Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy and without cost. Isaiah 55:1
The key words in this passage are come and buy. Come to God you who have no money come to the source of water. However if we are to buy wine and milk without money; what does God want in exchange for his water and what do we have to barter with? Everything on the face of the Earth was created by God and belongs to him. From a human standpoint how can we buy with things that do not belong to us to begin with?
The answer does not involve buying with money because money is the human method of exchanging money or bartering for things. However water; wine, and milk are basic ingredients that satisfy the needs of human body. God has milk for the immature, wine for the adult and water for those who are thirsty. At the same time man is thirsty for the things God is offering but cannot buy them with money especially when everything on earth has been created by God purpose for God’s use.
What does God have that men need? Let’s start with an unsurpassable love for his creation; peace with God, his grace, righteousness, justification, redemption, holiness, eternal life plus many more. Since God is spirit the true answer has to do with the things of the spirit. Mankind has a spiritual side of his character that he can use to barter with God for the things he is offering. For example not every man seeks God and has faith to believe in God. A few people know God but they are not loyal nor do they have a commitment to serve God. Yet all of these things can be forsaken to accept the love of God and his nature with the essential staples of the spirit in the gifts of grace God lavishes on his people who love him.
God pleads that you come to the throne of God who want the wonderful things of true life that cannot be bought with money. Come to the fountain where the river of life flows from the throne of God. Come to the throne of wisdom and the milk of life that causes you to thrive and prosper. Come to the wine that changes the way you think. It is all because the love of God is freely lavished on mankind through a covenant of grace that cannot be bought.
Come is a plea for the peoples of the nations to go to their creator and father for the good things in life. The cost if any is your choice to sample the good things God has planned that you may know what is in store for you. God wants you to taste and see that God is good. There is no better delicacy found in heaven or on earth than truth. For within this grace known as truth is the foundation to every facet of life.
God has prepared a wedding banquet for his son and has invited you regardless of your estate and for anyone who will accept his invitation. God will ask you to put on white linen wedding garments which he has prepared for everyone who comes. These are garments of righteousness that reflect the Holy nature of God associated with uniting with God. The bread and wine is ready for partaking but there were some who ignored his invitation and made excuses why they could not come. Apparently their personal business was more important than going to the king’s banquet. Some chose to make sport of the king’s servants by mistreating them and showing contempt by killing them. When the report reached the King’s ear he said none of them will taste my banquet and sent his army to burn their city and destroy those who killed his servants because they were not worthy to dine with him.
The wedding banquet was ready and those invited turned their backs on my personal invitation. He commanded his servants to go throughout his entire domain and invite anyone to my banquet for I want my banquet hall filled so my kingdom may celebrate the wedding of my Son with great joy.
Come, buy wine and milk without cost or money. However it seems that the things we work so hard to obtain do not satisfy us for very long. Yet God says come buy without money the riches of fare. Why work to pay for things that do not satisfy with things that are here today and gone tomorrow. The fads of today change with the fads of tomorrow and they never satisfy the soul.
Come the Lord says, come to listen so you may eat what is good and satisfying. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation (Psalms 91:16) if you would only listen and believe. Come, hear and reverently accept my word which is able to save your souls. Come let me lead you beside still waters. Delight yourself in the words of my wisdom, test them so you may know and approve my good and complete truth.
Come to me and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. Come let us reason with each other and recognize that I am God an there is no other who will make an agreement where if you obey me I will be your God and you will be my people. Come to me and enjoy the fruit of your labor, fruit that will satisfy your longing for a safe and happy life.
Even to the unwilling come God says, let your ears hear the word of the Lord; open your ears to the words of his mouth. How will my people know the desires of the Lord if they are not willing to listen? Lukewarm ears encourage the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts; doing things I did not command, nor entered my mind. What kind of wisdom do they have? They go from one sin to another; because they are not willing to acknowledge and revere the Lord. And since they refuse to acknowledge the Lord he will not identify them as his people.
but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24
Why spend all of your efforts on what is not truly bread, and your labor on things that do not satisfy the hunger of your soul? God would rather you have a right standing with him and with your fellow man than seek the luxuries of the flesh that do not give contentment to the soul. Rather there is no end to the quest for amenities or conveniences one can boast about. The reason is simple;
For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' Matthew 13:15
Come to me for truth opens ears and refreshes your sight to the things missing in your life. God says my people are destroyed because they do not know him and God’s desire for them to prosper. Again God pleads, Come to me for the wisdom that preserves the life of those who know me and know what I approve of. Come to me and get the truth from my mouth and not another.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:19-20
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:2
In verse one the thought was to come to me and buy without money but in verse two the thought shifts to spending your money on what does not satisfy. When we think upon this thought we find bread is a common staple that our body needs to sustain the flesh. Bread sustains the body for a short time but can never satisfy when the hunger for bread and other staples the body needs return.
The things that satisfy the soul are not found in the world. Come to me, God says and listen to me for I have wisdom that cannot be bought when wisdom freely given contains the truth you will delight in. God’s wisdom is a truth that will help you to overcome evil and the destructive nature of sin. God does not withhold his wisdom for those he loves and does not want to perish so his wisdom can be had just for asking.
God does not want a single person to perish but God’s wisdom says my people perish for a lack of knowledge. That lack of knowledge leaves you wishing you had done things another way. For example, men reason that God’s wisdom is foolishness and refuses to do what they think is absurd. God's wisdom is contrary to the wisdom of the world. Therefore they listen to those who oppose God and imitate the lives of corrupt men who have been deceived into thinking they will go to heaven because they are good moral people. God’s way may seem foolish to them but do not know God will judge them by their own words and actions.
Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3
Man does not live on bread alone so why spend money on what is not bread. Your life depends on the words spoken by God about a better way to live. God does not make decisions based on your opinions but Judges man based on what he has done during his lifetime. Jesus Christ is the word of God and Christ is bread that came down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51
Bread comes in a number of flavors but the Lord does not want you to taste the bread made with yeast which spoils and produces wickedness and malice. The bread God is talking about is bread that is made without yeast and produces a life of sincerity and truth. Eat of the bread that leads to eternal life in Jesus Christ who is the word of God made flesh and is the only bread that can be digested by the human spirit. Mankind does not live on the bread made from what the Earth’s soil produces but by the bread that came down from heaven to die on Calvary as a means to eradicate the sin of mankind.
To eat what is good you have to listen to God for in his knowledge there is wisdom in abundance. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door Jesus said, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. He has invited us to his banquet table where we the bride of Christ will dine with our Lord. The bible says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6:21
Eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the wealth of wisdom that God gives generously to every person without finding fault in what you may not know. Be like your children who tire their parents out with questions, in the same way consider God as your Father so wear him out answering your questions. You will find his answers are what you need to know and will have pleasure in the straightforwardness of them.
Why spend money on what is not bread; for only God can give you what satisfies your soul.
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. Proverbs 3:13-18
Wisdom and discipline go hand in hand as wisdom learned is the discipline to earn. Wisdom is the understanding that enables you to do and accomplish more. In regards to God the more you learn about him the better chance you have to overcome the world and with discipline you can apply everything you have learned to become prosperous and successful.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7
Eat what is good that your soul will delight in the richest of fare. What is more satisfying than to look at where you come from and know where you are going? I believe the promise of God who has said
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." Psalms 91:16
Come, join those who delight in the satisfaction that death has been eradicated and you will share with fellow children of God the long life ahead of us. We may not know all the plans God has for us but be sure of this he has plans to prosper you and give you hope and a future.
Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. Isaiah 55:3
By instinct pigs make themselves into hogs by devouring the slop put before them. Not being any the wiser their owners send them to the butcher to be slaughtered. The moral of this story is to be careful of what you hear and note: devouring the extravagances of life seldom dwell with what is right with God. They present themselves as expensive luxuries which are attractive to the eye and pleasant to the touch but turns out to be an horrible bite which never heals.
As human beings we can control what is perceived through our ears. We can listen to the foul language of anger the world uses and begin to use it ourselves. On the other hand we can learn to think and speak according to our education. Out of the abundance of our thoughts we release our treasures through the things we express through our mouth. The ideas we perceive from thoughts and ideas expressed from the wisdom of others are what we place on a set of scales to judge.
The things we value are placed into what we treasure in our heart and can influence the decisions we make in the future. Needless to say we need to discern what is true and what has any merit. However feelings and emotions seem to override common sense with a disastrous outcome. There are times when we have sit back and take a serious look at how we approach life to achieve the desires of our heart.
God gave everyone a set of ears and a way to understand what he expects of us. While everyone has an ear we are drawn to the things that fascinate us and what interests us is what our ears are drawn to and listen to. The priority of man is not on the same page as the things God is concerned about. God wants to make every person who desires to go to heaven into the image of his Son Jesus Christ. However it seems as if the world is deliberately ignoring what is important to their maker. God has plans for his creation but his creation is more interested in what they want than in what God desires.
The majority of people use their ears to learn about the things that entertain themselves and give a life of ease that their creature comforts crave. What that means is the purpose for their life revolves around their self-centeredness while ignoring the needs of others. On the other hand they are totally oblivious to the fact that God loves every man on the face of the earth. Regardless of the decisions they make to succeed in life, they will perish without reaching an agreement with God.
God’s plan is to establish a covenant with every man that will endure throughout the coming ages. Yet to initiate a covenant between God and man both have to agree on the part they perform within the agreement. What has to be determined is what you are willing to do to obtain your desires from God and is what you want worth complying with God’s terms. God takes his covenant seriously and expects you to take what you have agreed upon to heart.
Therefore identify the terms God expects you to fulfill and make every effort to comply. Don’t listen to what other people are saying when you can get the straight scoop from God himself. Listen to what God has planned so your soul will live. Listen to what God has to say and ask how you benefit from an everlasting covenant with God. Then ask if there is a penalty for not knowing what God has planned and resolved to do. Then you may understand what God has planned for you has your best interest in mind.
"I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:17-18
Like a father, God wants to show you a better way of doing things so in the long run you will prosper. Just as your father wanted does not want you to fall on your face the father of spirits does not want you to end up in the lake of fire. Ask God for spiritual wisdom and understanding so you will grow in the knowledge of God and benefit from his advice. The reward comes in knowing you have pleased your father in addition to seeing the fruit of his wisdom materialize before your eyes.
Come seek the kingdom of God first; give your attention to the good news of the gospel. Your heavenly Father knows that you need of food and clothing. God will supply you with manna from heaven and the robes of righteousness because you have taken his wisdom to heart and applied his lessons to the things you do.
Since God has given you the kingdom of heaven; set your heart on things of God, where Christ (the heir of David) is seated on his throne next to God. Through Jesus Christ, God will form an everlasting covenant promised to whomever accepts what Jesus has done for them and then set their hearts to love, to know the father of lights.
Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:10
When you seek the kingdom of God you show an intentional desire to know the things of God and God will not refuse to give you the information you need for any reason. It is to his advantage that you become a person with forethought who is striving to know the way of truth. At the same time you are not taking God for granted or assuming what another person says is true.
The bible reveals that whoever believes in God’s one and only Son shall not perish but have eternal life. For those who are skeptical God allows that person to sample his word to see if everything works as God said it would. When your test has success the outcome good or bad will become the convincing factor in your understanding of God.
If you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you have in the past. The words of God must be combined with faith to see the desired effect. So seek him while he may be found, knock and the door to God’s heart will open, then whatever you ask for in prayer in his name will be given to you. God rewards those who fervently seek him so your joy may be complete and your life everlasting.
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." Psalms 91:14-16
Listen, my son and be wise, so you may keep your heart on the right path to life everlasting. Accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. Humble yourself before God, never forget that those who are unconcerned about what God has planned despise wisdom of God.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Isaiah 55:4
The promise of a leader and commander of the people made to David has already taken place. He is the Messiah; the anointed one of David’s lineage. He is the Prince of Peace who God installed as king on his holy hill and will govern his people to which there is no end.
Through Daniel we learn that God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will be a kingdom for the saints that will endure throughout the coming ages because no one will be able to topple or destroy it. Within this kingdom the person appointed by God will reign in righteousness.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." John 18:37
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ by our creator. Jesus came as King of kings and Lord of lords but he also came as a servant who witnessed to the truth in parables. God inspired his word, words that testify to this day of the love God has for his creation and the principles of God so mankind may live Holy and acceptable lives unto God.
"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. John 17:6-8
The testimony of Jesus Christ is convincing and valid; anyone who does not believe his testimony makes God out to be a liar. Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life and because God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son to atone for the sins of mankind. God made his anointed one a witness to the peoples so all men would know the extent of God’s love.
In addition all who choose to believe in his name and receive him in their heart as Lord and Savior; he gave the right to become children of God. As children of God we become fellow citizens of heaven under his leadership and we will reign with him when he turns his kingdom over to the father.
God sent him to bring his creation through faith into the unity of Christ under God in the eternal kingdom of God. He was sent by God to fulfill prophesies about him; to cancel the written code, with its regulations, to purge and contain sin, to atone and reconcile man to God, to introduce and establish a permanent moral relationship with God and one another.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
His command is to go into the entire world and make disciples of them. We are to complete his mission by taking the gospel message to every person with an hearing ear. Compel them to hear God’s message, so that whosoever will come and turn from their wicked ways may enter the kingdom of God and live forever.
Jesus achieved the victory on the cross triumphing over the powers and authorities of his enemies. The laws no one could obey because of their sinful nature was nail to the cross disarming its power over mankind. That which enslaved mankind by their fear of death was liberated by the substitutionary death of God’s anointed one. His death destroyed the power of death that Satan held over those who sinned. For this reason Jesus was made like his human brothers so he would become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, while making atonement for the sins of the world.
Whether it be commander and chief, king of kings, Lord of lords Jesus was chosen to lead his elect to the promise land, to lead the perishable the state of imperishability, from dishonor to glory, from weakness to unimaginable power from a human body to a heavenly being that lives is Heaven. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed because flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God. The change has to begin here on earth when we make a covenant with God to follow him.
Jesus became a leader and commander of the God’s people by a command of God the father. The covenant we as human beings make with God leads to peace with God where we can be servants of the living God without fear imposed on us by Satan. With knowledge of God we can repel Satan and his intimidation by submitting our will to God. When you have done the will of God the victory over evil will be accomplished so God will be glorified in the victory.
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. John 5:24-27
The judge stands at the door of death because man has been destined to die then face judgment, a judgment to determine where they will spend eternity. Those who hear and commit themselves to God and then forsake their evil ways will live. So come to God to buy, what he is offering is a choice that is well worth making the effort to adhere to.
Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor." Isaiah 55:5
God is the supreme commander of his creation and has the divine right as the highest authority to summon anyone of his creation to his throne. That right is beyond question. Let’s understand from God’s viewpoint everything God created belongs to him and has been made accountable for their actions. At the same time God calls men to special missions to occupy certain stations in life and ordains them with a lifetime ministry. David was ordained as king, Jeremiah called to be God’s messenger of warning to the people of Israel of exile. Mary was ordained to give birth to Emanuel and Elisabeth to give birth to the forerunner of Christ. Finally Christ came to reveal the love of the father, his plan, and to fulfill the law. In addition God sent Ananias to open the eyes of Paul.
On the other hand a day will come when everyone will be summoned to his throne to give an account for what they did while in their flesh. Some will know him and others will not. They will hasten to him because he is the anointed one of God who is Lord of all mankind. Some will come of their free will and some will come because they will be assigned an escort to ensure they come.
From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. Isaiah 46:11
God is in control and watching everything he has planned to keep his plan intact and moving according to his schedule. The Lord gave us this example when he summoned his angels for advice, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there? ( 1 Kings 22:20 tells us that God sent one of his angels said he would become a lying spirit to entice Ahab to go into battle and to his death). Ahab died in battle as the Lord had determined.
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: 2 Chronicles 36:22
The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus to have Jerusalem rebuilt. Cyrus authorized every Jew who had the mind to go to Jerusalem for the specific purpose of reestablishing and populating Jerusalem. Jersalem was once destroyed as a city in rebellion with the king of Babylon. In the same way the high priest Ananias prophesied that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish (John 11:50) Throughout the bible God interacts with man to change the course of the lives of men and nations. Just as the father draws men to Christ, he is able to alter the minds of man and the path they take to accomplish his desires.
The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Proverbs 21:1
Every man is a creation of God and God’s property to do ashe sees fit. Although God does not want anyone to perish some will perish because they chose not to conform to God’s plan. In the same manner as a father you want the best for your children, they have high hopes but reluctantly allow their children to do as they see fit. Your intention is to raise them up to become doctors and lawyers but they allow their children to seek what they want even if it is their desire to become a garbage collector.
God has a plan for every person on the face of the earth. However the plan God has for every man is a part of his overall plan. Nonetheless the inhabitants of the earth have been invited to partake in his eternal kingdom and when his goal has been reached every person will be summoned to his throne. In the meantime God’s plan desires that men choose to participate in his plan of their free will. Those who so choose God has promised to strengthen them and make them acceptable so they can enter his kingdom.
God has the right to summon any person in his creation however there are some who do not want him to have authority over them. It may seem strange God will not force you to serve him but God said those who did not want him as their king were executed in his sight. In the same way those who do not know him will serve him as an example of his wrath.
Today if God calls on you do not dismiss him; do not ignore him, do not turn from him but answer him. God will not demand you do anything beyond your capability but he will ask you to be faithful in a few things so he will have a return. Whatever God asks of you he will empower you to accomplish and it could very well be completed by supernatural powers so he will receive the glory.
God will not ask you to do anything he would not do. However what he does ask of you will shape you into the image of his son whom he has endowed with splendor. Think of it in this manner, God holds the highest position in the spirit realm and he is training you to be like him and his son. When this phase of God’s plan reaches its intended purpose we will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
Every person on this planet will be summoned by God for his glory. Perhaps God’s plan is all about the expansion of his kingdom. The real question is. When God summons you are you willing to participate in the glory of God who gave life to you so you would serve him?
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6
It’s not fair if God has the divine right to call on his subjects unless his subjects have the right to call on God to plea for mercy. God freely pardons the repentant and every broken person shattered by sin and who is willing to change by seeking the good things God approves of. It is not the only brokenness of sin God is seeking, God is Love his real purpose is to have fellowship with his people.
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9
God respects the wishes of the irreverent; by those who turn their back to him and who say I want nothing to do with him. How do you expect to receive favors from God if you are not willing be respectful or refuse to conduct your affairs with God on friendly terms. God will draw near to you when you draw near to him but what are your motives? God truly wants to know and show his love for you and in return he wants an intentional love from you.
Jesus knew the father before the beginning of time and at the right time the father sent him into the earthly realm as a new born child. Jesus had one purpose; to reveal the father’s love for his creation especially to those who did not know him. Jesus openly demonstrated the father’s love for sinful mankind in that while we were still defiant towards God - Jesus died for the sins we committed.
When the time for judgment of the world came Jesus became the Lamb of God to atone for the sins of the world. Jesus was nailed to the cross and lifted up for the whole world to see which became the deed drawing all men to him. Hanging there on the cross mankind had no problem seeing the savior of the world and through faith all men saw the glory of God full of grace and truth. Blessed are they who have placed their faith in God’s Christ for all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
God changed the world around us since we saw life from a different perspective through accepting Jesus into your life. We became a new creature in Christ Jesus and our father opened our eyes to the world as he saw it. The truth God exposed allowed us see and consider the deception of sin which gave us a overwhelming desire to avoid sin at all costs. We also saw the reason sin separated us from God.
We also learned that those who belong to God were the only one who could consistently hear from God. Those in the world had no desire to pursue God for they despise God’s wisdom and the discipline his wisdom demands. For those who hated God without reason and have shown contempt for God; Jesus said:
There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. John 12:48
Those who have an inkling of knowledge with understanding of what God has planned for them will develop the desire to call on him regularly. God is not planning to harm his people but has a strong desire to see that they prosper and be successful in all they do. In addition those who know God exists and earnestly seek him through faith see the reward of knowing him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." Psalms 91:16
The Lord is not far from anyone of us and if you seek the Lord your God, you will find him when you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. The person who asks about God and seeks the Lord will find him. God has made existence plain to everyone through what he made so every man is without excuse. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.
God wants every person to seek him if for no other reason to know the Lord is good. Seeking God is a great adventure searching for the most intimate love relationship known to man. It grieves God to see men and women turn their backs on him to pursue things that fail to satisfy and corrupt men with things. They fail to see when God is left out of the picture, peace of mind and contentment will never be found.
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
God has given mankind the choice and opportunity to call on him before their life is spent. The Lord is your life and he is able to raise the dead and restore you to those who will live with him forever. Jesus revealed the father who gave him the right to raise whoever he is pleased to give life. Therefore choose to know God, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. To this end God inspired his word so that by believing you may have life in the name of Jesus.
Seeking God begins with a prayer of repentance followed by a change of heart and the willingness to follow Christ. Jesus saw life through his father and his perspective of what life truly is about. It is through calling on the Lord and seeking to know his thoughts and ways that you learn the life God wants his children have. It is a life that demands respect for one another and doing things to others in a manner that you expect in return. In the same manner God is asking you to summon him when you need him. What you may not understand he is on call 24/7.
Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:7
Evil thoughts control the way the wicked make decisions and live. The mind of the wicked cannot submit to God since it is hostile towards God because hostility forms a barrier between the wicked and God. For this reason if men are to live in peace with God every evil thought must be abandoned and be replaced with thoughts that build and secure a peaceful relationship with God including every person he created.
The Lord will freely forgive anyone who turns from wickedness and seeks the righteousness of God. The Lord does not want anyone to perish, but he wants everyone to see the outcome of evil and the way they approach life. Repentance and peace is your salvation for it is the only way to reach and find peace with God.
The lord examines the heart and recognizes that from the heart the mouth speaks. The evil stored within the heart seeks a way of escape and through anger and self-centeredness evil men propell words that condemn him before other men. The words spoken in anger demean the ego of others and introduce to its victim the desire to return evil. Like a domino effect everyone exposed to such wickedness is introduced to the evil nature as if it were given seed to grow. In the same way the falling domino affects the next domino to fall and the words of our mouth will influence the next person to become wicked.
Love builds the worth of people up but words and actions containing evil intent have the power to destroy your life and the life of others. Degrading one another is not carrying out the royal Law to love one another. It is natural for a person to have his or her ego elevated and be respected for who they are, however evil thoughts can destroy your ability to associate with the person that does not respect you.
Jesus did not come to judge the world but came to fulfill the law. He showed us by his actions you can live with others without tearing everyone else down. Everything he did was for another person’s benefit even when he was put down for what he did. Today Christ is highly respected and admired among the people of the world. Jesus showed the people the way the truth and the kind of life acceptable to God. His life was an example of the way to eternal life.
Jesus demonstrated through his life you can live without evil thoughts. His example illustrates that we can forsake every evil thought that separates us from God can be kept under the control of the spirit. by the same token we are to present ourselves as living sacrifices so we may please God. Forsaking our evil thoughts is a way we can worship God and his life with reverence. He asks that we change the way we think not as the world thinks but with the principles God uses to be acceptable to everyone.
To change the way we think we have to choke out the world by absorbing the word of God. Only then we will be able to test and approve the will of God. Knowing the will of God gives us the ability to shape our decisions and actions to reverently conform to the disposition of God so we may please him. It is only logical when you show reverence and respect for one another that they will in turn return have the same kind of respect for you. By the same token working with someone you respect is much better than attempting to work with someone you unwilling to be pleasant with anyone.
Wicked people are those who put their needs first and often demand things be done their way, in other words they put themselves above others. Wickedness is seen in our minds as the things we do not want done to us, because those things are wrong to us. Evil deeds stir up anger within our spirit and introduce the desire to get even. Unfortunately what we do to get even fuels the desire to get even for what you did. When it is all said and done getting even escalates into outright war.
No matter the degree of wickedness; it is harmful to the person affected by disrupting the rightful respect every person deserves. Wickedness is produced from self importance and a lack of concern for another person feelings. Evil is an destructive attitude towards one another.
Evil believes in my way or the highway, by hook or by crook and anything goes as long as we win and get the prize. A relationship driven by success no matter the cost is wrong because success by hook or by crook destroys the desire to get along with each other. It also creates intimidation and unrest with a desire to flee from that kind of behavior.
The dictionary describes evil as nasty, harsh, formidable, unpleasant, foul, bad, disagreeable, irksome, troublesome, displeasing, uncomfortable, annoying, irritating, hateful, and detestable. Love on the other hand is described by God as benevolence which is an act of kindness; compassion, generosity and goodwill. It is an openhanded act that leaves those loved by Christ better off than they were. Love is described as the giving of one self to help and give relief to the daily trials one goes through.
Detestable acts towards you and others rouse your sense of fair play. It’s not right whether it happens to you or anyone else. God knows the outcome of evil and his wisdom instructs the wicked to forsake acts that stir up unrest between people. Those who kindle unrest between people are detestable to God and will not be permitted to enter through the gates of Heaven. Rather God promised;
If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. Isaiah 54:15
God is not out to harm you rather God will have mercy on those who have shown forgiveness. On the other hand those who showed no mercy they will be shown the wrath of God. Therefore be merciful, for God will freely pardon your sins and accept you into his kingdom because your Father is compassionate towards those who love him and have forsaken wickedness.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8
Understanding God depends more on you wanting to recognize and respect God than anything else. Even then it takes time to appreciate God because he does not think in the manner men do. To know God our mind has to see things from God’s concept of life. Therefore our mind must be reorganized to establish a foundation of information that our mind can use to make godly decisions.
Almost all men are conformed to the pattern of this world and to the things that corrupt the character of man. By living in a world controlled by men we are constantly exposed to the methods men use to gain the upper hand. It means that if our thoughts are not the thoughts of God then we should make an effort to conform to his concept of what life is. Yet to mimic how God’s thoughts are organized we need to know him intimately over an extensive period of time. God has a mind of his own and is able to make decisions without our help. Therefore we need to understand that we can’t control his thoughts or make him act in our favor.
Before we were saved we thought exactly the way the world did and were not conscious of sin or its toll on our lives. Renewing our mind is a simple way of changing the way we think to reflect our Lord’s thoughts and represent him through personal witness. We are constantly exposed to the way the world thinks and we find it much easier to go with the flow than express our our lives in a godly manner. Yet God is preparing us for the age to come where the environment of life is completely different.
What we constantly expose our eyes and ears to will be reflected in our actions. In some ways we become the monkey see, monkey hear and monkey do because it is the normal pattern of life we experience. We have to face the fact that what we see and hear is what we perceive with our minds. Its perception when seen and heard several times adds to its creditability so our perception is perceived as being truth. Truth is made viable with recurring facts that supports the original thought as being true.
What we constantly expose our eyes and ears to are sights and sounds do happen without a reason for their occurrence. People lie but we deduct the reason for the lie. People go into an establishment known for selling liquor and we assume they leave drunk. Yet in the long run our thoughts are based on what we seen and heard in our past.
The human being is primarily judgmental because they form an opinion without hearing both sides of the story and most of the time without having all the facts. That being the case, man judges before the right time and for the most part before all the facts are known. The desire to be prudent is a disciplined way of doing things and it is a concept taught by God to his children.
Exposing our mind to the inspired word of God is the only safe way of learning the thoughts of God. God wants to have a personal role in reshaping the mind of those who seek him. His goal is to make you into the image of his son Jesus Christ, with whom he was well pleased. While Jesus was on earth he chose to obey his father in everything he did.
A summary of the bible tells us that Heaven is God’s home and the home of spirits created by God. His way of life is completely different from what we experience in this world. For example what we call days and years is based on the rotation of the sun whereas God is the light of Heaven. For this reason time is described in terms of ages with his life span is defined as being eternal.
The earth itself can be described as a quarantined area as the sin that corrupts and contaminates every man living in this world will not be allowed in heaven. God has the opportunity to purge sin from man in this environment. At the same time it gives God the way to draw people to him and to let them see with their eyes and hear with their ears the gospel message.
lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Matthew 13:15 KJV
God is an outstanding communicator and God has found words that convey his divine principles covering a full range of behavior skills. Conducting yourself according to God’s divine principles will fulfill the royal law of love and prepare you for eternal life. These divine principles also restrain evil from gaining a foothold in your life and inhibit the repercussions from sin from taking place.
Living with one another must be cultivated with God’s royal law of love which continually builds one another up with dignity. To love God’s way demands that you deny self by serving the needs of one another to honor our father and creator.
God thinks in terms of holiness with right standing with others and takes actions accordingly. Without considering the consequences of our deeds we can easily show a lack the concern over whom they affect. Evil deeds can destroy every relationship, by the same token good deeds can improve your relationship and the wellbeing of others. One way is self-serving and brings your life to ruin but the other way recognizes the other person as an important part of your life with a desire to improve their life.
God understood relationships are important and filled the earth with human beings like ourselves designed to live in harmony with each other. Depending on their outlook on life God created man to live forever but they had to learn to love one another to keep their relationships intact through understanding the wisdom of God.
God has certain expectations from mankind if they want eternal life. The reward of going to Heaven would affect the peace of God’s home. Within God’s word is a positive approach to life that tells man what is expected of him to maintain joy, peace and happiness of God’s home.
God has given us Jesus Christ as the way the truth and the life, he overcame the world. Jesus lived by the word of God and conducted his life accordingly. God gave us his inspired word so we could have an inkling of how he thinks. Life on earth is only a starting point to learn the depth and insight of God’s thoughts but thank God we have an eternity to understand all of them. 10/14/2016
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