Thurs.’s Devo - Sin is the Roadblock; Repentance is the Way

Read: Isaiah 57:15-59:21; Philippians 1:1-26; Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 24:9-10 God declares himself as the high and lofty one who surrounds himself with the humble. He restores their crushed spirit and revives their courage if they have repentant hearts. He wanted them to know that he was not going to let them all die. He punishes them now beacuse they were greedy and stubborn but he will heal them and comfort them in the future. There will still be the ones who would still reject him and stir up dirt. They will not experience God’s peace. God told Isaiah to shout Israel’s sins to them. Israel thought they were righteous but they were self-righteous. They thought they could fool God by their bias fasting and acts of godliness but God saw their hearts. They fasted while oppressing their workers, fighting and quarreling among themselves. God told them they would never get anywhere with Him acting like that. They pretended to be humbling themselves but they were just going through the motions while their hears were haughty and selfish. The kind of fasting that gets God’s attention is the fast where the people put actions behind their rituals. They lighten the burners of those that work for them and remove the chains from the oppressed. They share their food with the hungry and provide shelter for the homeless. They give clothes to those in need and help their relatives in need. He tells them that that kind of humility will get God’s attention and he will give them their requests. God also requires that people honor his Sabbath and think of him on that day. God was more than able to save them and help them but their sins stood in the way of his salvation. Sin was the roadblock. If they removed that, God would come speedily and rescue them. Isaiah describes their day. Justice can’t be found and honesty has been outlawed. Anyone who renounced evil was attacked. Sounds like our day. God was amazed to see that no one stood up to change things. He himself will have to do it. In 59:17 we see God dressing for the occasion. He pus on the body armor of righteousness, the helmet of salvation on his head and clothes himself with a robe of vengeance and a cloak of passion. He comes to repay his enemies for their evil deeds. He will come as the Redeemer to buy back those who have turned from their sins. God’s garments of war are a lot like the ones in Ephesians 6 we read about yesterday with a few differences. God is not wearing shoes of peace but a robe of vengeance. He is the Word of God. In Revelation 2:16, God tells the church in Smyrna to repent or he will fight against them with the sword of his mouth. God’s sword is in his mouth, not his hand. It is everything he says. Ephesus was a Roman city full of mainly Romans and few Jews. Because their were few Jews it protected the church from Judaisers who stirred up dissections in the other churches. Paul had planted this church on his second missionary journey. The believers in Ephesus had sent money to Paul three times when they learned he was in need even though they were very poor themselves. This church gave Paul much joy because of their faith and love for him and each other. He assured them that his being in prison has worked for the good of the gospel. His emprisonment encouraged others to stand up and preach the gospel. Paul wanted the church in Ephesus to know how much he loved and appreciated their faith and courage. May we be like this church and bring You joy in our faith. May we be able to say like Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”