July 18
Isaiah 30:1-33:24
Please read through the entirety of God’s Word. Purpose it in your heart to receive His full counsel. If you choose to disregard every other part of this reading plan: the commentaries, prayers, Promises of God, God Moments, Testimonies, Messages, and songs, and simply spend time each day moving forward in God’s Word and allowing Him to talk to you daily, this is the most important thing. So many refuse or state they can’t. Many state they don’t like portions in the Old Testament or only like portions such as the gospels or the Psalms. Could you understand a movie if you skipped or fast forwarded only the scenes you liked? Could you understand any other book by skipping chapters and other portions? Interestingly, as I go through God’s counsel year after year, He speaks to me through different portions every year. I don’t really know which are my favorites, because they change annually. Isaiah was so clear how we are to approach God, as we read in Isaiah 28:13, “But the word of the Lord was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,”…”.
After Isaiah reveals the excuses that both the learned and the illiterate use for not reading Scripture in Isaiah 29:11-12, he goes onto to describe those who choose to remain biblically illiterate in 29:13-14 (quoted by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew), “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
People prefer not to be confronted with the truth of God’s Word. They prefer to be entertained and have their ears tickled with soft messages, as Isaiah elaborated on in Isaiah 30:9-10, “That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the Lord; Who say to the seers, “Do not see,”. And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things, prophesy deceits.” So many call things conspiratorial out of ignorance to God’s Word. It is really up to each of us, we can go along oblivious to God’s counsel thinking we are so good, or we can allow God to speak in and through us so that we can be in a right relationship with the Lord of Lords. Choose wisely.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: