The Lord Be With You Today!
Isaiah 65:11-12
"But as for you who forsake the Lord and forget My holy mountain,
(In His outreach to His people and His requirements for all peoples,
the Lord reminds them that He has established a way and a place,
the place being Mount Zion where the Temple stood,
which they must adhere to in order to maintain true worship.
He had made a covenant with them that He would be their God
and that they would be His people.
As a part of that covenant of love, the people had certain responsibilities.
Still today, we often forsake our obligations to the Lord's covenant with us
as we fail to walk in His ways, refusing to accept His standards and conditions.)
who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
(The word fortune in Hebrew is an allusion to idol worship,
probably referring to the planet Jupiter
which supposedly brought good luck and good fortune.
What is translated as destiny here is probably Venus or perhaps the Moon,
again a reference to idol worship.
And before we are too quick to look down on those people of that day
and their ignorance in engaging in such foolishness as idol worship,
we need to remember how we also continue in that path,
but have simply become more sophisticated and subtle in our idol worship
as we still bow before the powers of this world,
such as getting, spending, and our own performance,
or as we still bow before the internal forces within us,
such as jealousy, resentment, refusing to forgive, and arrogance.)
I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will fall in the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in My sight and chose what displeases Me."
(His call to us to be obedient to Him is not to force us into servitude and judgment,
but to set us free to enjoy the fullness of life in Him.
When we refuse to submit to the Lord's provision of salvation,
when we choose to follow our own self-will,
the grave consequences bring death.
But today the consequences of heeding His call, of choosing His way,
bring life and hope and freedom and deliverance and provision.
Though He knows without Him we reap death and destruction,
He yearns for us to turn to Him today and to receive His deliverance
in all the places of need in our lives.)
May the Lord richly bless you this day!
In Christ's love,
Blessings!
Sally
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