Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord : though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
– Isaiah 1:16-20 ESV
#WashYourself #CeaseEvil #LearnGood
Are your sins easily hidden? Or are they clear and visible and evident in your words, in your attitude, in your “un-grace”? I say this because that lack of grace at work in your life shows up like a scarlet stain that can’t just be seen, but it can be smelled as either the fresh aroma of life or the decaying stench of death.
I praise God that I smell such a wonderful aroma of life coming off of the lives of my friends and loved ones most of the time. It is a welcoming and inviting aroma that purr from their hearts and comes out in their smiles, their encouragement, their joy, their love for one another. And I see them willingly obedient, and eating of the good of the land, and they warm my heart for what they are pouring out into the lives of so many around them. it’s a valuable treasure that when they share it with others, they come away with more themselves.
Buy the rebellious and the willful. I know the stench well, it used to engulf me. I used to walk in its thick cloud, as it blinded my vision and hindered my navigation. Whereas others hear the Word of God and are humbled, you think that it doesn’t apply to you! You think that this message is meant for someone else, but why has the Lord brought it to your ears? It is sharp and it cuts deep.
So will you:
1) “Wash yourselves; ”
2) “make yourselves clean;”
3) “remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;”
4) “cease to do evil, ”
5) “learn to do good;”
6) “seek justice, ”
7) “correct oppression;”
8) “bring justice to the fatherless,”
9) “plead the widow’s cause.”
Or do you have something better to do even though the Lord has called you to “Come, let us reason together”?
Will you say, “I am too busy for the Lord’s work, too busy to be called by the Lord into action, into ministry. ”
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
– Matthew 22:2-14 ESV
Harold J. Ballinger 