Breaking commitment to God

ISAIAH    CHAPTER  57

In this chapter the Lord condemns those who break their commitment to him. He says that the righteous will pass away and the godly often die before their time. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For the godly who die will rest in peace.

But the offspring of adulterers and prostitutes and idol worshipers are considered unfaithful to God. His anger is evident in the language used in this chapter as he calls them to task for crawling into bed with detestable gods. He says they give oil and perfume to Molech and traveled into the world of the dead to find new gods to love.  These people never give up and he asks them why they were more afraid of these gods than of the Lord.

Now the Lord says he will expose their so-called good deeds and none will benefit or save them. He asks them to see if their idols can do anything when they cry for help. But whoever trusts in the Lord will possess land and inherit the mountains and will rebuild the road.

The "high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, the Holy One" says that he lives in a holy place where spirits are contrite and humble. He can refresh you. He was angry and punished greedy people, and he withdrew, but they kept on sinning. So he sees what they do, and will heal them anyway and lead them and comfort those who mourn.  Then words of praise will be on their lips. But those who still reject the Lord are like a restless sea; never still but churning up mire and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW:  Molech was an Ammonite god whose worship included child sacrifice.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? God uses marriage and adultery as an analogy so that we can see that adultery can mean breaking our commitment to God. How could the people of those days give their love to worthless idols? Imagine child sacrifice. Don't we do the same thing today? The only difference is that our idols have changed. Money perhaps. Success, material possessions, and what about the idols that cannot be seen physically like power, mental abuse, pride, lust. Don't we sacrifice our children to divorce and forms of abuse? Don't we see many throw-away children in the country? The idols in today's world are still idols and we must do our best to recognize them  for the evil that they are and put an end to them.

Salvation cannot be gained from good works because our very best works are still not good enough to outweigh our sins. Salvation is God's gift to us and we get this gift through our faith in him. If you have not yet come to know your God intimately, now is the time. Get on your knees and acknowledge the role he has in your life. Honor him and praise him with your prayers.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:



HEALTH: Pray for Gabe.


Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.


Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer and for her sister Wanda’s soul which went to heaven.


Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with a form of MS.


Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.


Pray for Gary Summers, my friend from church, who has cancer.


Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.


Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer. Update on Robert: he has one more treatment and then three months of waiting for his psat test to come back clean.


Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.


SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary


RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John


LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian


SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.