May 11 - Here I Am

Today's Reading:
Isaiah 6:1-7:25
James 4:1-17
Psalm 137:1-9 
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Focus Verses:
Isaiah 6:8-9
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9 He said, "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' "

Insight:
Isaiah was overcome by a vision of God's power and holiness. He realized how sinful he was, how sinful the people of Israel had become, and how desperately they needed God's forgiveness and restoration.

God sent him to preach repentance and judgment to his people, even though God knew the people would not listen to Isaiah. They would hear, but not understand; they would see, but not perceive. Because the people would ignore Isaiah, his preaching would, in fact, harden their hearts and dull their understanding.

Isaiah asked, "How long should I preach?" God said, essentially, "Until there is no one left to preach to." Even when people fail to listen or respond, God is faithful to reach out to them and give them opportunity to wake up and turn back. Their destruction was self-imposed. They were without excuse.

Response and Action:
I want to live with a sense of God's beauty, holiness, and majesty. I will grow in my reverence for God as I humble myself in worship, prayer, and the reading of Scripture. I will acknowledge my sin and the sins of my people (my family, my church, my nation), asking God for forgiveness and restoration. I will be faithful to speak and live the truth of God even if no one listens or responds. I want to be sensitive to God's leading and have a willingness to answer his call--to do what he calls me to do, to say what he calls me to say, and to be what he calls me to be.

O God, have mercy on me. I am a person of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips. You have shown your glory to us through Jesus, your Son. Help me--help us all--to find forgiveness, restoration, renewal, and purpose in Him. It's in His Name, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Ephesians 1:18-19a

18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Resources:
Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day
by James Emery White