September 8
Isaiah 1:1-2:22; 2 Corinthians 10:1-18; Psalm 52:1-9; Proverbs 22:26-27
Isaiah starts the portion of the Bible called the prophets. The prophets are typically divided into major and minor prophets. This has nothing to do with their significance but rather the length of their books. The major prophets consist of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel; the minor are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. One of the primary functions of a prophet was to call a wayward people back to God through their words and example.
We can see this call to the wayward in Isaiah 1. He is speaking to the externally religious, spiritually apathetic, and those in opposition to God. Yet regardless of how religious they appear (whatever they look like on the “surface of things” (2 Cor. 2:7)), they all have wandered from God. These types of people are found throughout the pages of the Bible (look especially at the description in Psalm 52), throughout the streets of Naples, and potentially even the rows of Center Point. God's longing is that all people, whether externally religious or completely immoral, would come to him and experience his forgiveness and restoration power. He longed for Israel in Isaiah's day to experience this and has the same heart for our church and city. God's longing is that all would come to repentance and experience him as their good father. We can see the transforming power of God described in Isaiah 2 where people through faith now dwell with God, “walk in his paths,” and “walk in the light of the Lord.” God wants to do this radical transformation in our hearts, in our city, and in the world. He chooses us to make him known.
Father God, thank you that you drew me into relationship with yourself. Thank you that you want a relationship with everyone and desire all to experience your love and forgiveness. Help me not to wander from you; instead, help me call all people to trust in you. Amen.
Question of the day: Why are we prone to substitute religion for a relationship with God?
Isaiah starts the portion of the Bible called the prophets. The prophets are typically divided into major and minor prophets. This has nothing to do with their significance but rather the length of their books. The major prophets consist of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel; the minor are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. One of the primary functions of a prophet was to call a wayward people back to God through their words and example.
We can see this call to the wayward in Isaiah 1. He is speaking to the externally religious, spiritually apathetic, and those in opposition to God. Yet regardless of how religious they appear (whatever they look like on the “surface of things” (2 Cor. 2:7)), they all have wandered from God. These types of people are found throughout the pages of the Bible (look especially at the description in Psalm 52), throughout the streets of Naples, and potentially even the rows of Center Point. God's longing is that all people, whether externally religious or completely immoral, would come to him and experience his forgiveness and restoration power. He longed for Israel in Isaiah's day to experience this and has the same heart for our church and city. God's longing is that all would come to repentance and experience him as their good father. We can see the transforming power of God described in Isaiah 2 where people through faith now dwell with God, “walk in his paths,” and “walk in the light of the Lord.” God wants to do this radical transformation in our hearts, in our city, and in the world. He chooses us to make him known.
Father God, thank you that you drew me into relationship with yourself. Thank you that you want a relationship with everyone and desire all to experience your love and forgiveness. Help me not to wander from you; instead, help me call all people to trust in you. Amen.
Question of the day: Why are we prone to substitute religion for a relationship with God?
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