Come Now, and Let us Reason Together...the Wayfarer 1/23/16
Come Now, and Let us Reason Together
1/23/16
1/23/16
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool.
(Isaiah 1:18)
Let us reason together!
The time has come for that reasoning
throughout the entire world, as the entire world finds itself in the position
occupied by Israel when the Prophet Isaiah spoke those words.
That reasoning, on the part of God is
still one of reconciliation and forgiveness, mercy and grace for all willing to
heed the warnings that have been sounded throughout the centuries, and to
accept the only reasonable alternative to those warnings that were given both
then and now.
God is a loving, caring, gentle being,
unless provoked to the wrath that has been shown in the past, because of an
unwillingness to accept reason, and that same unwillingness even now to accept
a means of assuaging that wrath and granting that reconciliation with our Creator.
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath
spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled
against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but
Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of
evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have
provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and
more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not
been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
(Isaiah 1:1-6)
Both individual, and nation,
throughout the world today should recognize the rebellion that exists, separating
us from the blessings promised and provided by God.
That rebellion manifests itself throughout
the entire society of mankind, from the rebellion within the family unit, first
instituted for our very preservation by God, through the governance and
established goals of nations in direct rebellion against the governance and
goals established by our Creator.
The denial of that governance,
established at creation, and the denial of that Governor are evident in the
daily activities of the creature intended to be the recipient of the blessings
of that Creator.
Even the houses of worship, in far
too many instances have exacerbated that rebellion with the acceptance of
abomination for the cause of social equality. These remain putrifying sores
that only deepen the wounds that could so easily be healed, increasing the
stench that is unacceptable to our Father by invoking the will of fallible and
sinful man over the infallible and perfect will intended for us.
What then restrains the wrath that is
built up by that rebellion?
What is the reasoning for allowing
the existence of such an unreasonable creature?
God remains a God of LOVE!
Just as when Abraham attempted to
reason with Him about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, begging for the
mercy to be shown to the entirety of their populace if only a few could be
found, and reached agreement that wrath would be withheld if the remnant, (those
few), existed, so too today God makes good on that promise for the remnant… as
long as that remnant remains.
Continuance is given for the
opportunity for all to reason with Him, to have the means to salvation provided
through the sacrifice of His own only begotten Son, Christ Jesus.
That grace, that undeserved love
continues to allow the second chance for individual, and if taken nation as
well.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings
from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge
the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the
land:
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the
sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
(Isaiah 1:16-20)
The opportunity is still given, even
to this rebellious and stubborn creature, and his rebellious and stubborn
nations, to make amends and return to the intended love and peace provided only
by God, Father and Creator, through the simple acceptance of terms already
established by Him from the beginning, and reiterated by the Son sent to make
those terms clear so that none could say there was any misunderstanding of
those terms.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither
cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Condemnation, wrath, destruction,
eternity separated from God, were never, are not and never will be the intent nor
will of God for this creation.
All of those things come not because
of God, but because of mankind’s continually remaining obstinate, and refusing
to accept his own lesser place in the universe created by that Creator.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus:
(Romans 3:21-24)
That justification… through the offer
of that same grace offered Israel is now offered all mankind for that same
promised redemption.
Take careful note, however, that that
justification, that redemption comes only through Faith in Christ Jesus, and
that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God!
It is only through the crimson blood
given by Jesus that sin may be expunged, and remitted, forgiven and forgotten.
The depth, breadth, or length of that
sin is without importance, provided that the requirement of repentance is met,
that true belief and faith in the work done on the cross, and more importantly,
faith in the ONE having done that work and His continual ability to preserve
that work through His resurrection, that grants that remittance, redemption and
the reward of eternal life in exchange for that repentance and faith.
There is no sin too small to be
overlooked by God, and no sin too large to be forgiven by Him when reasoning
results in the repentance requested, and demanded by Him!
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches
of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:4-10)
Come, let us reason together! Accept
the terms offered, and the rewards of those terms through the acceptance of
Christ Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.
2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”
Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer
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