"Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."
Isaiah 45:20-22
The idea that struck me as I was reading these verses today is God commanding people "be ye saved." I think we usually think of the action of saving being something that the Lord does for us, rather than something that we are commanded to do. And, of course, God *does* save us, but the way that he does that is to set up his plan of salvation, with all of the rules and consequences and blessings set, and then he allows us to choose within that context... salvation or damnation. So in that sense, his asking us to choose to be saved makes a lot of sense.
God offers us some clues on how to choose to be saved, and one big one here is to avoid idolatry. Applying that to the modern day, it seems unlikely that very many people are praying to a wooden statue, but anything that we set up or trust in the place of God can endanger our souls in the same way--by drawing us away from him. Some of those things could be money, cars, computers, hand-held devices, gambling, relationships, sex, success, fame, power, our internet connection, etc. :) So many things that we rely on or trust in, sometimes more than God. Something to be careful of.
Today, let's remember that there is no other place to look for salvation besides God. Christ suffered and died for us that we might be saved, and he asks us to accept that gift and choose to apply it to our lives through prayer, repentance, and obedience. Today, let's do as God asks and has provided for, and choose to be saved.
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."
Isaiah 45:20-22
The idea that struck me as I was reading these verses today is God commanding people "be ye saved." I think we usually think of the action of saving being something that the Lord does for us, rather than something that we are commanded to do. And, of course, God *does* save us, but the way that he does that is to set up his plan of salvation, with all of the rules and consequences and blessings set, and then he allows us to choose within that context... salvation or damnation. So in that sense, his asking us to choose to be saved makes a lot of sense.
God offers us some clues on how to choose to be saved, and one big one here is to avoid idolatry. Applying that to the modern day, it seems unlikely that very many people are praying to a wooden statue, but anything that we set up or trust in the place of God can endanger our souls in the same way--by drawing us away from him. Some of those things could be money, cars, computers, hand-held devices, gambling, relationships, sex, success, fame, power, our internet connection, etc. :) So many things that we rely on or trust in, sometimes more than God. Something to be careful of.
Today, let's remember that there is no other place to look for salvation besides God. Christ suffered and died for us that we might be saved, and he asks us to accept that gift and choose to apply it to our lives through prayer, repentance, and obedience. Today, let's do as God asks and has provided for, and choose to be saved.
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