Verse of the Day 10/13

Through the Bible - Isaiah 54-55, 1 Thessalonians 4

 

Good morning,

Yesterday we considered sustainability.  All of us need to be fed to sustained day by day, as a Christian we need spiritual food.  Fortunately, we have the Lord as our unlimited resource, but we need to seek Him.  I'm reminded of Psalm 42 where David gives us a picture of the deer that daily returns to the brook for the water that is necessary for life.

 

Ps 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.   NKJV

Everyone thirsts for what Jesus has to offer, sad to say, far to few will go to Him for it even though He is calling out.  Today's Old Testament reading brings us to Isaiah 55 where we see this call.

As you read the verses consider these three questions:  1.) Who are invited, 2) What are they offered, and 3) What are they to do in order to get it?

 

Isa 55:1-3
 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.   NKJV

There are two kinds of people that are invited; the thirsty who are broke and cannot pay; and the thirsty who think they can pay and work their way to satisfaction.

 

They are offered that their thirst can be quenched, they can be refreshed, they can be nourished.  When you are thirsty, whether it is hiking up a mountain or hiking in the desert you need to be hydrated.  Water is what we need at these times, I can't recall craving a milk shake at these times.Ps 23:2 "He leads me beside the still waters. "
 

Milk represents the need for nourshment.  John Piper writes, "Milk corresponds to the need for ongoing nourishment. When someone is gasping for life, you give them water. But when you want a little baby to grow day after day, you give it milk again and again. God is not just for emergencies and mountain peaks. He is for health in the long haul. He invites you not only to come alive with water, but also to be stable and strong with milk.

Wine corresponds to the need for exhilaration. We want to live and not die. We want to be strong and stable instead of weak and wavering. But that is not all we need in life. No matter how stoic, unemotional, phlegmatic, laid-back, or poker-faced we may seem to others, there is a child inside of every one of us that God made for exhilaration—for shouting and singing and dancing and playing and skipping and running and jumping and laughing. "

So what are we to do to get it, John Piper points out 12 commands that are found within these verses:

There are 12 imperatives in these three verses. The most pleasant, most inviting, 12 commandments you will ever hear. I'll point them out as we read it together.

1) Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters [#1]; and he who has no money, come [#2], buy [#3] and eat [#4]! Come [#5], buy wine and milk [#6] without money and without price. 2) Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me [#7] and eat what is good [#8], and delight yourselves in fatness [#9]. 3) Incline your ear [#10], and come to me [#11]; hear [#12] that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

When you ponder these 12 commandments for a moment, they fall into a natural pattern. First there are three commands to listen carefully to what God is saying (one in verse 2 and two in verse 3). So I urge you, as we close, take heed how you hear. Are you leaning into God's Word? God pleads this morning: don't let the advertisements for the world drown out this invitation to heaven!

In summary, we are to come to Him, buy, eat, and enjoy.   Will you do so today?  What will this look like?  What changes will it bring to your day, to your life if you do?

Read the last few lines of the Steve Green song "A Chasing of the Wind"

Why do we live without Jesus?

Why do we waste another day?

He is the life that sustains us

The only hope for us today

So tell me, why do we live

Why do we live without Him?

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV
Isa 55:1-10

 

An Invitation to Abundant Life

 

55 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you —
The sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you."

 

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.   NKJV