January 7: TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART
“And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, That you have lied And not remembered Me, Nor taken it to your heart? Is it not because I have held My peace from of old That you do not fear Me?” Isaiah 57:11
The LORD holds His peace, allowing things to play out. That is the only way some people will learn a lesson (after a painful experience). He is well aware that His divine patience carries with it the risk that some will not take to heart His loving messages of warning and correction. But there are others, indeed many others, who will look back over their own personal history and recognize the extreme mercy that He has extended. Paul addressed those who do not take to heart the word of God: Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4) The word despise means to think little or nothing of something, which is exactly why it is not taken to heart. To despise is to dismiss quickly; to disregard. Be very careful not to do this with God’s word. This leads to the error of comparing yourself with others (see 2 Corinthians 10:12), buying into the devil’s deception that your own good works have you in good stead with the Divine Majesty, who says:
“I will declare your righteousness and your works, For they will not profit you.” Isaiah 57:12
Much of chapter 57 (compare to Ezekiel 16) is an indictment of God’s professed people. He points out their spiritual harlotry, saying “For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me” (8b).
Starting at the beginning of the written word, it doesn’t take long to find conflicts between what God reveals and what the world is saying today (see Genesis 1:1; 2:2-3, 17, 22). The divine revelation of the Creator is that He made our world in six days and crowned it with a seventh day, in which no work was done. This day was blessed and sanctified by the Creator and completed the sheva, Hebrew for a period of seven. The world teaches that slow evolution over eons is the explanation for all that we see. In recent decades, even Christian seminaries are amalgamating Darwin’s theory into their teachings. The idea of evolution involves much death, but the Bible teaches that death came after creation as a result of sin. It is the last enemy that will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). Marriage, created before sin, was for the joy and happiness of people, men, women, children: families! Satan works to obscure the truth about creation, God’s holy day, marriage, and even death (Genesis 3:4). A home is meant to be a safe haven for a family where the word of God is taught and dwelt upon (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6-7; 11:18-19; Ephesians 6:4).
There is much pressure in the world to affirm popular false teachings about the aforementioned subjects and many others. But to do so displays a fear of the opinions of people over a true and reverent fear of God and faithfulness to His word. It is to lie and not remember the LORD. Beloved, if you will take to heart what He shows you (this calls for repentance of false ideas), He will help you build your spiritual house so that it cannot be toppled, that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. (Ephesians 4:14-15)