There Are no Greeks, no Jews,...etc...

I need help. I need help being the woman that God wants me to be, in the church, loving the brotherhood, because there are still some people I feel uncomfortable seeing in church, simply because we may not get along. I need God’s wisdom, and His love, and His conviction. I need Hezekiah’s attitude in Isaiah 37:15-20. “And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, ‘O, LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries. And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou are the LORD, even thou only’.” I need the attitude and the desire to destroy all my idols, and my desire for all things to be in polity to the way I like things is an idol. I need to allow my God to demonstrate that He is above all else. I long to have the attitude to dwell in His house, with all the people in the church, regardless of whether or not things are done to my liking. (Ps 27:4) For He is sovereign, He is LORD. He is in His tabernacle when the people are wholly serving Him. In His house I am made strong by Him, because His house is made of stone. That of the wicked is made of cloth and it is a tent. (Ps 84:1-3, 10) His house cannot be torn down. A house made by human hands most assuredly can fall. He is a wonderful God, Who calls me to His side, unceasingly and most desirous of my humility and homage to Him.

I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD (Part 21)

And of course the personal covenant that God makes with us is through baptism and the promise of salvation. That will cause some to grimace, because some believe that salvation comes prior to baptism. But really baptism is a necessary part of one’s salvation. Because one has decided to follow Jesus. I have no doubt in my mind that salvation emanates from the grace of God and only that grace saves. I also have no doubt in my mind that it is not the washing that cleanses the body but that baptism means so much more than what man is willing to accept. Baptism for salvation is not a work, as some would say. It is the final sealant on a covenant we have to obey God. We are participating in His death, burial, and resurrection. We are also obeying what James said when he said, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Unless I demonstrate to God that I believe Him by obeying Him, then how does He know that I am telling Him the truth. Why else would Paul, as Saul of Tarsus, be exhorted to, “Wash away your sins, calling on the name of the LORD” (Acts 22:16). If Paul could have been saved just by calling on His name then there would be no need for Ananias to have spoken the words beforehand. We are urged to do exactly what Peter says, “Repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of Holy Spirit.” What is the gift of the Holy Spirit? Eternal life, Salvation, whatever you chose to call it. (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8) One cannot then say that salvation comes prior to this because the gift of the Holy Spirit is the grace that God gives: 1) for obedience, 2) as a connection with the resurrection of Christ, and it cannot come prior to baptism. The connection of baptism to salvation is that both remove sins, baptism being the operator of salvation.

I AM the LORD YOUR GOD (part 20)

God makes covenant with His people. Especially when it’s vital to their survival as a race. When things are about to happen that could affect their very existence. God gave Abraham a covenant. (Gen15: 1-20). God gave us a covenant through Jesus’ covenant with His disciples. He said, “A new command I give you…”. (John 13:34) God gave the people of Israel covenant when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments. (Ex 20:1-17). When God made covenant with Abraham, two nations were born, one out of Hagar and one out of Isaac and subsequently Jacob (Israel). (Gen 16:7-13). When something big is about to happen, God promises, so that there is something for which to hope and strive.

God makes covenant and promises true. He sticks by His word. He loves us enough to communicate with us for us to be with Him to warn us about our bad behavior and what is acceptable. He also comforts us and heals us. He answers all those that call on Him. For example in Genesis 24:12-51, He answered the call of the servant to identify the mate for Isaac. He answered Jacob’s plea for guidance when he was hiding, in Genesis 32: 9 – 33:17, not only about returning home but also about reconciling with Esau. Not only this but when you put any situation in God’s hands, He has a way of untangling the mess and setting everything the way it should be. In Exodus 17:8-14, God strengthened Moses with Aaron and Hur and hence provided for Moses, when Moses couldn’t lift his arms from being tired. With God’s strength as the song goes, “We Shall Overcome”.

I am the Lord Your God (part 19)

And God is God, and He makes a pact with me and with others that believe in Him and believe that His Word is truth. Isaiah describes such a pact in Isaiah 61:1-11. He describes the covenant, the new covenant that is to come in Christ. Its purpose? To demonstrate God’s glory, not just in the nation of Israel but also in those who are not Jews that nevertheless believe in Him. The stranger, those who do not choose to know God but to either deny Him or to say that they are more powerful than He will lose everything. Those who are oppressed and homeless however will be protected in God’s holy place (Isaiah 62:1-12). God gives us a place that those on the outside marvel because of our faith and love for one another, and we will collectively be as the Bride of Christ and Christ is the bridegroom. Before this covenant, there’ll be no peace. Afterwards, all can come in and be called a holy people once again, taking on a new and blessed name. (Isaiah 65:1-25, 2 Cor 5:17) We are a new creation in Him, we have by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice become righteous in our belief in God, and in our obedience and love for Him. He allows us to know Him and His power. And the choice is simple. Do we love Him enough to surrender completely, or are we just giving lip-service? If I truly love God and truly believe in His power, then I look forward to heaven and earth is only a sojourn. Little things like traffic and hot weather and fluctuating stocks aren’t as upsetting, because God is in complete control. And it is a brand new day. And there is a new Jerusalem, one that no man can tear asunder. (Isaiah 66:7-24). Isaiah predicts the coming of Jesus, to bring a new way of life to all people, to invite all who believe to come to Him. He comes to bring peace, to make a torn people whole, but also to bring judgment by the word of God spoken through Jesus on those who refuse to believe and follow His direction and words. I often think of Isaiah as speaking of the House of the Lord, which all Jews understood as the temple, as being figurative for the spiritual House of the Lord which now Christians look as His Church or the extended version of heaven. I don’t believe that Temple will be rebuilt in the physical sense, but that it has been rebuilt in the spiritual sense via His Church and in the personal sense because we are all temples of God (according to Paul in 1 Cor 6:19) God rules in all cases and Isaiah gives this promise in Isaiah 54:1-17 that God will avenge the oppressed and those that call upon Him. God wants His people to sing and be happy and rejoice in their desolation because that’s not what is important in considering their circumstances. Instead it is joy in the knowledge that God indeed will protect His people, He rules, He provided, He wants us to know Him. He promises to always be with me and His people. God will not let His people suffer (Isaiah 52:1-25) not for long, although it may seem like an eternity. Because through Jesus, His people will overcome their spiritual enemies (the enemies that truly count). And God will be exalted. Although others mock Him now, He will be exalted in the long run. His time is not my time, nor are His thoughts my thoughts. I may wonder where He is, but in retrospect He was always, is always, there. In order to help me and to help other Christians, Isaiah has written of a few of God’s basic principles in Isaiah 51:3-17. First, God and only God heals. I have many wounds and God knows them all. And heals them all. I may not like to outcome, but in the long run God truly knows what is best for me and all concerned. Secondly, there can be growth in the wasteland but this can only occur in God. Only God performs miracles, only God knows each and every oasis and can bring us there and only God can bring us back to the fertile land. Thirdly, Worrying about men is fruitless, because men die away, men cannot last forever, and God is with us until and beyond the end of time. I need to put my faith in God, even though I cannot possibly understand Him for He is a great and wonderful God. Finally, Isaiah 49:6 show the plan of God from Isaiah’s time until its fruition in Christ. God planned to send His Son so that through Him we would be redeemed, and in fact God planned a way that people of diverse cultures and backgrounds could be fashioned into one body. Isaiah demonstrates the essence of God, because it demonstrates the promise of never going hungry or thirsty and never being in need because God always protects His people.