Scripture: Isaiah 17.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Isaiah 17:9-11 (NLT)
⁹ Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.
¹⁰ Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you. So you may plant the finest grapevines and import the most expensive seedlings.
¹¹ They may sprout on the day you set them out; yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

It was revealed to Isaiah that a horrible time will come upon the Hivites and Amorites because of their turning away from God. While I believe that we have a lot of Christians in our country, I also know that there seems to be an increasingly and deliberate turning away from God. Churches are drying up and closing up. More and more confusion, frustration and possibly even hatred is eroding away at our churches, and friends we can attribute this to our ‘Turning away from God’ just as in the case of the Hivites and Amorites. So what do we do about it? I acknowledge that only God has the answers to this question, but I believe that God’s Word was strategically placed as our (Christians) book of instructions. Therefore I feel like we must keep our noses into the Word, constantly seeking instruction, leadership and direction from God. I believe that we also need to look closely into the action taken by God against these folk that brazenly turned away from God. He didn’t send in a foreign military – otherwise in our case we could show off our military might. In fact, He didn’t send in anything that man would have any power to fight against, but He affected their food supply. Friends, God’s ways are not our ways. We could never do enough to prepare ourselves to fight against God. What we can do though, is exactly what churches have been designed to do from the very beginning: We can surrender our lives totally to God, humble ourselves before Him, allow Him to guide us into all righteousness, worship Him and Him only, daily seek forgiveness for our failures/sin, seek His strength and direction to live more in line with His will the next day, and be such an example of Jesus Christ in our world that others might accept Him as Lord and go on to serve Him faithfully. I am convinced that God’s Word teaches that as we do these things, He will be uplifted and draw all men unto Him. Have You forgotten the Rock who can hide you?

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, You are very aware of the horrible state in which we find ourselves today. We are probably as bad or perhaps even worse than the Hivites and Amorites that are referred to by Isaiah in the verses mentioned above. Thank You for being patient with me, but Father I want to ask today that You fill my heart with love for all those that I come into contact with today; that you remind me of words that I can say or actions that I may perform that will exemplify You in every aspect of my life today. Many I will come into contact with today are, no doubt, destined for Hell. I am excited and overjoyed to know, experience and love the Master of this universe, the Savior of this world, the Lord of my life, and I want to find ways to share that with those that may not have experienced this joy, and may be headed for a life of destruction much like the Hivites and Amorites. Please use me today to influence someone for You.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
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