Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Isaiah 17:7-8
In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.

These verses are part of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning Damascus. The prophecy foretold of the destruction of Damascus and the judgment upon Israel. The reason for this judgment was because Israel had forgotten God. Because of this, it is told to Israel that the works of their hands will be cursed, instead of blessed.

It is in times of trouble and times of judgment that our eyes are removed from ourselves and become fixed upon Jesus. Look at the article posted by Newsweek today, entitled, "The End of Christian America." It can be found at: http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583?GT1=43002. In this country, that claimed so ardently that it was a Christian nation (my opinion here differs, just look at the decadence, lust, pride, and lack of conviction and devotion to God) , is on the path to no longer embrace this view, and plunge headlong into the future without any need for God.

This is not a political commentary (my days of thinking politics are the answer are over...it is only Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit), rather it is a practical owning of the times of the past to today. There is nothing new under the sun as the "Preacher" says in Ecclesiastes. The world today either has or is attempting to forget God.

However, on the same page at MSN today, there was an article on creating the perfect home office and getting rid of bad breath. What our nation has sunk to is a desire for the flesh and all its entrapments. The spiritual is now not important and we must do everything to have a happy and meaningful life and get all that we want. This is forgetting God at its finest.

So the prophecy of Isaiah was that in this day, when all things go bad, when wars start, and crops fail, and life becomes difficult, men will look to God. Men will look to the Holy One when everything else fails, and they see that there is nothing but God.

The altars, which the Israelites built, which were made by them to worship, and the sex god, Asherim, that they worshipped, will no longer be looked at. This is the prophecy of restoration, and this is something that we need to look at today.

The altars, which we have built today, may not take the shape of little wooden gods, but there certainly are many gods that have been fashioned in today's world. Gods of entertainment, gods of appetite, gods of sex, gods of music, etc. There are more things today that the hands of men have fashioned as idols, and that they look to then we would care to admit. This age is an age of unbridled lust, where we are lovers of money, lovers of self, disrespectful and disobedient to parents, etc. Truly this age is one of lust for power, money and sex.

On top of this, I would say that the most abundantly clear altar that man has built in this country today is the god asherim. Sex is currency today. Sex is what sells. Sex is what makes so many men and women happy. Pornography abounds, immodesty is everywhere.

So what is the redeeming quality of this meditation today? Well, that God is the one who must turn our hearts to Him. God will turn our hearts away from these things and to Himself. God's Spirit will invade our lives and show us our need for Jesus Christ. Then, we will come to see His beauty, and be consumed by Him. And then, as in Psalm 63:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

This is what God will do to us. This is what God will work in our hearts. Our hearts will be turned away from the gods of this world to absolute devotion to the one true God. We will embrace Jesus Christ and His Lordship, we will submit to Him, and just as it says in 1 John 5:3, "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome."

So, this is the end of the matter, that it is only God that can work the miracle in our hearts, and in our nation. However, those of us who love God and have been called to Him, must truly take stock of ourselves. Am I living for Christ? Am I worshipping gods made by my own hands? Am I turned toward God and consumed with love for Him?

Oh God, may your Spirit pour out upon me today. May my heart truly search itself to see whether my life is different from the world. May my mind, heart, soul and strength be fixed upon you today. May the snares and lusts of the world fall away from my sight, and may I be fixed upon you today. May my eyes be fixed upon heaven to gaze upon your beauty. Fill me and all those I love today with an extra measure of your Holy Spirit so that we may be confronted with our sin and grow to love you more. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.