July 9, 2012 … Here I am, Lord, … Send me!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Isaiah, Chapter 1-4 [NIV] To study these chapters, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage: Isaiah 5: 20-22 : [NIV] … 20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. 22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.
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Highlight Passage #2: Isaiah 6: 5-8 : [NIV] … 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 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!" 
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Highlight Passage #3: Isaiah 8: 11-16 : [NIV] … 11 This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 12 "Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. 14 He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah He will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem He will be a trap and a snare. 15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured." 16 Bind up this testimony of warning and seal up God's instruction among My disciples. 

My Journal for Today: Sometimes, in my calling to ministry, when I feel inadequate to the task, which happens occasionally, I get a bit dispirited and even discouraged. But my gig for God is small potatoes when compared to Isaiah’s calling. And in today’s chronological reading we get a sense of what Isaiah’s calling to deliver the truth to God’s people in Judah was like.

First, his news was not “good news” to the people of his day. As we can read in Isaiah 5 (highlight passage above), in my best southern dialect, Isaiah was giving a “Woe to y’all!” message, which would not have been received well in Judah in the times just before the southern tribes where defeated and consumed the Babylonians. And Isaiah was likely downhearted to be called to deliver such a message; and so, God gave the Prophet a vision of heaven to give him a boost of sight and encouragement for his prophetic mission. And in (highlight passage #2 above) we read of Isaiah grasping his calling and surrendering to the Lord’s plans for his life.

 And in meditating on this passage this morning, I went back to listen to one of my favorites, a lilting and beautiful song, sung by the Messianic Jewish songwriter, Marty Goetz, entitled “Hineni,” which the Hebrew word for “Here am I,” If you can take a few moments, you can listen to this powerful song at this link .

Isaiah was in enveloped in an attitude of what I call “surrender mode,” which is the attitude that all believers need to live out our lives. It seems quite obvious that Isaiah had understood his calling as a Prophet, even before this dramatic episode in Isaiah 6. However, God needed to take Isaiah to a higher level of calling because the Lord knew what was ahead for this Prophet. But, in reading these passages this morning, I realize that I also had my own “Hineni” moment years ago when I received my calling to develop Battle Plan Ministry, the mission God has called me out to lead in these troubled and darkened times. And to God’s calling I too said, “Here am I, Lord, send me!”

My friend, you may not be called to be God’s messenger from a pulpit or a missionary to some 3rd world. But if you are a disciple of Christ, God does have a plan for you and your life; and that plan is for God’s glory, not for your own comfort. And God wants us ALL to bloom where He has planted us, … and to shine a light in the darkness which surrounds us. And … my dear one, the darkness abounds in these troubles times, doesn’t it?

All we need to do is respond as did Isaiah did and go forth with God’s calling in surrender mode with our lives, saying, “Here am I, Lord; send me!” In closing out this journal entry, let me link you to one more song for your devotional edification as you take in this journal entry. It is sung by Daniel O’Donnell and is entitled, “Here I Am, Lord;” and linked here for your meditation . I’ll leave it to you to decide, with the Lord’s guidance, whether you are living in surrender to His calling for your life.

My Prayer Today: … Here I am, Lord! Shine Your light brightly; and I will follow You. Amen