Isaiah 7-9

The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured."

I was reminded by this passage that if I do not keep my eyes on Jesus and diligently seek him with humility and discipline, I can easily be swayed to believe in the ways of the world.

If I truly fear God out of my love and reverence for him, he will be the only one I have to fear. Nothing else can touch me. He will, indeed, be my sanctuary.

But if I do not seek God, decide to sin, and do not repent of my sins, then I will be like the two houses of Israel in this passage. If I choose to continue living in sin and not repent of my ways, God will not allow my life to go smoothly. Although this makes God seem unloving, I fully believe God does this out of love. Otherwise, I will not feel the need to turn back to him when I sin.

God's love is real. Jesus Christ, God's own son, has died for my sins. So whenever I truly repent and decide to follow him again, he remembers my sins no more.

We are so blessed. How great is our God:)