howeenterprise.com
Monday, March 9, 2015
Page #8
Faith by Debbie Wallis
doings from My eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor, Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow,” Isaiah 1:16-17. God does His part and requires an action on our part; wash, make, put away, cease, learn, do, seek, rebuke, defend and plea. Jesus put Himself on the cross and took back the keys of hell for our sins. Our part is to come to Him in repentance and believe.
As Isaiah relayed, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.” God blesses obedience. Since Adam and Eve’s sin all humans have been born with a sin nature. We sin, we repent, and we learn from our mistakes and mess up again. God knows our heart. He knows our motives and our intentions. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 6:23. Accepting the gift of the cross is when our sins are washed as clean as snow. Purposely denying the
cost is what Cain did. We don’t have to burn a sacrifice, Jesus did that for us and He doesn’t have to return to the cross as a sacrifice over and over, again. It was finished because He was the perfect lamb. That was His part and your part is to “wash, make, put away, cease, learn, do, seek, rebuke, defend and plea.” David did not deny his wrongs. His heart cried out for a change. Cain denied his evil heart and made no attempt of repentance. Two murders, two different outcomes. We all have a choice.
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I will be white as snow,” Psalm 51:7. This was a plea from King David to the If you do not have a Bible please Lord for forgiveness. He had contact me at sinned with Bathsheba, not only did sfadebbie@yahoo.com and I will “Come now, and let us reason he commit adultery; he lied and provide you one. together,” Says the Lord, “Though murdered to cover it up. David is your sins are like scarlet, they shall seeking a deep heart cleanse from be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be the Lord and uses symbols to express that. Clothes were literally as wool,” Isaiah 1:18. beaten and pounded until all traces Christians love that verse. We go of dirt was removed and Hyssop was a bushy, bitter herb used for back and remind ourselves often internal cleanses and as a tool, like a that our sins are gone and remembered no more by the Lord. scrub brush, for scouring and We’ve seen demonstrations of sins cleaning. He wanted more than a quick fix; he wanted the very desire washed as white as snow and, for sin to be removed. rightly so, it brings encouragement. I thought of it several times these past few weeks In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain’s sacrifice was done with with all the ice and snow we’ve leftovers from his crop, he was had here in North Texas. L-R: front, Jackson Teel, Grace Randall, Ridley Carter, Chris greedy. Abel’s sacrifice of his best Cardinals seem to love the cold. Torres. Second row, Beaudy Kuykendall, Eisley Zolfaghari, Tristan lamb was one from a heart of You can spot that red against the Trivette, Sandra Nitchman, Autumn Owens, Charlie Vera. Third white snow for blocks away! But, obedience and gratitude. When row, Lacy Hymel, Bettye Delavan, Keira Robertson, and Audie if I stopped at verse 18, I would be Cain realized God was pleased with Martin. interrupting Isaiah’s interpretation Abel’s sacrifice but not his he became jealous. His jealously led to a of what God was saying! He did murder. But unlike King David, not stop speaking until verse when Cain was asked by God, 20…“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of “Cain, where is your brother, Abel?” in Gen.4:9, he responded the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the back to God, “I do not know. Am I sword”; for the mouth of the Lord my brother’s keeper?” God considered King David a man of has spoken,” Isaiah 1:19-20. His own heart. Cain was cursed and Earlier in verse 16 He tells us to sent out of his land. God told Cain “wash yourself, make yourselves that his work would never prosper. clean; put away the evil of your
Top Dogs
