There is No Other

Isaiah 46 (NIV)

Gods of Babylon

¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
   their idols are borne by beasts of burden.
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
   a burden for the weary.
² They stoop and bow down together;
   unable to rescue the burden,
   they themselves go off into captivity.
³ “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
   all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
   and have carried since you were born.
⁴ Even to your old age and gray hairs
   I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
   I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
⁵ “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
   To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
⁶ Some pour out gold from their bags
   and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,
   and they bow down and worship it.
⁷ They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;
   they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
   From that spot it cannot move.
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;
   it cannot save them from their troubles.
⁸ “Remember this, keep it in mind,
   take it to heart, you rebels.
⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago;
   I am God, and there is no other;
   I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
   from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
   and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon a bird of prey;
   from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
   what I have planned, that I will do.
¹² Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
   you who are now far from my righteousness.
¹³ I am bringing my righteousness near,
   it is not far away;
   and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,
   my splendor to Israel.

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Seek

"Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you." Psalm 9:10 (NLT) 

We are all seeking for something.  For some it is happiness.  For some, peace.  For some, fortune or fame, recognition for who we are, someone special, someone unique.  We all want to be important.  We all want our lives to mean something.  Many don't even care what it means as long as they don't fade into oblivion.  They act out, show off, cave in, or give up.  Some strike out and do horrible things.  For their five seconds of fame...

This world is a mixed up self centered place for most people.  They have no purpose or direction, no reason for their existence, no peace.  There is a saying that most of you have heard or seen on a bumper sticker.  "No Jesus, No Peace.  Know Jesus, Know Peace."

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  That is all of us.  Without Him, we don't know what to do when something tragic occurs.  Without Him, we struggle and grasp and try to cope with all of the cruelty, injustice, violence, and sadness in the world. Without Him, we become depressed, confused, hopeless, useless.

Through Jesus, we have everything!  Without Him, nothing.  No matter how little or much you have, you have nothing without Him.  No matter how little or much you do, you have nothing without Him.  We won't find real happiness, true peace, new hope, or our life's meaning without Him.   We need to stop looking in all the wrong places for the answers to the questions that we have.  We need to seek answers from the only source of truth, and love, and peace, and hope that really exists in the world.

"Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out."  John 1:3 (The Message)

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.  When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."  Jeremiah 29:11-13 (The Message)

"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live Him. You're deeply rooted in Him. You're well constructed upon Him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in Him, so you can see and hear Him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without Him. When you come to Him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything."  Colossians 2:7-9 (The Message)

"Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long;  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:34-39 (NIV)

Dear Lord,  Thank you for what You have done for us.  Thank you that nothing shall ever separate us from Your love.

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On Earth as it is in Heaven

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."  Romans 8:26-27 (ESV)

Sometimes it is difficult to know "how" to pray.  We know what we want.  We know what we think we need. But we don't know His will.  How can we pray as we ought if we do not know His will.  I truly think most people are confused about the purpose of prayer.  Our prayers will never change God's purposes, but they can change the way He accomplishes those purposes.  His will is always of the utmost importance, not ours.  We often pray for what we think is best but we really have no idea what is best (although we think we do).  We are guilty of trying to manipulate God into doing things our way.  Many people have this mentality:  My way or the highway!  People get angry with God when He can't be bullied into doing what they want.  They don't realize that His will is the only will that counts.

"We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails."   Proverbs 19:21 (The Message)  If God's purposes will always prevail, then we should be praying for His purposes, His will.  We should also be praying to be used by God to bring about His purposes.  If we do not know what His will is,  then we must trust that the Holy Spirit does and that the "groanings too deep for words" that He employs in us describe the depths of our desires as well as the breadth of God's will.  Our job is to trust God.  Our job is to be obedient.  Our job is to pray for His will to be done and to be available to be used for His purposes.

So then, we need to "let go" of our own will!  We are all strong willed children and God wants us to offer up our strong wills to Him.  He doesn't want us to become mealy mouthed door mats; He wants us to become new creatures in Christ being conformed to His image.  As it says in Romans 8:28-30, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified."  (ESV)

Dear Lord, Help us to know Your will and to give up our own.  Use us to accomplish Your purposes in Your time and teach us how to pray,  "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."

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