that the people depended on or cared about. From food and water to soldiers and heroes and national leaders. Judah had slid into a place of blatant sin. (I say ‘slid’ because open, blatant sin usually starts with something we view as harmless and safe. Before you know it things just snowball into very harmful and very dangerous, blatant sin.)They had reached a point where they weren’t concerned with keeping their sins secret. They weren’t trying to hide their lives of sin, they were living them openly. The elders and rulers had become so corrupt that they were stealing from the people. God said because of that they would stumble and fall. He was coming to judge them and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

God speaks of the women of Judah very harshly. They had become consumed with their own beauty, dressing and acting in ways to impress and seduce others, cheapening the body that the Lord made to be pure and honorable. You had better believe He wasn’t happy about it. God vowed to strip them of EVERY article of their vanity. Jewelry, hair, health, skin, clothes, purses (yes ladies even the precious handbags), accessories, mirrors, their husbands, and “the men of their city”. He even said that their bodies will stink! I know this may sound harsh coming from someone with the title ‘God of Mercy’. But understand that women flaunting their bodies as items to possess, is the ultimate slap in the face of the creator of beauty as a pure sign of His craftsmanship. God is merciful but God is also just.

My favorite part of this chapter is a two sentence verse hidden in the middle. Tucked away between the prophesies of God’s judgement and wrath being poured out on the ungodly, is one verse that goes against the current. Verse ten says, “Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!” I love that! In the middle of all the judgement He’s displaying, God stops and reassures those faithful to Him that He sees their faithfulness. That they shouldn’t weary because He will reward them and their reward will be great!

Have you connected any lines between the people of Judah and the people of our present culture? Judah’s women were not the only women in history to show off their figures as objects. Just like the godly people of Judah were not the only ones to need a reminder that God sees their faithfulness. Keep in mind that God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The things that grieved God in the past still grieve Him today, just as the things that pleased His heart then still please Him now. If you have fallen into the self image trap of our culture, take into account the women of Judah and learn from their mistakes. That lifestyle may seem glamorous but the gratification it offers is shallow and short-lived. Maybe you fall into the other category, and you need a reminder that God sees your faithfulness. Listen up because this is it! These are God’s words exactly, “Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!”. Be encouraged by God’s reminder today, take heart, He sees your faithful life and you will receive your reward. God’s heart is unchanging.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 2

Good morning to you!

I realize it may not be morning where you are when you read this but it's morning here and I'm trying really hard to enjoy it. See I'm not a morning person by nature but I want to be so bad! I envy you early birds who can hop up whistling at all hours of the morning. Life just seems better from your perspective. From my side of the bed mornings are torture! (Mostly because they interrupt my favorite past time, sleeping.)

So here I am, trying to be a cheery morning person. I thought I would start by adding a new routine to my mornings. (specifically the Friday ones) Posting to you people! No promises, but I plan to have a new "Chapters of His Heart" post up every Friday morning. Hopefully It will be a little pick me up and give you that last push to make it through your workday, as well as something to chew on over the weekend.

So here we go, Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 2

During this period of Jerusalem's history they had taken on the customs of the pagan Philistines. God's chosen ones were choosing to worship god's of wood and stone and God was letting them know that He would not tolerate that behavior forever. Isaiah prophesied of a future time when nothing on earth will be exalted higher than God. Isaiah also prophesied that when God was exalted, wars would be over and there would be no more fighting. People would actually destroy their weapons because they wouldn't need them.

But, (there's always a but) before this peace-filled future could come to pass there was going to have to be some purging. A 'cleaning out' of God's chosen ones. Isaiah says that God rejected His people because of their pagan worship. Because of their sin God was going to strip them of their pride. He would humble them and tear down everything they had exalted. His power and glory would be unleashed so heavily that His enemies would actually run and hide in holes in the ground because they were so terrified.

In the end, "when the Lord rises to shake the earth" nothing will be left of their idols not even a shadow for they will "completely disappear". Nothing will be left to be said of the Lord's enemies either, their pride has been stripped away. They are left crawling to their hiding places in the aftermath of the God-quake that has shaken their world.

Isaiah finishes chapter two by saying that trusting in humans (and their gods) is ultimately not a good idea. "They are as frail as breath, what good are they?" Our trust and our faith should lie in God alone, not in the strength of a human or the alluring pull of their pagan gods. Yeah, people still worship pagan gods. They just look less like fat, shirtless statues and more like sports cars, or tv shows, or the reflection in the mirror, or the latest tech gadget glued to their palm. God longs for our undivided heart. His love requires all of ours in return. When His children try to fill the God-shaped-void in their hearts with other things it grieves Him.
God's heart is Jealous.

What idols do you see standing between you and God? What is keeping you from tearing them down?

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 1

The book of Isaiah has always been a favorite of mine. It holds some of  my favorite scriptures and passages. So I decided to see if the rest of Isaiah could live up to the reputation of my favorite bits of the book. I dove in right at chapter one, taking the book one chapter at a time, and found that Isaiah was full of little treasures. I started writing down the beautiful glimpses I was getting of God's heart and now I want to share those with you.

I'm not going to post the whole chapter of Isaiah but I do suggest reading it so you can follow along with some of my notes. If you don't own a Bible don't worry there are some great free online Bibles you can use like Bible Hub by Biblos or Bible Gateway. If you are using a mobile device or tablet you can download the You Version Bible app for free as well. If you are following along I will most often be posting out of the New Living Translation.

Here we go!

Just as a little back story, Isaiah was a prophet in the years 740-681 B.C. to the land of Judah. A prophet's job was to be God's spokesperson, to give the people messages from the Lord. Most prophets were not popular because they usually came with messages of conviction to a sinful and rebellious people. Isaiah was no different. Even though some of his messages may seem harsh we have to remember that God breathed those messages through Isaiah out of deep and unrelenting love for His children. If we are open to that love we will find truth and possibly some treasures in all of Isaiah's chapters.

There are a lot of great truths in Isaiah's first chapter but I am going to focus on the message in the first nine verses.

First Isaiah lets us know that God is longing for His rebellious children* to come back to Him. This is an obvious sign of His beautiful, unconditional love. God is craving a relationship, a father child relationship to be exact, with His beloved sons and daughters. He wants them back even though they have acted the part of the rebel teenager. Lets take a look at what this means for us and what this shows us about God's heart.

Think of an ideal father/child relationship. Is the effort and commitment put into that relationship split evenly between the father and child? Not even close! The father has the bulk of the responsibility for the relationship resting on his shoulders. The child is just that....a child. It is the father's job to teach a child how to share the weight of a relationship. The father can't expect to receive much effort from the child in the beginning. The child will be needy, sometimes fully dependent upon the father even to the point of life or death. The child will then grow to love the father. He will recognize the father's voice and learn to obey, show affection and, eventually, balance the give and take of the relationship. The child will not be perfect and, in this world, neither will the father. They will both make mistakes.

This relationship is what the heart of our God craves. To be our loving and nurturing heavenly father. The beautiful and amazing thing is that all He expects out of His children is that we be exactly that.....children, learning, growing, messy children. (Isn't it great that He isn't looking for perfect people.) The only difference between the earthly relationships with our fathers and a heavenly relationship with The Father is that while we will stumble, while we will fall on our faces, while we will mess up...
He. Never. Will.
He is infinitely perfect. God doesn't make mistakes. God is incapable of inflicting the kind of pain that humans are capable of. He will not disappoint you. God's heart is devoted.

What is keeping you from accepting that father's love?


(*Note: God's "children" in this passage specifically means the Israelites, the chosen people of God. But after the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we are all chosen children by the covering of His blood and can include ourselves in the term "children of God". How awesome is that?) 

The Beginning

Welcome to Reflections!

I'm so excited that you've decided to visit my little corner of the world.
If you haven't read all about who I am already you can do so to the right, and if you're not sure what Reflections is all about hopefully you can get some questions answered on the Behind the Reflections page. If you have any questions that I didn't answer don't hesitate to leave me a comment.

Without boring you to tears or putting you to sleep I want to share a bit about how Reflections came to be. I have found in my limited number of years an unlimited desire to grow in closeness to the heart of God as well as in knowledge of His creations. As I asked God to bring me opportunities to grow, He didn't disappoint. The more I asked the more He taught me.

God has taught me through a number of avenues but it seems the most popular instructor of choice has been life experiences. Unfortunately as the lessons progressed in difficulty so did the life experiences. I found myself in the middle of my most trying "lesson" to date wondering what in the world I ever did to deserve this kind of heartache. In the tender way that only God can speak He reminded me that it was not the heartache I deserved but the deepness at which I would be able to love and receive love after the heartache had passed. It was perhaps this experience and the surrounding ones that brought me to a place of awe at the deep love and power of God. Standing in that place I began to catch glimpses of His heart. Little treasures of His character that I hadn't noticed before. They thrilled my heart! I found strength and joy in those treasures of God's heart. I began searching for them everywhere, in scripture, in nature, in people, in life. The crazy thing is, I found them! More and more I began training my eyes and my heart to catch these little glimpses and feel the pulls and whispers that I so cherished.

I realized that there is so much to who God is and how He loves that I hadn't even scratched the surface. I started writing about my encounters with God's heart, documenting on notebook pages, diaries, napkins, whatever I could get my hands on. I knew that these times with God were special and I always felt they were meant to be shared. Enter Reflections into the picture and here we are, with a unique and hopefully interesting perspective of the beautiful heart of God.

Now that you know all about me and probably more than you ever cared to know about my blog's back story, I want to know all about you! How did you find Reflections? Do you plan to come back? What are some things you would like to see discussed? Fill up my inbox people! I want to write about your interests as well as my experiences so keep your comments coming.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -Jeremiah 29:13