Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Devotion - Wednesday, December 12

A popular song among our selections for Wednesday night gathering is "Here I am Lord."  The song takes its title from Isaiah 6.

The prophet is caught up in a vision.  He sees God sitting on a throne, with seraphim flying around praising God.  Considering himself unworthy to be seeing such a sight, Isaiah declares, "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."

One of the seraphim takes a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah's lips.  "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven."

When God asks who will go and deliver His message to the people, Isaiah says, "Here I am, Lord.  Send me."

The message he is to share is a bit harsh.  Remember this is the first section of Isaiah, the section where God is telling the people that their unwillingness to listen will result in their being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.  Isaiah's excitement ("Here and I am, send me.") may have been tempered when he heard the stern call to obedience God was entrusting to him.  Speaking for God sounds like a great thing to get to do; until we begin to realize the message God would have us deliver.

God's Word is always good news.  It is always a word of promise and an invitation to live.  It just isn't always the invitation to continue living as have been living.  The word of God strips us of our pretense and allows us to see the way in which our lives match the will of God and the ways in which we are deceiving ourselves. 

I love to stand among you all and sing, "I will go, Lord, if you lead me...."  It is an empowering moment in our worship services.  I only hope the power of the moment continues when opportunity presents itself to speak, on God's behalf.

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