Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

September 17
Tuesday


SEEING GOD IN
FAMILIAR PLACES

READ:
Isaiah 6:1-6
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The whole earth
is full of His glory!
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Because of where I live, I'm treated to spectacular displays of the magnificent, creative glory of God. Recently, on a drive through the woods, I was struck with a breath-taking display of deep rich reds and a variety of yellows that decorated the trees of autumn__all artfully arranged against the backdrop of a brilliant blue sky.

And soon, as the temperatures plummet and winter blows in, I'll be reminded that no two snowflakes are ever the same as they pile on top of one another to create a rolling landscape of pristine white drifts. After that will come the miracle of spring, when that which seemed hopelessly dead bursts into life with buds and blossoms that will grace the meadows with a multiplicity of colors.

Wherever we look in the world around us, we see evidence that "the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isa. 6:3). What is amazing is that the creation that surrounds us is damaged by sin (see Rom. 8:18-22), yet God has seen fit to grace our fallen landscape with these loving brushstrokes of His creative hand. It serves as a daily reminder that the beauty of His grace covers our sin and that His love for that which is fallen is always available to us. Joe Stowell

````````````Lord, may we be ever mindful of your grace and love```````````````
```````````in all that surrounds us. Thank You for making Yourself`````````````
````````````visible through the beauty of Your creation. Teach us``````````````
`````````````to look beyond the beauty to see Your hand at work.``````````````
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Never pass up an opportunity to enjoy
nature's beauty__it's the handwriting of God.

****************Today's Bible Reading __ Isaiah 6:1-6*********************

1 In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the Lord
sitting on a throne, high
and lifted up, and the train
of His robe filled the
temple. 2 Above it stood
seraphim; each one had six
wings: with two he covered
his face, with two he
covered his feet, and one
cried to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the
LORD of hosts; the whole
earth is full of His glory!"

4 And the posts of the door
were shaken by the voice
of him who cried out, and
the house was filled with
smoke.

5 So I said: "Woe is me,
for I am undone! Because
I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of
a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the
King, the LORD of hosts."

6 Then one of the
seraphim flew to me,
having in his hand a live
coal which he had taken
with the tongs from the
altar.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Isaiah 6 records a face-to-face encounter between Isaiah the
prophet and his holy God. The people of Judah needed to be given
the divine message to repent or face military defeat and deportation.
To prepare Isaiah to boldly deliver this message, the Lord revealed
His holiness (vv.1-4). In response, Isaiah was convicted of and
cleansed of his own sinfulness (vv.5-7). He was then told that his
message would fall upon deaf ears and that Judah would be carried
away into exile (vv.9-12). Despite this bad news, the hope of a
faithful remnant was predicted (v.13). Today the gospel of God's
holiness and Christ's redemption still falls on ears that are either
receptive or resistant.

[Jamie808]

Cimi,
Thanks again for ur message. I enjoy reading them as brief "touch points with truth"

It is amazing to think about HOW beautiful God has made so much of this earth and yet it is still defiled. Thanks for reminding me of how His grace overcomes sin. I also looked at the verses u gave and noticed that in Verse 7 when after Isaiah was convicted of being "such a sinner" the angel touched his lips with the coal as if to say "be quiet, we know all that stuff. We don't need to focus on that right now because God has made you white as snow, thru His forgiveness.

As a side note, my wife and I were in San Diego CA this weekend and were amazed at the

[Jamie808]

Sorry. Got cut off....We were amazed and astounded at the beauty of the largest natural bay in the United States, dotted by sail boats, sunshine, blue skies and blowing flags in the breeze...and then the sunset came.

[cimi]

True. the thing about being a christian is that we (as christians) can see the beauty and not just the defiled parts.
That was a nice interpretation of Isaiah. "Be quiet." -- I like that. In other words, shut up and just enjoy the freedom, Grace, and peace of mind you have in Christ.

It's good to hear comments to my daily postings. Keep 'em coming!