Come to the Waters
Monday February 7, 2011
1Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2Why 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.
3Give 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 55:1-3)
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7Let 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.
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the LORD.
9As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORDs renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.
Gods salvation is free! It is free, but we must eagerly receive it. We must first realize that we are thirsty ie that we are sinners and in need of salvation. Then we must come to the waters, listen to what He is saying, Seek the Lord, and Call on Him. He says to do this while He may be found and while He is near for a reason. There will become a point in time when it will be too late; either your life will end or the end times will come. No one is promised their next breath! Seek the Lord while He may be found!
We must turn from our old lives (our sins, selfish desires, etc), considering them dead and turn to the Lord to receive His mercy, accept His new life and obey His standards which are in contrast to the standards of the world for His ways are higher than your ways and His thoughts are higher than your thoughts. He will accomplish what He desires in and through us and achieve His purposes in our lives if we submit to Him and accept His salvation and His plan. He will fill us with His joy that can ONLY be found in Him and never through any other means. He says,
2Why 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)
I can tell you that I sought out "happiness" in many ways prior to my salvation (which was truly less than 4 years ago) and I was never satisfied! Every sin that people consider fun and those they don't want to give up (sexual, alcohol, drugs, entertainment) never filled the void and always left me empty and hungering for more, but ALWAYS unhappy. Ever since my new life in Jesus Christ received only through the Cross of Christ, I have been fulfilled and have never wanted to return to my old life! I never want to go back! While it sounds like you have to give up so much in order to "be a Christian", in all reality you are only giving up what doesn't satisfy and gaining the only thing that ever will! Nothing compares to the greatness of God and the joy that is felt in His presence!
I always wanted people to love me with a love that ONLY God can give, though I didn't realize it at the time. I still struggle on a daily basis with wanting others to accept me and to think well of me regarding worldly standards (intelligence, personality, attractiveness, etc), but not nearly so as God has delivered me from that bondage. I used to be so consumed with this and was very insecure. Now I just seek Him to fill the void and fight against these evil desires that war within me. What was not possible on my own was made possible through Jesus Christ once I accepted His gift of salvation!
Monday February 7, 2011
1Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2Why 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.
3Give 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 55:1-3)
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7Let 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.
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the LORD.
9As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORDs renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.
Gods salvation is free! It is free, but we must eagerly receive it. We must first realize that we are thirsty ie that we are sinners and in need of salvation. Then we must come to the waters, listen to what He is saying, Seek the Lord, and Call on Him. He says to do this while He may be found and while He is near for a reason. There will become a point in time when it will be too late; either your life will end or the end times will come. No one is promised their next breath! Seek the Lord while He may be found!
We must turn from our old lives (our sins, selfish desires, etc), considering them dead and turn to the Lord to receive His mercy, accept His new life and obey His standards which are in contrast to the standards of the world for His ways are higher than your ways and His thoughts are higher than your thoughts. He will accomplish what He desires in and through us and achieve His purposes in our lives if we submit to Him and accept His salvation and His plan. He will fill us with His joy that can ONLY be found in Him and never through any other means. He says,
2Why 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)
I can tell you that I sought out "happiness" in many ways prior to my salvation (which was truly less than 4 years ago) and I was never satisfied! Every sin that people consider fun and those they don't want to give up (sexual, alcohol, drugs, entertainment) never filled the void and always left me empty and hungering for more, but ALWAYS unhappy. Ever since my new life in Jesus Christ received only through the Cross of Christ, I have been fulfilled and have never wanted to return to my old life! I never want to go back! While it sounds like you have to give up so much in order to "be a Christian", in all reality you are only giving up what doesn't satisfy and gaining the only thing that ever will! Nothing compares to the greatness of God and the joy that is felt in His presence!
I always wanted people to love me with a love that ONLY God can give, though I didn't realize it at the time. I still struggle on a daily basis with wanting others to accept me and to think well of me regarding worldly standards (intelligence, personality, attractiveness, etc), but not nearly so as God has delivered me from that bondage. I used to be so consumed with this and was very insecure. Now I just seek Him to fill the void and fight against these evil desires that war within me. What was not possible on my own was made possible through Jesus Christ once I accepted His gift of salvation!
