Thought for January 30

 History:

  • 1835: First assassination attempt on a U.S. President--Andrew Jackson
  • 1873: Jules Verne publishes "Around the World in 80 Days"
  • 1933: "The Lone Ranger" begins a 21-year run on ABC radio
  • 1933: Adolph Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany
  • 1848: Mahatma Gandhi assassinated
  • 1956: Elvis records "Blue Suede Shoes"
  • 1968: Tet offensive begins in Vietnam
  • 1975: Erno Rubik applies for a patent on the "Magic Cube"
  • 2003: Belgium recognizes same-sex marriages
  • 2020: WHO declares Coronavirus a public health emergency
  • Born: Franklin Roosevelt, Max Theiler [Yellow Fever vaccine], Barbara Tuchman ["Guns of August"], Francis Schaefer [theologian], Dick Martin, Gene Hackman, Louis Rukeyser, Boris Spassky, Vanessa Redgrave, Dick Cheney, Phil Collins, Curtis Strange, Payne Stewart, Christian Bale, Pam Swift
  • Died: Betsy Ross, Osceola, Orville Wright, Ferdinand Porsche, Sidney Sheldon
Thought:
Reading Isaiah 58 this morning. This chapter is labeled "Observances of Fasts" in my Bible. The people are crying out to the Lord claiming that they are seeking His ways, [58:2], that they have kept His commandments [58:2] and that they have been a righteous people [58:2]. They have fasted and performed all the ceremonies and held all the religious observances [58:3], but God has not answered or noticed them. Why has God not heard? Why has God not responded--theirs was a bad fast--ceremony but no compassion. While fasting they mistreated their workers. While fasting they fought with each other--strife and contention [58:4]. They went through the motions--bowing and wearing sackcloth and ashes--but their hearts were unchanged. 

Reading this is convicting. Larry, have you become a religious person or a Godly person. Have you exchanged following Christ for checking boxes--read my Bible, spoke a prayer, went to church, gave my tithe. Yet my heart has hardened--no love, no compassion, no joy. God told the people of Judah--is this the fast God chooses or expects? 

Verses 6-7 tell me what a good fast looks like--feed the hungry, house the homeless, cloth the naked. This is exactly what Jesus says in the teaching on the judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. 

Verses 8-11 tell us how God responds to a good fast--
  • We will shine in His light [58:8]
  • We will be healed [58:8]
  • God will walk before us and behind us--just like He did for the Israelites in the wilderness [58:8]. Think about that--God promises to give us light to walk by, light to walk in, light to change the darkness, and He will go before us into each day and He will protect us from the past with forgiveness. 
  • He will answer our prayers. [58:9]
  • Our joy will be restored--gloom to midday sun. [58:10]
  • God will constantly satisfy us. Meet every need. Sustain us and protect us. He is our sufficiency. [58:11]
  • He will renew our strength/ [58:11]
  • He will fill us with living water [58:11]--just like the woman at the well. 
Lord, today I don't want to go through the motions--help me live a life worthy of Your calling. 

Blessings
Larry

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