A DIFFERENT PEOPLE
22nd Sep 2021
I was looking up a verse in Isaiah 8 and my eye was caught by a section starting at verse 11, “The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people.”
He continues in verse 12 and 13, “Do not call conspiracy everything this people call conspiracy, do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”
We are a different people if we are part of the Kingdom of God, called to live in peace without fear, and not caught up with senseless speculation and arguments that are flying around.
Mark 15:43 describes Joseph of Arimathea as a prominent member of the Jewish council who was himself waiting for the Kingdom of God. The Message translation describes him and “one who lived expectantly, on the lookout for the Kingdom of God.” He took courage and asked Pilate for the body of Jesus in order to place it in his tomb.
I want to live seeing where God is at work, believing His promises, living with divine resources, taking advantage of every spiritual avenue available, praying with understanding that the Kingdom of God will be established in our world, and God’s mercy and grace will still be poured out upon our world, on our families and those we care for.
There is an Andrea Crouch song that I have been singing recently which speaks of the way we live as those who love and serve the Lord. Here is part of that song:
You may ask me why I serve the Lord
Is it just for heaven's gain
Or to walk those mighty streets of gold
Or to hear the angels sing
But if heaven never was promised to me
Neither God's promise to live eternally
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life
Living in a world of darkness
He brought me the light
He's been my closest friend down through the years
And every time I cry you know He dries all my tears
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life
Living in a world of darkness
He brought me the light
by Joyce Sibthorpe
