Good morning all!
Father, we pray Your word would change the way we think, change the way we see Your word and the world around us. Give us strength to live each by faith and truth, and like Your disciples increase our faith so that we would NOT be moved or shaken by the circumstances of this world, Amen.
Isaiah 52
1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Wake up spirit and soul, PUT on your strength; PUT on your beautiful garment, O chosen ones, a holy city, that NO more will the uncircumcised or unclean enter into you.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, [and] sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
Shake the dust off, ARISE and sit then sit down, O chosen ones; remove the bands from around your neck for it restricts you daughter of Ziion from a life of unity.
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
This is what the Lord has to say about your past, you SOLD out for NOTHING, but I will redeem you without money.
5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day [is] blasphemed.
What happened? Asks the Lord, MY people were married for nothing? And this relationship causes them to shout with NO joy, says the Lord for they blaspheme Me constantly every day.
Bottom line
What makes you STRONG? Pride? Self-confidence? Independence? Shake OFF the dust!! That’s the WORLD’s definition of strength but NOT God He says SHAKE that thinking from your mind, MY strength isn’t seen, it can’t be measured, it’s true strength that is quiet and gentle…it’s called FAITH.
[Rom 4:20 KJV] He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. If your strength elevates you above others that’s called a WORLDLY pattern, faith is the exact opposite it doesn’t require superiority and a loud voice. Jesus said LEARN from ME for I am LOWLY and MEEK. Put on your strength…FAITH. Put on your beautiful garment, what makes us beautiful in the eyes of God? His word declares that you and I have a beauty that will NEVER fade…it’s ETERNAL.
[1Pe 3:4 NIV] Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. Do you believe God is watching? Gentle and quiet, this is the life you and I live by faith which is far too precious in the eyes of God. Why does God call us Jerusalem? This represents a lifestyle of faith, it is a city of peace, a city of unity, a city that is holy and set apart from the world. The uncircumcised don’t live there…those with a hard of heart that offer NO mercy, and the unclean don’t live there either…self-righteous…elevated above others. After we shake the world off we are to ARISE…means get out of bed, nobody gets much accomplished in bed, right? The BED is a picture of our conscience, our thought life VOID of faith. None of us will accomplish anything for God apart from faith, scripture also tells us we can’t please God without it. You know what happens when we try to live without faith?
[1Ti 1:19 KJV] Holding faith with a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. A life that pushes faith aside is just like a shipwreck…stranded, NO growth, NO progress and NO strength. How important is it that our thought life includes faith?
[Phl 2:5 KJV] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Jesus always had thoughts of faith, where do you think He got His strength? Let that kind of thinking be in YOU which was the same as Jesus Christ. Jesus never had thoughts of pride, self-confidence, selfishness, He believed in the Father and He believed in us. Do you believe in Jesus? Then THINK more like Him. God says take the bands OFF your neck, what keeps us from turning our head, our thinking? [Isa 48:4 NIV] For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze. We’re stubborn and the muscle in our neck is NOT very flexible and we are hard-headed; we refuse to see life through the lens of faith with eyes of mercy. We become a sell out just like Esau, we trade our birthright, our inheritance for nothing. We sell out to worldly thinking, a worldly pattern and a worldly lifestyle, and that lifestyle blasphemes God EVERY day because it says we choose the world over God. What speaks louder than our words? Our LIFESTYLE!!! The Lord says I hear what you’re preaching but your lifestyle is speaking much louder than anything you got to say. Remember, God sees how precious we truly are when we’re quiet and gentle…just LIVE it. Don’t become a castaway, shake the dust off and arise…the world has NOTHING to offer, choose faith because God is your EVERYTHING!
Point to Ponder
What’s your purpose? [1Ti 1:5 NKJV] Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and sincere faith. When your conscience is filled with faith everything ends in love. Is there a better ending to your story?
Let’s all live with true purpose, In Him Phil
Faith – Family – Friends
