DAY 174 Read Isaiah 1 and 2.
Today's reading: One of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah also had one of the longest careers. Today we begin reading this wonderful book, much of it in beautiful Hebrew poetic form.
Memory gem: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
Thought for today:
This offer of God is not for tomorrow--it is for today. "Come now," He says. When Augustine came under conviction of sin, he prayed, "O God, cleanse me from all my sins, but not now." A little later he prayed, "Lord, deliver me from all my sins but one." At last, in full surrender, he cried, "O God, deliver me from all my sins now. And this is the only way for anyone to pray, the only way for those who really wish to come to Christ.
"If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.' Jeremiah 13:23. There is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing of ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are....
"Beware of procrastination. Do not put off the work of forsaking your sins and seeking purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where thousands have erred to their eternal loss....There is terrible danger--a danger not sufficiently understood--in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God's Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is. Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be indulged in only at the peril of infinite loss."--Steps to Christ, pp. 31-33.
NOTE: Isaiah's prophetic ministry covered a longer period than that of any other prophet--more than fifty-five years from the closing years of Uzziah's reign (before 740 B.C.) until after the close of Hezekiah's reign (after 686 B.C.).
Today's reading: One of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah also had one of the longest careers. Today we begin reading this wonderful book, much of it in beautiful Hebrew poetic form.
Memory gem: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
Thought for today:
This offer of God is not for tomorrow--it is for today. "Come now," He says. When Augustine came under conviction of sin, he prayed, "O God, cleanse me from all my sins, but not now." A little later he prayed, "Lord, deliver me from all my sins but one." At last, in full surrender, he cried, "O God, deliver me from all my sins now. And this is the only way for anyone to pray, the only way for those who really wish to come to Christ.
"If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.' Jeremiah 13:23. There is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing of ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are....
"Beware of procrastination. Do not put off the work of forsaking your sins and seeking purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where thousands have erred to their eternal loss....There is terrible danger--a danger not sufficiently understood--in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God's Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is. Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be indulged in only at the peril of infinite loss."--Steps to Christ, pp. 31-33.
NOTE: Isaiah's prophetic ministry covered a longer period than that of any other prophet--more than fifty-five years from the closing years of Uzziah's reign (before 740 B.C.) until after the close of Hezekiah's reign (after 686 B.C.).
RSS Feed
