Pentecostal Devotions

"Trust me, I know..." - GOD

by Janelle Acevedo

“Woe to him who quarrels with his maker, him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ does you work say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ “This is what the Lord says - the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the works of my hands?”

Isaiah 45 vv 9 - 11

Upon researching for my exegesis, I came across this passage in Isaiah. Although I did preach on the verses before these, as I continued reading these three verses over and over again it could not be ignored how sovereign God really is. As the verses before hand speak of the summoning of Cyrus emperor of Persia to be the temporal ‘Messiah’ for the Israelites, what is most startling is the fact that God is summoning a pagan who “does not acknowledge me (God)” (45 vv 4 - 5). Honestly enough the Israelites would not have understood why and thus would have questioned God and what his plans were. Not questioning Him in the sense of just wanting to know but questioning in a more arrogant and perhaps undermining tone. After looking at this the thought that entered my mind was, how many times have I asked my Maker why? How many times do we try to counsel the Sovereign Lord on how He should things?

In all honesty the severity of when we do that is far greater than what it seems. Why? Well is it not true when we question (in an arrogant fashion) someone or question God, in essence, is it not saying that we know better? HOW OFFENSIVE! How offensive to say that to God who is the Potter, who is our father, who is our mother, who is our Maker, this is what He should do with us in our lives, when we should question ‘God, what do YOU want to do in my life coz I believe and Trust You?’

We must always remember our lives are not our own! It is the Sovereign Omni of Omnis who has given us breath, and we as His children, creation, should learn to TRUST Him in that.

Somewhere, somehow, today truly think about when you are talking with God about your life and see whether there truly is Trust, in who God is, within your personal relationship. Are you going to trust Him to do His work in you life today, everyday and always?

The Expanded Grace

by Victor Chandra

"Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.’

And let not any eunuch complain, ‘I am only a dry tree"

(Isaiah 56:7)

Isaiah 56:1-8 serves as an opening oracle of Isa. 56:1-59:21, which sets the tone with its concerns for Yahweh’s soon-coming salvation, Israel’s keeping covenant, Sabbath keeping in a context of justice, and the gathering of the nations on the holy mountain. Yet at the same time Isa. 56:1-8 meant to be a shocking explanation of the prophet of the spiritual acceptability of ritually unacceptable people, for it is in this very passage that Yahweh reveals his heart not just for the Israelites and the nations, but new, more specific groups, the foreigner and the eunuch. (Note that 56:1-8 is not Isaiah’s opinion but divine revelation marked with, "This is what the LORD says.") In this passage Isaiah addresses the status of two groups of outcasts, the foreigner and the eunuch, both of whom would have been excluded from participation in some rites of worship at the temple (cf. Deut 23:1-8). Nevertheless, this oracle announces that these particular groups will be able "to join themselves to the LORD" in a number of ways (vv. 1-4). Consequently, the temple will be "called a house of prayer for all peoples" (v. 7).

It is interesting to note that a later time Jesus would claim that these prophetic books were speaking of him, his mission and his message (Mark 1:2; Luke 4:17-21). Further, he would portray the scene as a great banquet to which Israel is invited, which many in Israel despised, and which is then opened to all who want to come (Matt 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24). I thus describe this gracious act of God as "the grace that has been expanded" or simply "the expanded grace"! This however does not imply that there will be universal salvation (i.e., all will be saved) but rather universalism and evangelism.

As I look upon myself and see what God has been doing in and through me, I realise that his grace has indeed been expanded to me. What’s more, to the "Gentiles" (i.e., people like you and me) the message is one of the supremacy of Israel’s God, who is the Creator God of all the world, and the inclusion of us into the program of world redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. We, though foreigners, are accepted as members of God’s household on equal footing with the Jews. Our hope and future are now centered in Israel’s God, and that we have become part of the historical people of God, now centered on the person of Jesus.

Therefore, if such amazing grace has been expanded to us, we then have the responsibility to share with others that the same grace has also been expanded to them, not to mention that the Church must remain an open "house of prayer for all peoples" (v. 8) if it is to welcome the presence of the living, loving God with integrity.

Waiting in Anticipation

by Yi Kye Chul

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

Isaiah 30:18

Isaiah here gives the reasons for the waiting in Gods providence because the Lord will be gracious and compassionate to those who wait for him. Isaiah sees the Lord is a God of justice. Although the Israelites endured even in the face of what looked like certain death. Isaiah promised the deliverance and the result, that is, a revival of trust in God and consequent growth of righteousness and prosperity for the city for a long period, that is, most of the lifetime of those who had seen the siege.

They were chargeable with distrust, and were distressed by strange uneasiness and restlessness of mind; for they were fearfully harassed by their unbelief, so that they could not "wait" for God calmly. To cure this vice, he enjoins them to "wait," that is, to hope. Now, hope is nothing else than steadfastness of faith, that is, when we wait calmly till the Lord fulfills what he has promised. When he says that they who shall patiently "wait" for him will be "blessed," he declares, on the other hand, that they who allow themselves to be hurried away by impatience, and do not repent of their sins and their wickedness, are wretched and miserable, and will at length perish; for without hope in God there can be no salvation or happiness.

Isaiah’s substantial message of waiting to hope for God’s grace and compassion could extend to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in New Testament context, as we live in this unstable today’s culture which is focused on materialism which corrupts the society to sin just like Isaiah had seen in ancient times.

Through all the Advents of our life, we shall wait and look forward with longing for that day of the Lord, when God says, "I am making everything new!" Advent is a time of waiting. Our whole life is a time of waiting; waiting for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. We should be walking in the way Jesus has taught us, making the Gospel evident - God gave us eternal life through our lives bathed in the Holy Spirit. Isn’t eternity the intrinsic hope of waiting that is revealed on Isaiah’s proclamation of God’s word applied in today’s culture?

Send Me!

by Pieter De Vries

"…Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’

Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’" (Is. 6:4-8)

In this passage it is God who gives commission by asking the rhetorical question to elicit a response from Isaiah. Isaiah’s response is immediate, though it seems for a moment that there wasn’t any hope for him, but now he has received assurance by the forgiveness of sins. Isaiah now understands that God won’t banish him from His presence and is ready to serve the Lord.

It’s interesting to see that Isaiah is willing to do the Lord’s bidding, even before he knows what that bidding is. I can relate to Isaiah’s immediate response. I was reminded by something similar that happened to me, when a person in the congregation asked me whether I was going to accept God’s calling upon my life. I think I said "yes" three times. Looking back, I can see how a prophecy has come to fruition. However, it seems like the eagerness in which I accepted God’s calling isn’t as "eager" as it was back then. It seems that when the road gets harder to travel, it’s easier to become complacent and live in hypocrisy to do "God’s will." I should say to God again, "Here I am, Lord! Send me," to make sure that I’m still walking according to His truth.

In this passage we also find the reason for why it is that so few are willing to serve God. People need to be convicted of sin, because only in the light of the understanding of redemption is one willing and ready to joyfully serve God, and go wherever God may call him. It’s in disobedience that the enemy has free ground. It’s in those times that clouds are formed around us and suddenly don’t know whether we are still walking on the right path. It’s in that state where we lose our joy in serving Him. Only in the light of redemption, when sin is purified from us, can we joyfully serve Him. Therefore, we need to ask God that He may cleanse us through the blood of Jesus Christ and so may be found worthy to live out the calling He has given us.

When truly reflecting on this passage, I realize that this image actually goes all the way back to when I was reading my Bible and hadn’t even become a Christian. I was reading the Bible for the first time really, and felt to pray to God and so I did. I prayed that I would love to be like one of those men in the Old Testament, like Joseph or David. Looking back now at what the Lord has been doing in my life and the way He has used me I suddenly see what I’ve asked for. I guess I didn’t realize that God actually heard my prayers. Tears are running down my face when I realize that He is there and that He has heard me. Lord, please, "Send me!"

True Devotion to a Zealous God

by Sarah Todd

Isaiah 1 is a powerful, emotive chapter that reflects the heart of a God who is jealous for His people. Isaiah, a prophet of Jerusalem, who spoke into the lives of the people of the nation of Judah and Jerusalem gives a powerful word after seeing a vision, to the people of the Lord. When we first read Isaiah 1 it almost seems as if the Lord is an angry God who does punish those who do not follow him in obedience in almost horrific ways (Look at Isaiah 1:15, 1:20, 1:25, 1:31). From an initial reading of this chapter we could come to that very conclusion.

We need to consider the context in which Isaiah 1 was written though. The book was written in approximately 435 BC at a time when Jews were scattered across the empire, the temple had not been a success and there was no king. It seems the Empire appeared to be in chaos – The Lord was willing to have them near to His heart as his chosen ones but he battled their stubbornness to be obedient to His call to follow and to commit wholeheartedly to worship Him. The result – chaos. Evil deeds are done, justice is forgotten, the oppressed are not encouraged, the fatherless and widowed are left to fend for themselves and the Lord is grieved.

We sense a frustration rising from the heart of God. A holy anger rising out of a deep desire to be intimately involved with the ones He created, the ones He loves. We meet a jealous God who wants the attention and devotion of His people. He will do anything to have their devotion and affection. He is not eager to punish but will do anything to draw His people to Himself.

While Isaiah 1 is a strong warning against turning from the Lord, just as parts of the rest of the book are also, it is also full of His rich promises to those who will turn to Him, follow Him and praise His name. He promises salvation for all (Eg. 35:4, 56:8), healing (58:8), comfort and help (44:1-2, 66:13), refreshment (55) and peace (66:12). The Lord can not help but meet with those who desire to meet with Him.

We are challenged in Isaiah 1 and the rest of the book to respond to the Lords call to be truly devoted to Him and his ways. Will you commit yourself to Jesus today in a way that will satisfy His zealous jealously for your sole attention and devotion to Him? I know I want to! It is such a joy to meet with him.

A Free Lunch?

by Katie Elmore

Hunger compels human beings to action. As an exhortation to the exiles returning from Babylon, Isaiah 55 invites the children of Israel to come to Yahweh for their sustenance. God's interest is not only for their physical freedom and well-being, but also for the life of their souls. The people are reluctant, potentially comfortable in Babylon, and quite possibly riddled with despair. Finding food and nourishment in abandoned Jerusalem does not seem like the most viable alternative. So God reassures them with the most sublime of proposals - He'll be the chef. Without oppression or coercion, He invites his people Israel to the delectable table that always satisfies - just as he invites us. We cannot purchase food for the soul. It can neither be borrowed nor stolen - each one must hear the words of God, and then the soul will live. What do we digest when we hear his profoundly intimate words, and respond to this most exquisite of dinner invitations? Far better than any entree, our first course is a delightful covenant of everlasting mercy and the never-ending taste of unfailing love. Next, we take in the substance of a secure future followed by a delicious promise of authority, (v. 3, 5). We are then invited to consume the strengthening power to be His witnesses (v.4) supplemented by the empowerment to be leaders among nations (v. 4). Can you taste it? The next course God presents involves commanding nations to obey Him and according to his word, they will do just that (v. 5).

As if the main courses were not fulfilling enough, the most satisfying finality to this meal prepared by God is the promised reality of it in our lives. Verses 10 and 11 clearly demonstrate that just as sure as the rains nourish the earth and make it grow, God's word will accomplish everything he means it to - enliven our souls to get up from the table and carry out his will. The chef's invitation is yours, and his delicacies include items your menu can't even spell, (v. 8). Hear the soul growling? If you're hungry, come and taste - it's free.

An Addiction to Technology

by David Porter

I received my first bible when I was eight years old, a gift from my mother. It was the Living Translation, a paraphrased version which was better at telling the stories than being particularly exact with the translation. Nevertheless as I was reading these fascinating stories in the Old Testament it always struck me as downright peculiar that the Israelites would continually bow down to little wooden or carved blocks that they would call an idol. There was nothing in my life experience (of a huge eight years) that would suggest that there was anything sensible about this.  Why would one do such a thing, after all, what power is there is a wooden block?

What is important to realise is that for the early Israelites, their society was one based on agriculture. Life depended very much on the growth of crops, the availability of water and the rays of the sun to grow them.  The temptation for the Hebrews was to rely on something other than God (an idol) to bring these factors to be. In this way an idol functions as a type of technology which supplants God as our provider. The attraction of such technologies is that for a time, they appear to work. Ultimately however they harm our relationship with God and we forget that we need Him. In Isaiah 17v10-11 God corrects his people for such technology addiction.

“For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;

therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and set out slips of an alien god,

though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow;

yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.”

In our modern world our technology may be different, but the core temptation to idolatry is the same. Perhaps we rely on our mobile phones, our PDA’s or even something as seemingly benign as our ministries. However, as we see in Isaiah 10v20, we are called as God’s people to lean on Him for our provisions.

“On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.”

Use Me: A Lifestyle Acceptable to the Lord

by Warren Richardson

Isaiah 58 is truly an amazing passage: Isaiah uses a set of questions to describe what is the acceptable fast to Yahweh, and from verse 1 to the end of verse 5, we see that the people believe that they have been doing what the law requires, and are expecting for God to rain down knowledge and blessings on them for one day of servitude or fasting. But we also see that the rest of the time there is quarreling, fighting, harsh treatment of their workers and general displeasure that God’s not doing enough for them!

Isaiah asks “Is this what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”

In verses 6 to 14 Isaiah uses a question again but this time it’s a prophetic vision showing genuine repentance and a completely changed lifestyle that is a true and acceptable fast “unto the Lord”. This reminds us now and the people of the day back in Isaiah’s time that our service and worship should be a heart response of love, to spend ourselves on behalf of the poor, those who are in need or down hearted, to treat others with grace, dignity, and to be patient and love others with actions and truth.

By doing this we will see the day of change, we will find our joy in the Lord, and God will be able to guide us and satisfy our needs in a sun scorched land, even our Australia.

So let us humble ourselves and share our food, our shelter, our finances and not turn away from our brothers and sisters so that God’s light can break forth each dawn and we can call to God and he will hear us and then we can say to Him “Here I am Lord, use me”.

Truly Worshipful Behaviour

by Cameron Thompson

The book of Isaiah is full of the thundering judgements of a righteous and angry God against Judah. The prophet likens them to the godless cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord even tells them that he hates their sacrifices, their festivals, and their worship that is supposedly in honour of him. He tells them that he is not even listening to their prayers. Perhaps we can better understand this if we imagine the message of Isaiah 1:10-20 thus:

“The multitude of your services,

What are they to me?” says the Lord

“I have more than enough of your choruses,

Your building funds and offerings,

Your conferences, your concerts,

Have become a burden to me,

I am weary of bearing endless teachings,

And your mid-week assemblies”

It was God himself who first instituted the sacrifices and worship practices of the children of Israel. But in this instance, he is rejecting them. We know that God delights in the praises of his people, and worship of many forms is encouraged throughout the Scriptures. However, whether it was the temple then or the church today, worship must extend beyond the four walls of the building. The worship that is most pleasing to God is neither burnt offerings, nor words sung. The worship is in the right behaviour, living with integrity, helping the needy, and seeing justice done. This kind of worship will verify the religious acts of worship and fellowship. This right behaviour was lacking in Judah, and so their worship counted for nothing in the sight of God. Thankfully, God always presents the opportunity for forgiveness through repentance.

Father, help our worship to go beyond rituals and short term outward actions – may it also transform our very hearts so that the way we live every moment of our lives can increasingly reflect your integrity and concern for people who are needy and oppressed.

A Transformed World

by Victor Chandra

“…for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord like the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9, NIV)

Isaiah 11:1-16 is a passage concerning the hope of the royal Messiah extended to the remnant of Israel. It is understood as a word of promise for the troubled day of the Assyrian threat and hence for the present, but also to a large extent contains in itself clear signs that its fulfillment is for time yet to come. Such hope is a living, dynamic, and ever-present assurance for the people of God. As such, the passage speaks as much to the church of today as in the prophet’s time.

Interestingly enough, the eschatological hope uttered by Isaiah can be said to be earth-oriented. That is it is nothing less than the anticipation of a new creation as it is clearly promised that the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. Just like the waters cover the sea very well, that is, it fills the sea to the fullness of its capacity, the knowledge of God will be enjoyed to its fullest extent in every place on earth. This is a promise of a transformed kosmos which the world is hungering to experience.

One day political and social peace, justice and righteousness will take place here on earth as the result of the reign of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. What’s more, in that Day no longer will there be a free trade but rather a fair trade. Therefore, far from being a religion that rescues people from a flawed creation, Christianity affirms that there will be a transformed kosmos, and that is at the heart of Christian mission in the world and all Christian living. In other words, Christians do believe that one day “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). This is an assured eschatological hope shared by the prophet Isaiah, the apostle Paul, and all those who believe in Christ.