Keep God's Earth Beautiful

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 24:1-6
• O: See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants- it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. [ISAIAH 24:1-6 NIV]
• A: We have not taken care of the Earth that God has given us. He gave it to us (through Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) to be good stewards of, and we have caused pollution and broken the laws of nature. We have destroyed the forests and plowed the fields under to make way for progress. We have developed equipment and machinery to improve our lives while at the same time destroying the bounty that God has given us. God's green Earth has been wrapped in gray skies by the pollution we keep pumping into the air. I'm no "tree-hugger," and could not be labeled an environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that man will one day pay the price for our poor stewardship of God's Earth.
• P: Lord, for what little that we might be able to do to become better stewards of your Earth, I and my family want to help. From cleaning up the trash around the pond, to turning off unused lights more, reducing driving by consolidating or eliminating errand trips, and trying to reuse and recycle to eliminate landfill waste, please help us to inspire others to be more conscious of how our actions affect the Earth and those around us.

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Epiphany

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it, I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing." [Isaiah 29:13-14 MSG]
• O: Today was a very stressful day. The past week, in fact, has led up to it with some unusual happenings at work. First, last week there was a meeting of several District Managers and above at our corporate headquarters. This week, I have a visit scheduled with some people from our corporate headquarters and from a liquidation company that is coming in to pick up several clearance items as part of a test that will likely be rolled out to the entire company if it is successful in my store. I also received word that My District Manager and Loss Prevention Manager will be in my store on Wednesday to look into some high merchandise shrink numbers. And, there is a Store Manager meeting tomorrow for the entire District. It's been a hectic week. My company closed nearly three dozen stores several months ago, and has been struggling financially for quite some time. With a new CEO and Executive Council, the company is trying to reinvent itself. Any time a company is in this situation, it can be difficult not to worry about what might happen next -- restructuring, job eliminations, store closures, etc. All of the unusual coincidences happening at the same time have had me wondering a bit. I say all of that to say this: WOW! Did I have an epiphany today. After stressing over much of this and calling my wife to let out the stress, I sat in my car during a very short lunch and spent some time reading through the Bible. I read several chapters, and shortly after starting what I had planned to be the last chapter, I read the passage quoted above. It felt amazingly like God was trying to speak to me.
• A: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it." I want my heart to be "in it," but clearly there are distractions and preoccupations in life that tend to steal attention away from God and family. "Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it,..." Of course I worship God. But, when I'm in church, and we're singing, do I feel it? Am I worshipping and praising -- or just singing? And what of the rest of the week? Where is the praise and worship then? "I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears." The message is coming through loud and clear now. How easy it could be for my whole world to be turned on it's end by things such as lost jobs or store closures. "The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing." Now I know. See, I felt as if God was trying to get through to me, to tell me that I'm not quite living the life that He would want me to live. Like He had stood me on my ears with all of the uncertainty at work. When my wife and I were looking for our new house, we made several commitments to each other -- and to God -- that we haven't been doing a very good job of living up to. In some cases, we have actually used the new house as one of the excuses for not living up to these commitments. Through this passage in Isaiah, I feel that God has opened up my eyes and made me realize that there are some things that I need to be doing for Him. Funny thing of it is, when I spoke with my wife about it afterward and told her of my epiphany, she said she had been thinking the very same thing last night.
• P: God, I hear You. I hear You and I understand. Thank You for bringing me to the realization that we haven't been honoring our commitments to You. Whatever Your Will might be regarding the situation at work, I put my faith in You to see us through it.

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The Butcher of Babylon

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 13-14
• O: "Babylon is doomed. It won't be long now." But not so with Jacob. God will have compassion on Jacob. Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their own country.... When God has given you time to recover from the abuse and trouble and harsh servitude that you had to endure, you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: "Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest.... Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth.... People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?" Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated — no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion!... "I will confront them"—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—"and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren." God's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.... What does one say to outsiders who ask questions? Tell them, "God has established Zion. Those in need and in trouble find refuge in her." (MSG)
• A: I am no Bible scholar. I'm just an Average Joe trying to make a little sense for myself of what God is trying tell us through His Word. But when I first read through this passage (Isaiah Chapters 13 and 14), I was floored. This passage is foretelling the destruction of Babylon. Now, I'm sure that we're talking about the destruction of ancient Babylon, but bear with me for a second. As Wikipedia explains, Babylon was a city of ancient Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. The ruins of ancient Babylon lie within an hour of Baghdad! And the description of the tyrant ruler in these two chapters could easily have been applied to Saddam Hussein. Again, I'm no Bible scholar, but WOW!
• P: Lord, as American fighting men and women risk their lives daily overseas in and around Iraq to put an end to the type of tryanny that has always run rampant in that part of the world, be with them. And be with us at home as we should lend our support to our brave troops abroad.

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A Green Shoot

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah Chapters 11-13
• O: Isaiah refers to the birth of Christ again: A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse's stump, from his roots a budding Branch. The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him, the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God. Fear-of-God will be all his joy and delight. He won't judge by appearances, won't decide on the basis of hearsay. He'll judge the needy by what is right, render decisions on earth's poor with justice. His words will bring everyone to awed attention. A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked. (ISAIAH 11:1-4 MSG) Jesse, mentioned in this passage, was the father of King David, from whom Jesus was descended by twenty-eight generations.
• A: Most of what I've shared so far in Isaiah has been prophecy of Jesus Christ. As the source of our Salvation, the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ is paramount. And much of what makes it significant is the amount of prophecy surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ -- prophecy that could only be filled by the Messiah. In the next post, I'll discuss some prophecy that, to me, seems eerily to speak of some very current events.
• P: Again, Father, Thank You for the gift of Salvation through your Son Jesus Christ.

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Isaiah's Prophecy Revealed

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 9
• O: Isaiah's prophecy of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, continues in the ninth chapter of the book of Isaiah, specifically verses six and seven. A child has been born to us; God has given a Son to us. He will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace. Power and peace will be in his kingdom and will continue to grow forever. He will rule as king on David's throne and over David's kingdom. He will make it strong by ruling with justice and goodness from now on and forever. The Lord All-Powerful will do this because of his strong love for his people. (NCV) Again, Isaiah made these prophecies nearly 800 years before the birth of Christ. As Matthew explains in his Gospel, Jesus is a decendent of King David some twenty-eight generations later, fulfilling the prophecy that the Messiah would come from the line of David.
• A: If you stay with me throughout my reading of the book of Isaiah, more prophecy of the birth of the Messiah will be revealed -- much of which was fulfilled nearly 800 years later in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and much of which is yet to be filled in the second coming of Christ. With such large portions of the book of Isaiah devoted to prophecy (59%), most of which has already been fulfilled, two things are clear: 1) Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to save us from our sins so that we might live with Him forever in paradise, and 2) God wants so much for us to know and accept this fact that He revealed it to us nearly 3000 years ago, through the prophet Isaiah.
• P: Father, as the master clock by which You will determine the timing of the events of the end times continues to tick down, please help me to seize the opportunities I'm given to share the Good News with others, so that more may know You.

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Beginning Isaiah

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 7-8
• O: The book of Isaiah is all about prophecy. A book that is throughly studied by Bible scholars, it is frequently overlooked by the Average Joe wanting to get to know a little more about God. It is the longest book from the Old Testament prophets, and reaches further into the future than any of the others. The author, Isaiah, prophesied of the virgin birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah (The Lord himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel. ISA 7:14, NIrV). This prophecy occurred nearly 800 years before Jesus' birth! I've just begun my study of the book of Isaiah, reading from multiple translations of the Bible (New International Version, New International Readers Version, King James Version, the Message), and there is still much to read. As I take this journey through the book of Isaiah, I'll be sharing with you key passages, what they mean to me, and how amazing it is that such accurate predictions have came hundreds of years in advance. Including prophecy about the tragedies this world will suffer during the Great Tribulation, and Christ taking his throne in the Millenial Kingdom. It's all there in the book of Isaiah. And, for you naysayers who think that some guy could have just written down what is already history as if it hadn't occurred yet, consider this: the book of Isaiah is among Biblical writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. These texts date back to the 2nd century B.C. -- at least two hundred years before Jesus' birth! So, those among you who might doubt, for them to be a forgery, they would still have been forged some two hundred years before the very events that they predict. Prophecy is prophecy, no matter how you slice it.
• A: Many scientists and historians would have you believe that the Bible is fiction, that there is no God, and that the stories of creation, the Great Flood, and Salvation are all false. Archeology has proven time and again that these great Biblical stories are indeed facts -- that they did occur. And the prophecies in the Bible are still coming true today! As we rapidly progress into the last days, knowledge is power -- the power to save!
• P: Father, guide me through my study of the book of Isaiah, and the wisdom contained therein. Help me to share the Good News from the prophet in a way that is clear, concise, and accurate -- not misleading in any way. And help me, Father, to learn from your word, as well, so that I may better serve You in all that I do.

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Soapy Joe is Coming Back

Soapy Joe is coming back! I have been reading the book of Isaiah, and will soon be blogging my devotionals from my readings there. I won't promise you an entry every day -- especially with the chaos of every day life lately -- but I will post multiple entries per week. So subscribe and stay tuned, and let me know what you think.

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