Live Life Ready
The prophets were real. I remember the day I first noticed this. I was reading in the New Testament and I read where Jesus stood up to read: ‘the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’’ (Luke 4:17-21). I read that and said: wow, that is great news. And it is! But this time, I realized something else: that in Jesus’ time on earth, he often referred to the Old Testament. To the prophets. They were real people with real names and truth to share from God. So, now I am reading the Old Testament with new eyes. Jesus validates it all with his life.
Here is the thing: I have made so many mistakes! So many bad choices! So many things that God said not to do! But if you come face to face with Jesus, and He opens your eyes, you cannot help but be different. And one day, every single person who has ever lived will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11). So, if you are like me, and if He is prompting you to look at your life, do it now before it is too late.
There is a kingdom coming that will be a kingdom of righteousness. Isaiah talks about it. But many of the people of his day did not believe him because of God’s patience. They misunderstood God’s patience, but we do not have to make that mistake! His patience means that He is still waiting for all who will turn to Him to do that! Turn to Him and turn your back on everything that separates you from Him. In the middle of the night I could not sleep. Either could Danny. But we were both reading the same passage without realizing it. And when he read it to me, I was like: I just read that! And when that happens, it means that God wants me to notice something. Here are the things from that passage that separate us from God: ‘the acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy: drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.’ (Galatians 5:19,20). This is what stood out to me: it is obvious! We do not need anyone to tell us what kind of things are destroying us because it is obvious! We know! We know if what we are doing is dishonoring to God and to our own bodies! If we choose to close our eyes to that truth it will end up destroying us. And here is the other thing that stood out to me: that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. It does not say that those who ever lived like that will not inherit the kingdom of God, but rather those who: ‘live like that’. Another way to say it might be: ‘those who continue to live like that’.
So, back to this kingdom of righteousness: in Isaiah 32, the prophet accuses the women of Jerusalem of being ‘complacent’ and of ‘feeling secure’. They were trusting in themselves and their own wealth. They were wasting their days in ‘houses of merriment’ and had become a ‘city of revelry’. It was not going to last forever, but this is what we can look forward to if we put our hope in Christ (our righteousness is only by faith in Him): ‘The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence for ever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest, and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.’ (Isaiah 32:17-20)
As I write this, we are living in some unsettling days. But we do not have to be unsettled! If we are truly clothing ourselves with the righteousness given to us as a gift when we believe in Jesus, as the Only One who can cover our sins, then we will have peace, quietness, and confidence forever. What an amazing promise: I am claiming that one for myself. Did you also notice what God has in his heart for us? He wants us to live in peaceful dwelling places! Secure homes! Undisturbed places of rest. I want that too. And did you notice this, that gives me great comfort for the days we are living in today: no matter what happens around us, He will take care of us. Even if the city is leveled around us, we will be blessed! We are His people, and He is our Redeemer: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our law-giver, the Lord is our king: it is he who will save us.’ (Isaiah 33:22)
And this is what I meant when I said I want to ‘live life ready’: ‘The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless. ‘Who of us can dwell with that consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning? He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil- this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him.’’ (Isaiah 33:14-16) God is so good to us, He has written us a letter so that we do not have to live in fear, but we can know what pleases Him, and then we will be among those who live a blessed life. It is not too late to change. To stop doing things that are destroying us and to discover a counter-intuitive joy and freedom that only comes in following Jesus. We will be ready for the coming Kingdom of Righteousness (which by the way, is going to be amazing and we are going to love it).
