A new thing... and a hallelujah raised!

Isaiah 43:16-21

16 This is what the Lord says:

He who makes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

17 Who brings out the chariot and the horse,

The army and the mighty man

(They will lie down together and not rise again;

They have been extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):

18 “Do not call to mind the former things,

Or consider things of the past.

19 Behold, I am going to do something new,

Now it will spring up;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

20 The animals of the field will glorify Me,

The jackals and the ostriches,

Because I have given waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

To give drink to My chosen people.

21 The people whom I formed for Myself

Will declare My praise.

This weekend we were ministering in the 'Groot Karoo' area, and we could once again experience how God made things new and gave us a new beginning in different areas of our lives.  It reminded me of this scripture which is a celebration of the might of our God.  He makes a way through the sea when we think it is impossible to cross and He destroys the power of the enemy chasing us.  Then He reminds us to not call to mind the former things.  Not even remembering the things of the past because it takes our focus back to the enemy's plans and destruction.  Instead, He reminds us to 'behold' - focus our gaze upon, look and keep looking, hold, lock our vision upon Him to see the new thing that He will bring about.

Last year in September we were also in the same area of the Karoo and it was incredibly dry.  Since then God has poured out his grace, in the form of rain, on the land and the people and we could really enjoy the new thing He had done in nature this weekend.  Truly there were rivers in the desert and animals in the field.  Nature was glorifying Him by growing with gusto and being as green as it could be, for He gave them waters in the wilderness and drink to His chosen people.  

Let us - who are the people whom He formed - declare His Praise for evermore for each new thing He is doing in our lives!

I raise a Halleluja

 

You know my name...

Isaiah 43:1

But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob, And He who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Last week God called us to Arise and Shine with His Light in us, this week's message links so beautifully with that message.  God reminds us that He has called us by name.  He is our creator, He formed us.  He tells us not to fear for He has redeemed us AND He has called us by name.  Its not just a general calling, not just a blanket statement of  'everybody' is called thus implying that I am just one of the called masses.  This statement is a specific and very personal one.  He called you and I "BY NAME".  He knows my name, He knows your name.  Before we were born he knew your name, and He had a purpose and a calling in mind when He created me and you for such a time as this.  

What does this calling of God mean?

• Firstly I think it is a call to a life of personal relationship with Him.  It is a personal calling therefore He uses our personal names.  It is a call unto Him firstly.
• Secondly it is a call to a God-given purpose that He has ordained, prepared and equipped us for before we were even formed in our mother's womb.  

Point to ponder

• Lets take time to ponder the state of our personal relationships with God this week.  How do I respond to Him calling me 'BY NAME' ?  Re-write that verse with your own personal name in the sentence.  
• Secondly let us take some time to ponder His purposeful calling of my name for this year.  What are the specific purposes that He is calling me to for this season?

You know my name - Tasha Cobbs 

Arise! Shine!

Isaiah 60:1-2

“Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come,  And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 “For in fact, darkness will cover the earth

And deep darkness will cover the peoples;

But the Lord will rise upon you [Jerusalem]

And His glory and brilliance will be seen on you.

A very good friend of mine brought this well known scripture to my attention this week, and somehow it just did not want to disappear again.  Every time I think about Monday devotions and wonder "what is the Lord saying for this week?" this comes to mind.  Therefore I think we had better pay attention to Isaiah 60. So here goes:

Is there anyone out there that feels their light is sort of dimming in this very challenging time, or is it just me?   The darkness seems to escalate continuously and less and less light and truth seem to be visible out there.  It is truly a time where darkness covers the earth and a deep darkness the people.  However, in the midst of this darkness, God encourages us to "Arise!" and to stand up from our downtrodden state and let the Light that He shines upon us "Shine!"

John 1:4-5 says:  "4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it]."

Even though the darkness covers the earth and the people, the Light of Christ is upon us and the darkness does not understand it, nor can it overpower it, or appropriate or absorb it. If we read closely in Isaiah 60 we see clearly that it is not our own light that we need to 'shine', it is the Light of the Lord that rises upon us.  He is our Light that has come, He came to shine on us and we can merely reflect His Light to the world.  In Him is life and the life IS the LIGHT of men.  

Points to ponder this week:

Let us ask the Lord to clean our mirrors with which we reflect the Light that He shines on us, so that the glory that He shines upon us will be reflected brilliantly into this present darkness around us!  

Arise shine for the Light is come

An open door - an ancient path...

Some doors may have closed over the past year. Some of them may have just been outside our reach, some open doors we may not have recognized and may not have made use of, others may have been slammed shut in our faces because of other people's actions, reactions, decisions or indecisions. Whatever the case may be, chances are that we experienced some losses. We may even be mourning over the loss of whatever dreams, opportunities or expectations we perceived to be lying beyond those doors. Loss is always painful. Sometimes there are regrets about our own wrong decisions or inactions or whatever the case may be, in the end we need to face the losses and accept that our life's journey has taken a different path than planned. Mostly it means that we have to deal with the loss of our expectations.

Jeremiah 6:16-17 says:

Thus says the Lord,

“Stand by the roads and look; ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is; then walk in it,

And you will find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’ AMP

Many of us - if not all of us - are standing at a crossroad with some life decisions.  We are wondering what road to take, what decision we need to make, which direction to go.  The Lord reminds us today that there is an ancient path, a good way that, when we walk in it, we will find rest for our souls.  The choice is ours.  Are we going to take the road He placed before us since before the beginning of time, or are we like Israel of old going to say: "We will not walk in it?"  The road is there, it is not missing or so obscured that we cannot find it.  It's there and the outcome is rest in Christ.  Rest for our souls.  

Let us not hold on to what is behind us, but let us stretch ourselves out to what lies before us.  Let us follow the path He has set before us.    

The year 2022 lies before us, undoubtedly filled with many open doors and opportunities for a myriad of different aspects of our lives. 

Revelation 3:7-8 says:

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. NKJ

The Lord encourages us today that He puts before us an open door which leads to the ancient paths.  He gives us opportunities and when He gives them and opens the door, NOBODY - no government decision, no world pandemic, no wrong decision, NOTHING, can rob us of the doors that He opens for us.  Even when we have just a little strength left, let us keep His Word and not deny His name as we step forward through the open door and follow the ancient path He set before us. 

Sometimes it looks like there is no way ahead, but God will make one, in fact He already did.  Let us use every opportunity available to us to walk in His glory to the honour of His Name only.  

He will make a way - Don Moen