This passage jumped out at me in Isaiah 1 ....
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
No matter how far we have fallen, no matter how wicked we have become, no matter how much we have sinned - we cannot outsin grace. God stands willing to forgive - but we have to repent. We can't only be sorry for getting caught, we can't simply feel bad for the consequences of our sin on ourselves or even of those we've hurt. We need to see how our sin offends God. We need to see the holiness of God juxtaposed against our own wickedness, and that needs to grieve us. We need to agree with God about our sin - and not try to justify it. We need to turn away from our sin and, instead, turn toward God. Jesus is the only One who can wash our scarlet sins away until they are white as snow.
In our Mark passage we see John's purpose - to prepare the way of Jesus, to announce His arrival. Are we excited to share the presence of Jesus with those around us?
It's interesting, too, how the testing of Jesus comes immediately after the high of baptism. We should find it no surprise when we too are tested after a spiritual high.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Isaiah 3-4, Mark 1:23-45
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"The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted that day, and the idols will totally disappear." Isaiah 2:17-18
I was excited to read those verses. I have seen numerous movies or videos that have depicted Jesus' death and beatings and rejections leading up to His crucifixion. This verse provided me with a picture of victory for God, where only He is being exalted!
The day of God's return is unknown to us, and we need to live each day as if it's our last.
As I am dealing with the upcoming high school graduation of our oldest daughter, a few things jumped out at me:
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children[a] have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
Our children will reach a time when they need to make their faith their own. They must not believe that their hope of salvation rests in the faith of their parents. We can only raise our children as best as we can but ultimately it is beyond our control what direction they take. It is quite possible that they will rebel and turn from us.
However, as Tammy already mentioned, it doesn't matter how far our children drift, there is always redemption and a way to wash the crimson stain of sin completely away.
Later on in Mark, we see another example of children turning away from their parent:
9 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
I am quite certain that James and John's father expected them to follow in his footsteps and carry on the family business in fishing. This was not how their lives would turn out. Just as James and John's father let them go, we need to be willing to let our kids go as well as God likely has a much bigger plan for our kids than we could ever imagine if they are willing to get out of "the boat" (or their regular life) and follow Jesus.
Let my child go?!....Ahhh easier said in theory than done in practice! ;)
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