012919-WHERE IS GOD WHO IS SUPPOSED TO RESCUE US?

January 29 

Rip the Heavens

Bible in a Year:

Exodus 21–22; Matthew 19

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.

Isaiah 64:1

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Today's Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 64:1-8

In a recent conversation, where a friend shared with me that she’d abandoned her faith, I heard a familiar complaint: How can I believe in a God who doesn’t ever seem to do anything? This gut-wrenching question appears for most of us at one point or another, as we read of violence in the news and as we carry our own heartbreak. My friend’s distress revealed her intense need for God to act on her behalf, a longing we’ve all likely felt.

Israel knew this terrain well. The Babylonian Empire overwhelmed Israel, crushing them with an iron fist and turning Jerusalem into smoldering rubble. The prophet Isaiah put words to the people’s dark doubt: Where is the God who’s supposed to rescue us? (Isaiah 63:11–15). And yet from precisely this place, Isaiah offered a bold prayer: God, “rend the heavens and come down” (64:1). Isaiah’s pain and sorrow drove him not to pull away from God, but to seek to draw closer to Him.

Our doubts and troubles offer a strange gift: they reveal how lost we are and how much we need God to move toward us. We see now the remarkable, improbable story. In Jesus, God did rip the heavens and come to us. Christ surrendered His own ripped and broken body so that He could overwhelm us with His love. In Jesus, God is very near.

By Winn Collier

Today's Reflection

What questions or doubts do you have to talk with God about?

2. 

Cheap Grace Posted: 28 Jan 2019 08:29 AM PST If you want to pin or bookmark this devotion, please use the permanent link: Cheap Grace.  Seventy-five years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the phrase "cheap grace": grace without repentance and discipleship, without the cross, and without Jesus. Cheap grace is embraced by many in our modern churches who:  1. Stress forgiveness while neglecting repentance and obedience.  2. Focus selfishly on health and wealth. 3. Remain silent about the holocaust of abortion and the evils of sexual immorality and materialism. Bonhoeffer said, "Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has…” (See Matthew 13:44). Because of his outspoken opposition to the slaughter of Jews, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis.   During this time, most people in German churches remained silent or supported Hitler. That is one reason the evil of Nazism lasted as long as it did. Let's refuse to remain silent, dear Christians! Grace cost Christ His life. Let's give Him ours. --------------- Dear Subscribers: On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the title link quits working for the devotion shortly after it is sent out. You can read the full devotion here in this email, but to access this particular devotion on site, to pin or bookmark it, you must use this link: Cheap Grace.  3. Learn to discern between healthy and unhealthy anger. Anger is a powerful emotion that is often viewed as something we should avoid. However, in When Anger Burns: A Biblical View on Handling Anger, author Tim Jackson explores that “anger is neither right nor wrong until there is a motive.” Through various examples from his counseling career, Tim can help you identify the root causes of anger and how the Bible helps us handle them. By showing us that Jesus modeled godly anger during His time on Earth, we too are challenged to trust God with our issues. Enjoy exploring our booklets that are no cost to order or read online. We are pleased to provide you these resources to help your spiritual growth and relationship with God.