Monday 25 Aug 2008

Monday Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

 

Key Verse: Isaiah 6:5

5  Then I said, Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes
have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.

 

Devotion:

This is a short bit of text from Isaiah describing a vision that he had
that made him truly realise just how much of a sinner he was. Here,
Isaiah, one of the prophets we always think of as being a true man of
God, sees just how far short of the mark he falls because of his
realisation at just who God is. He realised his fear of God. This is
not a knee trembling fear but the uttermost respect for the most high.
If this is the way that Isaiah saw himself, then how should we be
looking at ourselves? We who are just people, who attend a church, just
people who try to do our bit, just people who believe in this Very
God... When is it that we will realise just who we are in the sight of
God?



This is also a vision that looks forward to God’s church. His church is
not the buildings and certainly not an organisation, but a body of
believers who all bow down before our God in reverence and fear. Just
as the temple was filled with the smoke, so our bodies are filled with
The Holy Ghost when we profess to believe in Jesus Christ and ask Him
to forgive us of our sins. From that moment on we are regarded as being
without sin – yet we continue to sin again almost immediately... what a
loving God we have that is willing to listen to the endless string of
excuses and wait for us to admit to our sins so that He is able to
forgive us once again...



If there were not a mediator between us and God, we would not even make
it to the bottom of the stairs. We are simply not worthy to approach
God in any way. Yet, with Christ as our mediator, we are able to
approach God as sinless people as Christ has taken on all of our sins
on that cross that He willingly laid His own life down on! Each one of
us can go forward with uttermost confidence in knowing that Christ will
stand up and declare us clean in front of God the Father! What an
Awesome God we have!



Points to Ponder:

Just when do you feel guilty?



Do you have to wait for Christ to catch you first?