Surviving The Fall

“For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death, and we have an agreement with Sheol (hell)…it will not touch us” Isaiah 28:15

My brother-in-law went skydiving about a year and some months ago for his brothers bachelors weekend. I don’t know what possessed them to jump out a perfectly good airplane at thousands of feet above the earth. Because they were not professionals but thrill seekers, they had to be attached to a professional skydiver. The person they were attached to has hundreds of jumps under his belt. The instructor knows at what altitude you must jump out of the plan at, what angle you need to drop into, and most importantly, when to pull the shoot! Now, imagine for a moment my brother-in-law said, “You know what, I got this gravity and me we have an understanding of one another. I am going to jump myself I don’t need a parachute. In fact I do not need to be strapped to a professional with a parachute.” What is the likelyhood somneone would survive that jump? I would say it is not likely he would not survive at all! 

We see in our text above a statement made to the people of Samaria. They were called to repent and turn to the God of Israel. Isaiah has been pleading with them to seek the Lord. Yet, as they listened to Isaiahs instructions, they mocked Isaiah, and the Lord. They say what many today say about death, and it goes something like this, “I don’t need to be a Christian or believe in Jesus Christ. God and I have an understanding of one another, we have an agreement.” Those are fatal words. That understanding is as foolish as saying you do not need a parachute to survive jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet. Why do people say and do such things I will never understand. But in the preceding verse 14, the Lord calls them “scoffers” which gives us some insight on why they are saying such things. The word for scoffer in Hebrew is similar to that of a bragging person. It is because they are prideful and pride blinds. Therefore, they have blinded themselves from impending doom. 

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:5 the Lord Jesus declares this, “Blessed (happy) are the humble, for they will inherit the Earth.” A humble man or women can see their need for a parachute. A humble person understands that on their own, they will not survive jumping out of the plane, and gravity will win. The humble man or women acknowledges his or hers sinful state and knows they need saving. The problem with the proud is they don’t know they are falling. They don’t know this because their pride has blinded them from the truth, death will take them. Thanks be to our God and Father who sent His only begotten Son Jesus, to be our instructor that we attach our lives to save us! It is only in the Lord Jesus that we will escape the teeth of death like a bird (Psalm 124:7). If you are not secured in Christ, if you are not bound to Jesus, you are blind and don’t see the ground approaches quickly. You are in a fallen state of sin. Sin has an ugly baby which is…death (James 1:15). Cling to Jesus, be attached to Christ, He is the only way of surviving the fall of mankind.  

Agape, 

Frank

Created With Purpose

“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” - Isaiah 22:13b

Most of society as Americans is built around hobbies, the next big thing, careers, education, and mostly self. The American dream was at least for my parent's time and grandparents, to get an education, and career, then marry and have kids, buy the house, and get a dog. That doesn't seem the case now in this current generation of multiculturalism in America. Most are living for themselves, looking for some niche thing to find their identity in, and not being bothered. It isn’t all that different from the time of Isaiah. 

When Isaiah began his long career it was during a time of prosperity that spanned 4 kings. It was a time of peace and everyone was carrying on. But the text we see above is from a pronouncement against Jerusalem. Although they were financially well off God saw a spiritual decline in the hearts of the people. In their prosperity and times of peace, they had forgotten the things of the Lord. They forgot their purpose they forgot their calling. God chose the nation of Israel to be a light to all the other nations. He gave them His Word (Law of Moses) to show the world the path to Him. They got caught up in hobbies, careers, and their comforts. None of those things are evil in and of themselves; however in pursuing those things they abandoned the Lord. It eventually led them to spiritual harlotry (Idolatry of foreign gods).

They lost their purpose, they forgot their calling. The people began to say, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die”. Life became mundane. Today many in our world, country, society, and all around us say the same thing. There is an incredible lie that the enemy of mankind has sold to the people; there is no real meaning to life, so just make one up as you go. The truth of God's Word is “The LORD has prepared everything for His purpose” Proverbs 16:4 csb. You have been created on purpose and for a purpose. The Apostle Paul tells us what that purpose is in his letter to the Ephesian church, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 csb

Before you and I were created, fashioned formed in our mother's womb, God had a plan and purpose for our lives. One of the very first things the god of this world does is attempt to keep you from God and His calling. The enemy does a great job by distracting us from Him with the things of this world. Like in Isaiah's time, the enemy distracts people through financial burdens, self-care, and will. The enemy rips people off from what they were created for. Instead, we are told there is no real purpose or meaning to this one life we have to live. When we come to Christ in repentance of our sins, we are forgiven and cleansed. We are then told the truth, you have a purpose, and calling, and created for good works. You are special, you are loved, and your life was created on purpose for a purpose! Have you asked the Lord lately to reveal that to you? Have you sought Him out on what He has planned for you? If you haven’t I suggest you ask, and then sit back and let Him reveal it to you. I leave you with the words of Jesus, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10b

Agape,

Frank