Verse of the Day 5/26

Isaiah 64:5-6You welcome those who gladly do good,

    who follow godly ways.
But you have been very angry with us,
    for we are not godly.
We are constant sinners;
    how can people like us be saved?
⁶ We are all infected and impure with sin.
    When we display our righteous deeds,
    they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
    and our sins sweep us away like the wind.   New Living Translation (NLT)

Today's verses came from our Pastor Bob's message on Sunday from his series "Distorted Christianity.  Verse 5 starts out by saying that God gladly welcomes those who do good but the verses go on to remind us, tell us that the motives behind our actions also matter.  The good that we do is it in an effort to earn God's favor or is in obedience and honor of Him and for His glory?

The verse also reminds us that we are constant sinners.  We always like to think of ourselves as "basically good", with the good outweighing the bad in our lives, and we are the judge of that.   Wrong again.  We all fall short and miss the mark (Romans 3:23).

It is not about religion, as Bob pointed out, religion is about what people do, while Christianity is about what God has already done.  We can't earn our salvation by doing good, Jesus has already paid the price. 

1. I hear the Savior say,
   "Thy strength indeed is small;
   Child of weakness, watch and pray,
   Find in Me thine all in all."
   • Refrain:
     Jesus paid it all,
     All to Him I owe;
     Sin had left a crimson stain,
     He washed it white as snow.
   • 
     

It is in the power of His grace working in our lives that we can overcome.   In our own efforts we try to break from those sins that have chained us down but at some point they have a way of creeping back.  Jesus gives us the power to break those chains, to live lives for Him that will please Him.  Go to Him, seek His grace, seek His power. 

How can people like us "constant sinners" be saved?  In the power of Jesus' name.

There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus

To Break every chain
Break every chain
Break every chain

^" Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰ that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,"  Acts 3:19-20English Standard Version (ESV)

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Isaiah 64:5-7The Message (MSG)

Can We Be Saved?

64 ^1-7 Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and descend,
    make the mountains shudder at your presence—
As when a forest catches fire,
    as when fire makes a pot to boil—
To shock your enemies into facing you,
    make the nations shake in their boots!
You did terrible things we never expected,
    descended and made the mountains shudder at your presence.
Since before time began
    no one has ever imagined,
No ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you
    who works for those who wait for him.
You meet those who happily do what is right,
    who keep a good memory of the way you work.
But how angry you've been with us!
    We've sinned and kept at it so long!
    Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved?
We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated.
    Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.
We dry up like autumn leaves—
    sin-dried, we're blown off by the wind.
No one prays to you
    or makes the effort to reach out to you
Because you've turned away from us,
    left us to stew in our sins.