Near

He who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who is my adversary?

Let him come near to me.

Isaiah 50:8

My Savior is near.

I have no foe to fear.

My salvation is here.

His Word is clear.

Jesus is near.

My God is near.

His deliverance is dear.

His voice I can hear.

His power has no peer.

Jesus is near.

Vindication is near.

No judgment I fear.

His Word is my mirror.

Christ’s holiness I now wear.

Jesus is near.

The Way is near.

I see a path that is clear.

His direction points me where

my steps should take me there.

Jesus is near.

The Truth is near.

His gospel rings in my ear.

His Spirit comforts all my fear.

His Word guides me to where

Jesus is near.

New Life is near.

Abundant life is right here.

Eternal life will be there.

Death no longer I fear.

Jesus is near.

great God

For I know that the LORD is great,

and that our Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all deeps.

Psalm 135:5-6

I too know the greatness of God. He has constantly and without fail shown Himself consistently great and powerful in the circumstances of my life. All I am right now, all I experience, all that has changed, all that is new, all that is no longer mine, all that is now mine, all that is different, all that is the same… all of that is the work of a great God! The world of humanity is chaotic. Because humans fail at sovereignty, what we do is naturally out of control and filled with dangers. False gods are worshiped non-stop and promoted as true… gods such as self-rule, materialism, naturalism, scientism, politics, wealth, fame, even the very earth itself is now a god. Basically any form of physicality that we can take in with our senses we will falsely worship instead of God.

But God will still prove Himself superior over what our souls want to worship more than Him. He always does as He pleases in perfect holiness and justice. He will make Himself known as sovereign not only in His throne room, but in earth, which is His footstool. No wave rolls over us outside His command. No earthquake shakes in the deep that has not been stirred by His voice. He will show both His power, and in the gospel, His grace to this world intent on worshipping everything else BUT Him. God will be known, even as He is rejected.

Great God,

I bow before You this morning. I am aware of Your greatness, Your power, Your control, and Your might. And where my soul gets sucked into sinful worship of false gods, correct me, my King! Show Your power and urge me to repentance so that I too will worship only You. Let nothing I love get in the way of my love for You! May I be one in whom You do as You please!

Whatever I face today will be from Your sovereign and grace-filled hands. May Your mercies rain down from heaven upon my world. May this earth know the saving work of Jesus. May people surrender to Your Lordship and worship the God of heaven, earth, the seas, and the deeps!

Amen

Restore us!

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalm 80:3

Restore us, O God!

R - REELING in need of REDEMPTION; RUINED by our sin; RESULTS: desperation… disease… death.

E - EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVEN me will EVENTUALLY die EXTRAORDINARILY doomed by death.

S - SALVATION is unattainable except by Your SON’S SACRIFICE.

T - TRUSTING You, Lord, by faith; TURNING from sin; TURNING TO follow Jesus; only in Him can change happen.

O - ONLY Jesus, the ONLY Son, the ONLY Savior can restore OUR souls.

R - RUNNING to You; RELYING on grace by faith we are REDEEMED and REMADE.

E  - EXCHANGING our sin and judgment for Christ’s holiness and life we EXPERIENCE ETERNAL and abundant life.

Restore us, O God!

Let Your face shine upon us as the Light of the world!

Save us that we might forever be new… with You… living in and for You… showing Your change that we have indeed been remade, restored, and saved!

God of the new and the hidden

“You have heard; now see all this;

and will you not declare it?

From this time forth I announce to you new things,

hidden things that you have not known.”

Isaiah 48:6

Israel had a relationship with God in which He made His will clearly known in the ministry of the prophets. God used these men so that in the blessings that Israel received, they could only attribute God as the source because the prophets had spoken. God knew Israel was obstinate. He knew they would try to trust in idols. And so He brought prophetic events to pass to prove only He was Israel’s God (Isaiah 48:3-5).

When judgment finally came, Israel also knew, because of the prophecies, that God had brought it. They could not either in good times or bad ever doubt that God was in control. His Word was true. His prophets were verified. God did what He said. 

And now in prophecy God was saying a new thing. And it was an outpouring of grace… a new mercy was coming! God knew they were treacherous people. God knew they had rebel hearts (Isaiah 48:8). The God Who brought judgment they deserved would bring deliverance they did not deserve. He would save and redeem. They would run out of captivity freed once more… liberated to serve the God Who both judged them and freed them (Isaiah 48:17-22). He would renew the kind of care for Israel historically exhibited in the wilderness. The biggest new thing promised in Isaiah 48? God would bring them back home.

God,

You are a God of revelation. You have spoken. I must believe You. 

You are a God of judgment. I too have a rebel heart. I must repent.

You are a God of new deliverance. I will trust You when You make new things from the old, in a mercy I will receive and a grace I never earned.

Amen

One Creator

For thus says the LORD,

who created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he did not create it empty,

he formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

Isaiah 45:18

One Creator

of heaven above and of earth below

One Revealer

of Himself — shown in His work — One we can know

One Lord

in worship before Him all will bow

One God

Who has firmly said “I am the LORD.”

One God

the One Who made Himself revealed in His Word

One God

Who calls all people from sin to turn

One Lord

sent to us to live, die, redeem the slave

One Savior

in Whose life… and death… and life again… will save

One Lover

of our souls Who in love our sins forgave

One Creator

in Christ remakes our lives anew

One Rescuer

Who gave Himself, calling all to trust Him too

One Protector

holding all Who believe, calling everyone, saving the repentant few

One Lord

over His people now to reign

One God

Who calls us to return to Him again

One Savior

Who will renew forever, freed from sin and pain

false worship: a feast of ashes

He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Isaiah 44:20

Isaiah 44:9-20 is all about the delusions and lies that come from worshiping idols. We are easily deceived into seeking from anything other than God what only God can provide. But God confronts idolatrous hearts. And in this passage He does so with a practical, almost comical, logic that points out the outlandish things we do, the illogical extremes our hearts go to, in the pursuit of false worship.

The four part case God presents to confront idolatry goes like this:

1.  Idol-making and idol worship lead to nothing. Idolaters will ultimately answer to God anyway (Isaiah 44:9-11).

2.  Idol-makers take what is natural and falsely convince themselves it is supernatural. They use tools to cut wood, carve idols of their own design, then deem the outcome “gods” (Isaiah 44:12-14), which makes absolutely no logical sense at all!

3.  The same cedar wood that is carved into a “god” is also burnt for fuel, bakes bread, and warms the idolater. A natural thing provided by the true God (wood) is falsely exalted by virtue of extreme human effort and its natural design (fire, fuel, food preparation) is rejected in favor of replacing it with a delusion (Isaiah 44:15-19).

4.  The end of the idol is destruction. It still has its natural ability to burn! God will burn our wood-carved idols to ash… (Isaiah 44:20) showing us what they really are! 

God’s point is this: Idol-making is irrational and stupid. It is a kind of crazy denial of reality. It attempts to replace the Creator with His creation. It relies on lots of human effort. We work hard at rejecting God and making our idols. And when they disappoint us (and they always will because THEY ARE WOOD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!) we fall hard. Delusions are dangerous. False worship delusions are eternally consequential and lead to judgment and destruction. 

Lord,

I’ve never taken a chisel to wood to make my idols, but I have still indeed made plenty of them! I have suffered when I’ve worshiped this world’s stuff instead of You. Draw my heart to reject a false feast of ashes, to want You more than comfort, more than worldly concerns, more than thinking a career provides what I need, more than the acclaim of people!

Amen

talking back to fear

Fear not, nor be afraid;

have I not told you from of old and declared it?

And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

There is no Rock; I know not any.

Isaiah 44:8

Once again I see comfort in the command to “fear not”. I look around my personal position and I see a remarkable peace that only God has brought. I can trust God although every morning, waking up still somewhat disoriented and alone, I see Him working in this different experience that has been this strange and unsettling year of 2023. Even as the year winds to a close, I am in such a better place! I trust God’s wisdom, His ways, His certainty that all have stayed the same… well… actually… that certainty has GROWN as the landscape of my life has become increasingly new and unfamiliar. Yet I do not need to fear.

I am indebted to biblical counselor Ed Welch for his insights into fear and peace. In his book, “Running Scared”, Welch talks about how fear always has a voice… is always talking in some degree. It says things to us… initially to make us stop and think… but inevitably that voice can get twisted, loud, and harmful. And then sinful fear speaks lies to us… lies that can turn us from God and His truth. God in His grace has led me to reject the worst lies that fear had gripped me with. I’ve been called to repent from:

• “You are alone.” No. I may have new solo life challenges, but with Christ I am never alone.
• “Nobody really cares or notices you.” No. I am living in Christian community and in a family, surrounded everywhere I look by people who love me.
• “You will never feel happy again.” No. I can choose joy despite loss and find contentment in my present situation. My life has a bright future because the joy of the Lord is my strength.
• “It is just one dreary day after another.” No. There may be seasons, or days, where grief is more intense. That is to be expected. But even storms are under God’s control, and rains replenish the earth. I will let this season draw my heart to God’s heart and reject the notion that a few clouds ruin my life.
• “This confusing time will never end.” No. This is just a season… and even now I see new light dawning as God teaches me, brings new things and experiences and people into this life. God loves me and is building new life from my old life, revitalizing my hope!

So I say to my soul: “Fear not. Do not be afraid. God has declared His love for me in Christ. I am witnessing His renewing work beyond my loss and my confusion. No one is like Him. His work in me RIGHT NOW is good! There is no Rock like my God!”