Prayer: Father, open my eyes to the behaviors of the end times. How similar are the behaviors of men today, compared to the character which Isaiah describes of Israel. Help me to see my sin as actions against You. Amen.
Reading: Isaiah 3 key vs. 5-9 “The people will oppress one another— each one by his fellow, each one by his neighbor. The child will be insolent to the aged, and dishonorable to the honorable. When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying: “You have a cloak, you be our ruler! This ruin is under your charge.” In that day he will protest, saying: “I’m no healer! In my house is no bread or cloak. Don’t make me a ruler of people!” For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah is fallen. For their tongue and their actions are against Adonai, defying the eyes of His glory. The expression of their faces bears witness against them. They display their sin like Sodom— they do not hide it. Oy , their souls! For they brought evil on themselves.” TLV
Attention: Never have I seen people so polarized as in today’s culture. And the polarization is not just America, but global. Those who are protesting or advocating for their personal agenda, are in the face of those who live life based on God’s Law and grace. Those who advocate a non-mainstream lifestyle and identity, charge anyone opposed to their freedoms with hate.
It is not hated which motivates me to declare God’s standards. My motivation is my love for God (Adonai) and His standards of obedience to His word and the identity which He has given us via His Word. Any deviation from what He commands is sin. And sin in its simplest form is disobedience to God.
The deterioration of family relationships as evidenced by Isaiah is also prophesied as signs of the end times relationships between child and parents (Matthew 10:21-23).
If we identify with Adonai and Messiah, we will be hated by our association with the divine. We will be hated by warning everyone who is living a life opposed to God. It is fundamental that those who hate God, call us haters. It is our association with the Truth, which is the Word which dwells in us. This is what triggers their hatred of us.
Yeshua warned us in the Matthew 10 passage, “And you will be hated by all because of My name (v.22a).” We become the hated because of our association with the Yeshua of scriptures. Do you identify as a follower of Yeshua? If you do, you must also identify with Adonai, the God of the Hebrew nation who gave us the Law of the Torah. What do the scriptures tell us about the lifestyle which God wants us to live and by which the whole world is judged.
The narrative from those who live opposing lifestyles is that Christ followers are to only love them, for God is love. This is a true statement, but is it love to withhold the truth. If we reread the last line of our scripture today, it declares “For they brought evil on themselves.” Everyone is responsible for deciding for Adonai or against Adonai. Which way will you live?
Action: I choose to live for Adonai so that I can one day live with Him.
Yield: I choose to be obedient to Adonai and His Word.
Engage: I choose to engage with the help of the Spirit of God to give me power to live for Adonai.
Relationship: I choose to live in intimate relationship with Adonai.
Prayer: Father, may Your followers declare Your love for all men along with the standards You have for our lifestyle. May we be obedient to Your commands and understand that anything short of obedience is sin. You are God and only You are God. Amen.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 13:9 “Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” TLV
Music Video: Morris Chapman—Yesterday, Today and Forever https://youtu.be/z3fZVuSATiQ?si=JpofhWhEaie3qc64
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”