Published 6/20/19
Read Isaiah 56:6-8
"And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant-- these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, "I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered."
Reflect
· Do you believe Christ died for you?
· Does He accept you--just as you are?
· Do you worship and follow Jesus?
I don't know about you, but when I think about God's salvation being for everyone, I always think about Peter's statement in Acts 15:7-9. There Peter boldly declares that God "decided long ago" to preach to the Gentiles.
Yet in this chapter of Isaiah, we find Old Testament evidence of God's love for all nations. He wants all to come to Him. Speaking through Isaiah, we see that God values our hearts over our lineage.
This concept goes entirely against human nature. Our tendency to divide into "us" and "them" starts young and continues throughout our lifetimes. Evidence abounds of how destructive these divisions can be whether it's middle-school cliques, thousands of Christian denominations, or the caste system of India.
When we are talking about "God's people" then who is in? Who makes the cut?
The answer in both Isaiah and Acts is those who worship the Lord are his people. As 2 Corinthians 5:15 states, "And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us." Today make it a point to look on each person as a person for whom Christ died.
Pray
Father, you see our hearts and provide complete cleansing for each of us. Help me to overcome my human tendency to divide the world into 'us' and 'them.' May I be a vehicle for sharing your love to each person I meet. In Jesus Name. Amen.