This morning as the sun rises I have been meditating on my relationship with God. All the while I have been conscious of the watchful eye of our springer spaniel, Marley. We have yet another creature under our front steps. Marley chased a groundhog under there yesterday afternoon. She has been obsessing about its presence ever since. The barking, the whining, the crying, the panting and the smelling went on all of last evening. She, a normally quiet and well behaved dog, is really quite trying when this happens. Marley finally fell into an exhausted sleep late last night, but now she can’t wait to return to the scene. I told her a very clear and rather forceful “No” this morning and strangely enough she laid down at my feet and is now quiet, but her eyes never leave me, lest I head for the door. Note to self: screen the bottom of the front deck!
I have been reading three verses in Isaiah and I am always in awe of these short pieces of scripture. The first is Isaiah 1:18
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
The other two verses are found in Isaiah 43:25-26
25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.
There are two revelations in these very similar verses. God is speaking directly to us through the prophet Isaiah. First He tells us that He, the God of the universe, will make our scarlet sins as white as snow. He blots out our sins. The most amazing statement is that He will not even remember our sins. As I age I become more and more aware of my sins. I am a sinner and unlikely to change in the near future. I am by nature a sinner. I am most fortunate to have a God who puts aside my sins and promises to not even remember them.
That brings me to the second revelation. How do we have God blot out our sins? We must go to Him and admit our sins. It is the wording in these verses that just amazes me. He doesn’t want us crawling and begging on our knees. He wants us to “contend” with Him. He wants us to “reason” with Him. The relationship He wants is not so much subservient as direct, honest and maybe even at times contentious. He wants us to state our case. At times we are to actually argue with Him. Why would an all powerful God not only tolerate, but invite us to contend with Him?
The answer is very simple. Contention is better than apathy. Contention shows faith! The relationship we have is a real one. It is open, direct and honest. God expects us to say it all. He knows what we are thinking anyway, so why try to fool God. If we are angry with Him, he wants to discuss it with us. In order to be angry with God, we must truly believe in Him.
Two years following my diagnosis and treatment for cancer, we (My God and I) had some very angry and direct discussions. When I was actually fighting cancer, I tended to be submissive to the will of God. After the crisis of cancer was over, I started to assess the damage done by treatment. I had and still have some issues about the changes to our lives. I am now ashamed of some of the things I said. Indeed I sinned even as I spoke to God. I am most fortunate to have a relationship with a God who assures me that he will not even remember what I said in that dark time. At the same time we (My God and I) both relish the intimacy of the relationship.
The most fantastic word in two of these verses is “together”. God wants to “reason together” and to “contend together”. He wants a two way relationship and so do I. How I appreciate my time with God.
(Comments, corrections, suggestions or rebuttals are welcome. My email link is contained in “About me: view my complete profile” to the right of this page or use the comment section below which requires that you have a Google account.)
I have been reading three verses in Isaiah and I am always in awe of these short pieces of scripture. The first is Isaiah 1:18
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
The other two verses are found in Isaiah 43:25-26
25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.
There are two revelations in these very similar verses. God is speaking directly to us through the prophet Isaiah. First He tells us that He, the God of the universe, will make our scarlet sins as white as snow. He blots out our sins. The most amazing statement is that He will not even remember our sins. As I age I become more and more aware of my sins. I am a sinner and unlikely to change in the near future. I am by nature a sinner. I am most fortunate to have a God who puts aside my sins and promises to not even remember them.
That brings me to the second revelation. How do we have God blot out our sins? We must go to Him and admit our sins. It is the wording in these verses that just amazes me. He doesn’t want us crawling and begging on our knees. He wants us to “contend” with Him. He wants us to “reason” with Him. The relationship He wants is not so much subservient as direct, honest and maybe even at times contentious. He wants us to state our case. At times we are to actually argue with Him. Why would an all powerful God not only tolerate, but invite us to contend with Him?
The answer is very simple. Contention is better than apathy. Contention shows faith! The relationship we have is a real one. It is open, direct and honest. God expects us to say it all. He knows what we are thinking anyway, so why try to fool God. If we are angry with Him, he wants to discuss it with us. In order to be angry with God, we must truly believe in Him.
Two years following my diagnosis and treatment for cancer, we (My God and I) had some very angry and direct discussions. When I was actually fighting cancer, I tended to be submissive to the will of God. After the crisis of cancer was over, I started to assess the damage done by treatment. I had and still have some issues about the changes to our lives. I am now ashamed of some of the things I said. Indeed I sinned even as I spoke to God. I am most fortunate to have a relationship with a God who assures me that he will not even remember what I said in that dark time. At the same time we (My God and I) both relish the intimacy of the relationship.
The most fantastic word in two of these verses is “together”. God wants to “reason together” and to “contend together”. He wants a two way relationship and so do I. How I appreciate my time with God.
(Comments, corrections, suggestions or rebuttals are welcome. My email link is contained in “About me: view my complete profile” to the right of this page or use the comment section below which requires that you have a Google account.)
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