Ridge Haven

Read Isaiah 55:8-13 My Pick verse 8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. God doesn’t think the way we do. We get into a lot of trouble when we expect that God should think as we do. Because we are made in the image of God, we can relate to God’s thoughts, but we cannot master them, in our present state. God reinforces this concept, by repeating it. Nor are your ways My ways: God doesn’t act the way we do. Aren’t you ...glad? He does things His way, and His ways are often not our ways. We get into a lot of trouble when we expect that God should act the way we do. Consider For as the heavens are higher than the earth. How far is the distance between heaven and earth? How far apart are God’s thoughts and our thoughts? How far is the distance between God’s ways and ours? Think of the distance is as great from heavens and earth. Now consider this. In Jesus Christ, heaven has come down to earth, and we can have our thoughts and ways transformed to be more like God’s thoughts and ways. This is what it means to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). The distance will never be closed; God will always be God, and we will always be human. But when our salvation is complete, and we are united with the LORD in glory, the distance closed. See more

February 14, 2021 Dealing with LIFE! 2 Chronicles 29:1-5; James 2:1-7; Isaiah 38. The question is not WHY but How to react when bad things happen in our lives.

Isaiah 55:1-7 My Pick verse 3 3 Give ear and come to Me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, My faithful love promised to David. There is so much packed into this chapter, I felt the need to break it up. Were I to title this chapter it would be God’s invitation to be restored! It is the calling of the prophet to all people to come to God and be made new. While written first to the nation of Israel, it is an invitation to everyone who ...thirsts, for God. When someone is thirsty, they look for water. In this same light, only those who thirst for God will come to the living waters. If we aren’t thirsty for what the LORD can give us, then we will never come to His waters. Jesus may have had this passage from Isaiah in mind when He cried out. If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (John 7:37) Or, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10). No money is needed, only a hungry/thirsty soul. When we listen to God’s voice, it is like taking a cool drink of spring water. Or eating when we are very hungry. God’s desire for us is that we thirst and hunger for His Word. Receiving God’s Word, that is taking it internally, gives life to our spirit, just as water and food gives life to our bodies. From Isaiah’s perspective, the one who listens to God’s Word receives the promises of that Word. For Israel, that is the receiving and keeping of the covenant. That same covenant also contained the mercies of God, as seen in David. Jesus gave a New Covenant. The New Covenant is the promise that God makes with humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, and His death on the cross is the basis of the promise (Luke 22:20). See more

Isaiah 54 My Pick verse 7 For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion, I will bring you back. For as long as I can remember in my studies, there has been a debate over IF God really abandoned Israel. Some biblical scholars say God never really abandoned them, while others argue He did. Personally, it really doesn’t matter, because God’s people felt abandon, forsaken. I would rather think about how those who felt forsaken learn of the great mercies of Go...d. These mercies are real and gave Israel cause to set their hope and trust in the LORD, even while they felt forsaken at the moment. Having said this, it is also important as to IF God does abandon anyone, at any time. Again, I’m injecting my personal belief and invite comments. As I study God’s Word, there appear to be indications that God doesn't abandon a person, but does permit them from doing their own thing. I offer the story of the Prodigal son, which is really your story as well as mine. As the story goes, a son feels he is missing out on the pleasures/excitement and possibilities that may be found in the world. So he goes to his father and requests his portion of inheritance be given to him now, instead of at the death of his father. Reluctantly the father agrees, knowing that if he refuses, his son's heart will always be set on what might have been. So the father agrees and grants his son his request. Upon receiving his inheritance the son is off to experience the world. Now the father did not abandon the son ... the son abandon the father. However, had the son died while living in the world his grave would have been marked, unknown? When he walked away from his father, he no longer had his father’s name or idenity. But consider when he returned to his father seeking forgiveness -- he was fully restored. He received the name of his father as well as the family ring and coat as identification. Think about this. See more

Isaiah 53 My Pick Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? This question rings down through the ages and is still being asked today. Boiled down, it’s basically asking? Who can believe the love of God? Isaiah prophetically sees two important facts as God reveals what is behind the current of belief. First, he sees how strange and contradictory it seems that this suffering Messiah, whose being is marred more than any man, is at the s...ame time will be salvation and cleansing to the nations. Second, he sees the rejection of the Messiah, that many would not believe the report of eye witness’ as well as many believers throughout life on earth. Verse 10 tells the story. It was the Lord’s will to crush Him. It was God's will to afflict, punish, (and every other descriptive word that tells of what Jesus endured) to make a way for ordinary people, like you and I, to have this relationship with Him. Through Jesus, every person has the opportunity to walk hand in hand with God! Why? How? Because Jesus took on Himself every flaw, sin, ugliness, disease of the world and nail it to the cross. Then it was buried in the tomb, with the body of Jesus. Jesus was raised from that would be grave, but all the rest of that stuff remained in the grave, or better said, it hell itself. I invite you to read this chapter again very slowly. Ponder every word. Let every descriptive phrase settle in your soul. Then rise up, empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk daily with God! See more