A Life That Reflects Christ

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, July 21, 2016
Chapters: Isaiah 1-4
Message: A Life That Reflects Christ

Hello My Friend,

The Book of Isaiah is the twenty-third book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains sixty-six chapters. The author of the book is Isaiah and it was written to Judah and all believers. The timeline for these events took place between 766 BC to 679 BC. The purpose of the book was to teach correction and reproof to all believers. What we are to learn from the book is that rebellion leads to destruction, but repentance leads to restoration. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” - Isaiah 1:18.

The Book of Isaiah is actually a mirror of the entire Bible. The Bible has 66 books, Isaiah has 66 chapters. The Old Testament has 39 books covering the history and sin of Israel, the first 39 chapters of Isiah cover the same. The New Testament has 27 books describing the ministry of Jesus Christ, including the new heaven and earth, the last 27 chapters of Isaiah describe the same. The book of Isaiah takes place during the time that Hezekiah was king in Judah, it begins with God in deep mourning over the sinful and corrupted state of His nation, but He gives them some hope if they just return to Him.

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” - Isaiah 1:11-13,19,20,24-27.

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?” God is not talking to strangers here, He is talking to those who are His, who know Him, yet refuse to turn from there wicked ways, yet still try to keep Him in their lives. While God is a forgiving God, He wants faithfulness more than constant pleads for redemption. The second we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are redeemed, but what good is it if we spend the rest of our lives here on earth living as though we are not. Oh, we might find joy in living recklessly for a while, but sin always comes with consequence, especially when we know what we ought to be doing yet still ignore it. And guess what? Trying to change God’s Word or deliberately ignoring it to justify your sin will only make matters worse. “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” - James 4:15-17.

It is vital that we as Christians live a life that reflects Christ, not to keep our salvation, but to bring others to Him. If we are a part of the world and trying to proclaim Jesus those who do not know Him are not going to see the value in knowing Him because we are just as they are. One day, all will face Jesus, those who know Him will join Him in His Kingdom, but it will not be pretty for those who do not know Him.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:” - Isaiah 2:2-5,12.

“and he shall be brought low:” Not only will those who are not His stand before Him in judgment, those are His will also. Every knee will bow at His sight because we will all see how unworthy we are of Him, especially when He points out the opportunities we missed. Jesus does not judge His as He will those who are not, we will be judged according to the works we have done through Him after we are saved. Think about it this way, if you are going to school or even trying to get a promotion, while being there is a blessing in itself, if you want more you have to prove yourself more to get it. The same works with Jesus, we are already saved and that is a blessing, but imagine what we could have if we did more things through Him.

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” - Matthew 25:34-40.

If you are wondering why the whole world is going to shambles, it is because God’s people are turning their backs on Him and doing what they want to do. God shows us what happened to Jerusalem so that we can see what is going to happen to the world for turning their backs on Him. “For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.” - Isaiah 3:1-5,8.

“to provoke the eyes of his glory.” Do you think God wants to see His people living in sin? Yeah, they are saved, by grace through Christ, but come on now, we are children of Almighty God, and while we are sinners just the same, we need to start acting more like our Father and less like Satan. God is going to judge His people first, here in earth, well before He sends His Son to judge all the earth, but He gives us hope after the judgment. “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” - Isaiah 4:1-4.

“even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:” People get the idea that you have to be Jewish or a Christian to be saved, this is wrong and will send you to hell quicker than you can blink your eyes. I do not know how the Israelites became known as the Jews, when they were always Hebrews, but somehow their race has been reduced to a religion. If you think about it, both the Jews and Christians have been reduced to a religion, when God has nothing to do with religion. Being Jewish, Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, or Muslim does not save anyone, only Christ does, and to be honest, a Christian is not a Christian unless they personally know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. See the name within the word Christian, it is Christ, and the only ones who will be written among the living in Jerusalem are those who believe in and have received Him as their Saviour.

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” - John 5:28-30.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.” - Isaiah 2:10. Jesus is the Rock upon all who hide will be safe, He will come to judge the earth as King of all kings.

Today's Prayer: God, Thank you for sending Your Son to make redemption for our sins a permanent one. We no longer have to offer sacrifices or follow the Law because we are redeemed by the precious blood of Your Son upon our souls. Our redemption does not give us a free pass to live in sin and not suffer for it, it does give us the opportunity to show Your Son to the world and receive heavenly crowns and rewards. Lord, lead us and guide us, help us to seek Your truths and live by them so we can be an honor to You. Put Your hedge of protection around us, and give us the strength and courage to boldly proclaim Your Son to the world. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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