PLAYING WITH FIRE, SOMETIMES...

ISAIAH 50:11:  
Look, you who kindle a fire and encircle yourselves 
with sparks. Walk in the light of your fire and in the 
sparks you have kindled. This you shall have from 
My hand: you shall lie down in torment.

Wooaaaah, such words of warning against playing 
with fire!  

Got me thinking about different ways we play with 
fire....like subtly, not out and out FIRE kind of fire.  
Maybe you can also think of a few of your own 
minor arsonistic moves?  

Maybe.....a little unkindness instead of just being cruel?
Maybe.....a little cold love instead of outright dislike?
Maybe.....a little rude remark instead of politeness?
Maybe.....riding roughshod instead of being mannerly?

I guess we all slip up on behavioral niceties from time to 
time, but a good dose of Jesus-type humility surely
does not go amiss in anyone's life.  Who was it who
said 'they will know we are Christians by our love?'
Or was that just a line from a song that was popular
once upon a time and is no longer on the hit parade.....

THE JOGGING OF MEMORY

Having just ploughed through chs 1-39 of Isaiah, dealing with the judgements         

of God, I turned the page to the welcoming & inspiring words of Ch.40 - 
the beautiful prophecies of the Messiah.

The comforting picture emerged of the Shepherd feeding His sheep, carrying 

the lambs in His arms, & gently leading those with young.  The inspiration 

for the 'Gentle Jesus' prayer must have originated from these verses.

However, human nature being what it is (grumble, whine, whinge, etc.....

sound familiar?) we soon read some 'poor me' words: 

'My way is hidden from the Lord, & my just claim passed over by my God.' vs.27.

We can all identify with that at various stages of our lives - that's real, that's true...

But it doesn't stop there, because here comes a supernatural swipe:

(the following is my version, you can read the actual verses yourself!)

Don't you know, or have you forgotten who God is?

That He is eternal, the creator of all things, all powerful,  almighty, allknowing, 
unsearchable.' He provides us with all the power we need to live the abundant life. 

There follows a comparison of the enviable strength of the young.....but theirs is 

nothing compared to the renewing of spiritual inner resources promised to those 

who learn to understand God's perspectives & ways.  To help us grasp this, 

we're given the incredible picture of the majestic eagle which is able to mount up 

into the sky & easily find air thermals on which to soar effortlessly - simply flowing 

in what it's Maker designed it to do.  

JUST EIGHT OLIVES FOR SUPPER

Just eight olives...not much of a meal...not even what you could call a snack!

But that is all that would be left to the people of God who drifted away from 

honoring Him as their God.  (Isaiah ch. 17)

For hardworking people who planted whole groves of olives in expectation of a 

bumper harvest, this would have been devastating to find next to nothing. 

At harvest time, their yield would be like shaking the olive tree & realizing 

2 or 3 olives from the uppermost branches, and 4 or 5 in the most fruitful branches.

This yield usually represented what was called the gleanings - (three times in 

Scripture, God's people are commanded to leave the corners of their fields 

unharvested so that the poor, the fatherless, the widow & the stranger could 

glean some food. Each time, the command is followed by these words: 

'I am the Lord.' In other words: just do it, people!)

What was the reason for the sorry state of affairs described in the first paragraph 

above?  Verse 17 explains it:  

'In that day, a man will look to his Maker and his eyes will have respect for the 

Holy One of Israel.'

Sometimes EVERYTHING in life goes wrong, wrong, wrong, and we wonder 

why, why, why!  It feels like the 8 olive harvest when you expected a full yield.  

Time to get back to the basics like seeking the face of the Lord, seeking 

the favour He promises to those who walk in His ways, acknowledging Him 

in all our ways.  

SURROUNDED!

Look around at what surrounds you.
Concrete jungle, 
beautiful green grass with trees and flowers, 
kind faces, 
fierce faces, 
unfriendly faces
.......the possibilities are endless.

In Psalm 18 David wrote: 
'The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid'

We can certainly identify with those feelings, especially when we watch or listen to news broadcasts and read newspapers. Floods of ungodliness abound in the crazy world we liv in.

But the Bible tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses - that doesn't mean they are all sitting out somewhere on clouds watching our every move, but that scores of faithful Christians faced all kinds of dangers and overcame, finishing well, and are therefore an inspiration to us to do likewise.

We also read that 'God will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12).  

God's got His children surrounded.
May He open our spiritual eyes to see and comprehend.