“Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the first I have not spoken in secret,
From the time it took place, I was there.
And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.” (Isaiah 48:16)
Don’t you just love the words of the prophets? They were sent by God. The words they spoke are just as true today. Most would like to distance themselves from the Old Testament God of Abraham by retreating into the arms of Jesus’ Father. Sorry, it won’t work. They are one in the same. God meant what He said then, and nothing Jesus said contradicts His Father.
Through Isaiah, God was prescribing a remedy to heal His people. He desired for them to live abundantly as they were led by His Laws. It’s no different today. Christ’s kingdom has its laws. They are all about love, and when we ignore or break them we suffer lack instead of abundance. The first we notice is lack of peace.
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your well-being would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:16-18)
The Lord God sent Jesus and His Spirit to lead us in the way we should go. How amazing is that? It is up to us to follow. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
We are saved by grace through faith in what Jesus has done, but abundant life comes by faithfully following the commands of our Lord. I have had to revisit #1 on this list over and over again. Thank God for His merciful grace.
His Family Table 