September 28
Isaiah 54:1-57:14 | PS 70:1-5 | Prov 24:8 | Eph 6:1-24
Around 100 years ago a popular and familiar poster was created. Uncle Sam with his finger pointing at you, with the phrase, "I want YOU". This was a recruiting poster for the U.S. Army initially for World War I. This poster was direct and personal. It was a personal appeal. Most fail to realize this is how God feels about each one of us. It is a personal appeal by Almighty God for us to engage in a one on One relationship with Him. So simple, yet so often missed. He is not calling a denomination. He is not calling a congregation. He is not calling you through a pastor, priest, rabbi, etc. These commentaries that I write are simply put forth to spark interest that you would want to engage Him. You don't need me, or for that matter anyone else to work as an intermediary between you and God. One of the biggest lies out there is that the Bible can only be interpreted through pastors, priests, and rabbis. These individuals may be gifted in giving a message, but God has given us a gift in the Word of God. This gift is meant to be opened and engaged in privately between you and Him. Let Him talk to you. Feel His arms around You. Learn to go to Him when you need things or problems come your way. Yes, the fellowship of other Christians are helpful, but we are definitely secondary, and a far secondary, to the direct relationship that you can have with Him.
I want you to hear God speaking to you, as you read in Isaiah 43:1, "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine." We read in 54:6, "For the Lord has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God.", And again in 54:17, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord." We read in 55:3, "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—The sure mercies of David." This is the Father, Almighty God, reaching down to each of us, loving us, comforting us, enlisting each of us to enter into a relationship with Him. When Jesus walked on this earth, He engaged personally. He would give messages, but often He would direct His eyes like a laser beam on an individual, and direct His attention directly to them, as we read in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
You might think this seems too good to be true. Why should the Creator of the universe care about someone as insignificant as me? The amazing thing is since He formed each of us in the womb, He has never taken His eyes off of us, forming us, calling us, and loving us. If this still doesn't make sense, we read in Isaiah 55:8-9, "“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." Don't overthink it, and certainly don't doubt it. Messages and devotionals are simply aids to assist you with entering the most important relationship of your life. God loved each of us so much, that He wrote a love letter, called the Bible, for each of us. Go to it daily. Go to it often, and let His words lift off the pages and into your hearts, and remember what He said in Isaiah 43:1, "You are Mine"., and never forget that.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: