“Comfort, oh comfort my people,” says your God.
Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear that she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—-forgiven.
Isaiah 40:1-2
Climb a high mountain, Zion.
You’re the preacher of good news. Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem. You’re the preacher of good news. Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid. Tell the cities of Judah, “Look! Your God!”
Isaiah 40:9-10
Discover, Uncover, and Smash
My Dear, Sweet Sisters—-The struggle is real. Climbing these boulder-lies is no easy feat. The bad news is these boulder-lies are everywhere. Fortunately, Paul reminds us of some really “good news.” We call it “the Gospel.” Paul liked the word “gospel” so much that he used it sixty or so times while he wrote. He stole it from Isaiah, so I am stealing it from him today. This journey to freedom is arduous, and we need some good news.
Paul’s words echo in my head, “I can’t believe you believe the lies! Are you deserting your teaching and all that knowledge you gained? Are you trading it for a smooth-talking sales pitch? Stop it!! Don’t listen any longer.”
If we take scripture out of context, we can find enough to label ourselves as shameful humans with whom God is angry.
Oh, those lies are mighty convincing. We could easily pick some verses out of scripture to make a point. If we take scripture out of context, we can find enough to label ourselves as shameful humans with whom God is angry. Naturally, we deserve punishment. If we continue to believe those lies about God, we will live in fear, nervousness, anger, bitterness, and selfishness, always watching others trying to pattern our lives accordingly. We will never run our race if we continue believing the lies.
This “good news” is the refreshing fact that God is not angry with us. When we put the verses back into context, we find God is neither impersonal nor distant. He loves us beyond our comprehension and has provided this salvation-freedom. Since He loves us because of who He is (not because of who we are), we should cheer! This good news propels us up and over boulder-lies.
Being taught fragments and pieces of scripture, I think we missed a lot of who our God truly is. We can get to know God personally and connect with Him because of His son Jesus Christ!
Living this free life includes discovering God, uncovering Truth, and smashing boulder-lies.
As we journey, let’s dialog about the lies. What are the old lies? What are the new lies? God’s word is ripe for discovery. It is here we find Him on our own. In discovering His story, we find ours—-precisely what He created in us. The beauty of this? When we fully understand who we are, we discover the freedom to teach others to do the same.
Living this free life includes discovering God, uncovering Truth, and smashing boulder-lies. As we discover, uncover, and smash, we live freely, no longer needing to look over our shoulders all the time. We live in open praise; no more obsession with guilt, shame, and ridicule seasoned with fear. We are free to hope. We found some Good news on the journey back up this path.
Sisters, a little mindset shift, a commitment to finding out for ourselves, and no more taking everyone’s say-so! Doing this in good company makes the journey all the easier. Maybe this isn’t so daunting after all.