Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace, him him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
I like this scripture. One of the first things I thought about when I saw it was this, the words perfect peace. I don't know that I can imagine perfect peace. But it must be awesome. To know God's perfect peace would be very desirable!! I think one of the keys to this scripture is this. The peace doesn't come from having a steadfast mind, but from having a steadfast mind as the result of trusting in God!!! There is no real inherint power in the human mind to accomplish anything of eternal value. Only by the grace of God, and the power of the Spirit can we as humans ever hope to do or become anything good. And only by His power and Spirit will real peace come. Not by some self help method, or any kind of system of thinking. All good things come from God. Anywho, thats my speal for this week!! Later.
I love this scripture, but I fear that what it says is the very thing that condems us as Christians in this country. Look at the verse again, what are the conditions for God to "Heal their land?" In this case, our land. First of all, I'll tell you what the condition isn't. It doesn't say that all the druggies give up their drugs, all the prostitues go get a job as a secretary somewhere, all the gang bangers through down their guns and get into a church. Those are not the conditions. People will follow and give themselves to God if we take our place. The condition is for the people who are "Called by My name." Jesus knows all about the sin of our country. What he wants to see is his people take responsability for it. Lets be real for a moment. We are called to be like Jesus right? What did Jesus do with the sin of the world, he took responsability for it. When he hadn't even partaken in it. How much more we, when we have partaken in it, and in most cases, by our own actions let it go on existing. How can we stand outside an abortion clinic and call them murderers, while I do think abortion is wrong, when we abort the call of God on our lives so much more readily than a mother parts with the little one inside her. The sin of a country is preasent to the digree that the Christians in that country have aloud it to be there. If we as Christian would stand up and repent for the sins of our land, because in truth, it is our place to do so, I think we would see God do something here that we can only imagine, and that poorly. So lets get on our knees and ask God to forgive us as a nation, for giving ourselves to something other that HIM!!! If WE will seek Him, He will be found!!
Jeremiah 23:28-29 " 'Let the prophet who has a dream, tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?' declares the Lord. 'Is not my word like fire,' declares the Lord, 'and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?'"
I first heard this scripture while in a meeting with my peers. One of my friends brought it up. Can you imagine for a second, the most hard hearted person in the world, what they would be like. What their attitude is, what their general outlook on life would be like. Well imagine again with me the single force in the known universe that could penetrate their heart. Not the loudest argument, not the most horible circumstance, nothing can get through to them, with the exception of the word of the Lord. Now the passage says that the word of the lord will break the rock to pieces. What is that word? Is it the Bible? Yes. Is it something that God might speak to one of his servants to be given to that person, again, yes. So don't be afraid of the Word of the Lord, it breaks the strongest strongholds. It is like a wave that pounds the shore, not a rock on the planet can withstand its persistent, awesome power. Have you ever stood on the shore, and watched the waves? They have pounded that very shore for thousands of years, and have changed the face of that shore as many times. So never underestimate the power of the word of God, both writen and spoken.
When I first heard this scripture, I thought it meant that Jesus was just sad that his Father had not been there for him for a little while. I was recently given a word and the word was this. When Jesus asked his father why he had forsaken him, he said it because his father actually forsook him. If you have had a father that was somewhat less than desireable, Jesus understands when you say, "My father wasn't around!!" Jesus father looked away from him when Jesus probably needed him the most. He knows what you feel. And now that God the father looked away from Jesus, He doesn't have to look away from you!!
